Color Dice: Part 5 - Experiences
(If you don't see a Part 4, it's because that part is for subscribers only!)
For a long time, I had only 13 colors in my system and viewed them largely in terms of the energy centers I associated with them.
Next, I created charm casting maps with the 13 colors representing different areas of a querent's life. I was still viewing them in relatively two-dimensional terms.
Then I got really into magpie Tarot and oracle decks. A friend had regular Tarot decks for the four elements - each one resonated with a specific element for them. I liked that idea and wanted to do something similar with color. So, over the course of several months, I created my color magpie decks. As I worked on that, I felt there were elements missing, and I added the last three elements. Which meant three more decks.
My rune teacher, Sarenth Ódinsson, reminded me at some point in this process that in an animist worldview, "objects" have spirits and personalities, especially if they once were alive and/or are used in magic. So I asked the decks to choose names I could use for them, and pronouns. They all responded.
Later, I mentioned to Sarenth that I was reading Ensouling the Effigy by Matthew Venus; they asked what plans I had to implement the lessons from the book. Rune effigies were my first thought, given the setting, and the runes enthusiastically agreed. But as I started to plan how I would make the Rune Guys, it also became clear that the colors wanted Color Guys.
Color Guys are still a work in progress. In the meantime, I approached the spirit of each color to make an agreement that they would assist me in my magic; in return, I'll make the Color Guys, I'm giving weekly offerings, and I'm making a conscious effort to use their magpie decks regularly. During this petitioning process, I also got to directly perceive each of the color spirits and learn what they look like to me. I want to learn to paint portraits, so portraits are likely to be another offering to them in the future.
I found a case to transport the color decks (minus Rainbow, which is bigger and requires something else) and brought them into my bedroom when I was planning what to do with that case. That led to the memory that both Sarenth and an art teacher I follow, Alexis Cohen, had suggested sleeping beside skins and paintings, respectively, for much the same reason - to bond more fully. So for the time being, all 16 decks are in my bed, and I'll probably set the Color Guys on my nightstand for at least one night once they're complete.
As this has progressed, I feel closer to this set of spirits and I feel that I can rely on them to help. Creating the Color Guys and making some card changes to the magpie decks have both been a dialogue with the spirits rather than solo design and implementation on my part. I also discuss what I can share about them before I do it.
Talking about it with my Bluesky friend Lael, earlier today, inspired me to ask them for more help and perhaps find other ways to include them in my daily life. I'm currently brainstorming how I'd like to do that and will discuss it with the color spirits once I have some initial ideas.
