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| Illustration by Bill Worthington |
The card shows a white (but not albino) bull standing by a rock formation on a semi-sunny day. Three cranes fly not far off, and he seems to be bellowing at them. A horn and a rattle in the shape of a singular testicle lay at his hooves.
Right away I notice that this animal, unlike all the others, stands before me, his ass and balls more prominent than his face! Why is that? I wonder. His tail waves and whips, and I reach out to touch his rump, then smack it. It feels right for some reason...
He looks back at me, and I feel like he's protective-- and ornery! He stamps his feet a couple more times and then turns to face me. I notice the wind is blowing pretty hard here and the leaves from the willow growing next to us is rustling loudly.
Bull snorts, and then thunks the earth next to the golden horn at his feet. I pick it up. He nods, bobbing his head at an angle towards the sky. I'm to blow the horn.
Um... okay.
I blow it and Bull turns around again, as if readying for a fight. The three cranes who were circling now swoop down and alight upon the path before us. I come around the bull, and pat his shoulders. I know he's protecting me-- but from the Cranes?
The cranes let out some odd cries and bob and flap their wings. I'm told I get to ask each one a question. One about the past, one about the present, and one about the future. Then they walk, flap, and fly onto the path, in single file, and I know I must walk the path and ask each one a question.
Bull will walk with me. I get the sense that there is danger to this? I'm finding this journey to be a little strange. Are the Cranes linked to the three Fates?
I approach the first crane. It ducks and stretches like its doing a mating dance, and waits for my question. What do I want to know about the past? I don't know what to ask about and turn to the Bull. He suggests I ask about my 'brothers and comrades from the battlefield.' I know what he's talking about. Okay...
Did they truly love me then?
The crane answers: They believed in you. Some loved you, but some just liked you.
Not sure how knowing that helps I thank the crane and move on down the path. The crane flies off.
Question about the present for the next crane is:
Is there a reason to keep hoping-- objectively, outside of myself?
The crane answers: You know there is. You find it and lose it and find it again.
We continue on the path to the next crane while the last one flies off. I ask the Crane of the future:
Could you please show me something to give me hope or help me "find it" again?
The crane answers: Page 34 of the Oracle book.
I look and its the page for The Fox or "Sionnach". That card fell out separately on its own when I was putting cards away the first day I did this with the oracle cards. Apparently, Fox has something special for me to learn when I reach that card! Page 34 talks about when to "come out" openly and when to "keep your council private." Hmmm.... I'm not sure what that could be referring to, so I guess I have to wait until the future to do that card and find out...
I thank the crane and it flies off.
Then Bull tells me to mount him, and I do, and soon we're running across fields. I'm puzzled, but then I start to pick up from Bull that I understand stubbornness can be a virtue. That I am "bull-headed" and "grab the bull by the horns" on a regular basis (though I am not a Taurus sign.) Bull charges forth, even if its not pretty, or uses anger to get energy. Bull energy is a simple energy: Go do what you have to do, face the tricky parts of life, and don't give yourself time to doubt.
We come full circle to the rock formation. I slide off Bull and go look at the etching on the rock. Its a classic labyrinth - like the story of the bull-headed minotaur. Long story about short-changing the gods leading to a monster being born who ate men. Bull tells me that in the spirit world, bulls charge at and challenge men, but are the protectors and friends of women.
I tell Bull my own story of my father being a "bully" and how I had nightmares about being trapped in a pen with a bull when he was alive but ill, and my mother kept trying to make me visit him. Bull looks sad, he would never hurt me. I rub and scratch his face. All those dreams ended when I realized the real bully was my mother, wanting me to make peace with the monster of my childhood.
Finally, the bull paws at the last object on the ground-- the rattle. It has a ring attached. I think its kind of funny, but shake it. The ground rumbles. Bull tells me I can shake it to summon his energy. I thank him, replace the horn and rattle by the rock, and return to my realm.
END.
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