Feminine Mysteries Oracle
The Feminine Mysteries Oracle deck is a collaborative project between artist Dawn Leonard (me/Sacred Rhythms) and author Veronica Garcia de Ibarra (of Nomadic Oracle) that seeks to illuminate the lived experiences of women. It will have 52 cards in 4 suits: Maiden, Mother, Maga (Wise Woman) and Matriarch.
What I think will make this deck truly unique - besides the subject matter - is that it is collaborative at every level.
I am painting (by hand, with no generative AI) 52 cards, featuring real women. Then we are interviewing these women to share their lived experience of womanhood for our comprehensive guide book. When the cards are all painted and digitized, and the manuscripts are written, we will launch a Kickstarter campaign to have them printed.
Do you want to be part of this project?
Calling all female models -
all size, age and color!
Since this is a collaborative project, we are looking for women to model for our cards. We are especially looking for BIPOC women. Volunteering to be a model is an excellent way to support our project. In return for being photographed (preferably, or mostly in the nude), you will receive a large print of your card, and probably some other swag we haven’t thought of yet! You will definitely get entrance to our event launch party!
Some of you have asked: who is this for? Is it inclusive of trans women?
As I answer this questions, I ask you to hear this with an open mind because I am saying it with an open heart. I’ve listened to a lot of people that I respect on this topic and I’ve tuned in to my inner sense of truth.
We have made a conscious choice in using the word "woman" and in making this a deck for people who are born as female and identify as "woman."
I know we could say "people with a uterus" but frankly, that language feels pretty lifeless. It is a "pieces and parts" descriptor that assumes that removing the uterus has no consequence to the rest of the body. I am a person who also has breasts that turned blood to milk to feed my babies; estrogen and progesterone that influence my mood, thoughts and energy level; a brain that relies on these hormones to help me intuit the needs of my family; bones that move muscles that depend on specific nutrients because of their chemical constitution. Those things are all deeply intrinsic to my experience of being a woman. Saying "person with a uterus" erases all of that. It erases "woman."
And with deep respect to the feminists who came before us who proclaimed that biology is not destiny, biology does direct/dictate/determine my life as a woman. When lived and bled consciously, biology informs not just our daily lives, but our evolution into elders.
Our biology is the key to our wisdom
One of the goals of the Feminine Mysteries Oracle is to illuminate the power and wisdom that is possible to experience through our female biology as women.
Watercolor Painting
Do you love astrology? Want to see the your birth chart brought to life? Commission your portrait to see the tone of your original imprint in vivid detail. This 24” x 24” watercolor painting makes a bespoke gift or personal showpiece. You provide a photo and your birth information (including birth time) and I will bring it to life. Please allow 2-4 months for final piece. Does not include framing.
Dawn’s personal watercolor interpretation of the archetypal energy of the menstrual cycle was inspired by the book Wild Power. This 11”x12” poster illustrates the inner seasons, the 2 vias, the 5 chambers of menstruation, the moon cycle, and the powers of each season.
Available for free pick-up in Greensboro or $8 by mail.
Dawn’s personal watercolor interpretation of Day 1 of the menstrual cycle. This 11”x17” poster includes a 2022 calendar with new and full moons marked so you can track your cycle and be reminded of the powers and tasks of each of the seasons.
Available for free pick-up in Greensboro or $8 by mail.
Free Birth Affirmations Art
About Dawn’s Art
I picked up my watercolors in the summer of 2022 when the kids were finally both out of the house (that distance learning was pretty rough)! I am excited to begin to offer prints of my work. If there is something that you see on Instagram that isn’t for sale yet, please let send me a message to let me know what you’d like.
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