The Tantric Dakini Oracle

Approaching the Oracle

Composition of the Oracle

Once the Oracle cards have been laid out it will be helpful to read the description of the symbolism and the divinatory meaning.

The cards which relate to the Major Arcana of the Tarot (0-21) have particularly potent divinatory meanings. We have given variant readings for different locations in some instances; otherwise, the general divinatory meaning applies.

Cards related to the Suits of the Minor Arcana (22-61) change their specific divinatory meanings more frequently, according to their location on the Tree of Life chart.

Time cards (62-64) are not found in the Tarot. In The Tantric Dakini Oracle system they offer possibilities for directly resolving the influences of destiny. Helpful indications are given.

All interpretations and divinatory meanings are guidelines only. As the reader becomes familiar with the cards and their symbolism, the different relationships will become clearer. The Tantric Dakini Oracle cards are most effective on an intuitive level. Spontaneous interpretation through an awareness of Tantric symbolism is both direct and personal.

The cards may be successfully consulted for a person in his absence by bearing that person in mind at the time of shuffling and dealing.

There are no reverse card readings, as in the Tarot. Dakini cards are placed directly in position, right way up.

The Tantric Dakini Oracle cards are comprised of:

• A card conceived of as the center of a cycle of Transformation, taking the form of a JOKER, around which the psychological energies move in the play of life. The number of the joker is zero.

• Sixty-four cyclical cards, representing the energies of transformation moving conceptually around a fixed Joker. These cards are divided up in the following way:

1 to 21 Card-images related to the Major Arcana of the traditional Tarot.

22 to 31 Card-images related to the Minor Arcana of the traditional Tarot, of the Element Air and the suit of Swords.

33 to 41 Card-images related to the Minor Arcana of the traditional Tarot, of the Element Fire and the suit of Wands.

42 to 51 Card-images related to the Minor Arcana of the traditional Tarot, of the Element Water and the suit of Cups.

52 to 61 Card-images related to the Minor Arcana of the traditional Tarot, of the Element Earth and the suit of Pentacles.

62 The Past

63 The Present

64 The Future

Method of the Tree of Life

The Tree of Life depicts the subtle body of the yoga philosophy with psychic centers, or chakras, designated according to authentic Eastern tradition. The chart is in effect a synthesis of the Semitic Tarot divination and the Eastern Tantric teachings on the subtle body. The Tree of Life has its roots in the earth and its leaves reach out into space.

6
The Wish-Fulfilling Gem

Wish-Fulfilling Gem bears the number "6," signifying harmony, the balanced blend of intellect and emotion, the Head and the Heart. It is the number of the sixth sense and the entry into the world of fulfillment. Relates to the Lovers of the Tarot.

From the tranquil lake of bottomless quietude the Wish-fulfilling Gem rises up. Within its multi-faceted form the All-Good Buddha Samantabhadra and his female counterpart Samantabhadri are seated. In this male/female Tantric aspect they represent the non-dual per-fect Buddhahood of peaceful compassion. The emanations from this mystic form are like the rainbow hues of the White Light refracted from the facets of a diamond. The glyph is crowned with a smaller version of itself, which is reflected in the water below. The whole forms a double mystic scepter (vajra), suggesting the unlimited nature of this essence principle as projected on the mind-sky of inner space. This card depicts divine love in its most sacred and benign aspect, the resolution of all dualities.

Divinatory Meaning
This card is the most potent boon card of the deck. It may always be interpreted as the fulfillment of a wish, though the emphasis is on the mystic rather than the worldly. On the lowest level it may be just good luck, and on the spiritual level (in the Heart or Head) it indicates deep metaphysical development, maturation, and the fruit of endeavor. Much can be gained from concentrated meditation on this card, the father and mother of all Buddhas. Imagine the light within the jewel of the self, and then place oneself within. Visualize the effulgent emanations of light. Feel the Compassionate essence. In the chart of the Tree of Life as a subtle body, the mystic form of the All-Good Buddha and his consort is depicted above the moon of the Head center, since this is the traditional location according to Tantra. This indicates the evolutionary archetypal ancestor of the human spirit, to which we must all ultimately return. The card tells of spiritual guidance and ultimate realization. It indicates a "coming into balance and harmony."

Preface

Part I: Consulting the oracle
     Introduction to the Oracle
     Approaching the Oracle
          Method of the Celtic Cross
          Method of the Tree of Life
          Method of the Great Universe Map
          Composition of the Oracle

Part II: Brief meanings of the individual cards

Part III: The Tantric Dakini Oracle

Part IV: Readings
     Sample I
          Traditional Tarot Method 
          Transfer to Tree of Life Chart
     Sample II 
          Traditional Tarot Method 
          Transfer to Tree of Life Chart
     Sample III 
          Direct Reading onto Tree of
           Life Chart
     Sample IV 
          Direct Reading onto the Map of 
           the Great Universe
         Direct Reading onto Tree of
          Life Chart
    
Blank Charts

About the Authors

Tree of Life Chart and
    The Great Universe
      Map Ordering Information

Nik Douglas (1944-2012) is the author of Sexual Secrets (with Penny Slinger), Tantric Yoga, Tantric Charms and Amulets, and Spiritual Sex and was the director of the documentary film Tantra. Penny Slinger is an artist with special focus on multimedia collage, whose works have appeared in exhibits throughout Europe. She has produced numerous books and videos and is an ordained minister of the Goddess Temple. She lives in northern California.

"Open(s) a path to one's inner world and enhancing the user's faculties of clairvoyance and visualization."
SirReadaLot.org, February 2004

". . . puts users in contact with the energies of the dakinis, archetypes of feminine wisdom."
New Age Retailer, December 2004

DIVINATION / TANTRA

The Tantric Dakini Oracle is a system of divination based on the authors’ work in the Ranipur Jharial Temple in Orissa, India. The temple contains stone carvings of sixty-four dakinis, ancient symbolic representations of the female principles of intuitive wisdom. The dakinis are the guardians of the deeper mysteries of the self, and it is through them that the secrets of inner transformation are opened.

Nik Douglas, a scholar of both Sanskrit and Tibetan, has drawn upon his extensive knowledge of tantric mystical teachings to create a modern synthesis of their system of divination. The sixty-five cards in the deck are a collage of surrealistic images representing symbols and archetypes that are designed to affect both conscious and subconscious levels of perception. Created by artist Penny Slinger, the cards evoke subtle memories, sentiments, desires, or fears. Meditation on the images of The Tantric Dakini Oracle puts the reader in contact with the energies of the dakinis, opening a path to the user’s inner world, enhancing visualization, and even leading to clairvoyance. Additional methods for consulting the oracle include the Tree of Life chart and Great Universe map, which link the cards to the yoga body, the chakras, kundalini energy, and astrological influences.

NIK DOUGLAS and PENNY SLINGER are also the authors of Sexual Secrets and The Erotic Sentiment in the Paintings of India and Nepal.