Raven Grimassi, Stephanie Taylor & The Well-Worn Path at the Sacred Space Conference

This workshop focused on the oracle deck called The Well-Worn Path. I bought one post-conference at Borders (how mundane:), because they sold out pretty quickly. It's a 40 card deck devoted to the Witch basics: the pentacle, the crossroads, Maiden, Mother & Crone, the Green Man, and on up to 40. One awesome aspect of the deck is that it's easy to use by someone deeply closeted, lacking privacy, in the military, traveling, anyone with space, time & privacy issues. All of the tools for ritual are there in card form, so you just take your cup, athame, wand, God & Goddess cards, lock yourself in whatever small private spot you have, and do your thing.

   

Raven & Stephanie went through a powerpoint of the
card images, and then led a guided visualization where we
visited the Crossroads. The Crossroads card is my favorite
in the deck because of its mystic feel. Mickie Mueller created
the images for the deck; they are clear and effective but
still engaging. Overall, this is beautiful tool that will help me
learn more about the Craft & function as a divination tool.

A fun thing about the deck is that Raven & Stephanie are in it! They are a bit idealized, of course, and they represent Initiation. Stephanie also currently has dark hair, but it is long, curly & gorgeous, just as in the illustration.

To compare & contrast Christopher Penzcak with this pair: there are excellent reasons why these folks write & then go around and present. They are super-good at it, with an incredible depth of knowledge, and yet they are not arrogant. Penzcak is probably a bit more organized and charismatic. Raven & Stephanie make sure that everyone gets to speak, and seemed to like to have you walk away with a little token, like a river rock fixed with the memory of the animal totem, or an oracle key to help you unlock your intuition. All three are wonderful in their own ways!