Dream Treasure Cards

(How They Evolved)

My First Card Memories:

My first memory of creative fun with cards goes back to childhood recollections in Scotland, when my cousin Billy and I would swipe our parent's decks of playing cards to make 'card towns.' Many enchanted hours were enjoyed as we precariously propped up hundreds of cards on the living room carpet, making 3-D 'houses' on card-lined streets. Next to river-rock-hopping and walking on walls, making card towns was our favorite pastime. Not surprisingly, to the extent that we ever 'grew up,' Bill became a civil engineer and I entered the imaginative realm of the arts.

Different Kinds of Cards:

I've always loved cards -- playing cards, greeting cards, tarot cards and oracle cards of all kinds, full of strange and magical wisdom if you can only find it. Or perhaps I also love cards because my Dad often used to chuckle affectionately, pat my head and say, "Noreen, you're such a card!"

The Intrigue of Cards:

What IS it about a set of cards that intrigues me so? There's something about pulling a whole world of images out of a box that ignites my instant interest. I also like the compactness of a set of cards which, when opened and the cards allowed to escape from their box, paradoxically, can invite an almost infinite array of combinations to whet my searching mind.

I like the slick feel as cards shuffle in my hands -- a miniature art gallery at my finger tips. Like old friends, my favorite card decks comfort and inspire and from time to time their wisdom just knocks my purple socks right off. So, it's no wonder that I eventually got the urge to create my own set of cards.

Gearing Up:

Here's how it happened A little over a year ago, I had a dream which I titled, Gearing Up. As you can guess, a friend in my dream group immediately asked, "Noreen, what are you gearing up for?" Without thinking, I laughingly blurted out, "To write my own dream book, of course!" Little did I know at the time how this spontaneous blurt would lead me into a dreamy artistic venture unlike any I've ever embarked upon previously.

Dream Action:

I've been a Dream Adventurer for many decades, yet my dream life charged into full swing in the mid 1980's after attending a week of dream workshops at The Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E), the Edgar Cayce group. During this week of soaking up many intensely mind-expanding dream concepts, I was fortunate enough to meet Henry Reed and Mark Thurston, both of whom indelibly marked upon my mind the value of taking action from your dreams.

Therefore, with the specters of Henry and Mark to prod me on, I took ACTION from my Gearing Up dream. Did I ever! I gave myself a week of retreat, surrounded only by my 18 fat dream journals and my trusty
computer, with the intent of cataloging anything and everything that could be material for my yet-to-happen dream book. As it turns out, I've yet to write the dream book, but something more immediately exciting emerged instead.

Dream Treasure Cards:

Well, after two days of constant data-basing, I was bored silly. "Enough of this!" I groaned, and took time out to meditate upon my predicament. The answer soon appeared, first in terms of an internal question, "What excites you the most about this project?" Instantly, I knew. My greatest enthusiasm was to play around with my Dream Art and .... could this be? .... make CARDS!!

My excitement knew no bounds. With renewed energy, I spent the rest of my retreat week ploughing through my 2,653 dreams, chosing only the dreams that included dream art. You see, I'd only sketch, paint or scribble in the margins, images or feelings from dreams that I thought were extra important, so this was a ready-made guide to find some 'treasures.' It was rewarding to collect all these oft forgotten images of my psyche and bring them together where I could see my 'inner family' as if in celebration of some great reunion.

During this week I completed ten of what it seemed only natural to call my Dream Treasure Cards. On the back of each card is a title, an offering and a Haiku poem which tells the essence of the dream from whence the dream art came. Over the next few months I completed my set of 50 cards and made a lovely stained glass box for them to call home. These cards now sit on a shelf next to my bed so I can easily access their energy and insights on a daily basis.

What to DO with Dream Cards:

So, you might ask, "What do you DO with your dream cards?" Good question! First of all, I simply enjoy looking at them as I shuffle through the deck, especially intrigued by the different combinations each shuffle brings forth. Seeing two or three cards together for the first time can in itself bring up new insights.

There is something downright magical about having your OWN images from your OWN deepest dream psyche staring you in the face with fresh eyes. A mirror to the soul indeed! The following tells how I do things with my cards.