Deck Review: Sacred Scarabs by DeTraci Regula

I received the Sacred Scarabs in a trade with a friend. I had no special interest in them, but they seemed to be a nice, different kind of oracle that I'd like to have in my collection. Back then I was trying to learn how to read with the Futhark Runes, and any oracle that resembled runes began to interest me. And that's how I came across the Sacred Scarabs.

The Sacred Scarabs is a small set of 30 blue-and-gold rubber scarabs. I know that the rubber material can put some people off, but I found that this makes the little scarabs quite resistant. Some of my glass and stone runes get scratched or faded from constantly rubbing against each other in the bag - that does not happen with the scarabs.

Besides, the scarabs themselves are rather cute. The top part is painted in Egyptian blue, and has a rather detailed shape of a scarab beetle. The bottom is flat and painted in gold and blue, with a bas-relief depiction of a symbol. That is the symbol you use to read the scarabs.

The Scarabs were "created" by DeTraci Regula, a Priestess of Isis member of the the Fellowship of Isis, and they were inspired by a dream she had. The dream is described in full detail in the Introduction of the book, but the idea is more or less this: she was a priestess in Ancient Egypt, partaking in a big celebration in a temple. During this celebration, a unique method of divination was used. Small scarabs would be put on a net and then thrown over the people. The scarab that hit a person was a message to her/him. Very neat!

It's important to say that the scarabs have appeared before in the book The Mysteries of Isis, also written by Regula. There she introduces the idea of doing divination with symbols inscribed underneath small scarabs. Minor changes have been made between the 'first' version of the oracle and the finished Sacred Scarabs set. The author explains these changes in the beginning of the companion book, and in my opinion they are not detrimental to the set.

The set includes a companion book, 30 rubber scarabs and a small black pouch for you to carry them. All in good Llewellyn quality. In the book, Regula tells you briefly about the Magic and Divination in Ancient Egypt and what the scarab meant to Egyptians. She also teaches a divination ritual, with invocations to Isis and Khepera (the scarab god), and three spreads with multiple scarabs. One of the good things about the book is that Regula includes many examples, both of single and multiple scarab readings.

The Foot Chronicles: In a Snail's Pace

There are times in my life in which I remember my dreams in detail. They are so strong I feel 'high' during the morning, a part of me living in reality and a part of me still lost in the remnants of my dreams. And there are times in which I can't recall a dream to save my life. If I couldn't see the sun rising through the eastern window, I'd doubt I had slept at all.

The last couple of months have been 'dreamless' months. Of course I dream, but their contents remain a mystery locked in the black box of my mind.

But today - ta da! - I remembered. Not all the dream, but a part of it that made me sit on my bed and think about it for a long while before getting up. Not something I usually do: early in the morning my thoughts have the complexity level of a Neanderthal's, and nothing profound comes from my brain cells as I drag my sleepy butt to the bathroom. I even think in grunts.