Sundial

Note: this is part of my series in exploration, reflections and translations of the Korean Secret of the Kingdom Oracle deck.

Reflections:

For this card, I find the keywords (in the Secret Kingdom Guidebook) interesting. The keywords are all about precision and accuracy, when the sundial was precise, but time was loose. Even in sitting down with this card, Tteoki (my dog) came over to me and tapped my hand, indicating that he was ready to eat some food. Tteoki is on a regular schedule, but the timing is not precise — it’s more like windows of time. He knows the general order and flow of things (when mom sits down at her computer in the morning, she will feed me). The actual time that I sit down each morning varies, but the routine remains the same.

So, there is an element of accuracy and precision, but there is also an element of waiting, of looseness of flexibility. Perhaps it is that the window itself is not flexible. I.e. The bell must be struck every 12 hours, precisely with 2 hour periods that also must be precise. What happens in-between is up to you to decipher? Which, now has me thinking about the productivity tool, time-blocking.

As for the card translation itself, here is what comes to me:

Translation:

What is time and your relationship to it? How is it measured and regarded in your life? Remember, there is more than one way to keep time and more than one way to experience it.

Pay attention to the relationships of light and shadow. They are always changing. The light is constantly moving, and in a way moving cyclically, though seemingly in one direction (forward).

But is it?

Time seems to be in constant progression as well -- but is it?

Be observant of the tools that you have at your disposal and use them skillfully. Know when to pick up your instruments, and when to place them down.

Some tools are time, how we keep time (measurement, logic), what we think about time (mindset, perspective), how we experience time (meaning, feeling, presence, cycles) and our access to the deeper realities of time (intuition).

Tools can be faulty, dependent on circumstance. For example, the sundial depicted in this card is most accurate when the sun is shining brightly. How would it read on a cloudy day?

Note: even on a cloudy day, the sun is still shining high in the sky — we just can’t see it from our perspective, or placement in relation to the sun.

By nature, this card is cyclical. There is a duality of finity and infinity that exists with it. And on the surface it seems that there is only one way to read it.

But there are many perspectives to hold here.

What is your relationship to time in this moment (at this point in your life)? What are you seeing and what may you be missing (where is the sun in your current situation)? Do you notice any patterns?

Season/Timing revealed in the card: timeless (any season) however, summer (with the high sun) is likely more fruitful. And, there is grass in the card that is super lush and green, which to me, indicates peak spring or early summer.

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