Faeries Oracle

Card 14 - The Maiden

Auspicious beginnings. Birth. Growth. Joy. Hope.

From her crown of light to her star-jeweled toes, the Maiden is pure joy. She is the face of the force that generates growth throughout all tihe worlds. When she smiles, troubles melt. Where she dances, flowers spring from the ground and burst into bloom. It is from the Maiden that the pixies learned the dance that keeps the otherworld turning - and probably our world, too, for that matter. She is newly born every morn, and she carols her plangent song of growth for all beings in all the worlds. She sees the magic and the light in everything and takes endless delight in it.

Yet even though the Maiden is so wonderful and powerful, she is a child and she needs to be cared for, nurtured, and cherished. When she takes the form of a flower, someone must see that she gets enough water and sun. Whenever we look after something new or young, we arc caring for the Maiden, whether she is in the form of a blossom, a sapling, a baby; or a new idea. She, in turn, is likely to switch between joyfully and gratefully receiving such nurturing and insisting on an independence that she re ally isn't ready for yet. She knows, deep within herself, what she needs to do and become, and she moves toward this with the directness of a child.

The Maiden also has the simplicity and curiosity of a child, seeing with unclouded eyes. She has an openness to life, love, new things, and new experiences. Every moment with her is an adventure, filled with playfulness and hope. Innocent, she is awakening to and learning about the world. Much of her learning comes with laughter and silly jokes, and she trusts what life gives her.

Every time we allow ourselves to be filled with joy, we become more like the Maiden.

Starter Reading

The Maiden signifies new beginnings and growth. You couldn't ask for a more auspicious card than this if you are beginning something new. Spontaneity, joy, growth, exhilaration, and promise for the future are signified here. We must note also that, in the early stages of any process, there is vulnerability and a need for protection, shelter, and guidance, but there is also a magical impetus toward burgeoning growth. Trust the process-but take care of the details as well.

The Maiden is also the inner child who needs to be under the supervision of a competent inner adult in order for her to feel secure and loved. She is not happy when we spoil her.

Consider what is growing in your life. Make a list of your hopes, dreams, and plans. Look for the growth within you, and think about how you can cherish and nurture that. Bless the growth you see around you.

Reverse

In the Maiden reversed, we find her virtues turned into flaws. When her energy is blocked, we don't allow ourselves to dream, to hope, even to plan a future that is anything but minimal and mundane. We live a cold, sterile, joyless life.

When we twist her energy we become impulsive, unthinking, gullible, lost in dreams that never get translated into reality. There is a tendency to live in fantasy and deny reality, and there is definitely a lack of grounding. Life in a floating soap bubble is perilous-and that is where she is. When living in a dream world has become habitual, the addiction to fantasy is hard to break. It cannot be changed from the outside by others, and even from the inside, there is usually no desire to break through into an unhappy reality until the fantasy world itself becomes too painful to live in any longer.

When the Maiden's energy is seriously reversed, this card can indicate crippling pessimism-an attitude that when possessed means the possessor sees the worst in everything, expects the worst from life, and gets it. Such an attitude creates its own misery and denies one the possibility of joy.

When such a powerful energy as the thrust toward joyful growth is inverted or twisted this way, it is still a powerful energy-and usually requires an equally powerful experience to break free of it. But there is always hope, and those outside the fantasy need to remember that, even while being realistic about the difficulties of changing this state. Someone needs to be an adult here.

The Sidhe