I'm sharing a little here with those who are interested. It's still a little rough, and I work it very intuitively. Use your own intuition to guide you, as well.
Eyes = the smooth, rounded sides of the cowries
Mouths = the open, flatter sides of the cowries
Method -- Gather all 16 into your hands. Whisper to them or kiss them, and then toss them on the floor or onto a mat. Make note of their groupings, mentally marking them in four groups of four. Read them generally from left to right and from top to bottom. You will interpret the shells based on the eye/mouth patterns and also based on the "spreads" they form.
The following verses are meant to help you interpret the eye/mouth patterns.
You’re
not worthy, and yet you ARE
both
earthbound mud and shining star.
Arise
and go into the night
to
see, to BE the guiding light.
In
blood and soil and toil and pain
you’re
born into this world again.
From
cauldron-womb to mother’s breast,
your
journey starts; you cannot rest.
Evening
star, the Queen of Heaven,
Passing
through the trials, seven.
The
Hero or the Fool we are,
rising
like the Morning Star.
An
ancient and undying Truth:
Each
age conceals an inner youth.
Remaining
young is not an art.
Hold
your youth within your heart.
All
roads, all days, all songs must end
to
sleep, to breathe, begin again.
A
treasure’s hid in sorrowful endings:
the
promise of a new beginning.
Justice,
with her scales and sword,
measures
both your deed and word.
Intents
and thoughts she does not weigh.
Be
careful what you do and say.
Love
of mother, love of son.
Love
deeply and love everyone.
Love
friends and children and your mate.
Love
till there is no room for hate.
Sacred
Union – hearts and minds,
bodies,
lives, and souls entwined –
Bless
each one with joy and pleasure.
Such
a gift is priceless treasure.
Safe
within a an earthen shield,
unruly
seas to harbors yield.
Anchored
firmly in this calm
your
bark escapes the threat of harm.
Blest
accord, cooperation.
No
thought of ire or base frustration.
Heads
and hearts in loving ease.
Home
and self have found some peace.
Dove
of Peace, we draw you near.
Take
from us both pain and fear,
leaving
only your sweet love
to
live in peace, O Gentle Dove.
Open
waters, clear and bright,
Sky-kissed
ocean brings delight.
Dark
below, as any tomb.
Mother
Ocean, life’s great womb.
Sacrament
of love divine,
bliss-filled
bodies intertwined.
In
best of cases, spirits mesh
while
taking joy in earthly flesh.
Silver
speech and golden belt
can
cause the Will of Man to melt.
Hold
convictions, tight and true,
or
watch them charmed away from you.
Pleasure,
joy, and untamed bliss,
delight
and humor, marked by this.
Bubbling
font from Spirit’s well.
Laughter
in your Soul does dwell.
No
light or slim reflection cast.
The
door is sealed shut, firm and fast.
Within
the blackest pitch of night,
Embrace
the Dark and mourn the Light.
The following SPREADS are very loosely based on (or rather, inspired by) geomancy.
A couple of notes to help understand the spreads:
1. The spreads are obviously set up in pairs of opposites. I'm not sure why, but that's how it worked out.
2. Joy and Sorrow are both meant to represent doves -- one soaring, one falling.
3. Gain and Loss are scales.
4. Fate is a horseshoe. Freewill is an overturned bowl or cup.
An example, then, of a reading might go as follows:
From left to right, I would interpret this casting as:
Path -- Sea
Fate -- Queen of Heaven
Female -- Peace
War -- Endings
So, what is all this saying to me? Well, ... ha! One of you lovely readers is getting a reading, but I have no idea who. You are new to the blog, and new to this path, I think. You have felt a calling to the Sea -- perhaps water witchery, in general. But it hasn't occurred to you until now that perhaps Aphrodite (or Astarte or Inanna) has a direct hand in YOUR life. She does, sweetie. You, my lovely lady, have had trouble finding peace with your femininity and with the Divine Feminine in general; but that conflict is about to to come to a close. The sooner you stop fighting yourself, the sooner you will find peace and make the progress you have been hoping for. You're going to shine, sister!
Alrighty, well. Thus concludes the free and easy version. I will continue to work on writing everything up in a way to help folks understand, and I will eventually publish that in a nifty little book (paperback and ebook, I am sure). In the meantime, get yourself some cowries and practice, if this speaks to you. You know what I know, at this point!
