From Sept 21 – Nov 11, there will be an exhibition of Morgan’s illustrations for the game at Expressions Gallery in Upper Hutt. I’ll be there in the school holidays teaching the game (Thurs 4 & 11 Oct), and after that visiting some local schools.
Here’s my statement, about the game, for the exhibition. Let me know what you think! Does this describe the game for you?
The card (tarot) deck was an early teaching system, coming to us from medieval times.
This is a living tradition. Before everyone could read, stories were laid out in the cards. Known images, laid out in a set pattern, showed how the world folds and unfolds & yet returns to its starting place.
Using the rotating pattern of four – from which the world was called into being – this world view reached from the divine infinite to us, the mortals. In this way, knowledge was transformed into understanding.
In this game from New Zealand / Aotearoa, the images are birds across the four realms. The pattern is a cloak. And your quest is to take responsibility for all the beings in your care / across your land.
On one level you are asked to make a simple cloak. On another level, you are asked to hold these islands safe under your protective wing.
As part of your guardianship, as part of your cloak of protection, please consider sharing the game with others. Give it as a gift, play it with friends, share it with family. . .
. . for this is our story, laid out in a pattern that reaches both backwards & forwards in time. For here we are now: always at the beginning.
Kia kaha / be strong