The Master Maker. (Photo credit: Brian Froud)
In my single card drawing, I discovered a uniquely creative Faery. The Master Maker is like the Faery version of Hephaestus, the smithy god of Greek myth. Only the Master Maker is the origin of all inventiveness and creativity. The Faery Oracle describes him as being able to see beyond all worlds, into the world of “first causes.” From that world, he uses his Faery magick to build and create, allowing these brilliant ideas and inventions into our world where we are inspired to remake them. He is the father inventor and the creative people in the world are his children.
As any respectable inventor or smith, the Master Maker demands perfection from his performance. His attitude is “no matter how small the job, do it to the best of your ability.” This not only represents his own dedication to working hard, but it’s also a good reminder for us in our everyday life. We might think of work or gifts or anything else that requires our close attention to detail and perseverance, but the Master Maker also lets us know that even if our hard work isn’t seen by others that it still deserves our best.
Craftsmanship is a labor of love. Anyone who’s done a DIY project knows that in between the frustration of building something on your own is love. Love for being self-reliant, love for being creative, love for accomplishing something and love for making. Whether it’s our new bookshelf or a gift for a friend, crafting something brings us joy. The Master Maker is happiest when we take the time to do our jobs and complete our projects carefully, even if it means doing them over and over until we get it right.
The Master Maker also tries instilling in us the value of knowing our limitations. We may want to do something as well as another person, but as long as we do our best then we should feel proud, no matter how the project turned out. There is always room for improvement and practice makes perfect. On the opposite spectrum of the Master Maker, he loathes it when we try to skirt around doing something perfectly. If we have the ability to be thorough and honorable, yet choose to cut corners or cheat in our duties, then it’s only just when it blows up in our face and costs us dearly.
In summary, whatever your craft may be, the Master Maker wants to inspire us to do our best without cutting corners. When we fulfill our potential, we are to look at how we did and then find ways to improve on it. Most importantly, as the Master Maker inspires us to work on our craft, we should be inspiring others or teaching our craft to those who want to learn.