Native American Teachings

Each card is listed on a page with "The Teaching" and "The Application" of the card. When I do my readings, I highlight the area of the card from the the application meaning. Afterwards, I explain the messages that come through to me. These cards are very good for teaching yourself and attuning yourself, to the Spiritual world around you.

One of my favorite cards is "The Shaman's Death" card. Death is not represented in the card as predicting a death of someone, it represents an aspect of "Self" that is dying. This is the little poem that is written for the card: "Grandfather, I do ask for death, for the parts of me, that will not hear, or speak the truth, which are too blind to see. Grandmother, give me birth again, with love as my guide, truth and beauty as my path, with nothing left to hide."

Many times in our lives as we change, there are old habits, old ways of thinking, and old things we do that no longer serve us or our well-being. So these are the parts of "Self" that die so better habits can enter our life, better ways of thinking enters our mind and better things we will do and learn can enter onto our path. I usually experience Shaman's Death every seven years. Yes, we will have many throughout our lives. We change just as the leaves on a tree changes.

1. Pipe

2. Sweat Lodge

3. Vision Quest

4. Peyote Ceremony

5. Standing People

6. Sun Dance

7. Medicine Wheel

8. East Shield

9. South Shield

10. Est Shield

11. North Shield

12. Arrow

13. Coral

14. Kokopelli

15. Talking Stick

16. Power Place

17. Moon Lodge

18. Whirling Rainbow

19. Painted Face

20. Counting Coup

21. Rites of Passage

22. Hyokah

23. Smoke Signals

24. Council Fire

25. Pow-Wow

26. Warbonnet

27. Cradleboard

28. Medicine Bundle

29. Storyteller

30. Fire medicine

31. Medicine Bowl

32. Drum

33. Dreamtime

34. Burden Basket

35. Shawl

36. Thunder-beings

37. Great Mystery

38. Field of Plenty

39. Stone People

40. Great Smoking Mirror

41. Shaman's Death

42. Hour of Power

43. Give-Away Ceremony

44. Sacred Space

This is the spread that I do. For as long as I have been reading these cards to the present, I have never been lead to do another spread. Just to break it down a little more this is what each direction explains.

The East Card: The East Card (the first one drawn): This card expresses the Spiritual door you are now opening in your life. It represents the seeds that need fertile ground and nurturing.

The South Card:The South Card (second card I drew): This card is where your faith should be placed OR where a loss of faith has caused you to feel weak. Your focus should be your child within, this is where you will be able to answer the question of where is your faith should be or where it was lost.

The West Card: The West Card (third card drawn): This card teaches you how to find the inner answers that introspection brings. We must seek our own Truths!

The North Card: The North Card (last card drawn): This card expresses the wisdom you will gain if you put the other cards messages into affect. The card is for Self Healing!

There have been times when I was lead to draw another card to help with certain situations. When I do that, it is basically a card used for confirmation or additional suggestions.

I have been trying to decide how to write this lens and decided since it was 48th one I have written, I will do the same as with my others; tell you my own story.

During our Homestead Journey I ended up getting rid of my first set of cards because it was time. I do believe my cards were the last thing to go besides my very old cauldron.

When I was lead to do readings again, I went onto Amazon.com and purchased another set that were used, along with the Sacred Path Workbook. GreyHawk told me the two sort of went hand in hand with each other.

The day came when I received my cards and I was amazed. I immediately emailed the girl I purchased them from and told her how thrilled I was with them. I was a little worried because you never know, but I should have known because Spirit lead me so carefully to them. The cards were in excellent shape, and by the energy had not been used very much. So I blessed and smudged them with sage and did a reading for myself.

As always, every single card was exactly what I needed to read and exactly where I was on my path. The card set comes with 44 illustrated cards and a hardcover book that list 9 different spreads. It also gives an indepth explanation and teaching for each card.

In every reading I have done (and it has been MANY) I have used the same spread, the only difference is I use to incorporate an Animal Medicine Card to explain which Spirit Animal Guide was with the recipient at that time to help them on their path.

I do the Four Direction Spread. Each card represents a direction and explains what that card can teach you if you follow the guidance. All of the spreads are good, but this is the one that feels right for me.

I explain the card as it is written in the book, and I deliver the personal messages that I am told too. I believe more so in making people aware of their situations and solutions instead of saying The cards say to do this or that! My cards do say to do this or that but offers awareness of something you need to know and work on. It is your choice if you want to use that direction or not.

Here is an example: I may get the Drum Card. When this card is drawn, it is telling you that you are being asked to find your own internal timing. You may be pushing yourself too hard, and when you do this, you skip a beat. This cards helps to teach you to honor your own rhythm, and to come back into harmony with Self. The Drum also speaks of allowing yourself to be supported by Mother Earth's Heartbeat. In all cases for this card it is teaching you to find your own rhythm.

My personal message for this card if I drew it for myself today would be to slow down, because I have a horrible habit of doing many things at once. Somewhat like thinking I am five people and I can do everything I want too; right at the time I want to do it. If I slow myself down, I can get back into rhythm and things would go better. My Self would not feel so pushed and rushed.

It is a teaching, not telling a person what to do. It allows everyone to think and react the way they need to without anyone planting those seeds into your psychi.

Image © 2008 Clouddancer