Professional Documents
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Cards of The Sacred Union en With TOC A4
Cards of The Sacred Union en With TOC A4
Jennifer Rooch Naiobis
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 4
LAYOUTS 4
ESTE (EAST) 12
OESTE (WEST) 13
EL SUR (SOUTH) 13
EL NORTE (NORTH) 14
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LAS SIETE ENERGÍAS MASCULINAS (THE SEVEN MASCULINE ENERGIES)
LA MEDITACIÓN (MEDITATION) 26
LA TRANSFORMACIÓN (TRANSFORMATION) 31
LA CONFIANZA (TRUST) 33
EL PERDÓN (FORGIVENESS) 33
Author's Note 37
Acknowledgements 37
Bibliography 38
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INTRODUCTION
The universe is seeking to connect with us, just as we are seeking to connect with the
universe. It will give us the answer to everything, when we are ready to listen. The
answers to our questions may come in the next conversation we have with a friend, a
family member, a stranger, or an animal; from the next book we read, a film or the next
conversation we hear on the radio… The Sacred Union cards are based on the truth that
the universe is constantly trying to communicate with us, and they provide a direct way
to communicate with the subtle and awaken our intuition.
LAYOUTS
To begin with, I recommend using the cards without the book. Let your intuition tell
you what the card you have drawn wants to communicate to you – trust in what you
already know. Try to feel what the card you have drawn is transmitting. After noticing
your internal response, look at what I have written, and see if these two responses have
something in common. To work with the cards deeply, I recommend that you do not
use them all the time: it's better not to do more than one layout a day, otherwise the
answers will lose their strength.
The most effective way to do a layout is to sit comfortably without crossing your legs,
close your eyes and the empty your mind. Connect with the earth beneath your feet and
the sky above your head, relax, and go into the present. Don't think about anything; just
ask the Great Spirit who is in everything, including you, for guidance. Shuffle the cards
as long as you ‘need’ to. Wait until you feel a card that wants your attention and draw it.
Look at it and see how this card makes you feel. Do you like it? Is there something in
you that rejects it? What is the first thing that comes into your head? Only after this
process should you read the interpretation.
For a layout that is more complex I recommend this straightforward one:
In this layout you place the cards from the right to the left. Card 1 represents the
situation or where you are at this time, what energy YOU represent in the present; the
other two cards show the direction to follow. Another version would be to interpret the
cards as representing the past, present and future… But if you already know how to use
oracle cards, follow your own intuition. Every person finds their own way: for example,
I always do this layout backwards (1, 2, 3).
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EXPLANATION AND SYMBOLISM OF THE CARDS
LOS SIETE CHAKRAS (THE SEVEN CHAKRAS)
Muladhara: ‘Root’
Colour: red.
Sense: smell
Instinct: survival and life force.
Element: earth.
Main principle: prosperity, basic instincts.
Psychological aspect: collective unconscious, materialization of ideas, attachment/
detachment.
Negative expression: attachment, anger, constipation and excess weight.
Mantra: LAM
Vowel: U
The first chakra is located between the anus and the genital area, is connected with the
coccyx and opens downwards.
The basic principle of the first chakra is the manifestation of existence in the physical
world. Muladhara is also the location of the collective unconscious.
If the first chakra is in balance you feel your place in the natural cycle of life-death-life.
Your actions are inspired by the desire to do your part to improve life on earth. It seems
easy to manifest your objectives in this world.
If the first chakra is out of balance, your mind is filled with circular thoughts focused on
material desires, pleasures and the need for security. The tendency to force others to
accept or meet your desires and ideas, and anger, frustration and violence are protection
mechanisms that arise from a lack of basic confidence in life. Fear is always behind these
emotions: fear of loss, of not having enough of what you need to experience security and
well-being.
This chakra is connected to the spine, bones, teeth and nails; to the anus, large intestine,
rectum, prostate, blood, cellular structure and the adrenal glands, which produce
adrenaline and noradrenaline (functions: drives the blood, regulates body temperature
and encourages us to action).
Key words: survival, primal energy, endurance, grounding, original trust, connection
with Mother Earth, union, sexuality, need for confidence in the material world.
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Psychological aspect: power, sex, control, passion, self-esteem, aspects inherited from
parents, accumulation of material goods.
Negative expression: fear, anger, struggle, emotional or sexual abuse.
Potential: creativity, compassion, sense of family.
Mantra: Vam
Vowel: O
The second chakra is more or less four fingers below the navel and is the place of the
Hara, the centre of the self. If this chakra works well, it digests negative emotions such
as fear or anger and directs them to the first chakra to be released to Mother Earth
where they are neutralized.
The second chakra is connected to our sexuality and also to our belly button, that
creates life. Its element is water – the water of the emotions, the water that creates and
nourishes, and that needs to flow. In the waters of the emotions are found all the aspects
of love and fear. Our objective is to reveal the fear and calm it. Anger is an expression of
fear.
The type of relationships we have with others, and especially with the opposite sex, are
marked by the functioning of this chakra. If this chakra is working well, we can find
intimacy with our partner and have natural relationships with the members of the
opposite sex.
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THE FOURTH CHAKRA: ANAHATA
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THE FIFTH CHAKRA: VISHUDA
Vishuda: ‘Purity’.
Colour: blue (light).
Instinct: physical expression.
Element: light, ether.
Main principle: the consciousness of being.
Psychological aspect: communication, fulfilment of dreams, creativity, faith.
Negative expression: deception, lies, addiction, psychosis, not expressing your own
opinions, gossip, cynicism, sleep disorder.
Potential: power of the word, trust, courage.
Mantra: Ham
Vowel: E
The throat chakra is the centre of expression, communication and inspiration. It is the
bridge between emotion and thought, between the heart and the mind. It is the direct
bridge between our inner world and the outer world. Through this chakra we express
our joy and our sadness, emotions of love and anger or fear; here we express our
intentions, our ideas, desires, feelings and opinions… For me, this chakra symbolizes
the need to express our inner beauty to the exterior.
Communication does not only come through the voice, but also includes gestures and
mime, as well as expression through all forms of art. The creativity that is born in the
first chakra rises and grows and is connected in the throat chakra with all the energy of
the other chakras; the creative power of the ether of the fifth chakra gives it a form,
which we express to the outside world.
The sense of hearing belongs to this chakra; here we open our ears to both the
profane/mundane and the subtle voices that speak to us. This chakra also helps us to
learn to trust our inner voice and to express it to our world, our surroundings. Here we
develop an unshakable faith in a higher force that guides us in our personal lives and we
come to understand our Dharma, our mission in life. We realize that our inner worlds
are as real as the world around us, and this gives us the gift of receiving information
from more subtle areas and higher dimensions about what we know as reality, and
allows us to express this information around us in a way that is understandable. The gift
of communication without words is also developed through this chakra.
The fifth chakra works as a catalyst for the four lower chakras. If we look at what we
express through this chakra we realize very quickly whether our fifth chakra is open and
clean (pure) or if we have to purify it or balance it. Most people use their voice to
express their emotional needs, those of the lower chakras… Another negative
expression of this chakra may appear as a love of your own knowledge. These people do
not listen to others in a conversation; being right is more important than understanding
the other.
Sing and express yourself from the heart; connect with the emotions: the best way to
open this chakra is to express your emotions, no matter how strange they may seem.
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THE SIXTH CHAKRA: AJNA
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THE SEVENTH CHAKRA: SAHASRARA
Sahasrara: ‘Emptiness'.
Colour: all colours, light, but lilac and white dominate, golden.
Instinct: universal ethics.
Element: pure energy.
Main principle: the consciousness of being.
Psychological aspect: wisdom, knowledge, detachment from the ego and from
separation.
Negative expression: psychosis, regression, cynicism.
Potential: transcendence, illumination.
Mantra: Om
Vowel: silence
The seventh chakra is located above the highest point of the head, and opens upwards. It
connects us with the universe and with pure existence without form, with the pure
divine essence. Just as the first chakra is the gateway, our connection to the earth, the
seventh chakra is our gateway to the sky. When the seventh chakra is open, we go home,
we realize that wherever we find ourselves in our existence is precisely our home; it is
where we have to be to awaken, to understand what we are. We understand the
possibilities offered by our existence in this incarnation. Our personal energy field
unites, merges with the universal energy field. We are in balance and union with the
universe. I am the universe and the universe is in me. We become aware of our immense
power to create. We understand that this is what we have always been and what we have
always wanted to be. This is illumination, the light of pure consciousness that enters
into us, we have finally become aware channels. All our ego's resistance and the
blockages it has created have disappeared. We enter into pure existence, we don't have
to be someone, there is nothing to prove, we simply are. The only thing we have to do in
this existence is to become channels, everything else will come by itself, there is nothing
else to do, because after this everything will come in abundance, because we understand
finally who we are and how things work. It is important to understand that life is
meditation, it is contemplation and it is possibility. It may seem easier to become
illuminated by leaving the mundane behind and going to the mountains alone, but often
it is exactly this search that takes us away from our path. We are always where we need
to be. Becoming illuminated within a family and the mundane is holy. We cannot blame
our life for our restrictions; we cannot blame our circumstances for not being able to get
there. Because we do not have to get anywhere.
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LAS SIETE DIRECCIONES (THE SEVEN DIRECTIONS)
The Pachamama card – our Mother Earth – speaks to us of abundance: if we trust in her
we realize that everything we need is here.
Today’s society has become a stepmother, but it cannot replace the true mother, because
it only feeds off her in a greedy and unconscious way. If the stepmother is sick, how can
her children grow healthily?
We have forgotten our roots, our connection to the Earth and our faith that she is the
one that feeds us. Why we are searching in the wrong places? Why are we afraid to look
inward and to trust in what life gives us when we trust? We have gone very far away, but
it is time to come home.
Society has transformed us into beings that are very lazy and soft, who suffer a lot of
sorrow, because we never feel safe, it makes us feel incompetent and without a voice of
our own. We have forgotten our treasure and our treasure is our courage. What has to
happen for us to wake up? To activate us IN THIS LIFETIME? To take responsibility?
Only YOU can do this for this world, for your life that is your world. Turn your
existence into one that is in service to the world.
The Great Mother: justice, intuition fertility (whether in creating a new life or in
reaching our most intimate aspirations).
Dolphin: a symbol of universal peace, harmony, communication, love and joy. Healing
through sound, vibration and frequencies.
Puma: power. Put your own power to the test. Many people won't like seeing you grow.
You have to know when to be firm and when to soften. Puma teaches discernment.
Puma teaches you how to walk your path, even if it is not the path of others.
Apples and corn: abundance, maturity, you will lack for nothing, you will have
everything that you need.
Butterflies and leaves: cycle of life-death-life, the acceptance of the highs and lows.
Hummingbird: a messenger from a new world, a new era. It teaches us the beauty of
small things and everyday work, reminding us of the power of the small. No other bird
can fly backwards and so connect symbolically to the past, present and future. The
hummingbird is a symbol for what seems impossible.
The serpent: expresses the material and the actions that come from the belly; it is the
instinct for survival and manifests the material, which is everything that is visible.
The eagle: teaches us to rise up and to observe from above.
The sky reminds us of the presence of the omnipotent. Father Sky is the real father from
which we all come. In modern culture we are very attached to our flesh and blood
parents, even after we have already reached our own adulthood. This hides the path of
true independence from us.
Related questions: do you do things to please others, to be a good son/daughter? What
can you do to heal the relationship between you and your parents (or children)? This
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card is a call to interact with the Great Father, of which we are a part and which we
never lose sight of. The sun is masculine energy par excellence. It fills us with love and
joy. Every day the sun rises and each evening it sets; it is the longest, simplest and most
incredible cycle. During the day the sun simply gives, it nourishes us. Masculine energy
is the energy that penetrates, that transforms, goes to the depths; the changes in Father
Sky are never superficial. Representation of sacred masculine sexuality, healthy and
balanced. The eagle: messenger, illumination, vision, moving between the worlds,
uplifting, healing, clarity and creation. The new dawn. Things are going to move fast
now, if you help them along too; accept your responsibility for your spiritual growth.
Eagle medicine can transform what is before you into a larger duty, and for the good of
humanity. The white horse: freedom, strength, sexuality, sensitivity, speed, movement,
the sun's fertility. The colour white is related to the more spiritual, heavenly side. Power
– your energy and strength will not fail. It is important to note the level of real freedom
that you have in your life, as the horse is a symbol of freedom, but we usually only see it
in captivity. Are you free? From what do you need to free yourself? You shouldn't be too
impulsive! It may indicate drastic changes.
MEDITATION: contemplate the sun! The best moment is when the sun is low in the
sky, in the morning or in the evening. The colours of the sunrise and sunset and the sky
in its different shades of blue and violet balance all the chakras. Sun gazing.
ESTE (EAST)
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Triangle: includes the whole idea of the three aspects of God and of ourselves, because
we are part of God. It speaks to us of our connection with the Creator. It can also be an
indication telling us to observe our personal parent-child relationship.
Umbilical cord: beginning of a new stage or path. Union with the creative force or to the
father (spiritual or material).
Foetus: new ideas. The foetus symbolizes the potential that already lives within you,
growing and ready to be born. The awakening of consciousness. Fertility.
The plant: it symbolizes spring. The beginning of a time that promises to bear fruit.
(The key inspiration of the Seven Directions cards is based on the Medicine Wheel from
the wisdom of the indigenous peoples of America. To clarify my doubts I have listened
to my own inner voice, because there are some variations in the symbolism and the
relationship to the elements, depending on the source and of the tradition.)
OESTE (WEST)
In the West I find the love of Mother Earth. I find the beating of her heart in my
interior. I see my healing in her healing. It is the navel, the uterus; this is where life is
born; it is the sweatlodge, the moist fertile soil. There is no masculine without feminine;
there is no daughter without a mother; there is no matter without emptiness; there is no
life without death... West is the place of experience, introspection and strength.
In the card we see a woman; in her arms she is carrying a baby wrapped in warm fur.
The mother sleeps, but her third eye is open, she is conscious even in her sleep. The
woman's hair is black and blue – this shows her strong connection to the night and
dreams. West is where we dream our life into reality. It is the place of magic, of all
possibilities. The place where we can change and create, be all that we want to be. The
West symbolizes the night of the soul, the deepest night of all nights, which promises us
that the sun, when it rises, will be miraculous.
The bear: his love of honey encourages us to seek the sweetness of life, that which feeds
our heart. He is the protector of Mother Earth; his medicine is a deep respect towards
the Great Mother. He knows how to differentiate between what has to live and what has
to die. He teaches that from time to time we have to go into our caves, our interior, to
listen to the beating of our heart. He gives us the courage we need to express and share
what we carry inside to the outside. He reminds us of the power of patience, calm and
quiet. He teaches us how to use our strength and our stamina, he gives us the courage of
the bear.
Sage: this plant reminds us of our power to transform the mundane into the sacred, and
that we live in two worlds, with one foot in the spiritual and the other in the material.
Sage is a feminine plant. If we do not give our life a deep meaning and a mission we will
always live in the ordinary, forgetting that this existence is anything but ordinary.
EL SUR (SOUTH)
A healthy child loves him or herself with a natural trust. The South belongs to the third
chakra, our inner sun, and to the fourth, the heart chakra. This chakra creates joy. The
fourth chakra creates love, but without joy there is no love. An offering that is born
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from joy, from love of the self, from union. You have strength and you can share it.
Understand that the obstacles in life are there for you to realize your strength. You are
here for a reason, you have a mission and your current situation is part of your growth.
Keep the lightness of a child, don't sink into worry; fear will only weaken you. The sea
represents the emotions and rests on Mother Earth, just as our emotions must rest on a
solid foundation: innocent love, trust in yourself and trust that world will care for you. It
is important to have faith, it gives us life.
Sweet grass: attracts positive and negative energies. Innocence can also attract both
energies, but love has the power to transform negative energies and turn them into light.
The coyote, the wolf and also the mouse belong to this direction. Coyote: intelligence.
Coyote invites you not to take yourself too seriously. Is someone is taking advantage of
you? Are you too trusting? Mouse: there are secret paths and forgotten parts of yourself
that are seeking your attention. Mouse encourages you to let go of old experiences and
shows you the holes in your energy field. Get rid of any victim attitudes and find the
strength to regenerate. Do you trust yourself enough? You are able to adapt to any
circumstance, and this is true power. Wolf: he teaches you who you are, your power,
your trust, your love. Wolf symbolizes faith and innocence. His sense of family is strong,
he is loyal. Communication, verbal and non-verbal. Intuition, trust in what naturally
attracts you.
Meditate on the wolf, and learn how to sing to the moon, how to trust, how to love
everything, how to enjoy life. Meditate on the sun, on how it warms your skin and your
heart; on the joy you feel when you can relax and trust. Let yourself be carried away into
your third chakra and a healthy self esteem. The South promises you deep healing and
regeneration of your faith and joy. Sing, dance and smile to give thanks to the existence
of the wonderful life you have. Wild geese: space and love. Freedom and union.
Coordination and communication. It teaches us the true brotherhood that transforms
us from separate beings into connected beings, healing our feeling of loneliness. The
opposite of patriarchy is not matriarchy, but fraternity.
EL NORTE (NORTH)
Key words: union, unconditional love, integrity. Follow the heart, the central calm
beyond life and death, right action with right prayer. Discernment.
The direction of the North is 'beyond logic', it is complete union, joins the dimensions,
unites life with death, gives space for a new beginning. No matter what you know, no
matter what you do, do it your way, and always do it with all your heart. There is no
wisdom greater than the wisdom that comes from the heart. So let the rules help you,
but be guided by the heart. We heal when our hearts reach a frequency that makes us all
part of the same family. This frequency is the frequency of the fourth chakra; it is the
love that brings us contemplation, faith, peace and brotherhood.
Geese: they remind us that everything is connected. Winter is connected to summer.
North is connected to South. The innocence of the child of the south leads to the
knowledge of the wise man or woman of the north; the innocence of the heart leads us
to deep understanding.
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The pole star: from the earth it seems as if the whole sky moves around the pole star.
The pole star is seen as the central point from where calmness comes; it guides us, and
reflects the place in our centre that is always at peace.
The animals: each animal has a place on the wheel of directions, but the spirits of all the
animals are found in the North. This symbolizes integration. An animal naturally lives
from its heart, with its instinct intact, from its centre. It reminds us of our human
psyche in its natural and healthy state.
The buffalo: this is the guiding spirit of the North. The buffalo continues its path slowly,
but steadily, without rushing but with immense strength, nobody can move it from its
path... this is the path of the heart. His incredible back reminds us that we have to make
an effort to receive some of God's blessings. His head symbolizes the heavenly or high
regions, the divine. In the case of the buffalo, the head is very wide and this shows us the
need to connect the mundane and the spiritual to find what we're looking for. The
message that the buffalo brings is to act from the heart, but without forcing things –
doing the things that we have to do, and letting everything flow naturally. In order to
remain in abundance, it is important to honour what we already have, the gratitude that
brings us abundance.
In some traditions the North is connected to the wind and air, with smoke; in others,
with the earth.
The cedar: this is the plant that belongs to the North. Cedar cleanses the air and lifts the
spirit.
The experiments of quantum physicists, such as those involving the separation of the
smallest particles (photons), have revealed that everything that once was connected,
remains connected in a subtle way. There is an energetic connection that unites
everything in this universe. What we see as empty, is not as empty as we have imagined.
There is no difference between you and me; there is an optical illusion of separation and
difference, but at heart we are identical. Everything that is on the inside is on the
outside: as above, so below. This explains why someone who is expressing something
from the bottom of his or her heart, automatically expresses what we all feel.
The problems began when we started to believe the illusion of separation, and now we
are all encountering the real need to remember and revive this power of union within
our hearts.
We are all one, and together we have the possibility of a new potential of conscious
awakening, which in this card is symbolized by the human baby that is sleeping, but
already fully developed. We already have everything we need, we just have to wake up
and realize our true power. Something big is trying to pass from the subconscious to the
conscious. The collective consciousness is ready to reveal a beautiful fruit: the true deep
connection between ourselves and the universe (the divine). What we see in the world is
a mirror of what we have created in our heart.
Are you a victim or are you powerful? Are you suffering or do you trust? Do you
connect or do you resist flowing with what really feels good to you? Do you recognize all
your facets, even those you do not love? We are not separate beings: what you feel, all
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beings feel; what you vibrate, others vibrate too. Your existence is of unimaginable value
and it's your job to let what you have inside shine out.
We all have the same immensity of the universe in our hearts, because we are part of it
all. Have faith in the unconditional love that you feel in your heart. That is real and very
powerful. We need your light: trust in love and make it shine. Help the world to awaken
its potential. We are all of one heart and we are all seeking union.
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KALI - LA MADRE DIVINA (KALI – THE DIVINE MOTHER)
How scared we are of Kali. We fear what we do not understand, what we do not know,
what we have not experienced. Kali understands everything because she does not label
things. With our judgement we create both good and evil. She neither judges nor fears.
Her tongue is out which symbolizes that you must understand all the flavours in order
to know. You cannot understand the light if you do not understand the darkness. When
you understand Kali, she no longer frightens you – she becomes a friend and renews
your strength. Her blue colour reminds us of her illumination, she is the one who
knows, because she has experienced, has sought and has found. She is courage.
Kali tells us to 'trust' in the first impulse, before the mind gets involved. Kali nourishes
the innocent child, but beheads the demon in us. She is fair. She frees us from the
demons in our mind that torture us. Destruction is transformation, you just have to
know what it is necessary to transform, what to destroy, and what it is necessary to
cultivate. She wears a chain of 52 skulls around her neck, the 52 letters of the Sanskrit
alphabet, a symbol of knowledge. She knows that the most brilliant light can appear in
the deepest darkness.
Kali is the mother who throws us into the water, so that we may learn to swim alone –
she trusts that we can.
Kali is also sexual, we have many taboos and fears that have to do with our sexuality and
our sexuality is a great power, it is an important issue. How can something that is so
good for us be so bad? Kali enjoys everything; she drinks the nectar of life. She vibrates
with the pulse of the universe; it is her nature. Are you being yourself? Do you know
yourself? Are you enjoying life? Are you courageous? Strong? Or do you spend the day
categorizing, putting limits on yourself? Her posture reminds us that we have to dance
through life, firm, without fear; she is totally in balance, with confidence and joy.
She is wearing a skirt of right hands, and this is an important symbol. She is cutting our
karma. The right hand represents action. She frees us from our karma, our patterns and
limitations. She is inviting you to be what you have always wanted to be, so put your
whole heart into it!
We are beings of peace, the most innocent beings in the universe. Stop seeing the bad in
yourself, and stop seeing the evil in others. What are you creating? Love, firmness,
humility, respect, and joy. Ix Chel seeks and she risks making a mistake, but follows her
heart. Flexibility. She puts her whole soul and the strength of her creativity into her
search for her destiny. She is related to the night, with acceptance and transformation of
her own darkness. Maturity. The incense burner and the datura plant: wisdom and
knowledge. You have experienced small deaths, powerful experiences that have served
as lessons. Snakes: medicine and wisdom. The shape of DNA: the need to attract your
dreams, your intuition. What do you want to manifest? Everything is connected. Use
your knowledge well and from your hands will fall stars. The right sleeve of her dress
(action) in the colours of the rainbow: healing power. She connects us with the night,
the moon and the stars. She regenerates in the night and she needs the night to dream.
She hands herself over to the depths and silence to find herself, to release and purify
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herself. She uses the night as wise preparation for death. She welcomes new possibilities.
The moon controls the water of the emotions: don't drown in your emotions, don't
make a victim of yourself, and if you are doing this, become aware of it. You reign over
your emotions, they shouldn’t reign over you. See things as they are, without
sentimentality, without guilt and without drama but with vision and strength. The stars
remind us to shine. The owl: intuition, knows how to lead others through the dark night
of the soul. There are people around you that need you. Observe the darkness to get to
know it. It all starts in the dark, and with the call of the light. Be aware: you create your
life and your circumstances, programmes and archetypes without realizing it. Sharpened
senses. You are able to see what is not visible and hear what is not said. You have a great
sensitivity that you have not valued enough. Have faith in what you see and hear and
receive. The owl is often silent, but when the owl sings the entire night listens. Silence
and introspection can help you to give depth to whatever you decide to express.
Meditate on the power of the word. The wolf reminds you of who you are. Strength.
Powerful communication. It connects you from the heart to the members of your clan,
to humanity. Your song matters, your expression will be heard by others. Life in
community, respect for the family, your children, your parents. True freedom: the wolf
is a symbol of the harmonious life in community and of freedom. These two ideals can
only coexist harmoniously when we know how to love from the heart. The wolf is a
symbol of this love. He reminds us to love what we have: cherish it and do not waste it.
But also to use all the forces gathered to advance and grow. Trust your heart, listen to it
and express it. Intuition. Have faith in what you feel, smell, hear and then run with the
wind, enjoy the freedom and the absolute love for humanity you feel in your heart.
Admiration towards life.
Divine feminine. Love. Calmness and tranquillity in the heart. Obedience. Firmness.
Courage. Humility. Prudence. Faith. This is the energy of the Muse, the one who
inspires. The Mother energy. Sisterhood.
The energy of Saint Mary has always existed. The sages of the Amazon see the energy of
Saint Mary at the dawn of the sun, in the sweet night, the stars and the white moon. It is
also something that we have not respected and taken much care of in the years of
patriarchy. Reconnection with the strength of this energy is very necessary for the
salvation of this planet. In our competitive times we have become mutilated women,
very separate from our inner mother. We have shown a great lack of respect towards the
archetype of mother within us and within Mother Earth. And this is reflected in how we
treat the world, the mother we all share.
For a man, the power of Saint Mary means to draw inspiration from the energy of the
Mother, work on possible emotions of fear or contempt toward women. Often this
relationship has to do with the behaviour of your physical father toward your physical
mother, or the real opinion that he had toward women in general.
Sometimes Saint Mary looks at you with such purity and love, that she makes you feel
uncomfortable; she tells you to observe your conscience and clean up your heart. If you
move with love and awareness, even the way in which you move changes, you are more
in the present, more secure, more in harmony with the universe.
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This is the energy of the one who prays and it is important to know how to pray; if you
pray as a victim you get trapped in this energy and it weakens you. True prayer is a
strong feeling of already having created what you wish to bring to the world.
Sheep: faith in goodness, in your dreams, in your hopes and ideals and walking the path
of peace. The sheep speaks of community, instead of society. Looked at from their dark
side, this may indicate a certain positioning as a victim and credulity.
The dog: related to water, the element of the emotions, and with protection and loyalty.
Unconditional love. The dog teaches us to take many breaks when we are exhausted, to
play and to greet people with great attention, respect and joy. It senses danger in time,
before it enters its territory.
Healing potential. Each person has his or her own healing side (medicine man or
woman). This healing potential is a big part of what you have come to offer to the world.
This is what wants to develop within you. The dress of the Medicine Woman shows the
colours of the chakras, her feet have roots, her white eyes show us that she is in deep
trance. When we have roots we can fly high, without fear of getting lost. Joy and
connection to the earth. Let go of rigidity. She reminds us of our hips, navel, uterus, the
soles of the feet. She celebrates life, the love of life. Mystery, abundance, healthy
sensuality. She changes everything she touches, her cooking nourishes the soul, her
singing brings peaceful sleep, her embrace gives strength. She is mistress of the
elements; she purifies the water, transforms through fire, is one with the earth and flies
through the air.
Leopard: overcoming shyness. Speed and calmness. Truth and faithfulness. The leopard
is patient, it attacks when it is sure of its victory and it doesn't waste its energy. It is less
aggressive than other felines. A symbol of tolerance and flexibility.
Red kite: messenger. Power of vision. It guides you toward the goal of your life.
Courage. Clarity. Discernment. Rectitude. Related to the sun, light, fire and a bright and
clear sense of direction. Kundalini energy. When the kite appears we start to move
toward our goals more dynamically. Are you being attacked by other people? Look
around you, life sends us signs, our comments and actions can hurt others. The bird has
a lot to do with the meaning of the 14th card, Temperance, in the classic Tarot deck.
When I saw this 14th card (in the classical tarot deck) I was very surprised by the clear
similarity with ‘La Mujer Medicina’. The card represents the teaching of an elevated
expression of vision and psychic forces.
Interpretation: this card invites you to look inward. The conversion process does not
require external influences at this stage of the integration of opposites. You must look
inside yourself to find the hidden treasure.
Question: what are the opposites, within you or in your life, which you hope to unify?
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LAS ABUELAS (THE GRANDMOTHERS)
This is a call from the female ancestors. You are not alone. Let things come to you.
When we are open and we don't have to protect ourselves, we enter into a sacred space
within us. This changes everything, we attract light, we attract truth, clarity and vision.
The Grandmother also observes our doings with a certain sadness. This is the gaze of
the Mother Earth who loves us and hopes that her children will see her again in all her
beauty. She sees our suffering and how we make others suffer, she sees our confusion.
But she knows that there are things that one has to learn on one's own. When you
realize that everything you see vibrates within you, you understand that if you raise your
inner vibration, you raise the outer vibration. Our power is much bigger than what our
ego imagines, but to get there you have to leave your ego behind. This is the hard part.
This is our resistance, our deepest fear. The Grandmothers open the door to vision and
the sixth chakra; they connect this world with the astral. They open our eyes to value the
gift of the body, which we have received to contemplate the amazing beauty of creation.
Change is here, in this body. In the present and nowhere else. This is how important
your existence in this precise incarnation is, in this present moment with everything you
have or don’t have. To realise this is why we have all come here, one by one. The spider:
the shadows no longer scare you and when they approach you know that this is an
opportunity to bring them into the light and grow. Spiders teach you about invisible
connections. Astral travel. Spirit guides (perhaps ancestors): your guides ask permission
to stand firmly behind you, but they need your permission to be able to help you. This
connection is real. They want to remind you why you have come here; they want to
guide you on your path. You have to remember to do something that inspires you in
life. Does your work inspire you?
The maraca: this is the voice of the ancestors. Listen and they will teach you to express
your heart. They are in the stones, in the stars, in the sacred chants, in wild nature; they
are in the voice that comes from your heart and your intuition.
The owl: awakens in you the power to hear and see things that you forgot to see. It
opens your senses. It teaches you a lot about communication.
Observe your maternal lineage, the grandmothers of your family and your possible
spiritual teachers. Observe your life and see if there are similarities between the life that
you are living and the lives that your ancestors lived. If there are similarities and
repetitions, keep in mind that these may be important – they represent family karma
and you are the person who has everything needed to resolve these issues and grow,
thanks to your personal observation. (“Pain travels through families until someone is
ready to feel it”)
Potential is what you really are. It is the only thing that hasn't changed in the whole of
your life. You are God. Become God. This is what the Buddha and Jesus knew.
There is always the temptation to hate and despise what you love the most, which is
closest to you. DON’T DO IT! THAT’S WHAT YOU ARE. Accepting your beauty is
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much more difficult and much more work than accepting your darkness – because it
seems blasphemous.
At the end of the Book 'Siddhartha' by Herman Hesse, Siddhartha (Buddha) allows
Govinda to kiss his forehead, to help his friend to understand his mystery. At this
moment Govinda sees the death and suffering of thousands of Siddhartha’s in past lives
in different ways and forms (as illustrated in the card). This was the ancestral memory
of Siddhartha’s past lives. He had lived many times, had died and suffered repeatedly, in
order to free himself from suffering at the end. He had fully awakened to his full
potential and with this had been freed from suffering and had awoken the full memory
of his soul. To awaken your potential you have to accept the darkness and realize that
every form of darkness belongs to the light, is seeking the light, is calling your attention
to be able to break free. There is no evil, because all evil is seeking redemption; it’s
seeking consciousness, looking for liberation, looking for love. There is only
consciousness and unconsciousness. Surrender and resistance. There is love that
expands and fear that contracts.
No matter what you were before, no matter what your other lives were or your actions
and your mistakes of the past, all have been forgiven. Now you are here, and you have
the chance to see your potential and to express it in the way you want, the way that calls
you most strongly from all the possible ways. Well, realize that this potential is the only
real thing that exists, and that this life is your chance. Look at yourself and when you do
this with all the courage and honesty of your soul, you will understand that you are
absolutely EVERYTHING. You are absolute. You are woman and you are man; you are
mother and daughter; you're Jesus and you're Judas; you are matter and you are soul;
you are the one who makes others suffer and you are the one suffering; you are creator
and destroyer; you are the innocent and you are the sinner; you are life and death; you
are a murderer and you are a saint… Live your potential and serve the world.
Tantra is the encounter with real love, the understanding of true divine power that can
be freed by making love and gives us the tools for the healing of an emotionally abused
genital area. I am talking about the connection that we sometimes establish when we
give ourselves to this union, when we experience oneness with another. This is only
possible if we make love in the present, free from excitement, from expectations,
without projections and without imagination. To feel tantric power, it is important that
the movements come from the woman and are in harmony with the pulse of creation,
with her own inner rhythm. The tantric man is the artist who is inspired by his spiritual
muse. The tantric man feels the power hidden in every woman, in every human being,
in every being; feels its mystery, and listens with all his senses in order to understand its
mystery. His energy is the most innocent interpretation of male sexuality. He is beyond
sex and the limits that we have established. Perhaps the best way to understand love is to
go inward, to awaken love in the heart, and it may even be useful to practice celibacy for
a while. Water represents the emotions, which are calm and transparent. His hair
symbolizes his power: the tantric man is fully conscious of his power and does not need
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to use it. And when he releases his power he does it naturally and innocently, not with
the desire to possess or manipulate, this gives him an astonishing true beauty. The lion:
masculinity and sacred sexuality, strength, victory, courage, wisdom, authority. The lion
lights the fire of the truth inside of you. As an animal of the sun it gets rid of the
shadows of the dark. It shows you the strength of roaring and of changing things you
don't like. The swan among ducks: the tantric being does not have to prove anything to
others and therefore stands out like a swan among ducks. This is his or her beauty, and
this can also be the reason why s/he can sometimes feel very alone.
The snail encourages us to go inward to release the old and to receive something new
before bringing it out into the world. The snail teaches us the strength of slowness and
meditation.
The peacock in all its colour symbolizes the outside world. The white peacock
symbolizes the inner world: are we working towards self-realization or towards the
growth of the ego?
The plant in his hand symbolizes his connection and deep respect toward the Great
Mother.
Affirmation: ‘Soft look, soft face, soft heart’.
I have specifically related this card to the second chakra, the Hara, the Svadhisthana or
the centre of the self. This is the place where we feel fear and anger at times when we are
unbalanced, and where we can overcome the violence within us and transform it into
creativity and compassion when we connect with the peace of a Buddha. The Buddha
has been freed from fear and rage. It is not that these emotions are no longer within
him, however he doesn't place any importance on them. It is one thing to control fear
and anger, this is forced; and it is another thing to let them go, break free. The first step
is acceptance, the courage to face the monster, which is also part of us and thus little by
little convert it, through our observation, into an ally. Observation opens the door
toward consciousness, and with it a thousand more doors are opened.
What is left to us when we die? What is the only thing that can serve us? We cannot take
our loved ones or our wealth with us. The only thing that serves us is consciousness. If
we realize that we too can awaken the memories and the consciousness of a Buddha
within us, we can also enter in Buddha’s immortality. I once read that the last word of
the Buddha was ‘sammasati’, which means 'remember who you are'. His higher self
appealed to his lower self to not be afraid. Fear is human but we can consciously choose
to release it. The Buddha can teach us how to escape Maya, illusion, suffering.
The white flower: the flower of the purity of the thoughts of a Buddha and his heart. The
flower grows from the darkness of the earth, from a seed, toward the light, and with its
flowering shows its true beauty. It symbolises the potential that we all have to flourish in
life.
The swan: the symbol of the awakening of the true beauty and purity within the self. It
teaches us how to love and respect ourselves. Its whiteness relates the swan with the sun
and as a freshwater bird, it is connected with the emotions.
When we awaken our inner beauty we can see it in all beings. This is a beauty far
beyond appearances. When we visualize a swan we generally see it quietly floating on
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calm waters, it reminds us to calm the emotions and the power of silence; it encourages
us to meditate and look within. But it can also indicate an inner loneliness, sadness and
melancholy.
The half-face transformed into a jaguar indicates a strong power. We often confuse
strong decision making with discernment. A warrior is always walking the path of the
heart, otherwise she or he would become a dictator and manipulator. Try to think and
contemplate before you make a decision, but as soon as you hear your heart, follow this
vibration and walk your path free of doubt. A warrior tries to calm the constant internal
conversation. You have sharp senses as part of your wild nature, listen to the sounds of
the world like you listen to the sounds of your heart. The warrior thinks of his or her
own death when things are clouded and confused. This helps to find detachment and
helps the warrior not to take himself or others too seriously; it gives strength and
serenity. Renewed strength. A warrior’s spirit will not let himself be ‘simply carried
along’, nor complain constantly. Whether you win or lose is not so important; what is
important is the path, your intention, and living it as if it was your last battle on earth.
Impeccability in all your actions. Each action gains strength if it is done with the attitude
of the warrior; a life without this strength is an impotent life; everything hurts you and
makes you unhappy. I am talking about the strength of the will and this is born in the
Hara, the second chakra. A warrior is going to be tempted to misuse this strength, that is
part of the learning process. “The key – to raise your consciousness… and use your
growing power safely and benevolently – is to examine your heart with the
consciousness of a warrior, without fear. It is not that the warrior has no fear, but he will
not be influenced by it.” (Alberto Villoldo) Finding the diamond in yourself and in all
beings, gives you flexibility, serenity and the ability to forgive your mistakes and those of
others. The snake protects and observes the diamond; it observes your motives.
The jaguar guides you to the world of dreams, to the waters, full of mysteries, to the
hidden and the underground world of your psyche. It teaches you the difference
between feeling and emotion. Trust your interior and listen to what you've always felt in
your heart. It teaches you to follow the call of your soul.
Yellow rays: activation of the third chakra. Do you feel confidence or pride? Inner
strength or lack of self-esteem? Light blue rays: activation of the throat chakra. A
warrior speaks with care, just a few profound words that clearly express their truth.
Dark blue rays: activation of the third eye chakra, the warrior has a strong spiritual
vision, which they have to rely on.
Our beautiful Jesus, who gave his life for our ignorance, our fears, our stupidity, our
unconsciousness – surely he was the most poorly treated teacher in the history of
mankind! And what would we give to have known him, felt the warmth of his gaze and
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presence, listened to his words…? Just as we have to clear the image of Jesus from its
ecclesiastical connotations, we have to clean our heart of doubts, fears and suspicions.
It could be that he was born knowing his faults, and by really knowing his own, he knew
the faults of all mankind. We are everything and everything is in us, whoever
understands this can start to love unconditionally.
What do you feel when you meditate on Jesus? Jesus symbolizes the part of us that is
unconditional love. He also shows us what we do not accept in ourselves and in all
beings; we know the answer, but due to lack of love we think we don't deserve
acceptance, and forgiveness. We are traitors, accusers, torturers; we are ignorant and we
are murderers, but we are also Jesus Christ. We have to free ourselves from the rest.
Recognising our faults helps us to overcome them. When you consciously pay attention
to your shadow, you turn it into light. (Related cards: Light and Shadow, Forgiveness). A
person who opens their heart chakra has managed to meet their inner Jesus and this
energy is going to completely change everything around them when they radiate it
outwards. The power of love and forgiveness are immense. Focus on the heart chakra.
We need to transcend the doubt that often accompanies the positive nature of our pure
wishes. Then they become true prayer that can heal and positively influence our lives.
Another important meaning that this card can have is connected to the relationship
between father and child. Observe if this is relevant in your surroundings.
Now is the time of the return of the divine feminine. Many years of patriarchy have
unbalanced men, women and our entire planet. This card is about the need to balance
these forces. Fifth chakra: the power of the word and the correct connection between the
heart and the mind. The head of the owl / feminine qualities: dedication, love,
compassion, patience and harmony. The head of the eagle / masculine attributes:
reasoning, logic, strength, passion, courage. Vision. The horns of the blue deer:
innocence. We do not need a spirituality that nourishes one sex, one race, one path or
one aspect of our being. We are all brothers and sisters and we all have to forgive. The
horns symbolise invisible antennas that help us to receive subtle information, giving us a
new sensitivity and insights. The strength of our heart can be restored, innocence can be
recovered, one can be purified. A new sweetness and softness. It reminds you to return
to your natural wild state. Intuition. Overcoming of ego. Let the inner sun shine.
Flowers of tobacco: the connection with God, speaking from the heart and protection,
knowledge. The turtle: Mother Earth and the feminine aspect of the father-mother
creator. Its shell above symbolizes the sky, and its shell below, the earth. This union is
the marriage of the two aspects of creation, male and female. A society without
hierarchy. The turtle does everything calmly. Trust your inner self, rely on your own
path and way of being. Wisdom. Fire: fire is the transforming power, its energy is male.
The forces of a fire are also the mirrors of the strength of the heart. Like water, fire is
very sensitive to prayers and sacred chants; its energy changes with prayers and songs –
its flames gain strength from the love that we give it. Fire can heal, purify, transform and
illuminate the heart. A meditation with fire would be a good idea because fire soothes
you and awakens your red heart, taking away your misconceptions and uncontrollable
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thoughts. This card may indicate that the time has come to develop the medicine man
within you, to balance the masculine and feminine forces within you.
Key words: action, but with the connotation of acting with patience. Taking
responsibility for what happens in your life, in your world. Observation. Mature, calm
masculine energy. Knowing when to act and when to be patient.
This card is connected to taking sides, accepting the path that was already foreseen for
you since before you were born. You may already feel the direction it is going in. It is a
question of finding the personal prophecy for your life. Each of us was born to do
something that serves the world and humanity. You may lose the red thread that
connects you to your inheritance a thousand times perhaps. Then you won't know
where you are going, or really remember what it was and what was calling you; but you
have to keep looking and you have to know that somewhere it is waiting for you.
However, only if you are looking for it, will it come to you. Search from impeccability,
search from good intentions. Live the dream of your life and be flexible in each moment
so that the feeling is not transformed into a technique. At those times when you have
lost the thread, in the darkest nights of your soul, look up at the stars until the next
morning when the sun warms your heart.
The grandfather is the most tender representative of true fatherly love, he is the
protector par excellence. There is nothing to fear, although right now it may be hard to
believe. Perhaps you are in one of these "dark nights of the soul', when you can't
remember anything and everything is uncertain (or on the contrary: perhaps you have
just reconnected with your true path). You are protected by the sky over your head, by
the stars that look down at you, by the land around you and under your feet.
The grasshopper: often appears at a time when you are afraid to take a step forward and
this often has to do with the reality that nobody has done it this way before. See how the
grasshopper has its own way of moving forward, and realize that a grasshopper only
jumps forward, never backward! A grasshopper seems to be still for a long time, but
when it jumps it seems to leap into new dimensions. Know when to be patient and when
to jump.
The praying mantis: as its name suggests, his posture reminds us of a position of prayer,
so he reminds us to follow our own 'religion'. Our own religion is what we carry with us
in our hearts. Have faith.
The tree: it speaks of our heritage and our duty to take care of the world, its inhabitants,
and of ourselves. It reminds us that we can only grow with strong roots. You have to
remember why you are here, who your true and spiritual ancestors are.
The fireflies: these are your lights at night, your hope, your guides, the part of you that
knows that there is something you were born to do; this is the strength of your dreams.
The eagle: here it represents the presence of God and that we are in contact with this
presence. Listen to the messages that he sends.
The grandfather represented: Mestre Raimund Irineu Serra.
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CONCIENCIA - EL DESAPEGO (CONSCIOUSNESS - DETACHMENT)
In his book 'Buddha' Deepak Chopra explains how, on the night of his enlightenment,
Buddha became the moon. In a deep state of meditation he reached detachment from all
the suffering of Maya, the illusion of his own existence and the existence of all beings. By
becoming the moon he became the spectator par excellence.
The inner work that this card talks about is freedom, the detachment from what you
most want, most fear, most hate and most love. This is not an easy job but it is an
important step toward detachment from the ego and the mind. Only in this way can you
'calm the demon' that causes suffering in your interior. If you cling to something (or
someone), this always leads to suffering, whether this something is good or bad. To be
free, you will have to let go... This is not to say that you have to leave your loved ones,
but rather detach from the loved and hated. Seeing the soap opera that we create with
our mind gives us the possibility of turning off this 'inner television'.
We realize that everything is illusion. It is our desires and fears that create our future.
When we think about something we are unconsciously making powerful mantras (I
want this, I fear this, I cannot do this...), and then we send them to the universe so they
may occur in the future. But this is not really being alive, being aware.
Other connotations: this card is related to the seventh chakra.
Open your mind to something wider. Observing the constant judgements that your
mind makes. It is about simply being, and not wanting to appear. It is related to a very
attentive passivity. It wants to remind us that we should not worry too much about what
other people think, should not be afraid of being ridiculed, and we should detach from
what we think we are and/or want to be.
It speaks to us of calm and tranquillity. Harmony and patience. Acceptance.
Mantra: ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’
LA MEDITACIÓN (MEDITATION)
We all meditate when we silently watch a sunset; when the fire of a bonfire brings us
calmness and suddenly there is nothing more than the fire; when we feel at peace. This
is when we have entered into a powerful space without thought. Sit up straight in these
moments, close your eyes, inhale, exhale and join the universe, join its beat. This is
meditation. Meditation connects us to everything, without exception. Meditation is not
the technique and is not the way we sit; it is what happens when we stop thinking. When
everything falls into place.
Observe the continual conversation that is going on inside you. If you want to reach
peace, meditation is the path. And a mind full of thoughts can never be at peace. If we
look into our interior we are opening up the possibility of change, transformation; and if
we observe our thoughts they can no longer enslave us.
Affirmation: ‘I am in the present'. Stop worrying about the problems of the past and the
fears of the future, or what others may think of you… Meditation empties you so that
you can enter something greater; when you manage to calm your thoughts, you open
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yourself to the universal knowledge and create space so that this knowledge can grow
within you. When you’re really at a difficult time in your life, you may find the practice
of meditation harder. First, your mind is excessively occupied with the cause of the
problem in the past and/or the thousands of possible outcomes and consequences in the
future. At this point, you stop taking care of yourself spiritually, and this weakens you so
that your own psychological attacks affect you energetically and physically. You are
experiencing a test. It is harder to return to your centre because something inside you
rebels. These moments come to teach you that you have all it takes to return to your
strength, because the strength is in you. Meditation is simply being in the present, free
of thoughts: just a few minutes a day can bring you health and balance. Meditate!
I believe that we all have dreams from time to time that are trying to say something and
that seem to come from outside us. These are dreams in which we leave our body and
this world behind and travel on the astral plane. Pay attention to them now. If you have
drawn this card take note of what you dream about. There are very few dreams that you
can't interpret for yourself; no one knows you better than you do, and you will simply
know when you find the meaning of a dream. There are many people who know their
potential, because they have had the courage to look with love at their own soul. They
know they can be as extraordinary as they feel that they are within. Because we are all
extraordinary. You can be all that you really want to be, but becoming this is a process
of alchemical transformation. And the transformation is usually painful. Just as fire
melts gold, love turns our acts into alchemy. To make our dreams a reality we must be
brave. They teach us to fly, to give us back the wings that we have forgotten that we
possess – we have forgotten them due to lack of courage. But it also takes courage to
unfold your wings and fly. The universe loves you even more if you are brave. The
universe rewards bravery. The mystical experience is always outside your comfort zone.
What are your real dreams? And when you know them, this card encourages you to
make them a reality. Not so much with ambition, but with a lot of love. It is a call to
listen to the messages from within, to pay attention to the little clues that the universe
sends to help you on your way. Your heart takes you where you need to be: feel it and go
with it. That way you will always find yourself exactly where you need to be.
This card also speaks of everything that is happening in different parallel worlds. This
could be a thought that comes to you in the morning and the conversation you hear in
the afternoon that deals with the same thought… These are the strange coincidences that
illuminate your day and your way. Pay attention to them.
Dream, trust, listen to yourself and to the voice of your heart; be clear about what you
want. And then don't hesitate any longer: let your dream guide you.
Key words: love and peace of mind.
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LLAMADA DE LAS PLANTAS SAGRADAS (THE CALL OF THE SACRED PLANTS)
(Since I wrote the texts for the Sacred Union cards in the year 2012 many things have
changed: I still think that sacred plants are an incredible tool for awakening
consciousness, but commercial exploitation and the awakening of the Ayahuasquera
'fashion' in combination with a very dense astral collective has turned taking this
medicine into a very delicate matter.)
When we want to learn something from an experience with these plants, which have the
power to accelerate our personal process in a integrated way, it is important to know
that what the plant does to us is sacred. It's important to find someone that can connect
us with the plant and its sacred use. What you are looking for is also looking for you.
The person or group that introduces us to their use for personal growth must be
genuine – if you have the slightest doubt, wait. Wait, but listen to the call of the plant
itself. Do not forget that the true teacher is the plant, but it is important to know how to
use it. When used appropriately, these plants can awaken and heal us, but I am sure that
the true potential of these plants is to teach us the qualities of God, to connect us with
the divine in each of us, to show us our true potential... giving us the gift of mystical
experiences to strengthen us, to awaken the regions in our brain that we still don't know
how to use and revive the ones that we have forgotten how to use. Sacred plants are
NOT drugs; they are medicines, or better said offerings from the Great Mystery for our
awakening, in its highest meaning. We are all touched by what is going on in the world
and we are all part of this world. Everything is connected and in all humility we have to
admit that everything that is outside is also inside. Usually we find it hard to accept this.
With a sick world around us we cannot be healthy on the inside and vice versa. When
we use these plants, we also open ourselves to the collective, and in these current times,
that can be tricky. On the other hand, when we start the healing of our internal wounds,
conscious power awakens in us the knowledge of how to heal the world; and what's
more, while we are healing our heart we are healing the world around us. When we heal
ourselves, we heal the world. Sacred plants allow us to see ourselves from a different
perspective. They broaden our senses and awaken new senses. The plant works with
what has been blocked and is resistant to personal growth in our mind; it confronts us
with our ego. If you have no intention of using sacred plants, drawing this card may be
telling you to get closer to nature. Maybe it’s time to listen to what nature has to tell you.
Take long walks and enjoy being alone in nature. Listen to the messages which can teach
you to be close to Mother Earth.
Why do we need to look at our shadow? Shamanism is constantly talking about the
theme of shadows. There is a certain movement that wants us to only look at our light,
our smiling faces, and this movement can also be seen in the world of spirituality. But as
long as we feel that something is rotting under the bed, we know that the house will
never be clean. To know yourself is to go to these depths.
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Nature teaches us that the darkest night is transformed into a new day when the time
has come. Darkness is nothing more than the absence of light. If we take a light into a
dark room, it will be filled with this light.
And it is especially when our light is beginning to shine, that we realize that shadows
also exist – all of a sudden we can see them. Seeing the shadow in yourself is a power;
seeing it in others without judging is a power too. However, only seeing the shadow in
others and not in yourself is to be blind – that is the ego. Normally we spend a lot of
time observing the errors in others and little observing ourselves. Thus we end up
muddy, as if our inner sky was cloudy.
Your dark side is waiting for your attention in order to heal, and then it will help you to
transform yourself into something new, a more complete being.
If your inner self is full of dark places, the world around you is too; if you have
accumulated violence in your inner self, you have to build walls around your exterior,
and have a shotgun next to your door to protect you. That is the law of attraction.
Overcome your fear and open your forbidden door! Now is the time, you have enough
light to face, accept and transform your shadows.
Related cards: Enfrentarse a los Miedos (Facing Fear) and Todos los Seres, un Solo
Corazón (All Beings, a Single Heart).
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LA VISION DEL ASTRAL (ASTRAL VISION)
This card shows a meditator who has become an empty bamboo cane, a channel for the
divine force. With the strength of his heart chakra he is transforming the universe,
raising his being toward pure existence. His prayer from the heart (not from the mind)
is powerful, a perfect mirror of the outer universe; he knows that he is the creator of his
world. Inside is like outside; outside is a mirror of what is on the inside…
When you're doing something wonderful, it is wonderful until the ego tells you: 'Look, I
am doing something wonderful.' Then it becomes ordinary and you lose the connection
to the divine channel. The channel is like the water that flows, it is not possible to 'trap'
this energy or think that is yours; it belongs to anyone who can connect to it. Your art is
to express it, no matter how; but however you do it, do it with all your heart, all your
soul.
The spider web: since the distant past the spider web has been a symbol of the invisible
ropes that connect us with totality or with the great matrix. It reminds us that we are
each the centre of our own world.
The spider is a shy animal, if she comes to you as a guide, she often does so carefully.
She humbly brings us her wisdom, we have to learn to see this creature as it is, and
appreciate its important function in nature. As the weaver of the great universal fabric,
she is linking the present with the past and the future; she is weaving destiny and she
may also wrap you in illusion (Maya) if you are not conscious. She wants us to
remember that we ourselves are the weavers of our history and destiny. Related to
dreams, she encourages us to believe in our dreams and make them a reality. She goes to
the dark corners of your heart to clean them and put them in order. A spider has eight
legs, and the number eight represents infinity because of its geometric form. She
reminds us that one cycle is followed by the next; she reminds us of the rhythms of life,
that the high points are followed by the low. The elegance with which she moves on her
web teaches us to maintain balance in everything we do; she encourages us to tread
carefully on the strings between life and death. The venom of a spider paralyses its
victim: ask yourself if there are areas in your life where you are paralysed.
Exercises: observe your world and watch how you are building it with every action and
thought.
We are like drops of water or the grass dancing, each one of us is dancing our own
dance in our own place, in our own body on this earth. We would do well to follow
natural movement, bending before the greatest forces. Who are we to think that we can
change the dance? The natural dance is always beautiful. The dance of our unconscious
ego is full of intention to prove something and often comes over as clumsy – we think we
are important and we take everything personally. This false importance is always
noticed, no matter how well we have practised our dance; if it does not come from the
heart we are not dancing well, we are not truly dancing. The key is love, and the steps of
our dance is our life itself.
The figure on the card carries its stem of grass in its hand; it has accepted its place in the
world and is now free. To reach freedom it is necessary to understand the dance of life
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with the heart, with the soul, and not with the mind. The bodhisattva is someone who is
illuminated, has felt and understood the union of the cosmos and his importance in it
deeply, has been freed from the illusion of his own existence and is now free to move
away from suffering. But the bodhisattva has decided to be reincarnated again and again
until all humans have awakened, he is returning as a service to others, he is returning
out of love toward his brothers and sisters.
The bodhisattva is the servant par excellence, and serves from his deep love for
humanity. He is pure compassion because he knows himself and knows that we are all
part of him. He lives his life from his heart and takes each step consciously.
Something in our most remote memory tells us that we are all one. Our true home is
this union. If a person reaches this understanding, she may feel a strong sense of unity
and at the same time great loneliness. The loneliness comes from the desire to fuse with
totality, because in the end it is this meeting that promises lasting peace.
Find peace, a corner where you can 'serve the world in meditation’, far from the
vibrations of the mass media. The real connection is in the heart, so we are never
separated: separation is an illusion. Find the here and now, and realize that you are
already living the life you've been waiting for all along. Your purpose is waiting to be
revealed…
Mantra: Om
LA TRANSFORMACIÓN (TRANSFORMATION)
The phoenix has built its nest; it settles on it and sets itself on fire. It burns itself up in
order to be reborn from the ashes. Observe your life. Take a piece of paper and draw
what you would like to find in your life. The phoenix is the messenger of a new era of
light, a symbol of the life that is reborn after death. The pure appearance of the phoenix
is positive and promises luck. Its wings symbolize the wind and responsibility; its tail,
the world of plants; its legs, the earth; its head, virtuosity; its back, right conduct and its
belly, reliability and truth. It brings peace and prosperity and symbolizes the union of
Yin and Yang. There is no evil in the phoenix; there is no evil in transformation.
Observe and act consciously to transform yourself. He is the God that recreates himself;
nobody can do this for you. One day we feel sad and another day we are pure joy. To
experience life you have to experience death. Our resistance stops our growth. Don't
fight sadness, fight resistance; let sadness teach you joy. Stop, observe yourself, find
yourself and transform yourself. Let die what needs to die, without resistance, so that
what has to be born from the ashes of your old self can be born. The tears of the phoenix
can heal wounds and his gaze brings the truth into the light of day. The wind that his
wings create purifies the air around you as well as your thoughts. Gentle in nature, he is
nourished by dewdrops and his wings will neither crush nor tighten. It may be that you
have lived through a very difficult stage, with challenges on the road that have tested
your faith and reason. Now it's time for the phoenix to fly and leave behind all that is
dead and useless. Be soft and gentle with yourself and find your resistance. The path is
the destination – celebrate the path. If you act in harmony with the laws of the universe,
you will be authentic. The phoenix is related to the transforming fire, the sun, truth and
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justice. He symbolizes an elevated form of the eagle and when he appears it may indicate
a fundamental change in your life, which promises to be very positive. This change talks
about growth and the renewal of your vital forces. He observes you with his gaze and
asks you to give your best so that you can receive the best of the universe; he connects
you with your higher self. He gives you light so that you can find balance and act with
patience, love, truth and peace. He only appears in times of peace and prosperity.
Therefore, this is the time that begins for you now. Dare to grasp an opportunity, others
will come, they will multiply. If you don't try you could stop the flow of the
transforming movement. You have nothing to fear, the light of virtue is with you as long
as you listen to your heart.
Affirmation: ‘The power of change cures everything in me'.
‘Like the phoenix, I am reborn into the light of the sun'
‘My growth is unlimited, infinite and eternal, as long as I do not crush what I touch'.
Life puts us to the test. Sometimes the trials are small, and sometimes very big. What is
happening is NOT more than you can bear. It is a lesson. If you have many tests in your
life, the universe wants you to show your courage. Have the courage to grow. What
awaits you is calm, wisdom. Imagine yourself at a future time, after having faced the
challenge and accepted the test as a teaching. This will give you the key to overcoming it.
The staff of the phoenix symbolizes power and energy and bears the inscription 'as I
came into this world, so will I have to leave it'. Overcoming the fear of death gives us
power and insight.
Use all your reserves of energy to make your dreams come true. You may not get
everything you dream of, but don't build walls or put on masks; don't let fear paralyse
you and stop your intention to grow. Protection also comes with the right intention,
from a pure heart. In the end there is nothing to achieve, you only need to look within
and remember who you truly are.
The fire instead of hair: the confidence that everything is as it has to be has become an
energy, which expands and protects, transforming darkness into a starry night. It is the
protection that comes from your living heart.
The lion: he fearlessly observes and acts with decision. He scares away the shadows.
Courage, self-esteem, action, fire and the sun, he reminds you of the warmth of life, of
the treasure you carry in your centre. Act from tranquillity and let your inner sun shine.
Related to the third chakra. The shield with the white rose: the white rose symbolizes the
purity and innocence of the heart that serves as protection.
This card is related to the long dark night of the soul: the time in which you find
yourself in a situation that for you represents what you most fear in life... and that night
usually comes when least expected and without warning... but you can only be involved
in this dynamic when your mastery of life indicated that you are ready...' (Gregg
Braden, 'Secrets of the Lost Mode of Prayers'). This is a time of powerful initiation; it can
be frightening, but now we know that we have everything we need to overcome it.
Affirmation: ‘Even in the long dark night of my soul, I will not stop trusting my heart.
My faith leads me to the next morning!’
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LA CONFIANZA (TRUST)
This card speaks of our inner child, who never loses faith and never hides behind the
mask that we want to put on sometimes in life. The child in this card is swinging back
and forth without fear over a path that seems to go between two worlds: an inner world,
a world full of possibilities, a creative and natural world, a world that is like our secret
garden, where we are safe, healthy and all have immense capabilities, a world where we
are all part of the same thing, a world of compassion and true communication; and
another world that is a constructed world, made of cement, a world of words, masks and
elbows, an inflexible world, guided by the mind, where we have to fight to win, a world
where we are separate and alone, a world of walls and limitations.
When our hearts are innocent, like the heart of a child, we cannot be scared by the walls
of others, because we have wings to fly over them. This child is between two worlds, he
can exist in both and is performing this balancing act without the slightest problem. His
purity is intact and is giving absolute confidence and vibrant energy. The confidence
comes from his heart because he feels and knows that this is his path. Have this
confidence in whatever you do or have to do. When we are adults we have often lost this
self-confidence. Too often we have heard that something is not possible, we have
hesitated and we have fallen. Often, when we experience doubt our acts lose their
beauty, their spontaneity, their grace, their truth. We don't doubt the act, we doubt
ourselves. Who am I to be able to achieve this? we wonder and... oops... we have already
fallen. Now it is time for you to become this child; you cannot doubt, you are walking in
the right direction. Perhaps the path is unclear, not wide or easy; you may not know
where it is taking you, but walk it with the euphoria, joy and security of this child.
White rune: the white rune above the child's head is the rune of absolute confidence, it
represents true hope. A present full of possibilities. As a blank paper is full of
possibilities, you can draw your whole life on it and choose the colours and shapes. The
obstacles of the past could become the doors that open to new beginnings. It is possible
that now it may seem very easy to talk about your shortcomings in public, because you
no longer care about the masks that others wear. Yours no longer fits you and you want
to be free of it. Free yourself now. Others will not fix on your limitations, but rather on
the beauty of your truth.
EL PERDÓN (FORGIVENESS)
What is more beautiful than forgiveness? What is sweeter, more soothing and healing?
Rancour makes us bitter and transforms our faces into deformed masks; with
forgiveness in our hearts, our eyes remain alive and our soul intact, our being radiates
beauty. What do you have to prove? If we hold rancour we are full of the fear that
someone will realize that we are not so important. However, the one who really has to
realize that is you! You mustn't take yourself so seriously! With each conflict think: now
I have another job, another chance to show myself that I can forgive, fully and truly.
If you see the errors of others, realize that what you are seeing is yourself. We have had
many lives; we have been saints and murderers. When we accept this truth we can begin
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the work of true forgiveness. We can begin to forgive ourselves. The biggest job is to
forgive yourself.
The three shadows behind the face on the left in the card represent the three aspects of
forgiveness: we need to forgive what we have been in all our reincarnations, we need to
forgive others, and we need to forgive ourselves. The kiss of forgiveness: I have tried to
paint this as something sacred, something that takes us toward its warmth and
sweetness, heals us. It purifies us like the waves of the sea, it covers us with the joy of
flowers and warms us like the rays of the sun.
The sea: the water of the emotions. Water purifies. If we consciously sink into the sea, or
a river, we can free ourselves of many things that we no longer need. Flowers: look at the
flowers, they are messengers from God to tell us how much he loves us. They are
enlightened beings from the kingdom of plants, their message is the love of God. It is the
message of forgiveness, the message of the joy that comes when we forgive and we know
that we are always living in love.
On a starry night a small man appeared and gestured to me to follow him. I couldn't see
him well in the dark, but I followed him, because he radiated a reassuring benevolence.
We reached a mountain village, and there I saw a golden altar that illuminated the night.
Again he turned to me and gestured for me to come closer. This time I could see his
face, he was a Buddhist monk and he had a mocking smile. He opened the altar and
showed me the inside of this valuable and sacred altar: it was empty! (Vision after asking
'who am I?')
We are empty altars full of possibilities and our minds and our egos are constantly
creating a person, a separate person, individual and unhappy. Let's think for a moment
what this world would be like if we left this work to our soul. If in our creation of the
world we were to look more at the possibilities than the limitations...
This is our creative power. What are you creating in your life? How important is your
personal vibration in terms of what is happening around you, in your life, in the world?
Are you consciously or unconsciously creating and attracting the events of your life? With
what kind of vibration do you create - especially with today's abuse of the drugs of
television, Internet, scary movies and bad news? What reality are we creating?
“The key is that when we ask for something to happen, we give power to what we do
not have. Prayers for healing give power to sickness. Prayers for rain reinforce drought.
To continue asking for those things only gives more power to the things that we would
like to change...then, if you do not pray for rain what do you do? Pray rain! ...It's
simple...I begin to have the sensation of rain..."
(Gregg Braden 'Secrets of the Lost Mode of Prayer', page 16)
The Triskele: symbol of the Druids, which represents evolution, learning and growth.
The balance between body, mind and spirit. Past, Present and Future.
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The Triskele is the symbol of a doorway to those innumerable worlds, in which the three
main worlds of the human psyche are divided into what we experience as reality, the
astral memory and consciousness of God.
Reality does not exist in the way that we think it does. Our personal reality is only one of
countless realities.
Those who wore a gold pendant bearing this symbol were the initiates, the shamans of
that era; they knew of other realities and could travel to them. Meditation with this
symbol opens the door to other planes, it gives us the awareness that there is always
more than one world, one path, one possible outcome. It can fill us with a feeling of
inexpressible complexity, and at the same time with a simplicity that comes from the
centre, from the heart, from balance.
It encourages us to open all the senses to see the possibilities and to follow the path that
seems most appropriate from the point of the simplicity of the centre. Always looking
for this state of peace, the centre is like the eye of the hurricane that remains calm and
unchanged in spite of the movement in the periphery. It represents the deepest core, the
witness who remains unperturbed despite the constant ups and downs of the duality of
happiness and misfortune. (De Gerd Ziegler, Tarot Espejo del Alma, la Fortuna)
The Triskele also reminds us that an experience in this (our) reality is never the same for
different people, because each one of us carries our own memory, our trauma, our
experience and our 'point of view'. It can teach us tolerance.
If this card appears you must make an attempt to see the totality and observe the
possible meanings of the events. Nothing is merely coincidence, many patterns are
repeated constantly to teach you something. You have to make an effort to learn
something about the vast dimension of your reality. Open your eyes and listen to your
heart: many impulses come from there and many truths are left without being heard, if
you do not open yourself to intuition.
Exercise: meditate with a candle that illuminates the Triskele, at night with all other
sources of light turned off. Meditate looking at the Triskele with your eyes half-closed.
What do you sense when looking at the Triskele, how you feel and what meaning comes
up for you with this symbol?
The woman of today has learned to make love through the man who does not know
how to do it. That is the terrible mess in which love finds itself. From the beginning of
time, women have been manipulated and influenced to feel that the most refined
expression of their love is to please men sexually. Just the opposite is true: the most
delicate expression of love is that a man delights a woman. And this can only be
achieved when he is able to forget his concern for orgasm and arousal, and is sufficiently
generous or conscious of love to get and receive the divine energies of women. For him,
these energies are the finest expression of female love…
On teaching women to give pleasure and satisfy men since ancient times, man has
taught her to desire him and to project herself sexually to awaken his arousal. He has
turned her into an addict with a physical and emotional craving to lure him sexually.
And the man has achieved this by not fulfilling his duty of love...
The woman did not have any testimony of love, her true nature, since there is no man
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who can love her properly. Thus she settled for sexual arousal, as the man had
persuaded here that it was love…
Man caused this addiction by teaching her that sexual relations have no other purpose
than to conceive children or satisfy his pleasure.
Man, in his selfishness, taught women to be selfish. He taught her how to excite him
physically when there is no love; to project herself sexually for their mutual joy through
clothing, make up, dance and poses... The cold narcotic of sex stunned women and, like
all addictions, generated fear: fear of losing him or losing his attention, and fear of other
women through jealousy and competition among women. If she did not satisfy him,
another woman would do so soon. And with this thought emerged a threat sown by her
bedfellow: if she did not comply, she would be abandoned.
As a reaction to this masculine outrage, women discovered the power of their sex, the
power to deceive a man and manipulate him without giving him the fruit or refusing it
when he wanted it. But the spell of this power, as it is largely imaginary, soon faded after
letting him get into her body. He soon tired of her and would go with another woman…
Male sexuality is sown in the woman in the sexual act and, given its fundamental nature,
remains within her. As a result of this, women periodically experience a faint shadow of
depression that they are unable to explain, but accept as normal. This shadow clouds
their perception making them feel like an emotional being that is not herself. This same
male sexuality is an active, selfish and extroverted impulse that turned the world into a
violent place, deprived of love…
Woman, in her natural state, does not depend on man. She loves him, and in love there
are no dependencies, or ties, or fear of loss. She is the principle of passive attraction, an
irresistible living magnet that attracts the right man to her, to love her divinely and
truly. Here there is no choice that is worth…
(Text: Barry Long. ‘Making Love'. I would highly recommend reading this.)
The true woman (or woman in her natural state) is an irresistible magnet that attracts
the right man. She does not have to flirt or pose so that the right man feels irresistibly
attracted by the sweet energy that she gives off. When you are true woman you will
attract a true man; until then you will go wrong again and again.
To be able to go back to being a woman in her natural state, a woman today has to
detach from her suffering. She has to put love before herself, which is identified with her
pain. Essentially she should not make love to a man if there is not enough love in him.
She has to deny his urgent need to escape (to make love means being in the present,
sexual arousal is to run away in illusion and ego).
If she refuses him, the inappropriate man will threaten her. If the man threatens to leave
her, she has to tell him never to threaten her again or to leave right now. Perhaps she
will lose this man and others. But it is preferable that just one woman on this earth
embodies the power that the woman is in the name of love, than that millions of
mistaken women with mistaken men allow the violence of sexual manipulation.
The fertile soil: the principle of love is self-love, love yourself. The biggest task is to love
and value yourself. Lack of awareness and self-esteem cause us to enter into immature
relationships, as I have symbolized with the yin and yang of fire and water in the lower
part of the card.
The butterflies symbolize the transformation that we have to undergo to enter into
divine love. We have to transform the world. We have the truth hidden in the deepest
parts of our hearts: our ancestral memory. How do we transform all this fear out there
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and in here in the heart? Can you imagine that you can make miracles? There is no
other person who can. You have to make your own miracle. Even in times where almost
none exist. But this is always the case; it has to be this way, if not, it would be no miracle.
The butterflies symbolise the miracle of this complete transformation from the ordinary
to the extraordinary.
The sun and the earth: consciousness has created the earth and the sun. What an absurd
question it would be to ask: which is more beautiful, the sun or the earth? Which is
more important? They are a Sacred Union and are symbols of the most sacred, the
union. Two perfect beings making a perfect union, without a struggle for power, control
or hierarchy.
The Hebrew letters (around the heart chakra) in the card say Mother, Father, Brother,
Sister.
Mitakuye Oyasin: this is a prayer of the Lakota Nation and means 'all are my relatives,
'we are all in intimate relationship'.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
It is simply not true that everyone has to do a job that they do not like to earn a living;
on the contrary: we have to be very clear about what makes us happy and put all our
efforts into doing this and being happy – as happy as we can be in this life. We have to
say this to our children, and tell them that no matter what they do, what is important is
to do what makes them happy. This work is the result of this thinking.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I'm human, fragile, limited, full of complexes and imperfections, but I have all the senses
needed to see the immeasurable beauty in this great mystery that is called life. And the
immense blessing that the Sun is always exactly where it has to be to give its heat to the
ever-beloved Mother Earth. So I would like to first thank her, for supporting us and
loving us. Thank you to all the invisible beings that manifest themselves at times, in the
sacred moments, to teach me a little about the path.
Thanks to Marta for her great help and sisterhood. Thanks to Marga for her inspiration,
But especially I want to give my thanks to a very ancient offering: Ayahuasca. Thanks to
this sacred drink and to all the people who use this drink with knowledge and respect.
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Bibliography
Das Chakra Handbuch. Shalila Sharamon and Bodo J. Baginski, Windpferd
The Four Insights. Wisdom, Power and Grace of the Earthkeepers. Alberto Villoldo
The Medicine Wheel. Sun Bear and Wabun, Verlagsgruppe Random House
Tarot el Espejo del Alma, Manual para el Tarot Thoth de Alistair Crowley. Gerd Ziegler,
Arkano Books
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