How to Use These Sacred Journey Medicine Cards

You are experiencing the calm within a storm. The howling winds swirl and hiss eagerly, and yet you remain centered. You are anticipating the fruits of your labors, remaining serene as you wait for what comes next. Like the Caracara perched on top of a cactus, you have a perfect view of all that surrounds you. Stay awake and vigilant: an opportunity is about to present itself. You may have a healthy urge to reach out to others now, but be careful not to overdo it and get too pushy. Remaining tranquil, rest assured that what you seek is seeking you. Wait and watch for it to enter your field of vision. You will know when it arrives, and then you will claim it.

Crested Caracara photograph, La Paz, Baja California Sur.

Out of nowhere, a memory flickers across your consciousness. It is strange to you and yet familiar. A song playing in a café or an article in the news reminds you of a forgotten chapter from a past life. The leftover aura of past trauma and other crucial passages resonates throughout your present experience and catches the echoes of distant lives. Otter Medicine can swim into your consciousness when you are between worlds like this, to help you move between stages: when you are at the border of water and land, neither completely wet nor completely dry, or when you are in transition, your dreams full of people and animals from another lifetime. Otter conveys a sense of fluidity and the ability to play, encouraging your flexibility. Whether during birth, death, marriage, a sacred transition, or a crossing over to past lives, Otter’s positive energy and ease navigating transition can carry you.

Otter photograph, Monterey Bay, California, USA.

Faded words appear as if written long ago on the walls of a cave. A dancing figure and animal spirits from this bygone lifetime are now calling your name, inviting you to tap into their perceptions. They want you to see and feel the power that you once held when you cultivated wisdom without the distractions of modern life. You might feel the top of your head tingle as you open now to receive this information through your Crown Chakra. This is a message to connect with your ancestral roots. Water Lily, with its feminine spirit of love and beginning, serves as a symbol of rebirth, enlightenment, and the cycle of Life. Use it to establish a strong connection to the spirits who can guide you to your divine purpose.

Water Lily photograph, University of California Berkeley Botanical Garden, USA.

In this moment, you embody Bighorn Sheep Medicine. As small rocks fall beneath your hooves, you manage to run on the steep embankment without losing your footing. Your breath is fast, but it provides you the
power you need to keep moving. With a strong heart and keen ears, you quickly adapt to your environment. Below you a road stretches out alongside a lake where there was once a large earthquake that created these spectacular rock formations. Your legacy is to connect to the energy of the earth to fuel your dreams. Bighorn Sheep do not walk alone; allow the herd to surround and protect you. Allow the rocks beneath your hooves to speak to you and send you messages about the next step on your journey.

Male Bighorn Sheep photograph, Earthquake Lake, Montana, USA.

Traveling on an island, you discover a young Burrowing Owl. This wide-eyed owlet, perched on a post so it can see all that surrounds it, is the gatekeeper of secrets: it sees through the darkness, through the illusions. This is an adventure of clear vision, of discovery, of deep intuitive self-knowledge. You may feel that the company of the baby owl is sparking the remembrance of an ancient prophecy. What you see now can be disturbing and can trigger transition, change, even a kind of death. Draw upon Owl Medicine to tune into your part in the fulfillment of the prophecy and embrace the change. It is possible, too, that you are the gatekeeper. Can you see your role as one who identifies and opens doors for others, creating a channel to connect with the Ancestors? Rely on your inner voice to guide you. Take this opportunity to explore the unseen, revealing what lies concealed in darkness, for yourself and others.

Burrowing Owlet photograph, Marco Island, Florida, USA.