You are walking along the bank of a swampy marsh where you encounter hundreds of tiny Land Crabs. You can hear the sound of their movement as they crawl over a large shell mound created by the tribe that once lived in this place. The tribe believed that each person had three souls: one existed in the pupil of the eye, another in the reflection of themselves in the water, and the third in their shadow. The energy of Crab’s shell can help you to maintain boundaries, protecting you from discoveries that leave you vulnerable, and personal difficulties when you are not ready to open up. But just as the crab must shed its outgrown shell as it matures, you may need to let go of something that is not working. Observe, reflect, and be aware of your shadow, drawing upon the Medicine of the scurrying Land Crab to assist you.
Land Crab photograph, J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, Florida, USA.
Choose a card to meditate on or for daily inspiration.
Ask the card a question like, “What should I focus on today?”
Touch, shuffle, and connect with the cards. Hold them to your heart or speak to them if you feel inclined.
Lay the cards face down in a fan shape. Pick one or more cards that attract you.
Look at the selected cards and notice how the images make you feel. Consider the photographic image, mixed media art, number, title, and colors.
Reflect on what these elements mean to you. Allow your intuition to guide you.
You find yourself struggling against a torrent of resistance. This power, the work of external beings or internal demons, relentlessly opposes your progress. How will you ever overcome it? Koi fish are a symbol of hope, worldly ambition, and progress. Koi delivers to you the capacity to move swiftly against the current, arriving upstream against seemingly insurmountable odds. Try not to be distracted or deterred; this is not the time to give up or turn back. According to legend, if Koi swimming the Yellow River succeeds in climbing the falls at the Dragon Gate, it will be transformed into a dragon. Your determination and strong sense of purpose facing these difficult circumstances will carry you. Insist on wisdom and miracles, and you will receive them. Have faith.
Koi photograph, Key West, Florida, USA.
Two wild Zebras appear before you. The mother grazes to nourish herself, and her foal follows her, waiting to nurse. The patterns formed by the Zebra’s stripes are unique like fingerprints, reminding you to honor the singular set of qualities that only you have to offer. The sharp contrasts of light and dark symbolize the possibility that opposing characteristics can coexist in one being. You do not have to choose one extreme or the other; you can hold both, and it is plain for anyone to see how beautiful you are as you achieve this equilibrium. And still you can be wild and refuse to be tamed. Draw upon this quality to sustain you now as you glory in the blaze of your apparent contradictions.
Zebra photograph, California Coast Highway near San Simeon, USA.
The screams of the Child suddenly pierce your awareness, demanding to understand why you have had to endure such heartbreak. If you have suffered this pain and loss quite recently, you may be asking yourself, where is the Divine Creator in this picture? If it occurred at a tender age, where were the human caretakers who were charged with protecting you? Pegasus comes to you as a messenger to make use of your highflying imagination. This mythical winged divine stallion, with his ability to overcome his own trauma, embodies the light and rises above the suffering to embrace freedom. Fly with him. From above, observe the experiences that have shaped you. From here you can safely formulate a plan of healing. Call upon your Spirit Guides, Angels, and others in the realm of the divine to help you do the work that will comfort and restore the little ones within you who are demanding to be heard.
Pegasus Float photograph, La Paz, Baja California Sur.
The 3 cards can symbolize the past, present, and future; the beginning, middle, and end of a sacred journey; or any specific three-part process of your choosing.
Shuffle the cards. Place them face down. Spread them out.
Choose 3 cards.
Arrange the cards side by side to view the entire reading.
Take time to feel the energy and guidance of each card before referring to the booklet. When you look up a card, be open to receiving new perspectives and interpretations.
This process provides a comprehensive view, helping you gain insight into different facets of your situation.
The screams of the Child suddenly pierce your awareness, demanding to understand why you have had to endure such heartbreak. If you have suffered this pain and loss quite recently, you may be asking yourself, where is the Divine Creator in this picture? If it occurred at a tender age, where were the human caretakers who were charged with protecting you? Pegasus comes to you as a messenger to make use of your highflying imagination. This mythical winged divine stallion, with his ability to overcome his own trauma, embodies the light and rises above the suffering to embrace freedom. Fly with him. From above, observe the experiences that have shaped you. From here you can safely formulate a plan of healing. Call upon your Spirit Guides, Angels, and others in the realm of the divine to help you do the work that will comfort and restore the little ones within you who are demanding to be heard.
Pegasus Float 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.
You find yourself struggling against a torrent of resistance. This power, the work of external beings or internal demons, relentlessly opposes your progress. How will you ever overcome it? Koi fish are a symbol of hope, worldly ambition, and progress. Koi delivers to you the capacity to move swiftly against the current, arriving upstream against seemingly insurmountable odds. Try not to be distracted or deterred; this is not the time to give up or turn back. According to legend, if Koi swimming the Yellow River succeeds in climbing the falls at the Dragon Gate, it will be transformed into a dragon. Your determination and strong sense of purpose facing these difficult circumstances will carry you. Insist on wisdom and miracles, and you will receive them. Have faith.
Koi photograph, Key West, Florida, USA.
Stars shine brightly in the night sky, and a rainbow fills the atmosphere in a dreamlike mist. This light comes from the same energy you are made of. You may have remembrances of being a part of one of these stars – or perhaps part of a star in another galaxy altogether. Sometimes you long for this other place that you could also call home, because the world you live in can often be so uncomfortable. The Star Seeds remind you that you are one with the powers that created you. Your mind can detect the familiar essence of loved ones who have shared a faraway home with you. Some of them may have joined you here on Earth, while others remain in another dimension. If you are able, get outside to see the night sky where you are. Tune into your gifts and those of your tribe in other lifetimes and know that you are one with all beings.
Rainbow Sky photograph, Brookings, Oregon, USA.
Each person takes turns holding and shuffling the cards. Feel free to ask the cards a question or set an intention for the reading.
Choose the cards together. Fan them out in front of you.
Discuss how each card makes each of you feel. Look for messages about how you might bring more closeness and better communication into your bond.
Take enough time to feel the energy and guidance of the card(s) as a couple. When you do look up a card, stay open to receiving alternative perspectives and interpretations.
This process can help you gain insights and improve your connection.
The screams of the Child suddenly pierce your awareness, demanding to understand why you have had to endure such heartbreak. If you have suffered this pain and loss quite recently, you may be asking yourself, where is the Divine Creator in this picture? If it occurred at a tender age, where were the human caretakers who were charged with protecting you? Pegasus comes to you as a messenger to make use of your highflying imagination. This mythical winged divine stallion, with his ability to overcome his own trauma, embodies the light and rises above the suffering to embrace freedom. Fly with him. From above, observe the experiences that have shaped you. From here you can safely formulate a plan of healing. Call upon your Spirit Guides, Angels, and others in the realm of the divine to help you do the work that will comfort and restore the little ones within you who are demanding to be heard.
Pegasus Float 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.
You are on a mission to gather the soul parts that have become separated from you. These fragments detached during times of great stress and trauma. Iguana is a wise teacher, helping you to understand that the instinctive reptilian brain protected you during that intensity. This small and ancient region of the brain responds quickly to stress in order to keep us safe. Iguana is not driven by language or thinking. Its actions are automatic and immediate which can cause a feeling of being out of control. In order for your soul to be restored to wholeness, a constellation of forces will come together, dismantling the old paradigm. Right now, as the chaos arises, know that it needed to happen, and it will quickly pass.
Iguana photograph, Florida, USA.
Two wild Zebras appear before you. The mother grazes to nourish herself, and her foal follows her, waiting to nurse. The patterns formed by the Zebra’s stripes are unique like fingerprints, reminding you to honor the singular set of qualities that only you have to offer. The sharp contrasts of light and dark symbolize the possibility that opposing characteristics can coexist in one being. You do not have to choose one extreme or the other; you can hold both, and it is plain for anyone to see how beautiful you are as you achieve this equilibrium. And still you can be wild and refuse to be tamed. Draw upon this quality to sustain you now as you glory in the blaze of your apparent contradictions.
Zebra photograph, California Coast Highway near San Simeon, USA.
Out of nowhere, a Bobcat appears in your path. Silent and cunning, eyes fixed on her prey, she draws you into the moment with the intensity of her focus. For Bobcat the hunt is on, but despite patiently waiting to pounce on and capture a meal, her efforts are thwarted when the ground squirrel disappears into its underground tunnel. Wasting no time, she retreats into the bushes, already redirecting her attention. Bobcat shows up for you in times of transition or strategizing. Allow yourself time to reflect and regain your stamina, and then face the change with eyes wide open. If your efforts are blocked, waste no time letting go; stop chasing what no longer serves you. You will have the patience and the clarity to adjust to your changing circumstances and to proceed with grace.
Bobcat photograph, Del Valle Regional Park, Livermore, California, USA.
Set up an altar space in the middle of your group circle. Shuffle and spread the cards on this altar.
Pass out slips of paper in a basket, each numbered according to the number of people present. Have each person pick a slip of paper with a number.
Go around the circle in numerical order and have each person intuitively choose a card.
Each person shares the card they received with the group, along with any impressions they have from the card.
Read the message from the booklet or embark on a drumming or medicine journey together.
Take time for each person in the group to share their thoughts about each card.
After the journey, stay open to hearing the messages from the booklet about the cards drawn.
This ritual fosters connection and collective insight, enhancing the group's shared experience.