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How to Use These Sacred Journey Medicine Cards

Mel Hoffman Medicine Cards

This oracle deck can be used...

  • By drawing a card in private
  • With a partner
  • With a group of people

Each card can provide many forms of guidance, with multiple layers of meaning. Be open to seeing a variety of possibilities.

Often the layers of interpretation unfold after a series of further reflections.
Usually the divination works best when you receive information from the card that bypasses your conscious mind. With this in mind, it helps not to be highly methodical and conscious about which card you choose. Just let the spirit within you move you.
When looking at the card you choose, be sure to tune into the the many layers of visual elements – and let yourself feel whatever you feel.
Some cards might intuitively appeal to you more than others. Not just aesthetically but in terms of how deeply they capture your attention.
If you have a particularly strong feeling about a card, then you should definitely consider keeping the card out in your home in a significant way.

One-Card Reading

Back of Card
Resilience Medicine Card

Resilience Medicine Card

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.

SHUFFLE
FLIP ALL CARDS

Feeling depressed? Stressed?
Cloudy in thought?
Blocked? Disengaged?

You might want to select a single card for your
own personal daily meditation – or for daily inspiration.

You can ask the card a question like:

“What should I focus on today?”
Touch, shuffle and connect to the cards.
You can even hold the cards to your heart or speak to them.
Then place them face down in a fanned configuration.

Choose a card or group of cards.

Look at the images and consider how they make you feel.

Consider all of the elements:

photographic image, mixed media art, number, title, colors

Do they have meaning for you?

Allow your intuition to guide you.
Medicine Cards
Make sure you take the time to fully feel the energy of the card(s), so you can receive your own personal messages – before turning to the booklet for guidance.
When you look up the card in the booklet, try to be open to receiving other perspectives and possibilities for new interpretations.

Three-Card Readings

Back of Card
Contrast & Equilibrium Medicine Card

Contrast & Equilibrium Medicine Card

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.

Back of Card
Ancient Wisdom Medicine Card

Ancient Wisdom Medicine Card

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.

Back of Card
Chaos Medicine Card

Chaos Medicine Card

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.

SHUFFLE
FLIP ALL CARDS

This method of using the cards allows you to
illuminate multiple aspects of a situation.

You can draw 3 cards – which can represent:
the past, present, and future
the beginning, middle, end of a sacred journey
any specific three-part process of your choosing.
Shuffle the cards. Place them face down. Spread them. Select 3 cards.
Lay them out side by side to view the entire reading.
Take time to feel the energy and guidance of the card(s) before referring
to the booklet. When you do look up a card, be open to receiving new
perspectives and interpretations.

As a couple

Back of Card
Patience Medicine Card

Patience Medicine Card

A friendly Calf stops mid-frolic to stare at you with piercing eyes that look directly into your soul. It is here to deliver the patient and holy Medicine of its Ancestors. You can look up at the night sky and tap into this same
power in the Milky Way. The force of the moon is also with you, providing feminine nurturing energy. The Calf’s appearance also brings you equanimity. You may be experiencing a strong desire to get moving, but you needn’t push; now is not the time to rush into anything. Take all the time and preparation you need; know your strength, choose a direction, and take the first step. This Medicine is a source of sustenance for you, and it can induce a calm, meditative, and peaceful state if you let it. You will be carried where you need to go. Relax and enjoy the tranquil, tender ride.

Calf photograph, California, USA.

Back of Card
Anticipation Medicine Card

Anticipation Medicine Card

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.

Back of Card
Adaptation Medicine Card

Adaptation Medicine Card

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.

Back of Card
Between Worlds Medicine Card

Between Worlds Medicine Card

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.

SHUFFLE
FLIP ALL CARDS

If you’re in a relationship, and
struggling with your connection, you
might want to do a reading as a couple.

The cards can become a profound interactive process,
calling needed Medicine into your relationship.
Each person in the couple should take turns
holding the cards and shuffling them.
Feel free to ask the cards a question or
set an intention for the cards to offer needed guidance.
Select the cards together – then fan them out in front of you.

Discuss how each of the cards make each of you feel.

Look for messages about how you might bring more closeness
and better communication into your bond.
Be sure to take enough time to feel the energy and guidance of the card(s)
as a couple, before referring to the booklet. When you do look up a card,
stay open to receiving alternative perspectives and interpretations.

Working with a Group

Back of Card
Agility Medicine Card

Agility Medicine Card

Fear flashes through your body, and in this moment you are quite alone. You may long for the presence of a being that cares for you. Your heart is calling for healing and abundance, but at this time you must simply travel
the path of transformation. The Hare leaps into your life full of ingenuity and vitality. Hare people are sensitive, artistic, and expert at avoiding threats. This card calls upon you to review what is most important to you and act quickly to protect it. Pay close attention, remain aware of your spiritual reserves: which will help you most in this moment? What you require will appear as it is needed. Your mind may question this as fear arises, but your heart knows the truth, and your quick feet will carry you in the direction of new life.

Hare photograph, Wallpack Center, New Jersey, USA.

Back of Card
Patience Medicine Card

Patience Medicine Card

A friendly Calf stops mid-frolic to stare at you with piercing eyes that look directly into your soul. It is here to deliver the patient and holy Medicine of its Ancestors. You can look up at the night sky and tap into this same
power in the Milky Way. The force of the moon is also with you, providing feminine nurturing energy. The Calf’s appearance also brings you equanimity. You may be experiencing a strong desire to get moving, but you needn’t push; now is not the time to rush into anything. Take all the time and preparation you need; know your strength, choose a direction, and take the first step. This Medicine is a source of sustenance for you, and it can induce a calm, meditative, and peaceful state if you let it. You will be carried where you need to go. Relax and enjoy the tranquil, tender ride.

Calf photograph, California, USA.

Back of Card
Against The Current Medicine Card

Against The Current Medicine Card

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.

Back of Card
Chaos Medicine Card

Chaos Medicine Card

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.

Back of Card
Alignment Medicine Card

Alignment Medicine Card

A figure traces a line across the sky, whispering to you about your true nature. The figure shows you how the experiences of your lifetimes have shaped you, distorting your thoughts and the alignment of your subtle
bodies. Red-tailed Hawk holds the key to a higher consciousness. Even in a skewed and fractured existence, Red-tailed Hawk signals a strength and clarity that will ultimately generate the alignment that you seek. Its movement will create harmony and balance and bring relief, contentment, and even joy into the fractured places. There is great beauty in all that you have carried and transformed during this journey on Earth. Notice the radiance that is brought forth in this expression of imperfection.

Red-tailed Hawk photograph, Telluride, Colorado, USA.

SHUFFLE
FLIP ALL CARDS
Create 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 that are
numbered with 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.
Then have the person share the card that they received with all who are
present – along with any impressions that they receive from the card.
At this point, the message from the booklet can be read. Or the group can go on a
drumming or medicine journey together. Take time for each person in the group
to share their thoughts about each card.
After experiencing this journey, stay open to hearing the
messages from the booklet about the cards which were drawn.
Medicine Cards
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BUYERS SAY:

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“This is an exquisite medicine deck that is both evocative and provocative. We used it at our Women’s Journey Circle and everyone present received a huge gift of wisdom, insight and inspiration.”

Valerie Carpenter
The Vestibule Center for Sound Living

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“The Sacred Journey Medicine Cards open up a gently piercing world of insight and activate a necessary dialogue with kindred spirits including animals and plants that help bring healing and a deepened affinity with nature and ourselves. Mel has created compelling visual essence fields that allow the spiritual energies to radiate and communicate with the viewer in a variety of ways. The layered imagery opens the door for multiple reads and perspectives to emerge with each successive viewing. Very engaging and also potently wild."

Mark Bockley

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