I have had a relationship with the cards for over 30 years, and in all that time nothing like this has ever happened. A few weeks before our Ganja Goddess Getaway, I brought a couple of Tarot decks with me when I went to visit Deidra. The one that I read for her was a deck I had not used often, and I had long since forgotten its name. Baby Lucy was in her lap as I shuffled the cards at the end of the reading, as I do before putting them away. It’s a way of clearing the energy, and feels different than the shuffling that begins a reading. But a single card jumped out of the deck, as often happens when they are eager to be read. And as Lucy reached for the card, I felt it reaching out to her in response. I picked it up, listening intently– and yes, there was no mistaking it: the card wanted to become Lucy’s. Knowing full well that it would get bent, slobbered on, possibly mangled or torn, didn’t matter (Image of Lucy’s card on right). This card was Lucy’s. The card knew it, embraced it. I had to allow this, even if I had reservations about it– but I didn’t. It felt right, very right, even more so as I felt a wave of gleeful joy from the card as Lucy gripped it, explored it.
It became clear within the next few days that the rest of the deck had similar plans: each woman at the gathering would get a chance to pick a card and keep it, to use in accord with the message the card held for them. Perhaps the card would reveal a message of release, and be burned in the bonfire. Perhaps the card would become part of an art piece, or used in the vision boards on Sunday. Maybe the card would be placed on her personal altar, to continue revealing itself during meditations. Whatever their fate, each card wanted to be of service, become part of the journey of the woman who chose it. I felt excited, and chose to focus on that feeling rather than feed the shadow of apprehension and doubt that hinted I might not be able to pull it off. Tarot is a spiritual calling for me, an agreement I have with the Universe to be of service. I’ve never done readings as a job, and though I have done back-to-back readings at parties (years ago), they had always followed the familiar pattern of shuffling the deck and laying several cards out into a pattern, or ‘spread’ where each position a card is placed also has meaning. The process takes awhile, and I’d hit my limit after 5 or 6 seekers. I had never done anything quite like this. So yes, I focused on the excitement, and as the gathering grew nearer, the excitement grew and the doubts dissipated.
We created something very special tucked beneath the trees. Each woman I sat with gave me the opportunity to step firmly into my center and be of service to the Highest Good. I open myself to be a conduit of Universal Wisdom, asking that the cards show me and tell me the messages you need to receive in that moment. I do my best to deliver the messages without any filtering (but I’m human, so prior knowledge can be a hindrance). I chose to allow myself to be very vulnerable; open without vulnerable is incongruent for me. So I cried at times, moved by the content of the messages and by your reactions to them, but also profoundly grateful that we were in that place, at that time, creating this experience together. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
Let me tell you: the Universe conspired to bring us all together, Ganja Goddesses! We created an intentional vortex of Transformation, and IT WORKED. There were so many messages of healing, of dreams manifesting and energies being realigned! I would love to hear what you have done with your cards– I am creating a children’s book out of this experience, and invite you to be a part of that endeavor by sharing your card story. I’ve already written the first half of the book. It’s titled Lucy and the Tarot of Transformation. Yes, that’s the name of the deck we used- a fact I did not discover until I was packing for the event and grabbed the box it had come in, just in case someone asked!
One more request: I want to offer this same Tarot experience at all our future Ganja Goddess events. I have come to understand that the sacrifice the deck made is an essential part of the magic, so I cannot use a newly-bought deck to do this: it must be donated, gifted to be of service to our community in this way. So if you have a Tarot deck that you are willing to part with, please let me know. If the cards are willing and I am able*, we will use them to create the Tarot experience at the next convergence of the Ganja Goddesses!
Until we meet again, much love and hugs and tokes!
~Granny
*sorry, but there are some Tarot decks I am just not able to connect with