Jan. 2015 Oracles Monthly Study: Animals/Native American

Thanks, DragonFae!

The deck I'll be working with is the Medicine Cards by Jamie Sans and David Carson.
I'm excited to be talking and learning more about this deck, and discovering what other animal/medicine decks are out there that I wasn't aware of.

I've always loved these cards, and first started using them years ago. There's an exercise in the beginning of the companion book, where you choose your animal totems, and that helped me to powerfully connect to my animal guides. Then, at some point, I drifted away from using the cards, and misplaced the companion book. Recently, (years later) I purchased another set, and have started to use them again occasionally. I did the nine totem animals exercise again, and more than half of the animals that came forward were the same as the last time! I shouldn't have been surprised, but that still blows me away.

I appreciate that the animals have special gifts to share, and that fascinates me. I also strongly identify with indigenous cultures.

Mi-Shell said:

I live waaaay out in the bush and see many of the Animals in this deck on a regular basis....

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That is great, it must help a lot with developing a deeper connection with the Animals.

Mi-Shell said:

I too will be working with the Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams
http://www.jamiesams.net/letter-to-readers.cfm


I do know Jamie a little, from waaaay long ago when both of yo were young and receiving teachings from the same Medicine teacher.
The Medicine Cards are a mayor reading deck of mine- for public readings for my querants with First Nations heritage or background.



Well, I myself am part Siberian indigenous, from my father's side - from North West Tuva, north of the Yenesay River.
From my father's side I am Wolf Clan, so Ee'ren Börü is my paternal Clan Guardian/ Totem.
Ada's personal Medicine Guides were Magpie and Lynx, So they have deep meaning to me.
His Gran was the healer shaman of the tribe and her Animal Guardians were the Owl and the Tigress.
They raised Reindeer..... so guess what.....
The whole clan system had an overarching spiritual protector - an Irbis = Snow Leopard...

My maternal grandmother was Manoush Gypsy and her maiden name was "Usari" which means Bear.
They trained Bears for performances in the circus where they worked. (NO violence, but lots of honey!!! )
I have written about Gran Elizza and her Tarot reading habits elsewhere in the forum and on my blog, so suffice to say, that her personal Guardian was a small Screech Owl
Now, I follow the ways of my Siberian Ancestors and their shamanic traditions in which I was raised.
My personal Guardians are a small Ferret and my small Owl, But All the Guardians of my family play a very important role in my shamanic practice.
Ad to that, that I live waaaay out in the bush and see many of the Animals in this deck on a regular basis....
Right now, as I am writing this, a small Flying Squirrel is sitting outside the sliding door to my left and dining on his nightly ration of Sunflower seeds.
3 days ago we had 2 Wolves walking down the frozen creek and photographed them from the living room window.....
http://www.tarotforum.net/showpost.php?p=4162668&postcount=232

So, yes, no wonder, this is an important deck to me.

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Mi-Shell,

Pretty awesome that you've met Jamie! And thank you for adding the link to her site- I hadn't made the connection to look her up, and it's helping me with understanding this beautiful Medicine Cards deck that much more.

Smiling said:

Mi-Shell,

Pretty awesome that you've met Jamie! And thank you for adding the link to her site- I hadn't made the connection to look her up, and it's helping me with understanding this beautiful Medicine Cards deck that much more.

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Thank you Smiling!
I would like to share some more insights and information about Jamie, her work - also relevant to this deck here, but since this is an "open forum" It is not "safe" for me or Jamie and the trying predicament she is in..... So, ifff you - and mods - are interested, please PM me.....

So I am finally getting over here to write up my deck information!

I am working with the Sacred Path Cards by Jaime Sams.

This is a deck based on more Native American teachings reather than on animal totems. It has a wide variety of items on the cards. They are items that are easily recognizable as part of Native American culture.

I hope that by using this deck I will begin to look at things around me in a different way. Each time that I use an oracle there is a mind-altering aspect to it. It stretches the way that I think of the world and how I see things. This has a new set of objects, symbols and understandings that intrigue me.

The deck strucuture is 44 cards but there doesn't seem to be an overarching order.

The guidebook is really quite good as there are plenty of spreads and stories to help convey not just the meanig of a card but also the greater idea of a symbol. This is reallly necessary when dealing with symbols that are not overly familiar to me.

The Workbook, purchased seperately is wildly useful as it has additional information from the guide book and more spreads and both daily and weekly reading pages to help use the deck.

There isn't a totem animal in the deck but as I have been using it there has been s symbol that prepresents my time Stone People. It is about the legacy and history of ourselves.

Mi-Shell said:

Thank you Smiling!
I would like to share some more insights and information about Jamie, her work - also relevant to this deck here, but since this is an "open forum" It is not "safe" for me or Jamie and the trying predicament she is in..... So, ifff you - and mods - are interested, please PM me.....

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Yes, I saw on her website some of the problems she's had, and it's really crazy, esp. since she's shared so much good knowledge with others! I would love to hear more stories about her/her work.

Smiling, I just PMed you more info about the deck and its teachings and I hope, what I shared helps you to shed more light on this predicament......
Otheres, if you are interested, pm me as well.

Mi-Shell said:

Smiling, I just PMed you more info about the deck and its teachings and I hope, what I shared helps you to shed more light on this predicament......
Otheres, if you are interested, pm me as well.

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Thanks, I'll take a look.

Onyx said:

So I am finally getting over here to write up my deck information!

I am working with the Sacred Path Cards by Jaime Sams.

This is a deck based on more Native American teachings reather than on animal totems. It has a wide variety of items on the cards. They are items that are easily recognizable as part of Native American culture.

I hope that by using this deck I will begin to look at things around me in a different way. Each time that I use an oracle there is a mind-altering aspect to it. It stretches the way that I think of the world and how I see things. This has a new set of objects, symbols and understandings that intrigue me.

The deck strucuture is 44 cards but there doesn't seem to be an overarching order.

The guidebook is really quite good as there are plenty of spreads and stories to help convey not just the meanig of a card but also the greater idea of a symbol. This is reallly necessary when dealing with symbols that are not overly familiar to me.

The Workbook, purchased seperately is wildly useful as it has additional information from the guide book and more spreads and both daily and weekly reading pages to help use the deck.

There isn't a totem animal in the deck but as I have been using it there has been s symbol that prepresents my time Stone People. It is about the legacy and history of ourselves.

Click to expand...

Interesting info, and another deck I'm learning about through this forum. Thanks!

Medicine Cards:

This deck is well known and one of my main reading decks for public readings.

Most of my Native American querants request this deck, because they are not much for Tarot in general, but THIS Oracle deck deals with “THEIR MANITOUS” = their Sacred Grandfathers, the Animal Spirits.

They are looking for advice from them and often, before I start a reading, they put down Tobacco = put a pinch of tobacco or also Sage or a twig of Cedar on the table.

Then we read.

I ask them, of what Clan they are and THAT CARD I pick out of the deck and put it up as a significator.

It is their Clan Guardian. That is different then their personal Spirit Guide. Should during the reading that one appear, they usually are VERY glad

I usually lay out a “6 directions + You” - spread and read accordingly.

Most First Nations People around here are Anishenabee, Odawa or Mohawk and it helps , that I know the names of many of the Animal Manitous in the respective languages and also what their spiritual significance is in THEIR traditional belief system, which often is quite different from what Jamie Sams writes in her book.

After the reading the querant will get to take a picture with his cell phone – or I take it for him/ her and then they will – in a very poignant and Sacred manner put “Silver” = money onto the reading, to ensure to the Spirits,, that they received the message and will heed it.

Trouble usually is, that I will have to let this reading =+ the Medicine Gifts then lay um-disturbed until sundown – or sunrise…..

I always better ask, before just gathering the cards together and clean off the money….

So- to continue reading, I will put another blanket over it and Iffff another person wants a reading with this deck I better have another full set of cards for them. So, for readings of this sort I have at least 4 decks and a lot of table coverings. Red, green or yellow being preferred colours.

I have had it, that a while later the querant – or a loved one came back bringing a snall Medicine Gift, a Feather, a hand made token or even a few more coins…..

Sooo I always have enough spare change to buy yet another deck of the cards.

Often I give away a portion of this “Power” back to the First Nations, during the “Blanket Dances” for the needy or in the raffles to raise money on the local Res.

My Native querants know this and are OK with that. It only gives more “Power” or kanstansera” as the Haudenosaunee would say.

Now, sure there are also none Native sitters, that want a reading with the Medicine Cards. But it is rather rare. Most people interested in Oracles have this deck at home and so they chose another Animal themed deck or Tarot deck for their reading with me.