Years ago I made this card at an Introduction to SoulCollage® workshop I was facilitating. I wasn’t particularly drawn to any of these images; I had just grabbed them so I could demonstrate to the group how to lay out and glue down a card.

After I’d made it and they’d had their “lesson,” I could viscerally feel in my body the power and importance of this card. But… no matter how many times I journaled with it or set it out on my bureau to assist me through my day, I couldn’t really get a grasp on what this Neter’s meaning for me was.

Then, not too long ago, I heard someone say something and as soon as their words hit my ears, I had a bright image in my mind of THIS card.

That “someone” was Alan Cohen and what he said as part of an online class on Prayer was this: Don’t drop the baby. He was referring to taking tender loving care of our inner little one, our inner child, that part of us who is still so vulnerable.

And the next time I journaled with this Neter, here is what it said:

Monks: We are the ones who are listening, facing forward, learning and absorbing the lessons of mindfulness, the lessons of life. We are, at various times, serious, intense, light-hearted, introspective, laughing.

Our message to you today is this: accept all the many aspects of yourself. You too are learning the lessons of mindfulness, the lessons of life. Here’s the crux of our message: DON’T DROP THE BABY. The “baby” is many things: your tender, compassionate heart, your mindful spirit, your deepest desires, your innermost vulnerable child. So don’t drop any of that! Don’t let go of your most precious Self. It is too easy to give it away to others, to food, to boredom, to distractions. Don’t drop the baby!

Marble-ous Men

I made this card several years ago when I realized I’d been collecting images of marbles for reasons unbeknownst to me. Those images seemed to fit together with these happy older men, especially since (synchronistically) one of them seemed to be wearing a shirt with a marble motif!

It was quite perplexing to me… I was thinking “What can a card like this possibly have to say to me!?!”

But… when I asked the men to tell me about themselves, a timely message came through…

Who are you?

We are the ones who have been saving all our marbles.

We are the ones who love collecting marbles in all sizes and colors.

We are older and we are male but we are comfortable with our love of wearing bright colors and don’t care what anyone thinks about our hobbies or our wardrobe choices.

We are the ones who haven’t “lost our marbles!”

We are the ones who have carefully gathered our marbles so we are sure to never lose them.

Our gift to you today is the knowledge that as long as you keep your body and brain active, and stay true to your path, you won’t lose YOUR marbles!

I made this card totally intuitively. I’d been holding onto the rainbow-colored, light-filled flowers for a loooong time before finding the right other images to fit with them. Finally, the card came together!

I’m still not sure that “Go For It” is the “right” name for this card, but it will have to do for now.

Who are you?

I am the one who is reaching for the light.  I am the one who is delighted to get my hand around this unique, colorful, lit-like-a-rainbow flower.  I am the one who is reaching for the mystery and the magic.

What do you have to give me?

I give you permission to reach for the brightness that is rooted in your life.  I give you delight and joy in the seeking and the finding.  I give you mystery and color and bright full magic, all of it is yours in your life.

What do you want from me?

I want you to breathe deeply, smile and reach for your dreams… reach for the magic and the mystery that is all around you.  Let your life be as colorful and exciting as you want.  Let yourself feel entitled and deserving.  It is all there for you to take!

 

NOTE: A friend of mine saw this Neter of mine and she thought it looked pretty cool held vertically too! 
Try holding one of your cards vertically as well as horizontally. What happens? Does it change its meaning for you or enhance it… or none of the above? No right answers, whatever is right for you!

A friend of mine recently died, and as I found the sadness lingering, I turned to my deck and asked this question, then drew 3 cards randomly and let them answer”

What would Karen want me to know  OR what would she say to me right now in my grief?

Grandma and Grandpa Anderson
Community Suit

We are the ones whose love created your mother, Ruth.

We are the ones who are your ancestors watching over you. We are the ones who are part of your Bright Ones.

We are the ones whose love is still holding you within Indra’s Net.

What Karen wants you to know right now, today, is that she is also held within the Net

of her own ancestors’ love and care.

She wants you to know that love never ends, that love doesn’t die once our bodies die.

 

Meditator
Committee Suit

I am the one who sits still in the silence and lets my heart open wide in blossom.

I am the one who prays, who holds space for all the parts of myself. I am the one who listens within.

I am the one who practices radical acceptance of every thought and feeling that passes through me.

I am the one who remembers that all thoughts and feelings DO pass though me!

What Karen wants you to know is that you can remain peaceful and connected with yourself,

in spite of your grief and sadness.

She wants you to know that just as meditation is a practice, so is grief a practice.

 

This Side of Death
Council Suit

I am the one who is on THIS side of the Great White Curtain that separates the Living from the Dead.

I am the one who is immobile and dried out and stuck here in the Not Knowing.

I am the one who is afraid for the Great White Curtain to be lifted
AND I am the one who is curious about what is on the other side of it.

I am the one who knows that my time will come and all will be revealed.

What Karen wants you to know right now is that there is nothing to fear,
that there is only Love, Great Love, on the other side of the Great White Curtain.

She wants you to know that all is well.  All is well, on both sides of the Curtain that divides the living from the “dead.”

 

If you would find it helpful, you might bring to mind a loved one who has died, and ask the same question of your deck, then draw 3 cards randomly (no peeking!) and listen to what each one has to say to you. Notice how you feel before such a reading, and after.