Women's Empowerment Stories ...

Sacred Gifts from Sacred Cards
~ Patrice Robson

Patrice shares how reading sacred cards has given her faith in higher guidance.

I could say that I've always believed in God, but in truth, it was more a case of wanting to believe that a mighty protector was looking after my welfare. More longing than faith. Although the world is chock-full of miracles, I'd had no proof that any celestial force was watching over the details of my life.

Until I began consulting sacred cards, that is. Angel cards, medicine cards, Tarot cards. With these tools, I get answers when I ask questions. And the answers seem to come from someone or something that understands my situation and is smarter than I am.

When I'm confused about how I stand in a particular situation, when I'm emotionally upset, or when I'm just curious about my journey, I draw cards, either singles or in a spread. After consulting the book that comes with the cards, I invariably get a message. I also experience an immediate sense of peace.

I'm convinced there's more at work here than an active imagination. I've watched myself repeatedly draw the same cards as I've moved through different chapters in my life. During a time of exhaustion, the Indolence (depletion) card kept turning up. When my energy returned, I was continually challenged by the Completion card that counselled patience as the time was not yet right to move ahead. These days, the Sun—Partnerships—shows up regularly, affirming the value for me of working with the right people in a creative endeavour.

I see the cards as a vehicle through which my higher self speaks to me. Their messages reassure, awaken and motivate. They help me view my situation with new eyes. I'm grateful to my own teachers Jean Ure and Angeles Arrien for their reading of positive forces in all cards. This makes the cards a powerful antidote to the negative mindset that historically has been the root of my undoing.

Sacred cards have brought mystery into what I once perceived as a mundane existence. They ascribe a value and a meaning to my life that inspires me to reach for more. I can see my own existence in the framework of human struggles and victories that have played themselves out for eons.

However the cards work, my experience with them has laid the foundation for a deepening faith in a loving, supportive universe.