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Spiritual Teachings Of The Sioux
by Chief Archie Lame Deer and Helene Sarkis
I would like to thank my very good friend Jess Cox for loaning me these cards for personal use and to review. My background is in Tarot, and I also read with the Sacred Path (by Jamie Sams and David Carson) and Medicine Cards (by Jamie Sams) - I thought reading with the Lakota Sweat Lodge cards would come easily. I learned a lesson about myself - be humble and respect the tools that you are working with. Do not try to use them without knowing them.
Reading with these cards did come easily - very easily, after I re-read the book and spent more time with the cards. The Sweat Lodge cards are based on the spiritual teachings of the Lakota Sioux, and the Sweat Lodge experiences and teaching of Chief Archie Lame Deer (who acted in a consulting and advisory capacity in bringing the cards about). They are also about the collaboration of three women who shared Inipi experiences and Lakota Sioux spiritual teaching with Archie Lame Deer. Card interpretive text and spread concepts are from Wendy Meg Siegel; the spirit voices, traditions, card spread guidance and meditation texts are by Ann Louise Goulene.
These cards are presented to us with humbleness and respect, in an effort to share Native American teachings. The teachings presented in these cards, by word and symbol, are at the core of Native American spirituality: to walk in balance with the earth. They reflect the experiences of the women involved, the teaching and experiences of Chief Archie Lame Deer, the purification ritual of the sweat lodge and the spiritual traditions of the Lakota Sioux.
The Lakota Sioux spiritual traditions are largely oral traditions. There is an excellent introduction to the order in which the spirits were created, and what they represent. The cards are divided into sections: The Sixteen Great Mysteries, The Supernaturals, and The Elements Of The Sweat Lodge.
Each card is further divided into the following sections: Tradition, which speaks of the spiritual background of the card; The Card, which speaks of how to place the wisdom into your life; and The Meditation, which helps to take the energy of the card into literal meditation where we walk with the energy and come to understand it.
In the book that accompanies this deck, a graphic of each card is presented, along with words of wisdom that portray it's energy. One of the things that I discovered in working with these cards was that the graphics were so strong that it was quite easy to enter the card and access the wisdom based on the card alone. The text in the book is an added bonus.
These cards are an enormous gift in themselves. They are truly a tool for growth and personal empowerment. This gift has ben extended with the presentation of specific meditations and "spreads", which are simply the manner in which the cards are laid out in defined positions. The meditations that were included here are: focusing meditation, daily and weekly card meditation, new moon and full moon.
The spreads that were included are: The Four Directions, used to get perspective an on issue; The Elemental Spread, which allows us to look at the four cornerstones of our lives; The Inipi Spread, which is a spread of purification and healing; Grandfather's Breath SPread, which helps us to understand our intentions; Grandmother's Path Spread, which represents the seven steps taken towards transformation and rebirth; The Tree Of Life Spread, which helps us to understand all aspects of an issue; and The Morning Star Spread, which looks at aspects of the self.
I have chosen to use the Inipi Spread as an example. It is a linear spread, with the positions defined as follows:
1. Fire Pit - This represents that which requires healing, that which needs to be brought back into balance.
2. Unci: Putting what is suggested by this card into action will help bring your body, mind and spirit into alignment.
3. Lodge: This is how you will support and sustain your newly healed life.
The cards drawn were:
1. Mini - Water
Mini (Water) is that which requires healing to bring the Seeker back into balance. The Seeker needs to learn to flow with the path of life, to not struggle against it. Water acts as a purifying agent. Leave behind that which no longer serves you well, and walk with your creative nature into the future.
Hochokan Wakan (Sacred Mound) shows the direction that the Seeker needs to take action in to bring about a healing. This card carries with it the nature of reverance. The Seeker needs to regard the objects of nature that are brought into their life - those things that carry personal meaning; and the sacred space that they surround themselves with, in a respectful, reverent manner. The Seeker needs to allow their sacred objects to become part of their prayers and rituals.
Skan (Motion) is the energy of that which will help the Seeker support and sustain their newly healed life. Skan carries the energy of manifestation. The Seeker has the ability to use their inner power of focused thought to attract what they want in life.
There is great power and dignity within these cards. I recommend them highly as a tool of personal transformation.
Bonnie Cehovet
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