The Desert Speaks
Thank you so much for your interest in The Desert Speaks oracle deck. This has been such a fun deck to create and from what I have seen so far, a very accurate deck for readings.
To purchase, go to the Books and Cards page.
I’d like to share a little background on how The Desert Speaks deck came into being.
First, I am very proud and excited to say, all of the original photos for the cards are taken by me. They are all from southern Arizona from places I would hike or the walks in my neighborhood. I saw so many amazing beings, whether in plants, animals, insects or birds. Some I would take on day trips to places close to home and many are from my own backyard.
When I first moved south, it seemed like every day I would encounter new insects or animals of some sort and I would see so many interesting plants and flowers. There was just so much to see and as I took the pictures, it just seemed as if the desert was speaking to me.
The question that comes to mind then is, was I listening – sometimes yes, sometimes maybe.
Tarantula and Tarantula Hawk
Some of my encounters I could not get pictures of but the critters spoke to me loud and clear – tarantula being attacked by a tarantula hawk (my first day in Green Valley), rattle snake and scorpion are some that come to mind. They were also the scariest.
Interesting to note, tarantulas shed their skin. This particular tarantula was being attacked and dragged away by the tarantula hawk.
Check out the blog: Message From the Angels 80717 where I talk more about them.
There was also a pretty darn big spider I caught that was on the umbrella in the backyard. I thought it was a tarantula, but found out through Facebook friends it was probably a wolf spider. I’m glad I thought it was a tarantula when I caught it and took him several blocks away to let him go.
I do have another tarantula story, about eight months later and in a different home. It showed up in my yard, which was a much different experience than the first one. I never got a full view of this tarantula, yet I knew she was there. I felt it was a female and I believe the type was a Desert Blonde Tarantula.
There was a hole near the front door which I could easily see from the front window. I believe she moved into the hole, not creating it herself, though she may have.
I could see a couple of her legs if I quietly leaned over the hole, depending on where the sun was. I would peak out at the hole from inside every day to see if she was out or not. I could usually tell if she was because when she was home, she would build some webbing along the top and if she had been out and about you could see that there was a spot for her to come and go. I assume she came out at night.
She was there for several months and then the web dissipated across the top and wasn’t restored. I knew she was gone at that point.
I did always have a good feeling about her being there though. She didn’t scare me like the first situation of tarantula I saw being killed and dragged off by the tarantula hawk.
Rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes, as I’m sure you know, also shed their skin. In answering the question above, am I always listening – sometimes maybe not.
The first rattlesnake I saw was on a walk one morning. There was a man standing out in the front yard, looking down at ground near their short front wall. He asked me if I wanted to see a snake and I said sure. So I walk up next to him and it’s laying there, not really doing anything. I took a couple of pictures from several feet away. I thanked him and went on my way.
Once I was home, I posted it on Facebook and asked if anyone knew what kind of a snake it was. The consensus was that it was a rattlesnake – who knew.
So when you aren’t paying attention, you may get a second opportunity to notice and receive the message.
I was sitting out in the backyard reviewing a book, Miracle Makers Club, by Joan of Angels. Joan was going to be on the radio with me that evening.
I’m just getting ready to gather everything up and head back inside when I turn my head toward the house, which is maybe five feet from me. Just under the water spigot is a snake, who is ready to strike. His head is up and he’s not happy. There is no sound, however, there is something else where the rattle would normally be. I don’t know what it is because I’m not getting that close to see.
I get off the chair and move away from the snake. I’m shaking like a leaf and am freaking out just a bit. I called 911 as I had no idea who else to call. Well, apparently, it’s somewhat common in this area, and the 911 service connected me to the Green Valley Fire Department.
I was still shaking like a leaf when they arrived. One of the men is standing very near the snake and you can see the snake is still looking like he wants to strike. They grab him with their tool and put him in a box and away they go.
So, as you heard me say, I didn’t pay close attention to the one I had seen days earlier. Then I hadn’t noticed the one in my yard laying within feet of me initially.
However, the days following, I researched more about rattlesnakes and what they represented and did a lot of meditating with rattlesnake energy. Rattlesnake energy also came into one of my healing sessions which was really awesome.
Now, also what came into my awareness was the rattlesnake was injured. In looking at the pictures I took afterwards, you could definitely tell he was wounded in some way. There was no rattle and it seemed like there was something strange in place of it, though it was strange.
I felt the rattlesnake actually came for healing, which of course I sent to him.
Scorpion
The scorpion, also sheds its skin – the third that shed its skin. Something I did not know about scorpions. They are distant cousins to spiders, another fact I was not aware of.
I saw several of them in different places. I did not get any good pictures, though I did get the message and started working with their energy.
The tarantula, the rattlesnake and the scorpion did not make it into The Desert Speaks Oracle deck, though they were the desert speaking to me loud and clear!
There were so many other pictures of insects, of animals, of nature, that showed up for me. They each have a message, and I know they were also coming together for me to share the messages through this oracle deck.
Once I knew I was to create The Desert Speaks, the name was right there. From that point on, some of the cards I could see the message as I was taking the picture. Others, I would take the pictures, not knowing for certain whether they would be in the deck or not.
As you draw cards, for daily inspiration, for answers to what you may have going on in your life, for guidance you are seeking, allow the desert, the animal, the plant, the sky, to speak to you, to speak through your heart. The words may apply and they may not. Allow your heart and your soul to come through with information that pertains, for you, at this particular moment in time. It may be colors, sounds, images, scents, memories, or a combination of any of them, that are coming to you. Trust the information you are getting.
Pay special attention if the same card comes to you several days in a row. It may have the same message and the message may change. Listen to what comes through for you.
The words on the card are purposely very short, to allow your intuition to come through.
Also, pay attention to the cards that are mirror images. They created another level to the cards because they can be viewed side to side, creating a whole new image that may have meaning for you.
As I was starting the deck creation, Spirit and the Angels wanted me to place three hearts on each card. Two of them will be easy to find and the third you may have to search for a bit. There is such significance in the number three and it felt like this is where the healing energy of each card gets amplified.
I love how these cards unfolded in their making. They felt as though they took a long time coming, though all is in Divine Timing.
Background on some of the cards
I won’t go into details about many of the cards, but there are some that have such an awesome story attached, that I think you’ll enjoy.
Allow Creativity – the spider.
This particular spider is an Orb Weaver. I think there are many varieties, but this particular looking spider was keeping guard by the gate at both houses I lived in, in Green Valley. The first yard also had another huge web nearby.
The most interesting though, was at the second house I lived in. There was a huge female (the one in the picture is the female) near the gate. Then another web appeared just feet from the first one I saw and there was several weeks where I could tell you where five different Orb Weavers were located. And it wasn’t just the females, three of them had their mates nearby.
How do I know this? Well, let’s just say one morning there was more than web creation going on.
This particular type of spider comes around near the end of summer and not much longer. They were so interesting to watch, carrying things along to the center of the web and wrapping them around and around and around. As long as I walked up slowly, they were fine with me watching them.
Metaphysically, spiders are known for creativity and though this deck isn’t an “animal totem deck” it is interesting to note that about spiders.
Explore the animals and insects to go deeper into their metaphysical meaning and how that speaks to you.
I just found the spiders so interesting and I did have to really be aware of where they were building their webs. If I wasn’t paying attention, I would have walked into them, as they would attach them to two plants in the backyard. So I would pay close attention.
Know that when you pull this card, where spiders show up in your life, it also plays into the reading.
Courage – the lone coyote.
I was coming home from Ajo, near Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. I stopped at a convenience gas type store and I heard this Coyote Sound and I realized that this coyote was coming almost right up to the car. I was talking with him telling him to get out of the road. It was a pretty busy road right there and he was just wandering. He would just look at me.
I parked and went inside and asked the clerk about them as by that time I had seen three of them, coming very close to cars. He said that people feed them, which they are not supposed to do, so the coyotes come around begging for food.
And here I thought he was just liking my energy – haha.
Get Physical – the lizard with the blue belly.
I believe it’s a Blue Belly Lizard but there are so many kinds of lizards, it’s difficult to be for sure. I love lizards anyway, watching them scamper across the yard or on the back wall. They stop every once in a while to do pushups.
I was so glad I was able to take his photo. I didn’t realize until looking at the pictures I had taken, that his belly was such a pretty blue / turquoise color. His throat too.
When this particular card gets pulled, pay attention to your throat chakra, your solar plexus and to the subtleties in your life as well.
Hold on Tight – the raven in my backyard.
Since I have moved to Arizona, you really do not see crows here, you see ravens. They are huge.
One afternoon, I see this huge shadow and then notice this raven getting a drink out of the birdbath. I grabbed my phone and am snapping pictures right and left, thanking him for stopping by. After he was done drinking, he grabbed what he had set down in the water and hopped onto the ground. I hadn’t realized he had something he set down to drink.
Thankfully I got some more pictures of him before he took off.
Just after he took off, I noticed one of the cats who would come to visit had been watching the raven from the back corner of the wall, just sitting and watching.
I Am Here – the little field mouse.
Oh my goodness. He was so adorable. I would open the grill in the backyard from time to time, to make certain critters hadn’t moved in. Well, one morning, I found this little guy. He had decided to take up residence on the colder nights.
When I was trying to catch him, after of course, I took ample pictures, I found out they can jump and run quite fast. He was gone down the back entrance of the grill in a flash. So adorable.
Thankfully, I had never used that grill nor did I intend to ever use it.
Mystical Magic – the black cat on the roof.
I would see this wonderful black cat from time to time either in my backyard or walking along the back wall. One late afternoon he went hiding behind a huge rosebush I have in the corner of the yard that offers much protection. That particular spot was a hiding place for another cat who was coming around visiting too.
One October afternoon, near Halloween I believe, I saw the black cat sitting on the side wall. The neighbor’s tree was very close and hung over the wall and he could very easily and quickly climb up the tree if he wanted. And that’s exactly what he did.
I watched him, from the side wall, to the tree, to the lower portion of the roof that I could see, and on to the back porch. Then I lost him for a bit but was standing out back watching him to see where he would go. (Some of you may know the story of Max, an outside cat when I lived in Dewey, AZ and he would go on the roof most nights.)
As I’m watching to see where the black cat would pop up, if I could even see him, there he was just peeking over the side of the roof. He made the cutest photo. And there certainly is some mystical magic when it comes to black cats especially near Halloween.
Some questions you may want to ask whenever this card appears in a reading:
- Where is the magic in your life?
- Where do you want the magic to be in your life?
- Has the magic disappeared?
- Are there times you feel like your life is a balancing act?
- Is now a good time to climb to a higher vantage point to get a better view of the surrounding area?
Nurture – Mama cat and two of her five kittens.
I have such a wonderful story about this Mama and her kittens.
Mother’s Day, 2018, I was getting my computer situated and ready to do my Facebook Live, just like I do every Sunday morning. It was maybe 15 – 20 minutes before I was scheduled to go live.
The weather in the mornings was always cool enough that I could open the windows wide before the day started to really heat up. This Mother’s Day was an absolutely beautiful day.
Just outside my office window, is the air conditioning unit. It has a short brick wall around two sides of it. Earlier I had some work done outside and they had taken the hose container and propped it between the brick wall and the AC unit. It was at kind of a funny angle and I think there was more hose than could fit so some of the hose was out of the container as well as in.
As I’m getting my computer lined up, something had to have caught my eye out the window. I look and oh my goodness. There was the cutest cream-white kitten with the most beautiful blue eyes looking at me. Even now, I get chills and just have to laugh at how darn adorable he was.
I am peeking out the screen looking at him and talking to him, asking him where did he come from. I had no idea it was the hose container. I was wondering how he could have gotten up there – it was over two feet to the ground.
I have just a few minutes before going live and I’m peeking out there and oh my, I think there’s another one – and this one is peeking from inside the hose container. Actually, I saw him slipping back inside.
I did the Facebook live and then I was trying to figure out who to call. It’s Sunday after all.
I wasn’t having any luck. I didn’t want to go outside and try to catch them, because I had no idea where their mama was and I still didn’t realize how many there were. So as the day went on, I would be peeking out the window probably every 15 minutes.
By late morning, there were three white ones playing around on the ground. One of them was clearly the runt and I was quite concerned. I also knew though, they had survived this long (they were several weeks old) so I wasn’t too concerned with one more night.
Though by later afternoon, all five, yes I finally saw all of them running around playing in the side yard, I was getting a bit concerned. The yard has the brick wall all around with a gate on each side. Well, two of the little white ones were being brave and climbing under the gate out into the big world out there. This concerned me because 20 feet from the gate is the road.
I went out the front door and stuck my head around the corner, just watching them, keeping an eye out. They got about a foot outside the gate and just looked around for a minute and then thankfully, went back in the yard.
They ran around and were having so much fun. Mama wasn’t there and nobody was making them stay in that hose container.
Over the next couple of days, I was able to borrow two live traps and captured all five kittens and Mama, and took them to a lovely facility called Paws Patrol.
I was so grateful for Paws and that I caught them when I did. Mama ran out of milk the second day they had her. She was looking pretty thin.
Over the next few days I was able to stop down to Paws and hold the mama cat. She was purring right away. She must have gotten out, but she definitely was not a feral cat. And I was also able to hold the runt who had started eating as soon as she was in their care.
I know my Mom, from the other side, put this all in motion. Here’s all the reasons I know:
- I found the kittens on Mother’s Day
- There were five kittens (I have four brothers)
- The morning I was taking the last three kittens and the mama to Paws, I saw 6:14 on the clock (Mom’s birthday)
- Paws Patrol has 642 in their address (another number I recognize from Mom)
- And these kittens, watching them, and so grateful I was able to catch all of them and their mama, brought me so much joy and I still smile and giggle just thinking about them
So this picture is of Mama cat and two of the kittens, after they are in the wonderful care of Paws Patrol.
If you are drawing this card, a few questions to ponder:
- Are you taking care of yourself?
- Are you putting all your energy into taking care of everyone around you first, that there is nothing left for yourself?
- Are you in a situation where it would be in your best interest to ask for help from others?
Self Care – squirrel just a chillin’ on the back wall.
This squirrel had me in stitches.
The house I was living in at the time had a short brick wall in the very back, maybe two feet high is all. There were plants along most of the wall, including a beautiful date palm tree. I was taking a break from the sweeping I was doing out there, and picking up the landscape trimmings from the day before. The furniture was still all askew so all of it was facing out to the wash beyond the backyard.
Here comes this squirrel, in the most open part of the wall and he’s walking as if he’s tip-toeing. He’s probably 10 feet from me is all. I say to him, out loud, “you know I can see you, right?” He keeps on walking over towards the date palm. Now, because it had been trimmed just a few days earlier, you could easily see under it and through it to where the wall was.
I grab my phone and slowly walk over that way. Even now, he makes me laugh!!!
I can see him laying there on the wall like he’s waiting for me to give him a massage.
He let me take quite a few pictures of him laying there. He would let me get just so close, so I just watched him for a bit. There were some seed pods that he really liked, so for a while he was laying there, eating them too.
Then he hopped off the back wall and ate some more of the seed pods and then he took off. That was the one and only time I saw a squirrel in that yard the whole time I was there.
When this card comes up in your reading, some questions to think about:
- Are you taking time to just chill and relax?
- Is it time for a massage?
- Has it been awhile since you’ve just taken some time not to think about anything?
Take the time for some self care and remember, laughter can be a massage from the inside.
Signs From Above – feather clouds.
I remember these wonderful clouds. One day I was coming home from Madera Canyon which is a wonderful place to hike near where I life. I was just nearing one of their picnic / pull off areas when I saw three or four clouds which all had the appearance of feathers. I quickly pulled into the picnic area so I could get out and take some photos.
They were almost magical in the sky, so delicate. My mom always loved to hike and she would have loved the Madera Canyon area. Signs from my Loved Ones and the Angels, come up in my life often, many times in a day in fact.
When you receive this card in your reading, was it an Angel you were thinking of? Are you looking for some guidance or some reassurances? Is there a Loved One you’d like to hear from? Are you hoping for a message from them?
Feel into the colors, the magic, the message, that goes beyond the words on the card.
Take Charge – the palm tree looking like a warrior.
This picture is so funny. The day I took the photo, there had been a dusting of snow. When I looked out my window, I immediately noticed the palm tree I see almost every morning in the distance, looking totally different. As I look at this picture, it reminds me of a warrior who is standing at the ready.
I don’t get the feeling like he’s going to do battle, just that he is taking charge of the situation. I feel he is ready and knows exactly what to do in any given situation. He feels like he is from another time and place, though he watches over this time and place.
When this card comes into your reading, do you feel as though you need to be taking charge of a situation? Are you allowing others to call the shots and your voice is just now becoming clear?
I may not mention the story for each and every card. I do invite you though, to pay closer attention to what is in your own backyard. Seventeen of the cards started with photos from my backyard adventures. Twelve of the pictures were in the neighborhood when I would go for my daily walk. The messages and the signs are all around us. Nature is speaking to us all the time. All we need to do is notice, listen, and feel the energy with our heart.
Cactus
You will notice there are several photos of different kind of cactus and native plants. I love the way they look and they each have their own unique energy and vibrancy to them. There is a softness to some and yet they will bite or sting you with their prickers without a second thought.
Sky
So many times we forgot to look up. Some of the most amazing photos are of the clouds, the sunrise, the sunset or picking up how it glistens off or through a tree.
Animals and Insects
They are always around though sometimes we have to stop and look. If we are making all kinds of noise as we are walking along, we may not notice them. If we stop every once in a while and just look around you may be surprised at who is watching you.
Landscapes
There are so many wonderful formations of land around us. There’s an area near where I live called Elephant Head and wow does it ever look like an elephant’s head – only from certain angles though. Another thing to notice – the direction you’re facing, the shadows or figures that may show up in the photo, that you may not see with your eyes.
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