DECK REVIEW: AboraMana: Channeled Goddess Wisdom Cards

AboraMana:  Channeled Goddess Wisdom Cards 

Neithard Horn

2011

Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.

www.schifferbooks.com

ISBN #: 978-0-7643-3696-6

USD: $34.99

Product Specifics: 

·         Cards:  4 ½” X 3”, heavy card stock, nicely laminated

·         Guidebook:  8 X 5 ½”, 176 pages, glossy paper, B&W full size images of each card

·         Box:  11 ¾ X 6 X 1 ¾”, sturdy & laminated with a hinge-style lid with magnetic closure

The AboraMana is not your typical goddess oracle deck.  Firstly, the author is male and his goal for this deck was to create an oracular system that would help the women of today find their place in the world and to help them assert their inner power.  Secondly, the deck was not created in some nice artist’s studio, not even a loft or a space in a room set aside for the creation of art.  Neithard Horn created the deck via channeling from the Goddess in a cave on the Carnary Islands and also on a beach on the Hawaiian island of Kua’i.  Lastly, the manner in which this deck operates is very different from most others.  As one who has consulted various tarot and oracular decks over the past 33 years I grew accustomed to approaching a deck with a question, problem, or a situation about which I needed more information.  When using a deck I am looking for answers.  The AboraMana does not provide the reader with the answers itself.  Instead, the interpretations of the cards are written in such a way (remember, also that this is all channeled material throughout) as to ask questions of the reader.  If you take the time to examine the questions and formulate your own answers, therein lies your answer or solution.  In that way, this deck is an excellent tool for guided self-examination.

There is only one lay out discussed in the book and the author does not say whether the deck is useful with typical tarot lay outs or not.  As an experiment, I used the deck with a number of typical tarot lay outs, including the 3-card past-present-future, the 3-card body-mind-spirit, and the Celtic Cross.  At first, the cards did not seem to wish to cooperate.  However, after a few prayers to the Goddess explaining I just wanted to see if the deck could be used another way and asking for Her permission, suddenly, the deck worked just fine in these traditional lay outs.  I do suggest that if you purchase this deck and wish to use traditional tarot lay outs with it that you first ask the Goddess for permission.  I tried for over an hour to use these cards traditionally, without any success until I began to pray to Her.  Some may consider this to be hokey, but that was my experience with this deck, for what it’s worth.

The deck has 89 cards, but it is not organized like a tarot deck.  There are groupings of cards that can be construed as suits:  the Houses of Air, Fire, Water, Earth, & House of AboraMana.  The author suggests laying out the entire deck in the order he specifies in the guidebook. You will need a large table or counter for this exercise.  If you do this, and I highly recommend that you do, you will be able to see connections among the cards within each House, and also further connections between the cards within each subset of each House.  This exercise will aid in your understanding of the cards and how they work together as a cohesive system. 

The Houses are further sub-divided into various sets, which also are organized into cohesive groupings.  They are as follows:  The Jokers (Fates), Your Fighting Spirit, The Hall of God, The Matrix That is the Human Soul, The Science of Physics, The Pillars of the Universe and Time, Magic Physics, The Four Elemental Houses, The Science of Biology, Life-Death, AboraMana, Magic Biology, Devi and Deva, Humankind, FirstWoman and FirstMan, The Temple, Religion and Ceremony, You, and Who are You?  Define  Yourself.  As you can surmise from the titles of the various sets there is an inherent hierarchy within the deck as it moves from universal divine forces through the manifestation of the Universe and of Time, and on into Physics, the Elements, physical life (Biology), onwards to humankind, religion, and finally the big question of who we are.  I found that once I laid out all the cards on my dining room table that the entire exercise, although a bit tedious at first, was quite enlightening and it helped me to work better with the cards, so I highly recommend following the author’s guidelines on page 16 of the guidebook in laying out all the cards in the deck before you begin to use the deck for readings.  You’ll be glad you took the time to do this.

As mentioned, the guidebook only contains one layout, which is similar to the Tree of Life lay out found in many tarot books, but the lay out works a bit differently than the Tree of Life.  The card interpretations provided in the guidebook have no reverse meanings, with the sole exception of a single card, Number 17, that appears twice in the deck with the second version of the card being a reversed image of the first entitled, “The Mirror.”  Interpretations pose various questions to the reader or suggest areas of the reader’s life that ought to be further examined.  This is basically a non-predictive oracle.

As a mother I cannot recommend that minor children use this deck simply because there is a great deal of nudity in it with graphic depictions of male genitalia.  Now, the nudity does lend itself to the interpretation of the card so it’s not nudity for nudity’s sake as a number of card interpretations do focus on sexuality.  However, my daughter is just 12 and although she is reading her own tarot cards, personally, I would not want her to ever view this deck.  Then, that’s just me and everyone has different views on the matter.

The artwork itself is visionary in nature.  Created in a cave on a tropical island and later also on a beach, the images, as well as the interpretations, are all channeled.  The images have a dreamlike quality to them.  Cards with bright colors are balanced by others with earthier tones.

The cards shuffle well and although they are highly laminated (they will last through countless shuffling), in the humid environment of Houston where I live the cards do not stick to one another. 

Regarding packaging, Schiffer sets a higher standard and I sincerely wish other publishers of tarot and oracle decks would follow their example.  The cards and guidebook come packaged in a very sturdy and strong cardboard box that is also heavily laminated.  The lid is hinged with a magnetic closure and it closes perfectly every time.  Within the box the cards and guidebook lie side by side.  Both the box and cards will last through years of regular use. 

Energy of the Day - 4 of Swords 5-17-11

ENERGY OF THE DAY ~ 4 of Swords

From , The Mystic Faerie Tarot, by Linda Ravenscroft, Guidebook by Barbara Moore.  Llewellyn, 2007.  First Edition, First Printing.

4 of Swords: Rest, Relaxation, Recuperation

Having experienced illness or perhaps just a trying time, one faery cradles another in an attempt to comfort her.

We all have them – those days that are just totally “blah” when nothing seems to work out and we can’t get motivated to do much of anything.  Energetically, many of us are coming out of such a time period.  This card is saying that the going has been slow in relationships, finances, and making new plans.  However, the energy is shifting and if we just give things a bit more time they will begin to move forward again and we can look forward to things flowing along as usual.  Down periods are good times for self-reflection and sometimes enforced relaxation for those of us who can’t seem to sit still.  Take the time to relax and know that busier times are just around the corner.

 

THIS DECK IS FOR SALE.  It has its original packaging including a gold organza bag in which to place the cards.  I never used the deck so it’s in pristine condition, the guidebook as well.   Originally retailing for $24.95, it is on sale in perfect MINT condition for $18.00, including shipping/handling in the domestic US.  For all other countries the price is $30.00, including international shipping/handling.

DOMESTIC US PAYPAL LINK:  https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=Z7NTU784SGCJS

INTERNATIONAL PAYPAL LINK:  https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7XKQ3KHEN2AR8

New Service Debuting This Weekend!

For those of you who have friended me on Facebook, you probably have already heard about my Manifestation Mandalas.  For those of you who haven't, in a nutshell, I create Manifestation Mandalas, which are 12X12" acrylic paintings on canvas that contain a mandala designed uniquely for an individual.  I connect with my angels & spirit guides, as well as those of my client in order to channel the symbols, their orientation, and color that go into each Manifestation Mandala. 

The Manifestation Mandala image here is one I created recently for Ruth Ibbotson who lives in England.  She recently received it and was sweet enough to write a glowing review & send it to me.  I will be including that as a testimonial on the ordering page at my site.

There will be more information as to what  Manifestation Mandalas are, how they are created, and how they can be used as powerful tools of self-transformation that will be posted at my site.  I just wanted to give everyone who follows me the heads up that the page is going up at my site, perhaps as early as tomorrow.  I'll be posting the link here, at Facebook on my personal Wall & my Business Page, and also within my various groups at Facebook (Magickal Musings, Magickal Musings Tarot, and of course, Manifestation Mandalas).

I am very excited about this new service as I feel it provides a very unique concept and one that I strongly feel will help many people to begin manifesting positive changes in their lives.

ADDENDUM: Journey Oracle deck review - additional observations

I don't mean to go on and on about this deck, and I won't, but I felt compelled to say a few more things about it that have been inspired by events at my home and also by tweets with Janet Boyer on Twitter, who also enjoys this deck.

Firstly, my 12 year old daughter is interested in tarot.  A few months ago she asked me to buy her a deck.  She now has two in her collection - Selena Lin's Manga Tarot and Ciro Marchetti's Gilded Tarot.  Prior to receiving her first deck I did what I do with all my tarot students. I sat her down and took her through the major arcana card by card asking her to tell me how the card made her feel.  I use an old Robin Wood deck for this for which I have blacked out the card titles.  My daughter would say one to three words on each card.  For example, I remember her words for the Empress were: pregnant, rich, and loving.  A typical student takes 2 class sessions to make it through the majors.  My daughter got through them in about 20 minutes. At that point I determined she was indeed ready for her own deck & proudly bought it for her.  She has since been learning the tarot on her own making it very clear she doesn't need her old mom to show her the ropes.

When I get a new deck she must, of course, examine it and attempt to use it.  While working with The Journey Oracle for my review the deck kept disappearing on me.  I would always find it in her room.  When she found out I was writing a review she said, "oooh, let me write it!  I love this deck!"  I told her when she's a bit older she can get her own blog and review decks on her own.  She was thrilled with the idea.

Janet Boyer & I have been tweeting back & forth about the deck and how powerful a "girl tool" it can be.  I wish now I had thought to stress that in my original review.  The cards convey very positive traits of strong, determined women who go out & achieve something with their life.  Of course, to remain balanced, there are also other cards of not-so-great traits, but every good deck does have balance & sometimes the situations of our lives do bring out the worse in even the strongest and most determined person, regardless of gender.

In using the deck (it has now permanently disappeared from my office!), my daughter has been telling me quite excitedly that the deck is so very accurate and she loves the messages it has been giving her.  Interestingly, in my original review I stated that when I read about her she would come up in the reading as The Radiant One.  After she had used the deck avidly for a couple of days I asked her if she was seeing any repetitive cards.  Immediately she said, "Yeah!  The Radiant One is coming up for me all the time.  I thought it was dented or something, but there's nothing wrong to make it turn up so much." 

I received a tweet from Janet Boyer who tweeted, "The Journey Oracle is full of girl power.  I don't blame your daughter for wanting her OWN copy!  LOL"  Janet ~ you have my thanks for inspiring me to write a bit more about this lovely little deck.

Yes, this deck is indeed brimming over with girl power for both young and older girls.  Now that my daughter is in school The Journey Oracle is back in my office.  However, I'm sure later on once she's back home this deck will once again disappear.  It could be worse.  At least right now she's only 12 and not big enough to start borrowing my clothes!  Not that she ever would, mind you.  In her opinion I have absolutely NO sense of fashion.  However, I know a great deck when I see one.

REVIEW: The Tarot Game

The Tarot Game, by Jude Alexander

Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2010

www.schifferbooks.com

ISBN #: 978-0-7643-3448-1 

$39.99

A unique concept, The Tarot Game consists of a game board, 78 cards containing keywords for each tarot card, 3 dice, 8 polished stone game pieces, 90 blessing coins, and laminated reading sheets that players fill out during the game.  In order to play the game a traditional tarot deck must be used.  The game does not come with one. 

Unlike other games, the point of this game is not to win, but to end up with your own reading by game’s end.  The game ends once you have filled your reading card.  There are three types of reading cards:  Novice (little to no experience with tarot), Enthusiast (can read tarot for self, collects decks), and Adept (readers tarot fluently, professional reader).  I do recommend that should you purchase The Tarot Game that you copy the cards.  The cards come laminated and we had great difficulty in finding pens that would write on them.  We ended up using separate sheets of paper. 

Each time you play The Tarot Game you begin by writing an issue or question on your reading card.  This applies to all three levels of players.  Game play commences as players roll the dice to move their polished stone pieces along the body of a coiled snake toward the center of the board.  Spaces on the board are named for each of the 22 major arcana cards, beginning with The Fool and ending with The Universe.   When landing on a major arcana spot the player chooses a number from 1 – 5.  Another player then reads a question for the major arcana card upon which they landed that corresponds to the number chosen at random by the player.  The player then answers the question.  

 

There are four other types of spaces players can land on:  Star, Question Mark, Spiral, and Infinity symbol.  The Star, Question Mark, and Spiral all have cards to match them on which are written various tarot-related activities.  When landing on one of these spots the player chooses a card from the appropriate pile and does what the card suggests.  The Infinity spots on the board are “free play” – the player is allowed to do whatever they choose, including getting up and fixing themselves a snack while the other players wait to take their turn.  Play ends when the reading card is filled.  You then interpret the cards you received during play so the end result is that each player receives a reading.  They can read their own cards, or the Adept player can offer to interpret the tarot cards other players received.

 

The text on the back of the box reads, “Start the party …  Tea, wine, or margaritas:  you decide!  The Tarot Game encourages storytelling and laughter, providing a fun environment to address life’s issues.  … Through the Tarot wisdom, players realize lessons of the past, see the truth of present circumstances, and refine choices for the future.  Each play of the game creates a meaningful experience, and players attain a complete Tarot card reading at the game’s end.  Professional and experienced readers can organize and facilitate game parties, offering in-depth interpretations for the readings …”

 The Tarot Game is indeed a great game for like-minded adults to play at a party.  It’s a great way to get to know your friends better, but some may find a few of the questions a bit intimidating. It will be up to each player just how much information they wish to divulge while playing the game.  Will you keep your cards close to your vest or let it all hang out?  The decision is yours.

 The instructions say that The Tarot Game can also be used by an individual as a meditative tool, so this is how I first approached it.  I honestly did not think this would work out too well.  My 12-year-old daughter was having trouble in social studies and the teacher ended up being the real source of the problems.  My question revolved around asking for advice on how best to approach this issue so that I could obtain a satisfactory outcome for my child.  I chose the Adept reading sheet, which provides the player with six reading positions to fill out.  By the time I had my card filled out not only did The Tarot Game result in giving me an actual reading, but it was very pertinent and insightful concerning my issue.  I went on to use the insights gained to better handle the teacher, involve the principle, and get this problem straightened out for my daughter.  I must say I was VERY impressed with how well The Tarot Game worked as a meditative tool when used by an individual.   I will be definitely using it again in that manner for myself.

 

The next stage of using The Tarot Game consisted of involving my family as guinea pigs.  My husband was the Novice.  He has no experience with tarot, nor is he interested in it.  Our daughter was the Enthusiast.   A few months ago she asked for her first tarot deck, already owns two decks, and has been teaching herself to read the cards.  I played the role of the Adept as I am a professional reader with over 25 years of experience.

 

My husband, being totally unfamiliar with tarot, felt uncomfortable with some of the questions, but that also had to do with the company in which we were playing the game.  There are just some things a parent does not divulge in front of their child, so some questions were skipped and others read or a different card chosen.  Despite that, we enjoyed playing the game and by the end each of us had received a tarot reading, which I then interpreted for my husband and daughter.  They both found it to be a very interesting experience.   My husband, as the Novice, enjoyed it and was thankful there was an Adept playing along who could then interpret his cards for him as he was clueless.  Despite it all, he had fun and was a very good sport about the whole thing.  My daughter asked a question she had earlier asked of her tarot deck.  When the game ended she looked very perplexed.  When I asked her what was wrong she said that her deck had given her positive cards in response to her question, but that during the game she had received what she considered to be negative cards (6 of Swords, 5 of Cups, the Devil).  However, when I helped her interpret her cards she was amazed that she was still receiving the same message she had gotten when using her own deck.  This proved to me the validity of The Tarot Game as not just a game, but a divinatory tool.

 If you’re a reader and you are looking for a whole new way to give yourself a reading, The Tarot Game will help you accomplish that.  A roll of the dice determines the spaces you land on and the cards you receive for your reading.  You have no control whatsoever over which cards end up in your reading.  If you’re interested in tarot and have like-minded friends, this game is also for you.  It can be used to get a party going and many of the questions in the game serve to help break the ice between people who may not know each other very well.  I haven’t used The Tarot Game within a party context, but I would figure, based upon the type of questions it asks of the players, that by game’s end a sense of camaraderie between the players would be established. 

 For me personally, The Tarot Game will be a very powerful meditative tool that I look forward to using many times in the future.

DECK REVIEW: Journely Oracle Cards, by Adrienne Trafford

The Journey Oracle, Adrienne Trafford

Schiffer Publishing, 2011

http://www.schifferbooks.com

ISBN #: 978-0-7643-3783-3

Box Dimensions:5 3/16 X 3 3/16 X 1 3/16"

Cards & Guide Book Dimensions:4 1/2" X 2 3/4"

From the box:  “Discover your personal pathway.  Oracle cards for the choices we make in our daily lives.  46 stunning art cards featuring strong, decisive women & an easy-to-follow guide.”

Contained within a ribbon-hinged box with a magnetic closure, the Journey Oracle cards rest in a recessed niche with the paperback guide book resting on top.  The box is small enough that it can easily fit into a purse and it is nicely laminated to save it from eventual wear and tear.

The card backs are decorated with a tree containing a nest with two blue eggs – a very sweet visual homage to the author’s “two eggs,” her daughters.  The cards are nicely laminated with colored backgrounds of various colors throughout the deck; including, violet, pink, orange, three shades of green, light blue, burnt orange, etc …  This is not a reflection of various suits, but each color works well with the colors within that particular image and helps them all to visually “pop.”  Departing from the typical portrait-orientation, four cards are rendered in landscape orientation.  As a professional reader and artist I found this to be both interesting and refreshing. 

Card titles reflect characteristics that strong women have in common (Passion, Hope, Patience, etc …), along with cards reflecting possible weaknesses or sources of inner conflict (Storms, Torn, Confined, etc …).  Other cards represent qualities women possess that are also spiritual forces that can help in a particular situation; such as, Appreciation, Hope, Innocence, Independence, Defiance, and Desire.  Other cards represent universal archetypes; such as, The Guardian, The Adventurer, The Actress, The Quiet One, The Vampire (as in psychic vampire, not the mythological creature of the night), The Champion, The Messenger, and The Radiant One.  Divine energies are represented by The Goddess, Mother Earth, Eve, and The Ancestors.  Two cards depart from the formula and do not depict women.  Resilience is a tree stump with a single small living branch protruding from the very top with a blue bird perched upon it.  Home is a very comforting image of a quaint cottage surrounded by lush trees with a loving Mother Moon gazing down upon the scene and a bird’s nest in the foreground containing two blue eggs representing the author’s children.

The guide book contains a black and white image of each card on the opposite page from that card’s interpretation, which is divided into two sections:  “What the card says” and “What the card means.”  The cards for Appreciation and Home include a third section, “Consider this.”  The guide book contains no spreads and the author tells the reader that her cards can be used any way we see fit, including standard tarot lay outs.  I have done single card draws, 3-card draws, and a few Celtic Cross readings for myself using this deck.  It works well with all of these methods.  The Celtic Cross readings I gave myself were particularly insightful.  

Shorter lay outs result in readings that are clear and to the point.  A wonderful example of this is a 3-card draw I did regarding my 12-year-old daughter and a teacher who has been giving her problems.  My husband has just spoken to the principle and my question was, “How will all this turn out for my daughter?”  She had received an F in the class for the previous grading period due to having seven zeros on assignments and the teacher had never informed us she was doing so poorly, plus there were other issues going back to the start of the school year.

The cards I received were as follows:

-          Defiance:  “stand up, dust yourself off, & fight back …” (Guide Book, p. 18)

-          The Radiant One: “Wherever you go, people will be glad you are there.  You can inspire them to do great things…” (Guide Book, p. 84) (this card always comes up to represent my daughter)

-          Changes:  “As we change, we also grow …  We can’t change what has already happened, but can only move on and learn from what has happened …” (Guide Book, p. 14).

I interpreted this to mean we were correct in going to the principle as our daughter’s well being was at stake, and that changes of a positive nature would occur.  Interestingly, in other readings where the teacher appears as a card she is always represented by The Vampire.  The day after I did this reading the principle called me to say the teacher will allow our daughter to make up all the zero assignments and after she turns them in the F will be expunged from her record and her grade will be changed.  This is most definitely a situation where, although you usually can’t change what has already happened, in our daughter’s case she was being granted a unique opportunity, but we are all moving on having learned a great deal from the experience. 

This short reading got it right.  We were defiant and supported our child by going to the highest authority at the school.  Our daughter has remained bright and optimistic despite it all and she truly is The Radiant One, as depicted in this deck.  Changes were something that were most definitely needed in the situation.  You can see how well The Journey Oracle addressed this issue. It was clear, concise and to the point, not to mention very accurate. 

Personally, I really enjoy this deck. It has a very nice energy – comforting, nurturing, and reassuring.  Colors are bright and vibrant.  The cards may stick together a bit while shuffling if you live in a very humid climate as I do, but overall, I’m very happy with the Journey Oracle.  This is a deck definitely for the girls due to women being depicted on all but two cards; however, I have used this deck to read for my husband and it gave him two very accurate and helpful readings.  The deck may not appeal to male readers, however, it can be used to read for men if you so desire. 

I highly recommend the Journey Oracle, which is high praise indeed as oracle decks and I usually do not get along very well.  As a reader I am usually much more comfortable working within the framework of a major arcana and four minor arcana suits.  

I rate this deck 5 stars for the following:

·         Accuracy

·         Artistic rendering

·         Contains wonderful energy

·         Ease of use (no tarot or oracle reading experience is necessary, making this a great deck for beginners)

·         Packaging, in which Schiffer Publishing has excelled time and time again.

For those of us who enjoy adult coloring books (myself included), also available from Schiffer Publishing is a coloring book containing a line drawing of all the cards from The Journey Oracle.  This is a unique opportunity to be able to color in the cards from this deck in any way a person sees fit.  As an artist myself this idea really appeals to me and I hope that more publishers will follow Schiffer's example.  The title is, "The Journey Coloring Book."  It is in paperback and measures 8½ X 11”.   It retails for $9.99 and the ISBN # is:  978-0-7643-3784-0.

 

The Spot Where I Died.

Cliff Hotel, Gwebert-on-the-Sea, Wales

What do you do when you find yourself standing on the very spot that has dominated your nightmares ever since you can remember?  Run?  Scream for help?  Faint?  What would you do?

In my case, I just stood there in total awe.  My mind was reeling.  All those years of having that same nightmare over & over again, then to find out the spot I had seen so many times in my dreams in which I had every rock memorized was truly a real place.  I was right there.  I was looking out at the same view I had had in my nightmare countless times before.

The first time I can remember having the nightmare I was 4.  The nightmare is always exactly the same, like replaying an old beloved movie, except I hated this one and wish I had never seen it in the first place. 

In my dream I’m a grown woman.  I’m walking along a cliff.  The wind is blowing my long black hair back away from my face.  I’m dressed in a long white nightgown that has me completely covered from neck to ankle.  Looking at my face and my hands I can see that I’m very thin.  I look like I’ve been sick for a very long time. 

I begin to walk closer & closer to the cliff’s edge until I’m right up along the edge.  I look down and can see the sea crashing against the black rocks below.  Suddenly, the wind tangles my nightgown around my ankles.  I trip, lose my footing and suddenly find myself falling.  I can see the rocks rushing up to meet me.  I close my eyes & wake up just as my body is about to be smashed on the rocks.

When I was little I would always wake from this nightmare screaming.  It instilled in me a fear of water so I never learned to swim.  I would never go with my friends to the pool.  The thought of submerging my body in water filled me with an overpowering sense of dread.  I never even took baths, only showers, due to my fear of being submerged in water. 

Flash forward to 1989.   I am now 26 years old and still suffer from the same nightmare.  My parents gave me an all-expenses paid 2-week trip to England, Cornwall & Wales as a birthday & graduation gift that year.  I went on a tour through the History Book Club with the theme, “The Real & Legendary King Arthur.”  We saw all the sites connected with the Celtic Chief upon whom Arthur was based as well as places mentioned in Le Morte D’Arthur and later works about the legendary king.  I can honest say that for me, a born Anglophile, it was a trip of a lifetime and the best two weeks of my entire life.

Halfway through the trip we were on our way to our hotel in Wales.  It is located in Gwebert-on-the-Sea and is called The Cliff Hotel.  As our small motor coach approached the hotel suddenly the horizon line began to look very familiar to me.  I asked everyone in our tour group & the guide & driver if they knew if a movie had been filmed there because I knew I had seen these hills before.  No one could tell me a movie had been filmed there.  Considering I had already had some very strange experiences that I had shared with the group one of them quipped, “Maybe you had a past life here and you’re coming back home!”  I remember everyone laughing as they thought the comment was cute.

We checked into the hotel and before dinner I decided to go on a walk on my own.  I could hear the waves crashing against the cliff so I walked toward the cliff.  Down on rocks below I could see some seals.  I wanted to get a better view of them so I could get a nice picture so I began walking along the cliff’s edge, but being very careful not to get too close.  When I got about a quarter mile north of the hotel I looked down at the water and suddenly there it was – the waves crashing against the rocks, the pattern of rocks protruding up from the water – the very spot of my nightmares. 

Gwebert-on-the-Sea, Wales

It hit me in one massive rush.  I was standing on the very spot my nightmare took place.  I remember my stomach turning over and feeling like I was on the verge of vomiting.  Suddenly, the whole world seemed to tilt at a forty-five degree angle. I could feel my knees begin to give way so I slowly backed away from the cliff.  I fell backwards onto the soft grass, landing with a resounding thud.  Two friends from my group who were also out walking had seen me along the cliff’s edge and had been calling to me concerned I was getting too close, but I couldn’t hear them through the roar of the waves as they crashed against the rocks.  They reached me a few seconds after I fell and after checking nothing was broken they helped me up.

It was then I told them my story.  Thankfully, they were both open minded and immediately believed me saying how fascinating it was and that I must have been fated to stand on that very spot once again.  They helped me to the edge and each held me as I leaned over and took a picture of the very spot where a previous life of mine had come to a grisly end.

After dinner that night getting ready for the next day I bathed.  Although my room came with the option, I decided to fill the bath.  I got in and had the most lovely soak. It was the first bath I had had since I had been a toddler.  Since then, I prefer baths over showers. I still have no desire to learn to swim, but I have been healed of my fear of water.  The nightmare also stopped. I never had the dream again once I visited The Cliff Hotel at Gwebert-on-the-Sea in Wales. 

My experience proves that if we can confront traumatic events from our past lives, either in meditation, past life recalls, or actually visiting the very spot, that we can be healed from traumas we have carried forward from our previous incarnations.  It is healthy to face one’s fears because only by facing your fears can you ever hope to vanquish them.