The World - Tarot & Tea

Hello, dear Moonbeams! Thanks for stopping by for another installment of Tarot & Tea. This week's card is an auspicious one. Card 21 of the Major Arcana, The World, is representative of completion. The path of The Fool (Card 0) through the Major Arcana reflects the archetypal myth, the Hero's Journey. The World represents the end of the journey, as The Fool integrates all of the parts of himself and the lessons he learned along the way. This bringing together of many elements, synergizing into a whole, is what enables us to grow so that we are able to reach our goals. There is a real sense of accomplishment at this point and we can savor the feeling of fulfillment that comes with our success. Once personal integrity has been obtained, we begin the next stage of our development which is to render service unto others by getting involved within the larger community. As a complete person, we are now able to offer our contributions to the greater whole. Although The World is the final card of the trump suit, it heralds the commencement the Minor Arca na... and of the a new eon. The completion of creation is just the beginning of life!

I had a lot of trouble selecting a tea to pair with such a vastly encompassing card, but in the end I figured I couldn't go wrong with our Nourishing Blend. Alfalfa, Gotu Kola, Nettles, Oatstraw, Peppermint, Rosehips, Licorice, and Lavender synergize wonderfully to create a balanced herbal formula to help us complete our body's nutritional requirements. This alimentary blend can be taken as a tisane (herbal tea), but it makes an especially awesome, nutritive herbal infusion. To prepare an infusion, add one ounce of Nourishing Blend to a quart canning jar and then fill the jar up with boiling water. Cover tightly and leave this to steep for at least four hours. When it's ready, just strain out the plant material and there you go! The result of this process is a truly wholesome elixir which offers a potent nutritional contribution to our overall health and well-being.

This week's card was pulled from the Native American Tarot Deck. At first glance, I wasn't so sure about this deck because, unfortunately, I've grown accustomed to the frequent appropriation and subsequent distortion of Amerindian cultural traditions. However, upon closer inspection I was excited to see that this deck has a solid foundation of cultural awareness. The deck was created by a woman of Shawnee heritage, Magda Weck Gonzalez, and thoughtfully illustrated in ink and colored pencils by her husband, J.A. Gonzalez. Blackfoot medicine man, Harry Sparrowhawk, contributed his insight to the deck's development. The cards feature Native American history, symbolism, and folklore from many tribes including the Apache, Arapaho, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Chippewa, Comanche, Hopi, Huron, Inuit, Iroquois, Kiowa, Navaho, Papago, Pima, Pueblo, Shawnee, Sioux and others. As a long-time Tarot enthusiast, I found the depictions of the cards to be both relevant and extremely thought-provoking. I feel like this deck offers a fresh perspective on Tarot through the lens of indigenous cultural traditions. All things considered, I give this deck my highest recommendation—particularly for advanced readers, as well as anyone with Native American ancestry.

You can find our Nourishing Blend here: https://store.moonriseherbs.com/products/nourishing-blend-tea-1-oz