Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals

The Medicine Cards were developed by Jamie Sams, David Carson and Angela C. Werneke. They are beautifully drawn and easy to understand. You can use this deck to help you find your totem animals, and then draw resources for strength, courage, or any other attribute found in nature to help you make the right choices for your own life path.

Taken from the ideas and belief structure prevalent in the Native American culture found in the Southwestern United States, these cards all but sing when you use them. There is no major or minor arcane, only the animals and each is as important as the next. If you have a good understanding of animal totems, then this is the deck for you. However, one reviewed drawback to the deck is that the reference book that comes with it, although beautifully illustrated, is a large hardbound book, making it difficult to carry your cards with you if you need to check the reference section often. Better to study it and then leave the book at home if you like to give readings on a whim.

The cards are large and can be difficult to shuffle, but the simplicity and relevance of the totem animals to life’s situations cancel out and less than positive reviews that this deck could get. It really is one of the best on the market incorporating the wisdom found in nature.

The reference book tells the story of how the medicine deck was inspired by several different tribes of Native American Indians. Many other reviewers have tried to debunk the deck as having too vague a reference as to which tribes actually use these animal totems, but anyone who has studied Native American spiritualism knows that the animals represented here are found throughout the United States, and therefore are a realistic representation of all of the animals. Forget about the nit picky reviews and enjoy the deck.