Though my daughter calls them ‘Mom’s voodoo cards’, my Angel® Cards have been a source of meditation, guidance, and at times needed kick in the fanny since I received my original set ages ago. My pastor – a Catholic priest – kept a set in the rectory and that’s who gave me my first set. So I’m pretty sure voodoo isn’t part of the equation. I do have a strong belief in angels though.

So what are Angel® Cards? According to the box they are inspirational messages and meditations. There are 72 small cards, each with a one word quality or characteristic such as kindness, obedience, (I went through a time when I picked obedience all the time!) strength, responsibility. Along with the word is a simple drawing of an angel – or two or three – illustrating the word’s message. An accompanying booklet gives the definition of the word in the context of meditation and inspiration.

The idea is to lay out all the cards, face down, and pick the card that draws you somehow. The word and image are messages for you. Hence the reason I got obedience more often than I wanted during a period of time, but it was the kick in the fanny I needed. So I use my cards at various times.

When my oldest son was going into high school – we’d homeschooled up to this point – he was understandably nervous and no amount of reassuring or encouraging seemed to ease his mind. So I suggested that he draw an Angel® Card. Which he did. He drew Adventure: Your life is a grand adventure. Take risks. Explore the unknown. Journey forth into the great, wide open without preplanned outcomes.

The angel on the card has a walking stick and is looking out to the horizon. I thought it was the perfect card and the perfect way to approach entering high school. Zachary’s expression made me think he didn’t agree. I asked him what was wrong. He admitted he’d already drawn a card. I asked him which card he got that time. He’d gotten Adventure then too.

Several years ago my sisters and I finally when through our Mom’s jewelry, she’d passed away years before. As sisters do, we shared stories about Mom, laughed, and cried a little, and felt her there with us.

At the time one of us was going through a really difficult time, basically everything – job, relationship, health – had fallen apart all at once. She couldn’t imagine climbing out of that despair. I’d brought the cards and we each chose one.

The one chosen by the one of us at her lowest was Patience: Be fully available to the present and bring all your attention to what is actually happening now. Relax into the flow of life.

That’s what she needed to hear. Not to dwell on what had happened – though that was easier said than done –but to take each day at a time and know that time was needed. As she looked more closely at the card she noticed the angel was knitting. Not only is knitting a great example of patience, it happened to be our Mom’s favorite pastime.

Last year during my Sister Poets Retreat we four each drew a card. All of us have a particular connection to nature and each card we drew had an image of a tree. When I returned home I went through the cards and the only cards with trees were the four we picked.

So it’s the beginning of a New Year and on Facebook there’s been a thread suggesting choosing a word for yourself for the coming year. I decided to let an angel pick mine. My word for this year is Respect: Cultivate deep listening and act in ways that acknowledge and esteem yourself and others. Everyone and all life matters. Recognize, honor, and elicit the best.

It’s probably not the word I would have chosen. I was hoping for something more fun like Creativity!! But it’s a good word for me. I do respect and honor others. I’m not always so good at honoring myself, especially when it comes to respecting my writing and writing time. With four big projects this year, it’s a reminder I need to do better.

Like I said earlier. Sometimes I need a kick in the fanny.

If you picked a word for yourself what was it or would it be?