Body Healing Cards, by Ewald Kliegel with illustrations by Anne Heng
Findhorn Press, 9781644112557, 56 cards and 127 pages, June 2021
In this beautiful set of cards and the accompanying guidebook, Body Healing Cards, author Ewald Kliegel & illustrator Anne Heng provide a wonderful way to talk with your body’s organs. By focusing on an organ and then either choosing or intuitively drawing cards, one can learn more about disease, illness, or upset in the body and discover ways to heal. Using his 40+ years of experience as a massage therapist, naturopath, and reflexologist, Kliegel really knows the human body.
He invites you to use this set of cards to communicate with your body and “intuitively investigate the essence of your individual organs and discover their physical, soul and spiritual layers.”1 I was intrigued by the concept of these cards due to my work as a Reiki master, hypnotist, and tarot card reader.
After briefly perusing the first few pages of the guidebook, I decided to do a card reading regarding my shoulders. I have an old injury on one shoulder and some arthritis in both shoulders. Sometimes I have pain in one or both shoulders during the night, as I am a side sleeper.
I chose the Health Generator Spread2 and chose the Shoulders card for the center of the reading. The design on the Shoulder card featured a human form balancing itself on a spire, with arms outstretched and an apothecary scale behind it. It reminds me of a tightrope walker, and I considered how my shoulders help me balance myself and my life.
With Shoulders lying face up, I proceeded to shuffle the cards and then drew three cards and placed them face down on the right of the center card. Next, I drew two cards and placed those face down on the left of the center card. Now that I had all of my cards, I focused on the Shoulders card and followed Kliegel’s six questions to ask both the card and my shoulders for clues about my pain.
1. What do I see in this image?
2. Which sensations, feelings, emotions, perceptions or memories come to mind?
3. What do I like most about the image?
4. What do I not like at all in the image?
5. If I were to step inside the image, what could I see, hear or recognize as the person in it?
6. How does all this fit together with the organ and my topic?3
As I went through the questions, I felt into the beautiful design of blues and purples. The idea of balance came up with this thought: “As long as I am balanced, I am also safe.” Lastly, I turned to the page in the guidebook where Kliegel shares more information about the Shoulders and suggests Hypersthene and Fluorite as two crystals that may support shoulder health.4
The first three cards revealed even more about this situation. The first card was Thymus. It featured all of the chakra colors and a human being with arms raised over its head, reaching skyward. This visual led me to think about the interconnectedness of all of the parts of my body and how when I am stressed, I may tense or hold my shoulders in a tight or constricted way.
The questions led me to realize that my thymus can help transform my stress. The crystals Kliegel recommended were Bloodstone and Aquamarine. I realized that I had some of these beads on hand and decided to make a bracelet with these stones and others I may learn about during this adventure.
In the second card, I saw Throat and the human being was singing out, free and easy. She seemed so powerful, asking for help or support, to lighten her burdens. Again, I caught the tie-in to my shoulders.
For the third card in this series, Ears appeared, and I felt the sensation of the sound of the ocean when you hold a shell to your ear. I also heard a soft echo and classical music. I loved the spiral shape of the background artwork and the pleasing rainbow of colors. One suggestion I heard while reviewing this card: “How may I listen to my shoulders for healing clues?”
Next, I turned to the two cards to the left of the Shoulder card. Here I found the card for Bronchi, which are the tubes that connect your trachea to your lungs. By following the trail of the 5 questions (which are slightly different for these two cards in this spread), I was reminded of the power of the breath to bring calm. Once again, when I am calm, the shoulders relax and I can center myself. I saw myself in a calming oasis and realized that I may be holding my breath and tensing up during my day. Kliegel suggests that you “Follow your breath without trying to change it.”5
The last card in this spread was Connective Tissue. The visual was a boy holding an egg, filled with a tree, a dragonfly, water and plants. One of the questions led me to realize that I live inside nature and that I can find my calm place in nature. This helped me to see the interconnectedness of everything again and how nature responds to me and my feelings.
Kliegel really encourages you to look at all of the cards and “See how these organs relate to my question, issue or situation?”6 This works as a type of summation of the time you have spent with the cards regarding your health issue. Another helpful question is “How may I use what I have learned to make a change in my health situation?”7
In the section called “Portraits of the Organs”, Kliegel goes through each of 52 organs and gives basic information and two crystals for healing benefits. You can refer to this information to learn more about the organs and create affirmations. Kliegel recommends that you create two affirmations for each card and consider utilizing the crystal recommendations, as well.
I used the Health Generator Spread again for my husband and a friend. My husband was interested in learning more about his fatty liver. He learned about the importance of deep breathing and formulated some affirmations to help better nourish himself and be more conscious of his fears.
For my friend, we investigated her diverticulitis, which is based in her large intestine. From her spread, she learned to “Concentrate on what’s important, and let go of trivial matters.”8 Surprisingly, she also got a message from her stomach and learned this:
“The druid of the stomach cauldron watches over our food as well as how we think and feel about our life force and nourishing our soul.” 9
She shared that this visual will help her make better choices for her own nutrition.
The guidebook has several spreads, some of which are very complex. One even makes use of all of the cards. I tried Spread 5, Healing Connections, and found it very complicated, as it used ten cards and multiple questions. If one had a very complex health situation, perhaps the more complicated spreads could be helpful. However, I found the spread with five cards that accented the one central card to be very targeted and helpful.
At the back of the guidebook, Kliegel offers a chart of all of the organs, arranged in alphabetical order and adds two affirmations and two crystal recommendations. For example, for my husband’s reading, we found a great affirmation for his liver: “I draw on abundance and imagination.” efn_note]page 117[/efn_note] Kliegel also recommends Malachite and Chrome Diopside for supportive crystals.
The cards are printed on a very nice card-stock, are a good size, and are not too large for easy shuffling. The colors of the artwork are very pleasing to the eye and also add to the healing quality of the entire card system. The back of the cards is a beautiful mix of cooling blues and sea-foam green. I found the cards visually appealing and calming. I loved the box, with its magnetic flap and cutout to hold the cards, with just enough room for the guidebook to fit easily inside.
This card set is probably best for someone who has some experience working with tarot or oracle cards and is comfortable working with different spreads. I really love all of the questions that Kliegel utilizes in each of the spreads. He also has a few simple meditations that one can use to get into a good space for doing work with this deck. Here is one example:
To go back and create space for the whole, close your eyes for a moment and get into the flow with the practice of the four breaths:
– Root yourself in the earth with magma splashing.
– Open your imaginary sunroof for the universal light beam
– Feel the bubble bath of light around your roots in the magma
– Let the flames blaze high10
I really enjoyed working with the Body Healing Cards and look forward to more adventures. You can always use it for a quick reading (a three-card spread would also work very well) and refer to the guidebook as needed. This card set would be great for a massage therapist or any type of body worker to accent client sessions. I am also inspired to reflect more on the interconnectedness of my body and its many organs, which work in concert for my good health.
PJ Spur is an author, intuitive, spiritual mentor, astrologer, and hypnotist. She does tarot & oracle card readings, natal chart readings, grief coaching, and relationship healing. She also has hosted a weekly “Coffee & Cards” event with her Soul Compass Community for the past four years. Her book Navigating Grief with Grace is available on Amazon. Learn more at www.dearpj.com