Today’s trio of cards all said “healing” to me, and I think some of you would agree when seeing them. While we don’t typically think of cocoa as healing, the original drink was quite different.
I have to confess to always giggling a little when I see this card. I once found a molinillo, the wooden whisk used to make the cocoa, in a flea market and didn’t know what it was, assuming it was actually some sort of strange rattle (I’m also a hand drummer and love finding different percussive instruments). After being told what it actually was, I was just as pleased as I’m also a chocolate lover.
Having read about the extensive process of making cacao into cocoa nibs and then even further processing to make chocolate in The Wild Hunt’s recent article, I know that the chocolate we eat is a far cry from the sacred mix drank by the Aztecs for spiritual and medicinal purposes. It would be interesting to try a more original form of the treat, and likely less damaging to the world.
The Hierophant – Cacao
A revelation is at hand; seek the truth in spiritual teachings; the most potent wisdom emerges from the heart.
A clay pot of ceremonial cacao sits on an ancestral tapestry decorated with pink primrose blossoms. A basalt mortar holds roasted cacao beans, a cinnamon stick, and a chili. A replica of an ancient incense burner in the shape of a woman emerging from a hill of cacao rests on a pile of or raw beans and unopened pods. A decorative molinillo lies on the tapestry, having already stirred and frothed the walnut-brown elixir.
Meaning: The secrets of the sacred are available to all. Learn them. Teach them. Drinking pure cacao is an ancient practice that leads to greater perceptive awareness by opening the heart. Commercial chocolate is stripped of its beneficial properties, cloaked in delicious but harmful ingredients. Only true cacao can open the capillaries and increase blood flow. Spiritual teaching must speak authentically to reach the heart, but some things must be revealed slowly. As too much cacao can cause the pulse to quicken, learning too much too fast can overwhelm. Have patience with the pace of the divine. Remain devoted to mystery, yet have respect for ceremony.
Crafting with the Hierophant:
• Create or participate in a cacao ceremony and listen for an epiphany.
• Enjoy true chocolate. Find an ethical source of whole cacao beans. Dip them in vanilla honey.
• Enhance your perceptive abilities by learning about heart intelligence at heartmath.org.
The Herbcrafter’s Tarot by author Latisha Guthrie and artist Joanna Powell Colbert
Parting the Mists 
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