STRUCTURE OF THE DECK

INTRODUCTION – There are 40 cards in the Apprentice Cards deck: 1 welcome card, 4 instructional cards, and 35 cards with images of nature.

COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS – These 35 cards are divided into seven groups (FOUNDATION, EARTH, WATER , FIRE , AIR, SPACE, and INTEGRATION) of 5 cards each.

FOUR IDENTIFYING FACTORS – (back of each card):
The color border and group name (in the upper left hand corner). E.g.: indigo border, SPACE
The element within the group (in the lower right corner). E.g.: 3 fire.

– All 5 elements (1 space, 2 air, 3 fire, 4 water, 5 earth) are represented in each group.

The image in black and white: the essence of the color photograph.
The keyword and message: generic guidelines. E.g.: taste the GENIUS

INTRODUCTION

COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS – FRONT

FOUR IDENTIFYING FACTORS – BACK

THE SEVEN GROUPS

Each of the Seven Groups has a very specific role to play in the deck. There are 5 cards in each group, each one representing a step or an elemental phase from the least tangible to the most: 1 space, 2 air, 3 fire, 4 water, 5 earth. Each step or elemental phase is equally important.

FOUNDATION GROUP: 5 Basic Steps to Transforming Challenges into Opportunities*

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 1. Welcome challenges and life situations with an open mind. Be confident that transformation can take place in that newfound space.
Step 2. Breathe and feel the effect your thoughts have on your body. Notice what you feel and where you feel it – in your head, your back, your heart, your shoulders? Look at the card. See where it takes you.
Step 3. Stay with the felt experience and breathe into it. Give yourself the opportunity to burn, purify, and transmute what created discomfort, until you feel a shift. It takes courage and confidence. What you saw in the card may have changed. Reconcile, shift your view.
Step 4. Feel the shifting effects ripple through you like water. Yield, receive the message.
Step 5. Embody the shift and become what has been transformed. Share your knowledge.

*These 5 foundational steps can be utilized with any of the 35 cards at any time during a reading. If the first card you choose happens to be one of the Foundation Cards, treat it as you would any of the other cards and move it through the 5 steps. All it takes is the confidence and the willingness to shift your perspective and transform challenges into opportunities.

EARTH GROUP: Cultivating the Ground of Your Inner Being

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 1. Trust that you are capable of discovering your innermost self.
Step 2. Dive into the physicality of your being and honor what is being felt through your senses.
Step 3. Allow yourself to feel all that is being felt. Embrace the transformation.
Step 4. Flow into your truest identity.
Step 5. Embody the shift and become what has been transformed.

WATER GROUP: Cleansing the Soil of Memory

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 1. Trust your awareness while going with the flow of what is being presented.
Step 2. Breathe into the feelings that have been brought to the surface. Remain steady as you face the current.
Step 3. Allow the current to flow through you, cleansing the old and making room for the new.
Step 4. Go with the new-found flow, trust where you are being carried.
Step 5. Embody the shift and become what has been transformed.

FIRE GROUP: Purifying by Alchemy’s Virtue

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 1. Trust that you are being birthed into who you truly are.
Step 2. Allow the veils of seduction to be burned so that truth and clarity can be sought.
Step 3. Allow yourself to be consumed, so that transformation may rise from the ashes. This is the soul’s deepest yearning.
Step 4. Perceive the mystery that the illumination is within. Flow into your new perspective.
Step 5. Embody the shift and become what has been transformed.

AIR GROUP: Stirring of New Perception

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 1. Trust that you can observe the mirage of your thoughts with resilience.
Step 2. Cross through the shadows, cross through the light, taking each moment as it comes.
Step 3. Recognize the truth of what you feel, going deeper into authenticity. Discern.
Step 4. Feel the energy of life breathing you, honoring this universal life force as it guides you.
Step 5. Embody the shift and become what has been transformed.

SPACE GROUP: Crossing The Unknown

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 1. Trust that you have the courage to go through newly opened doors.
Step 2. Go forward whole-heartily into this new space. Cartwheel into your imagination.
Step 3. Know that new doors are opening, and taste the possibility of what may be unfolding.
Step 4. Flow into the unknown.
Step 5. Embody the shift and come home to Your Self.

INTEGRATION GROUP: Being Unique

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

These five steps give you the opportunity to integrate the shifts that have been felt. Keep in mind that an end is always a beginning. Patience is part of the process.

Step 1. Deep inside, you see your inner light. Welcome to perfection.
Step 2. The path is clear. Breathe into action.
Step 3. Discern the beauty of innate knowing. Reconcile by recognition.
Step 4. You are flowing into union with your truest Self. Yield to the mirror.
Step 5. BE at one with all. Embody equanimity.

As you keep working with the cards, you gradually discover your own truth and what resonates best with you. As an apprentice of life, know that you can stop at any time to honor your feelings, and integrate what has taken place. If possible, the best place to do a reading is in nature.

THE FIVE ELEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

Since Antiquity, civilizations worldwide looked upon the natural elements –EARTH, WATER, FIRE, AIR and SPACE– as fundamental to existence, respecting the divine presence within them. The Ancients knew that feeling connected to Mother Earth, to whom we owe our life, is crucial for our sanity and well being.

Nowadays, with all systems overloaded, we have lost our connection to the order and cycles of the natural world. We perceive and experience ourselves as isolated entities, believing our individual life force is separate from nature herself.

The Earth, as the primary recipient of our actions, is merely responding to and mirroring what we are doing to ourselves and each other.

The Apprentice Cards, like the Earth, serve as a mirror, catalyst and bridge between the outer world and our inner nature, bringing us back to what the Ancients innately knew.

THE FIVE ELEMENTS OF PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION
The Apprentice Cards being photographs of nature, naturally capture the essence and spirit of the five natural elements: EARTH, WATER, FIRE, AIR and SPACE. These elements are the building blocks for our existence. Outer and inner elements are inter-connected and inseparable.

The outer world is perceived by our mind through the senses. Our perception is based on our historical, cultural, familial and personal experiences. To transform we need to engage the hidden truths that control us so that they may reveal their wisdom.

The inner world is perception itself.

The Apprentice Cards act as a guide to translating this knowledge, thus gaining mastery over our life.

THE FIVE ELEMENTS

Here are some basic guidelines to help you assess your state of being.

FEELING

stability
rootedness
security

IMBALANCE
(lack/excess)

unreliable
dissatisfied
proud
stuck

BALANCE
(integrity)

steadfast
generous
confident
resourceful

FEELING

flexibility
clarity
harmony

IMBALANCE
(lack/excess)

angry
harsh
indulgent
shameful

BALANCE
(integrity)

adaptable
relaxed
content
ethical

FEELING

attachment
passion
creativity

IMBALANCE
(lack/excess)

listless
chaotic
lustful
obsessive

BALANCE
(integrity)

energetic
creative
magnetizing
engaging

FEELING

motivation
honesty
activity

IMBALANCE
(lack/excess)

fearful
in denial
manipulative
jealous

BALANCE
(integrity)

courageous
curious
efficient
purposeful

FEELING

openness
centeredness
peace

IMBALANCE
(lack/excess)

self-centered
confused
superficial
spaced out

BALANCE
(integrity)

inclusive
aware
receptive
whole

“When I first started using the Apprentice Cards, I had given zero attention to the meaning or importance of the 5 elements. I was so focused on finding healing and solution, that I ignored the very structure that allows them to heal. The truth is, these cards carry so much purpose and depth, making the experience of using them seem almost surreal. But it is their complexity that makes them undeniably meaningful. I had been utilizing the cards on my own for 9 months before understanding the components and energies behind the 5 elements. After gaining that insight and understanding, my experience with the Apprentice Cards was taken to a level of clarity and beauty that I didn’t know was possible. Any confusion or hesitation garnered from my practice melted away, as I was finally able to connect with the elements that make up our entire existence.”

–Allie Lebos, student at UCSB