Take What You Need

2019 – When it all started

Hi, my name is Nagela! I started the concept of Take What You Need in early 2019. My father died suddenly and tragically in October of 2018. A few months later, I began using oracle and tarot decks as a way to heal. I was searching for answers about death and trying to learn how to cope with feelings that seemed to change every single day.

One day, I was in my minivan with my boyfriend. The seats were folded down in the back, and we were just relaxing. I had some beautiful crafting paper with me and began tearing it into small squares. I felt led to write words on them. Words that embodied the things I needed.

Thank you to my boyfriend for the below picture of that exact moment. It was a big deal for me.

At the top, I wrote the question:
“What do you need?”

I don’t fully understand how it all came together, but it did. The idea formed to create a deck centered around qualities: emotions, moods, and feelings we desire to embody. Maybe it was the grief. Maybe it was the willingness to feel better… eventually.

Soon, I had created dozens of these cards for myself. I walked Prospect Park everyday and at the end of my walk, with the view of the Arch, I would pull a card from the deck in my pocket. Then immediately on my phone I would write a short reflection. It felt as though whatever I had written on the cards was exactly what I needed or was navigating at that moment.

Here is a picture, of when I temporarily started posting my daily pulls on IG in 2019.

I still use these cards for myself, and now I feel called to share them with others! This practice has been deeply healing for me and I hope for you too.

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