Hello and welcome to the Inspired Woman podcast. This is your host, Sam Bell, and I'm delighted to welcome a lady who is really rather inspiring, of course, Sandra Catania. Sandra, welcome.
Thank you so much. So Sandra is an intuitive card reader and Oracle Deck creator, and she delivers messages from spirit in a fun and playful way, so definitely resonates with me. She began a journey in holistic healing as a reflexologist, incorporating mind, body and soul revival techniques into her sessions.
Her passion for spirituality led her to start the Calgary Goddess Groups in 2007, where she brought together hundreds of like-minded women to connect and network for over a decade. But in recent years, Sandra has expanded her spiritual practice by studying shamanism and began creating her own Oracle card decks. She loves crystals, flower essences and essential oils and offers a holistic experience to all she serves, all whom she serves.
She believes the key to overcoming her recent challenges of experiencing a serious car accident and losing a mom to dementia lay in diving into her creativity and following her purpose and passions. So I'm excited to see where our conversation goes, Sandra. Me too, Sam.
Thank you so much for having me today. I love that you have really dived into your creativity to help you to overcome trauma. Can you maybe expand upon that a little bit for us? Sure, absolutely.
So it was August of 2023 and my life kind of just came to an abrupt, what was it? It was a car accident that stopped me in my tracks and really led to creating some space for me to not do all the time. Of course, I was in recovery. I was going to physio and massage and Cairo, things like that to help my body recover.
But I feel like the spaciousness created by not working every day was something that I could take and really feel into what is it I can do with this time and what's meaningful to me. And I was already considering an Oracle deck creation and there was an artist that I was thinking of working with. And I reached out to her and she was on board.
And it was really a lovely collaboration between us. She designed the front of the cards, I added a description to the back. And within a couple of months, we had our project kind of formed.
And it's been when I was working on the cards, it was like I was in this flow in the state of really, it was so juicy. It really allowed me to do some channeling, which which I really, I love being in that state as well, able to deliver some messages. And so I feel like it was, you know, a co creation between the artist, her name is Andrea Kimberly, and me and, you know, spirit, of course, was part of that.
Beautiful. So often, we find that, you know, something happens in our lives that, like you say, stops you in your tracks. For me, I suffered a head injury.
And I have shared this with listeners previously, but it was in that space when I realized, I may not be able to go back to my career. And so I was presented with this, what I now see as an opportunity to look at, or what else can I do? I mean, from being a little girl, I was always going to be a nurse. And so I decided to become a health coach.
And I took the training. And that's when my spiritual journey began. And all these opportunities, like you say, they just they just opened up for me, because I had this space for my recovery.
You know, work gets in the way, hey? Well, I was working two jobs, and some of them twice in a day, I was really reaching a burnout. And it wasn't fulfilling to me, it was, it was a grind. And, you know, I did have my reflexology practice.
So I had another experience where I was injured, and I had to give up the reflexology. But I had already started giving some card readings alongside. And it's when I realized, no, I'm not going to continue to work in pain.
It opened up the opportunity to start doing more card readings, which really, like I said, it, it lights me up like nothing else. That place of helping people and delivering messages. So tell me, what inspires you? Typically, I feel like women who are in tune with their purpose, they're, they're aligning with what's in their highest purpose.
And it's like, they're on fire, you know, they really go out, and they change the world. And I think that's, you know, it's, it's a few steps in that process, understanding what your purpose is, you know, being open to being curious about it, and really dealing with whatever's held you back up until that point, you know, in however way you deal with that, whether it's it's therapy, or there's somatic exercises, there's breathwork, all kinds of things I've found personally, helped me clarify what what is it? What is my purpose? Yeah, because I mean, and who are doing it, I bow down to them. I think it's incredible.
Love having conversations with people who are in that path. It is lovely. I mean, my tagline for my business is, you know, like looking up here is a picture, it's stop existing and start living.
And really, how do you start living? One of the first and most important things is to know that purpose. How would how would you what first steps? I mean, I love that you say the curiosity, what other steps do you think would assist one of our listeners to find their purpose in that flow? I feel like really getting to the root of who you are, is kind of peeling off layers like an onion, you know, you have your childhood experiences, which often lead to for me, I'll speak for myself, it's people pleasing, became my childhood. And it took until adulthood, to realize that a lot of my motivation was to feel safe to feel loved to, you know, it was, it was in a serving way, but but not healthy.
I wasn't really looking after my own needs and my own wants and desires, I was really putting myself on the back burner. And I did that in marriages, I did that in, in parenting as we do, you know, that there's really, it's so important to figure out what it is that who you are, yeah. And what it is you want to do in this world, not just be going through the motions.
Yeah, I agree. I mean, I, I mentioned in, in another interview with another inspiring lady, that I turned around at the age of 40. And realized, I don't even know who I am anymore.
I've lost myself in all this trying. For me, it was always wanting to please my mother, and there was no pleasing her, right? It was just, it was never going to happen. But it did, it took me all those years to realize that I was never going to be good enough, you know, and no matter how I tried, and at the age of 40, my marriage came to an end.
And I realized, I have no idea who I am. I didn't know my beliefs, I didn't know my values, I didn't know my truth. And, you know, I, I hear you 150%, you know, that, that to find your truth, be your true authentic self is so, so important.
And, you know, and a first step in finding your purpose. So how do you now inspire others? I mean, we've given plenty of clues away to everybody. But explain a little bit more about what you do.
Well, I offer card readings. And like, as I mentioned, I decided I wanted to create my own deck to be able to give readings from my own work. And I've actually just completed my second deck.
So that's very exciting to me. It's called 50 ways back to me. I created a guide to go along with it so that the people who work with the deck can create their own 50 ways.
Because it is it is quite a personal thing as I it's not going to be the same for everyone. So the 50 ways came to me, I turned 50 this year, and I get a lot of ideas and inspiration in the car. And one day it just it all downloaded.
And I got home and I opened up my spreadsheet, and I had all 50 cards right away. And then I began writing about them, each topic individually and doing a little bit more research. And yeah, that that deck has come together now and is ready to for the test print.
Wow, how exciting. I'm so I'm here and I'm thinking 50 ways back to me. I mean, it is like you say, it's a very personal journey.
But what sort of examples would you think that might be there? Well, it's, it's interesting, a sauna is on there. And I was in the sauna earlier. Yeah, so I'm still feeling a little heat there was quite hot today.
There's a lot of self care tips. There's a few things like getting organized with your paperwork, for example, that's not something that you might think of. But there's really studies that have proven that the more organized that you can get, the more routine a structure you can have, you can have a more satisfying experience.
It's, it's, it's kind of putting that to rest, like you have a structure, you have something that you can count on to, to keep you on your toes, I guess, and motivated to get things done. Wow, okay. I mean, self care has become a little bit of a cliche, hasn't it? I know, everybody talks about self care.
But it's so much more than just bubble baths and lighting candles, right? It's, it's really so courageous. And somebody who actually really takes their self care. So makes it a priority in their lives.
I mean, I remember myself thinking, Oh, my God, this is so selfish, you know, because I was, like you said, we're in this obligation vibration, we want to give people give, and we need to serve. And we want to please people. And we want to hear people say good things about us, you know, which is a perfectly normal human thing to strive for.
But in all of that, especially if you're an empath, you forget all of that, right? It's just like, I love to remind people of is you, you really need to get to a point of giving from your overflow. I'm having, you know, your needs are covered. And you are the term I use is self resourced, right? So you have everything you need, you know how to employ it.
And, and when you're doing these 50 things, not all at once, of course, you know, good habits, and, and all of a sudden, the things that were holding you back and the things that weren't working for you, they drop away. Because you're filling your life with with the good stuff. And it's so how would how would somebody I mean, I know, because I do card readings myself, but for our listeners, you know, how would they use a deck? Is there any tips you can give to how they can use a deck? Absolutely, yes, I actually give a workshop called introduction to card reading, I'm probably going to be giving it in the spring haven't picked a date or venue yet.
But really, it's about intention. It's about creating your your environment. I like to encourage people to really set up your candle, a cup of tea, invite your spirit team in, however it is that you do that.
Want to connect to the cards, so you can hold them to your heart, and really ask what for what's in your highest good to come through. I think there's a false thing out there that people like they get afraid of card reading. And really not.
I try to assure people I'm not here to tell your future, you're in charge of your future, what's coming through is some guidance for you to consider. And you can take it or leave it if it doesn't resonate, then it's okay. But oftentimes, we're in our own way.
And there's there's something stuck, or there's a blockage where we're just not seeing it ourselves. So it's really, for me, it's a tool that just brings some clarity. Mm hmm.
I mean, as a as a coach, I mean, I've in a former, former career, I was a bereavement counsellor. And now I coach, and it's quite different being a coach, you know, that your your subject, your your client, they have the answers within. And sometimes I use those card, you know, card readings, I bring them into my coaching sessions.
Because if somebody is blocked, and then they're just not really forthcoming, say, okay, let's get the cards out, let's see what comes up. And there's very often a prompt, or something that doesn't really make any sense to me. But then the client will say, Oh, my goodness, yes.
And then, you know, the conversation flows. And the answers, you know, start to come through, because we do, we have the answers within us. It's just unlocking them, right? Removing all those layers, like you say, yeah.
But yeah, and I must admit, you know, I, I, I started my spiritual journey, you know, in my early 40s, I had no idea what chakras were or yoga, Kundalini, all of that sort of woo woo that I called it at that time. And now I'm fully steeped in many different modalities, you know, and, and, and yes, I mean, people do think I used to think that maybe a card reading would be a little bit frightening, I was a little bit wary. But I realised now that is our ego that's getting in the way, right? And sometimes religion, you know, and society and things like that, that, you know, Hollywood has painted this picture of women.
So the dog is just there you go, the dog wants to be on the interview. Hello. For those of you this, this is never scripted.
I don't like to script I like to see how things flow. So our conversation, who's this that's joined the conversation? Her name is Chola. Hello, Chola.
So when we talk about connecting to our team or connecting to spirit, what might that be for somebody? Well, ancestors play a big role. There's there's angels, that everyone has their own special guardian angel. Yeah.
There's spirit guides. There's all kinds of, I want to say people to connect your team. And they're available to you all the time.
And angels in particular, I really need to ask. Yeah, that I like to remind people of to you can be specific or general to say, just call it out and ask for support. And I think that that's my business partner, Cindy Smith, she is the angel lady.
And she, she always says, you've got to ask, just ask. And so many of us are reluctant to ask. And that includes asking for help when we really need help, especially women, you know, we really get in our own way, don't we? You know, I mean, I have really, that's been my recovery.
And because I fractured my sternum, I haven't been able to lift more than 10 pounds full time. And so you imagine, you know, groceries, and just everything weighs more than that, typically. So having to ask for help has has really gotten me in touch with that.
It's okay. And people like to help you. How much have I helped in the past is kind of like karma coming back.
Yeah, absolutely. You know, I'm comfortable with it now. Good.
I mean, I still struggle being a patient. You know, it's sort of like, I'm not sure that I like being on this side of things. You know, I'm used to being the nurse, you know, so I probably still got a lot of work to do.
But I have come a lot, lot further than you know, I have have previously. So you're talking about creativity, right to overcome trauma. How can you stimulate that creativity? Do we all have it? Or is it? Oh, yes, I think I love to challenge people who don't enjoy being creative, just to give it a go, you know, and ask them, what did they used to do as a child that that they lost themselves lost themselves for hours and hours and doing you know, what kind of play and bringing stop playing somehow as as adults, and it's so important to just have fun.
And, you know, you don't have to make it perfect as you know, get out your art supplies and just see what happens. Yeah, some people do need that little nudge to get there. Well, and I always used to think, you know, I mean, I remember, I don't know if anybody else can remember doing this, but you were in the art class and, you know, draw a picture.
And I would do you know, the 2d house with the four windows and the door in the middle. My artistic bit was the smoke coming out of the chimney about it, or maybe some roses at the door. But you know, I really didn't think I was very artistic.
So I think that that belief, I am not artistic, made me, you know, clam up and thought, Okay, there's no point in trying to comment somewhere along the way. And it just stuck. Yeah, exactly.
You know, so again, it's that, you know, from our childhood being told and told and then believing it for ourselves. So what sort of things would you suggest for any women out there? You know, come on, how are you going to get creative? What sort of things can they do apart from the obvious, get your colouring pencils out and start colouring a book? What other things? That's a really good question. I would say spend some time with some young people.
Right, and just see that wild abandon that they just, you know, especially that toddler age, and everything is, you know, a puddle is the most exciting thing in the world. And they have no inhibitions. And they're really in touch with play, because that's how they learn as well.
They say when we when we use play to learn something, I think it's like 10 times more quickly. Wow. Beautiful.
I think curiosity, as we said before, that word is really wonderful, to get away from, you know, overthinking and, and judgment, really. And you also I mentioned that, in your last year, you you lost your mom to dementia as well. How did you how did you cope with that? Because I'm sure there's people out there that are dealing with this.
And it's interesting that you that you bring her up. I really I woke up with so much grief today hit me like a tidal wave. Really? My mom loves Christmas.
And I just started thinking about all the things that she did to make it special. And I just let myself feel all of my feelings. I cried, and I was supported by my partner, which is lovely, and just really allowed myself to not shut it off, not distract, just be there with it.
And that's something that I've done. Again, I've had the spaciousness to be able to do that. My sister and I have been doing some things together to to help each other cope.
We went through all of her photos, the slideshow for her celebration of life. And that was something to honor her and just really go back over the years and and just see how how special she my mom is a very special person. She's very memorable to everyone who's met her.
She's very vivacious and full of full of spunk. Was she creative? She was in different ways for sure. Yeah, yeah, she really she loved to decorate and bake.
And, you know, she really did it up, especially the holidays. But she would make every occasion special, if it was your birthday or, or Easter, you know, she really loved that coming together and being with family. So I was feeling that today.
And I just thought what I can just, I don't have to judge myself around I have been through a lot and emotional support animals. They tune in, don't they, to your feelings and your emotions, and they don't filter like we do. And I think that's what we're talking about is, you know, again, society.
I mean, I'm British, right? So people think that all Brits are stiff upper lip. And, you know, you don't, you don't talk about your emotions or your feelings, you know, it's sort of like, onwards and upwards. And in an actual fact, that's probably one of the worst things you can actually do, right? Well, you live in your body.
And then it manifests in different ways. I mean, you and I both are holistic practitioners. So we know that emotions, you know, can, can affect our physical and our, you know, our, and our spiritual as well.
You know, I have so many blocks, you know, when I realize, I mean, spirituality has been quite an interesting journey for me. And as I say, up until the age of about 40, and when I met these other ladies that were doing integrative health coaching with me, and they were all into yoga and talking about chakras. And I was saying about when I had social anxiety, and they're there, and they're saying, well, that was your throat chakra.
And I'm like, what are you talking about? So I had to, you know, open myself up to find out. And that was my first steps into realizing that I had connections, and I could ask for help for whatever it is that's bigger and greater than us ourselves. When did you first start to connect with your your spirit guides or your angels? When was your awakening, so to speak? I feel like it, it started to happen in my teenagehood.
Unfortunately, I shut it down because it didn't feel safe. That happened to a lot of people as well. So then in my 20s, I lived in Germany for 10 years.
And things started to come through there as well. And again, I was very mystified. So I would say it was a little bit later on after, probably after my babies were born.
And yes, it's kind of it's something that's it's always there. It's whether I'm taking the time to tune into it. I remember in my, my nursing, my early nursing days, especially my midwifery, the first thing I would be doing, you know, and I got to that point, thinking, okay, I've tried everything to get this baby delivered.
And it would be like, okay, I don't know who you are, or what you are. But you know, give me some sort of a sign, what do I do now? And then it was the first thing that came through, I realized at that point, that whatever message came through to me from me, and it was often in my voice, I would act on it. And usually it would work.
And I now realize, oh, that was my intuition. And we shut our intuition down, because it's like, woo woo, and a bit scary. As you know, if we just let that guide us, how much further would we be on our journey? I know.
Interesting how many things we have to really sort through and, and say, is that my belief? Or is that society's belief? Right? Yeah. And told me to believe. Yeah, exactly.
And especially in our patriarchal society, oh, don't get me started on that subject. Yeah, you know, especially for women, you know, trying this. I mean, I'm all about the divine feminine.
And I love to empower women and like you, you know, one of the things that inspires me is when you see an empowered woman, you know, taking back her power and achieving, especially, you know, in times of difficulty, like you have yourself, you know, with your, with your creativity and the card decks, I'm, I'm really excited about your 50 ways back to me. But I know, but tell our listeners about your first card deck. I think it's so cute.
I happen to have it here. Oh, you do? Oh, lovely. Of the Fortunes of Wisdom Oracle.
So go on, share the story behind this one. Um, well, I happen to have a collection of fortune cookie fortunes, as it was my, as a young person, that everyone should have a collection. And we moved quite a bit.
So I thought, well, the smaller, the better. So fortunes are nice and small. And I ended up over the years, because my family and friends knew I did this, I would, people would just give them to me.
And I ended up with about 700. Oh, my word. And, and then as I was really wanting to work with an artist, so do a collaboration.
And the woman I did the collaboration with, she does really beautiful, beautiful artwork. So lovely. Oh, yes.
Yes, you guys can't see this, because we're, we're only giving you an audio. But Sandra is showing me some cards here. And they are really pretty.
So where can they check out your card deck, Sandra, I will give you my link tree. And people can reach me on Facebook and Instagram, my website through there. Yeah, the the card deck was just so much fun to work on.
And so many synchronicities happened during that time that I was I was doing that collaboration. And we are giving 5% to a charity for each deck. So this first deck, the 5% is going to brown bagging for Calgary's kids.
Beautiful. They make 8000 lunches a week for kids here in their city, who would normally go without. So that was inspired me.
It's just been so fun to work with the deck with people. And I think I was going to pull a card for you. You are Yes, yes, we did.
Can you do that? Would you mind? Oh, not at all. I'd be thrilled. Very happy to.
Let's see. This card is for Sam. Oh my goodness.
It's Oh, I love it. Look, no mushroom hat is coming your way. Not only our gnomes luck.
