Exploring Soul Remedies for Healing and Growth from Mexican Loteria (feat. Xelena González)
For many centuries, cartomancy, or divination using a deck of cards, has been a popular tool for connecting with our intuition and understanding ourselves better so that we can co-create the future we want.
Lotería, also known as Mexican Bingo, has seen many artful incarnations and has served a multilayered purpose across Latinx cultures, including offering guidance.
My guest, Xelena González, found inspiration in this tradition and created a deck based on traditional symbols for divination, reflection, and self-healing. She’s here to illustrate the magic of this practice.
Xelena González is a storyteller, dancer, and visiting author who centers self-love in her multi-disciplinary workshops for all ages. Her picture books include the multiple award-winning ‘All Around Us’ and the forthcoming title ‘Remembering.’ Xelena’s storytelling skills were honed as a public librarian in her hometown of Yanaguana/San Antonio and in Guangzhou, China, where she served as head librarian. Through her author visits, she has introduced a method of “tai chi storytelling” to more than 100 schools, museums, and libraries around the globe.
During our conversation, Xelena explains the spiritual significance of the La Loteria symbols in Mexican culture and how we can gain inspiration from them to access the wisdom and light within us. She also discusses the significance of ancestry and lineage in self-knowledge and navigating our lives.
Interview timestamps:
04:33 ︳Xelena talks about her ancestry and lineage and how it’s impacted her and her work
11:26 ︳Xelena shares the spiritual lessons she learned from her great-grandmother and what we can take away from her wisdom
14:59 ︳The historical and spiritual significance of La Lotería and its symbols in Mexican culture
22:20 ︳Typical traditional symbols for divination, reflection, and self-healing commonly used in the Mexican tradition
27:15 ︳How to derive the lessons and spiritual message from each card
33:36 ︳Why it’s important to stay open to wisdom and light within us when reading oracle decks and trust our ability to heal our minds and bodies
38:00 ︳The significance and symbolism of death
42:13 ︳Lessons that Xelena learned as an artist and creator
45:55 ︳Xelena’s advice for advice for artists facing roadblocks in sharing their work, including facing rejection
Learn more about Xelena González and her new oracle card deck, “Lotería Remedios” and books at her website.
