Exclusive interview with author Tori Hartman and a review of her book to unlock your intuition
Rating: Four Stars
By Gabrielle Pantera
“I wish it was as simple as, I woke up and had an idea,” says Chakra Wisdom Oracle Toolkit author Tori Hartman. “The journey to the publication of the Chakra Wisdom Oracle collection was more than an idea. In truth it was a calling. In the 1980s I had a near-death experience. Angels began coming forward and telling me these stories. They were actually fables with morals built into them, but I had no idea what I had at the time.”
The Chakra Wisdom Oracle Toolkit is a 52 week journey. There are 49 different chakra cards. The included guidebook describes the cards, with an original fable for each card. The cards are larger then a regular deck of cards and are illustrated by the late Gretchen Raisch-Baskin. The deck’s purpose is to help in setting your intention, remove blockages and achieve your dreams. Each card taps into your own inspirations with a color that corresponds to an area of your chakra. The guided meditations are to help you focus on issues you’re trying to figure out. Describes what each chakra does and what it’s connected to. A great choice for anyone interested in improving their intuition.
“Thousands of people have worked with these original fables over the years,” says Hartman. “The only reason that I think anyone should work with anything is if they really want to change their life in some capacity. People use the cards to validate what’s going on in their life. I think we all have an inherent wisdom, and the cards are a tool to support you in what you know to be true.”
Chakra Wisdom was originally imagined as a book on a completely different topic. “I was working on a book for Putnam,” says Hartman. “It was based on fashion color, a completely different world, and all of these fables were told to me with the color built into the name of the fable. This collection sat in a drawer for over ten years.”
“The entire journey was really a surprise,” says Hartman. “Perhaps the single most powerful moment was when I sat up one morning and realized I had to go to London. I knew that the future of this work was there. Everyone who I knew thought it didn’t make sense. After all I’m American and New York seemed like the right place to go. But, I knew, I sensed that this work had to come out of London. And I was right. It was for meeting with my publisher, the very first time I met her I knew that she was the person who would champion this work. Watkins Publishing Limited, UK was the most unexpected yet wonderful partner I could ask for.”
“In the accompanying booklet with the cards there are suggested layouts,” says Hartman. “For example, if you’re focusing on wealth there are four key spots to put a card down. You can see based on where the card is where you are in your path. Some people pull a single card, and do the journaling exercise that’s in the shocker wisdom toolkit. You can liken it to a meditative focus for the day, or use it as in the toolkit for a weeklong personal exploration of a particular topic the week. Most of the people I have worked with find that pulling the card, doing the meditation and reading fable is a wonderful way to set the tone for their week.”
Hartman was nominated by kindred spirit magazine as personality of the year in 2015. She’s currently finishing her next book. She currently lives in California, but is moving back to the East Coast in a few months. She was born in Greenwich Village, in a blizzard.
Chakra Wisdom Oracle Cards: The Complete Spiritual Toolkit for Transforming Your Life by Tori Hartman Publisher: Watkins Publishing; Box Tcr Cr edition (June 17, 2014) Language: English. ISBN: 9781780287515
Chakra Wisdom Oracle Toolkit: A 52-Week Journey of Self-Discovery with the Lost Fables by Tori Hartman. Paperback: 224 pages, Publisher: Watkins Publishing (September 23, 2014) Language: English, ISBN: 9781780288291 $14.95
