Spirit Animal Oracle Cards in Your Coaching Practice

As a coach and NLP trainer, I’m always looking for creative and profound methods to support my clients in their personal growth. One of my favorite tools is Oracle cards, particularly the “Path of the Paws” deck. This deck, inspired by the spiritual qualities of various animals, offers a unique way to uncover and resolve inner blocks. In this session, I’ll show you an example of how you can use this deck in your own coaching practice.

The Process

My client was struggling with deep-seated trust issues. Her experiences had led her to believe that people, in general, are not good. This belief caused her to withdraw emotionally and made it difficult for her to form new connections.

We began the session by clarifying the issue. First, we discussed the situation and her past experiences:

“What happened? What triggered this belief?”

We quickly agreed that she had encountered many painful experiences where people did not treat her as she had hoped. This led her to develop a general belief that people are inherently bad.

To help dissolve this belief, I used an NLP technique called “reframing.” Reframing allows us to view a situation or belief from a new perspective, thereby changing our thinking and behavior.

The Reframing Work

I asked her: “Despite the belief that all people are bad, what reasons might have contributed to you ending up in these situations?”

Together, we created a list of reasons why she repeatedly encountered people who treated her poorly:

1. No Clear Boundaries and No Conscious Decision-Making

Upon reflection, she realized that she often passively allowed people to approach her without making a clear decision about whether she actually wanted to be in that relationship. She hadn’t set clear boundaries, which led her to situations she didn’t consciously choose.

What’s Different Now?
I drew a card from the “Path of the Paws” Oracle Deck for her: The Sloth.
The Sloth, as a spirit guide, reminded her to move slowly when getting to know new people. She will take her time, not rush into relationships, and avoid revealing too much about herself too quickly.

2. Not Listening to Intuition

Looking back, she admitted that she often felt that a situation or person wasn’t good for her, but she didn’t trust her intuition and doubted herself.

What’s Different Now?
Here, I drew the card The Rabbit.
The Rabbit, as a spirit guide, encouraged her to listen more closely to her intuition from now on. She has learned so much that she can now better discern what and who is good for her.

3. Dealing with Envious People Even Though She Felt It

She tolerated envious people in her life because her self-worth was low. These people took advantage of her, but she felt compelled to accept it.

What’s Different Now?
Here, I drew the card The Otter.
The Otter, representing joy and stability, symbolizes her newfound stable self-worth. She now has a strong foundation and no longer feels the need to adapt to others or please them. She knows she can simply walk away if a situation doesn’t serve her well.

Summary

This session made it clear that my client’s negative experiences with people were largely due to her own inner wounds and the decisions she made as a result. Her belief that “all people are bad” was a protective mechanism that arose from her inability to protect herself and recognize her worth. Now that she understands it’s about making better choices and listening to herself, she can let go of this belief.

Why Change the Belief?

It’s clear that the belief that all people are bad is neither helpful nor true. There are always good people, even though there are some who do bad things due to their own suffering. In NLP, we question such limiting beliefs, and here the spirit animals serve as inspiration for reframing.

The “Path of the Paws” Oracle Deck offers a profound and symbolic way to help clients overcome their inner challenges. The animals as spirit guides assist in finding new perspectives and releasing old, limiting beliefs. You can use this deck in your coaching practice to achieve similar breakthroughs with your clients.