Night of the Tarot
From James Donahue’s Journal
The night remains fixed in my memory like a haunted dream. Alfred Lee and his family were packed in the Begay living room as our daughter Jennifer read the Tarot cards lying face up on the table before them. The Tarot was something that attracted us from the start of our spiritual adventure. Doris and I owned a set displaying the finest art commissioned by Crowley, but other than a few attempts by Doris to use the cards, we never delved deeply into this realm of magic. While we dallied, however, Jennifer plunged headlong into the Tarot. I suppose it was because she was so naturally psychic and she appeared to have a natural ability to read the cards. We had seen an example of her abilities before we left Michigan.
I don't remember just how it came about, but the Lees learned that Jennifer could read the Tarot. One weekend, while she was visiting us on the reservation, the Lees came to her with a mysterious problem. They needed a Tarot reading for each member of the family, although they would not explain why. All they would say is that it was very important. Jennifer was naturally nervous about such a task. She worried that she didn't know if she was up to the job or was good enough at reading the cards to satisfy their needs. Doris encouraged her to go ahead and do the readings. She said she would be with her in mind and spirit and do all she could to mentally help her with the readings. So there we were, surrounded by a powerful family in the Navajo tribe, watching Jennifer work the cards and give private readings for each member. It was a long and involved task that went on for hours.
Native Americans appear to have faces of stone. They are skilled at hiding their emotions. As the evening progressed, it was impossible to determine if the Lees were pleased or angry at what they were hearing. Much of the information was not pleasant to hear. She talked about their financial problems, about their efforts to win needed money in area gambling casinos operated by the various Arizona tribes and told them personal things that seemed to convince them that Jennifer was a true psychic reader of Tarot cards. Finally, the family left the house, and it seemed as if the session had reached a satisfactory conclusion. But we could not be sure. About an hour later, however, Arthur Lee and his wife returned, this time with a more serious request. They wanted to take Jennifer with them to the home of one of their daughters so she could do readings on all the members of this family. Jennifer agreed if Elfrieda and Doris could go with her.
It was a long session that continued deep into the night. Jennifer delved into the family's darkest secrets and came away with the most terrible of stories. It involved the spiritual possession of one of the children in this family, a granddaughter of Alfred Lee. All the details are not clear to me as I write this. I do remember that the Lees took this girl to a Hopi medicine man in an effort to have this evil spirit removed. They also traveled to Phoenix to visit another well-known medicine man there. Whatever was going on with the Lees, it was severe. They appeared to be a family in desperate straits. Jennifer's Tarot reading only confirmed to them things they already were dealing with.
After this event, Alfred Lee seemed to have a lot of respect for Jennifer and our family because of what she did for them that night. He expressed this in various ways that included loaning me his truck to move some of our things and selling me one of his prized rifles.
There are dark things about the black magicians within the world of the Navajo that are hard on the ear and mind. They involve human sacrifice in exchange for health and wealth. The magicians are known to give up their own children in exchange for money, and we learned that white visitors are sometimes killed magically during an annual spring "squaw dance," a ritual designed to bring proper suitors into the lives of the unmarried tribal women. Elfrieda once told us that all the magician needs is a lock of a victim's hair to perform his or her spell. Within days, this targeted person usually dies either by accident or "natural" cause, she said. We didn't stay long enough to attend a squaw dance, and from all we heard about this event, it was not something we wanted to see. At moments I had the distinct feeling that Doris and I were being groomed as special offerings to the tribe.
From James Donahue’s Journal
The night remains fixed in my memory like a haunted dream. Alfred Lee and his family were packed in the Begay living room as our daughter Jennifer read the Tarot cards lying face up on the table before them. The Tarot was something that attracted us from the start of our spiritual adventure. Doris and I owned a set displaying the finest art commissioned by Crowley, but other than a few attempts by Doris to use the cards, we never delved deeply into this realm of magic. While we dallied, however, Jennifer plunged headlong into the Tarot. I suppose it was because she was so naturally psychic and she appeared to have a natural ability to read the cards. We had seen an example of her abilities before we left Michigan.
I don't remember just how it came about, but the Lees learned that Jennifer could read the Tarot. One weekend, while she was visiting us on the reservation, the Lees came to her with a mysterious problem. They needed a Tarot reading for each member of the family, although they would not explain why. All they would say is that it was very important. Jennifer was naturally nervous about such a task. She worried that she didn't know if she was up to the job or was good enough at reading the cards to satisfy their needs. Doris encouraged her to go ahead and do the readings. She said she would be with her in mind and spirit and do all she could to mentally help her with the readings. So there we were, surrounded by a powerful family in the Navajo tribe, watching Jennifer work the cards and give private readings for each member. It was a long and involved task that went on for hours.
Native Americans appear to have faces of stone. They are skilled at hiding their emotions. As the evening progressed, it was impossible to determine if the Lees were pleased or angry at what they were hearing. Much of the information was not pleasant to hear. She talked about their financial problems, about their efforts to win needed money in area gambling casinos operated by the various Arizona tribes and told them personal things that seemed to convince them that Jennifer was a true psychic reader of Tarot cards. Finally, the family left the house, and it seemed as if the session had reached a satisfactory conclusion. But we could not be sure. About an hour later, however, Arthur Lee and his wife returned, this time with a more serious request. They wanted to take Jennifer with them to the home of one of their daughters so she could do readings on all the members of this family. Jennifer agreed if Elfrieda and Doris could go with her.
It was a long session that continued deep into the night. Jennifer delved into the family's darkest secrets and came away with the most terrible of stories. It involved the spiritual possession of one of the children in this family, a granddaughter of Alfred Lee. All the details are not clear to me as I write this. I do remember that the Lees took this girl to a Hopi medicine man in an effort to have this evil spirit removed. They also traveled to Phoenix to visit another well-known medicine man there. Whatever was going on with the Lees, it was severe. They appeared to be a family in desperate straits. Jennifer's Tarot reading only confirmed to them things they already were dealing with.
After this event, Alfred Lee seemed to have a lot of respect for Jennifer and our family because of what she did for them that night. He expressed this in various ways that included loaning me his truck to move some of our things and selling me one of his prized rifles.
There are dark things about the black magicians within the world of the Navajo that are hard on the ear and mind. They involve human sacrifice in exchange for health and wealth. The magicians are known to give up their own children in exchange for money, and we learned that white visitors are sometimes killed magically during an annual spring "squaw dance," a ritual designed to bring proper suitors into the lives of the unmarried tribal women. Elfrieda once told us that all the magician needs is a lock of a victim's hair to perform his or her spell. Within days, this targeted person usually dies either by accident or "natural" cause, she said. We didn't stay long enough to attend a squaw dance, and from all we heard about this event, it was not something we wanted to see. At moments I had the distinct feeling that Doris and I were being groomed as special offerings to the tribe.