Purpose
Your Body's First Processor
After you swallow your food, the stomach is the first organ to begin processing what you have eaten, secreting acid to help break it down. Once liquefied, the contents move further down the digestive tract, where they continue to be refined, absorbed, and utilized. The valves at the entrance and exit are designed to keep contents moving in the proper direction. When there is a malfunction, acidic contents can rise back up into the esophagus, creating pressure and burning. Common disturbances include indigestion, nausea, vomiting, ulcers, heartburn, and gastritis.
But the stomach is far more than a physical organ. In Susan Drury's understanding, the stomach is the body's first interpreter of experience - the place where we literally and metaphorically process what life has given us. The language we use reveals this deep knowing: we speak of things being "hard to swallow," of having a "gut feeling," of situations that make us "sick to our stomach." These are not mere figures of speech. They are the body's wisdom speaking through the language of the stomach.
When Susan created the Elevated Body oracle deck, the Stomach card was designed to help you explore your relationship with digestion - not just of food, but of life itself. What experiences have been too much for you to absorb? What relationships have left a sour taste? What truths have you been unable to swallow? The stomach holds the answers, and this card helps you listen.
◇ Inquiry
What Cannot Be Stomached
Issues arise from thoughts, experiences, and relationships that were difficult to "swallow" and therefore cannot be "stomached." When we have an overly acidic internal perspective or reaction to something or someone in our life, it can leave us with a "sour taste." If challenging thoughts, events, and relationships cannot be fully broken down and neutralized, a burning sense of "this is just too much for me to accept and absorb" can arise. Our stomach can react when we recoil from aspects of life that we judge as "distasteful" or that "make us sick."
"The stomach is where we first encounter the truth of what we have taken in. When life gives us something we cannot digest - an injustice, a betrayal, a loss too great to absorb - the stomach holds it, waiting for us to find a way to process what the mind alone cannot."
Susan's approach invites you to bring gentle awareness to your stomach - to notice when it tightens, when it burns, when it churns. These sensations are not random. They are your body's way of telling you that something in your life needs to be processed differently. Perhaps there is an experience you have been trying to suppress rather than digest. Perhaps there is a relationship that has become toxic and needs to be released. Perhaps there is a truth you have been unable to swallow that is ready to be acknowledged. The Stomach card asks you to listen - and to trust that your body knows what it needs.
✦ Transcendence
The Affirmation Your Stomach Has Been Waiting to Hear
"I fully appreciate the diversity of flavors, tastes, and experiences within the grand buffet of life."
"I appreciate my food, free to choose what I eat, and respectful of others in their choices."
"I trust in my ability to digest all I experience as nourishment supporting my growth on all levels, in all aspects of my being."
"I am in harmony with my digestive system, as I process my experiences, relationships and emotions in a life-affirming way."
Susan invites you to read these words aloud. Let them land in your body. Feel the resonance in your stomach area. The transcendence is not a wish or a hope ... it is a declaration of the truth that already lives within you, waiting to be remembered. When you speak these words with intention, you are not creating something new. You are activating what has always been there - your body's innate capacity for harmony, digestion, and the transformation of experience into nourishment.
Working with the Stomach Card
Morning Practice
Draw the Stomach card and place your hand gently on your stomach. Breathe into the area and notice what you feel - tightness, warmth, emptiness, fullness. Without judgment, simply listen to what your stomach is telling you about your current state.
Journaling Prompt
Ask yourself: What am I struggling to digest right now? What experience, relationship, or truth feels too much for me to absorb? Write freely for ten minutes, letting the stomach's wisdom flow through your pen.
Mealtime Awareness
Before eating, pause and notice the state of your stomach. Are you eating from hunger or from emotion? Bring the same awareness to how you 'consume' experiences throughout the day - what nourishes you and what leaves a sour taste?
About the Creator
Susan Drury - Creator of the Elevated Body Deck
Susan Drury created the Elevated Body oracle deck from over thirty years of hands-on healing work - cranial sacral therapy, shamanic healing, homeopathy, and the Present Child Method. Each of the twenty-one cards carries the wisdom she has gained from listening to thousands of bodies and the stories they hold.
Deepen your body awareness through private sessions, Susan's membership program, or explore the full Elevated Body deck.
Learn More About SusanFrequently Asked Questions
What is the Elevated Body oracle deck?
The Elevated Body deck is a set of twenty-one oracle cards created by Susan Drury, each corresponding to a major body system. Each card includes a Purpose (physical function), an Inquiry (emotional/psychological exploration), and a Transcendence (healing affirmation).
How do I use the Stomach card?
Draw the card during your morning practice, place your hand on your stomach, and read the Purpose, Inquiry, and Transcendence sections. Notice what resonates. You can also use the journaling prompts above to deepen your exploration.
I have chronic stomach issues - can this card help?
The card is a tool for self-awareness, not a medical treatment. However, many people find that bringing conscious awareness to the emotional patterns held in the stomach ... alongside appropriate medical care - supports their overall healing process.
Where can I get the full Elevated Body deck?
Visit the Elevated Body page for information about the complete twenty-one card deck, including how to purchase and how to use the cards as a daily practice.
Trust Your Gut - It Knows
Your stomach has been faithfully processing your life since before you were born. It is time to listen to what it has been trying to tell you. Let the Stomach card be your guide.