Te Wairua ki Roto
Growing up in Tairāwhiti, surrounded by her Māori culture, Bonnie Baty developed a deep love for her heritage. At the age of 22, she fulfilled her dream of working at Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou as a Kaiāwhina Support Worker. Over the years, she progressed to the role of Senior Manager of Whānau and Hapū Development, drawing on her social and community work, as well as her counselling and education background. Bonnie has also worked at Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Rūnanga o Tūranganui a Kiwa, and Te Wānanga O Aotearoa. “Working for my iwi has been a big passion for me.”
Alongside her impressive career, Bonnie also pursued a creative passion, painting sets of kōhatu or stones with kupu Māori and giving them away. During a presentation for her social work studies, she borrowed a set of 33 kōhatu from a kuia she had previously gifted them to. Everyone present chose a stone. The activity brought some to tears, and Bonnie decided to gift the rocks to the participants.
While Bonnie always believed she would never leave Te Tairāwhiti, her long-term relationship broke down in her late twenties, leading to depression. In search of healing and self-discovery, she moved to Brisbane. Unfortunately, the kuia who lent her the stones also relocated to Rotorua with her whānau and passed away before Bonnie could create a new set.
After the kuia had been gone for a few years, she began appearing in Bonnie's dreams, urging her to "paint her bloody stones" and share the kōhatu and the kōrero that comes with them. Bonnie had no idea how to reproduce them, as they required round and smooth river stones for each set. Eventually, she came up with the idea of turning them into cards instead. She started painting the cards and looked at different publishers before winning a self-publishing prize with Animal Dreaming Publishing in Australia.
It took Bonnie eight years to create the Wairua Intuitive Cards, and it was an emotional rollercoaster. She repeatedly questioned herself, "Who the fuck am I to do this?" In the end, Bonnie returned to her roots and the way she was raised, which was fundamental to her understanding of the culture. She believes that this comes through in the cards.
Bonnie acknowledges that there can be fear stories attached to items like intuitive cards in the culture. She says that the best way is for people to judge for themselves what they choose to bring into their space. They should discern whether an item will support them, and if it doesn't, "kei te pai, it can stay over there as it's not relevant to me."
During the interview, Bonnie emphasised that there is no right or wrong way to use the cards, and users can be as creative with them as they want. She sees herself as the creator and incubator of the cards and is already working on two more sets, with the message intuitively clear that there will be three in total. However, she chooses not to do readings for others, and she cautions against using the cards to give authoritarian advice or prescribe outcomes for others. Bonnie believes that people should connect to the cards intuitively and receive what is meant for them in their own way, in line with their highest good.
“It’s not about ‘you’re going to fall off blah blah… it’s about people connecting to them intuitively and receiving what is meant for them in their own way, that is heartfelt and in line with their highest good.”
When asked about her favourite card in the set, Bonnie chose the ‘Marae Ātea’, connected to the throat. This resonates with her personal experiences of being told to stop speaking and be quiet. This feeling of being kept quiet came to the surface at her Wairua Intuitive Guidance Cards launch. Her cousin was organised to give the whaikōrero but fell ill. Another person was suggested, but Bonnie didn’t want someone who didn’t know her kaupapa to open the kōrero, so she did it herself.
To finish our kōrero, I asked Bonnie to choose a card from the deck. She picked ‘Whakaoho’, which means to awaken innate wisdom and the deepest aspects of self. This perfectly tied in with our discussion about the cards, as Bonnie believes that the cards are meant to help people connect with te wairua ki roto. Ultimately, it's not about what anyone else says or what the cards or booklet or any other technology tells us; it's about connecting to our inner wisdom. Bonnie’s kaupapa Māori tools facilitate this process of self-discovery and connection.