As we make our way beyond samhain, and the souls new year. Preparing to ground, cleanse and rest my body I decided to do a harvest spread (using one I saw on printerest) to see what accomplishments I should acknowledge and what I must be prepare for over the coming season of winter.
Card 1 - what harvest is now ready to be acknowledged and celebrated.
Card 2 - what area of abundance needs my attention and gratitude?
Card 3 - what skill, idea or relationship should I continue to cultivate through the next season.
Card 4 - what must I release to create space for my new growth and blessings.
1 - Two of stones ~ Challenge: Hares, at least in my culture and stories, represent wit and cunning, embodying a trickster archetype but also an otherworldly one, being the animal that passes between the veil with ease. Which made me think of the challenge I sometimes feel to balance mundane life with the magical. Even though there is always something magical, something spiritual to be found in all moments. Still, that didn't fit quite right in my mind, so I did have to think about this card: what challenge have I recently passed or conquered? All that I could think of was my recent breaking of a mindset, one that made me believe that I only have purpose if I am of worth to something, someone - to always be working, producing or showing results - I have cast away that mindset (or am continuing to) because I realised it was only making me miserable and stressed, as well as making me feel lacking to see others seemingly fall into roles or jobs that fit them like a glove, perhaps there is no purpose except to enjoy life, for life is the gift we make of it and, life isn't meant to be tolerated despite how society may make it seem, for how sad that would be.
2 - Three of stones ~ Creativity: I indeed need to release my creativity and imagination more; there are many ideas, projects in my head that I wish to explore and ground into the real world. So this card was a simple read, alerting me to the fact that my focus should not be on distracting myself or procrastinating out of fears of not making something perfect on my first go, and to just do it. Put Pen to paper and write. Put the paintbrush to the stone and create. If it's bad, if it doesn't work out the way my mind foresees, then I can always try again, even if my brain hates such an idea. I will continue to teach that stubborn part of me to relax more.
3 - The Guardian: Though this card is replacing the Devil in the Traditional tarot, I have never felt devilish energy from this card. Just as the title suggests, this is an old guardian who serves their duty of guarding and protecting those and the secrets that lie beyond the cave's entry point. In my case, with it falling into place upon the space that asks me to continue cultivating this skill in my life, I felt the words death-work and ancestral connection ring in my brain as I studied and meditated on the card some more. I felt the message expand into not just ancestral veneration but in truly connecting deeper to the land around me. It has much knowledge to share and I must be ready to hear, feel or see what it wishes to share with me.
4 - Page of stones ~ Lynx: The final card to appear, showcasing the lynx as the page of stones, which was funny because the day before I did this spread, I did my daily morning card pull from a different deck, and the lynx appeared then, too. I suppose, perhaps, the energetic symbolism of the lynx may be important to my growth right now. In the lynx, we are asked to be a silent observer, to step away from the busyness of life that leads to a cluttered mind. To take on the role of the mystic within our own lives. As for the page of stones, this speaks of a person who is dedicated to their goal, but knows it is better to get there through small, steady, dedicated actions than rushing oneself into burnout. Putting this all together, I get the message of letting go of the need/mindset to "compete" or compare my journey with others, to put full focus on myself and let my goals and creations become tangible through consistent actions, depending upon my energy for each day. There is no rush, and no one I need to impress.
One thing I did notice is that all the cards have a strong earthly energy, which makes sense as I do view the seasons of late autumn and throughout winter as ones of grounding deep into one's body, of being in harmony with the land's current cycle of sleep and rest. Just as many of the trees must lose their leaves so they can push all their energy into the core, their trunk, and remain strong enough to once again see spring, I find that we must let go of all inconsequential chores and mindsets to focus on replenishing ourselves. At least that is the energy I am in.
