Autumn, a time of cleansing

My Lughnasadh was rather uneventful. I was sluggish and honestly not at all in a Sabbat mood due to the heatwave we had here. I did, however, decorate my altar for it. Mabon, on the other hand, was more inspiring in terms of craft and spiritual work. There was an obvious change in weather and the air here after the Equinox passed. The days have been growing colder and shorter, although we still have some very hot days, which are the final breath of Summer.

With every passing season, I grow more aware of my ageing, of time and opportunities past, of the possibility of life becoming more crystallised and less prone to wonder. It frightens me. I have to constantly fight the ghost of my own bitterness, which leads me to feel disappointed with myself and with this world. It makes me want to hide in the rich world of my dreams, nature and magic forever, but that too is impossible. So I must learn to walk between both worlds at once, without truly ever belonging to any. It's a lonely journey, but it has its moments of awe.

For this Mabon, I decided to create a little amulet shaped like a witch's broom. It has a couple of hematites hanging from it, that is both a grounding and cleansing crystal. I plan on eventually hanging it near or behind my front door, as a way to keep negative energy out. 

It also reminds me that we, too, must cleanse ourselves from the inside out... shed the old skins and the useless expectations... It's easy to become heavy with the bad things we see and experience in this world. We need to stay conscious of it and realise that life is not meant to be ideal or peaceful or even happy, but rather to be accepted as it is, with all it's entwining aspects of light and shadows. When we cleanse ourselves, it is not to be "purer" or "superior", but to become more able to look at life without the fog of self-deception clouding our view, and thus to seek the potential of rebirth behind every apparent fall...

"Free will is the ability to do gladly that which I must do." ~ Carl Gustav Jung

The (In)famous Celtic Cross

The Celtic Cross is a spread that tends to divide people. Some swear by it, while others consider it overrated. It usually gets a bad reputation because nearly all tarot books teach it and, yet, it is hardly the best spread for a beginner to start with due to its size and complexity.

In my opinion, The Celtic Cross requires a certain fluency in the language of the tarot to be best understood. It is not enough to read what each card means in each position because all cards together create a snapshot of the situation from different points of views, so you must be able to see not only the individual meanings, but also the general picture that together they paint, even in the contradictions. And while this can be complicated, it also provides a rich amount of information.

Personally, I have had good results when using the Celtic Cross for the times when my sitter is being "vague" in revealing what they want to know. I don't mean to say it works well without any focus or question, but it is not rare for people to come seeking to shed light on a certain area of their lives without having an exact question. I have found the Celtic Cross can be used to give a general picture of the most important issue at hand, as well as its most likely developments.

Below, I share the positions that I use when reading with the Celtic Cross. There are many ways to use this spread, and this is the one that works the best for me.

You are not required to finish the task but...

The last two months have been a bit strange. After a significant rise in my creative energy, I was suddenly let down once more, and kind of fell into a void. It's as if the images that had been filling my mind with almost maddening speed and liveness suddenly went quiet, and what felt like an effortless flow became a task that requires much toiling. 

I struggle even to write this now.

What a bummer. I wish I was not susceptible to such highs and lows of the spirit, that are deeply tied to the rise and fall of my own passions. When something stirs me, my creativity is awakened. But when I am becalmed, well, then it's like living through a small death.

"You are not required to finish the task, but you are not free to abandon it," says the Talmud. In the past, I used to think (or fear) that the "lows" were a sign I was not 'good enough' to be a creative person. Now I have come to understand that I go through waxing and waning phases, and that sometimes I have no choice but to remain as an empty vessel, waiting for something new to fill me again. It does not make the task any easier or less frustrating though. And every time I hit the troughs, I have this terrible fear that the highs will never come again... that I will not have the inner fire to carry on the unending task that my soul asks of me.

In this context, The Lovers show up for me, reminding my that life often thrusts us into decisions before we have all the knowledge we need to make the choice clearly. Events in my own life have been leading me to the crossroads between the unique way I feel compelled to live - which could be seen as 'selfish' by many - and the responsibilities I have towards the external world.