There is a definite chill in the air these days. It's still t-shirt weather for me here in Richmond, VA, but more often than not I will wear a light hoodie while I wait for the clear afternoon sunlight to warm my skin.
I love this kind of weather. I love watching the transition into fall, anticipating the day when I will bundle inside layers of clothing, coats, scarves, and hats that make me feel protected and cocooned against the cold. Being an artist, it feels only natural to sit at my desk and work during these days. While I do want to soak up the perfect autumn days, there isn't the same pull that summertime has with its restless energy.
As we pass the autumnal equinox, the daylight recedes earlier each evening and humans follow the habits of the sun. Our thoughts and inner wanderings become more pronounced as we recede inside of ourselves. I think of October which is coming soon, and the holiday that is the hallmark of the month - Halloween. The modern-day celebration for masked tricksters and glowing pumpkin faces began long ago as a Celtic pagan tradition called Samhain. It was the Celtic New Year, a time to celebrate the gathering of the harvest, honor relatives who had passed, and look towards what the seasons ahead would bring. It was a time of magic, of transitions, when the skin that separated the living and those who passed was very thin.
It is wonderful to feel at peace with transition, with the unveiling of things hidden.
A couple of weeks ago I gave readings at the Blue Elephant (which I'm excited to say will now be a monthly event!) Often when I give readings to many people in a short amount of time, a handful of the same cards will come up again and again - in the same or different positions - within the spread. This is after shuffling, cutting, and having the Querents randomly pick out individual cards that are spread out on the table, so it's not just a matter of the same cards clumping together within the deck. I'm not sure why this happens. Perhaps people intuitively pick up on the energy of cards that have been recently touched. One friend suggested that maybe people go through similar life-themes during certain periods of time, like a cosmic effect. Either way, seeing the same cards over and over again can be disconcerting at times because it's like repetitive deja vu. But it teaches me to be flexible with my interpretations and often alerts me to dimensions of the card that I hadn't noticed before. It's funny to me, and rather amazing, that even though I created these symbols and had specific ideas about their meanings, the cards continue to morph and reveal layers of complexity. These seemingly simple images are so open and inviting if you allow them to be.
One of the cards that came up repeatedly that day is #14. While I advise that no card is inherently positive or negative, I can't help associating this card with unhappiness - which to me is a negative characteristic. However, through the readings I discovered qualities I had not previously recognized, such as judgement, criticalness, and discernment. In themselves, these qualities can be used for beneficial or hindering effects, depending on what the Querent needs in their life. One Querent pointed out to me that #14 is male and the left side of his face is frowning, while #15 is female and her right side if smiling. Not to get too gender-stereotypical, but traditionally males are associated with more analytical, left-brained thinking and women with more intuitive, right-brained thinking. (Although if you want to get really technical, I believe the right and left hemispheres of the brain control the respective
opposite sides of the body...) I hadn't thought of these things consciously, but the symbolism had come through intuitively while I was drawing the symbols.
Oh, how I love it when things turn out to be more than they appear.
Dialogue:
Can you think of a time when things turned out to be different than you had previously thought? Do you notice transitions in yourself or others more clearly during certain seasons?
For those of you who use the Golden Moth Illumination Deck, which cards have come up repeatedly in your readings? Which cards' meanings have revealed multiple dimensions to you over time?
