Monday, December 23, 2024
4th Quarter Moon Waning in Libra
Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter, Mars Retrograde
Snowy and icy here in the Berkshires
How was your week? How did the reading help? Last week was more stressful and chaotic than I hoped. I had to keep reminding myself of the 9 of Gifts (Pentacles) as the collective energy of the week. When I did so, and reconnected with it, I could find joy in spite of the chaos.
I hope you also had a blessed Solstice, whether it was the Winter Solstice we had in the Northern Hemisphere, or the Summer Solstice to our friends on the other side of the world! I was lucky to be in celebration with my beloved local community and also do my personal offerings in my own ceremony. At this point in my life, I rarely stay up all night on the Solstices, just up later than usual.
This month, we are using the Yuletide Tarot, from Kristoffer Hughes with art by Erin O’Leary Brown. You can get it from Llewellyn Worldwide here. (Note: even though I’ve written for Llewellyn almanacs for decades, I do not get free decks from them, nor do I get a cut of anything you buy using this link. I bought the deck myself). This is the first year I’m using this deck. It was recommended to me by my friend, tarot reader and author Jamieson Wolf. I spent the last month getting to know the deck, in preparation for this month’s work with it.
In this deck:
Canes = Swords
Candles = Wands
Good Cheer = Cups
Gifts = Pentacles
If you’re new to the weekly readings, this is a spread of mine, that I’ve developed over months. It’s read from left to right, 5 cards. Any card that needs more interpretation can be built into further, above and below, with either more tarot cards, another tarot deck, or an oracle deck.
These interpretations are mine, based on my experience, intuition and responses to the artwork. You may have a different experience. This is an overview of the week as it stands now; every decision we make from the moment of the reading can change the outcome. If there’s something in the reading that worries you, you have the information ahead of time so that you can plan, make better choices, or handle it differently than predicted for a better outcome. Tarot sets out possibilities, which you change through your choices and actions.
Left to right, the positions are as follows:
1. The Collective Energy of the Week
2. The Week’s Challenge
3. The Week’s Opportunity
4. The Week’s Stretch
5. The Week’s Comfort
This week’s reading is interesting because it’s all Major Arcana cards interspersed with Court cards.
The Collective Energy of the Week – King of Good Cheer
This is King of Cups in other decks. This image makes me smile. He’s in his kitchen (hearth of the home) pouring himself a drink with a ship in a bottle in front of him. Did he just unwrap a gift from a loved one? Or has he made it to give to a loved one? As a King, it’s likely he created it and prepares to wrap it. This king is generous to those he loves, but can be a little distant until one is accepted to the inner circle. He’s fully in charge of his emotions, and chooses where to place them. This makes sense as collective energy. Christmas hits midweek, Hanukkah begins on the 25th, Kwanzaa on the 26th. There are a lot of emotional expectations built into the week. Sometimes family and work relationships are especially fraught at this time. This is a reminder to remain in control of your emotions and choose where to place your generosity. It’s also a reminder that you can do both of these with kindness and without cruelty.
The Week’s Challenge – The Mari Lwyd
This is the High Priestess in other decks. This is one of my favorite cards in this particular deck. She is the Bone Queen. She the white horse of bardic tradition in Wales. If you want to learn more about the Mari Lwyd in Wales, here is a link to the page on Wales.com about her. In this tarot, and in this particular spot in our reading, this card is about balancing opposites, spiritual forces, and deep intuition. It’s about trusting our instincts when something feels off. She stands between the dark-barked tree and the white birch, symbolizing polarities (in other decks, the High Priestess is often depicted between a black pillar and a white pillar, or standing on a floor made out of black and white tiles). With all the holiday expectations this week, our challenge is to listen to our intuition. It may be uncomfortable at times, but it will ease a lot of pain in the long run.
The Week’s Opportunity – The King of Canes
This is the King of Swords in other decks. This King operates on intellect and discernment, and can sometimes be cold. In other decks, he often wields a sword to cut away what is no longer necessary and to end a cycle. The week offers an opportunity to balance the two kings. We can be in charge of our emotions and look at our situations rationally. At the same time, we pull in the energy of the Mari Lwyd, and use our intuition to inform what we’ve discerned on a more rational level. Kings end cycles, so this week will be tied to endings, which makes sense since it’s just past the Solstice, where the wheel turns, and close to the end of the calendar year. That the two kings flank the Mari Lwyd shows how she is the balance between them.
The Week’s Stretch – Mistletoe
This card is the Lovers in other decks. If you hop down to last week’s reading, in this same slot was the 10 of Good Cheer (Cups) showing a couple with one holding mistletoe over their heads as though they were about to kiss. In this week’s slot is the Major Arcana Mistletoe, the Lovers, where a different hand holds the mistletoe about them, and they are kissing. Interesting that these related cards are in the same slot, one week after the other. The stretch this week might be about attraction and new love; it might be about self-love; it might be about unifying the loving voice and the unkind voice in ourselves. It will be different for each of us. It does show us, however, with this hand above the kissing couple, that there are external forces trying to exert control. How we respond to that is the stretch. The previous cards in the spread suggest using the Mari Lwyd (our intuition) to balance the two kings in order to move forward in loving ways rather than cruel ones. You can hold your boundaries and respect yourself in loving ways.
The Week’s Comfort – Page of Gifts
This is the Page of Pentacles in other decks. There’s comfort in the coziness of winter and studying, reading, relaxing. There’s an abundance of gifts around you – don’t get so caught up in your studies that you forget to unwrap and acknowledge them! There’s a potential here for quiet comfort and joy, in spite of the more aggressive possibilities of the week, especially if you choose to navigate the challenges with kindness and thoughtfulness.
On a personal level, both the Page of Gifts and the List (which was last week’s card in the “Challenge” position) have come up frequently. The 8 of Cups has come up often, too. While I think I know from what I’m being urged to walk away, the Universe might still have some surprises in store. I am definitely counting on Mari Lwyd this week for guidance!
How do you interpret these cards? Do you get something quite different? I’d love to hear your interpretations in the comments.