Due to the Christmas celebrations and family visit, this blog post and the blog posts for next week are shorter than usual. Today, my father arrives in a couple of hours, and then it is family time with many hours of joy and happiness.
The Tarot cards are my means of looking into the future. I do not plan my life after the cards, but I use their advice to be more honest with myself so that I can make clearer decisions about important matters.
I use the classical Rider Waite standard Tarot deck. I like the layout, and I feel comfortable using them. I have a bought deck for the big spreads, but in general, I use a mini version of the deck that I have created from free material on the Internet.
I always make three Tarot spreads when the new year is almost here. I use spreads with many Tarot cards because I like to reflect on the developments during the year and to compare to the previous years.
The first spread is about my inner journey as a witch and as a human being. I ask questions about the developments during the year, lessons learned, and what I need to do to improve myself next year. The second and third spreads are about the potential events in the new year, spread over the individual months.
My guidelines for 2020 are to stay focused on my project about writing my first novel, to remember to take some time off from time to time, and to seek joy in the small moments with my family and friends.
This year has been hectic and busy. Last year, my Tarot spreads spoke about getting my health sorted out, about decluttering my many projects, and about letting go of the past. Today, I´m as healthy as I can be, I´ve decided to write a novel, and I let go of yesterday as often as possible.
Such guidelines are understandable and down-to-earth. I always ask my Tarot cards precise questions, and I never use Tarot cards if I´m not feeling well. As with any other magickal work, I only work when I feel fit for it. The results have taught me that.
To me, using Tarot cards is like listening to friendly advice. How I decide to use the advice is depending on my mundane situation. If the Tarot cards speak of inner work, then I often do take the advice into consideration. However, are they speaking of mundane issues, I take it with a grain of salt.
I take the Tarot seriously because of my personal experience with a professional Tarot reader. I tried to live my life after the cards, I tried to do plan against them, anyway, things happened as the cards had said they would.
So I trust my Tarot cards on the part of inner guidance. I often use the results from Tarot spreads to work with my inner shadows in shadow work and vice versa. It is becoming more and more precise the more I practice.
It has taken me three years to learn to work with my Tarot cards. 78 cards demand time and dedication to be fully understood and useful in a daily practice of witchcraft. I have studied them one card at a time, learned the symbols, and worked with the Fool´s journey.
But still, I have to make cross-references all the time because of the complexity of the Tarot. It is an old and refined Craft to learn to work with on a daily basis. Today, I use both physical cards and an app for my cell phone, so I´m always close to my Tarot cards.
I use my cell phone on bad osteoarthritis days and whenever it comes in handy, like e.g. while I´m waiting for a doctor´s appointment. But on major occasions like the festivals of the Wheel of the Year, I use the big deck that I bought many years ago.
The deck has followed me ever since, and I like the feeling of old cards in my hands. And I have future plans about designing and creating my own special deck. But that´s in the future, the next year it is about writing my first novel.
My yearly spreads stress the importance of being as prepared as possible before engaging in such a major project. And equally important is to remember to take the necessary time off to be with my family and friends,
It corresponds well with what I´m already doing. So I have decided to take the advice with me and to do my very best when the writing begins for real from March 1, 2020. The challenge will be to find the time for witchcraft as well as writing.
But I have my daily mini-rituals to turn to, and with careful planning I´m sure it will work out well in the end. I need to have both writing and witchcraft in my life because they make me whole as a human being, as a writer, and as a witch.
The Tarot cards also showed a need for inner shadow work. So that will be my main concern in January where I like the darkness the least. It is suitable, too, for in my novel I´ll be working with the darker shadows of human nature. As I will, so it is.
Next Friday, I´ll show you my witchcraft study plan for 2020. Due to the ongoing work with my novel, I know that I will spend most of my time writing it. In return, I´ll create my own Tarot spreads for the festivals and the celebration of the New and the Full Moon.
Now, I´ll wish you a wonderful weekend filled with both peace and creativity. In less than two hours, my 81-year-old father will be here with us. I can´t wait to give him a big hug and sit and listen to him telling about other eras from long ago.
The Northern Witch' s Blog 