Cult of Tarot Forum

Sacred Days of Midsummer

1. Birth of the Muses – June 14: This card shows how our inspiration and creativity is manifesting.

2. Vestalia – June 15: An ancient Roman festival dedicated to Vesta, Goddess of the Hearth. This card shows us our hearth, the fire at the center of our life and home, and how to tend to it.

3. Night of the Teardrop – June 16: Remembrance of the tears of Isis causing the Nile River to overflow. This card shows what our emotions are telling us at this time.

4. Juno, Goddess of Fertility and Union – June 17: Celebrating the ancient Roman goddess for whom the month of June is named. This card shows us an area of fertile growth in our lives.

5. Festival of Strawberries – June 18: As the strawberries ripen, this card shows us the sweetness in our lives and encourages us to live in the moment.

6. Oak King – June 19: A dedication to the Oak King, who is now near the height of his power in his battle with the Holly King. This card shows us our strength.

7. Scrying – June 20: In the tradition of scrying at the time of Midsummer, this card shows us a blessing to come.

8. Summer Solstice – June 21: We are at the height of the sun’s power, the longest day, in the Northern Hemisphere; OR in the Southern Hemisphere this day is the turning point for the days to get longer. This card shows us how to shine our own light like the Sun.

9. Honey Moon – June 22: This card shows us how to release anxieties or worries, how to enjoy ourselves.

10. Saint John’s Eve – June 23: Like the herbs traditionally gathered on St. John’s Eve, this card shows what protects or heals us.

11. Guru Purnima – June 24: Indian festival of expressing gratitude to teachers. This card reminds us of a lesson we have learned, or an experience or person who taught us something, that we should remember and have gratitude for as we move forward.

12. Parvati, Earth Mother – June 25: The card shows us how to ground ourselves and how to connect with the earth’s abundance.

I'm going to use my Jean Dodal (Flornoy restoration), majors only.

June 14th- Birth of the Muses- how my inspiration and creativity are manifesting

Justice seemed like an odd pull for a reading about creativity, but it quickly started making sense to me. One of my other big hobbies is cross stitching, and I like to make plans and set new "goals" with each new month. June has been all about "obligation" projects. I'm working on one project that I will gift to my mother. I'm working on another for my daughter. I just started one that I won as a giveaway, and I wasn't sure if I was 100% ready for it, but because I won it, I felt obligated to start right away. And last, I'm working on one that I just started with a few friends...I preferred to wait until fall but one of the other ladies really wanted to start now. So while stitching in general is a great creative outlet for me, I def. feel like I'm going with what seems "reasonable" and what I feel morally obligated to do, vs. what is really pulling me.

I also have been struggling to find a good balance with managing my different creative pursuits. My stitching ends up getting most of my attention, just b/c it's easy to do while watching TV with my husband at night. My other hobbies are things that won't allow divided attention.

I also got a chuckle out of pulling this card, because I am very new to Marseille decks. I debating using an RWS style deck that I'm comfortable with, but figured I'd pull from the Dodal. I thought, if this card doesn't speak to me, I'll just go with RWS. But that sword in Justice gave me the feeling that my deck was urging me to make a freaking decision already...and cut the very idea of using anything else, when I really wanted to use this one in the first place. Ah, I love Tarot.

June 15- Vestalia- This card shows us our hearth, the fire at the center of our life and home, and how to tend to it.

I probably shouldn't have pulled this card in the midst of our morning chaos...my husband and son were rushing off to an appointment and couldn't find the address or phone number, and my daughter was asking me for half a dozen different things. I was feeling frustrated and rushed and somehow decided that was the right time to pull my card, lol.

Card 13, typically thought of as the Death card, reminds me that we're in a season of upheaval. My son is starting college this fall, and that will be a huge change for all of us. I've been trying to get the family on board with some new routines and traditions, as well as doing a big house declutter, and it's been a struggle. But some of the old ways weren't working, and I want our home to be more peaceful, more cozy...and so change is necessary.

This card reminds me that when you break old patterns, it can be painful, but you're clearing the way for something that will hopefully be better.

June 16- Night of the Teardrop- what my emotions are telling me at this time

Le Monde...usually I think of this is a positive card but that was when I was going more by meaning than by seeing. With Marseille decks, I'm learning not to be so attached to meanings, and to read what I see. So what I see here is not the typical smiling, dancing figure, but a more unsure, perhaps even nervous figure.

This card makes me think of the significance of today, my last day of my self-imposed isolation since this whole covid thing started. Tomorrow I am meeting up with a friend, the first time I will have spent time with any friend since March 2020.

It should be a happy thing, and I'm sure it WILL be once I'm out there. But really, I'm anxious about it. At first I was isolating myself because of covid, but after a while, I got comfortable with it. I missed some things, but it was easy to kind of "check out" on social pressures and just be. I wonder how strange it will feel to be among friends again...I worry that I will feel raw, almost naked like the figure in this card. I worry that I will have nothing to say, that our friendship will have turned awkward.

Yet even a safe "cocoon" can begin to feel like a prison. The figure in the card looks to the left, like she's remembering when she was a part of the action, and was happy to be so. I, too, miss being among friends, miss when our life was busy and full of events and good times. So maybe it's not just self-doubt that I see on her face, but regret as well.

So yeah..this card really did say something to me about my emotional state right now. Nervous about the future, a little sad about what's been lost...but when I think of the traditional meaning of Le Monde, I have to believe that there's some hope there, too. That getting over my anxiety about meeting up with friends again will be a good thing, and bring me closer to a state of wholeness. Maybe even a little happy dancing, too? lol

June 17- Juno- an area of fertile growth in my life

L'empereur...I'm at point where I need to stop waiting for conditions to be right, for me to feel "ready", etc...I just need to summon up the confidence and the will to start moving on some stuff. Clearly, things aren't ever going to fall into place magically, and I'm not suddenly going to wake up feeling like a different person. I need to start where I am and do what I can do. Now, NOW, is the time to establish the order I need in my life.

This prob. sounds like a vague reading, but I knew exactly what it was saying to me, about taking charge and imposing limits on myself.

June 18: Festival of Strawberries- the sweetness in my life, encouragement to live in the moment

Le Jugement...I have been pulling this card a lot lately! It makes me think of rising out of the "tomb" of covid isolation, and feeling a bit "naked" while i get used to socializing again. I've had a bit of a wake up call recently, as I realize that some of things I've avoided doing are absolutely necessary if I want to get close to the kind of life I want to live. I'm going to have to face discomfort, and I'm going to have to have some self-discipline. These things are difficult, but the rewards are huge. I went out with a friend yesterday, the first time in 15 months, and even getting being out in the fresh air, in the sunshine, with our kids playing, felt amazing. The kids were so happy, we were so happy...my daughter and I both slept great last night, lol.

This card also makes me think of my new Tarot journey, with the Marseille. I feel like a beginner again, and I love it! I have same sort of heady thrill I had when I first learned the RWS system. Everything feels fresh, there are so many possibilities.

June 19- Oak King- my strength

Le Soleil...my immediate thought was, "of course, sunshine!" I felt so great after we spent a few hours at the park on Thursday. The fresh air, the sunshine, the trees....I breathed better, and I slept great that night. So I def. think this card is telling me get outside more! I also think it's telling me to get out of the house more, even if I'm just running errands vs. spending time in nature. I think my desire to get out could actually fuel my desire to get some stuff done that I've been avoiding- a medical appointment, some self-care stuff that seemed pointless if I wasn't out and about in the world.

The twins made me thing of my friend H., and how spending time with someone is like a "twin soul" to me makes me happy. Chatting via texts and PMs is just not the same. Sometimes I like to think my strength is in being independent and not needing a lot of company/socializing, but there's magic in a friend who truly understands you, and give and take of a solid friendship. The twins are comfortable with each other, affectionate....they find joy in their companionship. I think my desire for that companionship on a regular basis can be the catalyst I need, to get out of this rut I've been in and start enjoying my life again.

And the wall behind the twins offers some sort of protection, without being so tall as to feel like imprisonment. Getting out with the friend I'm most comfortable with is a start. I don't have to return to ALL of the social bustle from before; I can add things in slowly, as I feel more comfortable.

June 20: Scrying- a blessing to come

Temperance...oh, I'd love for this one to be true! this is my life card, and I fully admit that I struggle with finding the happy medium, in just about every way. I always lean from one extreme to the other, often times testing out the opposite extreme when I get bored with the first one. But I'd love to be like the figure in Temperance, who does her thing so naturally she isn't even looking at the process of the fluids mixing. She doesn't seem to see it as some fantastical trick she's doing; she handles it with grace and ease. Knowing that going to extremes has led me to some unhealthy behaviors, finding a little more balance really would be a blessing in my life!

June 21: Summer Solstice- how to shine my light like the Sun

Le Diable...facing what restrains and imprisons me. Several of my readings lately have been about committing to dealing with some of my unhealthy behaviors. Recognizing the root of those behaviors- painful experiences from my past, going to extremes- and imposing some limits on myself. I know that waiting until it's easy or until I "feel like it" is pointless, because it's never going to come easy, I'm never going to magically, painlessly heal these wounds from my past, and basically I have to just decide to stop working against myself. Le Diable reminds me that indulging in unhealthy desires can feel great in the moment, but lead me to dark places where I end up trapped, by my own doing.

June 22: Honey Moon- how to release my anxiety and worries, how to enjoy myself

La Roue de Fortun...I can release my anxiety by taking each day as it comes, and remembering that no situation, good or bad, lasts forever. I can soak up the joy, when it comes. Plan for tomorrow, but not dwell on my worries too much. I can remember that everything has a season, and some are for lightheartedness and fun while others are for introspectiveness, mourning and deep work. I also think this card urges me to remember that fortune is fickle, and I should be grateful for everything that is good in my life.

I'm currently reading Yoav Ben Dov's The Open Reading, and I flipped to the pages for this card. Ben Dov points out that the center of the wheel is a fixed point, and suggests that this fixed point is what L'hermite looks toward. He goes on to suggest that the reader find a "fixed point of tranquility" that does not move despite life's natural ups and downs. Obviously this hints towards some sort of spiritual practice, which has been sorely lacking in my life for a long time. I def. tend to think of my Tarot studies as a part of that practice, but it can't be everything. That, more than anything, is my big takeaway from this pull today.

June 23: St. John's Eve what protects or heals me

La Maison Dieu...This is more than just a shaking up of the status quo; this is a complete overhaul. Normally I cringe to see this card come up in any reading, but I didn't mind it today. I knew it was coming. Well, the situation, not the card itself. This card is about what happens when you've built on unstable foundations. For me, it's about intuitively knowing something was wrong, and plowing through anyway, determined to do what I wanted to do anyway.

So this card is not a revelation to me, but a recognition that I need to listen to my gut and not decide I can make things work out by sheer will. It's a liberation from past mistakes and declarations. It's an opportunity for a fresh start...not with a clean slate, but with something even better. A wiser, battle scared me, ready to rebuild something healthy that will last. Getting back to what's essential and real, and taking small steps.

June 24: Guru Purnima- a lesson learned, an experience or teacher worthy of my gratitude

Le Pape...the spiritual father, one turned to for wisdom and advice. For a long time this card screamed at me in the language of Catholic guilt, lol. I was raised Catholic but didn't choose that path once I was old enough to decide for myself. Now that I'm further along in my Tarot journey I've seen Le Pape as many different tradition, institutions, teachers, experts, guides and sometimes as the Tarot itself.

What stands out to me today is that Le Pape isn't looking at his eager students, but off to the right, towards a future they cannot see. He imparts his wisdom, and maybe even his blessing, but he is not overly concerned with the students themselves. HIs guidance is there for the taking; it's up to them to either accept and use it, or reject it entirely. I feel like this card represents the Tarot to me right now, but maybe something else...a few days ago, the Roue de Fortune came up for me and Ben Dov talked about finding the "fixed point of tranquility". It made me think about making room for spirituality in my life again. For a long time, my Tarot practice has been the only spiritual thing in my life, and I LOVE it. I think it will always be a part of my life, and it def. feels spiritual when I'm reading for myself about deeper issues. But maybe I need more. I remember when I lived in San Diego and participated in a weekly kirtan/chanting meditation. I remember thinking it's was the closest I ever felt to God. But then we moved across the country, and there is nothing like that here. But I don't think that is the only spiritual experience available to me. I need to think about this some more.

But today is about gratitude for past lessons/teachers...and this card makes me think of my actual father, the Tarot, Curt B., Adam Y, Clarissa E., Cheryl S. Hopefully more to come!

June 25: Parvati, Earth Mother- how to ground myself and connect with the earth's abundance

Le Fol...immediate thought- I need to get outside more and take a hike. Just being outside walking around does so much to improve my mood. And of course there's the idea of taking only what's essential and continuing my journey from here, which makes me think of my home declutter project, and how much I want to reduce even some of my fun stuff from various hobbies, so I can concentrate on what I truly find fulfilling. And of course Le Fol always makes me think of the joy of being a beginner, when all things are possible and hunting down those possibilities is half the fun. Learning the Marseille feels that way to me.

On that note this reading has been a really fun way for me to get back into sharing online again, and esp. with a new deck! Happy to have found this forum a few weeks ago!

swedishfish612 wrote: ↑25 Jun 2021, 15:55 le fol.jpg
On that note this reading has been a really fun way for me to get back into sharing online again, and esp. with a new deck! Happy to have found this forum a few weeks ago!

I am really glad you joined and I really enjoyed following along with your reading 2-3 posts at a time. This was my first time participating in a reading circle here so I wasn't sure what to expect. Totally worth it for me.

TheLoracular wrote: ↑26 Jun 2021, 23:34

swedishfish612 wrote: ↑25 Jun 2021, 15:55 le fol.jpg
On that note this reading has been a really fun way for me to get back into sharing online again, and esp. with a new deck! Happy to have found this forum a few weeks ago!

I am really glad you joined and I really enjoyed following along with your reading 2-3 posts at a time. This was my first time participating in a reading circle here so I wasn't sure what to expect. Totally worth it for me.

It was really fun, and I enjoyed reading others' thoughts also. I will def. do it again!