I am using the Sasuraibito Tarot by Stasia Burrington. I having a hard time uploading the picture of the cards.
The wheel of the year rolls on and everything moves - our Earth rotates around the Sun, the Moon around the Earth, and our whole solar system travels through a galaxy. Humans have aways measured time by watching the celestial events. Four of them are especially meaningful - the two solstices and the two equinoxes that mark the beginning of a new season. Many festivals and holidays in different cultures reflect and celebrate their importance.
Let's enrich our lives by exploring each of these sacred events. Through twelve days, we draw a daily card from a deck chosen with love and care, and focus on the energies of each special day. Doing it as community gives special power to this personal ritual.
Day 1 18.9. Ludi magni games - Roman games in honour of the god Jupiter, celebrated with circus performances. This card reflects the spirit of celebration in your life, and how you can bring more joy and playfulness to yourself and others.
I drew the Six of Pentacles, reversed for this day. This card shows the face profile of two figures, one above and one below and one with the eye open, one with the eye closed. There is a thin, black string that is attached to their mouths. There are pentacles across the top and bottom of the card on the figures' faces one on the forehead, one on the cheek, and on below the chin. The back ground of the card is a varied light-ish yellow. Their hands reach out, but do not cross the string and one of the figures' hands is tattooed or has henna in black ink/dye on it in an intricate design with two eyes. It also has two black rings on the thumb and pinkie fingers and the nails are painted black. While this decorated hand show us the back, the other, un-decorated hand shows us the palm.
I think this card is speaking to balance in many areas of our life-balance in relationships and balance between ourselves and society. I think we all know the struggle of a work and time off balance and the give and take with work, with our relationships, and with society.
Reading this card in relation to the Ludi Magni games is quite interesting to me. First off, the description of the circus performances and here we have a a tightrope pictured between the mouths of the figures! What is balancing here, our words, our souls, our breath? It makes me also consider cause and effect with this card. If one figure were to pull back, would the other be pulled up, would more string come out (if other figure is resistant to change), or is their flexibility here in the string where it adapts and stretches? With all of these scenarios, there is still a change and a weight being felt.
In terms of how this card reflects the spirit of celebration in my life, I think it is reminding me to celebrate and take stock in what I have accomplished. I can be hard on myself and not notice the tiny victories that do pile up, unnoticed. I think it is telling me to maybe skip the dishes one night to celebrate the fact that I have built up to running 4 miles after being pretty sedentary. I need to notice and honor these small victories. I also need to pause the great scramble of life and celebrate the victories of the people around me. Sometimes in the rush to get her and there, we utter empty, "good jobs!" and "that's great!" to our people, but we don't honor them like we should. In the spirit of celebration, I should maybe think of some kind of special way to acknowledge other's victories and it does not have to cost money, but could be just taking the time speak a few sentences with actual details about the victory. I think this also speaks to how I can bring more joy and playfulness to others. As for myself, I think I should maybe give a little victory leap at the completion of mile four! Who cares if someone thinks I'm strange!
Day 2 19.9. Day of Our Lady of La Salette - an apparition of the Christian Mother of God/Holy Virgin. She brings message of hope to humanity. Where is your personal source of hope and spirituality?
For the Day of Our Lady of La Salette, I drew The Empress. In this card she is pictured among muted, rose colored flowers. There also appears to be wheat pictured behind her. She wears a crown of 12 stars perhaps representing the 12 months in year. This card reminds me of the Demeter and Persephone myth. She has dark hair and seems to be giving some serious side eye. Maybe she is looking to the side at something or someone...The Magician. I think it is a stance of protection and loyalty to nature, parenthood, and the bringing forth of the new. The color tones are earthy in this card. I think this is a grounded card.
I think this card is confirming to me how I turn to nature and even science as a personal source for hope and spirituality. Although it may terrify some people, when I think of the never ending vastness of space, I am comforted. No matter what stresses I have in life, I think, there is this vastness that we are in and so whatever it is that is bothering me, cannot be that bad or that important in the grand scheme of things. I think she also reminds me to honor my parents and the gifts they have given me and to honor my creative spirit. She reminds me to use the gifts that I have been given and have worked hard at developing. The connection to the earth reminds me to know that while I may hold certain gifts, I still should not slack off. I may be good at something, but even so, I need to continue to work hard at it.
I think this card speaks to the passage of time as well with the 12 stars in the crown and it is saying that there are changes in nature and in our lives through out a year, but that we still need to hold fast to and not give up on our creations, in my case, I think maybe artistic creations that have been placed on the back burner as of late.
Day 3 20.9. Sedna, Inuit Goddess of the Sea - This card asks you to address your fears and shadows before the winter comes, like the Inuit did in their Sedna festival.
I drew the Three of Wands for Sedna, Inuit Goddess of the Sea. I asked what I needed to be aware of concerning my fears and shadows before winter came and then drew the Three of Wands. This is an interesting card and I immediately thought of camping when I saw it, which I have had on my mind as of late. The three wands are bound together by a red rope (courage). There are some leaves and small branches at the top of the wands, but if they were branches, they have been manipulated to serve a purpose. Beneath them a fire burns, but we only see the top of the fire, not what is feeding it. The bound wands lie on green grass and there is a sunset or a sunrise, depending on the viewer. The way the green ground is drawn you get the feeling that you are on a planet, a round planet, and you can see stars peeking through the sunset and clouds.
I feel like this card is hinting at exploration. Maybe with the bound wands it is asking you to "get things together" before you leave or maybe it is asking you to acknowledge the binds you have that may prevent you from taking an adventure. I think the perspective of the card gives you that feeling of foresight and seeing what lays before you. The bound wands remind me of a tripod for a telescope or camera, further showing the importance of perspective and sight in this card.
The booklet that came with the cards also mentions that leadership is an idea behind this card and I see this in the wands standing upright, but also in the fact that someone had to remember the red rope, decide to bind those wands together, and have the skills to build fire.
This is an interesting card for me to draw because I have two camping opportunities for this weekend. One is a bit fearful and faraway. It would require greater planning, more money, greater patience, trickier packing. It would mean taking on a lot more stress than I like, but I believe the rewards of this trip would be greater than the other one. The other camping opportunity is closer to home, is a place I am familiar with, is cheaper, carries the possibility of reconnecting with old friends, but even so, would not be as rewarding in the personal growth/strength area.
I think this card is asking me to examine my fears when confronted with new things and new adventures. Am I living life to the fullest? Am I holding myself and others back by staying with the tried and true? Will the camping trip that I am hesitant to take make me stronger at tackling new challenges that may come my way this winter and beyond? What is it that I am scared of exactly? I know how to camp and we live in the modern age, what's my hang up? I think this card asks me to address my fear of change and the unknown so that I can grow as a person.
Day 4 21.9. Eleusinia - an ancient Greek holiday, commemorating Demeter and Persephone. She has to leave the world of of growth and abundance and descend to the realm of death. This card reflects grief, sadness and the traces of tears in your life. Acknowledge and honour them.
I drew the Six of Pentacles again, but not reversed this time. I think balance is an important concept in this cards as well as cause and effect. Also connecting with others, being tethered, having pull with another. Giving and receiving, having or not having. I think plainly this speaks to life in which we are given life and we loose life. We take from the Earth, but then we return to the Earth. Summer fades, winter arrives, summer returns.
In the context of Eleusinia, I think it is reminding me that life is a cycle. Humans live and then die. My missed loved ones do continue on in my heart and in my memory. What they gave me when they were alive is still with me, but what was yet to be given will have to come to me by some other means or may forever remain a mystery. I can contemplate what that may have been. I can look to the past for clues. Central messages of love and acceptance still ring loud and clear. Looking back from death I don't think people would hold grudges-nothing worldly would matter.
I think this card reminds me of the ebb and flow of life, the way that nothing is fair or unfair really, life just happens. It is kind of a cold, impersonal way to see death. And I think this card warns me about how I grieve. I shut the emotions away, I distract myself, I hold it at arm's length.
Day 5 22.9. Rosh HaShana - beginning of the Jewish New Year. It's a Jewish custom to send greetings and good wishes to people in your life. Use this day to focus on the people who are important to you, what you can do to strengthen your ties to them, and contact at least one person you have neglected lately.
I drew the Nine of Wands, reversed for Day Five, thinking about how I can strengthen ties to the important people in my life. This card has a reddish tone too it, which reminds me of blood which is further supported by the image of a bone tied to the wand in the middle by the red rope again. It does not strike me as gruesome though. It is seriously bound to this wand-the roped has been wrapped around several times and tied, and the middle wand has a little spring of leaves at the top. To where these ropes go, we don't see, but they go up to the top of the card. There seem to be four strings, but we can't be sure since we can't see the top-the could be looped. From either side of the card 4 wands (4 from each side to make 8) come out of the side as if they could poke at the bone/wand binding.
The keywords for this card are persistence, stamina, and holding fast, which makes sense in when considering what I need to do to strengthen the ties with the important people in my life. However, I got it reversed.
My immediate thought was that the bone represented family, and friends can be family in my opinion, but also strength. Holding on and connecting to other people also came to mind. The ropes seem like the life roads we travel-who we meet and connect with. I think by getting this card reversed I am being told that I need to do a better job at strengthening my ties to my friends/family. I am an introvert, so socializing is a challenge for me. I would rather, go to coffee shop alone and read a book, than invite a friend. That might sound terrible, but I do thrive alone. I think I need to tend to my friendships more though. I think I would see that I get just as much out of going it solo to the coffee house as I would with a friend. I might even find that I would get a renewed feeling of well-being from socializing. I think this card is telling me I am not being persistent with my friends and that my stamina is low when it comes to socializing, however I need to hold-fast to my friends and family and commit to seeing them all more. We can get in an introvert rut, but once you spend some time with a friend, you see that you really did need that more than reading that book.
This card has a redish tone too it, which reminds me of blood which is further supported by the image of a bone tied to the wand in the middle by the red rope again. It is sweriously bound to this wand, which has a little spring of leaves at the top. To where these ropes go, we don't see. From either side of the card 4 and 4 wants show as if they could poke at the bone/wand combo.
Day 6 23.9. Autumn Solstice - Libra - Mabon - the day of perfect equilibrium. A day for two cards. What is growing in your life, what is decreasing? This two-card reading reflects the balance of your energies and, if there is imbalance, what you need to address.
For the Autumn Solstice, I drew two cards, both reversed-The Hanged Man and The Magician.
The Hanged Man shows a man hanging by one leg from a branch that has leaves. He is tied with the ever present red rope from this deck. His eyes seem closed and he looks very peaceful. There look to be black raindrops coming down. I read about another card that had a similar image and they were called Yods, but when I Googled it, these do not look like that Hebrew letter.
This card means there is a pause in your life and you need to be patient; you may shift perspectives through this waiting period. Letting-go and inner harmony are also common ideas associated with this card.
I drew this card reversed and the booklet states, "stubbornness, selfishness, non-action, giving-up, refusing to give up old ideas." I think this card is telling me to decrease this tendency that I have to stall on decisions and actions. I need to push myself to just get things going. I do tend to stagnate and have a hard time making decisions.
The Magician's head is down; he is busy with his work. His arms and hands are moving rapidly so that there appears to be eight of them. He has a wand. He wears a calming blue shirt. There are 6 circles around him that remind me of moons, but I see that their are 8 phases of the moon, not six, so maybe these are balls that he is juggling. He has three cups upside down on a table that he is switching around as well.
The booklet says this card is about talent, power, artistry and control. Action and initiative also come up with this card.
I got this card reversed, and the booklet says that this means to look for empty promises, false possibilities, misunderstanding, and lack of substance. It mentions to be aware of smoke and mirrors type situations and people.
I think this card is warning me that I need to increase my BS detector. Although I need to push myself to act faster on decisions and actions, I should not just go willy-nilly into a major decision without contemplating if it is a good deal and what I need at the time. I need to think about what the other person/people get out of the deal and what I pose to get out of the deal. I also need to be sure I am communicating well to prevent misunderstandings.
Day 7 24.9. Brazil holiday of Maiso, mother goddess - what is the role of your mother in your life, how do you mother yourself/father yourself? Reflect on the maternal/paternal archetypes within yourself, and how you can make them work for you, not against you.
For Maiso, I drew the Six of Swords.
This card shows the figure barely keeping her head above water. The six swords are below her so she really has no other choice but to go up and stay up. The colors are muted blue and green with a good bit of black in the swords and hair.
This was a bit sad to draw but I think it does speak to a dimension of motherhood or parenthood, or maybe the reality of motherhood/parenthood. It is a busy, self-sacrificing time. A person often feels other needs must be met before they can address their own. A person can easily "drown" and not resurface for many years. A person can loose their identity, known only as so-so's parent. When you mix a full time job, housework, raising children, it does not leave much in the way of me-time. I think this could apply to whatever your "child" is, be it a book you are writing, a poem, a skill you are trying to master. When you dedicate yourself so wholly to its fruition, you risk losing yourself. I think this card is telling me to not give-up on me. To keep myself there in the present and to work on my dreams. I need to etch out some time for me in order to be better at giving to others.
Day 8 25.9. Greek holiday Pyanopsia - Thanksgiving for the fruits of the sun. Wind white or purple wool around a laurel or olive branch, and hang or arrange fruit around it. These don't have to be actual fruit - you can write on a paper things that you are grateful for. What is the fruit of your past action, ripening now?
I asked the cards what is the fruit of my past action, ripening now and drew the Eight of Wands, reversed.
This card show the wands as arrows shooting up. They have some green leaves still attached and a bow is drawn with one arrow-want in place. It is pointed up in a right-side reading and down in a reversal. All the arrow-wands look like they are going straight up in the sky and for some you cannot see the pointy end as they are beyond the scope of the card. Some leaves fall to the ground from the movement. The card has a muted greenish, yellow-greenish tone to it.
This was disappointing and a little confusing at first (denial?). Looking at the booklet, upright, this card indicates action, speed, focus, and messages, while reversed it can mean delays, careless actions or preparation. However, it does make sense for me. Past decisions have resulted in a kind of stagnation in my life. And although this may be causing certain delays and maybe I have not planned certain things well, I do think we can read this reversal as an invitation and/or suggestions to ground oneself (since the arrow-wand in a reversed card is going down). It could suggest to work on one's foundation in order to prepare for the strength needed for action and speed.
Day 9 26.9. Holiday of Neptune - This is a card about anger and anger management. Contemplate about how you deal with negative feelings. Is there a way to tranform negative energies into positive ones, making your anger pull your carriage and drive you on?
For the Holiday of Neptune, I drew the Ten of Pentacles.
This card shows a starry night with two figures in what reminds me of some kind of partnered yoga pose. One figure appears to be doing downward dog and the other figure is in a kind of bridge pose, the curve of the back wrapping around the other figure's back and bottom. A dog perches on top and looks off to the side. There are ten earthy-toned circles (pentacles) around the figures and dog. The balance of the pose and and the light and dark clothing make me think of the concept of yin-yang. The booklet highlights the keywords wealth, success, and stability for this card and mentions the relationship with family, adopted or otherwise in this card.
I think this card is indicating that I should take strength from friends and family and look at my blessings in this regard when I get frustrated with certain struggles in my life. I can also see from it that protecting and standing-up for my family members is more important and useful than just getting angry at society or others for blocking things that I feel my family needs. I am reminded also with this card that life is a balancing act that has time periods where certain areas wax and wane. It also takes a lot of strength to hold a yoga pose as pictured on the card, life requires strength as does not only controlling anger, but transforming it into something useful.
Day 10 27.9. Vendémiaire - month of the grape harvest in the French revolutionary calendar month. Raise your glass to your big and small achievements in the last year, either with wine or grape juice, and enjoy your success.
For Vendémiaire, I drew the Eight of Cups, rx, but I noticed a card, Page of Wands, had not been gathered up and shuffled with the rest and so I will include it as well in this reading. I asked the cards, "What do I need to know about my big and small achievements this past year?"
The Eight of Cups shows a person bending over, cutting their hair. There are eight red plus signs or flowers maybe for the cups. The background is white.
This card is not a very positive one, reversed or not. It deals with procrastination, clutter, being stuck in the past, and not being able to get over something. I think this card is telling me to let go of certain things, both physical objects and emotional stances as well. I feel like it is not telling me about any big or small achievements of last year, but rather setting me up to make some goals for achievements for next year. I think it is trying to show me that I can do better, especially concerning my writing goals.
The Page of Wands shows a confident figure holding a wand with some smaller limbs and leaves growing from it. This figure looks to have armor and chain mail and has fire pictured on the chest of the armor and the hair is red.
This card is much more positive. This card indicates optimism, confidence, and creative energy, which is good concerning the reversed Eight of Cups when thinking about my writing. The booklet says it can be a sign of change and that I need to make sure to fuel the "fire" or energy for this card.
This is a little better. I am glad this card was making itself known to me. I think, read together, these cards tell me that I have dropped the ball (Eight of Cups, rx) on certain goals from last year (writing), but that I can still change. The Page being a card of youth, I feel like it is expressing that energy and inclination we have as young people to up and change ourselves. We decide one day we don't want to wear black every day, or maybe some gold jewelry would be ok now and then-kind of like reinventing yourself when you are young. I think this card speaks to that inclination and phenomena that is often found in our youth. I think that the Page of Wands is telling me that I have it within myself to get out of this slump concerning my writing and that I can not only write, but I can be inspired to do some good work, if I set my mind and energy to it. As far as what fuels my fire, I need to think about how stoke this fire up. Reading writing quotes by Stephen King helps-he tells it like it is. Basically, just doing it-sitting down and opening up the Word doc icon and not clicking on the browser icon. Maybe I should enter a writing contest just to push myself. I think the best thing to help me fuel this fire is to not be too hard on myself, but tell myself that is time to get to work.
When I turned the Eight of Cups around for the picture I looked at the cards together and notice it looks like the scissors could cut on through to the Page of Wands, especially since the figure in the Eight of Cups is not aware of their surroundings, but is very engrossed in what they are doing. I did not get this message with the Eight of Cups reversed as the Page of Wands was to the left of the Eight of Cups, rx. Nevertheless, I think I should watch for the tendencies of the Eight of Cups cutting into the energy of the Page of Wands.
Day 11 28.9. Maha Navami - a Hindu holiday celebrating goddess Durga's victory over a demon. Part of the celebrations is chanting. Reflect on a victory you want to win over the next three months, and devise a chant for it. Write it down where you can see it and envision the joy you will feel when you reach this goal.
I drew the Seven of Cups, rx.
This card shows a figure confronted with options where some are dangerous, some are harmless, some beautiful and some are not. She holds two glasses in her hand and she seems to be in clouds-showing that she is not grounded right now.
I think this card hit the nail on the head. I asked the cards not "What do I need to consider to gain a victory for such-and such goal," but rather "What can you tell me about where my victory may lie?" I think this card reversed is telling me that I need to focus and organize my goals and even acknowledge them. I am overwhelmed, but one goal in particular does stand out: I want to start writing and submitting again. I need to commit to this goal and put in the work to achieve it. I think I will register for a writing contest to help me along. I think it is also hinting at my tendency to think, "Oh I will get back to writing someday," when I really need to just do it and stop daydreaming about it.
Day 12 29.9. Meditrinalia - an ancient Greek holiday honoring the goddess of healing. Think about your healing process and how you can continue it. Where do you draw strength from? How can you heal and nurture yourself in the future? Pamper yourself today and close these twelve days of introspection with healing thoughts.
For Meditrinalia, I drew the Wheel of Fortune, rx. I asked the cards, How can I heal and nurture myself in the future? This is fitting because I am injured right now, nothing too serious though, more of a hassle to deal with.
This card has a predominance of blue, but there is also yellow. It shows a person spreading robe that reveals a type of compass or wheel of fortune with the directions labeled, T-A-R-O, then you would start over with the T, I think for TAROT.
In the booklet that accompanied these cards, I had a hard time figuring out how this relates to healing. It says, "bad luck, misfortune, the wheel is not moving, so I need to move it." I can only guess this refers to my injury that I suffered a few days ago. Maybe it is imploring for patience in this for healing. I dug a little deeper and consulted another book about reversals,The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals by Mary K. Greer. This book speaks about starting up and stopping, things being blocked or sabotaged, repetition, and also attitude, in that I need to believe in myself and have strength to get the wheel turning again. Maybe this card is telling me that the way I nurture and heal myself is by keeping up with the Wheel of Change and that currently I am in a rut, either due to this minor injury or a rut in my writing, and so to take care of myself, I need to get the wheel turning again, be pro-active. Maybe, too, it is telling me that there is ebb and flow in life and (being reversed) it is telling me I need to be a bit more understanding and relaxed about that fact.
I have really enjoyed this seasonal fall equinox group reading. It has been interesting to use these cards in this way everyday, or almost everyday! I think an overarching theme I see in these 12 days is that I need to get centered and get back to work on certain projects, but also not to be too hard on myself. By taking control of my life, I will be also nurturing my life.
