Joan Marie's Equninox Readings

[Joan Marie]

I have selected my newest deck for these reading, The Alchemystic Woodcut Tarot.
It's a beautiful and complex deck. I've trimmed the borders off to emphasise the beauty and power of the images (and also because the border was - well not great to put it kindly.)

I've been looking forward to this for several days. Ready to get started now.

[Joan Marie]

Day 1: 15.3. Cybele and Attis Festival

Today is the first day of week-long celebration of Cybele, the great Mother Goddess, and her youthful consort Attis. Today's card talks about love and eros in your life, and how you can celebrate them.

Before I draw a card, a few words about Cybele. She was the focus of a mystery cult, one that observed rites of the soil, agriculture, cultivation, and did so with celebrations meant to purify the soul and ready it for the season. Cybele welcomed Attis to her cult with the offering of a libation. Attis was down for the invite.

SO with all that in mind, I will now draw my first card:

!
She's really letting her freak flag fly, no? Like, literally!

Seems I'm off to a great start here.
It would not be a huge stretch to say this image is of Cybele and her youthful consort Attis.
Riding a lobster.

The accompanying book with this deck has many insights into alchemy but also focuses a lot on the religious connotations. This card for example is (according to the book) about resisting temptation and partying too much and how this behaviour interferes with "The Great Work."

While I can agree with this sentiment to an extent, in the spirit of today's theme I want to consider the importance of cutting loose from time to time. The thing about the woman in this image is she in control, she's holding the sail, even though the Devil is "driving" the lobster boat. She knows her limits, she knows how far and where to take this.

I quite like that.

One can't forget that many of the alchemists in their quest for purification, went mad. They became imbalanced. Our lady here is very well balanced, catching the wind in her sail while standing (note the devil is seated!) and doing well for herself.

She's able to party with the correct attitude. Her celebrating actually makes her stronger because she knows how to do it.

Goals!

[Joan Marie]

Day 2: 16.3. Gahambar Hamaspathmaidyem

Today begins the Zoroastrian Holiday Gahambar Hamaspathmaidyem, celebrating the life cycle of human beings, from creation to death, and the presence of angels. Today's card connects you to your own path in life and the angel/power/energy that protects you.

This is something that is very much on my mind at the moment. I've always been a person with many interests, so many I never have time for them all it seems. And yet I really need to have 1 or 2 things that I am deeply invested in, almost to the point of obsession (almost? ) and at the moment I am lacking that. Things are feeling a little superficial and I really need to get my teeth into something.

It's not for lack of ideas, it just seems something is missing. Passion seems to have been supplanted by desperation, and that ain't good. At least it isn't productive for me.

So here I go:

First impressions before I read from the book:
This is a gift from the heavens being presented. But it is literally the 10 Commandments, thou shalt, thou shalt not...In other words what I need is some structure and discipline.

The things I am interested in starting are new to me, mostly. And maybe the reason I hesitate and can't get started is because lack some basics. I need to start there. There has to be something in place, a process, an outline, some practice. Finding the passion is sometimes gradual. Patience and perseverance. And more patience - this is where I usually fail- I can get impatient with myself when I don't get fast results.

There has to be a foundation. That is the "angel/power/energy that protects you."

Now, I just read from the book. Lots of biblical stuff. But this line stuck:

Do well with what you are entrusted and you will be trusted with more.

I'm taking this to mean I need to work my (undeveloped) talents/skills, such as they are, and if I do well at that, the gift of them will grow.

[Joan Marie]

Day 3: 17.3. Liberalia

On this day, the Romans celebrated the Liberalia festival of freedom. Today's card tells you how you use your freedom and encourages you to be really free of bonds that limit your personality, talents and longings. What are the bonds you have to break to be free?

The Ancient Romans celebrated March 17th with this festival and ritual.
It wasn't only about freedom, but also about maturation and becoming part of the community.

There were also some interesting rituals surrounding it. For example:

The celebration on March 17 was meant to honor Liber Pater, an ancient god of fertility and wine (like Bacchus, the Roman version of the Greek god Dionysus). Liber Pater is also a vegetation god, responsible for protecting seed. Liber, again like Dionysus, had female priests although Liber's priests were older women, known as Sacerdos Liberi. Wearing wreaths of ivy, the priestesses made special cakes, or libia, of oil and honey which passing devotees would have them sacrifice on their behalf. Over time this feast evolved and included the goddess Libera, Liber Pater's consort, and the feast divided so that Liber governed the male seed and Libera the female. Ovid in his almanac entry for the festival identifies Libera as the celestial manifestation of Ariadne.

This ancient Italian ceremony was a "country" or rustic ceremony. The processional featured a large phallus which the devotees carried throughout the countryside to bring the blessing of fertility to the land and the people. The procession and the phallus were meant also to protect the crops from evil. At the end of the procession, a virtuous and respected matron placed a wreath upon the phallus. -from Wikipedia

Seems this day was historically one to party like it's 1999.

Now to draw my day 3 card:

We have a wreath!

This is especially relevant for me as I have been considering the symbolism of the Ouroboros and it has a connection (I think so anyway) to the wreath on the World card.

This image is especially interesting as she is standing on an hourglass on top of the world.
In regards to the day's theme, freedom and breaking bonds that are limiting my talents and growth, etc. there is a lot of heavy symbolism here.

The hourglass of course symbolises time (death really, no?) and the wreath the limitation that must be broken to achieve the Great Work.

...the ouroboros went on to enjoy much popularity among Renaissance alchemists. Again representing the infinite nature of time and the eternal, it was seen in the eyes of the alchemists as the ultimate obstacle to be overcome in the Magnum Opus, their incessant struggle; for to become immortal – their chief aim – meant to break the incessant cycle of the ouroboros once and for all. That they would also come to possess, through their experiments, the prized ‘philosopher’s stone’ that would bring them all the bling in the world, was mere icing on the cake. -from BBC Culture

This deck just keeps ringing the bell for me.
The theme of "foundation" is strong.

Sure everything is hunky dory within the wreath, and what's outside looks very daunting, but is it worth to crave comfort so much that I'm afraid to take a chance, to risk breaking the bond of the wreath?

[Joan Marie]

Day 4: 18.3. Ugadi

The Hindu holiday Ugadi is celebrated in some parts of India as New Year. Its traditional food represents the different tastes: sour, salty, sweet and bitter. Today's card shows you how to balance the flavours in your life, to be able to enjoy it to the fullest in the months ahead. How can make you make your life more flavourful and enjoyable?

I swear I didn't know this in advance.

I had a feeling last week that I needed to scale back my eating to some basics, just for the week. But I made a plan that on Friday (Today) I would go for my favourite Thai food, crispy chili fish. So all week as I was eating nothing but brown rice, quinoa, and veggies, I've been thinking about this day. And now I see that is a day to "officially" celebrate all the different tastes.

Way ahead of you! Nice to feel so in sync with things.

So now, to draw a card:

So my first impression, before checking the book, is, again as yesterday, the ouroboros makes an appearance. And as I said previously, I've been thinking a lot about this symbol.

To be honest, it has always made me uneasy. It gives me a feeling of being stuck, That snake has no where to go. It's like a holding pattern.

Within the ouroboros we have light and dark, yin and yang, as above - so below. Balance, just as the day's theme suggests.

A quick perusal of the book tells me the significance of this card is one of success in the Great Work.

I did learn something this week. I love food. I love cooking food. It wasn't easy to stay with such an austere diet but I did, overcoming many temptations which I'm usually not very good at. And today I feel strong. To my surprise I am not "starved" for the great meal planned for later. I feel sort of humbled before it.

Balance isn't necessarily about "even-ness." Eating rice for a week to "earn" a meal of spicy Thai food seems very uneven, but it isn't. It's what I needed in order to fully appreciate beyond pleasure. I don't know if that makes sense to you but it does to me. I also want to say that I loved the food I ate all week too. It was wonderful and healthy and I was lucky to have it. But it is making think about my relationship to pleasure.

I think the ouroboros is the limitation I've always had about the meaning and role of pleasure. Seeing it as I think I am beginning to now, I see that I've been missing a lot.

This feeling I'm having so perfectly reflects the theme of today, and like this whole exercise so often does, leaves me with much to think about.

[Joan Marie]

Day 5: 19.3. Eostre/Ostara

The Germanic goddess of spring is celebrated with eggs, rabbits and the ringing of bells. Today's card reminds you of a bell ringing in your life, a bell that calls you forward and that you didn't heed or overhear until now. Understand what this bell wants to tell you, and in the coming month, try to make its voice heard.

It sounds a lot like Easter, but in fact Ostara is really a celebration of the Spring Equinox which is tomorrow when night and day are equal and scale tips toward the light. (In the northern hemisphere of course)

It's a perfect day for looking for faeries in your garden. If you don't have a garden, maybe they are hanging around your houseplants. Keep ypur eyes peeled!

So to draw a card now:

A giant hand with and eye coming out of the clouds is my idea of a "sign."

Interesting how the sky and flowers are the foreground. The "city" is in the background.
This is "The Hand of God", the "all seeing eye." Its a sign of protection.

I feel like it is calling on me to be a steward of something, or maybe many things.
I have felt a strong pull away from some earlier pursuits, things that ultimately brought me nothing of substance or that I have no feeling for anymore.
Things that distracted me.

I have to be more thoughtful now where I direct my energies. Trust more in myself and my choices.

[Joan Marie]

Day 6: 20.3. Spring/Vernal Equinox

This is the day of balance between day and night, when new things grow and push through the earth, when Kore/Persephone returns from the underworld and brings flowers with her. Today's card calls you to contemplate on creativity and renewal in your own life. Where do you resist change, and where should you embrace it?

For Southern Hemisphere tarotists who experience Autumn: what are the wilting things and feelings in my life that I should let go?

This feels about right.
The funny thing about the Wheel is we tend to assign meaning to it in the form of duality. By that I mean, everything is up or down, good or bad, right or wrong, masculine or feminine, etc.

But that is never the way it is, and to live always evaluating things this way misses all the beautiful nuance of life.

Funny to get this card on the Equinox when day and night are equally divided, but what is really happening is just a point in a gradual shift.
Both the Sun and Moon are depicted on this card. But so is everything in between. The in-between part is where we live most of the time.

Could it be that the secret of change is that we are always heading toward it, and also away from it?

[Joan Marie]

Day 7: 21.3. Harmony Day

In Australia, Harmony Day celebrates inclusiveness and acceptance. Today's card asks you to probe your own hidden prejudices, and what you can do to become more open and tolerant. Challenge yourself to inform yourself and get to know cultures, topics or people that until held irrational negative associations for you. How can you become an ambassador for inclusiveness and harmony in your society and immediate surrounding?

So I will go straight to the draw for today:

What a beautiful card.


In the context of the day's theme, the first thing that comes to my mind is Aleistar Crowley's famous quote (and my favourite)

Every man and every woman is a star.

Indeed.

Each of us is deserving of dignity and kindness.

It's important to speak up when you hear someone being unkind. And though it can be hard sometimes, remember that that person also has dignity and you can't take that away and expect them to improve.

We are all here to help each other be better. But it can be embarrassing to realise you're wrong or to get called out on your bullshit. So let's remember to treat each other as we'd like to be treated when we are messing up.

There's a lot of self-righteousness these days that's trying to pass for inclusivity and tolerance. I'm guilty of it. And I see it everywhere. It's not just ineffective, it makes things worse.

I want to remember to use my voice effectively, to make people think, to make myself think, and to never forget my own shortcomings either. I've always been grateful to the people who have helped me grow by showing me kindness and understanding and, at times, using humour to help me see my mistakes and faults. I hope I can do the same for others.

And now, for the song that pops into my head everytime I pull the Star card. This particular version is from Burt Sugarman's Midnight Special. Anyone else remember that show? I used to race home from roller-skating on Friday nights to see it.
Please enjoy!

[Joan Marie]

Day 8: 22.3. Minerva Day

Minerva/Athene is the Roman/Greek goddess of intelligence, rational thinking and objectivity. Today's card asks you how you use your intelligence and talents, whether you give them the proper place or whether you feel you have undeveloped potential. What can you do to make the best use of your mental powers and intelligence?

I had a look and saw that Minerva Day is part of (or another name for) an ancient Roman festival called Quinquatria. According to legend:

As this festival was sacred to Minerva, it seems that women were accustomed to consult fortune-tellers and diviners upon this day.

Right up our alley, no?

As someone who has aways seen all her potential as "undeveloped" I'm particularly interested in today's draw, so here I go:

This card is just loaded with symbolism.
My undeveloped potential at understanding Alchemic concepts and symbols is being severely tested in this moment and it is my instinct to make quick work of this and move on with my day. But that would only underscore the point here that I tend to do just that when what I need to do is take some time, study and contemplate. Consult my diviner! Me.

I'm being confronted by my own ambivalence.
It's a wall that goes up when I feel I'm being told how to do something or how to think.
I'm sure there's all kinds of great stuff to mine there for a therapist or expert diviner, shadow worker.

What this card is telling me (for one thing) is I need to look deeper into this topic. And I will.

What is strange is how this is making me think of the Today's card I just did, (see homepage) and how that message is about meeting the energy of one's own ideas.

I need to take some very serious time with this and I will later today with more cards. I'm intrigued and this card is pushing me to explore the themes further.

[Joan Marie]

Day 9: 23.3. Hilaria

The Roman holiday of Hilaria celebrates laughter and fun. Today's card throws a light on the place light-hearted fun and humour have in your life. Do you laugh often enough? The card challenges you to find things that make you laugh and forget your worries, and do them regularly from now on.

Hilaria is actually a series of festivals celebrated in ancient Rome around the time of the vernal equinox. It lasted 6 or 7 days. The days preceding "The Day of Joy" were very somber and reflective. To truly know joy, to appreciate it and to be able to share in it, a person has to know sorrow and loss. The days following the Day of Joy, were about rest and cleansing.

This is why I so enjoy these change of season readings. A person needs to go through a ritual or a process sometimes to sort of re-set their mind, their heart and their spirit and get in tune with nature and the cosmos.

So, on to today's draw:

Seems to be a lot going on here. The book description is a little weird for me. Very religious, repressed and judgemental. But the gist of it is about how our thoughts distract us.

In the context of today's theme this card is pretty funny. It looks like this dude is using his thoughts to distract himself from danger and doom. That's what I see anyway.

I often do the opposite, distract myself from pleasant things with gloomy thoughts or dwelling on the unpleasant.

Even in a bad situation, it's better to focus on solutions or what actions can be taken than to be drawn into hopelessness with negative thoughts. It's important to stay open to joy, the possibilities for happiness, whenever you can. It's surprising the things that will come to you, the opportunities that will open up, when your thoughts are not dragging you away.
It's also important to help others do the same. To demonstrate kindness and positivity to anyone who is troubled or suffering.

Empathy is a good thing, but usually actual help is what people need. When we lift ourselves up we can also lift others.

[Joan Marie]

Day 10: 24.3. Earth Hour

On this international day, people stop to think about the environment and the use we make of it. Are you doing all you can to keep and preserve this earth? Today's card asks you to find your own connection to the Earth you live on, whether through environment awareness or the voice of your spiritual tradition. How are you connected to this Earth and how can you honour it?

I'm going directly to the card today:

The symbolism on this card signifies a person with a preoccupation for status and riches. The message is to be content with whatever you have. To make the most of whatever situation you find yourself in.

As I have gotten older I find my tastes are getting simpler and simpler. In regards to today's theme it means I've become much less of a consumer. It is surprising how the energy that used to be focused on consuming is now directed elsewhere. It's also interesting how I sense having so much more now that I am not striving to accumulate things.

As I said, some of this comes with age but I think the pandemic had a lot to do with this consumer-reset. The stuff I buy now is more for my garden, my sewing (I don't buy clothes anymore really, just make them) some art supplies, that kind of thing. And looking out for others, sharing.

I grew up in a place with unbearably harsh winters and we used to talk about how we had to "make our own fun." I was surrounded by creative people who wrote and put on plays, formed bands, hosted art exhibits (great parties btw) in their homes or empty buildings, had big dinners, etc. There were several annual parties, huge themed-events with lots of bands and crazy atmosphere that happened almost every other month. I'm happy to have that spirit of self-driving that enables me to look inward for ideas.

This card features peacock feathers and according to the book, they signify in alchemy the turning point where profound changes begin to take place in the alchemist.

Funny coincidence, I was on a long walk yesterday in the forest and nature was really popping. One special "event" was the annual toad mating at the lake. It's an amazing and frankly hilarious sight. There were hundreds and hundreds of frogs in and out of the water (you had to watch every step!) just going at it like there was no tomorrow.
Aside from the toad porn, all the trees were budding and there were patches of all the tiny spring flowers everywhere. But toward the end of my walk I saw the most beautiful butterfly. I couldn't get a photo but I described it to my husband and he told me it's called a "peacock-eye butterfly". I looked it up and sure enough, that's what it was. here is an image of one:

I suppose I am at a turning point. I suppose we all are.

One thing I'm learning about alchemy is that these phases (I think there are seven) just repeat and repeat. You don't start at the bottom and progress to the top and then that's it. The process proceeds and regresses or it completes and starts again on another "topic." Like nature we are always cycling through phases of growth and decay, progress and set backs. We gain new interests while old ones fall away. We pursue long held beliefs and habits from new angles we never imagined before.

Look at the paintings of Goya throughout his life. See how passions and drive reach turning points.

In nature a branch fall away and new ones sprout and change the shape of the tree, alter its shade pattern. Without any help the garden takes on it's own life, creates and recreates itself every season.

[Joan Marie]

Day 11: 25.3. Palm Sunday

The Christian holiday of Palm Sunday celebrates peace, hope and new beginnings. Today's card shows you where you have to make peace - with memories, people in your life or other painful matters. Let them go and don't beat yourself up any more.

Okay, I'm well aware this isn't Palm Sunday or even Sunday for that matter. But this topic falls under "spring themes"- So here we are. Well, I am anyway.
I'm almost to the end of this 12-day exercise and I'm happy to see that there have been hundreds of views of my posts already despite the fact no one joined in (at least not posted) with the readings. That's totally okay. I'm grateful for the interest and I know that people's time is already divided between lots of social media. If you're reading this, thanks for popping in. I really appreciate you taking a few minutes here.

I feel like that announcement they always make at the end of a flight,

"We know you have a lot of choices when you travel. Thank you for choosing to fly with ___________ Airlines. "

Thank you for choosing to fly with Cult of Tarot Forum.

On with the show!


Oh weird!!
I chose the palm image for the home page image for today (as opposed to a religious christian image) and now I've drawn THIS card of all of them for "Palm Sunday."

First impression is that this image is a reflection of the complexity of a life lived. A lot of stuff has happened and a lot more (hopefully) will.

The book describes a bit about palm reading. One thing interesting is that the non-dominant hand reflects destiny and the dominant one. free will. A quick glance at my hands shows a pretty vast difference between the 2.

Here is a quote from the book:

Palm reading is similar to the process of reading Tarot cards, because the meanings, shapes, and and lines provide an abstract framework that allows the reader to apply rational deduction to the abstract information.

This is funny to me in the context of today's theme about the past haunting us with painful memories and other difficulties. It's like we do the opposite of the above quote. Memories provide a (nearly) solid framework to make irrational deductions.

Irrational in the sense of overblown, giving too much power and importance to things that ultimately don't deserve it. I know it's easy to say that and difficult to put into practice. But that's the magic word: Practice. It requires effort. Repeated effort to re-wire one's thoughts. Practice to not allow precious life to be sucked up by or stolen by the past.

Having arguments with people in your head is an insanely stupid thing to do for so many reasons. It's like trolling yourself. Better would be to practice, well NOT doing that.

It's also important to give people a chance to be better and to show you that. The ones who deserve it anyway and that's more people than we admit sometimes.

I saw a movie a while back and there were two sisters. One did something treacherous to the other. The one who was wronged looked at her sister and said, "I will always love you but I will never forget what you did."
I found that really powerful. She gave herself permission to feel and express that love without betraying herself. Sure there are people we need to cut out of our lives sometimes, but a lot of the time, doing so requires so much energy that it is actually more damaging. This woman established super clear boundaries of her emotions. I just thought that was a really healthy way to deal with a certain kind of anger and disappointment.

This can, in some way also be applied to the anger and disappointment we feel with ourselves at times. It just isn't possible to forget stuff or "let it go.". You'd have to be a sociopath to not recall things you've said and done that you regret or are ashamed of. But you can still love yourself, be kind to yourself. Give yourself a chance to be better.

[Joan Marie]

Day 12: 26.3. Preparation of the Temple of Luna

On the final day of our 12 days, we prepare for the annual Roman festival in the Temple of Luna, the Moon goddess. Today's card tells you how you can become more attuned to the intuitive, quiet side within you, how you can make your spiritual work more meaningful, and how to integrate your shadow into your life. It's the message of the Moon for the spring days ahead while the influence of the Sun is rising.

Well well well. If isn't my old friend the Devil Card.

This is certainly an interesting note to finish this exercise on.
The image is of a Knight battling a dragon.

I wonder which one is supposed to be the Devil?

I've always felt a little bad for dragons in these images, like why must they always be slain?
If you look at them they are such cool creatures.

But I digress. And drawing the Moon card would have been a little too on-the-nose. So this one is making me think.

I quite enjoy using tarot to explore my shadow side. I've learned some really important things doing it.

An interesting aside: I looked up the Temple of Luna. There are lots of them in the world but the Roman one referred to in today's theme had a very intense life.

The first confirmed reference to a temple to Luna dates to 182 BC and refers to one of its doors being knocked off its posts by a miraculous blast of air and shot into the back of the Temple of Ceres. ....The temple was struck by lightning around the time of the death of Cinna, as was the temple of Ceres. After the destruction of Corinth, Lucius Mummius Achaicus dedicated some of his spoils from the city to this temple. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD and not rebuilt.

Lightning, fire, mysterious door blasting events.. That's a lot. Not exactly the quiet contemplative vibe associated with the Moon.

Lately I'm thinking that shadow work (or Dragon Work as I will now start calling it) is for me the most powerful and frankly fun way to use Tarot. Sure I'd like to know what my boyfriend is thinking as much as the next gal, I just think it's easier to simply ask him than to stare into some cards for that info.

But that's just me.

I made a post once about a shadow work spread that I learned in a workshop with Mary K Greer. I've used it a lot. I think it's really good, really helped guide me into those dark places.
You can see it here: viewtopic.php?p=13064#p13064

One tip I have is don't stop on the first reading and think you have the full answer, the full understanding of a particular part of your shadow side. For me, every reading leads to a deeper question, like layers of an onion. And this spread, the way it is designed, will take you through those layers fairly quickly and completely.

I'm feeling in the mood for this and I think now that this 12-day reading is finished I'll continue using this deck, Alchemystic Woodcut Tarot. I think this Devil Card is directing me to do so.

Thanks for tuning in!

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