This past Monday's New Moon inspired me to use one of my favorite New Moon spreads created by Joanna Colbert Powell, author of the wonderful
Gaian Tarot. And what better time to be initiated into one of my new decks than on the night of a virgin Moon. The deck I used was Tarot of the Sacred Feminine by Floreana Nativo with artwork by Franco Rivolli. I hemmed and hawed over this deck, drawn to it then not, feeling it too somber yet so mysterious, strong, dark, heavy...those are some of the qualities that cycled through as I researched it.
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| Tarot of the Sacred Feminine |
But it stuck with me circling round and back into my consciousness until one day on a whim I decided to purchase it. When it arrived and I unboxed it I was immediately and intimately drawn in. It is somber, non-traditional, made up mostly of women and has a depth to it that I can see how many would interpret as heavy but wow, what a lot of intensity and power it gives off. It has been poorly received in the Tarot community for a number of reasons, all of which are what I love about it. This is a deck to journey with. I experience it as Magritte meets Marion Zimmer Bradley meets Martha Graham. It has sat on my altar with a piece of carnelian on top of it for the last couple of weeks waiting for just the right time to use it. This New Moon in Libra suddenly called to me as the perfect moment for that and I'm so glad I responded to the call.
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| New Moon Spread by Joanna Colbert Powell |
As I laid the cards out on the table, candles glowing, incense lit,
guides and totems surrounding me I felt a quickening at seeing
the images unfold. They are so non-traditional that they made little
Tarot sense at first and yet that didn't matter, my mind wasn't speeding
to grasp meanings, draw inferences or superimpose what I knew onto what
I saw. I simply took in the gorgeous artwork and symbolism with a real feeling of curiosity and anticipation.
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| New Moon Spread with Tarot of the Sacred Feminine |
I spent a lot of time just looking at each image to see what drew my eye in, where my attention wanted to focus, where my breath wanted to flow and where it wanted to ebb. Then I looked at the spread as a whole and a story began to emerge of descent and return, so perfect for this time of year. Finally I got out the LWB, typical of LoS, a few pithy sentences but in this case just enough to work with. After reading through the interpretations for the cards I put the LWB aside and again focused on the narrative the cards presented this time in relation to the positions of each card as they related to the directions and elements and then I let it sit and steep in the temenos of my dream-body for a few nights.
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| Three of Swords ~ Tarot of the Sacred Feminine |
Position one focuses the question,
How can I best seed the energy of this New Moon in the East? This direction focuses on
communication, thought, information, intention, meditation and is associated with the element of air. I drew the
Three of Swords. My intuitive response to this card was to see it as the initial stages of descent into the earth, into the roots of the Mother.
We see the nymph Daphne fleeing Apollo's love by transforming herself into a Bay tree. The pithy phrase in the LWB is,
"Desperate, unrequited love that creates sacrifice." An oracle card drawn a day earlier, The Underworld, elicited from me the word, 'sacrifice' and here I see a woman embarking on a similar journey.
Apollo's love for Daphne was the result of an angry Eros shooting a golden love-inciting arrow into Apollo's heart and a leaden hate-inciting arrow into Daphne's heart. As a result Daphne spurned Apollo's love and when he was finally in a position to capture her she called upon the gods to transform her as a means of escape. She would rather sacrifice her human existence than spend it with Apollo. I love the imagery and symbolism in this card, all the green, the dappled light, the half-tree half-woman form of Daphne as she slowly descends into and merges with the earth's body. The sense of heartache and grief so typically depicted in this card is oblique and portrayed with all the complexity such feelings evoke. It is both a voluntary grief and not in the same breath. Leading the rest of the reading, this card with its placement in the East is whispering to me of my intention and of the potential small awakenings that might occur if I yield to the encroaching darkness as an ongoing meditation.
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| Eight of Swords ~ Tarot of Sacred Feminine |
Position two focuses the question,
How can I best seed the energy of this New Moon in the South? This direction is symbolic of passion, creativity, energy, and personal power and is associated with the element of fire. Here we see the descent enacted and embodied, literally as this card depicts Persephone herself as the prisoner of Hades. Only a dim light from above offers her some hope.
The colors in this card with its muted earth tones and sandy browns are broken only by the white of Persephone's dress, almost as if she herself is her own savioress. There is no sign of Demeter here yet, no sign of Helios, no sign of the above-world save that small shaft of light. Here we see her in the thick of her descent.
As this relates to areas of personal power, creativity, energy and so forth I feel here the sense of needing to put all of my creativity and energy and passion into the journey with Hecate that I'm going to be embarking on as the dark time of the year closes around us. It doesn't look like it will be easy but if Persephone's story is a guide it will be one of truth and authenticity and ultimately redemption, retrieval of what was lost.
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| Knave/Page of Wands ~ Tarot of Sacred Feminine |
Position three focuses the question,
How can I best seed the energy of this New Moon in the West? This direction is symbolic of emotions, intuition, dreams, sensuality and compassion and is associated with the element of Water. I drew the Page/Knave of Wands. Here, too, the theme of descent is carried forward with the winged figure of Ishtar. When I first looked at this card I felt I caught a glimpse of the first intimations of ascent in her rising form, her zodiac belt and the blue sky surrounding her. Later this was less clear but suffice it to say there is movement and agency in this card which is encouraging.
It's fascinating to me that she, too, appeared in this reading as her story is the Sumerian equivalent of Persephone's with its arc of descent and return. The waxing crescent moon hints at a germination that is occurring and the two owls, not one but two, are reminders to me to use my night vision and the quality of silence as guides. As well they foreshadow Athena's presence overseeing the journey in the card following this. The presence of the two lions inspire thoughts of the Strength card, of the support and exploration of the animal body, fierce and protective guides on the journey.
Ishtar is the goddess of love, war, fertility and sexuality. Though she is depicted here as a fire sign in the myth associated with her Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Underworld, was forced to revive Ishtar by releasing the waters of life which were sprinkled upon her thus restoring her and allowing her to return to the above-world. Her presence feels like a blessing on my dream body which will be a valuable guide on this journey, as well as the suggestion to rely deeply on my intuition, the vision that uses a different kind of navigation in the dark. The LWB's pithy but encouraging description reads,
This is the card of vitality in actions and in the pysche.
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| Justice ~ Tarot of Sacred Feminine |
Position four focuses the question,
How can I best seed the energy of this New Moon in the North? This direction is symbolic of stability, security, health, finances, manifestation, the body and its elemental equivalent is Earth.
Here we have the Justice card embodied by Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, Courage, Inspiration, Justice, Strength, the Arts, Literature, Skill, Strategy and more. I love that, spatially, she is overseeing this spread. What solid energy to call upon. She falls in the position of earth and here the olive trees that flank her stand out for me as well as all the greenery behind her. The earth element is alive and thriving in this card. Says the LWB,
Her severity is mitigated by the presence of the olive tree, the tree of peace, a gift from the goddess to mankind. Symmetry in the world and in the spirit.
In terms of the descent theme of this spread I sense a tremendous feeling of support here in Athena, a sense of titration with those scales, that I will only take in what I'm able to release. Her totem is the owl, carried over from the previous card of Ishtar. I feel a particular affinity for owls and it is encouraging to see them here winging their way silently, mysteriously across in this spread, a wing-brush of magick on the throat of my awareness.
This is the only Major I drew and seeing it here, in the element I feel most challenged by, gives me a feeling of encouragement, that she'll act as a corrective presence, urging me unstintingly towards balance when that's called for. In fact apart from Athena this spread is made up entirely of air and fire. Athena's balancing presence in the position of Earth presses upon me the necessity of tending to the body in this journey, the manifest world of nourishment, sleep, fresh air. I sense she's encouraging me to make sure to "keep one foot on the ground."
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| Three of Wands ~ Tarot of Sacred Feminine |
Position five focuses the question,
How can I best seed the energy of this New Moon in the Center? In this position Joanna ascribes to it the quality of Spirit which I would associate elementally with Ether, the element that contains all the others. I drew the Three of Wands which depicts the pre-Islamic goddesses, Allat the incense burner, Al'Uzza the stork and Manat the thread of life. The LWB suggests these three goddesses represent our relationship with nature and says, Harmony in actions, the capacity to create alliances.
In many ways this feels like a whisper of Hecate's presence in her three-faced form Maiden, Mother, Crone. She's here overseeing the intention beneath this journey and as such, like its corresponding element Ether, contains all facets of the divine feminine.
Again the waxing moon appears in this card and seeing it carried over here from the third card suggests to me that my journey will not end with the next new moon but that I will be still germinating its seeds when that lunar energy arrives. The suggestion is of a longer journey than one lunar month and that's in keeping with my own feelings about this time of year. The theme of alliances here is a reminder to draw support from my women friends during this phase of the journey.
Another bird totem has appeared here in the figure of Stork. This lovely bird brings with it messages of creativity, rebirth, renewal and tremendous feminine energy. I take heart in its presence here in this position, the universe telling me that if I'm able to endure the tribulations in cards one and two there is the possibility of a new way of feeling, a new vitality and freedom.
My journey with these cards has been powerful and affirming. I feel encouraged by the depiction of a descent that is supported by various animal, elemental and feminine presences. Only in the living out of the journey will the actual story emerge but what has unfolded in this reading feels full of authenticity, power and beauty.
The theme of 'seeding' energy here used in Joanna's phrasing for each question echoes the pomegranate Persephone ate from while in the Underworld. I sense its presence here, its seeds and juices scattered throughout the reading leaving their bright, red stain of loss and integration across the cards. The waxing crescent moons mirror this maiden energy and place me, as querent, firmly within this archetype while at the same holding me in the wise and sober embrace of the Crone. This was a fantastic reading in so many ways and I came away feeling affirmed and heard by the Goddess Herself.
