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A Winter Solstice Spread

Winter solstice 2018 Spread using the Spirit Keeper's Tarot by Benebell Wen. Card one is 3 of cups. Card two is Knight of Wands. Card three is Wheel of Fortune. Card four is Queen of Swords.
Winter 2018 Solstice Spread using The Spirit Keeper’s Tarot by Benebell Wen.

In her December newsletter, Joanna Powell Colbert shares a wonderful Solstice spread. In honor of the shortest day of the year, I chose to do this reading. I timed the reading as close to the actual solstice hour as I could.

The Spirit Keeper’s Tarot is a great deck. However, it’s not for the faint of heart. A bit confusing at times, the readings I do for myself have blown me away every time a card spills out. It’s definitely one I’ll draw when I need the universal clue-by-four. I’ve been working with it for my daily draws this month and felt it was only fitting to use this perceptive deck for this spread. Enjoy!

1- Darkness / Dismemberment / Brokenness
What have you lost? What are you grieving? What is broken within you? (If you get a positive card in this position, you might want to read its shadow side or reversed meaning.)

3 of Cups: The 3 of Cups represents community, celebration, a coming together. While this year has been my year of community, I also feel a sense of loss in this area. I want to feel a part of something greater than myself, to connect with like-minded individuals, and yet… I am home and do much alone. I am bipolar and sometimes I feel like I don’t belong, even when I do. So, part of me wonders how I can get what I want and recognize it when it does happen.

2- Promise / Rebirth of the Sun / Renewal
What is the promise of renewal that will come with the dawn of Winter Solstice? 

Knight of Wands: The dawn heralds the return of the light, of fire. I am a Leo and my chart is filled with fire. Creativity is my passion, and I look forward to the fire returning fast and furious to fuel my desires of new works, new ideas, and studies.

3- Integration of Dark and Light
How do the darkness and the dawn intertwine? What wisdom do they create together? 

Wheel of Fortune: Out of all the cards drawn, I think this is my favorite. Darkness and dawn are part of the cycles of life. They will always be there, going around and around, as our planet circles the Sun. I feel as if I’m being called to honor my own cycles. To expose and to understand my inner cycles of light and darkness. To know that while the mania and depression exist, they are also a part of me, and why I am the way I am. And it’s perfectly okay to have them. 

4- Gift of the Darkness / Remember
What is the gift of the broken time, hidden in the darkness? What longs to be remembered and restored?

Queen of Swords: I had to look this card up in Benebell’s guide for she changes the court card names around. One of the first things I read on this card is that the figure is left handed. So am I. So I feel as if I need to restore and honor my own “left handedness”. I interpret this as in blazing my own path. Yes, the queen is left minded as well, logical, calculating, but she also doesn’t deal with crap from others.

With Tarot Inspired Life almost out in the world, I need to remember not everyone will enjoy it. Not all reviews will be good, and this is okay. I need to just keep my head down and blaze my own path. And continue to share my knowledge, my insight, and my path with others.

What Solstice Spreads have you drawn upon this holiday season? Have any insights on this reading you want to share? Please feel free to leave a comment below.