To recap, in 2019 I’m using these decks: Awakened Soul Oracle, the Luminous Tarot, and Mudras for Awakening: The Energy Body Deck. I chose them because they fit in with the idea of giving me a theme, a means to apply the theme, and a physical hand position to guide me into the lesson. This last card sits at my desk and helps remind me of my goals and gives me support when I need it.
Theme: Shadow
How: 3 of Wands
Helper: 28. Freedom
I love this Shadow card. When I first saw it, I couldn’t help but compare the image of the person with a mask on to the mask of the goddess Lilith I wore back in 2012 for a Fall Equinox Festival ritual. If you compare the card in the spread above to the image here, you’ll see exactly what I mean. Uncanny isn’t it? Anyway, Shadow is the theme for this month. December is traditionally a cold month where not much goes on. You can find me writing or reading, usually by a warm fireplace. The theme of shadow is to look at my shadow sides and do some work around it. Time to shine the light in the remaining dark corners of my psyche, and see what comes up. What more about myself can I learn during the cold, sleep month?
The 3 of Wands describes how I’ll set about doing this. I usually think of this card as the future visioning card. It gives me the ability to look at where I’ve come, what I want to do, and how to see the path between the two dots. Illuminating the dark spots and shadows is very beneficial for visioning work because it gives us new ways of seeing where we may hold ourselves back. So, I need to be more objective in my thinking and understand how the resistances or shadow sides both help and hinder where I want to go. The image shows a triangle, setting boundaries necessary to create containers for the future. The triangular shape also echoes the mask in the Shadow card, too.
The final mudra is Freedom. This helper assists in being open and brings balance to the body. Freedom is a goal for examining our shadow sides. We want to be free of old beliefs and patterns that no longer support us. Being able to thank these darker sides and let them go, gives us space to bring in new helpers and new patterns. I love that this mudra creates the space and balance for doing shadow work. It’ll be a great helper to use when the resistance arises. I’ll also incorporate this mudra into my morning and evening rituals.
And this closes the 2019 series on using tarot (and oracle cards) to help guide you through a year’s worth of planning and going deeper in your life. I have grown to enjoy the three card monthly spreads and already know which three decks I’ll be using for 2020! Wow… it’s hard to believe 2020 is only a month away.
Do you have any cool year-long planning spreads or ideas? Let me know, I’m always on the lookout for new spreads to try.
