I've been thinking about how best to use Tarot to address Spring Equinox. The sun is gaining strength and the days are getting longer and warmer, so I suppose balance is a key theme. But some of winter's restraints have also lifted and we begin to make concrete plans for summer, venture forth into the outside world more and enjoy anticipation of the hot months ahead, so there's a sense of liberation coming into play. Spring is a time when two very different energies seem to mingle. There are no real extremes apparent - everything is joining, tangling, morphing from one side of the year into the other - a face that gently alters itself to fit the room it's in. So, this is also a chance to think about the different sides of our own individual natures, the contrasts that live in our personalities and the positives and negatives that make up the whole.Here are some useful exercises to get you thinking about the deeper meaning of the turning year:
- Take out the Empress and Emperor cards. Think/write about what their two separate personalities bring to their union and how their differences affect their lives overall. Lay three cards underneath The Empress - what do they convey about her deeper self? Lay three under The Emperor and do the same. What parallels have been drawn? Which differences are notably extreme?
- Draw three cards to represent matters that have made you feel repressed, confused or trapped over the past six months. Think about how you're going to untangle yourself from these matters once and for all and move on. Use visualisation techniques to help you feel empowered to turn a corner this spring.
- Draw a random two card combination. Turn both cards over at the same time and write about how they connect to each other, how they compliment and contrast each other and how they combine to offer a subtle or strong message. Two card combinations are a great way to push yourself into deeper understanding and learn more effective ways to relate the cards to each other, getting the most out of each of them by linking their voices seamlessly in one chorus.
Tarot exercises are a great way to put us back in touch with the turning year and, likewise, the turning year is a great opportunity to reflect deeply on the messages Tarot offers and celebrate the themes, stories and archetypes that reflect our lives and histories so completely.
