Witchcraft + Weeds : Healing + Magickal Practices for Autumn

The Autumn Equinox acts as the hinge of a door, where we swing from the bright half to the dark half of the year.

Known by many names such as Mabon, Alban Elfed, the Feast of Avalon, Winter Finding, the Second Harvest, and Witches’ Thanksgiving, the Autumn Equinox is an opportunity to give thanks for the abundance of the year and prepare for the slower months of winter.

The air has started to turn cooler and the leaves paint their faces red, orange, and yellow as they prepare to descend to earth. In September, I begin to pull out my knitted clothing and find myself preparing heartier meals as well as teas full of berries and roots. During the later months of autumn, especially between Samhain and the Winter Solstice, I pay attention to the movements of the land spirits and the migratory patterns of the Wild Hunt, setting out offerings and lit candles for both. 

The Autumn Equinox marks the turn of the wheel from the healing mutable earth sign of Virgo to the harmonizing cardinal air sign of Libra. The bright and bold energy of summer laughs and tumbles with joyful exhaustion to the cool embrace of fall. There is a necessary period of reassessment as we organize for autumn and winter after the more lax period of the summer. But it’s not an excuse to get so tightly wound that we forget about the pleasure of the season and growing dark. Spend time not only preparing your home for the healing embrace of dark, but your body, too. Drink nutritive teas, eat healing and hearty stews, and add spice into your diet to support your inner digestive fire.

Weeds

Body System Focus : Skin + Nervous System
or Give Thanks + Rebalance

Within the four elements system of traditional western herbalism (I write more about TWH energetics over here), the season of autumn alchemizes fire into earth or heat into cooling dryness. Our bodies are awoken from the languid repose of heat into a sharpening crispness in the air. The summer is over and we are in the midst of harvest season. It's time to shift our focus from the outward growing of the summer to the gathering-in of resources in the autumn. Make warming stews full of herbal and vegetable roots. Integrate oily herbs into your daily routine to nourish your nervous system and protect your skin from the inside out. The plant allies of the Autumn season help us to get grounded as the winds of the season rush around us. Many of the weeds of the season are hearty berries and roots which restore the nervous system and balance the landscape of the skin. If you’re struggling to get grounded and find your flow this autumn, check out the healing ways of Virgo.

While our foraging opportunities grow smaller as the days grow colder and darker, there are still some amazing herbal allies to connect with. While the trees and bushes are losing their leaves, what remains are bright antioxidant rich berries sharply accented against grey skies. The energy of the fields that were full of green herbs in the spring and summer have now gone down below into the ready-to-harvest roots. Enjoying foraged weeds as food and medicine is an amazing way to connect with the season and practice self-care. If you want to learn more about the healing properties of weeds, I highly recommend checking out The Wise Wisdom of Weeds: 13 Essential Plants for Human Survival by Katrina Blair.

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) : The red berries of the Hawthorn bush glow bright as the light fades and the skies grow heavy with clouds. Hawthorn is one of the first herbs many Traditional Western Herbalists turn to for supporting cardiovascular health. The herb nourishes and feeds the heart working best as a long-term tonic (i.e. multiple months of use if not longer). In other words, Hawthorn is a cardiac tophorestorative - which is a restorative tonic for the heart - bringing the hard working muscle back into balance whether from an illness, stress, or the affects of aging. One of the folk names for Hawthorn is “hagthorn” reminding us of the plants long connection with hags, witches, and otherworldly womxn that we can choose to connect with as the veil thins towards Samhain.

Burdock (Arctium lappa) : A wonderful blood purifier and kidney detoxifier that pulls waste from the cellular level, Burdock is an excellent ally to work with throughout autumn and winter. Because Burdock is so cleansing, it is of benefit to combine it with diuretic herbs (such as Dandelion Taraxacum officinalis) to help flush out the system. It's consider an oily herb in traditional western herbalism, which means it helps with dried out conditions as well as lubricate the nervous system and other passageways of the body. The internal cleansing that Burdock brings about manifests externally, too, helping to alleviate skin problems such as acne and eczema. The herb supports a healthy immune system and has historical use as an ally during times of dire illness such as leprosy and cancer.  

Goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea) : Every season needs a good bitter herb and Goldenrod delivers. The bitter flavor of a plant lets us know that it is good for the digestion, helping us to absorb nutrients and eliminate waste. Goldenrod is indicated when there is a runny nose, watery eyes, and a state of uncomfortable damp. Sinus and ear infections can be helped with the cooling and anti-inflammatory herb. The plant is also a wonderful topical remedy for sore muscles and inflammation. 

Rose Hips (Rosa spp.) : Another flash of bright red in the landscape, Rose Hips are wonderful allies in keeping us healthy during the cold months of the year. Rose Hips have one of the highest concentrations of vitamin C found in a herb - about 1700–2000 mgs per 100 dried grams. The herb also helps with digestion and elimination, which is especially useful as we switch over to heartier food. Since they are cooling, Rose Hips are also useful in reducing fevers and their astringency helps with runny noses and other symptoms of colds. They are an excellent addition to convalescent brews and, being Rose, they are also helpful in all matters of the heart. 

Elder (Sambucus nigra) : The deep purple berries of the Elder are a welcome sight during the autumn. As humxns we’ve had a long relationship with the Elder Mother who has been cultivated since the stone age. It is one of the fastest-acting immune herbs that I’ve experienced and my absolute favorite for preventing and reducing the length of colds and the ‘flu. Since they are so high in antioxidants, Elder berries also protect against oxidative stress and can be used over a long period of time to restore a body to balance and health. The plant is under the guardianship of Venus (especially when the energies of the planet manifest as a Crone) and is an excellent ally to working with the sign of Libra. 

Dahlia Flower Essence : If you are someone who struggles with the growing dark and feel increasingly weary and sad during the cold months of the year, Dahlia might be a good ally for you. The essence helps us to reconnect with happiness from a place of resiliency, placing aside the expectations of how we and others think we should be and stepping into a more optimistic and confident expression of our self.

Witchcraft

Autumn is a time of gathering in energies after the exuberance of summer. It’s time to put to good use what you’ve learned so far this year and stretch your magickal muscles. Try out new magickal techniques or dust off old ones to try again with renewed focus. The days are growing shorter and the veil is becoming thinner. Spend time connecting with your ancestors and those that have gone before you. Remember that you, too, will be an ancestor one day - what is the legacy that you are leaving behind? It’s time to practice your magick from a place of sovereignty and confidence. Below I’ve listed three paths of autumn magick that I practice to help me connect with the energies of the season.

3 Paths of Autumn Magick

Clearing Out : We clear out stagnant energy so that we may be renewed again at the coming new year at Samhain. Rituals include all forms of purification and cleansing magick for yourself as well as your home and belongings; burn clearing incense such as Juniper (Juniperus communis), Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), and Copal (Bursera odorata), followed by herbs that bring in energies and qualities that you desire (such as Rose (Rosa spp.) for love or Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) for psychic gifts); hex-breaking baths and charms; cleansing and aligning your energy centers; grounding and centering meditations; divination to help you discover what needs cleansing or letting go of; clean and organize your house; renew the energies of your altar; pay attention to and release negative self-talk that doesn’t serve you; let go of relationships that don’t affirm and celebrate who you are.

Clearing Out Meditation : In a comfortable position, visualize a warm red glow descending from above towards you and emerging up from below you. The red energy flows throughout your dislodging and removing stagnant energy. Next, visualize a orange light coming from above and below to flow through your body with its gentle cleansing glow. Continue in this manner with the following colors: yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. When all seven colors have moved through your body and aura take a deep breath in and visualize the colors settling around you like a protective circle. 

Giving Thanks : We give thanks in order to recognize and celebrate the abundance in our lives, honoring the people, places, and opportunities that have been of benefit to us. Rituals include ones of gratitude and giving back. Write that letter, email, text or pick up the phone and call the person who deserves your thanks and gratitude; light a candle or hearthfire and name the multiple streams of abundance in your life whether it’s a job, comfortable housing, the technology to access the internet, clean water, good food, family and friends, the ancestors who insured your ability to exist, and more; invite friends and family over for a thanks and gratitude community potluck (aka Witch’s Thanksgiving); donate time and money to a local community cause from food kitchens to animal shelters, community gardens and youth programs; recognize the ways that you don’t celebrate abundance in your life and work to shift your perspective; create an abundance branch in your home to hang above your altar with ribbons, leaves, and other objects with what you’re grateful for written on them; give offerings to the land spirits, the ancestors traveling the land, and honor the Wild Hunt who helps lost spirits find their way home to peace and rest.

Giving Thanks Meditation : Get cozy and draw your attention to your heartbeat. We are shaped by the sounds of hearts beating - first the one we felt in the womb and then our own. If you can be grateful for nothing else, choose to be grateful for the heart beating in your chest, which give you life and possibility. Taking a deep breath in and guided by your heartbeat, think or say out loud, “I am thankful for…” and notice what comes up for you. You might think “I am thankful for…” and an image of your garden shows up in your mind. Hold your hands over you heart and say or think, “I am thankful for my garden.” Continue in this fashion for however long you like. Just before you’re done, say, “I am grateful for those things I have not remembered and honor them still." Finally, raise your arms to the sky and say “I am uplifted by my gratefulness.” Touch the ground (or reach towards the ground) and say, “I am grounded by my gratefulness.” Finish by placing your hands over your heart and saying, “I am centered by my gratefulness.”

Going Deep : We draw our energy inwards into our own depths so that we might better know the roots of who we are and where our power emerges from. Rituals include ones that evoke deeply meditative states and direct your energy to the underworld; trance and journeywork to the underworld and the realm of the ancestors; ancestral rituals and honoring, including setting out an extra plate at meal times and leaving a bowl of water (changed regularly) on your altar; performing shadow work and soul alignment work; seeking out therapeutic support (such as EMDR) for processing past traumas that prevent you from calling all parts of yourself home; soul retrieval rituals; working with Sage, Crone, and Elder God/dess/es; learning how to scry; doing grief and sorrow magick; allowing yourself to mourn for that which has been lost, including mourning the current state of affairs in the world; take time to sit in the dark without any source of light; spend a day and night in silence.

Going Deep Meditation : Go to a dark space. Wear loose, dark clothing. Lie down and place a heavy rock or weighted pillow or something similar on your belly. This is the anchor which draws you down into the depths. Bring yourself into a meditative space and then visualize a staircase below you. Walk down the steps slowly. When you reach the bottom notice what is there - this will offer you insight into what you keep hidden from the world yet is a significant part of you. Find the dark pool of water - it may appear suddenly, it may be hidden. Gaze into the pool of water, asking to be shown a message of wisdom from your deep self. When all has been seen, give thanks, and return up the staircase to your body. Remove the stone from your belly, giving it a kiss to thank the earth for giving you form, and then perform a grounding and centering of your choice.

Hot Cocoa Contentment Charm

This time of the year is not just about doing depth magick, but autumn is also a time of gathering in for the purpose of getting cozy and comfortable. The spring and summer are busy and energetically outward driven times of the year, so when autumn finally arrives it can feel so good to put on our oversized sweater and curl up with a good book. And you know what would make that scene even better - a hot drink to enjoy. The Hot Cocoa Contentment Charm will help you brew up some contentment to help you settle back into your body and magickal practice with comfort and ease. It’s a get charm to do after a house cleansing or any time you need to help settle the energy in your self and your home.

For this ritual you’ll need your favorite hot cocoa mix (you can try one of mine if you like), your mug of choice, and a bit of peace and quiet. Cacao (Theobroma cacao) or chocolate is a great messenger plant - it delivers the message of whatever charm you’re using it for to it’s desired location. In this instance, Cacao is helping us distribute a sense of contentment within ourselves and our home. 

Brew you cocoa and as you do, chant the following charm while stirring it:

One bird,
One toad,
One serpent,
One hare,
Each bring four blessings
To my brew here
Of peace,
Of ease,
Of love,
Of pleasure,
So I may know
the joy of leisure.

Go room to room in your home with your cup full of hot cocoa saying each time:

Contentment is delivered to this place
I now dwell in a peaceful space

In the final room to be blessed, and the one where you are planning on getting cozy and drinking your hot cocoa, end your charm by saying “Blessed Be!” three times.

Tell me about your favorite magickal and healing practices for autumn in the comments below. Check out my recipes and herbs for the autumn season as well as a tarot season to help you connect to the energies of fall.

Seeking Healing : The New Moon in Virgo

To the One Who Opens the door

The Door

And the Gate Keeper

And, to the One
who walks
through

- Sulis Sarasvati -

The New Moon in Virgo is the hinge of the doorway for the new season to come through. In the northern hemisphere it is time to pause and notice the leaves beginning to fall from the trees and in the southern hemisphere we listen to the seeds unfurling up towards sky. We’re not fully embedded in the new season yet, but when the Moon is born again in the sign of Virgo we find ourselves moving away from what was and the next step finding us entering into what might be. 

Image by Nibras al-Riyami

Virgo’s symbol is the Virgin (though it was almost the Donkey, which seems fitting given the signs stubborn tendency). While our modern sensibilities place the idea of the Virgin within something that is all-together willowy and damsel-in-distress-y, the original concept of Virgin was someone who was wholly unto themselves and bound to no other mortal in a relationship. The relationships of Virgins were often divine in nature, such as the Vestal Virgins who kept the fires of the Vesta burning (and were a later incarnation of Priestesses of the Greek Hestia). These sacred Virgins, however, were not just invested in keeping holy fires burning in temples and homes, but the right ordering of things in general so that the sacred fires might not only burn, but burn well so that all exposed to their light may enjoy good health (again, a nod to Virgo's need for orderliness in their environment).

The New Moon in Virgo is a time to visit your sacred temple of healing and make sure that your hearth fire is well tended (remember all that heart work you did with Leo?). Now is a time to tend lovingly to the home that you live in, both your surroundings and your body. Fill your days with nutritive herbs, digestive bitters, and kitchen spice magick. Ask yourself what it is you do to ground, center, and recuperate? Not what you plan on doing or aspire to do, but what you are actually doing in your life right now. As an earth sign, Virgo asks us what is it that you’re not getting enough of physically in order to thrive? It might be sleep, wholesome food or time away from your computer (and if that means you stop reading this right now and take a break, I support that 1000%).

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
New Moon in Virgo Plant Ally

I recommend Fennel a lot as a Virgo herb and for good reason. The plant is a great addition to teas, cooking, and even aromatherapy sprays, as a season-changing ally. Fennel helps to dissolve stagnant energy and fluids in the body which helps our inner fire move throughout our being with ease. It not only helps with digestive complaints, such as gas and poor metabolism, but the herb helps to alleviating the tension of a busy mind, relaxing tense shoulders, and having an overall softening effect on the body.

Fennel is a plant that helps us to be grounded in the pleasure of our body, especially when we feel overwhelmed. The flower essence of Fennel is one that brings happiness. More specifically it brings happiness because it offers relief from the idea of having to hold up the world with our efforts. If you’re having trouble even considering that you need to take time off and go easy during this Virgo New Moon, try some Fennel flower essence. 

Flower + Gem Essences for the New Moon of Virgo: Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), Water Violet (Hottonia palustris), Fig (Ficus carica), Vervain (Verbena officinalis), Centaury (Centaurium umbellatum), Lavender (Lavandula officinalis), Rock Water, Carnelian, Blue Aventurine.

Essential Oils of Virgo: Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), Peppermint (Mentha piperita), Caraway (Carum carvi).

Photo by Aperture Vintage

Temple Stone Ritual

The following ritual will help you create an astral healing temple that you can bring with you wherever you go. Once charged, the stone has many uses - you can bring this stone into your consultation room to help establish a healing space, evoke its energies before your daily meditation, and more.

For this ritual you will need one stone. It could be a rock from your garden or a beautiful crystal. Begin in a sacred way (read the New Moon in Aquarius post for further inspiration). Turn to the West (or East if you’re in the southern hemisphere) and place your stone before you on the ground. Visualize healing energies of the West coming towards you, breathing them in and letting them swirl around you. When you’re ready, touch your stone, creating a link between the healing energies of the West and your rock. Turn to the North, and do the same as in the West. Continue to the East, the South, and then the Center. 

Hold your stone again. Around you is a temple of healing energy, mapped by your stone. Say:

New Moon blessing
Swing open the door
I step into healing
and love ever more.

Taking a deep breath in, visualize the energies of your healing temple being drawn completely into your stone. Seal the spell by tapping your stone on the ground in the Center, South, East, North, and finally the West.

The World Spirit Tarot

Oracle

With a divinatory tool of your choosing ask the following question. You can also ponder it during meditation or through journaling.

Where do I need healing most in my life?

Additional queries to consider:

• How do I honor the need for feeling pleasure in my body?
• What part of my life do I need to think less and do more?

Tarot Cards of Virgo

Every card within the tarot deck has an astrological association. The following correspondences follow the system laid out by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. You can add these cards to your altar as part of your New Moon in Cancer magick or use them in readings to help with determining celestial influence or timing (i.e. this will come to pass at when the Moon is in Cancer).

• The Sign of Virgo: The Hermit
• Sun in Virgo: Eight of Pentacles
• Venus in Virgo: Nine of Pentacles
• Mercury in Virgo: Ten of Pentacles
• The Earth Signs of Taurus, Virgo, + Capricorn: Ace of Pentacles

Find all of the New Moon Healers Project posts right over here. Be sure to share your insights and experiences in the comments below or via instagram with the tag #NewMoonHealersProject.

Need more astroherbology in your life? You can learn more about the astroherbology of Virgo by reading my in-depth profile on the sign. Check out the magick of each phase of the Moon. For those of you ready to learn how to live your magick and create your herbal remedies by the cycle of Moon and star, you're invited to join the The Lunar Apothecary.

Blessed New Moon, wise healers.
May your healing be healing to us all.
May our healing be healing to you.
Blessed be! Blessed be! Blessed be!

Affirm + Manifest Tarot Spread for Your Business

For the first time since starting my business in 2010, I'm posting photos of myself on my about page and creating video content for my ecourses. It has taken me a while to get to a place where I felt that this change was not only necessary for my business but something which I wanted to do. The choice to be more visible online has pushed me way pass my comfort zone and there has been a lot of internal pep talks (and long tea breaks and cuddles with the apothecary pup).

Seeking some reassurance that the decision I was making to create more visual content featuring my face was a good one, I created the following tarot spread. If you have a project or change on the horizon that you know you need to do but feel intimated by, the Affirm + Manifest spread is for you. 

As business owners, personal and professional growth is part of the game, yet it can be really uncomfortable and challenging.  It’s been my experience that these growth pains can lead to some amazing opportunities and success. But these changes can feel so intimidating, making it hard to feel that we’re ready to start. 

The following spread helps remind you why the change is not only necessary but beneficial to your business as well as yourself, while also highlighting the next steps you should be taking to make it happen. I did this exact spread a week before I finally filmed my first video and it was just the sort of reassurance that I needed.

Slow Holler Tarot Deck

Affirm + Manifest Tarot Spread

Start by choosing a significator card that represents who you want to be on the other side of this change. If you’re struggling with trusting your intuition in business, for example, you might choose the High Priestess. Or if you don’t trust that what you have to offer is valuable, you might choose the Empress or the Nine of Pentacles. Or just choose whatever card stirs something aspirational within you based solely on its imagery, regardless of its traditional meaning. Once your significator is chosen you can proceed with the rest of the spread.

Affirmation

Card 1: What should I make sure to highlight in myself and my business with this change? 

Card 2: How will this change be of benefit to me and my business?

Card 3: What hurdles do I need to overcome?

Manifestation

Card 4: Step to take in the next week.

Card 5: Step to take in the next month

Card 6: Step to take in the next three months.

Card 7: When feels too challenging, remember…

Now you're ready to affirm and manifest! If you’re not sure yet what changes you need to manifest, I would recommend checking out my Conversations with My Future Self tarot spread for insight. Looking for all my tarot spreads? Come this way...

As someone who is in the thick of a big change in their own business, I just want to recognize how brave and hard-working you are. Change isn't easy, but you deserve what's waiting for you on the other side of your transformation. To all my boss witches and entrepreneurial agents of change - you got this!

Hex to Heal : The Solar Eclipse in Leo

The shape of today's New Moon Healers Project post will be different - for eclipses are times of shapeshifters and changelings. Eclipses are also a time of the bare bones of simplicity when we’re asked for the structure of our magick to be minimal but resonating. 

Here is the basic takeaway of the Leo eclipse energy: 

That mask you’re wearing? Take it off.
The cultural mask that you’ve been told to believe? Stop listening to it’s lies.
The heart crown of self-sovereignty you’ve been afraid to put on? Pick it up, wash it off with the tears of your stuggle and joy, and put it on.

We are being asked to hex in order to heal. In traditional witchcraft a hex is like a harvest. Witch folk know that in order to put bread on the table grain must fall. A hex cuts out that which is no longer needed. But, like a harvest, it should ultimately be healing and nourishing. If you are afraid to hex, to set boundaries, to say NO, to cross your arms and spit in the dirt three times, then you’ll probably be afraid to heal the deep stuff.

Photo by Kristina Flour 

What will you choose to hex in order to heal? Go after the big stuff, Witchen kin:

Hex racism
Hex white supremecy
Hex anti-semitism
Hex Islamaphobia
Hex the patriarchy
Hex misogyny
Hex transphobia
Hex ableism
Hex classism
Hex homophobia
Hex corporations destroying our beloved planet
Hex institutions upholding all of these "-isms" and phobias

Dig down into the little stuff, my magickal folki:

Hex self-hate
Hex internalized cultural lies
Hex microaggressions
Hex your fear of not being enough
Hex your belief that you’re ugly and unworthy
Hex assimilation
Hex the symptoms of trauma that hold you back from living how you want to live
Hex the lies you believe that tell you that your magick is anything less than profound

Hex what you need to hex in order to heal.
In order to live.
In order to love.

Photo by Tyler Lastovich

The Hex to Heal Rite

Begin in a sacred way (read the New Moon in Aquarius post for further inspiration). If you have a large dark, preferably black, piece of fabric have it before you, but it can be visualized if needed. Wrap the fabric around your shoulders and begin to turn slowly widdershins. If this movement cannot be achieved, it can be visualized. As you turn think of or whisper that which you are hexing. While doing this pull the fabric up over your shoulders and over your head. Once you have spoken all of your hexes, hold it up over your head for a moment, still turning. Continuing to turn widdershins, cover your head with the fabric, visualizing that which you have hexed dissolving into darkness. 

Stop and speak:

Hexes dissolve into darkness
Darkness dissolves into darkness
I emerge from the darkness
Hex-free and whole

Begin to spin again deosil, reciting the charm again and again until you are dizzy in its power. Until you fall back to the earth, a star reborn.

I've written about healing tarot and herbal allies for eclipse season if you're looking for more magick and support. 

Wherever eclipse season takes you (because it is just a starting point), may the path open up to healing and peace in your life. Remember, your individual liberation is a work of collective resilience. Work your magick.

P.S. Find all of the New Moon Healers Project posts right over here. Say yes to your magick and join my starry-hearted community of healers here. 

Healing Tarot for Eclipse Season

In a few days there will be a complete solar eclipse visible over much of the United States. For folks familiar with what eclipse season is all about, no one is surprised by this and what it's been stirring up. I've already written about herbal allies for eclipse season, because we all deserve to heal in community and not isolation. Star priestess Chani Nicholas guides us through the season with her wisdom writing:

These are complex days. Dense with the personal homework assigned to us. Loaded with the personal significance of each mission. Ladened with the opportunity to set new patterns for ourselves, our work and our lives. Whatever we do during eclipse season has an incredible staying power attached to it. We cannot control what happens, but every time we choose our integrity over our fear, we choose what is life-affirming over what is life-constricting. Every time we choose our integrity over our fear, we choose what is growth-enhancing over what keeps us bound up and unable to access our agency. Every time we choose our integrity over our fear, we choose to commit a little bit more to our path and divest a little more energy from what prevents us from fulfillment.

Traditionally, eclipses weren't seen as the best portends in traditional medical astrology, but modern understandings have given eclipses much needed nuance. What eclipses do best is reveal. Their revelatory powers are far-reaching and without restraint which means they can reveal the awful things we hide away from and the beautiful paths we thought we had lost forever. It's one of the reason that eclipses are often seen as potential catalysts for times of great healing. Profound healing, though, usually only happens after a period of profound pain. 

(And for those of you who read that last sentenced and focused on the profound pain part - because, I mean, who’s not anxious and struggling and in pain these days - read it again and place all the emphasis on profound healing. Because that’s the miracle - the healing, no matter how deep our pain, is always deeper and waiting for us. You got this, starry-hearted one.)

While we have no control over what might be revealed in our lives and our culture at large, we do have choice on how we will greet these revelations. Tarot is one of the tools within our magickal culture that can help prepare us for what lies ahead. And so, a tarot spread for eclipse season.

The Illuminated Tarot by Caitlin Keegan

The following spread can be adapted in a different ways for different needs as explained below. The primary purpose of The Solar Eclipse Tarot Spread is to help you connect with your celestial self while also revealing what's being stirred up in your life in order for you clear the path for your energy to flow freely. I have also done a sample reading with recommended actions so that you can get an idea of how tarot can be used as part of a healing practice. Consider it a very small preview into my new ecourse, The Tarot Apothecary.

The Eclipse Season Tarot Spread

The spread is only three cards: a Sun, a Moon, and a Shadow card. You for how you choose your Sun and Moon cards. You can either choose them based off of your Sun sign and Moon sign and the astrological correspondences to the tarot deck or just choose them at random. You could actually do both by doing the spread twice which has some interesting advantages. The first time you do the spread, cast the Sun and Moon cards at random which will give you insight into the energies of right now and the immediate present. Then, the second time you do the spread, choose your Sun and Moon card based on your natal signs which will give you a glimpse into long-standing issues in your life. Of course, there's overlap between these two methods (our short-term issues are often just symptoms of long-term ones), so it’s up to you to discern what is needed in your life.

The Sun Card : Represents your inherent vitality or energy. Some of us seem to have endless sources of energy, while others move at a much slower pace. In addition to our inherent vitality, the Sun also describes our will, how easily we direct our will, and our willingness to live our life as we want. To help you interpret the Sun card, start with the following sentence:

My energy is inherently…

Example : If you pull Temperance you might say that “My energy is inherently seeking balance and harmony. When out of sorts I tend to run hot then cold, easily falling from one extreme to another. But when I feel strong in myself my energy is unflustered and focused.”

The Moon Card : Represents the way that energy flows through our body. In other words, it is our primary mode of expression, especially around emotions. The Moon transforms the raw energy of the Sun into story and myth. To help you interpret the Moon card, start with the following sentence: 

I express myself easiest when…

Example : Pulling Justice for your Moon card might create the following sentence: “I express myself easiest when I feel like I am advocating for fairness and speaking my story from a place of just intent.”

The Shadow Card : The Shadow card shows the place where your energy is not transforming into easy expression. In more traditional tarot speak, this is the obstacles or challenges card. Within The Solar Eclipse Tarot Spread it is the card that illustrates what is being revealed to you by the eclipse. It’s not always easy stuff to look at, but the card that shows up here is not meant to be a roadblock but a path. It can also help you discover what it is you have to share with the world. For when our Sun and Moon align we are able to channel our energy with effective and purpose. To help you interpret the Shadow card, start with the following sentence: 

My shadow reveals…

Example : If you pull the Four of Wands, for example, you might say, “My shadow reveals that my energy is blocked somewhere within my home life. I don’t feel welcome in my own life. But the promise of the Four of Wands is that there is a home for all of us. That I’ll be able to express my inherent gifts with ease when I learn to take up more space in my own life and trust that I deserve a loving place to call home.”

The Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

If you're struggling to understand the Shadow card, I recommend pulling one to three helper cards to give you more insight.

Putting it All Together : Examining the three cards from our sample spread together, we can see that the inherently harmonizing energy of the querent is seeking out harmonious spaces - but struggling to find them. So, I might recommend working on the actual physical space of the home and body to allow for more ebb and flow of energy. This could be working on coordinating who you know you are within to how you dress and act in the world. I would recommend allowing for greater fluidity of self-expression during the time surrounding the eclipse.

Justice as the Moon card lets us know that we’re dealing with someone who has a strong sense of right and wrong in the world. It’s a gut feeling and when the querent senses injustice and they can’t rest until they feel things have been put right. Paying attention to the Shadow card, I would propose that something feels unjust in the place that the querent calls home. It could be that they feel unmoored from their homeland due to injustice. Or that they wish to live more justly, whether through their consumption choices or how they live, but for some reason they feel blocked. Maybe it’s fear of rocking the boat too much (something that they might struggle to do considering their balance-seeking Temperance Sun card). I would suggest a meditation on practicing just action as a way of bringing themselves and their world back into balance.

I would also recommend keeping the Four of Wands on their altar as an inspirational image and reminder that harmonious spaces will generate patterns of harmony within themselves. That they should make choices in their life that flow with their values as opposed to feeling like what they want is out of sync with who they are currently. 

So there it is, my take on a tarot spread for eclipse season. You can use this spread year after year and not just for solar eclipses, but lunar ones as well. And you can use it to check-in on how energies are settling in your life after eclipse season has passed. If you're looking for more eclipse season magick, check out my previous blog on herbal allies for eclipse season.

The Illuminated Tarot by Caitlin Keegan

I'll end with an eclipse season blessing for all my magickal kin, my witchsisters, and edgewalkers, because we could all do with a little more blessedness in our lives.

Eclipse Season Blessing

When the round dark
of the eclipse takes hold of sky
and runs a quickstep of shadow across land

When the mirror of the galaxy beating in your chest
is held before you

When you look into its limitless reflection

May you greet whatever is seen
with the same look of the first real compassionate person in your life
(whether known or unknown, met or yet met)
who saw you
and wept in the knowing of your beauty
and vowed to keep you well and safe
even though they knew it to be an impossible task
they knew even more that you were the starting point of miracles
that you have always been worth impossibility
because you have always been worthy

because you

you are worthy