Time Out of Time
Year Ahead Tarot Spread + Sacred Bathing
Dear Ones,
I’m curious about how you’re doing, in these liminal time-out-of-time days between Solstice and New Year’s. Perhaps you’re lighting candles for Kwanzaa or Hanukkah. Maybe you’re practicing the Omen Days. You might be doing a life review of the year gone by and making plans or intentions (not resolutions) for the year to come. You might be sleeping a lot, or watching old movies, or getting lost in a really good book. Maybe you’re going for walks in the woods or by a freezing shore.
I had a particularly blue Christmas Day this year. I know I’m not the only one. I think of Winter Solstice as a spiritual/religious holy-day, and Christmas Day as a social, secular holiday. The 25th of December overflows with memories for many folks. We feel our losses more keenly, even as we celebrate all that is good and true and beautiful in our lives. I’m grateful that both my chosen-family of friends here in Bellingham and my blood family in Maine on a video call welcomed me just as I was on Christmas Day, with a heart cracked wide open and tears that just would not stop.
Our ancestors really do show up at this time of year. They make themselves known in memory or dreams, a tap on the shoulder, a story that starts “Remember the time when ….”
These days I find myself shapeshifting back and forth between my wise woman/elder self having heartfelt one-on-one conversations with some of you as I read your cards, and my little-girl self who can’t stop crying because she is haunted by ghosts of Christmases Past.
Let’s hear it for the Christmas blues. When our hearts crack open, it allows real conversations to flow. My most precious gift this year was a loving, tearful talk with my son that led to a deeper connection between us.
How are the winter holidays treating you this year? How are you celebrating or marking this time? Please leave a comment and let us know.
Year Ahead Tarot Spread
I have really been loving the Zoom tarot readings I’ve been doing with a handful of you over the last few days. I know some of you from past online classes, retreats, or conferences. Others are brand new to me. It’s such a pleasure to have one-on-one time with you. It gives me the opportunity to get to know you just a little bit better. You become more than a face on a Zoom screen or a name attached to a comment. We have some awesome people in this community! I may have to do readings more often.
I’ve been using this golden-oldie spread for the readings. I first published it in the Gaian Tarot companion book back in 2010. It has served me well over the years, and I’ve heard it’s a favorite of many folks. I invite you to give it a try.
Remember to revisit the reading every few months throughout the year to see how the themes that emerge are unfolding in your life. I like to make a note on my calendar to revisit the reading each quarter, and then do a little journaling.
1. What do I leave behind in the old year?
2. What do I open up to in the new year?
3. Key opportunity of the new year
4. Key challenge of the new year
5. Hidden concern (pull from bottom of the deck)
6. Deep wisdom/advice from Spirit (pull from middle of the deck)
7. Key theme of the new year
Please share your reading with us in the comments, if you like.
Make Bath Salts ~ Take a Sacred Bath
“The cure for anything is salt water — sweat, tears, or the sea.”
— Isak Dinesen
That’s one of my all-time favorite quotes. Taking a soothing bath in a tub full of herbal bath salts is one of my favorite things to do, especially when I’m coping with intense emotions. Here are my suggestions for sacred bathing and for crafting your own bath salts.