Pentagram Spread - February 4, 2011

My goal today was to do a spread using my Druidcraft for the Primary Deck Reflections.  I felt terrible that I hadn't touched the deck in over a month.  I've just been very busy and very distracted.  Since I hadn't read for a while and I was reading just to read, I was drawing a blank on what to read about!  That was weird, I've never done that before.  I finally settled on the Pentagram Spread from the Druidcraft book.  Basically it says it can offer guidance if you are feeling out of balance - and I said, "that's me!"

Card 1 - The Place of the Inner Flame (Intuition): 

Prince of Wands

I think this card is telling me that I need to start putting my ideas/intuitions into action.  I don't know if there will be much staying power, but it is the thing to do now.  

Card 2:  The Place of the Well (emotions):

The High Priestess

 

The High Priestess tells me to open to the stillness and depth within to gain strength and wisdom.  I think she is saying that I should calm down rather than flying off the handle, which I have been doing with alarming frequency lately. 

Card 3:  The Place of the Sword (thoughts):

9 of Pentacles

I have been very preoccupied lately with worrying about financial security.  I think that this card is representing my obsession with this and my desire to "live my ideals".  This is a good thing, primarily because I am trying to refocus my energy from just trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors (LOL) to actually attempting to get out ahead of things.  I think this card is a good sign that my thoughts and intention are on the right track.

Card 4:  The Place of the Stone (physical):

Princess of Swords:

The Princess of Swords indicates an impulse to learn and grow, or a fresh viewpoint for me at this time.  I have been working to pay more attention to and work to take better care of my physical body.  I have had several different readings from different people recently who have told me that I need to do this.  I am working on it! 

Card 5:  The Place of the Spirit (gifts/advice):

10 of Swords

Oh my!  I got this one in my Sacred Days of Yule Spread.  Double Yikes.  A quote from my Druidcraft book seemed appropriate.  There are 3 spiritual instructions:  worldly misfortune, bodily illness, and unmerited hatred.  I guess that whatever situation this card was warning of has not yet occurred. 

Reading Summary:

I am concerned, but remember that I have to keep things in perspective.  Come what may I am going to try to deal with things in a High Priestess kind of way - deep, solid, mystical, and with faith.  I may need to work on my "poker face" to handle what is coming.  I need to continue to work on financial stability and my physical being.  In many ways this reading echos my Yule reading . . . and makes me wonder if this isn't why I haven't felt much like reading.  I think that I really need to get back on track with my readings and do a 3 card a week at the very least.  I committed to the PDR for a reason and I really need to stick it out. 

Sacred Days of Yule Spread for 2011

This spread will help you to learn to apply the tarot to enjoy and enrich your passage through the twelve festive days from December 20th to 31st. The meaning of each card in the spread reflects the energy of the festivity associated with each of the twelve days.

1. Mother Night of Dreams: - Dec 20th This card reminds us to look for a particular message in our dreams tonight. The ancients believed that our dreams on this night foretold some of the important events in the coming year.

10 of Swords . . . . EEEEEEEAAAAAAAK! I have been haunted by this card in the past but this is the 1st time I've pulled it in a while. I have a feeling this means something traumatic/painful will happen and I hope my dream tonight is going to be about how to recover from it . . . but this isn't a card I like the looks of at this point.


It's a little past tomorrow (well from what tomorrow was on Monday . . . LOL) but I'd like to add to this entry. I didn't really dream on Monday night. I had some sort of dream and I woke with the vague sense that I was waiting for something but that was all. But, honestly, when I was falling asleep that night I was not thinking about that 10 of Swords as I put it right out of my head. Having thought about it quite a bit in the mean time I think it is signifying the true end of a cycle in my life. I think it is a good thing, but it IS painful to me . . . and sometimes I am still a little surprised that I am moving past it. I think that if I can truly experience the end of it this year that would be a good thing. BTW . . . this is actually a 15 year thing! Sometimes I will hold on to things that are best let go of. I am feeling better about this card - but I also guess that if it is indicating something ominous I'm just going to have to deal with it as it comes so there's no point worrying.


2. Yule - Winter Solstice: - Dec 21st This card shows us how best to connect to the Light within and without - it symbolizes the Birth of the Sun.

Ace of Wands - So . . . WOW! This card shows a big blazing bright sun with a wand suspended in front of it. I think that this is a positive sign for new beginnings this year. It sort of speaks to me that the light will be bright for me and in me during the coming year. I think the wand indicates passion and creativity. I am actually pretty excited about this card, and it kind of puts the 10 of Swords in a better "light" - LOL Sorry! hehehe . . . but that there are good things after the ending indicated in the 1st card.

I would also like to add that I did have a dream last night and I actually wonder if it isn't significant to this card. See, I dreamed that I was talking to a woman and it turned out that she was the writer of a popular song that is sung by a guy and is a very "male" song. I was very surprised! I said that I couldn't believe she'd written that song and she said, yes, that it had surprised her too but one day she just wrote it, and she'd been delighted that the guy who sang it liked it and it had become a hit. When I woke up I was thinking about how sometimes our creativity comes in forms that we wouldn't expect and sometimes we do the most amazing things when we just "go with the flow" - I think I am going to try to do that more in the coming year and see where that leads me!


3. The Time of Beth: - Dec 22nd This card points to the inner blocks and resistance that is holding us back from following our dreams.

8 of Swords - Could feeling trapped and restricted be holding me back from following my dreams? Hmmmmm . . . I think this relates directly to the 10 of Swords situation that I referred to previously. OK, so I guess the swords will get me so then I can move on. This card is telling me that the way out is to focus on my spiritual practice and stop overthinking my situation. That sounds like excellent advice to me.

I stayed up way too late last night doing something else . . . oops! And so I pulled card 3 and 4 both on 12/23.

4. Hopi Time of Renewal Dec 23rd This card indicates the best way for us to seek purification and renewal, and to build tolerance for others.

King of Swords - I think this king is indicating a need for intellectual honesty, justice or discipline. Decisions need to be based on the facts of situations - possibly making sacrifices for the greater good or on principle. I need to rely more on my head and less on my heart . . . but that is soooooo not me.

3 out of 4 swords cards . . . do I detect a theme here? Interesting, as I tend to be a much more earthy/watery type.

5. Feast of Mothers, Christmas Eve: - Dec 24th This card shows how we can connect with the spirits of our ancestors for communion and to ask for wisdom and guidance. It is also a time for Christians to reflect on the birth of Christ.

10 of Cups - I find it interesting to have drawn the ultimate happy family card for this position. I believe it is telling me that I can connect with my ancestors through my family relationships in order to find happiness, love, and fulfillment.

6. Festival of Life, Christmas: - Dec 25th This card shows us how to connect directly with Spirit.

Cernunnos (traditionally the Devil, but not in the Druidcraft!) I think this card indicates that I need to take more responsibility for the physical/material parts of my life. The Druidcraft doesn't regard this as an aspect of life that should be repressed or avoided, but to be respected and expressed in ways that are beneficial rather than harmful.

At first I was like . . . what?!? But upon reflection this makes a lot of sense and is an area in my life where I need to pay more attention. I actually got this advice in another reading not long ago, that I need to pay more attention to taking care of my physical body in order for it to support the mental/spiritual as well.

7. Yuletide, Kwanzaa: - Dec 26th This card shows us how to express nurturance, to attend to our families and to express the protective energy within us towards others.

The High Priestess - The divine feminine energy from this card just jumped out at me. I need to open myself to the stillness and the depths within me. In my family relationships I need to work to be passive, but not weak.

8. Birth of Freyja: - Dec 27th This card points to issues of love, luck, artistic and creative expression and female wisdom.

The Lady - Open yourself to the fertile nurturing power of the Goddess. This power will fill you with passion and the ability to be creative and to enjoy a life of abundance and sensual delight.


I quoted this straight from the Druidcraft book because it seemed absolutely right. I was curious about "Freyja" and discovered that she is a goddess of Norse mythology and is referred to as "The Lady". I think this is a powerful message for me right now - I need to really connect to the "goddess/lady" in order to empower myself in my life.

9. Feast of Alcyone: - Dec 28th This card gives us a personal inner message - one that speaks directly to our heart and spirit.

The World - Dancing, I am Life. Whole, I am One.
Again, I quoted straight from the Druidcraft book. I am really amazed by the message I am getting here. When I pulled The Lady yesterday I read the entire section on that card in the book. I realized I'd never read it before and I found it fascinating. There is a reference to The World card representing the unity between the The Lady and The Hanged Man and at that point I pulled both cards and read up on them, as I had never considered that relationship between those cards. I started thinking about The Lovers card as well, and Cernunnos, realizing that it is almost like a common thread, a story is emerging . . . But back to The World . . . after shuffling my deck a gazillion times and cutting it and so on, guess what pops up in the next position after The Lady? Right! It is almost more than my little mind can deal with, but I'm feeling a sort of bubbling up of a new understanding of how I can truly become One and that it all might be laid out before me, all I have to do is become. I'm going to think on this more . . . I have a few days and a a few cards before I will look at this reading as a whole.


10. Day of Nymphs - Dec 29th This card encourages us to connect to our playful side, our inner child and how best to cultivate this aspect of ourselves.

3 of Swords . . . . EEEEEEEAAAAAAAK AGAIN! All right . . . my heart just sank when I saw this one. How is heartbreak supposed to encourage me to connect to my playful side? I turned to the book again and . . . well, it makes sense. The book says "Learn and grow from conflicts and difficulties, rather than feeling victimized by them." Nothing makes a person less playful than feeling victimized, right? But realizing that sometimes life hands you some hard knocks and accepting them as just that so you can move on, well . . . that's better than wallowing in self-pity, right?

I am a little concerned that this reading keeps turning out cards that are so troubling . . . I am really ending a "cycle" in my life and wonder if this is all about the END of that, or if something else is on its way.

11. Day of Rest: - Dec 30th This card shows us how to walk our path in a relaxed and confident way....with the ability to deal with stressful situations in a philosophical, detached way.

The Sun - You are free to express the radiant essence of your being. Joy and Creation flow from you like the rays of the sun.


Quoted straight from the book again . . . it's interesting to me how the book's message for the card is speaking directly to me in many cases for this reading. I think this card relates back to the Ace of Wands in that I need to embrace and radiate "The Light" this year. It is something that I have strived for in the past, and can see where I have been distracted the last year or so. I think this reading has a strong message for me to get back on track!

12. New Year's Eve, Hogmanay - Dec 31st This card shows us how to release the old and let in the new. This relates to both our external lives and our inner being.

The High Priest - He is telling me that I need to remain in touch with the spiritual both within and outside of myself. Traditions, ceremonies, and spiritual teachings will help me achieve this.

Wow! I find it fascinating that I got the High Priest and the High Priestess in this reading. I think this guy is telling me to balance the message from the High Priestess and remember that it's not all about what goes on inside me, but outside as well. Also, he speaks strongly about the overall message I am getting from this reading.

Summary:
Letting go of the old and bringing in the new seems to be a theme for this reading overall. The past several years - but especially this last one - I have felt STUCK. Stuck in my material cares to make ends meet from one day to the next (interesting that there is not even one Pentacle card showing in this reading), stuck in my head which has not really been able to solve my problems, stuck in my broken heart. This reading has some very strong indicators that I need to solve the problems that have kept me stuck and start moving forward. Some of that tedious work has been accomplished this year (2010), but not enough. It is time to wrap up loose ends and get on with my life. I think that this reading sends a clear message that I need to renew my spiritual studies/focus in the coming year - a part of my life that has been neglected with everything else going on. All those swords tell me that there may be some painful transitions, but also to stay focused mentally. 2011 should be a year of spiritual growth for me, but with a clear and decisive mind.
6 out of 12 Major cards tells me that this is a really important reading for me, and this is likely to be a really important year in my life. 4 out of the remaining 6 cards being Swords makes me think that this will be year where I will need to keep my wits about me. All in all, this has been the most interesting reading I've done with this spread, as this is my 3rd year running to participate.