A Tarot Card for the Spring Equinox

I’m not sure what the groundhog said back on February 2nd, but regardless of that particular rodent’s prognostications, we were always going to have an early spring, at least calendar-wise. That’s because the Vernal Equinox, traditionally hailed as the day when winter departs and spring arrives, will be on Tuesday, March 19th at 11:06 pm EDT.

We have February 29th to thank for that, as the equinox typically occurs on March 20th or 21st. But not always. That’s because our calendar and the Earth’s rotation are not perfectly aligned. So we have to adjust our portion of the process:

From the BBC: “The Mathematical Muddle Created by Leap Years”

As a rule of thumb, leap days come around every four years. But there are exceptions to this rule. For example, at the turn of every century we miss a leap year. Even though the year is divisible by four, we don't add a leap day in the years that end in 00. But there's an exception to this rule too. If the year is a multiple of 400 then we do add in an extra leap day again. At the turn of the millennium, despite being divisible by 100, the year 2000 did, in fact, have a 29 February because it was also divisible by 400.

The Eight of Beakers

Regardless of the calendar, spring sets her own pace. And the equinox, with its roughly equal days and nights, is a great time to contemplate cycles and seasons and out place within them.

To celebrate this equinox, I chose the Eight of Cups from the Science Tarot (you can read my review of that fantastic deck HERE). The Science Tarot uses different names than the Smith-Waite tarot—you’ll notice from the photo that this card uses a beaker instead of a cup as its icon—but the meanings remain comparable even if they are interpreted through the lens of their respective scientific fields (in the case of cups, those fields are biology and ecology).

In traditional tarot, the Eight of Cups of about moving on after a loss, releasing yourself to a new experience. There are shadows of pain in this card—grief will follow you like a lonesome dog, no matter how cleanly you try to cut yourself free—and the Eight of Cups acknowledges this difficulty.

The Cocoon card takes this idea of “leaving the old behind” and references the next step in the process: transformation. Cocoon time is active, not passive. It is both chemical and alchemical.

As the Science Tarot describes it:

Encased within a protective cocoon during its transformation, the caterpillar utterly loses its form. Every cell takes on a new purpose, and for a time the creature is neither caterpillar nor moth. Only when metamorphosis is complete does the stunningly beautiful Luna moth emerge from its cocoon and spread its wings to the sky. Times of transformation can demand a protective distance from the world, a total retreat. When the dissolution and recovery is complete, the world's challenges are not so threatening. Until that time, growth must take place in safe isolation.

I like this reframe, which centers the literal and metaphorical shapeshifting inherent to this card. It's not an easy or pretty process. But in the end, you’ll discover fresh new wings.

May your equinox bring balance and harmony to your life, and may you experience a transformation that enlightens, enriches, and energizes you for the coming spring.

A Tarot Card for the Winter Solstice: the Hermit

This year, the winter solstice occurs on December 21st, with the solstice moment happening at exactly 10:27 EST. Also known as Yule, it marks the longest night and the shortest day of the year, when the sun seems to stand still in the sky. As such, it is a time when many religions and cultures ponder the natural cycles of dark and light and rebirth.

Many seasonal symbols today have roots in winter solstice rituals — lighting candles and bonfires, burning the yule log, decorating with mistletoe and holly and evergreens. Feasting and singing are also traditional, especially the sharing of the wassail punch and the ringing of bells to welcome back the strengthening sun. The celebrations often lasted for twelve days, much like the carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” an echo of the ancient belief that the sun actually did pause in the sky for twelve days.

It is our human inclination on this, the longest night, to gather with our friends and family, to make merry and celebrate warmth both literally and metaphorically. But the solstice is, as its name reveals, a time to honor stillness. It is the energy of The Hermit, the card of solitude, introspection, and soul seeking, a card that urges us to slow down, take stock, look within.

The Earth herself is moving into the dark time, the cool time, the time of shadows. Humanity has created a million ways to pretend this isn't happening. We turn up the lights, sing louder, drape tinsel, laugh and plan and move hither and yon, busy and busier.

This holiday season, consider the bear. Bears know how to hermit better than anybody, so start planning the ways that you can honor your inner ursine. Plump the cushions in your cave. Make ready to spend some time in luxurious hibernation. It is a fact of our culture that one must carve away solitude, carve it like Michelangelo freeing the angel from the marble.

But do carve. Because the angel is there. And The Hermit promises to help you find it.

PS: Still looking for a gift for that special someone? Consider a certificate for a tarot reading. There’s no better way to start the new year, and right now I’ve got all my hour-long readings on sale. But hurry! Like 2023, this offer ends at midnight on December 31st!

Here Comes The Sun!

image @philipmackie

Happy Summer Solstice! (for those of you in the Northen Hemisphere anyway)

Often celebrated as the longest day of the year, the summer solstice (like its counterpart the Winter Solstice) takes its name from two Latin-language morphemes: sol (sun) and -stitium (stoppage). This meaning refers to the Sun’s apparent stillness in the sky, which is a trick of perspective, as the Sun doesn’t actually move, it’s the Earth speeding around in a wobbly circle like a big spaceship held together with gravity and cosmic glue.

Despite our persistent geocentric attitude, the Sun is the center of this galaxy. And on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 at 10:57 am EDT, we Earthlings will celebrate the solstice moment. Which is when, to quote National Geographic, “a planet’s poles are most extremely inclined toward or away from the star it orbits.” On Earth, that star is our Sun.

On this year’s Summer Solstice, Southeast Georgia will have 14 hours, 15 minutes, and 7 seconds of daylight, one second more than the day before, and two seconds more than the day after (you can see the specifics for your own home base HERE). It’s a perfect time to remember the Sun’s importance in our lives, both literally and symbolically.

In a natural sense, the Sun is the engine of our universe. Without it, Earth would be a lifeless hunk of rock, spinning and sterile in a cold empty sky. But with it, we have life. A brilliantly simple equation.

The Sun card in the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck

Such it is with The Sun card in the tarot. If you were looking for a yes, the Sun is about as affirmative as it can get. If you needed a jolt of optimism or vitality, turn your face toward it like a flower. If you've been feeling sluggish or out of sorts, let the heart of our very own personal star, our own solar combustion machine, energize you.

And if you've become disconnected from your playful, innocent, hopeful self, then The Sun has a special message for you. As creative folk, we appreciate the importance of joy in our lives and in our work. Those are hard to cultivate sometimes in the world of the one-star review and the hateful e-mail and the snarky blog post. Everybody's got a criticism, it seems, and some weeks, every single piece of it seems to be coming right at you.

The Sun shines on the crazy and the cruel too, even if they can't feel its warmth. Pity them that. But this does not diminish the radiance being bestowed on you. The Sun is an impartial and generous lover. And it loves you very much. Smile for it, won't you?

PS: You can get your own reading this summer, including my Cycles and Seasons reading, which is 30% off at my tarot shop.