Here is my personal one…whew, it was a doozy.
Blessed Vernal Equinox
Blessed Vernal Equinox, friends! This episode of Centered is a reading, history and insights around Vernal Equinox or what modern pagans and Wiccans call Ostara.
Disclaimer for this episode is that I nerd out on some religious and cultural history of this time of the year. I include talk about Christianity, Judaism and the bible. I tend to give you biblical verses for context not preachiness. One thing to know is that I have a degree in Religion. We tend to say that Theologians, of which I am not, focus on what God thinks about humans, and Religion scholars focus on what humans think about God, so I am coming from the latter of these. And in this quest to put things into context, I often will go to the source within that religion. I do my best. I was raised Catholic and am now a pagan. I’m an earth-worshipping, tree hugging, faithful and faith filled believer in the Goddess and God, and often will just say God to mean it all. I want you to know that, because I don’t want to mislead anyone. I tend to see our alikeness in religious beliefs rather than our otherness. I could literally talk Religion all day. And maybe I will some episode.
So, there is no one traditional religion or culture where you would find all eight pagan/Wiccan sabbats as a holiday system. Wicca, also known as Witchcraft or the Craft, seeks to reestablish the link to the earth and the cycle of seasons by following what Wiccans call the "Wheel of the Year." Celebrations, known as Sabbats, serve as the spokes of the Wheel, reminding practitioners of humanity's intimate connection to nature. The Lesser Sabbats, tied to the solstices and equinoxes, and the Greater Sabbats, purportedly tied to harvest and livestock cycles, occur approximately every six weeks. Through observance of the Sabbats and Esbats, rituals taking place every new and full moon, witches keep in touch with the progression of the year and nature's rhythms.That came about in the 1950s with the creation of Wicca by Gerald Gardner.
Ostara celebrates the vernal equinox. Ostara is one of the holy days that Gardner solidified for pagans. Ostara, named after the Eostre, the Germanic Goddess of the Spring (others say she is Celtic) is celebrated on the Vernal or Spring Equinox. Like many other spring celebrations in other cultures, Ostara symbolizes fertility, rebirth, and renewal. This time of year marked the beginning of the agricultural cycle, and farmers would start planting seeds…listen to continue.
Imbolc Reading
Enjoy this Collective Imbolc Reading for February 1. And you can try it yourself with this layout from my book the Complete Tarot Layouts:
Episode 40: Tarot + Earth Medicine Reading for December 2022
Blessed December! It’s going to be a dumpster fire, or it isn’t. We are working with the Hanged Man, so it is hard to know, but one thing is that if you want clarity, you can have it. Just don’t ask a question you don’t want to hear the answer to. Honestly. Seriously. We are hanging in a place between Justice (skewed Justice or real Justice, who knows for real?) and Death. And when we know the truth and we can’t unhear it.
We are working with Pyrite, Hematite and Petrified Wood. Quaking Aspen and Vulture. I think I am going to work with Condor, a type of Vulture, as South American Quechuan guide and ally.
Have an amazing December!! I’ll be back with Midwinter/Winter Solstice Reading December 21.
Samhain Reading
Here is the reading I pulled, but you can see the template below.
Angie talks Samhain, letting go, emotional support corpses and pulls some tarot cards for the dark season of Samhain to Yule.
This is a picture of my Layouts book with my margin notes. I really encourage you all to change up things in your books, because connecting with the layout is the MOST important part. You have control!
I talk about this piece by Marybeth Bonfiglio called 41 Ways to Make Love to Yourself: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/12/41-ways-to-make-love-to-yourself-marybeth-bonfiglio/
Tarot + Earth Medicine Allies for October
October is here!! Working with some kick ass medicine this month as we pull in the masculine and feminine through the Sun and some decidedly feminine energy of Moonstone, Peach Selenite and Garnet. Enjoy this medicine reading.
autumn equinox reading + podcast episode
Blessed Autumn Equinox!!! In my earth-based pagan spiritual practice, we honor gratitude and the abundance of the Earth at this time of the year. Autumn Equinox or Mabon, the second harvest festival in the Wheel of the Year, arrives somewhere between September 20 and 22nd. Though harvest festivals have always been celebrated, the Wiccans, in the mid-20th century, brought us Mabon, named after the Celtic God of the same name. The Wiccan creators wanted to keep the Celtic-focus for the names of the eight festivals in the Wheel of the Year; hence the story of Mabon being featured for Autumnal Equinox. Mabon, a Celtic god, as a child was stolen from his mother and imprisoned deep in the womb of the Earth. At Yule, he will be reborn with the light again.
Like Ostara, the Autumn Equinox honors balance of light and darkness. Unlike Ostara, Mabon examines the move into the darkness. The Greek Eleusinian Mysteries and Rites of Demeter were honored for over two thousand years to honor the move from light to dark. Central to these mysterious rites, which were so secretive that they were never written down, was the story of Demeter and her daughter Persephone, sometimes called Kore. You can read the Homeric Hymn to Demeter translated by Gregory Nagy (my favorite translation). Listen to the podcast episode for more…
Tarot+ Earth Medicine Allies for July 2022
There is so much I could say about this reading. I had something written that was very straight forward…there is a transit here, and a retrograde there, and a major arcana and I something or other, but then I scrapped it all and just started rambling about religious studies and connection and love and boundaries and unconditional love…it might be a shitshow or something profound for someone, but whatever it is, may it do no harm.
Enjoy!
midsummer lore + collective tarot reading
Honored as the longest day of the year, Midsummer, or Summer Solstice, marks a time when the sun is at its height of power. Summer Solstice, called Litha in pagan and Wiccan circles, honors this longest day of the year. The word “solstice” is from the Latin word solstitium, which literally translates to “sun stands still.” Most of the festivals from around the world, despite religion and culture, honor the Sun’s strength and gifts, particularly agrarian cultures where this time when the crops were sown, tended for a good harvest. Nearly every agricultural society has marked the high point of summer in some way, shape or form. Listen for more…
Beltane Reading, History + Layout
As the Wheel turns and the grass turns greener, flowers blossom, their pollen heaving, enticing, the pollinators, come and spread seed. Greater Sabbats on the pagan Wheel of the Year are the cross-quarter holidays—what they call the Earth Festivals (as compared to the Solar Festivals that mark the equinoxes and the solstices.) Beltane marks the beginning of the transition from Spring to Summer. It occurs on May 1st. Blossoming flowers, the trees and grass really take off, the bees beginning to buzz…it is a time of lightness and fun, fertility and growth.
Beltane uniquely focuses on sexuality and sensuality with a bevy of yonic and phallic symbols. The Horned God, birthed at Yule, begins to hit his lusty stage, ready to mate with the maiden Earth goddess. Both are honored at this time—Cernunnos (as well as Green Man, Pan, the Oak King) and the Maiden Goddess. Beltane honors our own unions. The Roman festival of Floralia seems to have influenced the way Beltane was celebrated. Beltaine, the Celtic Christian festival meaning “Bright Fire”, honored the release of the cattle into the fields. Standing directly across Samhain on the great Wheel of the Year, Beltane calls in light and lightness in the same way Samhain honors the dark of life. There is a focus during Beltane on life in all its sensuous and corporeal glory.
The celebrations of Beltane are joyous, raucous events with massive bonfires, dancing, singing and more. Beltane fires are said to have healing properties that were used to grant healing prayers and protection. The smoke from the bonfires were used for purification and for vitality. The ashes then were placed in the fields for fertility. Celebrations at Beltane, sometimes called May Day, involved the Maypole—a tall wood pole, a phallic symbol, placed in the center of the festivities. A flower wreath placed on top of the pole served as a yonic symbol of the feminine. Brightly colored ribbon hang from the top of the pole to the ground. Maidens and boys were placed around the pole, grabbing every other cloth or ribbon (men facing one way while the women faces another, so they could look at each other.) They danced, weaving in and out of each other, symbolizing the sexual union of masculine and feminine.
When we look at the world through the agrarian calendar, or the Wheel of the Year, we often find some antiquated ways—particularly around the masculine and feminine. Around Beltane, the idea of the masculine and feminine coming together really meant bringing fertility to the fields for a good harvest. A good harvest meant the difference between life and death. It also meant expanding the family and bringing children into the world. Childbirth brings both the feminine and masculine together forming new life, and in this way, Beltane honors the way sexuality brings together the light-dark, masculine-feminine for new life. We can certainly expand our idea of sexuality now, but the symbolism of Beltane remains in the phallic and the yonic.
During Beltane festivals, couples stayed out in the fields all night, engaging in sexual union, particularly in the fields, to encourage fertility in the crops and soil or in the woods, where they would bring back greenery and flowers to decorate for the celebrations. Babies conceived during these couplings at Beltane were called merry-begots and thought to be blessed by the gods. These couplings were not the only celebrations of unions—marriages and hand fastings often were celebrated during this time.
Magick is thought to be easy to access around Beltane. All manner of people engaged in divination and magickal behavior from the grandmother to the cook who threw his soup bones in the fire to read in the morning. In fact, the two Greater Sabbats of the year, Samhain and Beltane, lying across from each other on the Wheel of the Year, honor the thinness of the veil between the worlds by encouraging us to dive into our Tarot and oracle decks, our runes, and scry into bowls of water, another yonic symbol.
I have been reading Tarot for many moon cycles. As a pagan and an earth medicine practitioner, I have created tarot spreads for each of the points on the Wheel of the Year to help us easily tap into the energetic and magickal work important around these different points on the Wheel of the Year and in our life. Beltane’s sexy energy encourages us to connect with the light, lusty, fertile energy of Beltane and May.
I wanted to share my Tarot Layout from my book the Complete Tarot Layouts. Because the energy of sex and creativity is so intimately tied together, you can use this layout for either. If you are more interested in a creative project, you can also think of that birthing out of the same energy of Beltane. Remember you can do this reading at any time you want to check in with a relationship or project of any kind, not just Beltane. Remember you can use this and any tarot layout with runes, oracles decks or any Tarot deck.
Saying the wrong thing
from the Chrysalis Tarot by Toney Brooks and Holly Sierra
from my June 2020 Newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.
I don’t always know what to say when the world is in turmoil. And particularly in this moment when there is violence and righteous anger. When people are so polarized and afraid, it feels like chaos. This is another Tower moment for us as a nation. First COVID-19 had us tumbling out of the Tower. My friend Sharon Muzio said we are in a Tower moment with COVID-19, but we still are in mid-air, not in the Tower and not on the ground yet. And now, the country faces nationwide protests. The president calls for militarization and more police presence, while peaceful protests move forward. It is as though we are still falling out of the Tower, and now we are seeing the Tower collapse underneath us as we are still in mid-air, unsure of where we will land.
We are razing the beast, hopefully. Kali, the Dark Mother, comes in for this work. She is a goddess of death and rebirth. The tall Tower of oppression and systemic racism needs to fall. But it is all we know. Truthfully, I am here for it. But in this way? Seeing black people genuinely losing their freedom, arrested or worse, facing bodily injury to speak the truth of police brutality and racism in the streets. Tanks rolling into town. The infamous pictures of police with raised batons hitting people, black people, injured faces from rubber bullets and fear. We are hearing mixed reports of who is causing the looting and rioting—protesters or implants to make the protesters seem violent. We honestly do not know. It suddenly seems like we have woken up in another world. We were isolated in our homes, and now the streets are filled. But this is OUR world. We created this. So, we watch it come down, frightened and unsure how to move forward. We ask Kali to guide this destruction so we can rebuild and rebirth into a different world where we no longer have to say Black Lives Matter, because of course, they do. We see that sentiment in action in our government, in our actions, in our consciousness.
I really struggled with my monthly offerings this week. Is Tarot silly in lieu of all this? What could I possibly offer right now? Is it spiritually bypassing this suffering to talk about woo-woo energy healing, earth medicine allies, tarot, journeying...I talk a little about this in my monthly reading (See below). But I mostly really struggled with speaking at all.
- I want to say my heart hurts, but I know it is not enough and, besides, my heart is not at issue here.
- I want to scream when I see another black man killed, but I am afraid of showing you my anger.
- I want to cry and throw a tantrum about all the pain black people in this country have suffered for 400 years, but I don’t want it to be about me (I am afraid you will comfort me and not do anything else.)
- I want to walk away from the news and media and forget this is happening, but I don’t want to fall back on my privilege to be able walk away from this pain since black people cannot walk away from this ever.
- I am afraid of saying the wrong thing in the wrong way.
- I am afraid of saying the right thing in the wrong way.
- I am afraid of saying the right thing in the right way.
- I am afraid you will see my own wounds around racism and being a Latinx womyn.
I have always tried to be vocal about my dedication to anti-racism and intersectional feminism. But I feel vulnerable showing these things as a spiritual teacher. There is a belief that we need to be above politics and not in the fray of polarized views. We are not supposed to watch the news or care about this stuff. I hear it all the time. the news is too toxic and full of fear-mongering and low vibrational energy. We are just spirit, right? Heaven forbid that we show anger. Anger is so demonized in our metaphysical community. So, yeah, not talking about peace and love and light is scary.
And yet this time is calling for us to move into the fear and talk anyway. We cannot be afraid to make mistakes, to be corrected, to lose people offended by anti-racist views, to say something perceived as racist or oblivious or privileged. We cannot know what we do not know. So, I am trying to remain fearless and teachable.
I believe wholeheartedly that Spiritual work is about justice and balance. We need to be speaking out and connecting the Spirit with the physical body. Spirituality is not for the privileged few who are not in physical danger or threatened with injustices. In fact, I would argue, that is EXACTLY who we are here for. So, if you are wanting to learn more, welcome BIPOC (this stands for Black, Indigenous, People of Color) into your circles—spiritual and secular. Do the work you can do around your own internalized racism and subconscious racism. We can do this, not by asking black people to explain it to us, but by reading about it. Some great places to start:
Layla Saad in the Guardian put together an Anti-Racist reading list
Buy from black owned bookstore if you can.
Layla Saad has a wonderful course/workbook/book called Me and White Supremacy that is such an eye-opener.
This piece by Layla Saad is SO IMPORTANT. It is called "I need to talk to spiritual white women about white supremacy (Part One)”
Dr. Robin DiAngelo on White Fragility and Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
If you have some money to donate to causes, here is a list of good organizations to support right now.
Support BIPOC teachers, educators, and writers. Often Black teachers will have a paysite (Venmo or PayPal) linked on their bio in Instagram so you can directly support their writing and work. They often do so much free education on Instagram and Social Media outlets for people who want to learn how to be allies.
* * * * * * * *
This month, our June allies came forth strongly, and as I have sat with them for a few days, I realize that they are so apt. If you are a membership subscriber, Tiger came through as an ally for us this month, so your shamanic journey with tiger will be emailed out. June 5th is the last super moon. It is in Sagittarius, and there is an eclipse. Plus, Mars is a perfect Square and June is facing 7 planets in retrograde. So, hold on for the ride. For us spiritually focused folk, our medicine allies can help us navigate these crazy times, so practice exquisite energetic hygiene and self-care. Ask me if you need some help.
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spring tarot layout
Ah, Spring—-time to clean out the winter cobwebs and let in the light. I created a tarot layout for just that energetic work. Enjoy it!
healing relationship tarot layout
How were your holiday gatherings? One of my Tarot friends sent me this hilarious cartoon for Thanksgiving, combining two things I love--laughing and Tarot. I have a great family and enjoy them very much. This was not always the way--my extended family dinners as a child seemed more like a blood sport. People leaving drunk and crying, yelling, dramatics, drinking, accusations. No one seemed to like each other, and I vowed as an adult to not be this way.
Holidays can be fraught with emotions--joy, grief, hurt, expectation, anxiety, sadness, loneliness--then add complicated family and friend relationships, and it is a formula for deep trauma. As I thought about this, I wondered how I would want to help my clients navigate the holiday family gatherings with my clients if they came to me for a Tarot reading. And I thought about how often in relationship disputes, I cannot see the trees through the forest. So, I created a Tarot Layout for Healing Friendships, Relationships & Family Dynamics. I created it so you can go deeper with shifting tension, for seeing a new perspective and for finding a way forward. I focused this layout on the person asking the question, because we can really only change us, right?
I think it would be useful to consider the cards that arise in certain positions. There are some relationships in which there is no path forward--this rift is permanent and important. Pay attention to the people on the card--is it a solitary person, or two people? Are you seeing cards of withdrawal or protection? Remembering that sometimes you are not at fault in the slightest, so how you move forward needs to be considered with that in mind. I'm going to print some of these out for Tarot Share, though it might not lend itself to a great group reading. This is really about our individual work with another person.
going deeper layout
I just naturally do this layout on my daily reads. I always feel like I need some more insight on just past present and future, so I expand to include some Celtic Cross insights in this little six card draw.
Whenever I create a layout for Tarot, I think it is important to ask a question or at least know the area of life you are interested in learning more about. Often, three card layouts are like little selfies of our time period. I think of this three card layout as having been put vertically, so that each row is present, approaching and outcome.
I like to play with those rows--first row is really about all the influences on the present, including the past and some additional insights about what we cannot quite clearly see. This is all the energy around you right now. I often get questions about the card in the past...this card is about what part of your past is influencing the question asked, or the energy that you are bringing into the question you asked. In the Unknown position, you can use this as something influencing now, so it can be another thing from the past, or the obvious thing from the present you are ignoring. The Second Row is about what we are calling in, what is in our approaching influence. This energy is about what are current actions are calling to us. What I mean by that is that our energy attracts or moves us toward the next phase. This approaching are really helps us to understand where our energy is spiraling toward, and what situation we are setting up for ourselves. Of course, this approaching energy is really about how we get to the outcome of our question. So, the outcome stands alone in the third row as the final resting place of our question if nothing changes.
Hope you enjoy this. Love to see how you use this in your own practice!