 Call forth the magic Imbolc holds
Drink, drink the milk of life. I welcome the gentle kiss of Spring I honor the cycle of returning life. - Julia Ferguson Andriessen The ancient Celts celebrated eight sacred annual holidays marking rebirth, fertility, harvest, and death. This is known as the Wheel of the Year, ever turning and renewing, welcoming each season. These pagan holidays were redressed over time; originating with Celtic mythology and folk history, they were recast as the region became Christianized, and festivals were relabeled as saints’ days. In modern times, many neo-pagans, witches, and people on other magical paths have reclaimed the Wheel as a connection to history and the earth. Today, we’re beginning our series on the Wheel of the Year and pagan festivals with Imbolc, which falls first in our modern calendar year.
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 Life goes a little sideways during Mercury retrograde, but as we saw last week, some care and planning can take the sting out of it. Wise teachers often say that one of the best ways to turn challenges into opportunities is to focus on gratitude.
That’s not the easiest thing to do when times are hard, but inspired tools can help. This week, we reach for the Gratitude Oracle by Angela Hartfield and Josephine Wall. Intricate fantasy-themed art provides a beautiful backdrop to 55 concepts linked to thankfulness for life’s gifts. Included alongside the large deck is an attractive guidebook that thoroughly explains each card. Divination and oracles can help us connect to our intuition and find the best way through our days. You can see the Gratitude Oracle, along with other oracle and Tarot decks, in-store at Indigo Moons - there is something for almost everyone. What does this oracle deck have to say about this week?  In folklore and fairy tales, we often encounter weary travelers wandering through the forest, searching for unknown wisdom. Their journey often leads them to a foreboding cottage inhabited by a mysterious old woman - who may offer shelter and advice…or something much more sinister. Slavic and Eastern European traditions know this spirit as Baba Yaga (“grandmother witch” or “old hag”), a supernatural crone of ambiguous power and origins.
Stories from Russia, Poland, Hungary, and other countries in the region abound. Her home is a cottage built on tall chicken legs, accessible only by speaking a magic spell. She travels through the forests and skies in a mortar, using the pestle as an oar and a broom to sweep away her tracks.  The holidays. Omicron. A new year: we’ve all been on our toes with everything this winter has brought us. We’ve lost beloved pop culture icons and, perhaps, gained perspective on ourselves and our neighbors - just in time to run headlong into Mercury Retrograde, which started January 14 and continues until February 3.
This week, we’re using the New Era Elements Tarot by Eleonore F. Pieper, PhD. Published in 2018, this deck applies diverse people and global culture to create a more modern view of Tarot. It features realistic hand-drawn images, suits named for the elements instead of symbols, and court cards reflecting family roles (mother, father, daughter, son). What a long, strange trip it’s been. Throughout 2021 (and, frankly, 2020), it’s been said that each month has been the longest ten years of our lives. Our surreal timeline has seemed endless - but we have, in fact, made it to the last month of 2021.
The astrology outlook certainly reflects what many are aiming for in the months and years ahead: a refreshed perspective, a calmer emotional atmosphere, and opportunities to create dynamic change. We begin December with Neptune coming out of retrograde, bringing greater clarity, creativity, and faith. Events continue December 4 with the new moon in Sagittarius, complete with a total solar eclipse. This will help us broaden our horizons, turning from an inward focus to an outward one. December 18 brings the full moon in Gemini, a sign that’s always driven by the need for knowledge. This will be the time to solidify what values and beliefs will drive the next steps of our journey. Combined with our Tarot reading (full details below), we can look at December 2021 as our time to come to terms with the dramatic shifts in our lives. No longer can we rely on the status quo - and so many of us are ready to see 2022 rise like a phoenix from the ashes of the last two years.  The last months of 2021 continue to bring us intense planetary energy. We began November with a new moon in moody, mysterious Scorpio - and it was a supermoon at that. Next up on November 19: the full moon, complete with a partial lunar eclipse, setting the stage for the holiday season.
We need only look to world news to know that these times are marked by turmoil. An eclipse may not help much, as it magnifies astrological energy and brings in additional chaos. But never fear - there is still room to celebrate the full moon and create a blank canvas for the season ahead. The full moon will transit through Earth sign Taurus, setting the stage for enjoying comfort and camaraderie - good news, since you may need to hold onto a loved one to keep your balance! Instead of starting or ending magical workings or other important projects, the eclipse is a great time to wipe the slate clean.  Cooler temperatures and signs of autumn are everywhere. It’s not just spooky season - it’s pumpkin season! These rotund members of the squash family are all at once delicious, useful, and inspiring. Let’s find out how to get the most out of every pumpkin!
Make it Magical For obvious reasons, pumpkins are a can’t-miss symbol of fall and the harvest season. They’re useful in many foods and easy to preserve (more on that below), making them signs of abundance and prosperity, too. Pumpkins correspond to the Moon and the element of Water, along with the many deities associated with those aspects.  Choosing a Tarot deck can be a fun and exciting process. There are thousands of choices out there, truly something for almost everyone. So once you find a deck you love, what’s the best way to get to know it?
Enter the deck interview spread: a set of questions designed to open a conversation with your cards, offering insight to their many features and talents. You can find a variety of versions online (and I’ve included other links below); I’ve adapted this one from Interviewing Your Tarot Decks by Mat Auryn. In honor of the season, our sample spread today will feature the Halloween Tarot by Kipling West, available here at Indigo Moons! Even after a long, wild couple of years, you never know when there’s a surprise around the corner. Most of you will know that we closed the shop for just over a week when some of our staff tested positive for COVID. We’re grateful for all the support we received and happy to report that everyone has now tested negative.
This is just one more example of how life can throw you curveballs! It almost seems chaos has become the norm in the world - but we’ve got tools at our hands to help us break through. Let’s take a look at what’s next as we approach the fall equinox and the dark half of the year.  As summer stretches on, we might be more focused on how to stay safe in the heat than on lifting our spirits. Lucky for us, the sunflower is here to remind us that the season holds more than sweat and mosquitoes! These large, bright yellow blooms stand tall in the blazing sun as a symbol of joy and confidence.
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