The arrival of the new moon stamps the moonth with an initiating energy that shifts and develops through a cycle of growth, fullness, and descent. Each moonth I look to the Tarot’s astrological correspondences of the new moon to find 3 cards: a Major indicating our Path through the moonth; a numbered Minor showing what we are passing through and practice to meet it; and a court/people card to serve as a role model for us to follow. These cards offer guidance for soul tending, prompts for personal/spiritual practice, and creating a moonthly reading. The reading can be done any time, but ideally between the new and full moons. Revisit the cards you pull periodically up until the next lunation to gain new insight as the light changes.
PATH – LOVERS
The new moon arrives on Monday, the 26th (exact at 11:03 pm ET, time zone converter) to invite us to walk the path of the Lovers.
The Lovers is one of the most desired cards to receive in a Tarot reading through its association with love. So, its Wheel of the Year pairing with some of the least desired cards of the deck —the Eight, Nine, and Ten of Swords—seems jarring. But this seemingly strange juxtaposition invites us to consider love’s complexities, to question what we know, to ask: What is Love really?
PASSAGE AND PRACTICE – EIGHT OF SWORDS
This new moon’s passage through the Eight of Swords offers us an image of love as being bound, being blind, and uncertain of the way forward.
In this iconic Rider Waite Smith image, the blindfolded, bound woman presents an image that disturbs. But many commentators on the card point out that there are no swords actually in the woman’s way. She could just walk forward. The lesson from this interpretation is that when we think we are stuck we are often not. Beliefs about being stuck or the impossibility of a situation can exist only in the mind.
Today, however, I am drawn to a tiny detail that the artist Pamela Coleman Smith put into the image to offer a significant teaching. I am looking at how the woman—without sight to guide her or her arms to balance her—puts forward one foot. The gesture is not large, but it shows me she is moving. And although we, the viewers, know that there aren’t any swords in front of her, she does not know this. Her movement—small as it is—is courageous.
What gives her the courage to keep moving forward? Other decks’ versions of this card point the way for our Eight of Swords woman and us to cultivate courage. In the Gaian Tarot (now available in a new edition), a group gathers in circle to speak their truths aloud to each other.
Deck creator Joanna Powell Colbert says that they might be planning a political action, coaching each other toward their goals and dreams, or collaborating on an art project. She concludes her description of the card with:
Or they could be participating in the deep transformation that happens when we tell our authentic stories, and we know we are heard when others listen deeply with their hearts.
Telling our truest stories—some of deep grief, anger, or frustration as well as those of awe, delight, and joy—is a powerful shifter of energy.
Finding and engaging in the practices that best renew us to move through the shatters of our time is vital. They prepare us for how Love calls us to respond. They ready us to take the next step on Love’s path even in uncertain and cruel times.
POSTURE – KNIGHT OF SWORDS
To keep going we can take the Knight of Swords, known as Young Blade in the DustIIOnyx Tarot, as our guide.
Their analytical nature helps them to gain a wider view of the situation. They see themselves and others as individuals but understand that we exist within systems. When the systems no longer serve the values they are sworn to uphold such as Love, they take action to change the system. Thinking strategically, they know they need to join with others to build the power necessary for their action to be successful. They join or when needed start groups, assess how actions reflect the needs of the moment and their own values, and strategically choose aligned actions that gather others together.
DustIIOnyx Deck creator Courtney Alexander writes of the most positive potential of this figure:
They are the inspired mind—the brainstorm in a literal sense. Air is one of the most ubiquitous and versatile elements on the planet, with the ability to make great use of every other element … [W]hen this power is used cooperatively, new, wonderful discoveries and innovations are possible. Young Blade will cut through out-moded systems and ideas to usher in fresh concepts.
As servants of Love, we as Knights of Swords may experience strong emotions, but we let them flow through us and are not swamped by them. Depending on our personal elemental make up or life circumstance, we may move at the pace of the Eight of Swords woman or the charging Knight of Swords. Love welcomes all responses.
And as we move, we find a way. With each conversation and each step, our commitment grows and our sense of possibility expands. Fulfillment of the desired vision may or may not be near at hand, but the vision of Love is being tended. Without this tending it will never be born.
INFINITE VISIONS OF LOVE
The Herbcrafter’s Tarot Lovers is a favorite versions of this card.
The image holds the fullness of Love from its sweet birth, through the challenge of thorns, to the maturing of Love’s fruit. Contemplating the image now, I am struck by what the circles teach us about Love in this image.
In a circle there is no beginning and no end. Just one point leading to the next and the next and yet another next. The points of thorn sting but must be accepted to keep moving around the circle. The sweetness of the flowers delights but must be surrendered to gain the fruit. The fruit doesn’t last forever. We can’t remain always in the same spot.
But we can remain faithful in our service to Love. To let our movement from point to point no matter our pace be an offering to Love. To recognize that our Love contribution—no matter how small it may seem—is what renews the circles and sends them flowing into their—and our—next becoming.
This is easy enough to say. The words don’t convey the grit and courage, the seemingly foolish vision of a better world that we must pull from within to keep moving through our shattering world. But this spark of insight into Love calls me forward step by step.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS / READING FOR THE MOONTH
These questions are offered for reflection and to spark practice throughout the moonth. Pulling Tarot and oracle cards in connection to these questions is appropriate, but not absolutely necessary. You might carry a question with you on a walk or to a demonstration, for example and observe what is happening in the world around you as a way to find insight into the answer to the question.
CALL: What is Love calling me to this moonth?
RESPONSE: What is the next step I can take to answer Love’s call?
REVELATION: What new revelation will I have about Love if I answer this call, take this step?
I do offer this as an e-reading in my collaborative initiative format for $32. Sign up with Pay Pal or contact me about sending a check. When I receive notification, I’ll be in touch to let you know about when to expect to receive your reading by email. I generally have openings to do these readings on Mondays and Saturdays. FYI, next Saturday, the 31st, I will be presenting at Mass Poetry.