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 for the new moon to find 3 Tarot cards (a Major showing us the path, a numbered Minor showing us our passage and practice, and a court/people card showing us the posture to take on the path) to guide musings on soul tending, selection of prompts for personal/spiritual practice, and creation of 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.
The Soul Tending Path of Justice
Justice seems so far away, obscured by terror, purposely ignored, yet as the solar year turns, we have arrived at the lunar gateway associated with the Tarot’s Justice card (exact new moon moment is Tuesday, the 21st at 8:25 am ET, time zone converter). Justice calls to be invoked, renewed, established.
Crying out for Justice
Justice we call you into the center of our hearts, our minds, our spirits.
May the fire of your being inspire us to believe your beauty can shine forth in our world.
May the flow of your being purify and release us from wounds that come from the places where You are violated.
May the breath of your being pass through us and form on the lips of all your words of wisdom.
May the endurance of your being aid us to persist in serving You.
May we hear your truth. May we know your balance. May we gather your wisdom.
Justice, guide our thoughts, words, and actions.
In 2017 I explored facets of Justice in the Faces and Spaces of Justice series. Right relationship between all beings; the role we can play in the renewal of Justice; the importance of Love; and the necessity of Justice’s presence in both the halls of power and community settings were vital themes.
Out of that series and due to the happenings of our times, I have returned over and over again to the Shadow Woman of Justice from Rachel Pollack’s Shining Tribe Tarot.
In 2017, I wrote: When Justice is not honored in the public sphere, she finds sanctuary in the cave.
Before humans built sites of worship, they entered caves as places to connect with and honor the sacred. Our ancestors experienced caves as the origin place of the Gods and Goddesses or the world itself, a passageway into otherworldly spaces, a place to practice divination and ritual, or a burial site. Suggested by its rounded darkness and these associations with life, death, and mystery, the cave is an earthly womb offering regeneration for those who dare to give themselves to its darkness.
In the darkness, Shadow Woman – and all of those who dare to follow her teachings – meets her losses, sees the limits to her power, comes to understand what has thrown her out of balance. In the darkness of the cave she gains this gift of greater self-knowledge. In the darkness of the cave she begins the process of regeneration.
I see the Shadow Woman of Justice, who having given herself completely to the cave’s sacred energy, is beginning her return to the world. She stands at the threshold and has placed her two pans just beyond the cave’s entrance. She’s been casting stones – a kind of divination – to find the right time for her emergence. Now that there are a matching number of stones in each pan, the time is near.
In these last few years of war and authoritarianism on the rise, I am not sure where Shadow Woman is. I can imagine she has receded further back into the cave. Not to desert us but to protect Herself because we are not yet able to. In the US, for example, we are collectively grappling with a spell that wants to keep us from exercising our powers of protection.
If we are to partner with Her, we must follow Her into the darkness. It’s no easy thing to do. In our darkness now, there is terror that is not over but keeps coming. In the darkness there is wild, uncontrollable grief that is absolutely dangerous.
But in the dark, we connect with different powers: the dark powers we most need in these times of breakdown. And at this time of year, I think especially of our beloved dead and ancestors. They may have messages for us about how to defend Justice if we would but listen. They know what they know from their victories defending Justice and from lessons learned from their failures. They know Shadow Woman of Justice because She is there with them in the dark.
Our passage card of the moonth points us into the dark to listen to these wise ones.
Passage and Practice: The Four of Swords
This moon passes through the last third of Justice’s place on the Wheel of the Year, which could be said to be its most developed aspect and associated with the Tarot’s Four of Swords.
In the iconic Rider Waite Smith image, this passage, at first glance, seems to indicate a time of inaction. But there is something mysterious about the central figure in the image. Is the Knight shown, a person sleeping or are we seeing a sarcophagus representing the dead buried within?
Whether living or dead, the hands are actively held up in prayer position rather than resting on the figure’s chest. Reexamining this image, we find dynamic rather than passive action.
As a living being, the Four of Swords Knight is engaged in meditation or prayer to clear and concentrate the mind and invites us to do the same. The Knight has stepped out of the everyday world for these meditations, seeking out a sacred place to support a connection to their highest/deepest values such as Justice. After centering themselves, Knights will be better able to resist the spell that the noisy, political world would cast as it attempts to disrupt their focus on serving Justice. As one dedicated to a quest and cause, this meditative pause represents a temporary time of renewal to gather energy for the work ahead.
Meditation practices scheduled into your day (even 5 minutes helps) or week (can you find a block of time to step out of the busyness of life?) are especially beneficial for moving through this moonth’s passage. This could be as simple as closing your eyes, focusing on your breath, and reminding yourself of the values you seek to uphold. When you open your eyes, you will be more centered in what is most important.
It is also possible that this Knight is an effigy of an ancient ancestor. Perhaps the ancestor prays for us, the living. This moon cycle that goes up to November 20th brings us through the cross cultural days of ancestor connection. First there is Samhain, the Celtic New Year on October 31st when the veil between the worlds is said to be thinnest. Then November’s first days bring Mexican Day of the Dead traditions, Catholic masses for All Saints and Soul Days, and secular commemorations on Veterans Day. I mark 12 Days of the Dead at this time.
In this time of lengthening nights, we can reach out to our beloved dead and ancestors with love. We may put a lot of effort into our reaching rituals, in our sending of love. But the Four of Swords as a passage of Justice reminds us to balance our reaching with receiving. Our ancestors can be active in their support of us. They may be sending just what we need to know to move in a positive direction out of these testing times. Perhaps they are praying for us and we need to open our hearts to receive this loving support.
Posture for Path Walking: King of Cups (known as the Mystic of Vials in the Numinous Tarot)
The King of Cups shows us how to move through this passage on the path of Justice. These masters of the element of water have come into a strong relationship with their emotions. Not suppressing them but letting them flow and riding the emotions that arise, both storm and quiet. This emotional balance supports the King’s ability to imagine and believe in possibilities beyond rational proof, what has not yet come into existence, or what lies waiting in the past to be reclaimed. This King holds on to and shares out this vision of a just and generative world. Even when the world’s realities seem to tip far away from the vision, this King persists in working for the good of the Whole in creative and loving ways.
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 for example and observe what is happening in the natural world as a way to find insight into the answer to the question.
JUSTICE: What contribution can I make to the renewal of Justice during this moonth?
SPELL BREAKING: What spell do I need to break to make my contribution?
POSSIBILITY: What possibility—perhaps only imagined before—can I make real as I break the spell on the path of Justice?
I do offer this as an e-reading in my collaborative intuitive format for $32. Sign up with PayPal or email 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.