Initiation – Witches’ Wisdom Tarot* by Phyllis Curott

Big Week

From the full moon tomorrow (Saturday) night at 11:35 p.m. EST to the final Saturn square Uranus of the year next Thursday (23 December 2021), and a myriad other somewhat provocative aspects, this could prove to be an especially challenging several days. I’d say we definitely have a big week coming up. And while we’ll probably witness the foundational disruptions most dramatically in the ‘outside world,’ many of us will also experience this grand finale to our calendar year personally, as well.

You may recall that the theme of 2021 was pretty well set by the unusual circumstance of Saturn squaring (being in a 90 degree aspect to) Uranus not only once but three distinct times this year. The first one occurred in February (17^th), the second in June (14^th), and now this final one next week (the 23^rd//24^th). And to think, this specific tango between Saturn and Uranus only occurs once every 22 years.

As I understand it, usually this square happens once in its cycle. The fact that it happened three times this year (due to retrograde motion of the planets) made this struggle or challenge occurring between the old and the new all the more powerful, acute, and, well, potentially utterly transformational (or devastating, depending upon your perspective).

The fundamental natures of these two huge outer planets and how they’re in a challenging position with each other indicated that we would all be faced with taking stock of our core values and other foundational aspects of our lives. And along with that, challenged to allow those foundations to suddenly collapse or explode (the lightning-like, disruptive aspect of Uranus).

Resistance

On a societal level, all year we’ve been challenged to look at how the systems upon which our nation is built may be unstable and in need of reform or even complete rebuilding. It’s not been easy and there is a ton of resistance to even believing that our three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) might have become corrupted over the years. But we’ve seen a lot this year. And the Uranian energies of illumination, revelation, and radical transformation just keep pounding on the doors of our consciousness.

My sense (and I’m the first to admit, I’m no amazing ‘seer,’ I’m simply paying attention) is that we’re in for a lot more disruption before we stabilize.

Personal Ramifications

While what happens on a national level (or even state or local level) affects us all, especially when we’re talking about the underpinnings of our very democracy, the fact remains that many people are also experiencing radical transformations to their foundations on a personal level. From the ravaging effects of Covid (we reached the awful level of 800,000 deaths this week) to the decimation of voting rights and the right for women to have bodily autonomy, our assumptions about the permanence and stability of our health or our rights in this country have been blown up. Right down to the thousands of people who literally had their homes ripped up and spit out by monster tornadoes. Things we believed stable and rock solid have been proved otherwise.

Guidance

So like I did back in May, just before the second Saturn square Uranus, I’m going to pick a card tonight for us to contemplate and reflect upon over the coming week. (I recommend you check out the card I chose for that post. It’s interesting to read it, knowing how things have played out so far.)

Oddly, the deck I chose from in May (Tarot of the Crone) has gone missing for the moment. (I know it’s around here somewhere – aargh! I’m so frustrated.) But I take my inability to locate that deck as a push to choose from another deck. So here goes. I’m choosing from a deck I’ve been working with all year: Witches’ Wisdom Tarot* by Phyllis Curott.

Initiation

Wisdom: There’s an ancient path for becoming human, for finding freedom and our own selves; there’s a way to heal and to become whole, to discover who we are, where we are, and why we’re here. From the moment of our first awakening, we have created rites of revelation, Initiations into the Mysteries hiding in plain sight.

(…) Trees stir and breathe. Birds sing in their branches as the leaves rustle and dance. The Pilgrim kneels beside a stream to drink, washes her face, sees herself reflected in the Water cupped in her hands. A sign of her quest hangs from her neck, five seed-shaped spaces waiting to be filled. A Crow plucks off her hat, two Fox cubs play and tear at her pack, a Badger carries her past away.

The path leads down, deep beneath the surface, and inward to the very center of her soul. Those who are becoming wise willingly descend, ready to be unmade in order to be made again. It’s time for unburdening, for cleansing the unreal and unwanted, for shedding all that separates you from your sacred self, from the Sacred that surrounds, sustains, and summons you. It’s time to di and be reborn.

(…)

Essence: Purification. Initiation. Trust. Let go of the past. Go within. Plunge into the unknown.

Counsel: What’s behind you? What are you carrying with you? What do you need to unpack? To leave behind? Life will initiate you, and when that journey begins, you must be ready to confront the emptiness of a socially dictated life and the constraints of family conditioning. You must face your fears and self-doubts, your shadows and your ‘kark’ side. You must release what imprisons you. It’s difficult, but it’s joyful. It begins with a single step,a leap of faith that although the old will fall away, something new, true, and beautiful will take its place. Plunge into the Water, into the cave. Plunge into your life. Everything will teach you, once you are open.

My Take

We can’t make this stuff up, my friends.

Buckle up. Let’s do this work: and remember we’re doing it together – and we have each other.

* Affiliate link

(T+10)