A TAROT SPELL FOR THE PURE JOY OF HALLOWEEN

If you happen to own the Halloween Tarot, (which was created by the team of Karin Lee and Kipling West), here is a tarot grouping that you can lay out on your altar or other display area to make a statement about the high spirits we can enjoy at this festive time of year.

Notice the graphic resonance between the dancing Fool and the dancing cat in The World card, (as well as the smiling moon in both cards).  They are also the first and last cards in the Major Arcana, which creates a sense of going full circle.

You can arrange tarot cards to make a statement about things you want to celebrate or other types of interests when you want to enhance your altar/display.  Of course, this will also serve as a tarot spell, because the cards are making a visual/material affirmation—and I define a “spell” as a multi-media affirmation.

By the way, if you do feel like kicking up your heels on Halloween, google the words, “Wolfshager Hexenbrut,” (or just “witch dance”), and you can find some awesome videos on how to perform a high energy witch dance.  Of course, this dance isn’t just for Halloween.

Boundary Crossing on Halloween

Halloween Tarot

Halloween is one of those mystical juncture points where the dimensions of time and space are shifting.  The ancients believed that the boundaries separating the human world and the world of spirits became thin, so there was a lot of spiritual border crossing going on.

It’s interesting to note that the modern American practice of Halloween gives children a chance to transgress ordinary boundaries, because they’re able to be out on the street after dark, they go right up to the front doors of houses they would not normally approach, and they dress up in costumes that allow them to act out their fantasies.

The impression this type of boundary crossing made on me is impressed as my first memory of Halloween: my parents, for some reason, were driving around just after dark on Halloween night.  Too young to trick-or-treat, I was staring out the window, marveling that all of these strange looking people were all over the streets of Detroit at night.  I could tell that they were mostly children, so it was all the more astonishing that they could actually be walking in the street at night, (and we lived on a busy road).  At the same time, it wasn’t entirely clear to me that this crowd was made up of ordinary children and adults, and not some kind of magical beings.

Tarot Spell to Encourage Good Dreams

I’ve been revisiting my old book, Tarot Spells, which I wrote back in the 1990s, to refresh my memory as to what is in that book, as well as to play around with different tarot decks in my collection to see which of their graphics lend themselves especially well to these spells.

So, I decided to start with my rite “To Encourage Good Dreams,” (pp. 129-132 of book).  The three cards used in this spell are the Ace of Cups, The Moon, and The Star.  After trying combinations with different decks, I was pleased with the graphic resonance when I use the cards featured below, which are from The Green Witch Tarot Deck.  This deck was designed by Ann Moura and illustrated by Kiri Leonard.

One thing you might immediately notice is that The Moon card is different than usual, as rather than having a wolf and a dog in the foreground, it instead has a woman who has her back to us as she looks at the reflection of the moon in the pond.  That particular card works well for this particular spell, because the spell involves projecting yourself into the card, so to speak, as you visualize yourself standing under a moonlit sky.

There is graphic continuity from the fish jumping out of the river in the Ace of Chalices to the fish jumping out of the pond in The Moon.  The Ace of Cups/Chalices is here symbolic of the Unconscious mind, (as the Ace of Cups represents new experiences in the inner world of your emotional and spiritual life), while the fish represents subconscious elements emerging from the depths, (similar to the fish emerging from the cup in the Rider-Waite-Smith Deck’s Page of Cups).  Note that I capitalize “Unconscious” to represent the Jungian idea of the Deep Mind, as opposed to being unconscious due to being asleep or knocked out.  The three cards also evoke the depths in featuring watery environments.

The cup is also significant because a common technique for dream recall, (used by people who do dream incubations), involves sipping half a cup of water before going to bed, and half upon waking, while affirming that you will remember your dreams.  Doreen Virtue suggests holding the cup to your solar plexus while making an affirmation such as “My dreams are vivid,” before going to bed, and then upon waking, “I now remember my dreams in vivid color and detail.”  For help with creative work, Jess Stearn advises drinking the water while saying, “This is all I have to do to find the solution to the project I have in mind,” and also closing your eyes and turning them slightly upward, because that helps you get into the alpha state.  If the solution isn’t in your thoughts on waking, it may come during the day as a flash of insight.

But back to the tarot spell, I won’t type out the whole chapter, but the basic spell is below.  In my book, I didn’t mention the practice of drinking half of the cup before bed and the other half before awakening, (because I wasn’t familiar with that technique back in the 90s), but you can do that to modify the spell if you like.

First, lay down The Moon card while visualizing yourself standing under a moonlit sky.  Sense the moon as a nearby, kindly presence.  Imagine that you see the moon take on the shape of a beautiful shining lady with a crown of stars.  Know that she is the Queen of Night and will send beautiful dreams to you.

Next, set the Ace of Cups in place to the left of The Moon, while imagining that the Moon Goddess is presenting you with a chalice containing a magical elixir, which will give you wondrous, happy dreams.  At this point, take up a cup which you have prepared in advance and drink from it.  (It doesn’t matter whether you choose to drink water, milk, wine, or whatever.)  Know that your drink has been transformed into the magical elixir through the power of your inner magic.

Finally, set The Star in place while imagining that the magical elixir enables you to float up into the sky and drift freely among the glistening stars.  Know that each of the beautiful stars surrounding you will bestow on you a special dream.

Then, recite the following affirmation:

“I have tasted the magical elixir

which brings dreams of inspiration and wonder.

Every night as I sleep,

my spirit is drawn into realms of beauty and light.

Magic, romance, and enchantment

shine through my nighttime dreams

and linger with me when I wake.

This magic is, and this magic shall be!”

 

As always, you can modify the spell by using different cards, visualizations, and affirmations to better suit your needs.

There are some folkloric aspects to this spell, because the ancient Thessalian witches had a practice called “drawing down the moon,” and there is also the mystical technique of pouring milk into a fancy cup like a chalice and then going out under the full moon to catch the reflection of the moon in the cup to drink in the magically charged liquid.

TAROT MAGIC FOR THE HARVEST SEASON

With the ancient festival known as Lammas (or Lughnasadh) coming up on August 1^st, I’ve been thinking about how one might lay out tarot spreads, not just for purposes of prediction or tarot spells, but as focal points for commemorating the cycle of seasons on a celebrational altar.  (Note: Lammas is a cross-quarter day, because it is halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox.)

“Lammas” is from an old English word that means “loaf mass,” so it is very much a celebration of the wheat harvest.  (Here in Michigan, the wheat harvest runs from mid-July to early August.)  Wheat was genuinely held sacred in many European cultures, and they had many different types of ritual festival breads and pastries.  This is also the time of year when many local fruits and vegetables are coming into season, so that we can enjoy fresh, locally grown produce.  We will also soon be entering the wine grape harvest season, (which runs from late August through October in Michigan).

So, I have been going through my collection of tarot decks to see if their graphics lend themselves to colorful harvest images for a Lammas celebration, and have scanned these three cards from the Tarot of the Golden Wheel by Mila Losenko, (published by U.S. Games Systems), which draws from Slavic folk culture.

The Sun card is featured because Lammas is a solar festival, (and August is the height of summer’s heat).  Combined with The Empress card’s image of an Earth Mother sitting in a field of wheat and holding up a sunflower as well as a cup of wine, the two cards evoke the union of Sun and Earth that brings forth a plentiful harvest.  Note the graphic resonance between the images of sunflowers in both cards; sunflower seeds are also an important nutritional source for Slavic peoples, (and sunflower seed bread is my favorite.)  The Nines are cards of multiplicity, so the Nine of Wheels, (Pentacles in other decks), shows a woman--perhaps a farm wife—enjoying the material rewards that a generous harvest makes possible.

By the way, if you are planning a Lammas celebration, you might want to look up my article on the Animal Cracker Oracle.  This is an article about old Prussian festival customs that were practiced at Christmas and New Year, but the Animal Cracker Oracle itself is very appropriate for Lammas as a celebration of the grain.

Also, check out Margie McArthur’s blog, “Brigid’s Hearth,” which has an article on Lughnasadh, http://www.brigidshearth.org/seasonalhearth-autumn.htm, which is the Celtic cross-quarter festival that coincides with Lammas.

A May Festival Candle

With the festival of Beltane/May Day just two days away, here is a simple candle rite, reproduced from my book, By Candlelight: Rites for Celebration, Blessing & Prayer.  The illustrations are from The Victorian Fairy Tarot, created by Lunaea Weatherstone and illustrated by Gary A. Lippincott.

            In moderate climates, May Day (May 1st) signals the beginning of the summer season.  (The astrological cross quarter date, half way between spring equinox and summer solstice, is 15 degrees Taurus, around May 5th or 6th.)  Here in the Midwest, in the last days of April, the leaves on the trees are still quite small, and many are pinkish and yellowish tinted, so they create a visual impression of colorful dot patterns.  Shortly after the first of May, however, you turn around, and lo and behold, most of the trees are now fully leafed out.  Also, the woodland wild flowers are at their peak, garden flowers are in bloom, and the last songbirds are returning.

           At this time, the Celts held one of their most important fire festivals, known as "Beltane" (meaning "bright fire"); they made great bonfires, and some would also ritually rekindle their hearthfires.  With Samhain (Halloween), Beltane divided the year into light and dark halves, and because such transitional points were very magical, it is prominent in the fairy legends.  Around the same time, the Romans had a six day festival in honor of Flora, goddess of flowers, which they regarded as no trivial thing, as this was one of their oldest holidays.  The themes of fertility and festivity survived in customs like the May pole and May baskets.  Through the first half of the 20th century, youths in many American communities rose early to hang baskets of flowers from neighbors' door handles, and some schools arranged May pole dances.

            A modern celebration of May could take up the themes of leafing, flowering, and brightness, emphasizing the ways that all of us may cultivate unique gifts to brighten the world.  (As a verb, leaf can mean to "shoot out" or "produce leaves," and flower "to develop.")  You can celebrate these themes in your own life by lighting a candle and saying:

            As I light this candle,                                                

                        I celebrate the joyful festival May.

            As the green world bursts forth

                        in leaves and flowers,

            and the Sun's light ever increases,

            so may I fill my own world

                        with life, and light, and color.

            So may I leaf, so may I flower,

                        so may I kindle

                                    a flame of brightness.

While thinking about how you could cultivate your own gifts and share them with the world, think about recognizing other peoples' special qualities as well, that each may be valued and encouraged.  Perhaps you could also arrange some celebrational outings, as this is a time to be out in nature, doing something playful and active.

 

Valentines Day Card Search for Lovers

Because tomorrow is Valentine’s Day—a celebration of lovers—here is a one-card-search technique you can use when you are wondering how things stand between two people in a relationship, whether that be you and your partner or some other couple.

Shuffle your cards as you pose a request like, “Please tell me something about the relationship between [Name] and [Name].” Shuffle as you normally would, but when finished shuffling, place the stack of cards face up, so the picture sides are showing.  Go through the deck—pictures facing up--until you find The Lovers card.  The cards that flank it will give you insight into what each person brings to the relationship, so lay The Lovers, along with the cards that come before and after it, in a three-card spread.  The Lovers card commonly portrays a male and female couple, so, if you have a version of this card that places the woman on the left side of the picture space, consider what the leftmost card tells you about her, and what the card on the right end tells you about him.

It is significant when a court card or other type of card that portrays a potential personality type, (often called “people” cards), is backing one or both members of the male and female Lovers pair.  If of the same sex, this could reveal the “face” that the man or woman is showing to the other, because when we are in relationships, we tend to project a certain persona to our partners—often an idealized persona—in the hopes of better capturing their interest.  If such a personality card just happens to be a card you would consider the person’s normal significator, , this would indicate that he or she is acting naturally, being straight-forward, what-you-see-is-what-you-get.  If a personality card is reversed, it could indicate that the person isn’t entirely comfortable with the role he or she is playing in the relationship.

Sometimes you get a male personality card on the woman’s side or a female on the man’s side.  Among other things, this could indicate that the dynamics of this relationship bring out the man’s “anima” (inner female), or the woman’s “animus,” (inner male), or it could mean that his or her attitude toward relationships has been shaped by previous experiences with certain persons of the opposite sex.  Under some circumstances, an opposite sex figure next to the man or woman could indicate that he or she is either involved with someone else, or not quite ready to make an emotional separation from a previous partner.  In some cases, a King or Queen in those positions might warn that a partner is potentially enmeshed with Mom or Dad.  However, you should not jump to unfavorable conclusions unless you already have some solid, real-world evidence for suspecting.

If both of the flanking cards portray human figures that look inward toward The Lovers, this is a good indication of their level of interest in the relationship.  However, if characters are gazing off in the opposite direction, this could indicate that they have other distractions, and the relationship isn’t the uppermost thing on their mind right now.  Reversed people cards are significant in this context, as a reversal can change the direction in which the figure in the card is gazing.  When a human figure, whether upright or reversed, is moving in the direction away from the Lovers, it warns that that person may be distancing him/herself from the relationship.

Flanking cards that don’t portray personalities, but instead, various types of matters, could denote resources that individuals bring to a relationship, or issues that will impact the relationship.  So, the Ace of Cups or Swords next to one of the pair of Lovers could indicate an intensity of different types of feelings on the part of the partner in question.  “Twos” cards could depict the need to make adjustments to accommodate the other partner.  Pentacles cards put an emphasis on practical matters and material needs.  A Major Arcana card would have something to do with the greater significance of the relationship to the individual’s life path, whereas a Minor Arcana card would indicate that, (at least for that partner), the relationship is more immediately affected by some daily life issues.

 

ACTIVATING THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE

I have been working on a book that details how to activate the magic within tarot cards.  As 2026 is a Wheel of Fortune Year, here are a few snippets from my section on The Wheel of Fortune card:

Devotions to Fortuna: Although different tarot decks’ graphics emphasize the turning wheel, the card also invokes Fortuna, who is the goddess presence behind the tarot.  Some older decks portray the goddess at the center of the wheel, while in classical art she might be portrayed carrying a cornucopia or a rudder, or standing on a ball.  The ancient Romans believed that each person could have an individual Fortuna as a spirit of good luck, (though, obviously, some people were better served than others), and so made offerings to her.  Fortuna also had many manifestations, including Fortuna Muliebris (luck of women), Fortuna Virilis (luck of young men, though invoked by women seeking a virile mate), Fortuna Publica (fortune of the greater public), and Fortuna Redux (invoking a safe return from travel).  As a way of nurturing your own good fortune, you might want to rise in the morning to greet Fortuna Huiusqce Diei” the “Fortune of this Day.”  Ask yourself, “How is my Fortune doing today?  What can I do to advance my Fortune today?”  Then, open your door wide to activate the magic of opening, while saying, “Fero Fortuna!  Fortuna Abundia!”

Spinning the Wheel: Part of the magical mindset is being game for new things.  This includes taking some chances by making some changes in your routines, pushing beyond some of your normal boundaries, and bringing some randomizers into your plans as a way of playfully spinning the wheel.  This is an area where divination can help.  For example, if planning a vacation, instead of following your usual inclinations, you could ask the tarot for advice on where to go for a magically delightful trip, then pull a card and consider what its images and meanings might suggest.  When you are willing to act on the tarot’s advice, you put yourself out in the realm where marvelous synchronicities can more readily take place.

Wheel Turning Spell: One of the best known of magical charm formulas is the “Sator Arepo” word square shown here.  It is a palindrome, meaning that it reads the same way forwards, backwards, and up and down.  This formula was popular in the Roman world, (with the earliest known example from Pompeii), and spread through all of Europe, where it was engraved on doors and walls, or written on paper and carried on the person.  Its amuletic uses ranged from promoting general well-being, to protecting from fire and other disasters.  Though its origin and meaning are not clear, one loose translation suggests it reads, “The sower Arepo holds steady the wheel.”  In this respect, it conveys the sense of steadily advancing one’s fortune.  You can help direct its forward momentum by inscribing the Sator Arepo square on paper and setting The Wheel card on top of that.

Also, here is a six-day spell for symbolically turning the wheel: write the Sator Arepo square on a piece of paper, and set it out on an altar space.  The next day, prepare another square, but with Sator shunted to the bottom, so it reads, “Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas Sator.”  On the third day, write out another square with Arepo shunted to the bottom, so the square now starts with Tenet.  Go through the same process every day, so on the sixth day, the word square is back to its original state, with Sator on the first line.  This completes your rotations.  Alternatively, you could get six candles, and inscribe the permutations of the word square on the subsequent days’ candles; when the last candle is burned down, a major change may be effected.  Orange candles are most commonly used in spells to change one’s luck.  (Note that this spell can also be used when you draw The Chariot card, as there is a similar sense of taking the wheel.)