Healing Herbal Cards Vol 1 & 2

Imbolc 2025

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The time between February 1st and 2nd is Imbolc (also known as Candlemas, Imbolg, and Brigid’s Day), which marks the half way point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, and signifies the transition from winter into the first stirrings of spring. This holiday is about life renewing, but in the hidden darkness of cold months and dark earth. Deep in the darkness seeds stir and roots begin to feel the warming of the earth as the days grow longer and nights shorter. Life awakens, invisible in its infancy.

Like with new moons and full moons, I usually do a spread to check in with myself and give myself some direction for the next couple of months for each solstice, equinox, and other Sabbats. This spread is an adaptation of my Self Care Saturday spread, so there are sure to be  some similarities in how it is read. The focus of this spread, though, is not about Self Care, but rather about progress and my path. The time period is also longer, reaching through the next handful of weeks until the celebration of the upcoming Spring Equinox at the end of March.

Imbolc Tarot Reading with a Sabbat Themed Art Card, Pagan Underworlds Tarot, Compendium of Witches Oracle, and Healing Herbal Cards Vol 1 & 2

Theme of the Season – Imbolc, Waxing Crescent Moon, Elder (Sambucus Nigra)

Imbolc is a new beginning, when candles are lit to beacon in the warming light of the sun and the very first stirrings of seeds and bulbs beneath the soil are yet unseen but begin to awaken.  It’s a time of new beginnings and rebirth.

The Waxing Crescent Moon is about intention setting and refining one’s goals. The moon has emerged with fresh energy, and it’s time to to connect with our new ideas, dreams, and goals. 

Sambucus Nigra is used to treat both influenza and the common cold alike, this herb is a Kickstarter to the auto immune system. Caution is needed, though, as the stem, leaves, raw and unripe berries, as well as the rest of the plant contains cyanogenic glycosides which breakdown into hydrogen cyanide in the body. This toxic chemical can cause nausea, vomiting, and severe diarrhea. Cooking has the ability to neutralize these toxins.

When looking at these three cards together there is a reminder that in order to keep one’s feet on a healthy path, you need to take care to do your due diligence in the area of preparation and planning. This time of year offers lots of opportunity for refining one’s path and goals, but once you have your eyes set on what you want, there’s more to getting there than just keeping that in your sights. There has to be a plan, a sustainable one, that you can stick to which nurtures growth and progress.

Earth – Seven of Coins Rx – There is a feeling of having stalled out at the moment. The perception of stagnancy makes it feel like you’re not making any progress towards your goals right now. This isn’t necessarily true, as sometimes you must pause and wait for other things to move into place prior to acting. That means that this moment of stillness is also progress.

Air – Six of Cups – You feel like you’re spinning your wheels at the moment, and like you need to be doing something in order to get things to progress in the way that you want them to go. The problem is that there are so many options at the moment that any movement you make could be in the wrong direction. It’s better to sit still, wait, and watch where things go, rather than try and push them in one direction at this time.

Water – Six of Wands – Make sure that you are touching base at home and savoring your time there, as well as with the people that matter to you. It’s okay to want to please those you care about. Not everything has to be about moving forward. Sometimes, it’s about lingering in the moments of goodness with others and enjoying it (and them).

Fire – Three of Cups Rx – Make sure that the time you are spending with others is time that you are enjoying. Do not invite them in on your spiritual journey right now, though. They will have nothing to contribute to your efforts of getting yourself back in focus in this area.

Waning – The Scholar and Light – You have been feeling lost and struggling with clarity for a while now, and this trend looks to be continuing for a bit longer.  Don’t despair if you feel lost or as if you are in a holding pattern at the moment.  Use this time to rest instead of pushing yourself to find a way to move forward.

Waxing – The Weaver and Distaff – Here again we see mention that now is a time of stillness and planning, rather than action. Take charge of your urges and don’t fidget or stress that things aren’t moving at a pace you’re used to or would normally aim for.

DECKS USED: SABBAT THEMED ART CARD, PAGAN UNDERWORLDS TAROT, COMPENDIUM OF WITCHES ORACLE, HEALING HERBAL CARDS VOL 1 & 2

Second Harvest 2024 – Autumn Equinox

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Today is the Autumn Equinox.  This is considered by many to be the first day of Autumn, and is one of only two moments in the year when the sun is exactly above the Equator, and that day and night are of equal length.  Like Halloween is a time when the veil between the land of the living and the realm of the dead is thin, this holiday (as well as its cross-point in the spring) are times when the veil between our world and that of the Fae is at is thinnest… and it is when I personally experience more interactions with them than any other time of year.

rosehips

In my path, the Autumn Equinox is also known as the Second Harvest (also called Mabon), and is a day that marks the transition of the growing season into full harvest.  After this day, the darkness of night begins to overtake the sun’s reign in the sky as the days continue to grow shorter and shorter, and the nights longer and longer.  The earth is winding down its abundant generosity and beginning to close up shop for the year.

Autumn Equinox Tarot Reading with the Orenda TarotAmber – Where do I need to work on my emotions to create more balance in my life?

The Empress – Being nurturing takes kindness. You’ve got the disciplinarian side of things down pat, but your skills at nurturing kindness is in need of some work… especially when directed at yourself.

Cedar – How can I use my present day fortitude to strengthen my future protection?

Six of Cups– Retain what you learn today to help you in picking and choosing your battles down the road. Not everything needs or deserves your attention, and the information on discerning which things do and which don’t need that attention and energy lie in what’s happening in the present. Pay attention.  Gather information for later.

Marigold – Where should I focus on my health in order to develop a happier outlook?

Nine of Pentacles – Instead of focusing on what hasn’t gone your way, focus on what has. Where do your successes lie concerning your physical health? Take time to appreciate these things instead of discounting them as inconsequential. Give yourself some credit.

Walnut – How can I be more discerning in picking positive friendships?

Ace of Wands – Watch your enthusiasm and make sure it isn’t getting out of control. When things feel new, there’s a lot of “extra” emotion and excitement involved, this is true whether it’s friendships or anything else that’s new in your life.  Just make sure you’re not so enthusiastic that it’s blinding you to new people’s faults and flaws.

Sapphire – How can I discern between logical thought and true wisdom?

Seven of Swords atop Six of Swords – Logical thought has no direction but is about gathering knowledge and using it. True wisdom, on the other hand, encourages forward movement toward something better. (Ie: A better you, something better for you/ somewhere better than where you are, etc.)

Yarrow – How can I move from a place of trauma into a place of healing?

King of Pentacles – Focus on how your stability supports both yourself and others. Your past trauma is all about instability.  Instead of constantly striving for more and more of what you already have, take time to really look at that stable foundation that you’ve already built.  There are places where you can improve upon what you already have without gathering more and more in the process.

DECK USED: ORENDA TAROT

First Harvest 2024 – Lammas/Lugh

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Today is Lammas, which is known as the First Harvest of the year. This day marks the transition into the harvest season of August, September, and October (of which there is a Second Harvest and Last Harvest that correspond to these months).

Tarotholics Harvest Challenge Spreads

This holiday is often referred to as Lammas, Lughnasadh, or Lugh, although I usually just refer to it as the First Harvest. On my path, it celebrates the beginning of Summer’s decline and ramping up of the busy season where we begin to reap in the abundance that the bounty of summer’s energies has encouraged to grow and flourish. It is a time filled with a combination of abundance, hard work, and gratitude.

Like with new moons and full moons, I usually do a spread to check in with myself and give myself some direction for the next couple of months for each solstice, equinox, and other Sabbats. Unfortunately, I was unable to do my normal Sabbat reading this month, so I am combining the harvest spreads from this month’s Discord Tarot Challenge instead.

First Harvest Oracle Reading with the Seasons of the Witch Lammas Oracle

Seeds Sown – What seeds for my physical health & growth planted in the Spring have flourished and grown strong?

Welcoming the Harvest – You have gotten back on track with your eating schedule, ensuring no hypoglycemic episodes and helping in staying off the irrational scarcity feelings that start to crop up in all areas of life when you start trying to cut back on food intake.

The Chaff – What seeds for my physical health & growth have not flourished and need to be let go to encourage healthy growth in other areas?

Harvest Basket – You are still struggling to carry too much on your shoulders. In order to continue with healthy physical progress in areas where you are thriving, you need to work on letting go of taking on too much on your own.

The Harvest – How can I best prepare now to reap the benefits of a positive healthy harvest for my physical health & growth in the Fall?

Craftsmanship – Work on honing your craft and toughening up your hands and forearms for the overwork that will come as the holiday season comes into focus. Build up that strength and endurance now so you won’t be injured later.

Seeds Sown – What seeds for my mental health & growth planted in the Spring have flourished and grown strong?

Fennel – You have been working on fretting less and trusting that you will get through obstacles instead of decimated by them. With your emotions in play (as you try not to bury them and ignore them), it’s difficult to not be affected more intensely by setbacks and hurdles. You are doing well at learning how to not let your anxiety spiral in these instances, and instead focusing on solution based thoughts and plans.

The Chaff – What seeds for my mental health & growth  have not flourished and need to be let go to encourage healthy growth in other areas?

Coneflower – You don’t need any more independence than you already have. Quit trying to scrape up more. You need to instead focus on allowing others in and asking for help, even in times when you feel you don’t need to.

The Harvest – How can I best prepare now to reap the benefits of a positive healthy harvest for my mental health & growth in the Fall?

Rooster and Hens – Get out in nature and enjoy time outside among the trees, exploring new trails and old alike. Revisit the joy that noticing natures little changes from one day to the next gives you. These excursions help create clarity of mind, and revitalize you both in mind and body.

Seeds Sown – What seeds for my emotional health & growth planted in the Spring have flourished and grown strong?

Citrine – The confidence you have gained over the past few months is of the gentle and uplifting sort. You are discovering that confidence in others and your connection to them is just as important as independence and having confidence in yourself.

The Chaff – What seeds for my emotional health & growth  have not flourished and need to be let go to encourage healthy growth in other areas?

Garden Tools – You are not on your own and (yet again in this reading) you are being reminded that independence doesn’t mean you have to cut yourself off from others. That right there is the line where independence becomes unhealthy.

The Harvest – How can I best prepare now to reap the benefits of a positive healthy harvest for my emotional health & growth in the Fall?

Vegetable Garden – Touch base with yourself and your progress. Make sure that those seeds that need to flourish are doing so and thriving, and that the weeds of unhealthy thoughts and old habits that could choke them out are being pulled and discarded.

DECKS USED: SEASONS OF THE WITCH LAMMAS ORACLE

Summer Solstice 2024 – Midsummer

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Today is the Summer Solstice, which is the longest day of the year and one of the eight holidays that I celebrate throughout the year. This day marks the ‘official’ transition into summer and a shift from days that become longer and longer through the spring into days from here on out will grow shorter and shorter for the next six months.

flower

This holiday is often called Midsummer or Litha, although I usually just refer to it as the Summer Solstice. On my path, it celebrates the turning point of summer, where the build-up of creative energy from the spring crests into a time of abundance as we travel into the depths of summer in much the same way that the growing energies of the full moon crest before beginning to wane each month.

Summer Solstice Oracle Reading with the Seasons of the Witch Litha Oracle

Horse / Courage – What can I do to build up my courage to live life with more honesty and integrity?

Fruit Wine – Celebrate and take pride in yourself, but also take time to listen to others opinions of you instead of hiding from them or shrugging them off. Those opinions are far more complimentary than you think, and far more genuine than the negative narrative whispering lies in your head would like you to believe.

Daisy / Innocence – How can I insert more innocence and purity into how I view the world?

Sun Salutation – Focus on your physical needs. Get out in nature. Do your meditation. Give yourself the space to breathe deeply.

Lapis Lazuli / Self-Awareness – How can I be more honest with myself about my good and bad traits?

Mermaid – Listen instead of assuming. Don’t be so eager to drown out the voices of others or ignore what they have to say. This also echoes back to the previous card in the Daisy position and being open to compliments.

Citrine / Self-Expression – In what ways can I work at expressing my creativity more?

Lightworker – Don’t nay-say your skills and abilities, nor those things you create with them. Your creations aren’t just beautiful, but often breathtaking. Compliment yourself more instead of looking at perfection (or as close as you can get to it) and saying “it’ll do”.

Snake / Creativity – How can I use creativity to help foster fresh energies and a sense of rebirth?

Sunset Dinner – Step outside your comfort zone in gentle ways. You don’t have to push yourself off a cliff to explore new ideas and experiences. It’s okay to take a more gentle approach.

Heather / Good Luck – How can I invite more good luck into my day to day life?

Paper Boats – There are always going to be things in life that will set you off kilter. Instead of letting them drag you under and capsize your efforts, the experience, or your mood; roll with the waves and keep going.

DECKS USED: SEASONS OF THE WITCH LITHA ORACLE

Beltane 2024

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The last evening of April through the first day of May is Beltane, which is also my sister and I’s birthday. Like Halloween is a time when the veil between the land of the living and the realm of the dead is thin, this holiday is the time when the veil between our world and that of the Fae is at is thinnest.  I personally often find myself amped up with extra energy around this time of year, which I most often use to spend more time playing in that thinning veil as much as possible.

May Day Oracle Reading with the Liminality Oracle

Dandelion – How can I use my inner strength to help me in healing old wounds?

Alliance – Connect with those you truest to help get you through the healing process, and find an accord with those you don’t trust in order to facilitate peace.

Bees – Where could I put in more effort to help my community?

Balance – More effort is not what you need right now. Putting in more anything is not what you need. Moderation is what you need, or you will wear yourself too thin. Practice temperance, and allow your social burdens to balance themselves out.

Garnet – What do I need in order to foster a greater sense of self empowerment?

Inspiration – That creative spark within you has always been the path to self empowerment for you. When you connect with it, it creates for you a sense of enthusiasm and confidence.

Swallow – Where do I need to more openly display my love and loyalty to others?

Center – To yourself. Love and loyalty to yourself is something that others look for. It speaks of a knowing of yourself that’s deeper than logic and the mind. It lets them see the depths of you without as much vulnerability on display.

Malachite – How can I better use intention to bolster the abundance in my life moving forward?

Journey atop Deception – Distance yourself from those that deceive. This is a part of their nature and will not, in fact cannot, change. Pull away and move on from allowing them to hold sway with you.

Goat – How can I best overcome obstacles before me at this time?

Defend – Don’t stop fighting. Giving up is not an option, or at least not a healthy and safe one. Keep fighting for what is important to you.

Primrose – How can I add more of the exuberance of young love into my life?

Guidance atop Rhythm – Seek guidance in finding your own rhythm. It isn’t through following others that you find your own joy and exuberance, but in breaking out of the mold and finding guidance in those sources you have always connected most strongly with.

DECKS USED: LIMINALITY ORACLE

Ostara 2024 – Spring Equinox

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Today is the Spring Equinox, which is considered by many to be the first day of Spring, and is one of only two moments in the year when the sun is exactly above the Equator and, as a result, day and night are of equal length. After this day, the brightness of daylight begins to overtake the dark hours in the sky as the days continue to longer and longer, and the nights shorter and shorter.  This transition is the basis within the celebration of the holiday itself, as we celebrate the warming and awakening of the earth as she prepares to share her abundance and generosity with us all.

Today’s spread takes a look at some of the elements associated with the Spring Equinox, and the advice they have to offer us.

Spring Equinox Tarot Reading with the Lili White Tarot

Tulips – Loyalty / Forgiveness: Where do I need to practice forgiveness to foster stronger loyalty?

Knight of Wands atop Page of Wands Rx – sometimes when you wing it instead of taking your time to learn things at a reasonable pace, things go awry. Let go of the blame you feel in these moments. Experimentation has value, even in the times it sends you back to the drawing board.

Robin – Compassion / Patience: How can I give myself more compassion and patience?

Four of Swords – Give yourself the room to rest and recover that is needed. You wouldn’t push someone else in your own situation, so stop pushing yourself and use this time to strategize instead of acting.

Rose Quartz – Unconditional Love: How can I be more open to offering unconditional love to others?

Eight of Cups Rx – Be ruthless in cutting out those in your life that don’t deserve your love and loyalty, and it will open up more of those qualities in yourself to give to those that are truly deserving.

Aquamarine – Calm / Courage: What do I need to help me to stay calm and courageous in the face of adversity?

The Empress – Time in nature, nurturing relationships with both yourself and others, and a mindfulness towards abundance.

Butterfly – Transformation: What sort of transformation is waiting for me this spring?

King of Swords and Deserve – You deserve love and happiness, but sometimes to get it you have to take up the reigns, strategize your path forward, and take others with you along for the ride.

Clover – Luck / Protection: Where in life will luck play into protecting me from potential harm?

King of Cups – You are very lucky in love, and in having someone in your life that doesn’t want to just hear about your emotions, but wants to help guide you in learning about them.

Rabbit – Fertility / Abundance: How can I encourage more abundance in my life this spring?

The Moon Rx atop Five of Cups – Take care to be aware of when uncertainties make you sour. You don’t have to snap back or become negative during these times, but it’s something that you’re going to have to keep an eye on and be aware of or it will happen again and again.

DECKS USED: LILI WHITE TAROT AND EARTH ANGEL ORACLE