by Kalyn Anderson/@sweetbitterritual
Welcome to Eclipse Season, witches!! Things kick off on Thursday night/Friday morning with the Full Moon/partial lunar eclipse in Taurus and wrap up on 12/3 or 12/4 (depending on your time zone) with the New Moon/Total Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius. Eclipses have a rocky reputation--some people discourage any spellwork or manifestation during eclipses while others warn of cataclysmic events and undoings. Here's the thing, though--the capitalist patriarchy is ending-averse. Capitalism worships only the "waxing" part of our own rhythms. It wants to grow and grow and grow and grow--without ever shedding and without ever saying "I am full". It CERTAINLY doesn't want to address its own shadow--and these are exactly the kinds of themes that eclipse season tends to bring up.
To be clear, I'm not saying that anyone out there who doesn't like to cast spells or manifest during eclipse season is an arm of the capitalist patriarchy--I think you should absolutely follow the magical guidelines that resonate for you and your practice. For me, eclipse season sets the perfect stage for exploring "the void". For imagining the ending of worlds--which includes the birth of new ones. For honoring shadow, decay, endings, and rebirths. Transformation is tough in a society that prioritizes "sticking with it", rejecting "failure", and remaining easily understood/categorized. I believe a large part of the work of the witch is to push back against this conditioning...to embrace the waning of it all just as much as the waxing. To embrace the unseeable and unknowable just as much as the physical and rational. The void loves you...are you ready to love it back?
I created this tarot spread to help you explore the fertile magic the void has in store for you--if you can have the courage and curiosity to take off your coat and stay a while. This is a wonderful spread to sit with throughout eclipse season OR any time of transition and transformation. You'll notice that I have NOT included a placement for what is on the other side of your transformation--there are two reasons for this. The first is that this spread is about EMBRACING the in-between. This is about making the most of process of transformation, NOT trying to rush through to the other side. The second is that I wholeheartedly believe that what is on the "other side" of transformation depends completely upon our approach while in the void...so there's really no telling until things are allowed to unfold a bit!
1. What energy am I currently bringing into "the void" to be transformed?
2. What is asking to be shed?
3. What shadow is asking to be embodied/embraced? (In this case, when I say "shadow" I mean a part of ourselves we may carry guilt/shame/fear/confusion around expressing. I also like to pull this card from the bottom of my deck after shuffling.)
4. How can I benefit from becoming more comfortable with uncertainty?
5. A love note from The Void. (I like to pull an Oracle card for this placement.)
See you on the other side! xoxoxo
