Altar | Calan Gaeaf, reaching for the Moon

Calan Gaeaf, Samhain.

First day of winter.

First quarter moon waxing.

October becomes November. Mae mis Hydref yn dod Tachwedd. Gleaming mornings emerging with the late dawn. Milky, bright, diffuse afternoons, jackdaws flocking in the low light, cawing, horses grazing, tearing green grass from the cold clods of heavy wet earth of their sodden field. Evenings fall early, and darkly. Leaves fall from the trees. Rosehips face their first frost. I keep the fire in all day long.

What am I honouring?

Which of the tangled threads should I follow first?

Story. Voice. Speaking. Dance. There is a performance
in my future.
I don’t know what that looks like yet.
An old story is “I am not a performer”
I would like to outgrow that story.
Tell a new one.

Burning Mugwort, drinking it too. Thea’s Tarot. The Crone. Motherwort and milky oats.

First day of winter.

I choose the Witch of Wands. A sorceress, standing in her power, in her flames. So what if she hasn’t learned to tame it yet. I’m ready to try.

From Thea’s Tarot, four cards to support and guide her. Me. I close my eyes, shuffle… lay down four major cards.

Moon. Seer. Grace. Rebirth.

The Witch of Wands reaches up to the Moon. Her fire is her signal, an invitation to magic. She stands tall, reaching high.

The fire is born from Grace, arising from a place of balance and groundedness. This is the art of holding ourselves through life’s turbulence, learning the skills of simple, practical self-care that steadies and supports us. I am learning how to hold myself, and this is firing me with new confidence.

Still, the Moon peers down. Holds herself out of reach.

To the left, Rebirth mirrors the Witch’s raised arms. These arms are raised in a wild dance of freedom and self-acceptance. On the right, another echo – the Seer reaches upwards as though holding up the sky, as though holding back the light. There is shadow to be explored. The stories I need to hear, learn, tell, are dark, and I need courage to get there, more than the simple, passionate flames of the Witch. Something more.

Mother.