Dark of the Moon Spread - July

This month I am using the Dark of The Moon Spread, which I found, as usual, at Aeclectic Tarot, and the deck of the week, the Dream Enchantress Tarot.

From AT, The Dark of the Moon spread is not intended for looking outward on a situation, or for readings with a specific question in mind. Instead, its purpose is to look inward, and give you insight into your own life. An example of what this spread gives you would be the answer to, "Where is my life at now?"

1-------4
--2-7-5--
3-------6

1: Releasing. Things you should be letting go of in your life-  Ten of Pentacles.  Look at this picture.  This mom has it all together.  She is so together that not only is she raising her kids, and doing a great job, but she has time to take care of herself, too, and pursue her creative pursuits!  Shock!  Awe!  How do I get that?  The answer is, I don't.  Not neccesarily.  And I have to let go of the idea I should or I'm not a good person if I can't do everything.  Society has taught us that if we do not maintain a perfect home, perfect looks, perfect children, perfect professions, then we are less than perfect, failures.  The truth is, at least in my world, is that I can have it all, but not at the same time.  Mother is my most important job right now, has to be my main focus.  Making money and pursuing my personal and professional goals have to come second to that.  Or fifth.  Patience is a virtue.

2: Retaining. Things you should be holding close to you- Eight of Pentacles.  So, now that I just got on my high moral horse about balancing work and love and money and family, I get the work card for something to hold close to me?  You know why?  Because the work I do is an intrinsic part of who I am.  Someone once said, "If you do what you love you never work a day in your life."  Well, I call shenanigans.  I loooove reading tarot, with a fiery passion that never ends.  But some days, I just don't feel like reading for others.  But I may have booked appointments, and I have to.  Most days, honestly, I don't feel like writing.  But it's gotta get done.  I am responsible for the quantity, even if I trust God with the quality.  I know I am never going to win the lottery, and I know it is because through my work, I am going to be successful, bring something into the world that only I could, and also honestly, if I did not need money, I would not work, certainly not as hard.  The Plan for my life includes work, so I gotta do it.  And I am blessed with a flexible day job that allows me to pursue my true bliss as well.  In moderation.  See card above...

3: Receiving. Things that are coming into your life- Two of Cups.  Jesus, lord, THANK YOU.  Which I say kinda tongue in cheek, and kinda serious.  I love my kids.  I love my life.  But, as much as I know there are people in it who love me, and I didn't even birth them all, I feel like I have been at it alone for a long, long time, and I am parched for connection, intimacy, conversations that don't revolve around cleaning rooms and who put the gum in the dogs' fur.  There was real love in my recently ended relationship, but it never, ever met my needs for those things in a lasting way.  The Two of Cups does not always HAVE to be about love, but for me, it is.  The Lovers, on the other hand, does not always mean love to me, but the Two of Cups does.  I am also open and receptive to the possibility of it in a way I have not been before.  I have been putting a lot of work into realizing what worked and did not work in my previous relationships, so I can learn and grow and be ready for the right one, whenever that should be.

4: Surroundings. How the world around you is affecting you- The Lovers.  Why, hello, Lovers.  Nice to see you here.  Did you know I was just talking about you in the previous card?  You must have, because I am going to continue that conversation here.  The world around me is making me make choices, sometimes hard ones, but ones that are forcing me to evaluate who and what I love, and how I can best honor that.  I am also learning what I want in a relationship, who I want to be, how I want it to look.  Every date, every conversation, every butterfly in the tummy, and every soft disappointment when it's not quite right, gets me closer to an understanding, and closer to the eventual goal of true union.  These are incredibly valuable experiences, and while I am much looking forward to having been on my last first date, I am also enjoying the journey, and even when I can't enjoy it, I am at least learning from it.

5: Giving. What you should be giving to others- 10 of Swords.  Take that, dragon!  No nonsense, no mercy.  Everyone, and everything, in my life that does not serve, that is not kind, that is not based in love, needs to go.  This is a difficult concept for me, because I am ferociously loyal, and although I don't love easily, once I do love someone, I do it with all my heart, and forever.  Yep, forever, and trust me, it leads to some deep confliction when it goes awry.  You can love people, though, and forgive them, and ask for forgiveness yourself, without allowing them to continue to hurt you.  It looks like I am going to have to get ferocious, and not even necessarily with other people, but with myself.  Time to slay all those dragons so the princess within can emerge.  "Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love." ~Rainer Maria Rilke

6: Beginning. Something new that will begin soon- Three of Cups.  I know I have mostly mentioned my desire to be with someone here in this blog, but if you could peek into my private journals, you would see how deeply I long for all relationships, and good friendships are just as important, even moreso maybe, than a good romance.  I see connection, and joy, celebration of friendship in this card, which I will welcome with open arms and an open heart.  The best way to have good friends is to be a good friend yourself, and that is another lesson I have been learning and intend to live out with fullness in my future dealings with other people.  In my former life, I did not value any relationships as deeply as I should have, and what we don't value we don't keep.  I have been lonely and don't have a huge support system, but I know better now so I can do better.  I am also taking some dance and movement classes and lessons, a true rendition of this card.

7: Your lesson. What you should be learning at this point- The World.  I am learning the importance of wholeness, and how to be there.  This is an important time in my life, when I am learning my place in the world, and the plan for my life.  I am learning how to be complete unto myself, and how to be overflowing at the same time, so I have good things to offer to my children, my family, my friends, my clients, and my eventual love and partner.

This has been a beautiful spread, with a beautiful deck, soft and gentle with me at a time when I need that, and I am very grateful for the insight and the things I have been given to think about within the spread.

Another tarot blogger, Enelinwen, at Seeker's Journey, used the same spread this month as well.  It's so interesting to me to see how different readers interpret the same spreads!





These cards are from the Dream Enchantress Tarot by Marco Nizzoli for lo Scarabeo.