Eclipses are Happening. Garlic Is Amazing.

'Tis the season for eclipses and towers! Eclipses can be felt weeks before and weeks after they occur and they represent major change. Lately, the energy of the eclipse can be compared to the Tower Card. Mercury goes retrograde on Thanksgiving, around 2pm, and continues until December 13th. This happens right before a solar eclipse on a new moon. A lunar eclipse will occur soon after on December 10th, on a Gemini full moon. 

Prior to these eclipses, many have been weeding out and shaking off people, jobs, habits and things that have not been healthy for us or do not feed us in ways that used to. The new moon on the 29th will mark new beginnings and new perspective. When this card is present people may experience career changes, relationship changes; they may travel to new states/countries, leave a job, sell a business/home or develop illness or health conditions that impede on what we expected.

The tower card represents change, upheaval, crisis, devastation or what we are afraid of. The tower card can leave you bare, open and exposed to the world. It's the most avoided card in the deck. Some decks eliminate the tower card because, superstitiously, people believe it can be a bad omen. If it appears in the past position, it means that the person is rebuilding themselves after a major life change. If it in the future position, it is simply a warning to be prepared, but also to let go. We can't predict when change is coming and we can't avoid it, so it's best to just move through it instead of letting it anchor us.

The tower card also has some interesting phallic imagery happening in the scene. The lightening bolts can represent a dismantling of patriarchy: a feminist spark in one that catches fire in many; or a questioning of the current system that does not serve us anymore. The Death Card comes after: Something breaks and then something dies. If the tower is reversed, we try to hold on because we can't take the uncertainty of everything crumbling beneath us. 

 

For all the negativity written about this card, I prefer to think of it as the card of cleansing and strength. In the Herbal Deck it is compared to garlic. One of my favorite flavors. It's strong enough to fight viruses and ward off vampires. I've been chopping it raw and sprinkling it in my home-made salad dressings. I also dip bread and butter in it. Garlic is amazing. It's good for the immune system, sometimes a little tough to stomach, but so good for our health. If we can just manage to re-frame our notion of change from bad, strong and smelly to good, strong and healthy, then me might start to appreciate the lightening bolts in the Tower imagery. It's easier said than done, but some healthy comfort food (garlic bread), a little yoga, and some good friends can always help.

More on The Moon...

New Moon (Maiden Moon, Dark Moon)

Three day period where the moon is hidden from our view. The sun is energizing the moon preparing for the upcoming cycle. It's good to use the dark moon days for self reflection, quiet, and meditation. A new awareness is taking seed.

Waxing Crescent

We meet our first challenges of this moon cycle. What ever was sewn during the first days of the dark moon begins to manifest here. You have the power to change and alter situations and it's best to make decisions grounded in what is important to you.

Full Moon (Mother Moon)

The moon is now at the height of her power, reflecting the original intent of the new moon and what has been sewn. Here we reap what we sew. If you have followed your intent, it is a time of success and culmination. If you have avoided your goal and/or obstacles have gotten in the way of your spiritual path, break-downs and explosions might occur. The days before and after a full moon physic abilities and intuition is advanced.

Waning Crescent (Crone Moon)

The moon carries all the wisdom learned from this past cycle, and the muscle memory of all past moon cycles. You may feel confidence, grace and acceptance of life's cycles. This is the time to adapt, flow, go through the motions, tell stories and teach others who are younger. If you resist acceptance, the same issues and challenges may repeat themselves in the next moon cycle or until you make it right.

Death, Card XIII

It seems important to talk about the death card in a spread first. There are a lot of negative stereotypes about this card, but often I receive this card in times of change and grief. We go through many deaths throughout our lives: A lover's parting words, the last day on a job site, or a drive away from home with boxes piled in the backseat, and kitties meowing in your lap - along for the ride. Orgasms have even been described as "little deaths." Our cells divide everyday, shed and grow new skin. Our uterus sheds every cycle and even aligns with the moon. The moon itself cycles every day and season, always changing, sometimes reflecting the sun's bloom. You get the point...

The death card is a lesson in change, but also an opportunity to grow, and find joy in the rebirth of things. The card tells us that we are done and it's time to grieve now. When the card is reversed we have a harder time letting go. We are resistant to change and want to hang on to comfort, even though it might make us miserable, or when we know deep down that it's time to move on. It may also represent a stalemate situation because of our defiance. As we grow older we might be more resistant to change because we expect comfort or security with age.