With the Autumnal Equinox, it’s that time of year when we feel the cool shoulder of Fall edge its way into our focus, reminding us to take stock.
We celebrate the harvest — the manifestation of our hard work and toil. We slow down a bit (ideally), taking more time to nourish ourselves heartily, to enjoy the beauty that metamorphosis provides us. We brandish our lighter scarves, heavier sweaters, and love for gourds. We take more moments to ground ourselves. We prepare.
Within the yearly cycles, Autumn is the slow exhalation that prepares us for our yearly sleep. It balances hard work with gentle repose. This season is the one that reminds us that Winter is indeed coming, but to think of it as only a harbinger fails to give credit where credit is due.
Time to Wake Up! September Ended!
“Fall” is not only a reference to leaves but also the slope of the year as it careens towards its end, as opposed to “Spring,” signifying the movement of plants and the year jumping off.
As we head into this warm-coloured season, it’s important that we make the most out of the time we’ve been allotted. We harvest not only food but lessons and experience. What are we going to store? What are we going to sacrifice? What are we going to remember? What would be better to forget?
As per, I’ve taken it upon myself to ask Ye Olde Universe what our fair forest city might have in store for it over the coming season, and what we will want to train our eyes on before the cold reality of winter arrives.
If You Know, You Know
But if you don’t, allow me to reiterate. Tarot gives us an appreciable trajectory of events based on what has passed and what occurs now. Since each one of you is a sovereign human being with control over your individual will, things are always in flux. Always. That being said, we either have the collective power to accept our desired trajectories, or we have the ability to shift course. Energy flows where attention goes.
With that being said, let’s begin. With an open-ended “What can I learn about the city of London, Ontario, and what the Autumn season has in store for it?” I clear my mind, cut and shuffle the deck thrice, and pull three cards.
Come A Little Bit Closer, Hear What I Have to Say
The first card pulled is the High Priestess, reversed. The reversed Nine of Swords comes second. Third, the Seven of Wands reversed as well.
“But Marty! Three reversals! That can’t be good!” Well London, you’re not entirely wrong on this one.
While reversals don’t always mean “bad” things, this time, they point out a few areas for improvement. They tell me that there are blockages and obstacles present and that they’re obstructing our preferred flow of energy.
And unfortunately, that’s causing some strife in and amongst us municipal neighbours. But before we resign ourselves to despair, let’s discuss.
The High Priestess
The High Priestess is under the influence of the Moon, even more so than the actual Moon card.
She sits between the pillars of life. the shrouds both on and behind her conceal that which she does not want revealed. She represents deep knowing, concealment, patience, wisdom, secrets, and above all, intuition. When she arrives in a reading, she tells us that we already possess whatever information we are looking for. We just haven’t probed deep enough, or something is standing in the way of us accepting what we know deep down to be true.
She lives in the subconscious, in the realm of water. I can’t help but think of the old adage “The treasure you seek the most is in the cave you least want to enter.” She is a powerful representative of spiritual femininity, having nothing to do with gender, instead referring to the embodying pull of inward energy (as opposed to the enacting and outwardly push of spiritual masculinity).
Reversed, these energies speak of ignoring one’s own intuition, of secrets being kept, and of that secrecy in aid of an agenda, as opposed to a healthy form of discernment. Staying quiet to listen for all the wrong reasons.
The Nine of Swords
The Nine of Swords is one of the cards in the pack whose implications are apparent by just looking at it.
Known as the Lord of Despair/Cruelty, this card in its upright position speaks of anxiety, worry, sleepless nights, and imagined fear. While the fears and anxieties we experience may be in our head, and not in inherent reality, their effects on our minds and bodies are all too real. The chaotic energies of Gemini high-five the extreme nature of Mars to produce a lot of mental turmoil. It can also speak of nightmares and internal struggle.
In the reversed position, based on the cards around it, it can speak to the releasing of fear and anxiety, but it can also speak to depression. When these fears and anxieties begin to latch on, they can truly become fixtures in our lives, if we dwell on them. It can also point to a nagging doubt, a mental kernel that we can’t get out from between our mind’s teeth.
The Seven of Wands
The multivalence of each sign is showcased in the differences between this and the last card. The Seven of Wands brings together the forces of proud, obstinate Leo, and that same intense potency and push that Mars’ energy provides. In this case, the intensity fuels Leo’s fire, resulting in the ability to deal with many things at once.
Known as the Lord of Valour, this card speaks to maintaining a healthy and robust attitude in regard to life’s challenges – most notably those of self-defence, multitasking, and standing up for one’s beliefs. Regarding the card itself, the figure presented on the mountain is besieged by several out-of-frame opponents, and yet maintains the upper hand. If you look closely, he is not wearing the same shoes, signifying being able to rush to action even if not fully prepared. This card is almost always a warning against dawdling indecision.
Reversed, however, this card can show the overwhelm present in dealing with several things at once, especially if out of nowhere. It can suggest capitulation, but also the actions of being overly defensive. Sometimes our anxieties can lead to us attacking first unnecessarily.
L’esprit D’escaliers
Well, London, I know that’s not the sunniest reading I’ve ever given. But remember! We have the ability and the power to take these ill portents as warnings as opposed to destiny. Taking in this information, I would tell the collective we’ve been through some serious times of anxiety and strife. We’ve been left with some psychological scars, understandably so. And thusly, we may be overly defensive having been on guard for so long. The powers of water tell us to pull inward, to see what it is we know to be true and how we can embody that in our lives.
But what stands in our way? Our anxieties! Those sleepless nights, those imagined fears that have yet to pass. Even though it’s great to be getting back into the swing of things don’t forget that this shift, even if it’s back toward familiarity, is a huge one! A big swing on the spectrum from a year+ of introspection and quiet. Do not get down on yourself for feeling overwhelmed from time to time. Instead, focus on what you can accomplish, and what you have accomplished. Reap your own harvest. The potential to let go of those anxieties is here, and spending that impressive Mars’ energy creating new worries or fighting against imagined foes is taking time and energy away from what matters most; ourselves, and each other.
Fall’s Well That Ends Well
As the Autumn season moves forward, remember this. Even though a tree may lose its leaves, that does not signify its demise. The leaves have served their purpose and now fall below to transform and enrich the earth from which the tree grew. Not an end, a transformation. Not death, just rest.
