Hello, Creatives!
Happy Valentine’s Day! Regardless of your relationship status, I hope you can find time to nourish yourself with a little self-love today. Last week’s blog celebrates self-love with lots of simple ritual ideas, so if you’re looking for ways to say ‘I love Me!’ today, you might find inspiration amongst the offerings.
I’m working with both a new spread and deck this week. I’ve had the Dark Wood Tarot by Sasha Graham for a while, but today is the first time I’ve taken it out for a spin. Created as a shadow deck to probe hidden aspects of the psyche, it’s a deck for more personal tarot readings, but I was drawn to use it for today’s collective reading. The spread examines You, Your Current Path, and Your Potential.
What an apt card to begin our reading this Valentine’s Day! The Knight of Cups is the epitome of romance with his intense emotion and passion. He offers you his cup, overflowing with love, but are you ready for such fierce affection?
The shadow aspect of this card denotes a clingy nature, someone who is needy of affection and attention, and can be self-centred. Taking all of these attributes into consideration, the prompt here is to examine your processes while creating. Do projects begin with a rush of passionate motivation, but then you find yourself seeking validation or assurance of your talent? Another shadow aspect to neediness can be a belief of talent being far greater than it actually is, and offence then being taken when the expected praise doesn’t materialise.
The Knight is a card of romance, so while love and passion for our work is vital, and holds the same fiery excitement of a new romantic relationship, the message is to watch out for self-sabotage by allowing insecurities to take root.
"A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there." - John Assaraf
Your Current Path is the 9 of Wands. Nines represent wish fulfilment, of receiving what you’ve been waiting for, and maybe even breaking down a barrier as you do. The Clown figure pictured represents the trickster archetype. He hides behind a mask of make-up, but can we know if beneath that make-up there lies charm or evil?
The message here is that you’re moving out of your comfort zone, and while you fear what may lie in wait, expansion is on the horizon. The shadow side asks you to contemplate what you hide from yourself; what your clown make-up hides from the world, and what secret behaviours you embrace when in discomfort. So in terms of Your Current Path, the message here is that you’ve worked hard, have pushed through unease, and because of that bravery are now about to emerge victorious, but be cautious about your tactics and behaviours when in that uncomfortable zone.
How do you soothe your anxiety? Do you strip off the mask and face the world bare, or apply more clown make-up to hide even further?
The earthy Queen of Pentacles represents Your Potential. The Dark Wood Tarot uses the keywords ‘Sensual Goddess’ for this card, and it’s so indicative of the Queen’s energy. The Queen embodies physical manifestation. With her nurturing, motherly nature, she loves to create a warm, inviting atmosphere as she cares for those around her. Nature fuels this energy, so include time outdoors as you move through this week, engaging all your senses as you do.
Her shadow side brings aspects of manipulation however, so you might find yourself spending money on something you neither need, nor can afford. Do you find yourself consumed with the promise of material goods equalling fulfilment? If so, you’ve slid into the darker side of this earthy Queen energy. It may indicate creating for money, and therefore not honouring the act of creativity and how your work impacts others for the better. Overall, you have the ability to care and provide with your creative work, but watch out for falling under the spell of material gains.
Ooh, I enjoyed this first journey into the Dark Wood! I can definitely see myself using the deck for personal readings, and I love how Sasha Graham has delivered such juicy prompts for the shadow aspects of each card; there’s lots of inspiration to encourage peeling back the layers of a situation. And isn’t the artwork gorgeous, too? I think there’s a sexy Disney vibe to it! I’ll put together a deck review for the blog, as the accompanying guide book is just as lush as the deck.
Have a great week, Creative Souls!