Before I put the Goddess Tarot away, I wanted to do a reading with it. I totally neglected to observe Beltane last week, but today the New Moon in Taurus is here, and with that brings up issues of security, comfort and abundance... and it so happens that Christine Jette's Beltane spread (The May Queen) is devoted to those concerns.
Safety
VIII - Justice
This was the card I drew yesterday and it speaks well to the way I draw a sense of safety to myself - the ability to analyse and understand a potentially unsafe situation, and pool resources in a way so that no one person is left to take the hit alone is the primary way I currently find safety in an otherwise precarious life.
In terms of where this points me this next month, I will want to focus on establishing my safety by not living in ignorance of what is going on - the more I understand, the safer I am, and that means looking into a few paperwork details I've been procrastinating about, mainly because I've been afraid of finding out something negative I can't deal with. Pretty dumb - I can't deal with what I don't know about, either.
Abundance
6 of Swords
Currently, my sense of abundance springs less from having and more from experiencing life as a progression toward stability. It matters less where I am at the moment than which direction I'm heading. There's a sense of intention about this card - not giving up but taking one's ideas and moving them to a more favorable place in which to use them. I am taking babysteps right now toward a sense of abundance, and have done quite a bit of alteration in my thinking about what makes up 'abundance'... and this is the key thing I've realized. It's not so much a goal to be reached as a journey to be taken, and it requires getting some focus on what is important to retain and what is best left behind. "Tis a gift to be simple" comes to mind here.
In terms of where this points me this next month, I believe the I need to do some sorting of my 'stuff', material as well as my ideas about abundance and do some releasing of those things that are no longer serving me... travel lighter but start looking ahead. I need to do some spring cleaning in earnest in my home, get rid of things that are holding me back from abundance (clutter is not a sign of abundance! It's a sign of fear of loss!) and leave some room in the boat for those things that truly make me feel prosperous. I also need to sit down and do some regrouping on my financial plan and make sure that I'm not lugging along baggage I don't need merely out of habit.
Regeneration
XVI - Oppression
This is an odd image for the Tower card - it depicts the Wawalak, which is described in the LWB as Australian aboriginal goddesses who are swallowed whole by the Great Rainbow Serpent and are 'oppressed by darkness' until they are reborn back into the light. The Tower (and Chariot) is my Life Purpose card so I've gotten used to... so the message here is as it involves regeneration is that those dark moments where everything seems to be falling apart are a necessary part of growth for me - they serve a purpose however unsettling it seems at the time.
I feel much less these days as if I'm living in an eternally falling Tower (or belly of a giant snake), but moments like the car breaking down just as I thought I'd get a bit in front of expenses felt that way... but only briefly. And ultimately, having it go allowed us to know it needed to be fixed, so that's a bit of regeneration right there, isn't it? If the belt hadn't gone, we might not have realized the problem with the water pump, and I think that might have led to a much worse situation down the road.
In terms of where this points me this next month, I think this feeds into what else this reading has pointed to - I need to be open to experiencing sudden alterations in my plans and habits as opportunities for revelation that can lead to freedom from oppression. This version of the card depicts the moment before that breakthrough where things seem stagnate and hopeless... the Tower isn't a fortress that protects, it's a prison. Remembering that, I can try to see upheavals as birth-pangs leading to regeneration and a new outlook that opens the path to greater freedom.
Love
7 of Pentacles
In terms of my primary relationships, things are steady and developing - there is slow, organic growth here and not much going on on the surface... things on on cruise and neither need or would be helped by a lot of hands on fiddling.
This is a simple Taurean 'don't fix it if it ain't broke' idea and a reminder to relax and enjoy things as they are without rushing to make it something else. The 7 also speaks about taking time out to appreciate the value of my relationships and not mistake peace for stagnation.
In terms of where this points me this next month, I will make sure to show my appreciation often and not wait for big events to spur me to remember to say thank you and I love you to those in my life.
Future
9 of Pentacles
And here's a nice vision for the future.. a woman who is stable, happy and independent. As I deal with prosperity and comfort related issues this month, I will hold this image in mind and remember that this is where I am wanting to be. Each step toward it is a step in the right direction.
In terms of where this points me this next month, I will devote some time to doing what I mentioned above, keeping in mind the bigger picture and ultimate goal. I'll work to eliminate dependence on those things that don't lead me to this happy domestic stability, and again, appreciate each step along the way.
In practical terms, I want to spend this month eliminating clutter, realigning my spending to what creates a stable, welcoming home, devote more time to meal planning that targets cost savings, nutrition and aesthetics (finding enjoyable 'comfort meals') and working to simplify our living habits in such a way that we alter our views on what abundance is - not more, but more enjoyment with less. And I want to make these changes not to ride out a tight time, but to create new habits that will take us into the future feeling secure and prosperous without being utterly dependent on money to do so.