Looking back on a year of practice

Samhain is one of the most important days in the calendar for witches, pagans, and all manner of magical practitioners. It’s a day when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is at its thinnest, making it especially auspicious for some kinds of magical workings.

And as it’s become a hugely popular secular holiday, it’s kind of neat to see people participating even if it’s just done for fun (I mean, who doesn’t like Halloween candy?!).

Last year was the first time that I consciously used my tarot deck as a ritual tool and Samhain felt like the right time for it. I’m a regular reader of my cards and I’ve been studying tarot intermittently for years, but the chaos and upheaval of the last year have really given me the impetus to create a more deliberate practice for myself. I’ve had a greater sense of the year as a steady cycle, with the seasons turning and new things beginning and other things ending; it’s helped keep me from feeling that I’m constantly racing to keep up or being a slave to my online calendar. The natural world will continue, after all, even when I forget to pay attention.

My tarot deck has helped me tune into my inner self and hone my intuition. It’s taught me to identify recurring patterns in my life. On occasion, it’s given me a swift kick in the rear end; the same card drawn three sessions in a row isn’t something to be taken lightly!

There are certain cards that have some to great personal significance to me, and I find myself looking at those cards first whenever I consider buying a new deck. My first tarot deck was Rider-Waite; the images and symbols are widely used and it made studying easier when I could identify something from a reference text. My current favorite is the (really very sexy) Bianco Nero deck, which is based on classical engravings – I’ve done dozens of readings for myself this year and feel really connected to it. But I’ve been eyeing some new additions to my collection, and visiting the store didn’t make the decision any easier. Will I pick the cheerful colors in the Halloween Tarot? The lush, intricate images in the Dreams of Gaia deck? The clean, bold images of the tiny Everyday Tarot? I suspect I’ll end up with the Victorian Steampunk Tarot; I love the steampunk aesthetic and the illustrations of the major arcana are amazing. Or, you know, maybe I’ll end up with more than one new deck.

Tarot has been a powerful tool in helping me navigate a year of upheaval, and I’m looking forward to continuing to study and learn and grow this and other elements of my practice (ask me sometime about candle magic in September – wow!). How are you celebrating Samhain and the turning of the season? Are there new elements you’re incorporating, or ways in which you’ve grown this year as a practitioner?