Samhain Divination

 I remembered to do this! And now I've remembered to share it!

I used the Druid Oracle.  These are TWO sets of cards designed to work together.  The Druid Animal Oracle I am more familiar with. The Druid Plant Oracle complements it, and I'm less familiar with it.

Normally, I take pictures, but as there are likely copywrite issues there, I will kindly request that you Internet search.  They also have a phone app, but I did use the physical cards. 

I drew 9 cards from each deck.  There is one for each high day to reveal the energies (animal) and insights (plants) at play starting on that high day through to the next.  The ninth cards are sort of a keynote or theme of the whole year.

(I do this type of thing often. Sometimes it's interesting to compare the Samhain card themes with the Yule Rune spread for the year, and then my own Tarot horoscope thread... but that's kind of crazy obsessive too, so I don't know if I can recommend it.

So, with out further ado...

Keynote: 

Ram (Reithe):  Ability to achieve a breakthrough, inner strength for success; Sacrifice/breakthrough/achievement; groundedness for power to overcome, perseverance

Mugwort (Liath-lus):  prophecy/clairvoyance/protection; following intuition, and banishing negative influences, connection to inner strength and healing.

 The year is about struggling on and keeping one's sense of self, holding one's center and staying grounded, all while listening to one's gut, staying positive. And really, I didn't choose those out of their approrpiateness for Pandemic-mania! Interestingly enough, a number of friends have also shared their omens for the year and really, there's a lot of hope but it is at the end of a very long struggle of a tunnel.  

Samhain-to-Yule

 

Blackbird (Druid Dhubh)  walk between the worlds, become more self aware, follow a spirit path; enchantment/the gateway/the inner call
 Clover (seamrag chapaill): Wisdom/health/good fortune; auspicious card, good fortune to come, but perhaps not in terms of money.

 

The first step is always "Know Thyself" and in the beginning of this dark part of the year, the descent, getting in touch with that inner spiritual strength for the journey ahead is key.  This is a positive and useful experience, which connects you to much wisdom, if you be still and listen for it. 

 

Yule-to-Imbolc

 

 Sow (muc):  generosity/nourishment/discovery; generosity and giving freely and enjoying those things given in return
 Burdock (Seircean suirich): harvest/purification/attachment:  free self of a toxic habit, enough is enough, seek learning from negative experiences.

 

 That discover process that  comes from turning inward is worth nothing if we don't take the wisdom, be it positive or...shall we say...challenging, and use it to get rid of whatever it is we don't want to take into the light, making more room for the growth of what we do want to bring.   It's somewhat ironic in this time of social distancing that I pulled Muc, but I feel like this means to keep our social connections as best we can, even if it's tedious, and some of our loved ones still have no idea how to have a Zoom gathering despite 9 months of trying.  
The hinge of the solstice is not just a new page on the calendar (in a few days, anyway), it's also a turning back outwards to greet other travelers into and out of the dark.

 

Imbolc-to-Ostara

 

 Fox (Sionnach): Diplomacy/cunning/wildness; knowing when to make one’s move, be diplomatic, be silent, and keep councils
 Mandrake (Mandrag): Called upon to alleviate suffering in some way; wealth/fertility/anaesthesia

 

Light grows slowly at this bend of the wheel,  and Sionnach reminds us that we should also be slow to share or reveal all we know. I am remembered of the admonishment of T.H.I.N.King before we speak. Is it True? Is it Helpful? Is it Important (or Inspiring)? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind?  How will it ease the suffering of the people we come into contact with?   As we are, hopefully, moving out of a very dark and challenging time into vaccination becoming more and more widely available, the tension we all fee may actually get worse; THINK and do what you can to help others.

 

Ostara-to-Beltainne

 

Goose (Geadh): committing to creative process, creative productive power, stable working partnership (family, long term relationship); vigilance/parenthood/productive power
 Borage (Borrach): courage, looking beyond your own needs and to the greater good; courage/forgetfulness/gladness

 

There is so much in this reading about looking out for others, which fits with our Keynote of the readings.  We may need to think outside the box a bit, and put our creative sides to work.  While we see to our hearths and homes first, we remember the larger social family, and how can we best support each other.

 

Beltainne-to-Litha

 

 Crane (Corr): Secret knowledge/patience, longevity; patience, perseverance, connections with the underworld and arcane knowledge
 Mint (Meantt):  Clarity/Concentration/Renewal; ensure your focus and concentration on work, life, etc.

 

The light is getting stronger, and with it comes greater understanding.  At Samhain we were tasked with turning inward, and it's interesting that here too, we are reminded of the wisdom and secret knowledge of other realm. Corr is a personal favorite of mine, and they can serve as your guide to remind you of the course you laid in at Samhain.

 

Litha-to-Lughnasadh

 

 Hawk (Seabhac):  see life with perspective, put things in place, find missing pieces, free self from baggage, connect with ancestral roots; Nobility/Recollection/cleansing
 Bramble (An dris bennaichte): holding one’s ground, protection; being sensitive to other people’s boundaries; tenacity;boundaries/rootedness)

 

It almost feels like this is a completion, a few arcs early.  I hesitate to make huge predictions; it feels like the we will be coming to terms with the general social lessons and patterns we encountered since March 2020, or whenever things hit in your area.  Seabhac is renowned for their vision, so we can look backward to how far we have traveled.  There is still a warning here about taking care and staying safe; it may be tempting to drop those boundaries, but perhaps it's too soon?

 

Lughnasadh-to-Halig*

 

 Salmon (bradan): Wisdom/inspiration/keywords; wisdom, inspiration, connecting to your younger self.
 Vervain (Trombhad); cycles of good actions, your own good actions bring good things to other; Reconciliation/awen/magic;

 

 Despite the care and warnings of the last arc, the late summer into fall might just be a time for celebration.  Both the personal course you charted almost a year ago, and then the larger course the entire world is on, dare I say it, are coming to the end of the cycle? Playfulness abounds, the good things that come to those who wait are here.

 

Halig*-to-Samhain

 

 Eagle (Iolair): see self in wider context, decision making and charting goals with clarity and objectivity, detach from everyday worries and cares, grasp subtle concepts; Intelligence/renewal/courage
Agrimony (mur-druidhean): eliminate negative energy from aura and home; liberation from depression and lethargy; purification/liberation/preparation for new beginnings

The previous two arcs come together here.  The vision of Seabhac's perspective is broadened still further by Iolair, and those things we have been struggling to get rid of (be they pandemics or bad habits) are "gone," so we can prepare for the next cycle. "Gone" is always relative; bad habits might not stay gone without our vigilance, and we can say the same for any social ills as well.  

SO...there you have it.  I'd be really interested if anyone gleans any other insights, so feel free to comment below, or wherever I post this. Does it match with your own readings?

*I have chosen to use the Anglo-Saxon name for the Autumn Equinox, so that it "fits" more in my brain with Yule, Ostara, and Litha.  Aiden Kelly chose to use the name "Mabon," instead of Halig, which he explains here.  He has a good reason, so I'm not going to say he's wrong. As my own personal spirituality doesn't follow the general Wiccan theology of Lord and Lady and their journey through the wheel, Halig makes more sense to me.