Before we delve into our sample tarot reading to celebrate the spooky season, we need to learn more about the celebrations at this time of year. Your first reaction is a common one: “Well, it is Halloween or All Hallows Eve!” You would be right; However, there are other traditions behind this popular worldwide celebration.
Let’s break down the history and then dive into a spooky Samhain Tarot reading of the season.
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Pagan and Celtic traditions
The Wheel of the Year is a series of eight holidays, originally compiled by the founders of Wicca and Golden Dawn, but with strong roots in Pagan and Celtic traditions.
Whether or not you respect these special celebrations, you may still be familiar with these names because they are often lumped together or entangled with secular holidays. All eight Sabbats are tied to the seasons, with four marking solstices and equinoxes, and the other four associated with Celtic fire festivals:
- Samhain: Halloween / Pagan New Year / All Hallows Eve
- Yule: Winter Solstice / Christmas
- Imbolc: Saint Brigid’s Day / Candlemas
- Ostara: Vernal equinox / Easter
- Beltane: May Day
- Litha: Summer Solstice / Midsummer
- Lammas: Frey Fest / Lughnasagh
- Mabon: Autumn Equinox / Pagan Thanksgiving
Many of these celebrations are related to gratitude and explore the natural cycles of planting, nurturing, harvesting and resting. And while each of these festivals has its own history, tradition and magic, for many witches Samhain is the most important Sabbath of the year.
The Roots of Samhain
After the transition to colder weather and the celebration of autumn with Mabon, Samhain marks the beginning of a new year. We say goodbye to an old cycle and step into another.
This takes place during Scorpio season and halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. This is a time when we speak of the ‘thinning of the veil’ between the physical and spiritual worlds.
As a new year begins, we remember the dead, the people and places, and things we have lost, as well as celebrate the harvest of plants and livestock. Samhain marks the first festival of the dark half of the Wheel of the Year, transitioning from honoring cycles of birth, life and growth to cycles of death, silence and recovery.
Connecting Samhain with the Tarot
In the Major Arcana, the Death archetype rarely signals physical death, but instead marks a significant shift in our growth cycle.
Some endings we choose, others are forced upon us, but the result is an inevitable conclusion – a necessary farewell that allows us to leave behind a dream, relationship, career, pattern, ambition, hope, wish or situation that is stagnant.
And while this is worth acknowledging, grieving, and spending time thinking about, it can also bring a sense of relief and even freedom. If the concept of death makes you nervous, uneasy, or even angry, spend some time thinking about the gifts that death can bring.
What does leaving something behind or recognizing an end make room for? How do we honor things that have passed and welcome new opportunities?
Samhain gives us the opportunity to notice where we long for abundance and where we need deliverance. We cannot just ask to receive things: there is only so much we can carry, there is only room for so many plants in our garden. Sometimes we need to clear things out, acknowledge rot and decay and make room for the new.
Therefore, death does not have to be sad, scary or painful. It can also be a celebration, a joyful time of remembrance, a recognition of the things that matter.
To consider:
- What have you lost, or are you losing?
- How do subtle or substantial deaths ultimately create opportunities for rebirth?
- How do we show ourselves love, compassion, and grace when we give ourselves time to process emotions and honor all that is past?
A Tarot spread for Samhain
Our spread for this season makes room for both sadness and triumph, encouraging us to remember the past even as we dream of a new future. Darkness can bring gifts, and in periods of silence, awareness, observation and reflection, our intuition can speak to us in new and profound ways.
Consider this reading:
- What are your shadows trying to tell you?
- What would you like to let go of?
- What are you still clinging to?
- How can you anticipate the rebirth that is coming, instead of fighting for something that has already passed?
This sample reading with the Marigold Tarot is intended to inspire and demonstrate how to use this spread effectively. It’s not drawn for anyone in particular, but you can still draw inspiration or strength from it.
Card one: an end to honor
5 of rings
The 5 of Rings is a card traditionally associated with struggle, sadness or a lack of resources. It represents a moment when we need help but are afraid to accept it. There is real sadness, even despair, in this card – yet the support we need is available to us if we can simply take what is given to us.
In conclusion, this card offers hope for the future, indicating that a period of hardship or difficult circumstances may be coming to an end. Yet this card also offers advice, telling us to put aside our pride and accept the help that is offered. While things will get better, we still need to take action to improve our circumstances.
There is real strength and comfort within our reach – and this card wants us to accept it.
Card two: A way to grieve
8 of cups
Tied to letting go and moving on, the 8 of Cups is a conscious decision to end something.
Whether it’s a toxic relationship, an old dream, or a damaging situation, we reach this point when we’ve done everything we could to solve a difficult problem and haven’t made any progress in a while. Rather than continuing to spin our wheels, this card is the moment we decide to leave our old ways behind and start a new path.
In this grieving position, the 8 of Cups wants us to remember where we are going, to take our choices into our own hands, and to recognize that we are now striving for something more beautiful and healthy.
Card three: A way to celebrate
4 of cups
Usually associated with selfishness, isolation, or stagnation in relationships, the 4 of Cups is a closed heart and closed mind. Following themes from the 5 of Rings that appeared earlier in this reading, this card wants us to be more aware of the opportunities and possibilities within our reach and to celebrate the communities and connections we have.
Sometimes, when faced with obstacles, we retreat into ourselves, believing that no one else could ever understand what we are enduring. Yet this card reminds us that there is happiness to be found, people to love, and beautiful joys to celebrate. We are not as alone as we think we are, and there are so many new ways to find hope – we just have to be willing to look for it.
Card Four: A gift from your shadow
6 of Swords
We all have things we fear and avoid confronting – but these shadows often remind us of our strength, our courage, and the things we have overcome and conquered. The 6 of Swords is a card of movement and regained clarity, of leaving behind a situation that was harmful to us and choosing something new instead. It’s trusting ourselves and our instincts, believing that something better is possible, and taking actionable steps to put ourselves in a better situation.
As with the 8 of Cups, there can still be grief, a period of mourning and sadness as we say goodbye to something we once consciously pursued. But our shadows want us to recognize the power it takes to choose ourselves and be open to whatever is around the next corner.
Card five: A rebirth you can anticipate
8 of Swords
A card that indicates a mental trap or lack of perspective, the 8 of Swords can be challenging energy to see in a reading. This often comes up when we’re unsure of our options, when we feel like we’re completely powerless, or when we find ourselves beginning to despair that we’ll ever find the things we’ve been looking for.
But as a rebirth of anticipation, this card suggests that perhaps we can free ourselves from these traps, that by taking action and making changes we can avoid or escape.
The 8 of Swords is not a sign that the universe is against us or that we are not smart or capable of solving our own problems. Instead, it reminds us that our perspective may be flawed and that we may limit our choices because of our own beliefs. By fully opening our eyes and recognizing where help and support are available, we can be reborn again.
Use the Tarot to celebrate Samhain this year
This reading tells a beautifully clear story: even though it feels like we are alone, lost, trapped, and without the resources we need to thrive, in fact we simply need to leave behind self-limiting stories and take action to change. our circumstances.
The stories we tell ourselves have power – but by acknowledging situations and relationships that are harmful, by being willing to accept help, by seeking truth and objectivity, we can enter a new phase of growth, awareness and self-love.
We deserve compassion, honesty, and safety, and by recognizing what we’re running away from, by making room for new dreams, those gifts are all within our reach.
How do you celebrate Samhain? What does the Death Card teach us about saying goodbye? When has there been an ending that felt painful at the time, but resulted in something new and beautiful?
This deck contains cards from the Marigold Tarot deck.
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