Tarot for September 2018

I know. It’s September 10th and I’m finally doing the tarot reading for September. I’ve drawn cards several times and it just didn’t feel right, so I decided to use my Thoth deck and use a different approach to the typical monthly reading that I do. I chose a significator, in this case, I drew The Magus followed by The Hierophant, 5 of Cups, 4 of Swords, and 6 of Cups. The suit of Cups or the influence of Elemental Water and our emotions dominate as does the presence of two cards from the Major Arcana. The overall numerology of the reading is three or influences that are catalytic in nature. Interestingly, The Magus is placed in the center with two cards on either side. Each grouping results in a pattern of one or new beginnings which is today’s numerology as well.

Beginning with The Magus as significator for the reading, Lady Harris paints him as Mercury surrounded by tarot’s elemental symbols. A serpent surrounds a winged caduceus suggesting alchemical transformation and rebirth. This month we’re invoking will, visualizing what we want and then manifesting that vision. He is the creative force, an expression of wisdom and focused intention. As the significator for this month’s reading, The Magus asks us to allow for the possibility of.

Four cards surround The Magus and I’ll begin with influences found with The Hierophant, the fifth card from the Major Arcana that’s filled with imagery and rich meaning. The Hierophant represents divine wisdom and mastery. He holds the key to knowledge, structure, and tradition along with its transmission. Reliance on alignment in Source Presence is his message.

Another five card, Crowley titles the 5 of Cups Disappointment. The pentagram is inverted, opaque chalices are attached to each point, empty of sustenance. Cups reflect our emotions and in this card, we’re feeling bereft for some reason. We’ve experienced difficulty and given the attachment of the cups to the pentagram itself, it may be suggesting that we’re having a difficult time letting go. A focus on ego has dominated over Spirit informing the process and perhaps we want what we simply cannot have.

A note on the numerology of the two cards. Both are fives and suggest change or fulfillment. Together, they reduce to one or new beginnings, so we’re looking at new beginnings based on wisdom in the face of disappointment. We achieve the same influence of new beginnings with the next two cards, although, in the case of the next two cards, we arrive at it through the four and the six.

Four swords pierce the center of a large flower against a geometric starfield. Truce as its title, the 4 of Swords suggests rest and retreat. A card of Jupiter in Libra, we need time this month to heal our minds and let our thoughts settle. Although we could also experience a truce with someone else, typically, this card indicates that we may have experienced a lack of balance within reinforced by the X in the center reminiscent of Gebo, the rune of balanced energy exchange, both within and without.

The monthly reading ends with the 6 of Cups where, unlike the 5 of Cups, we see six golden lilies filling six ornate chalices with liquid. Pleasure is expressed throughout the card as love flows to fulfillment. Small waves appear below the cups suggesting emotions that flow in balance. This card suggests the pleasure or happiness of the many instead of the individual, so we may experience some happiness involving friends and family this month.

In sum, the wisdom we’ve gained allows us to process disappointment with Higher Self informing that process as we take the time to go within to experience healing and renewal. As a result of that respite, we’re now ready for some happy experiences with family or friends.

Thoth is my favorite deck. It’s intuitive and I like that. Not everyone relates well to it, however, Lady Frieda Harris’s rendition of the cards is so beautiful that I wanted to show each one in detail. It sounds like September is going to be a good month for manifesting happy experiences, particularly if we allow some time for inner work and respite. It’s like taking a nap in the afternoon. Sometimes it helps clear the cobwebs.

Enjoy the Autumn Equinox, or Mabon if you prefer. Light and dark are equal at that time and magicks invoking balanced energy exchange,  transformation, and reversing attitudes can be worked. Rituals can take on a harvest focus along with observing the change in season from summer to fall. So have a blessed September, for the following month is the best of all!

Blessed Be!