The equinox is the point of equal day and equal night, that moment when all is poised in balance between contradictory realities. Kind of like life, isn't it? Nothing is all of one thing or all of the other, and everything sometimes whirls in the maelstrom until we can't tell one from the other...but everything also, occasionally, takes that moment of hesitation, that pause before movement, that instant of being able to stand on both sides of the hedge and see both angles of declension at once. And so, this date gives rise to the concept of a spread in which each card is read in both the upright and reversed position, showing both contradictory, but both important and congruent, sides of the question. So---what better vehicle to use for such a question than the traditional "Five Elements/Five Directions", representing the Whole Self, Mind, Will, Emotion, Body, and Spirit. This reading is done with the Celtic Ogham cards from Liz and Colin Murray's Celtic Tree Oracle, and five questions were asked to generate both upright and reversed meaning for each card:
Mind: What do I need to Know?
Will: What is my True Will?
Emotion: What Feelings must I Notice and Heed?
Body: What must I Do?
Spirit: How must I Evolve?
And here are our answers, in light and darkness.
Mind: What Do I Need To Know? Response -- Luis, Rowan: Protection of the Heart
Upright: You need to know what is going on in your life, and keep your wits about you, because you need to protect yourself from misdirection, aggression and misunderstanding. Gnothi seauton--know thy Self.
Reversed: What you think you are being told may not be all of the truth. You think you know, but you do not. Look deeper. Be protected from deception.
Will: What is my True Will? Response -- Muin, Vine: Prophecy, Intuition.
Upright: Your True Will is who you ARE, not what you WANT. And the card tells you that, intuitively and through the use of the prophetic gift that is part of your psyche, you already know what that is, who that is, who you are. Trust in the knowledge you bear within your Self is your strongest ally in knowing your True Will, your destiny.
Reversed: You are letting yourself be distracted and looking for too many external verifications of your ideas, rather than simply trusting in your Self. What you know, you know.
Emotion: What Feelings must I Notice and Heed? Response -- Uilleand, Honeysuckle: Hidden Secret
Reversed: You have a tendency to hide your feelings even from yourself, denying or rejecting certain feelings as "inappropriate". This is a denial of who you are. Don't do it.
Body: What must I Do? Response: Eadha, White Poplar: Rebirth and Healing
Upright: You have been walking a road not your own, and you are doing things others wish, not what you need, want, and Will to do. It is time to be reborn, time to heal the hurts of the past and remake your Self and your Journey.
Reversed: Fear is the enemy here. There is nothing you can lose that is of as much value as that which you will gain by embracing change and a new direction.
Spirit: How shall I Evolve? Response: Straif, Blackthorn: No Choice, Simply Move!
No difference in interpretation between upright and reversed for this card. It simply means that there will be disruption and upheaval in the new direction, something like what happens when you do a massive house-cleaning, throwing things away, rearranging furniture, and making an entire new environment in which to live your life. This isn't fun, it isn't easy, and it is disruptive. But the end results are so rewarding that many of us have a habit of doing it once a year. Spring is here, Oestare is a new beginning, and now it is your time to grow. Go for it!
It sounds as if there's quite the dance in store for you, change, rebirth, new directions, and a nice clean house, or its equivalent, at the close of the day. And if you're continuing to dance through the Hop, Krysten's blog will be your next stop, or Annick's blog if you're dancing in reverse. And if you've no idea where you want to go next, there's a Master List available to assist you. Happy Hopping!
