Sabbats, Seasons, and Tarot Spreads

As we continue our Weekly Reading, we pause today — midway through the week — to look back at where we’ve been. We opened by looking at a theme: Pay attention to what really matters. Then, yesterday, we narrowed our focus a bit: Don’t get sidetracked with petty disagreements.

Today it’s good to explore these ideas a bit more, in the context of “Why does this matter?” So we turn over the next card and here we find the 8 of Candles or 8 of Wands as it’s usually known.

I love this card! I find it especially beautiful — and this is a key point in Tarot interpretation. What we feel is just as important as — or maybe even more important than — the “standard meanings” of the card. In other words, while this is a card of haste, speed, too many things happening at once, I am seeing it first and foremost as a symbol of beauty.

The holiday season should be beautiful. It should be filled with love and joy and happiness. Maybe that’s an overly-idealistic point of view, but isn’t the holiday season a time to dream of peace and good will? Isn’t this time of year an opportunity to look for beauty? It’s there. Sometimes it may be hard for us to see, but it is there.

We’ve been guided this week to think about what’s truly important, to avoid petty distractions, and now we come to the essential message of this Weekly Reading. Why do these things matter? It matters because this is a season for joy and happiness. We need to remember that.

Now, having responded to that “intuitive sense” of this card, we can turn our attention back to its more traditional meanings: quick action, messages, hustle and bustle, and sometimes, too many things going on all at once.

It’s easy to see how the 8 of Wands relates to the holidays. Yes, we get busy, busy, busy! Our days are filled with work, family obligations, efforts to keep up with shopping, wrapping baking, decorating. And our nights are busy, too. Everyone is having holiday parties. Are we supposed to go to them all? We don’t want to miss out, nor do we want to let anyone down! How do we cope with it all?

We close our eyes and we get in touch with the true meaning of the season. Whether we’re celebrating it as a religious holiday, a spiritual rebirth of the light, or as a fun time of year for family and friends, we can’t lose sight of the essential truth. The holiday season is meant to be joyous, beautiful, and filled with love.

This is what our “weekly” guidance is all about. Tarot is showing us that it is this holiday spirit that truly matters. Find it, cherish it, celebrate it. Focus on what truly matters, don’t squabble over insignificant things, and hold fast to today’s message: MAKE THIS A SEASON OF LOVE AND BEAUTY.