Sabbats, Seasons, and Tarot Spreads

Welcome to a new “Weekly Reading” — a collective reading designed to guide us all through another busy week. I’ll be using Rockpool Publishing’s new “Winter Tarot” for this reading. Each day we’ll look at a particular card I’ve drawn, we’ll consider it in the context of our weekly spread, and we’ll glean actional advice from its message.

So, let’s begin! It’s Monday morning, we’re looking at a holiday week, so what guidance does tarot have to offer?

Our card for today is the “Master of Winter Pentacles” — or, The King of Pentacles, as it would be called in other decks.

Whenever I turn over a card to begin interpreting it, I start by asking “What do I feel?” When I saw this card, I felt warmth and comfort, a sense of “being at home”, a feeling of security. Indeed, these are good keywords for the King of Pentacles.

Now, here’s a thought to keep in mind. If we begin with the Major Arcana cards, then proceed through the suits in the traditional order — Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles — this King of Pentacles represents the final card in the deck. Stop for just a moment and think about what this means.

It would be appropriate here to share the guidebook description for this card:

“A jolly older man sits in his favorite chair, reading one of his many adventures while next to him his dog sleeps soundly. All around him are symbols of his wealth and status, though nothing is over the top; he’s just been fortunate to collect many mementos from his journeys. He’s lived a long life, building businesses, losing them, and building them again. He’s been an initiate, apprentice, and artisan and is finally a master, sharing his wealth of knowledge with students eager to follow in his footsteps. He now spends his days in the house he’s built with his bare hands, enjoying the company of his family.”

I ask you now to think about this again. Who is this King of Pentacles, really? In a sense, he is each of us. No matter what our age, no matter our gender, no matter our financial status, this card represents the concept of “lived experience”.

It is telling us that we are the sum total of our experiences. All around us are symbols of our personal wealth — cherished photographs, little collectibles, colorful rugs, music albums, favorite movies, recipes, crafts, and on and on and on. We are what we’ve done, where we’ve been, who we have loved, what we have learned. Like this King of Pentacles, we, too, are surrounded by our stories.

We may be at a very different stage of life than this “jolly older man”, but he serves as a reminder that life holds many successes, many failures, many beginnings, and many endings. This is a fitting message for this week as we watch one year come to a close and a new one begin.

What this card teaches us is to be appreciative of all our experiences in life. They make us who we are. The card encourages us to reflect on the past, to think about where we’ve been and what we’ve done.

Take a moment to look back over the last twelve months. Where were you last December? What hopes and dreams did you have for 2025? What was the highlight of the year? Were there low points along the way? It’s all right to feel sadness or to have regrets. They are part of who we are, yet they don’t have to define us.

We are more than our mistakes; we can move beyond failures; we can find new opportunities and not lament the ones we missed.

Today, let’s pull up a chair beside this King of Pentacles and ask him to tell us his stories, and then let’s tell a few of our own. Consider every moment a blessing. Each passing moment brings new experiences and shapes who we are becoming.