The wheel turns. Our youngest son is ONE today*. His pregnancy and birth was so closely aligned with the wheel of the year and my pregnancy with him was an incredibly generative time for our business (I wrote and published the Womanrunes book as well as sculpted more than twenty of our sculpture/pendant designs while pregnant with him!) I can hardly believe he is one now! Instead of leaping right into my to-do list when he was napping today, I sat with my cards and my Divination Practicum workbook. I’m really enjoying the many ways my own course dovetails with the prompts in the 30 Days of Hecate course. Today’s assignment was to do a tarot reading using Joanna’s “Elder of Fire” layout. I did it with the Gaian Tarot (of course!) and then with Womanrunes. I learned from both layouts and felt like doing this was just what I needed today. I’d been feeling scattered, drained, touched out, and stressed. The kids are all sick and we’ve been what feels like nonstop busy and I’ve been craving down time, solitude, and space to think. My list is a mile long, but I made space for this work first instead of saving it for the oft-elusive “later.” This Elder of Fire layout feels like a really, really powerful layout to do at this time of year and I encourage you to try it yourself this weekend! I was also very interested to see that the rune of the day for me today was The Cauldron and then The Cauldron was also the first card for my Elder spread. That is very Hecate-riffic.
1. Offering: What or who is dead or dying, that you need to honor?
2. Challenge: What task does the Elder of Fire ask of you?
3. Center: Where do you find your center of power?
4. Opening: What new sweetness is wafting in on the scent of burning herbs?
5. Wisdom: What secrets do the ancestors whisper to you this All Hallows Eve?
The results of this layout for me were:
and combined with The Gaian Tarot:
1. Offering: What or who is dead or dying, that you need to honor? The reversed Awakening tarot card indicates that what is “dying” is being controlling and rigid, unwilling to hear the call of spirit. The Cauldron reminds me that something is waiting to be stirred–to be brewed up–and that what is passing away is a time of confusion or not knowing.
2. Challenge: What task does the Elder of Fire ask of you? The Elder of Earth here asks me “to be deeply content within” while the Flying Woman serenades me with her call to action and transformation. Interestingly, I’d already inked her on my wrist this morning holding the Cauldron. Even more interesting is that the takeaway part of her message in the Womanrunes book is to spin, spin together in the dance of life. And…look what she is paired with…the Elder of Earth spinning on her wheel!
3. Center: Where do you find your center of power? This one was a little more confusing because The Canoe in the tarot is reversed, which doesn’t feel very center of power-y. However, I read the description and actually laughed because it says, “perhaps you are pushing too hard and have lost the pleasure of the project.” I have been complaining all week of feeling too pushy and like I’m “revving” too hard trying to keep up. So, The Canoe reminds me to paddle and float and steer with focus rather than drive, per se. I’m not surprised to see The Winged Circle show up here—I’ve been tight and closed in and need to remember to spread my wings and to shake things off, opening to possibility.
4. Opening: What new sweetness is wafting in on the scent of burning herbs? Justice showing up here makes sense too, reminding me of balance. So, what better pairing to balance out my sense of tight, driven pushiness than the Womanrunes card, The Yoni: Rune of Pleasure. This rune relates to creativity and joy. Yes, please.
5. Wisdom: What secrets do the ancestors whisper to you this All Hallows Eve? The Two of Air shows up here telling me to make time for silence and to listen to the whispers of my deep self. And, to “move at the pace of guidance.” In a funny, literal twist, something that I keep snapping about this work is that I need quiet. I crave silence, I have said multiple times over the last few days. The Rune of Prosperity shows up here, connecting beautifully to the tree imagery in the tarot card and whispering to me to rest and let sunlight kiss my branches.
After laying out the cards and journaling, I let myself page through the notes from my friends at my mother blessing last year as I prepared for my baby’s birth. It felt sweet and tender to allow myself that pleasure as I sit next to my napping now one year old boy, instead of immediately launching into my to-do’s, which is what nap time is usually reserved for (and indeed is usually the only sustained period of concentrated, creative energy I have in a day and even it is often fragmented by needing to pat his back or nurse him so he will continue napping).
My husband finished uploading Tanner’s birth video today in honor of his birthday. I know that not all of my followers here are interested in childbirth, but if you are, the video is here!
*Note: I keep saying “today” in this post because I started it on October 30th, which is the day it goes with. However, it isn’t actually publishing until the 31st, because it got really late before I could finish writing it!
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WoodsPriestess 
Molly, I always enjoy reading your posts, love your insight. xoxo