Samhain 2008

Tarot Ritual
"The 13th Step"
Samhain 2008

Greeting

    I greet you this night in the name of the Fool. The Fool is all-trusting, all potential and possibility, the essential tabula rasa of a newborn soul, open to all that Life will bring. The Fool has no preconceptions, is blissfully unaware of "what could happen", and accepts what happens as it happens without anticipating or fearing it. It is also important to remember that in royal courts of days past, the king kept a Fool--who was the only person in the kingdom that could speak unpleasant or treasonous truths to the king, could say what everyone else was thinking but dared not say for fear of their lives. There can be a great deal of power in being a Fool. So tonight we welcome the Fool, the one being who will tell us the absolute truth that we need to hear. Open your hearts to the Fool and let him in. Be ready to hear and to accept the truths he will bring you and to use them in your life.

    I welcome each of you to the ritual, to honor Samhain, to celebrate the turning of the Wheel of the Year and to mark both another cycle completed as well as the new one beginning. This New Year night is one of the times when the veil between physical world and the spiritual world is thinnest. Because of this, we have many guests who are not particularly visible. As I name them, I will pause so that you can welcome them as well, either out loud or in the silence of your own thoughts. You can repeat the words I've used or you may have a specific name for the type of guest I am welcoming. I ask only that you welcome them to be with us.

ØWe welcome the Ancients, all of the Ancestors, the Old Ones who first walked this path.
ØWe welcome our own forebears, our family Ancestors, the grandfathers and grandmothers whose blood continues to flow through the years in our bodies.
ØWe welcome those who have died to this life and are not yet reborn, who have gathered with us here to mark this night. We may have known them or they may be strangers to us, but they are welcome here.
ØWe welcome the animal spirits; the beloved pets who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge, the animals that gave their lives for our nourishment, the animals who lived in this place before there were men to build villages and towns.
ØWe welcome the other-than-human, like spirit guides, the fae or elemental beings; whether they be corporeal or spiritual, these are also sacred beings with whom we would share this time and space. Welcome, all!

Cleansing, Consecrating, Casting the Circle

Cleansing:
    By the power of water and the power of earth, I cleanse this space of all negativity. I cleanse this space of all that is harmful, all the stifles love, all that hinders us from achieving our own sacred Divinity. I cleanse each of us of the shadows of daily worry and anxiety. I cleanse this altar and offer it as a sign of our desire to meet Deity in whatever form we recognize this night, this Samhain, in this time between worlds.

Consecrating:
    By the power of fire and the power of air, I consecrate this space and declare it holy. I consecrate all those within to their own truths, to the harmony of interconnected lives, to the holiness of merely being. I consecrate this altar and offer it as a sign of sacred intention, a promise of giving worth to all that is Divine.

Casting the Circle:
    By the power of spirit and the power of Perfect Love and Perfect Trust, I cast the circle. I mark the boundary of our gathering and set a seal to protect us in this place-that-is-not-a-place, a momentary temple where we will share our truths even as we share our sacredness. As I will this, So Mote it Be!

Calling the Quarters

East: Swords

Greetings and be welcome O Spirit of East, whose element is Air. We honor the mystery of Air: always in motion, always bringing change. We open ourselves to the messages Air brings and acknowledge the gift of communication we receive from Air. Bear witness to this, our ritual; stand guard as the sharpest sword and protect us from all evil! Hail and Welcome!

South: Wands

Greetings and be welcome O Spirit of South, whose element is Fire. We honor the mystery of Fire: always burning, always bringing change. We open ourselves to the ideas Fire brings and acknowledge the gift of creation we receive from Fire. Bear witness to this, our ritual; stand guard as the strongest wand and protect us from all evil. Hail and Welcome!
West: Cups

Greetings and be welcome O Spirit of West, whose element is Water. We honor the mystery of Water: always flowing, always bringing change. We open ourselves to the insight Water brings and acknowledge the gift of occult knowledge we receive from Water. Bear witness to this, our ritual; stand guard as the Cup of Courage and protect us from all evil. Hail and Welcome!

North: Coins

    Greetings and be welcome O Spirit of North, whose element is Earth. We honor the mystery of Earth: always manifest, always bringing change. We open ourselves to the abundance Earth brings and acknowledge the gift of prosperity we receive from Earth. Bear witness to this, our ritual; stand guard as the Blessed Pentacle and protect us from all evil. Hail and Welcome!

    The circle has been cast and the Guardians protect us; we are between worlds, where there is no time, only the eternal now. We are at that place where night and day, joy and sorrow, birth and death are all one. Blessed Samhain!

Invoking Divinity (Using Tarot Aces to represent each)

Cailleach/boar/Air/Swords
    We call upon that aspect of the Divine known as the Cailleach, the Crone face of the Triple Goddess. We welcome Her to our ritual, opening ourselves to Her ancient wisdom, to the lessons She imparts to each of us. We represent Her with this blade, manifest symbol of the suit of Swords in the Tarot, associated with Air and autumn. We anticipate the promises of the Swords: Triumph. Power. Success. Strength. We know that all this can be ours if we will heed the words of the Cailleach. Hail and Welcome!

Pele/white dog/Fire/Wands
    We call upon that aspect of the Divine known as Pele, also a Crone face of the Triple Goddess. We welcome Her to our ritual, opening ourselves to Her ancient passions, to the creative energy She imparts to each of us. We represent Her with this wand, manifest symbol of the suit of Wands in the Tarot, associated with Fire and summer. We anticipate the promises of the Wands: Fortune. Gain. Inheritance. Creation. We know that all this can be ours if we will heed the energy of Pele. Hail and Welcome!

Poseidon/sea lion/Water/Cups
    We call upon that aspect of the Divine known as Poseidon, the Sage face of the Triple God. We welcome Him to our ritual, opening ourselves to His ancient psychic powers, to the intuition He imparts to each of us. We represent Him with this cup, manifest symbol of the suit of Cups in the Tarot, associated with Water and spring. We anticipate the promises of the Cups: Fulfillment. Happiness. Joy. Productiveness. We know that all this can be ours if we will heed the tides of Poseidon. Hail and Welcome!

Cernunnos/stag/Earth/Coins
    We call upon that aspect of the Divine known as Cernunnos, also a Sage face of the Triple God. We welcome Him to our ritual, opening ourselves to His ancient abundance, to the resources He imparts to each of us. We represent him with this sack of coins, manifest symbols of the suit of Coins in the Tarot, associated with Earth and winter. We anticipate the promises of the Coins: Attainment. Ecstasy. Treasures. Material and spiritual prosperity. We know that all of this can be ours if we will heed the tangible harvest of Cernunnos. Hail and Welcome!

Thirteen Steps Meditation

    Please stand in a group, facing outward towards the various paths in the garden. I am going to say a series of words and with each word I want you to take one step. As you take that step, think about what the word means to you, what images it brings to mind, how it makes you feel. Keep walking in the same direction for each word until I say "Transformation". At that word, you will turn--either left, or right, or completely around to face the opposite direction to walk the words again. If you are walking behind someone and I say "Transformation", you cannot turn in the same direction as they did. When I say the word "Possibilities", you do not take a step, but look around you to see all the potential paths you may walk.

    We begin at:
    0. Possibilities     1. Creativity     2. Intuition     3. Abundance     4. Authority    5. Conformity     6. Relationships
    7.Achievement     8. Compassion     9. Solitude     10. Daring     11. Honor     12. Sacrifice
    13. Transformation

    And we end with Possibilities. Look around you. How far have you gone from where you started? Did you end up where you thought you would? And how have you changed in just these few minutes from who you were when we started? Do not mistake me, there have been changes, even if they are not visible. Please come back to your seats now.

    This is the night when the barriers between the worlds are pulled aside, making it easier to connect to the spiritual. In order to find that connection, we cast out all that stands in our way. We banish all that is harmful, whether from this side or the other; we banish our own fears of the unknown; we banish all negativity from this place, from our minds and from our hearts. We banish these things to open our hearts to the sacred connection we seek.
As I will it, So Mote It Be!

The Mysteries
"The 13th Step"
    You may be seated. Get comfortable for we are about to take a journey, using the Tarot deck as our guide.

The Tarot is comprised of two parts, the Major Arcana of 22 cards and the Minor Arcana which has 56. Modern playing cards are based on the Minor Arcana and like the modern decks, the Minor Arcana has 4 suits. Each suit represents some aspect of a human being's life. The main focus of the suit of swords is the mind, or mental; for the suit of wands, it is the spirit or spirituality. The suit of cups is focused on emotions and the suit of coins on the physical.

The other part of the Tarot deck, the Major Arcana, deals with the big questions, using larger-than-life representations for such things as religion in the Hugh Priestess or Hierophant cards, politics in the Empress and Emperor cards, sex (the Lovers) and all the other life-altering bombshells Fate will throw at you. Many of the people I know who read Tarot cards will tell you that if you get more than half of your reading as cards from the Major Arcana, you might as well just give up--you can't fight Fate and this is Your Destiny, in capital letters. It's what my friend refers to as a "clue by four". No doubt at all about the meaning!

The Major Arcana also tells the story of the Fool's Journey, part of which we will walk tonight. The Fool has no number, or is considered to be "Zero" and as such is the beginning point. When you draw the Fool in a Tarot reading, it is a signal that there is something coming--it's a fresh start, the clean slate. Everything is possible. Because the Fool has no preconceptions, he is open to whatever may happen. On his journey, he meets archetypal figures, symbols of the things he is learning or doing on his journey. You heard those listed in our meditation. Let me line them up with the Tarot for you.

The Magician is the first person the Fool meets on his journey. He represents the creative force, the shaping of our own reality and his tools arrayed on the table are the same as the Fool carries in his travel satchel--the four symbols of the Minor Arcana: wand, cup, coin and sword. Remember, these represent the various sides of human life and so it is appropriate that they show up often. After meeting the Magician, the Fool then goes on to see the High Priestess, symbol of intuition, of listening to your gut. She is about already knowing the answer to the question you've just asked.

The Empress and Emperor are a matched pair, representing our parents. Mother teaches us about nurturing and home while Father teaches about leadership and taking control of our lives. Then the Fool meets the Hierophant, who warns us of the lure of conformity but also teaches about social acceptance and the things we must do to fit in our particular society. What is a sin in one culture can be a moral obligation in other. So we need to learn to be conventional--that is, to follow our tribe's conventions. Once we can fit in, we then have relationships and this is where the card of the The Lovers appears. It's not just about our sexual relations, but it is also the card that deals with having balanced and intimate relationships with those we choose.

It becomes very apparent that the Fool's journey is a metaphor for our lives. We are born as guileless as the Fool, trusting and open to all that occurs. We explore our world which at first is very limited and mostly involves our self. Watch a baby discover its hand... Then we learn from our parents, the Emperor and Empress of our lives until it's time for school--the time of learning from the Hierophant, gaining social skills and conforming in order to be accepted by our peers. Eventually we begin to explore the world around us, going further and further from home as we mature. We learn how to form relationships, every kind of interaction from friends and peers to colleagues and coworkers through romantic relationships.

So where does the Fool's journey go next? He gets to ride The Chariot. The picture shows a man guiding his chariot without leads or whip, but only through his own stamina and focus. The Chariot symbolizes victory through adversity; in other words, hard work and perseverance will win the day. Part of the lesson that The Chariot imparts leads us to Strength. Strength and power are NOT the same things. Strength is the combination of fortitude and compassion, being able to face our fears and tame them. By using both The Chariot and Strength, we can come to the point of being The Hermit. While alone, he is not lonely; he is silent counsel and knowing the lessons life has imparted. He is the Fool with experience; still open to learning, not letting what he knows stand in the way of new knowledge.

The next card is the Wheel of Fortune, representing all the variables that Life will throw at us. In a Tarot reading, it's considered a sign of good luck; that good fortune is coming to you. It is always a sign of positive change. Following on the heels of the Wheel of Fortune is Justice. Justice teaches about rational thinking, of weighing the pros and cons before coming to a fair decision. It's about being honorable. Justice is also the halfway point of the Major Arcana, and marks the place where the focus changes from the Fool sort of blithely going through life, doing whatever strikes his fancy to something darker and more frightening. In “Dante's Inferno”, Dante describes himself this way: "Midway upon the journey of our life/I found myself within a forest dark/For the straightforward pathway had been lost".

Everyone must go through Dante's dark wood, must travel through the underworld of our own darker side. We have talked about this before and I remind you that each and every one of us has a dark side. I don't care how pleasant you are, how perky or upbeat you may be. Each of us deals with anger, sorrow, disappointment, jealousy, bitterness, every unpleasant and negative emotion you can name. If you have not experienced them, you are not living. I would also remind you that emotions, in and of themselves, are neither good nor bad. It is how we express them, how we experience them, that can make the problem. I believe that enlightenment and spiritual contentment do not come from suppressing or denying these negative emotions but rather, come from acknowledging them and trying to understand why we feel them and what lesson they impart.

So what is the Fool having to face, in this dark wood? He first meets the Hanged Man. This can be a significant card as it points to spiritual growth and surrender to a higher wisdom. In the illustration on the card, the Hanged Man is not in pain, nor does he seem to be unhappy. He's just upside down. Like Odin hanging in Yggdrasil, he seeks wisdom and knowledge. If you practice Yoga, you know that inversions are a part of the movements. It's a good idea to turn things on their heads...lets you see a familiar situation from a new perspective and can offer fresh insights in dealing with routine issues. And once you have done that, you are ready for the 13th step.

For the 13th card in the Major Arcana is the one card everyone knows. It's also the one card that most everyone gets the meaning wrong...unless you are familiar with the Tarot. The card that wears the number 13 is Death. Perhaps this is where the fear of the number 13 originated...but anyways, it has to be the most maligned, most misunderstood card in the entire deck. It doesn't help that the illustration is almost always some type of a skeleton with a scythe. It's Death, man! You're gonna die!

No, you're not. Well, yes you are, everyone does at some point in their lives. Usually at the end of their lives. But if you're doing a Tarot reading and you get the Death card, it does not mean that you should sell all of your possessions and pick out your cemetery plot. Death, man, is about change. Let me say that again: Death is about change, with a capital C. Transformation. Renewal. The end of one cycle and the beginning of another. Like in the movie, "The Mummy", Death is only the beginning.

Every change, especially major change, in your life could be considered a type of death. You were a baby and that being died, to become a toddler, who died to become a child, who died to become a teenager...You were single and that solitary person died to become a spouse or you were married and that ended, so your marital being died to become single again. You see where I'm going with this, I hope. How many times have you heard someone say, "I'm not the person I was x number of years ago"? Maybe you've even said it yourself. So the person who was is no longer; they are, by definition, dead. They have been transformed. Life has its cycles; spring bursts forth to pass into summer, which turns into fall and that dies into winter, which is reborn as spring. This is Nature's way and we are a part of Nature. So it's not hard to see where our own lives have seasons.

Death is a part of this. The barren fields, the leafless trees are all a promise of inexorable change. Spring cannot come if there has been no winter, no fallow time. Death is Nature's way of bringing the next new thing. And yet, if you are like me, change is dreaded. It's inevitable, but it's not particularly looked forward to. And here is where the Fool's frame of mind, his innocent and trusting foolishness can be the greatest help to us. In the Tarot card, the picture of the Fool is a young man, about to step off of a cliff that he does not see. He's not about to go over the Cliffs of Despair. He is making a leap of faith.

And that is the 13th step, to make that leap of faith, to step out into what seems to be empty air, knowing that change occurs and there will be solid footing for us if we use the gifts and knowledge we have been given on our Fool's journey through Life. Possibilities. Creativity. Intuition. Abundance. Authority. Conformity. Relationships. Achievement. Compassion. Solitude. Daring. Honor. Sacrifice. And from sacrifice, we can take our 13th step and make the Transformation.

But where is the Hanged Man? Who is the one that seeks higher wisdom and is willing to have their world turned upside down to gain it? Who will make the sacrifice to achieve Transformation? Is it you? (Pointing to anyone, repeat the question several times.)

Well, we certainly can’t hang all of you from the trees. Especially if I’m going to be up there with you. Ah but what have I got here? A mysterious little Poppet…could be anyone, and so it shall. This little being shall take our place and represent our intentions tonight. This is the Hanged Man, dangling upside down like Odin and accepting of the Fate that is inevitable.

See the string that binds the Poppet? These are the things that hold us back, that tie us down and keep us from becoming what we are meant to be. These are the chains of habit, the tethers of fear, the enslaving ropes of “what if” and “but it’s always been this way”. See the knots? Those are the things that we let stop us, the blind adherence to custom or convention without being true to one’s self; the Gordian knots of anger, bitterness, emotional pain, and feeling alone.

You’ll notice that the Poppet is in a bag. This bag is our familiar surroundings, the usual way of doing things—and the very thing that keeps us from seeing the truth of our lives. We think that the bag of our lives is all that there is…and it can be scary to leave that bag, that safe enclosure and venture out into the big Universe. But with the help of the Hanged Man, we can let the cat out of the bag, let go of the past, let go of harmful emotions, let go of anything that keeps us from being sacred…and make the Transformation. And now, we do so with our little Poppet.

    Are you ready, Poppet? It’s time for change!

    Aloha, Pele, we greet you at the fire’s side. We bring you this Poppet, our mirror image, our own being and ask you to change it through the fires of your being. You destroy to create and we gladly and of our own free will offer ourselves to your renewing fires. Destroy the Hanged Man! Burn up the fears, burn up the doubts, burn up all that holds us back. Burn up the strings that restrain us, burn up the bag that hides us. And in daring our own destruction, in being consumed in sacred fire, we are born anew, like the Phoenix. We will rise from the creative fires of our destruction and be changed, be transformed. Mahalo, Ahi Makuahine, mahalo.

(Quiet time, personal meditation)


    Part of sacrifice and change can be the need for healing before any transformation can take place. On this, our New Year's night, we work together to make a healing for all those in need of it. Please think of someone you know that needs to be healed--and it doesn't matter where the illness or injury is: mind, body or spirit. It may even be you yourself that seeks this healing. Picture the person in your mind and then picture them enveloped in white light, like a spotlight shining directly on them, or maybe it's just a white glow all the way around them. Picture this clearly, see all the details and then hold that picture in your mind. Imagine the white light is healing them, flowing into them and curing whatever is wrong. Even if the illness is a part of their life's lessons, you can heal them of fear and despair, to help ease the process they must go through. As you picture the healing, I invite you to come up and put some of this incense onto the fire. I have blended it from herbs and oils that are specifically associated with healing and as it burns on the fire, the aroma adds its own energy to the healing you are picturing in your mind. I would also ask that you remain silent and respectful of the others until everyone is done.

Cakes and Ale

    And now we share the abundance of the God and Goddess.
(Pomegranate)
    Tonight I offer you the taste of Death. Be like Persephone who willingly ate the six pomegranate seeds in the Underworld in order to stay with Hades. Do not fear Death, for it is truly only the beginning. Death is transformation; open your spirit to the changes the Divine would bring you. May you never hunger.
(Water)
    Tonight I offer you the taste of Life. As water brings growth out of the barren desert, let this water rejuvenate you. There is no life without water so drink deeply of the Divine’s generosity. May you never thirst.

Thanking Deity

Cernunnos/stag/Earth/Coins
    We have met Cernunnos, Lord of the Forest and we thank Him for being with us this night. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!

Poseidon/sea lion/Water/Cups
    We have met Poseidon, King of the Sea and we thank Him for being with us this night. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!

Pele/white dog/Fire/Wands
    We have met Pele, Mother of Fire and we thank Her for being with us this night. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!

Cailleach/boar/Air/Swords
    We have met the Cailleach, Goddess of Experience and we thank Her for being with us this night. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!

Dismissing the Quarters

North: Coins
    We thank thee, O Spirit of North, for standing guardian and witness to our ritual this night. We are grateful for Your gift of material prosperity, the coins that You give us. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!

West: Cups
    We thank thee, O Spirit of West, for standing guardian and witness to our ritual this night. We are grateful for Your gift of insight, the cup that You give us. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!

South: Wands
    We thank thee, O Spirit of South, for standing guardian and witness to our ritual this night. We are grateful for Your gift of creation, the wand that You give us. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!

East: Swords
    We thank thee, O Spirit of East, for standing guardian and witness to our ritual this night. We are grateful for Your gift of messages, the sword that You give us. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!

Opening the Circle

(Inscribing pentacle with circle)
    With Cernunnos’ earth, I open the circle.
    With Poseidon’s water, I open the circle.
    With Pele’s fire, I open the circle
    With the Cailleach’s air, I open the circle.
    With sacred spirit, I open the circle.
    In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust, I open the circle and we are once more back in our own plane of existence.

The circle is open but unbroken
May the peace of the Goddess be forever in our hearts
Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again.