Reading of Portland’s Spiritual Climate 8/7/2013

Waning Influence: The High Priestess

In Portland’s recent past, there has been an opening to the underworld. People–as individuals and collectives–have made space for unheard voices to speak. Doing that work has required compassion and courage, a willingness to be humble and to open up to the uncertainty of the unknown.

The High Priestess is the guardian to the gates of the underworld, the realm of the dead and the buried, of secrets and mysteries, all the pain and strength, the shadow and gold we hide from ourselves (and each other). She might appear as fearsome or gentle, depending on where we are with our work, on what we need to see and uncover.

However she appears, she is a reflection of ourselves. She is our own inner voice, our deep wisdom. She calls us to descend, to become intimate with our own interiors.

This work might seem, at first glance, to be deeply solitary. But the deeper we go inside of our selves, the more we see how interconnected we are with each other and the world. Our secrets are not truly our own; my shadow work likely illuminates and inspires the unveiling my friends need to do, and vice versa.

There is another facet as well. At the risk of distorting Jung’s concept, we could say that there is a collective unconscious, a shared cultural amnesia, emotions and realities, wounds and resiliencies and radical possibilities that groups conspire to ignore and suppress together.  

Some of that shared shadow has spoken or appeared recently.

Full Influence: One of Water (Ace of Cups)

Not all encounters with the High Priestess go well. Some of the time we might turn away from her underworld wisdom, we might silence the liminal voices that speak through her.

But right now, in Portland, the cards indicate that, for most of us, that encounter did go well.

The High Priestess brought us to a gate and challenged us with truth and now the door is open and blessings can flow through. By listening to the High Priestess, we have cleansed the pathway to our deep selves, through which the Divine can now move and speak.

We are in a place where are connected to our hearts. We are flowing with our emotional tides, and those emotional tides sing with the loving song of Spirit.

We have the opportunity, now, to listen deeply to the yearnings of our hearts. These yearnings will guide us on a path towards beauty and connection, if we allow them to.

We have the opportunity to welcome love in, to connect with ourselves and others in new ways.

We have the opportunity to open deeply to the mysteries of transformation, to let Divine Love enter deeply into us and make us new.

Waxing Influence: The Devil

Through the gate that we have opened, deeper layers of truth and shadow are emerging. Only the first signs, the trembling winds that arrive before a big storm, are here right now. But some painful truth is arising. Something we don’t want to see is becoming visible. Something we have worked hard to repress is escaping from the bonds of denial and darkness, coming into the light of awareness.

This might seem like a punishment. After all, we’ve been doing the work of holding our hearts open and what is the result? More pain and more fear.

But the Devil brings a gift, if we let him. He shows us our fears, our addictions, our ugly, cramped selves so that we can be free of them. His appearance makes visible some trap we’ve been bound in, without even knowing it, some tangle of denial that’s been sucking our life force up.

The Devil is a ruthless mirror, showing us the oldest lies we believe; paradoxically, these lies can show us the way to the truths beneath them.

If we have the courage to keep our eyes open, to remain connected and present, to continue expanding and trusting through the appearance of fear and pain and helplessness, the Devil will liberate us from our chains.

The Surprise Bonus Card: The Chariot

This card leapt out at me when I finished shuffling, eager to be included in the reading. How like the Chariot!

As an extra card, the Chariot informs and colors the whole reading. It tells us that now is a time when our intentions and decisions can have a lot of extra oomph. Things are moving quickly and dramatically. It’s important to consider where you’re directing your attention and energy right now, because you can travel fast and far down any road you pick in a short time.

Now is a time for the reunion of estranged or opposing forces. When mind and shadow work together, when people mend bruised and broken relationships, great energies are unleashed.

The Oracle’s Advice: Sister Wind (Page of Swords)

We have been doing a lot of deep, internal work. Exploring the caverns of our minds, drinking in the waters of spiritual love, realigning the bones of our souls. This has been important and necessary and isn’t–as far as I can tell–over yet.

But there is also a need for us to speak more about this inner work. There is a need for us to move through the world in new ways, to talk and sing of the discoveries we’ve been making.

The near future is likely to be a challenging time, a kind of passage through a tight waterway where we might wind up shipwrecked on the rocky shore of the Devil’s fearsome lies. The way to make it safely through is to sing. To reach out for connection with our voices. To share the truths, painful and raw, exuberant and bright, that we’ve been uncovering.

There is also a need for lightness, for rising up. Sing a song of joy, sing a song of gratitude, a song of the deep strength and love welling up from your open heart, even when Hell seems to rise up and surround you. Sing to the flames and pray, ask them to burn away your illusions and free you from fear.