TAROT OF THE OLD PATH

The Tarot of the Old Path are a series of unique esoteric and ultimately feminine cards that were designed by a Witches Coven!

I will be including some additional meanings to the cards in the future but wanted to share with you the beauty of these cards

The Ace of Cups

This card represents love overflowing and joyous new beginnings within the sanctity of a relationship (which all witches consider to be sacred). It can be interpreted as love of self or an abundance of love for others but usually indicates (especially if there is a king or knight card near - that a man (reverse or queen for women) is present in the individual's reading.

Creative Visualisation – Meditation – Into the Grove

This exercise is designed to put you in touch with lunar energies. The purpose of this exercise is to give you the opportunity to see yourself as a part of the divine matrix of life, to activate your imagination and to enable you to concentrate on the precision of detail that your creative imagination has.

·         Sit in a comfortable position that you will be able to sustain for a while. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Hold your breath for a second and then exhale slowly and completely. Continue breathing in a relaxed, easy manner. Form a mental picture of your immediate surroundings. Allow your imagination to enable them to disintegrate. Gone are the tables and chairs, curtains and walls. Gone are the telephone, the television, and all the trappings of the waking world. Let your mind create new surroundings, reflections of the natural world. The door to the room you are in is then replaced by the pathway to a new reality.

 

·         You are standing at the edge of the woods. The sun set long ago and the night is cool and clear. You see a path before you and you feel compelled to follow it.

 

·         The sounds of the night are all around you like a natural orchestra. Crickets provide the stirring section, a chorus of cicadas dominates the treble notes, and an elusive owl contributes the occasional solo. You are comforted by this symphony, knowing that you are not alone but in the peaceful company of nature’s creatures.

 

·         The moon is rising high in the sky, casting shadows all around you. You are drawn in by instinct, not knowing where you are headed, but knowing that some intriguing mystery awaits you. You are on unfamiliar ground, but you are not afraid.

 

·         The cool night air surrounds you and comforts you. You feel strangely at home, as though you were walking through a pleasant childhood memory – some special place that only you and maybe a trusted friend knew about.

 

·         You ascend higher and higher. The earth is now very far away and you are surrounded in perfect silence by the cosmos.

 

·         The glorious moon is right in front of you like a gigantic mirror. You can see your own reflection in the light she reflects from the sun. You can see yourself through all aspects of your life: as a young child, as an adolescent, as a young adult, as a mature adult, as an elder. The images flow smoothly, one into another in a seamless fade so that you can hardly tell when one has begun and another has ended. You realise that the moon is turning, and you are seeing yourself reflected in all the phases: new, waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, and new again. As the moon moves through her phases, enacting all aspects of the Triple Goddess, so too are you changing, seeing yourself for the first time against the expanse of time. You realise that you are who you are now, as well as all the ages you have been and are yet to be.

 

·         You are drawn even closer to the moon until you feel that you are being absorbed into her. Any sense of yourself begins to dissolve as you become integrated with the pure and perfect white light. You feel it permeating every pore of your being. You are pure consciousness living in a brilliant glow of light. The moonlight moves through you. It is you, you are a part of it.

 

·         Take a moment to pause and experience being pure consciousness. Listen to the will of the universe and see your place within the divine matrix.

 

·         Slowly, you begin to pull yourself together back into your familiar form. You feel perfectly at peace. The moon is before you once again; so huge you can see nothing else.

 

·         You look down and you can see the earth rising up to meet you. You turn back to the moon and it is a little farther away. You feel the familiar atmosphere surround you once again.

 

·         When you look down, you can see the checkered patterns of civilisation on the earth, even the pattern of city lights scattered across the land.

 

·         Down, down you descend until you are once again among the familiar tops of the trees. The sounds of crickets and frogs fill your ears with a welcoming melody. You can smell the organic scents of the forest.

 

·         Slowly, slowly you touch the earth again and find yourself gazing again into the pool, contemplating the reflection of the moon and the reflection of all the lives you have lived on this earth, all of the different people you have become, and all that is still left for you to discover.

 

·         You understand that the nature of change is inherent in life. You can see it with every turn of the tides, with every silver crescent that you know in your heart to be a full circle, even when it is hidden.

 

·         You stand up and gaze into the pool one last time before turning to the path that brought you here. Dried leaves crunch under your feet. The creatures of the night that welcomed you with their song now bid you a fond farewell until you meet again. Even the trees in the grove seem to wave farewell in the night breeze.

 

·         You leave the forest with the bright moonlight casting shadows as you pass. You smile with the knowledge that this sacred grove will always be here for you when you are in need of peaceful contemplation and self-awareness.

 

·         You look up at the moon, now high overhead, seemingly as unattainable as ever (except to astronauts). You think about the journey you have taken tonight. You have bathed in the moonlight and it has touched every part of you. You are a child of the Goddess and this light now lives within you to illuminate your path wherever you choose to wander.

Congratulations. You have just taken a trip to the moon. Pause for a moment to focus your thoughts and reacquaint yourself with your ‘real-life’ surroundings. When you are ready, answer the following questions:

1.       Were you able to visualise yourself at the edge of the forest? How did you feel entering the dark woods? Did you experience excitement or trepidation?

 

2.       Were you able to hear the sounds of the night? How did they make you feel? How long did the path seem to you? Was it a few steps, or was it many miles?

 

3.       Were you are to visualise the moonlight in the grove? Did the grove seem familiar to you? What was the temperature of the water in the pool? Was it cold or temperate or warm to the touch?

 

4.       How did you feel about leaving the earth? How did you manage to rise above the trees? Did you float or fly? Did you use anything to help you? Any movements (flapping arms) or tools (wings)?

 

5.       When you came back down to the earth, was your descent swift or slow? Did you feel as though you were falling, or did you feel as though you were in control of the situation?

 

 

By answering these questions honestly and as soon as possible after you have completed the visualisation, you are training your mind to imagine specific details regarding fantastic situations and recall them accurately. This will aid you in anything you do that is connected to spirituality and assist with recording prophetic dreams or casting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright: Paula Thompson (MA)

ARTWISE @ THE UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD