Parting the Mists

A fitting draw for today, the second part of the Day of the Dead and All Souls Day.

As I’ve said before, this card means more than honoring and remembering our ancestors. It’s also about taking the initiative to heal ancestral wounds and to use our ancestral gifts. No family is ALL bad; each has something worthwhile even if one has to really dig to consider it. Find what your ancestral gift is – and work to heal and end the cycle of genetic wounds. This isn’t easy. I’ve often had to tell myself “they can’t all be dicks” in regard to my father’s family. Truly, they all aren’t, and something happened to cause the behavior and hateful attitudes to those who did have these traits. I had to work to keep that from poisoning my own life.

Blessings and have a good day!

Thistle

ANCESTORS – The love and legacy of our DNA

I walk in their footsteps 
Their wisdom inside me remains
I am unique, yet carry a legacy
Their blood runs in my veins

Whether or not we know our ancestors, we are the product of those who have lived before us, DNA-wise. Externally, we may have the body type of our father, our mother’s eyes, our grandmother’s nose, our great-grandfather’s skin tone.

On the inside, it gets even more interesting. We know now that we can “inherit” the way our body works, blood types, genetic disorders, even propensities for aspects of brain function like introversion, musicality, and mathematics.

Many Pagan paths associated with Halloween believe that we are born perfectly imperfect to be exactly what we are meant to be. What does this mean? It means that the gifts our ancestors left us and the unique synergy of the combination of the physical, mental, and physical that is created within us, sets us up perfectly to achieve our ultimate purpose.

Should the Ancestor card bring itself to your attention, know that you are ready and able to action your birthright of power. You have the support of those who came before you. There may be challenges or struggles, but you have everything you need to overcome them. You will prevail!

The Halloween Oracle by author Stacey Demarco and artist Jimmy Manton

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While there will be many festivities today in honor of Halloween, let us also remember that it is the Eve of Samhain and just a couple days away from All Souls Day. It is fine to dress up and have some fun today, but it’s also appropriate to honor the dead and light a candle in their honor.

Every year, we set up a Beloved Dead altar in honor of loved ones who have passed. I find it a beautiful and comforting tradition. And no, if an ancestor-type altar is of interest to you, you do not have to include those who have brought you pain and trauma. Focus on those who were kind or taught you valuable lessons (without also inflicting trauma).

Blessings,

Thistle

THE LAMP – Remembrance

I light a single candle
Within a lamp for you
A single flame in the darkness
That reflects my heart so true.

While it is a tradition to carve a jack-o-lantern to scare away the spirits, it was an older tradition still to light a candle or a lamp on Halloween night and leave it at the window as a loving guide for those who have passed.

Both as a symbol of remembrance and also as a kind of “leaving the lights on” for those who may wish to come home, the lamp was left on to illuminate the night and perhaps even the sadness that was felt because of the passing.

This card reminds us that it is a positive thing to remember those who have passed by celebrating their life rather than mourning their death. For those with whom we did not have an easy relationship or even those we did not like, leave us with valuable lessons. Sometimes, we learn more from our nemesis than we do from our friends and so the darkness can illuminate our strengths and our true values so that we can live them ore clearly and fully.

The Halloween Oracle by author Stacey Demarco and artist Jimmy Manton

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In the busy world we live in, one that encourages division, it is good to remember that love is the most powerful force we have – and that we need to cultivate the loving mindset. Loving doesn’t mean accepting bad behavior, but it does mean forgiveness and not holding on to petty differences.

This is also a good reminder at this time of year when many of us are remembering those who have passed. Grief is often described as love that doesn’t know where to go. When we lose someone we care about, we can remember and honor them. One way to do this is to eventually turn that love toward someone or something else. Keep putting that out into the world.

Blessings,

Thistle

ETERNAL LOVE –– Love is love is love and it transcends physical death

When the body leaves us
And our souls are above
Our possessions no longer 
Nothing remains
but the intertwining of love

All of us are the product of millennia of love. Our parent’s parent’s parents, our ancestors by blood and ritual all have in some way created the DNA that waves throughout our bodies. Love, in fact, powers life and death.

When most of us first encounter death in our lives, we experience grieving and in some ways that feeling could be described as an absence of love and the absence of that person or being. But the kind of love that is often shared between family members, friends, and lovers, separated only by physical death, is the kind that poets wax lyrical about, that is truly eternal and transcends death.

Should you choose this card, you are being reminded that love is the most power force in the universe. It is more powerful than death itself. Love lingers. It leaves its own legacy and we should be aware of this every day that we live. For those that are ready for and desiring of a partner, it also indicates that a significant love is close at hand and to be ready to open up to this new experience.

The Halloween Oracle by author Stacey Demarco and artist Jimmy Manton

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Alright, this is a very appropriate card as we near Samhain, a time when the Veil is thin and divination techniques may yield stronger results than normal. It is also traditional to do some sort of divination at All Hallows. Apples feature in many of these customs; in fact, bobbing for apples was a marriage divination. The first person to bite an apple would be next to marry. Another old tradition had young women lighting a candle and peeling an apple while sitting before a mirror. While she peeled, her future spouse was said to appear in the mirror. Yet another apple peeling one was that if you could peel an apple in a long peel, you would have a long life. On the flip side, if you peeled in short pieces it did not bode well for your longevity.

Apples or not, I recommend giving a little time today for some intuitive work like divination.

Blessings!

Thistle

SCRYING – Intuition

Scrying is the divination technique of seeing unconscious images (or images from the divine or supernatural) appear upon or within a surface. People scry into a crystal ball, a black mirror, water, even the surface of ice. It is a very ancient technique and one traditionally enacted on Samhain (Halloween).

The keys to effective scrying are being as relaxed as possible, minimizing possible distractions, softening your gaze and allowing.The enemy of effective scrying is distraction, both from inside and out. Turn off the phone, electric lights anywhere you can see them, any music, and if you are scrying outdoors, take the time to setting into the environment and listen to all the noises so that your mind will not need to break your focus later. It is also vitally important to settle the mind as much as you can.

If you regularly meditate, you may wish to use those techniques or otherwise you can simply shut your eyes and focus on slowing your breath – this is usually very effective. If you have a specific question for the scrying medium, state it up front. Then, when you feel relaxed, turn your focus inward. Imagine pulling your energy within you and then you focus on the third eye point (the chakra point on the center of the forehead, just above the eyebrows) and imagine opening it. Then gaze in a soft unfocused way at your scrying surface and simply allow images to form and observe what present itself to you. Do not engage your rational mind – this is about receiving and not thinking!

Should you pull the Scrying card, I suggest you try it for starters. It also indicates that you may wish to develop your intuition further and not rely solely on the logical part of your mind for all the answers. It takes a balance of logic and imagination and intuition for true wisdom.

The Halloween Oracle by author Stacey Demarco and artist Jimmy Manton

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OK, maybe yesterday’s card of setting boundaries and paying attention to your energy was in preparation for today. The luminous Skull of Stars is here to encourage us to think big and not let limiting beliefs stand in your way. More work to do today!

Blessings,

Thistle

SKULL OF STARS – Infinite possibilities

Why think so small
when galaxies spin within?
Realize that you are made
of the stuff of stars
and infinite possibilities begin.

This skull brings us back to the fact that we are all made of the stuff of stars yet many of us think so small! We are each born with a blank canvas to paint upon, and we are indeed an open sky of possibilities.

It is easy to feel small in a world that is so busy, impersonal, and seemingly self-absorbed. We can, at times, feel lost and unclear about our direction and lose sight of our place in the cosmos. The school of stars reminds us that we are only limited by our own imagination and boundaries. If we can dream it, it is possible.

This card indicates that you need to think bigger and more broadly about your future and what you would like to achieve. Perhaps there are false beliefs, often old, that no longer serve you as you grow and change. Sometimes these beliefs may not even be yours – they may have been imparted to you by your parents or the wider community, yet feel rather incongruent to you. You need to endeavor, with all your heart and soul, to live the life you want and honor your own wishes and truth.

The Halloween Oracle by author Stacey Demarco and artist Jimmy Manton

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The Vampire card is here, which indicates that we may need to pay more attention to we are expending our energy. Is there someone demanding too much of it from you? Are you not doing the things you need to do to recharge? Now is the time to evaluate your energy flow and if you need to make adjustments and set healthy boundaries.

Blessings!

Thistle

VAMPIRE – Emotional Intelligence

The deepest, the coldest
The evening of the blood
The hole never filled
The longing like a flood

While there are almost uncountable examples of vampires in literature, movies, and games, somehow the archetype of the blood-hunting, night-stalking, and somewhat elegant creature keeps being reinvented to seduce yet another generation.

Although the beautiful and somewhat desirable vampire form doesn’t really begin to enter the public consciousness until the mid-1800s, the idea of a human feeding upon the very stuff of life is much older. The Egyptians, Sumerians, Indians and the Balkan people all have mythos containing vampire-like creatures.

The vampire is an interesting figure because it is both horrifying and desirable. Having someone want us so much that they desire to be that closely linked with us does feel good – until we realize there is nothing much left of us to give.

Most of us have heard of the concept of emotional vampirism – the idea that people feed off our energy and our goodwill and take advantage of us through manipulation and their incessant neediness.

Should the Vampire card appear in your reading, it may indicate that you are being drained in this way and the time has come for stronger boundaries. We need to be very aware of what gives us energy in our lives and what takes it away. We should be aware of needing people to need us and why we invite people like this into our homes, workplaces, and lives, if indeed we have them around us. Developing the emotional intelligence within ourselves helps us defend against this kind of emotional and psychic attack and enables us to foster healthy equal relationships of all kinds.

The Halloween Oracle by author Stacey Demarco and artist Jimmy Manton

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Joy isn’t just for special occasions – we can find joy in little things like our children and pets’ silly games and antics, the beauty in nature, the laugh of a friend, and more. Today’s card indicates we need to add more joy to our lives right now.

Blessings,

Thistle

Joy – Rejoicing in the Present

I stand here,
I am where I am,
Fully alive and present
Stress is a sham

Besides the “HOOOOOOO” of a not-so-scary trick-or-treating ghost on Halloween evening, one of the most common sounds you’ll hear is laughter. There is so much joy at Halloween and it can be one of the most fun nights of the year if we allow that into our lives.

We lead busy lives: whether we are studying, running a household, have a demanding job, or all of them at once, it seems there is little time for us to stop, be present, and enjoy exactly where we are at this time. It has been said that the first step of real change is stopping and acknowledging that we actually need change. While sometimes we might feel that there is little to feel happy about and much to change, we can always feel grateful for something right now – and there is power in that position.

It is time to find the joy in this moment and to find that joy more often. Should this card come up in your divination, it heralds arrival of more happiness and profound joy into your life. It is a good omen!

Actively seek pleasure and build in more of the things that give you personal joy and laughter in your life. After all, we build in appointments for the dentist, so why not for our own pleasure? 

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This is always a good card to me, reminding us that we do have more control over our lives than what we sometimes believe. Neither magic nor mundane efforts work overnight (well, they rarely do), so building your power with consistency and maintaining a belief in yourself is necessary. And don’t forget that much happiness and power in life starts with a practice of gratitude.

Blessings!

Thistle

THE WITCH – The earthly weaver of the worlds

Earth, Air, Fire, Water
A woman lovely, a woman strange
Weaver of the worlds, moon’s daughter
Witch: The catalyst for change

Witches have had bad PR for a couple of millennia now. Originally the healers or cunning women of the village, the very word “witch” is believed to come from the Celtic word “wicce” meaning weaver or wise.** When the new religion of Christianity spread through the land, the custodians of the old Pagan ways, in part witches, were labeled as evil and – as we know from history – persecuted. They were driven underground (or under the night sky) into the shadows of misunderstanding and darkness.

However, for the purpose of Halloween, let’s look at witches as the weavers of magic and change. Through spells and rituals and even through herbal recipes (yes, often brewed in a cauldron), they weave the powers of this world and the next in synergy to solve problems and heal.

Holding the Witch card means that you can weave your own change throughout life and that magic indeed is afoot! You must understand that you have power and it is real. It may also indicate that others may be threatened by your developing personal power and that they may not appreciate or like the changes in you as you grow. Be prepared for this and do not be discouraged. New friends and better opportunities will be attracted instead.

The Halloween Oracle by author Stacey Demarco and artist Jimmy Manton

** This is the oracle author’s view. The etymology of the word “witch” is actually much more complicated than this, and debate goes on about it. I suggest looking it up in the Online Etymology Dictionary and historical sources.

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Trick or treating used to be a bit different for me and my siblings as we grew up in the country and only had a few homes to go to, but we still had fun and often had bonfire parties. When I was six, we lived in town and I still remember the awesome night of trick or treating and a house that had people dressed up as a werewolf, vampire, and mummy! The fun we adults are not “allowed” to enjoy for Halloween is truly something we can bring into our lives anytime we need it – play is a good thing for our mental health, creativity, and community building.

Blessings,

Thistle

TRICK-OR-TREAT – Mischief and play

Stalking and stomping
Eyes shining and begging baskets
Faces and bodies
that are no longer ours
Laughing, skeletons and candy caskets

Trick-or-treating is such a fun thing to do, is it not? Yet, why do we trick-or-treat?

Ancient peoples understood that there were both mischievous and perhaps nasty spirits wandering around at nightfall at Halloween as well as happier, more benevolent spirits. They thought that if they dressed as spirits themselves (or other frightening creatures) then they would not be recognized as human and attacked. The idea of causing a little chaos as one of these “spirits” was part of the imitation (and the enjoyment) of thenight. The practice in medieval Britain was aptly called “souling.”

Today, trick-or-treating is a huge event. We spend much time, money, and effort dressing up as our scariest creatures and this has even extended to dressing up as our favorite celebrities and other pop culture idols. Instead of traditional candy apples and barmbrack, we give out a mind-boggling variety of candy. It matters not – the idea of frightening away death and darkness still stands.

I believe that the modern trick-or-treating also unites communities by introducing our families and friends to those around us in a non-threatening and joyful way. Many of us do not know our neighbors – even those who live next door – and Halloween gives us an excuse not to be so reserved and extend our boundaries.

Should you receive the Trick-or-Treat card in your divination, it may well be a time to examine your own life. You don’t have to be a child to let go and have some playtime and you can extend the fun to others. Sometimes we are afraid to make mistakes and play is one way to alleviate the pressure that we sometimes place on ourselves to get everything perfect every time. Alternatively, it is worth knowing that there is a balance between manipulation and mischief – the former is not pleasant and the other has at its core a sense of irreverent fun.

The Halloween Oracle by Stacey Demarco, art by Jimmy Manton

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With two black cats in our feline herd (black a tuxedo kitty that comes for breakfast and dinner on the porch), I think my household is accustomed to seeing black cats as sweet and loving, if not always as harbingers of good fortune. But they certainly have never brought us bad luck. Today’s Black Cat card suggests some good luck – an opportunity, a connection, or something helpful – is set to come into our zone today. Be prepared for it.

Blessings!

Thistle

BLACK CAT – Fortune meets opportunity

Sleek and black and lantern-eyed
Crosses your path with a hiss
Good luck and fortune
Sweep by with a kiss

In traditional folklore, cats were said to have one foot in this world and one in the next. They were the conduit between the underworld and this world and fortune and opportunity.

In the time of the Inquisition (the Middle Ages), cats were hunted because they were said to be allies of evil entities such as devils and witches. Black cats (black being associated with the darker aspects of the supernatural) were especially singled out. Historians believe this unprecedented killing of cats in the name of eradicating evil led to an unchecked increase in the rat population which was responsible for the alarmingly rapid spread of the bubonic plague and the death of millions of people.

These days, in Germany for example, a black cat passing one’s path indicates impending misfortune. Yet, in ancient Britain they were considered good luck and were even given to brides on their wedding day. In Japan, to this day, they are considered very good luck and bringers of fortune.

Should the slinky black cats cross your path through this oracle, know that good luck and fortune will be meeting you promptly. Also know that your luck will be even “luckier” if you are prepared to take advantage of every special opportunity that comes your way.

The Halloween Oracle by author Stacey Demarco and artist Jimmy Manton

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