Week Ahead Reading

Sorry for the lateness!

Monday 26th August

Using the Oracle of the Shapeshifters

32 – Artemis of the Forest

This is a time for you to go into some kind of wilderness and wild place, whether this place is within you or out in the world. It is a time for you to become self reliant, quiet, stealthy, aware. You must take your place as a being who can survive and support yourself. You may see this is as a test or hardship, but it is a great moment of coming into your own power. You have your quiver, your arrows and bows, and the companionship of the animals, the hounds, the deer and the trees. You are able to take what must be taken for survival at this time. When you hunt, do so with honour. Eat what you have grown and create your own meals. This way you will grow in valour and connect more and more to the cycles of this world. The moon will shine on you as you hunt at night. You will tread softly. You will leave no tracks. You are in the sacred wild places, the nemetonas, and you are a strong, free, independent one.

Remember too that when you find this independence, that is when the great god, the king stag, Cernunnos, will come to you – the positive masculine will be drawn to you, as you have no desire to exploit him or trap him. You will then know a good father, a true man, a wild and intense boyfriend, a caretaker, a gentleman, and another will care for you for awhile.

1 – Wolf Moon

A clan brother or sister is watching over you while you change, so rest easy knowing how fiercely loved and loyally protected you are. While you change, you will be held and watched over by a guardian who will not let you down. You are in the moment of transformation. Your fears – that others will not understand who you really are when you show yourself and that you will be left vulnerable – are unfounded. Your greatest fear is that you may hurt others while you are changing so deeply.

The next time the moon is within three days of being full, either side, call on me to come to you. Call on your kind to come to you. With energy and confidence, know you can find your people and parts of yourself that have been near invisible, seemingly extinct. I will help you traverse the unseen, mysterious world, help you make sense of sensations you are having, and clarify psychic messages that you may be flooded with. I will help you see through a dreamscape into clarity, keep danger at bay, and help you to change without causing harm to yourself or others.

11 – Alice in a Sea of Tears

You have been through a very emotional time and have finally released your need to hold on. You have let go – or been let go of and the emotional aftermath has been overwhelming. You are about to see that your sadness can continue to create the rough waters that have thrown you about and that you will finally make it to shore. Now the challenge is to move on from this, with wisdom in place, without repeating what has led to this manifestation. You can do it, and by being more like the rat, with his neat, compartmental nature, and the crab with her hard outer shell for protection, you will come through this tough time. You are wiser now, less emotionally ready to be hurt, and far more capable of remaining yourself, even walking as you do in a harsh world. If you feel very alone, help is coming and will soon be with you. Although you may be feeling you have made a great mistake, given all this upheaval, in time you will know you have done exactly the right thing. Dry your tears. Help is here. Well done on making such an important change.

The first two cards I used the ‘Speaks’ section of the interpretation, for the last card I used the ‘Divination’ section – simply because it seemed like a good idea, especially since this is the first time I’ve worked with this deck.

This is the first time I’ve read with this deck, not sure I am as connected to it as I am with the Oracle of Shadows and Light. It’s an interesting reading, speaking of change and the courage to accept change, of being independent and being my own person. Artemis of the Forest speaks of the need for independence, of walking alone and being closer to nature, of embracing the wilder side of myself. As a green/hedge witch, this card does make sense. There is an element of independence and wildness that comes with walking the Green Path. The part about “Cernunnos, will come to you – the positive masculine will be drawn to you, as you have no desire to exploit him or trap him. You will then know a good father, a true man, a wild and intense boyfriend, a caretaker, a gentleman, and another will care for you for awhile”, is kind of strange in that lately I’ve been feeling drawn toward Cernunnos but not in the sense of wanting to work with him but more of what he represents – the wild places, the darkness within the forest, the strength of nature and the passion and sensuality he represents. I wonder who this man is, how he will come into my life and most importantly – will he look like Ronon from Stargate Atlantis (hehe had to say it).

The Wolf Moon card is a wildcard, it represents the wild nature of the wolf but the card itself also has an interesting message – I liken it to my hedge witch nature because it speaks of Allies and changing – of being the shapeshifter I suppose. Symbolically, within magic, the wolf means intuition, wisdom, learning and spirit, it also means learning to live with one’s self and to learn about our inner self and to find our inner strength and power. I think it also speaks of being vulnerable when one changes things in their life. I’m not sure what changes are coming for me or will be happening for (or to) me, but it seems somewhere along the line, spiritually at least, I will change and grow, in other ways, perhaps becoming more myself or the person who I am going to be. 

The last card, although at first glance seemingly negative, I think is more positive than at first glance. It reminds that I have to let go of things and that the things I have to let go of may pain me at first but will be better afterwards. I get this card, it reflects something happening lately, things I have had to come to terms with despite my hoping to the contrary, as well as recognizing that this past year (and a bit) has been immensely trying and emotional for me, parts of me still haven’t recovered, but I know that I will eventually and I have to walk with it and make it a part of me, being all of me (or remaining me) as the card says. 

It’s an interesting reading, certainly not what I was expecting, but the funny thing is, my parents were away for near on a week this past week, so I’ve been by myself – the longest I’ve ever been by myself and it took some adjusting to, not that I can’t take care of myself when they’re home but being alone, understanding who I am outside of the family unit, it is empowering – and at times terrifying (I watch too many crime shows) but it showed me that when I finally do make the move to my own home one day, I will be ready enough to handle it. The angle of the ‘wild and intense boyfriend’ is curious – wild sort of implies out there, but I am hoping it is in a way that is good – like being a Greenman or a Shaman or even the woodsy, nature type, intensity is fine as long as it doesn’t move over into controlling behaviour, unreasonable jealously or possessiveness. It looks like, overall, my life might just start getting interesting!