Witchy Wednesday No. 9
Woohoo! Two Witchy Wednesdays in a row! It feels so exciting to be back on track! This week’s reading comes from another new deck from my birthday called “A Yogic Path” by Sahara Rose.
When I went to pick out the deck for this reading, I actually thought I chose a different one, but when I opened the box, I realized that it had the wrong cover on it! It never ceases to amaze me how the right deck finds its way into the reading. Let’s see what this beauty holds for us this week!
Card #1
The first card of our reading is Kriya-Effortless Flow. We see a woman standing outside beneath the stars in a body of water with wildlife all around her. She seems to be arching her back, worshiping the stunning red jewel that she is reaching out towards. She has her throat exposed and is showing her reverence and connection.
This happens to be the second card in this deck. This placement speaks to the beginning of a new journey and the forward momentum towards a goal, experience, or way of life. When you follow the song of your heart “life feels like a river that you are graciously floating down with ease… you are on your path to your Dharma, highest purpose, and doors are opening for you. One connection leads to another and things are moving at high speed, kriya.”
Oftentimes when you are trying to live the life society tells you that you “should” be living, you end up sitting in a deep well of cognitive dissonance and discomfort. This card calls to focus how effortless life can be when you surrender to your purpose, when you follow where your intuition is leading you. Where might you be able to release some expectations and accept yourself and your passions as valid and worthy?
Card #2
The second card of this week’s reading is Chinnamasta. This card has a lot of chaotic energy. We see the person in the center holding their own severed head in one hand with their sword in the other. Their blood is flowing up and out, both into their own mouth and into the mouths of the two others that are dressed similarly. The main figure is also standing upon two people who seem to be locked in a lover’s embrace. Contrasting all of this (quite graphic) imagery is the bright sunny background and the flowers blooming all around.
I also find it quite serendipitous that the placement of the head on this card is almost exactly the same as the woman’s on the first card. As we will see, they are actually two sides of the same coin and their messages pair well with eachother.
We learn from the guidebook that Chinnamasta is a “goddess of radical self-transcendence,” who “has come to guide you in this massive state of transformation, as you turn passion into spiritual energy.” While slightly more unsettling than other guides that have presented themselves in our readings, her gift “is to transmute the darkest of times into the most powerful energies. Carry her fierceness as you tear off a former head you once had and experience the inner peace that comes with being divinely yourself.” This card reinforces that while part of the process of self-actualization is release and surrender (our first card), there are other aspects of transformation that require more cutting (pun intended) forms of release. Not every part of the healing journey, or life for that matter, will be easy and beautiful, but as Chinnamasta reminds us, there is power in destruction.
Card #3
The last card of the reading this week is Brahma. Pictured is a statue whose hands are making different mudras (which are hand gestures that are used in yoga and spiritual practices). While we can only see three heads and bodies, there is a fourth side facing away from us that we are not able to see. Golden orbs are hovering above the figures and there is an ethereal, cosmic energy at the center figure’s core. This energy is quite similar to the energetic charge that the water in our first card had.
We learn that Brahma is another deity, the “god of creation.” We read that Brahma brings the message that “now is the time to plant [your creative] seed into the Earth and water it with your intention so it sprouts to life, benefitting all those around you,” and also that he calls into focus “the time cycle through which the world moves from creation to sustenance, from sustenance to dissolution, and from dissolution to new creation.” This card feels reassuring and calming, as if Brahma is reminding us that the end is never the end. We can use the shedding of our old layers as fertilizer for our new growth.
Reflection
The main messages that I am seeing from our reading this week are those of moving onwards and upwards. It highlights your journey as a path that has the potential to bring both pleasure and heartache. You may have been noticing that there are layers of your life that you are feeling called to release; they may have served you well in the past, but they no longer fit the life that you are building. While there are times where the particular facets that are needing to be released can be obvious or even easy to let go of, there may be others that are more firmly rooted. Chinnamasta is there beside you as you cut away all of this undergrowth to make space the creation of the new you. Brahma highlights that this journey is cyclical and ever evolving. The healing journey is never over. You will be able to use the wisdom and experience that you are going through now as you navigate other parts of your life path. This is a reminder that no experience is a waste. It is up to you to alchemize this energy and to release yourself from that which is weighing you down.
-Sunny Celly