Behind the Mask at Samhain

Samhain, one of the eight Celtic Pagan festivals of the year, marks the shift from light to dark, halfway between equinox and solstice, when the veil between the worlds becomes thin, and we get in touch with Death, and our fears about it. From keeping out the dark and unknown by scaring it off (Hallowe’en), or hiding ourselves to keep from being hurt or exposed to our fears, that’s what our masks can do.

What an opportunity we now have to see what fears may hold us back, to reconnect with our foundations, our ancestors, and partake of their wisdom to carry with us into the dawn of these shorter days.

Masks are fun, but they are only masks, just part of the game we play here on planet Earth. We can play with our masks (happy Hallowe’en party–what are you going as?) but then realize how flimsy they are. The “trick” is, to let go of the mask and put it away with a blessing when Samhain passes, allowing the Other side to fade again, and taking the healing of transparency with us.

I have known my own Shadow very darkly, as an emotionally lost and lonely girl looking for love in all the wrong places. Took me 50 Samhains to turn and look at my Shadow, shake her out, hug her, fold her up, and finally put her away for good. That’s a long time, but we humans are stubborn, of course, at least I was. 😉 But once I took off my mask and relaxed into being, I found much more peace living in the world, living with myself. It’s a feeling, a connection to All That Is that assures me I am not alone, I am loved. It’s a good feeling, and I am a much better friend, wife, sister, daughter, person as a result.

And, of course, one cool way to peek into your Shadow and see what’s up is to shuffle the Tarot cards and look for revealing patterns. So, for this Samhain blog hop, I’m introducing my Behind the Mask spread. This one grew out of a spontaneous draw for a young adult who was looking for insight into opportunities because they are in limbo in their life path at the moment. I drew eight cards and placed them in a circle, and the querent drew a ninth one to complete the pattern. We found some interesting themes running through, with foundational stuff in the bottom three, challenges running across the top three like a dome, and the two farthest to the left and right being connected and indicating outcomes. The center card reinforced where the querent is now. It turned out to be an amazing reading, and very appropriate to showing where your Shadow holds you back, and what tools you already have to transcend into the Light of your true self.

Here are the positions that were revealed from the first intuitive use of this spread:

The Dome: 1, 2, 3 form the dome of challenge and change (facing the fear), showing 1) source of help, 2) major challenge, 3) attitude holding you back or interfering in some way.

The Foundation: 4, 5, 6 form the foundation (accessing the ancestors), showing both 4 and 6) the nature of your support (could be people or whatever), and 5) your comfy place, the kinds of people/places/energies that have always made you feel at home.

The Outcomes: 7 and 8 represent outcomes, 7 is a temporary one, and 8 is more permanent. These outcomes are dependent upon how well you access the energies in the foundation, and how well you learn the lessons from your dome of challenge.

You can stop here, or if you want clarity on the outcomes by knowing exactly where you are at now, draw a card for the 9 position. It will show you the overall situation at this moment based on the querent’s question and may give insight into “where to go from here.”

Thanks for stopping by to contemplate with me.