Finding Your Cozy: Yule 2018

My new home has proven to be an important refuge from the busyness of my electronic world, and in the wet Oregon winter—Oh, look! Sunshine just now as I write!—warmth becomes as rare as sunshine. It’s not that cold here, really, compared to lots of other places, but the unremitting damp sinks in through whatever layers you put on, and being inside with dry heat from open fires and woodstoves is very cozy, indeed. During these short, gray days, I find myself very attracted to warmth and its comforts.

Since the Tarot covers the human archetypal gamut from light to dark, warm to cold, “good” to “bad,” I got to thinking about what cards feel warm and cozy vs. cold and analytical. Both aspects are important to consider in a reading, but since everything is so cold and dark in the Northern Hemisphere right now, I decided to look for some warmth from my cards.

Warm and Cozy Tarot Cards

Warm and cozy bring together the elements of fire and earth, I think. My first pick on this theme is the Ten of Pentacles. The comfort of family gathering, the blanket that the patriarch is snuggled in, the warmth of love and richness of environment—sigh!

I know I said fire is warm, but cozy was a bit hard to find in the fire-associated suit of Wands. Closest I came was the Four of Wands, which gives the sense of people gathering in celebration, with a sense of warmth from the yellows in the Universal Waite coloring of the RWS deck.

But wait, what about the Major Arcana? Lots of victories and defeats, soul expansions and contractions, but very little warmth in the sense of coziness. The Majors are dealing with such large-scale life issues that it’s hard to find one that can bring itself down to cozy level (but do tell if you disagree!). No intimacy except in some interpretations of the Lovers card, and a definite focus on the individual psychological/spiritual journey over more mundane human concerns. If I had to pick a Major that focused on warm and cozy, I’d go literal with the Sun, mainly because it includes a cute baby that looks pretty cuddly, although I’m not sure about the horse’s attitude the way Pamela Colman Smith drew that eye. He looks kinda annoyed. Overall, though, there’s a nice sense of enjoyment under the Sun’s warm rays.

Warm and Cozy Customs and Rituals

The other aspect of warm and cozy that comes to mind in these cold and dark times is the use of ritual to “bring in the warmth.” Everything from building a fire to snuggling under warm blankets, to lighting candles and dining on hearty stews (just did that last one last week). Also, a hot toddy, or even the fiery warmth of a glass of Scotch whiskey can banish the cold and dark in short order. Speaking of hot toddies, check out Uncle Bill’s rum version.

Where was I? Oh, yeah, rituals and practices to bring in the warmth. Do you add festive lights and new candles to your altar space or have a special Tarot spread for this time of year? Please share in the comments if you are so inclined.

Here’s a spread I made up for this bringing-in-the-warmth theme:

The Question: How to bring more warmth into my daily life during the cold days of winter?

1. What kind of warmth am I really looking for? (emotional, physical, spiritual, etc.)
2. Source of material for creating warmth (blanket, person, energy, etc.)
3. Ignition source: What’s the first thing to do to get the warmth started?
4. What actions from me will keep the warmth (fire) going?