Autumn Equinox Tarot Spread

September 23rd is this year’s Autumn Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. My Pagan and Wiccan readers may be celebrating Mabon this week, the second of three seasonal harvest festivals. (Happy Mabon, Pagan pals!) I had to write a new tarot spread for the occasion. You don't have to be Pagan to join in here. The Equinox officially kicks off the fall season, and is for everyone.

The Equinox is a time of balance. The days and nights are of equal length, and the weather here in the Northeast US waxes blessedly temperate. I view the fall Equinox as the one time of year when the season’s introversion and extroversion are perfectly equal. 

Through the winter months, long nights and harsh chills drive us indoors physically, and inwards mentally. We go out less, we sleep more, and even commerce slows after the holidays. We have more time to reflect and less desire to be up and about. In the summer, the long days and breezy nights lure us out for adventures. Storms fronts kick electricity out of the air, and steamy temperatures stir us up, kindling all manner of fights, flings, and hijinks. Spring and fall temper the year’s extremes, but in different ways. By the time the land wakes up for spring, its inhabitants have such severe cabin fever that we all burst back to life quicker than jackrabbits. Autumn’s arrival is a gentler, more gradual transition, wherein we enjoy the late summer’s warmth just as much as we enjoy the cool, crisp nights. 


This tarot spread can be used at any time during the year, but it’s inspired by the conditions of the Equinox. Watching the land, weather, and skies balance out reminds us to check in with our own equilibrium, and to make any adjustments needed to bring ourselves back to center.

Here’s a test run with the Ancient Italian Tarot deck: 


1. Area of Greatest Balance in Life. The Page of Wands.

My creative drive, interest and engagement in life, and enthusiasm for new projects are all in good balance right now. When it comes to exploring new ideas, trying new things, and getting crafty, I’m grooving along, but not too hard. Go team me.


2. Area of Least Balance in Life. The High Priestess.

I need to beware of letting my emotions and gut feelings overrule my reason. I need to beware of slipping into total hermit mode when I get all exited about those new projects in the studio and at the writing desk. I spend a lot of time in my imagination. I spend a lot of time talking and thinking tarot, philosophy, and occult goodness. That all means nothing without solid footing and balanced focus on the real world.


3. Balancing Energies to Draw On. Judgement.

There’s a literal note here - remember to exercise good judgement. Flex those rational thinky muscles, and give the wibbly, feely muscles an occasional rest. Judgement also carries a theme of answering one’s true calling. I haven’t yet found that golden zone where my interests, talents, strengths, and weaknesses align with work that is both fulfilling to me and of value to others. I’m working on it, though. Getting a better picture of my big priorities, spiritually, professionally, and in the day-to-day, may help me find a better sense of focus, and thus a better sense of balance. 


4. Where and how I spend my energy on others. The Queen of Wands.

Right now I spend most of my energy on others through entertaining. I write and make art for my readers online, I read tarot cards and give pep talks to my friends, and I spend a boatload of time catering to the delightful, manic whims of a certain small child. (I’m not a parent, but I do a lot of aunting and baby-sitting these days.) The Queen of Wands gels with the Cool Aunt archetype, which is exactly how I want to be for the people I love.


5. Where and how I spend my energy on myself. The Wheel of Fortune  Reversed.

Well, I do allot time for self-care, but how do I actually spend it? Worrying about what I’m doing with my life and stressing about events that are out of my control. Bonus points for stressing about long past events that were then, and still are, out of my control. Oh dear.


6. Balancing Energies to Draw On. The Emperor.

In an ideal world, as an ideal person, I want to evenly balance my input and output, and my give and take. I want to be helpful and present for others, but still nurture myself. Don’t we all? The Emperor brings in structure, discipline, and rules. At his best, he’s a wise and fair leader who gets a lot done. It might help to bring more structure and discipline into my time and energy management. I need to work on boundaries and get on a good schedule so I use the time I have effectively. I need to set some rules on how I spend my free time so that all that self-care stuff like exercise, mediation, and sleep, actually happens, and I have more energy to extend outward.


7. How my Sense of Equilibrium Connects to My Energy’s Outflow and Focus. The Knight of Wands.

When things are in flow and my energy goes to projects and people I’m excited about, I get back more and more energy. Fire, passion, and inspiration. Exploring one idea leads to many more, and I can bop around in artsy bliss, coasting on momentum. However, I get easily scattered and easily burnt out, so that sense of equilibrium fades fast. I’m not in balance as a constant state. 


It might help to focus on attaining balance first, and then bring that sense into my energy inflow/outflow cycle. I’m not going to achieve lasting balance as a result of the way I work, or the time and attention I give to others, or anything else that I do. Equilibrium has to come first as a way that I am and a mode of being that I bring into everything else. 


I also have a ton of fire in play with this spread (Creativity! Passion! New Ideas! Staring lots of stuff I never finish!). It might be helpful to balance that out with some air activities (judgement, reasoning, doing research, and making plans), and some earth activities (grounding, cooking, cleaning, crafting, going for walks, and getting things done).

I hope you enjoyed this spread. Let me know in the comments if you try it, and how it works out for you!

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