Ace of Pentacles
We have entered spooky season. I am excited that we're in October, because this month is when the veil becomes translucently thin between the tangible and spiritual world, and this is good news for intuitive writers who can channel this energy into our work. It has been an intensely busy time for me with work, but I have still found strength and comfort from my rituals. I have been able to keep my basic magical practice throughout this chaotic time, even when I feel like I don't have a moment to spare. I hope that all of you have found pockets of rest, ritual, and reflection to help you navigate your own complicated worlds.
This week's card, The Ace of Pentacles, is a little reminder that to progress, to grow, and to succeed, sometimes we need to take a step back to listen to what the universe is sending our way. if we keep frenetically trying to force our way through the world, we will lose sight of the luscious opportunities being handed down from the clouds.
This image is very closely based on the R-W-S deck, but with a few elegant twists. The beautiful black polish manicure is a reminder of the importance of self-care, rest, and glamour. it is no accident that the origins of the word glamour are related to the occult, and mean to enchant, to allure, and to fascinate, as well as to acts of illusory magic.
The colours in this image are bright and lovely, the ace itself is glowing like the sun, the scene is one of rural peace and harmony. Though pentacles often appear to remind us of worldly material concerns, sometimes relating to financial and economic issues, this card is taking the element of the earth more literally, and showing the plenty on offer: the trees, the live-giving sun. All is in balance in this image: grass and flowers in the foreground, comforting mountains in the distance, the clouds parting to provide all that we need with no effort, no fuss.
The challenge of this card is to be receptive enough to accept this plenty for what it is, to trust that nature is in balance, that if we leave it to do what it needs, it will pollinate wild seeds, the sun will give us heat and light and life, the clouds will bring rain, and if we are able to relax enough to be taken care of, our needs will be met by the earth itself.
I hope these prompts are helpful to you in learning to relax into plenty, and let the wild seeds land where they may, without intervention or control.
Where in my work am I feeling constriction and tightness?
What would happen if I let go of that feeling?
Where might I direct my energy if I let go of that control?
Is letting go of this constriction aligned to my higher good?
What loss will I need to grieve if I let go?
WRITING PROMPTS
Try this experiment. What are you working on that is causing you headaches? Is there any way to create more ease in that part of your work? Could you put it aside and let it breathe? Could you cut it for now, and save it in a file or folder somewhere, so you can replace it if you need to? What happens to the work when this difficult section is gone? If you feel flooded with relief that is a sign. if you feel as though there is something lacking, do you need a new element to add in? if none of that feels right, then it is time to go back to that tricksy, knotty, difficult thing and look at it with fresh eyes. Perhaps it will seem perfect as it is, now you've seen the alternatives, or perhaps now is when the real work begins.
What happens if you write a scene, or chapter, or exchange, or piece of dialogue where something unexpected emerges, as if from the clouds? Listen closely to the spirit world, channel what you can pick up in those glitchy waves, insert that cosmic message into your writing.
What wild seeds will you allow to pollinate your writing? What one unusual or striking thing that you have read or watched or seen this week could change the course of the work? Don't disavow what the universe is sending you every day as inspiration, but let those wild seeds flourish in your writing. The harvest will be spectacular.
Have a gentle week, and let yourself receive the cosmic messaging that will come if you let it in.