Into The Dark Months

November’s Collective Monthly Pairs.

Photo by Daniel J. Schwarz

“There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness in the proportion.”

~Edgar Allan Poe

Be welcome here Wanderer. These Letters are my space to write and get out the things that are stirring within me. And right now I am looking at the looming cold months with a heart heavy with sadness but also with the glimmers of hope. It is the time of year when most people feel the need to go within, and yet I am somewhat the opposite. I want to be out and about in the wider world. I want to be surrounded by the quiet of nature, not the bustle of the city. 

And so I am putting this creative energy into other things. I’ve been participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time in about three years. I’ve been working on a collection of tarot spreads all done up in a lovely zine PDF. I’ve been working on the guidebook for the art that Stevie made me for a set of oracle cards that are PNW animals. I am focusing on deepening my spiritual practices by actually doing the magick I am always going on about. October was a month of rapid growth for me. Changes that pushed me outside my comfort zone and into something better. So this month I am building on those foundational bricks I laid. 

You can find my current Tarot offerings here. 

Below is the four pairs of cards that I drew for the month’s collective. Before you look at them, choose a number 1 through 4, or choose a position (upper left, upper right, lower left, lower right). Each of the pairs is a way to approach November and hopefully make the most of it. I ask you Wanderer, how do you want to spend your last month of Autumn? In this liminal space, after the veil has waned and waxed, I find myself wanting to stride out into the cool crisp air just remind myself that I am alive!

November Tarot Pairs by Eli of Bear.Ridge.Tarot

Pick A Pair For The Collective

Pair One: Attunement - Fingers & Death

Where can you fine-tune the parts of your life you’re unsatisfied with? Take this month to walk the spirals of your daily life, listening for the notes of joy and the discord of unhappiness. Pluck away the deadheads and make room for more of those glimmers of hope. 

Pair  Two: Open - Clavicles & Ace of Rods

Stick out your collar bones, push your shoulders back. Take a deep breath and let it fill your lungs. This month is going to give you space to expand. Take the chance, fill the space. What are you seeking to fill this fresh space with? Let your month be filled with expansiveness. 

Pair  Three: Forgiveness - Patellas & 3 of Disks

Don’t you think you’ve been holding onto that grudge for too long? It’s time to let it go. Letting go doesn’t need to be as drastic as falling to your knees and screaming to the heavens. But letting your heart soften towards companionship of any kind, be it friendship, romance, family. Let this month be the start of something new.

Pair  Four: Rest - Palatine Bone & Queen of Elixirs 

What truths do you need to speak? What words are held just behind your teeth, pressing against the roof of your mouth? Now is the time to express your wants, needs, desires. Let your sorrows pour out and your joys ring through you. 

“Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.”

One of the things I didn’t get accomplished last month was posting my reading wrap-up for October. That is coming, but I wanted to share this particular book with you today. I received it as an early Yule gift and cannot wait to dive into it. Marshall writes about magick in a way that is reminiscent of reading fairy tales. The darker kind, like the original Grimm’s tales were people cut off their feet to fit into glass slippers. I have read and own the first book in this collection: Cunning Words: a Grimoire of Tales and Magic by Marshall WSL. Below is my review of Cunning Words.

Cunning words is a book of magick written in a way that is so completely unique it stands out from other books on magic and witchcraft I’ve picked up before. Using tales and rhymes inspired by folklore to teach how to perform certain spells, rites, and petitions. Layered within the stories of hope and inspiration are the ingredients of recipes and directions of charms. This book holds the tools to implement starting or growing your own practice.  I’ve read through it multiple times and have opened it to specific sections multiple times since getting it as a pre-order when it was first self-published. 

I am looking forward to what I can learn and do with The Red Mother now that I’ve got it in hand. The images, all done by Marshall, are gorgeous and add another dimension to the grimoire. I am also very hopeful that there will be additional books for the Green and Black. 

The other thing that I will be working on this month is National Novel Writing Month. I’d originally planned to write a tarot related thing, but when I started typing it came out more murder mystery. So I am writing a fictional murder mystery that has some ghostly vibes wrapped up in it. After the first day of writing here are my word counts. Remember, this is literally the roughest of drafts. I am what they call a “pantser” and don’t plan the story beforehand. I let the words flow as they will and will eventually have to go back and revise. 

Words: 4,295

Goal: 50,000 words in 30 days. 

Decks Used

Antique Anatomy Tarot by Claire Goodchild

The Energy Archaeology Oracle by Ashley Stinson

NaNoWriMo - The non-profit that runs the writing challenge. 

Pinterest - where I find inspiration and post my own

StoryGraph - where I do the majority of my bookish charting and tracking. 

GoodReads - where I pretty much copy & paste to from StoryGraph

Instagram - where I occasionally post pictures of the books I am currently reading while I’m doing some life thing. But mostly where I post tarot-related content.