Teneice Durrant, creator of Tenth Fox Tarot, will mark each full moon with a tarot reading, ritual for releasing creative blocks, and writing exercise. Writers, rediscover your safety.
Worm Moon
With the Spring rains, the earthworms wriggle up from the thawing ground, making themselves into a buffet for the robins. As a kid, I always thought the earthworms came up during the rain because they would drown if they didn’t. But the real reason they surface is because they think the vibrations from the rain are moles, a natural predator. In their panic to flee an imaginary predator, they rush straight into the mouths of a real predator.
So this month, we are reminded to release those imaginary predators. I have a suggestion for a ritual to aid in this process; that can be difficult, so please approach with nonjudgmental kindness for yourself.
A breathing ritual
Find a quiet safe space and a time where you can give yourself as long as you need. Sit comfortably on the floor, in a chair, or even lying down. Find a song or video of rain sounds and let yourself be surrounded by the white noise of rain.
Place one hand on your stomach and one hand on your heart. Breathe in slowly through your nose for eight counts and then breathe out for another eight.
Once you have a breathing pattern established, imagine that you are a long earthworm wriggling happily through the soil. The earth feels luxurious and soft against your skin. You feel warm and supported. You can feel the vibrations in the ground, but you know you are safe. The ground becomes damp and easier to wiggle around in. You are comfortable and supported. There is nothing here to hurt you. There is no need to panic or act impulsively. Just relax deeper into the earth, letting the land cradle you. You are safe here.
Give yourself as long as you need, and when you are ready, stretch your limbs, roll your head slowly to the sides, and open your eyes. You are still safe. There are no imaginary threats here.
A writing exercise
Here is a tarot reading and exercise that asks, what imaginary threat do I, or does my character need to release?
For this week’s reading, we have the Six of Pentacles and the Chariot.
These two cards indicate that the imaginary threat to you or your character, something they have totally manufactured in their mind, is that they don’t deserve the rewards they have earned and they are afraid those rewards are fleeting. These cards give me a feeling of imposter syndrome or karma, as if your character doesn’t believe they are worthy of fair compensation; or if things are going well, surely they will go belly up before too long.
The lesson here is, embrace the energy of the Chariot. He has two horses trying to pull his chariot in opposite directions, but through determination, he is guiding them to run in the same direction. Karma, or your perceived idea of bad karma, is the imaginary threat.
You might write a scene in which you or your character grapple with the imaginary threat, and then rewrite it as if that threat never came to pass. What are the vibrations in the ground that you could be misinterpreting? Or, consider a time when you were so worried about one perceived danger that you missed another.
Until next time, find my tarot podcast at anchor.fm/tenthfox.
What did you think of Teneice's offering for this month? Will you try the exercise and see where your writing takes you? Share with us in the comments.
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