From Beltane To Litha In 6 Cards Today
Hi All and welcome to my Beltane to Litha spread. For those of you who are a little less into paganism than me I should explain that June 20th was Litha, also known the Summer Solstice. It is the longest day of the year, a time when the sun reaches the peak of its power. Nature is covered in all her beautiful colours and there is life basking in the sunshine wherever you look.
I have covered my altar with sun goddess altar, including Freya, Oshun and Aphrodite and added yellow, orange and green candles to celebrate nature. Litha is a time when we truly appreciate all the abundance in our lives so I also wrote a gratitude list and added it into my cauldron at the centre of the altar.
Celebrating the Wheel of the Year is admittedly a mostly Wiccan idea. I am not Wiccan, however the great thing with eclectic witchcraft is you can pick and choose the practices that resonate with you. I am careful with this though, I try to stay away from practices that could be seen as cultural appropriation, such as Native American practices, Maori, etc. As I live in the northeast of England and my family is from Ireland, Celtic witchcraft appeals to me greatly.
Beltane
The season directly before Litha on the Wheel of the Year is Beltane, or the spring equinox. In Ireland Beltane (pronounced Be-yell-tain-uh) has always been a fire festival. Druid would create huge bonfires on hills and the local farmers would walk their cattle between them believing the fire would protect the cows from illness. At this time of year life is beginning to emerge in all its glory. Leaves return to trees, chicks hatch and the sun appears more regularly. Maypoles, fire and feasting are all themes.
Beltane to Litha
Recently, I saw a great way to mark the transition on the Instagram page of one of my favourite influencers – Jenn at notsomysticaltarot. Before I explain what this is I need to tell you about the decks I’ll be using. For a few years now Lorraine Anderson has been creating the Seasons of the Witch oracle decks. The eventual plan is to release one deck for each of the 8 seasons of the year.
I must admit I’m a little confused. She has just released the Beltane oracle a couple of months ago, and Lammas or Lughnasadh (LOO-nas-sa) is coming out this month. BUT she hasn’t released an Ostara oracle which was the season before Beltane. #confused 🤔
Let’s put that aside for now though as the focus of this post is on the Beltane and Litha decks and here they are. I did a deck interview for the Beltane oracle already which you can check out here.
Aren’t they gorgeous? The thing I (and everyone else) love about them is the beautiful gilding on the side 😍 I’m really looking forward to seeing the colour used for Lughnasadh.
The Beltane To Litha Spread
We’ve finally made it to the point of this spread. You never thought we’d get here did you? As there is an oracle deck now for almost every season Jenn did a spread with two seasons, the one were leaving and the one we’re heading into. The idea is you raw three cards from the previous season, in this case Beltane, and then draw three cards from the new season. You place the cards in two rows of three, old season on top and new season on the bottom. Then you read it as top card = what you’re leaving and card directly below it = what you’re moving into.
In her spreads Jenn just read them as from and too but I’ve decided to make my one a little different. Column 1 will be mind, column two is body and column 3 is spirit. Here are the cards I drew. Also I absolutely love my scolecite heart ♥️
Mind- Moving from Handfastings to Sun Tea. In Beltane I was trying to learn to rely on others. As I discussed in previous posts, my self-worth is very tied up with doing things for others, buying them gifts, asking them happy. I feel like it’s my job to fix everything and do everything to ensure everything and everyone is ok. During Beltane I was trying to accept that it was not a failure to ask for help from the people who love me.
Sun tea tells me that as I go into Litha I need to accept less is more. I know I can tend to overdo it at times. Why get someone 4 presents when I could get them 6? Why make one course for a sabbat feast when i could make three? I need to learn that one or two things done really well can often be better than a load of things done to a moderate standard. Doing two things well instead of lots will also put less pressure on me.
Body – Moving from The Lovers to Lightworker. I have alaways felt like a freak, the odd one out, the one who didn’t get the handbook on how to make friends. That means I am often closed off and that pain can lead me to hold back in all my relationships, including with my body. If I’m unloveable, my body is too right? So who cares what I eat, or if I exercise. The lovers shows my journey to self love. It has been ongoing for years, not just over Beltane but I have been doing some refresher work.
I think the lightworker card’s message is twofold. Firstly, now that I love myself I don’t need to dim my light for anyone. I’ve been told i am “too much” but I believe those who see me that way are simply not the right people for me so I release them. I also feel my trauma has led to a lot of tension and emotion being stored in my body. I need to shed light on those areas and start to release these emotions if I am to become my truest self. Thinking about somatic yoga or maybe EMDR.
Spirit – moving from Manfestation to Cloud Scrying. I have been trying to get into alignment, in other words forge a life that makes me happy and reflects who I am but I’ve struggled during Beltane. I tried to take positive steps and be more grateful for my blessings but my intrusive thoughts and destructive behaviours continue to rear their ugly heads.
Cloud scrying shows that what I want is both possible and is coming but I can’t push and force it to happen faster. All that will do is frustrate me and may even delay things. I need to be patient and have faith that I am moving in the direction I am meant to. In the meantime I can lie back and see what pictures the clouds have to show me.
Where Are You Going?
I hope you found my Beltane to Litha spread interesting and that you appreciate the beauty of these decks. If not it’s ok, my sister thinks they’re pretty but is sick of the sight of them as they are everywhere on TarotTube! If you have your own interpretations or trying this spread yourself please let me know in the comments. Sending you all good thoughts xx
