Happy Imbolc! If you haven’t taken the time to read my post about Imbolc, and would like to know a bit more about it, have a look and see how you can celebrate the first signs of spring!
Today marks a month of Tarot Tuesday, my darlings. Last week, I mentioned how we would be getting more into the balance of masculine and feminine energies, and this week we continue the feminine energy with the fourth card of the Major Arcana, The Empress. She is elegant, sensual, and necessary for creating balance within oneself regardless of gender. Like a mother, she nurtures us and encourages our growth. She’s associated with the planet and Roman goddess Venus, and the Greek goddess Aphrodite, bringing in a feel of love, beauty, and grace.
When she appears upright, she is urging you to venture out into nature and ground your energy. Remember through this connection that you are surrounded by the abundance of life, and to find gratitude for the bounty you are given. Express yourself creatively and be in flow with Mother Earth and all that she gives. She can suggest pregnancy or birth, whether a literal childbirth or the rooting of a new idea or project. Like a supporting and compassionate mother, she encourages this new endeavor. She encourages caring for others in a healthy and balanced way. A wise mother knows when to step in and when to let her children do for themselves.
The Empress reversed is a sign that you aren’t taking care of yourself. You’ve left your cup empty far too long and need to refill it with self-love and self-care before you can continue to give to others. This can mean you may have taken your caring for others too far, becoming overprotective or controlling. Perhaps you are the codependent party. Either way, retreating from this relationship to care for yourself may cause backlash from the other parties that are accustomed to your attention and focus. Don’t bother with what they think right now. Shift your focus from a mother/child type of relationship to an adult/adult relationship through cultivating independence and trust. Replace the controlling or overprotective aspects with loving compassion. She may also speak to a block in your creative flow or debilitating thoughts around body image. Learn to love your body. Give thanks for your curves, your bumps, your hair, your seven trillion cells all working in glorious harmony to keep you alive. Shine your unique light brightly. Express yourself, your beautiful, strong self, creatively. Spend time on yourself, with yourself.
In today’s world, it is common to neglect ourselves. We are praised for working ourselves to the bone, for working a full time job and three side hustles. We’re shamed for resting. But the Empress, our spiritual mother, knows the importance of rest. The entire world rests for several months out of the year before blooming again in spring to thrive and grow. Burnout is not equal to the pursuit of happiness. Remember that while you are getting that bread and working for everything you’ve got, that if you don’t rest, spend time doing what sparks joy in you, your cup will run dry, and you’ll have no more to give. And to that end, self-care is not an easy thing.
Social media portrays it as a glass of wine the size of your head and a bubble bath, or a wild night on the town, but I’ve found that my self-care looks far more like repotting plants that I’ve neglected. It looks like forcing myself to sit down and read a book I’ve been putting off. It looks like practicing one of the many instruments I’ve brought into my house, or taking a difficult hike outside far away from town with my pup. That’s not to say a bubble bath has ever put me in a bad mood, but sometimes it doesn’t spark my inner light. Experiment with what sparks yours. What’s something you used to love doing that you put down a long time ago because you didn’t have the time, or people judged you for it, or whatever reason? Spark your light, and refill your cup, my darlings! Momma said that it was okay.