A Card Spread for the Winter Solstice

The winter solstice, or Yule, is the shortest day and longest night of the year. Yule is a sabbat on the Wheel of the Year that marks midwinter, and even though it’s the darkest time of the whole year, it represents a sacred portal of death and rebirth. If you're new to The Wheel of the Year, you can find more about it here.

After Yule, each day begins to get a little more light and a little less dark. It’s a time to celebrate the return of the light. 

Yule is associated with evergreen, holly, ivy, mistletoe, red, white, green, gold, and fire. Sounds a little bit like Christmas, right? The pagan holiday of Yule predates Christmas, and when Christianity swept through Europe, Yule's traditions were woven into the Christian holiday of Christmas. 

Like many of us witches, pagans, and/or spiritual folks, you may honor both Yule and Christmas. 

Keep scrolling to find a tarot or oracle card spread for this Winter Solstice and Yule and other ways you might like to honor this sabbat.

A CARD SPREAD FOR YULE 

Take some time to create a ritual space before you pull your cards. Gather a few candles, light some incense or other herbs, and ground yourself before dropping in with your cards. Set an intention for your intuition, your highest self, and/or your spirit guides to communicate with you through the cards.

When you feel ready, shuffle your cards and pull one card for each of the following questions:

• What themes are surfacing most prevalently, within and outside of me?

• How can I tend to and grieve what wants to surface?

• What's ready to pour into the cauldron of the earth this Solstice?

• How can I care for myself during this tender time of shedding?

• What wants to be reborn, within and outside of me?

Image copyright Cassie Uhl 2023.

Consider sitting with your cards, journaling, and meditating for a while to help you process their medicine and really move the messages through your body.

Some other sweet ways to honor the Winter Solstice and Yule:

• Light candles

• Gather around a fire with loved ones 

• Connect with local evergreen trees

• Burn pine incense

• Meditate on a candle flame or fire

• Honor the wisdom of darkness by spending time inside or outside with the darkness of the season.

• Create a Yule altar with holly sprigs, pinecones, evergreen branches, and red, green, or white candles and crystals

• Winter Solstice & Yule Spell Jar

• Find more ideas here

How will you be honoring Yule this year? Let me know on Instagram.

Card Spread and Self-love Ritual for Libra Season

Libra, our cardinal air sign, invites you to focus on creating right relationships, initiating connection, finding soul fulfillment through the sign’s Venus rulership, and learning to communicate truth, love, and beauty.

In this blog post, I’ll be sharing a card spread and a ritual for Libra season. Check out our Understanding the Energy of Libra Season blog post to learn more about Libra energy and your personal birth chart’s connection to Libra

.Card Spread for Libra Season

We’ll use this card spread to explore the invitations and lessons Libra has to teach you this season. Feel free to use a tarot deck or an oracle deck (like the Journey Tarot!) for this spread - whichever resonates with you. 

I invite you to create a ritual space for you and your deck to communicate by taking a moment to ground and center yourself however feels good to you. In the spirit of Libra season and air energy, you might like to ground and center by taking a few deep breaths or shaking your whole body.

 When you feel grounded and ready, shuffle your deck and draw a card for each of the following questions:

• What is Libra season here to teach me?

• How can I move towards right relationship this season?

• What step can I take towards soul fulfillment this season?

• What possibilities are Libra season opening up for me?

After you pull your cards, sit with them. Try to take some time to journal or meditate with them to really connect with the full meaning they have to offer you. At the end of Libra season, you might like to revisit your cards and reflect on how they unfolded throughout the season. How did they show up? What did you learn about yourself and about the cards through the way they manifested this season?

Libra Season Ritual for a More Loving Relationship with Yourself 

Libra sign points us towards relationships, and one of the most important relationships we have is the one we have with ourselves. This ritual is intended to support you in creating a more loving relationship with yourself.

You’ll need:

• Leaves

• A marker or pen to write on the leaves 

Once you feel grounded, centered, and open, enter into meditation. Meditate on your relationship with yourself — what feels really good in this relationship, and what feels unsupportive? What would you like to change? What’s your vision for a more loving relationship with yourself? How would you like it to feel? Notice how all of these things feel in your body, and breathe into them.

When you feel clear on what you want to release as well as intentions for your relationship with yourself, write them down on your leaves. Then, take a walk through nature and let the wind carry and scatter the leaves. Trust that as the wind and the Earth take them, your intentions for release and growth are being amplified and offered up to the Universe.

Happy Libra season! I hope you find some beautiful support in this card spread and ritual for this season. 

Card Spread and Devotion Ritual for Virgo Season

Virgo, our mutable Earth sign, invites you to consider what you are in service to, to pour your gifts out for the world, to unite your body and mind, and to analyze, discern, and purify. It's a season to find clarity around what you feel called to devote yourself to. We'll be exploring themes of both nature and devotion throughout the following card spread and ritual.

In this blog post, I’ll be sharing a card spread and a ritual for Virgo season. Check out our Understanding the Energy of Virgo Season blog post to learn more about Virgo energy and your personal birth chart’s connection to Virgo.

Card Spread for Virgo Season

We’ll use this card spread to explore the invitations and lessons Virgo has to teach you this season. Feel free to use a tarot deck or an oracle deck for this spread - whichever resonates with you. 

I invite you to create a ritual space for you and your deck to communicate by taking a moment to ground and center yourself however feels good to you. In the spirit of Leo season and Earth energy, you might like to explore dropping a grounding cord into the earth or meditating with a plant.

When you feel grounded and ready, shuffle your deck and draw a card for each of the following questions:

• What is Virgo season here to teach me?

• What am I being called to devote myself to this season?

• What is no longer needed & can be released this season?

• What possibilities are Virgo season is opening up for me?

After you pull your cards, sit with them. Try to take some time to journal or meditate with them to really connect with the full meaning they have to offer you. At the end of Virgo season, you might like to revisit your cards and reflect on how they unfolded throughout the season. How did they show up? What did you learn about yourself and the cards through the way they manifested this season?

Virgo Season Ritual for Devotion 

For me, Virgo evokes a lush, nature-based beauty, so feel free to make your space beautiful for this ritual in whatever ways feel good to you and perhaps align with what you’re devoting yourself to. For example, if you’re devoting yourself to love, it could feel good to sprinkle yourself with jasmine oil and surround yourself with rose quartz and rose petals.

For this Virgo season ritual for devotion, you’ll need:

• A candle 

• Paper and pen 

• Any oils and/or herbs you’d like to roll your candle in 

• Something to carve your candle with, like a safety pin 

• Anything to make your space feel beautiful 

• A small bowl of water 

As always, follow your intuition! That’s what makes ritual the most powerful. Here are my suggested steps for this Virgo ritual.

1. Once your space is set in a way that feels good, take a moment to ground yourself and reflect on what you’d like to devote yourself to this season. 

2. If you did the tarot spread above, you could take that card that answered the question about devotion and meditate with it. Or, you might simply like to journal to the question: what do I desire to devote myself to this season? 

3. When you feel clear, gather your candle and any oils and herbs that go along with that intention. I wrote a whole blog post on oil and herb correspondences for candle magic that you can check out here!

4. Dress your candle by carving your intention into it, rolling it in oil, and rolling it in herbs.

5. Light your candle and take out your pen and paper. Take your time to write a poem, a letter, or any words that feel good to whatever it is you’re devoting yourself to: love, courage, trust, mystery, whatever it is for you. What do you want to say? What do you want to send out into the universe? What are the words and desires in your heart? Write them down! 

6. When you feel complete, read your words out loud to your candle as many times as you’d like. Let them wash over you, let them sink in, let the smoke from your candle carry them into the clouds. 

7. Then, take your water and anoint yourself with it by sprinkling it over your head, on your pulse points, or anywhere else that feels good. As you sprinkle it and let it soak into your skin, know that you are committing to this devotion and asking to co-create with this energy. 

8. Close your ritual by letting your candle burn down and returning the rest of the water to the Earth. 

Happy Virgo season! I hope this card spread and ritual support you this season. 

New Moon in Leo: Cultivating Joy

The sign of Leo calls for full self-expression, play, creativity, and showing your full and true self to the world. Every new moon is a time to be open to spirit for new opportunities, guidance, and growth.

This new moon is an invitation to tune into spirit around how you can step more fully into expressing yourself in a way that feels joyful and aligned. Read on for a ritual I crafted for you to enjoy anytime during the new moon.

Additional resources:

• Learn more about the energy of Leo season here.

• Find more new moon rituals here.

New Moon in Leo Ritual Support

1. Create a sacred space. Sit, close your eyes, connect with your breath and body. Root into the moment. 

2. Optional: Light a red, yellow, orange, or white candle. Hold it in your hands, infusing it with the intention of being open to spirit for guidance in the lunar cycle ahead. 

Additional resources:

• Learn more about candle magick here.

3. Ask yourself the following question, "How can I express myself more fully?"

4. Meditate for 10 minutes or more with the intention of being open to spirit for guidance.

Additional resources:

• Learn more about meditation here.

• Purchase my guided meditations for each moon phase here.

5. Using your favorite tarot or oracle card deck, ask the following questions: 

1. How am I being called to express myself? 

2. What’s blocking me from expressing myself more fully? 

3. How can I move past what’s blocking me from fuller self-expression?

4. How will me living more authentically change my life and the lives of others?

Additional resources:

• Learn more about tarot here and oracle cards here.

• Shop the Journey Tarot here.

6. Close your ritual by connecting with your breath and body again. Thank any guides or ancestors that came through to offer guidance. Consider journaling to process any.

If you enjoy this ritual, consider sharing it with someone who might also enjoy it.

Card Spread and Authenticity Ritual for Leo Season

Leo, our fixed fire sign, is here to invite you to step into your courage, be seen in your truest essence, and stand in your power. Leo evokes the radiant heart and invites us to stand in our passion.

In this blog post, I’ll be sharing a card spread and a ritual for Leo season. To learn more about Leo energy and your personal birth chart’s connection to Leo, check out our Understanding the Energy of Leo Season blog post. 

Card Spread for Leo Season

We’ll use this card spread to explore the invitations and lessons Leo has to teach you this season. Feel free to use a tarot deck or an oracle deck for this spread - whichever resonates with you. 

I invite you to create a ritual space for you and your deck to communicate by taking a moment to ground and center yourself however feels good to you. In the spirit of Leo season and fire energy, it could feel good to light a candle or take a moment to breathe outside under the sun with your deck. 

When you feel grounded and ready, shuffle your deck and draw a card for each of the following questions:

• What is Leo season here to teach me? 

• How can I step into more of my authenticity? 

• What do I need to embody my bravery? 

• A message from my radiant heart.

• What possibilities are Leo season opening up for me?

After you pull your cards, sit with them. Try to take some time to journal or meditate with them to really connect with the full meaning they have to offer you. At the end of Leo season, you might like to revisit your cards and reflect on how they unfolded throughout the season. How did they show up? What did you learn about yourself and the cards through the way they manifested this season?

Leo Season Ritual for Embodying Your Most Authentic Self

This Leo season ritual is intended to support you in embodying your most authentic self.

You'll need:

• 1 candle (any color, but yellow, red, or orange corresponds well with this ritual)

• 10-30 minutes of uninterrupted time

1. To start, light a candle on your altar or in a quiet space. Get clear on who your most authentic self is in this moment (knowing that who you are and what is authentic to you can and will change over time, and that’s beautiful!). You can start this by asking aloud or in your mind, "Who is my most authentic self?"

2. Sit in meditation and welcome your most authentic self forward.

3. Spend some time in the presence of your most authentic self. Who are they? How do they feel? What parts of themself are they expressing? Just take them in and spend some time with them. Organically as it feels good, start to sense what feels active around this authentic self in your body. What feels especially alive in your body?

4. Ask your inner self, "How can I embody this authentic self?" Don’t overthink it, just flow with it. How does this self move, sound, breathe, feel? Let your body move through whatever movements, sounds, expressions that feel good to you. Know that you are calling your truest self home with each moment and each expression. Take your time here and really let your body develop some somatic awareness of your truest self.

5. When you feel complete, let your eyes open and spend a moment gazing at your candle flame. Let this flame harness the power of you being your authentic self and send it into the universe as a spell for you being who you are. If there are any affirmations, you want to offer to yourself, feel free to speak them to the candle flame and let the smoke carry them.

6. Then, decide on one concrete action you can take in the physical world to embody this authentic self. Maybe it’s having a conversation with someone, starting a new project, saying yes or no to something, or trying something new. Whatever it is, commit to it and make a plan for when and how you’ll do it.

7. Let your candle burn all the way down and close your ritual with a few deep, grounding breaths.

Happy Leo season! I hope you find support in this card spread and ritual for the rest of Leo season. 

Card Spread and Water Ritual for Cancer Season

Cancer, our cardinal water sign, is here to help us tap into our inner world of emotions, heal our ancestry, and connect with the themes of home, family, and mother. Ruled by the moon in western astrology, this archetype connects us to the nonlinear inner world.

In this blog post, I’ll be sharing a card spread and a ritual for Cancer season. To learn more about Cancer energy and your personal birth chart’s connection to Cancer, check out our Understanding the Energy of Cancer Season blog post.

Card Spread for Cancer Season

We’ll use this card spread to explore the invitations and lessons Cancer has to teach you this season. Feel free to use a tarot deck or an oracle deck for this spread - whichever you prefer! I invite you to create a ritual space for you and your deck to communicate by taking a moment to ground and center yourself however feels good to you. In the spirit of Cancer season and water energy, you might like to drink a glass of water and/or sprinkle yourself with a little water. When you feel grounded and centered, shuffle your deck and draw a card for each of the following questions:

• What is Cancer season here to teach me? 

• What is needed in my relationship to family this season?

• What support do I need to connect with my emotional world?

• What possibilities is Cancer season is opening up for me?

After you pull your cards, take some time to journal and/or meditate with them to really connect with the full meaning they have to offer you. At the end of Cancer season, revisit your cards and reflect on how they unfolded throughout the season. How did they show up? What did you learn? 

Cancer Season Ritual for Creating a Home Within Yourself 

Home is a big theme of Cancer season — the homes we come from, the homes we live in, the people who feel like home, the homes we create for ourselves. In this ritual, we’ll work on creating a safe and loving home within yourself. All you’ll need is water to submerge in, whether it’s a bathtub or an outdoor body of water (highly recommended if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere and Cancer season takes place in summer!). 

Open your ritual by grounding and centering yourself however feels good to you. There is no one ideal way to ground — what works for you is what’s ideal! When you feel grounded, soft, and centered, journal and meditate on the following questions:

• What did home feel like for me growing up? (Try to connect with the tactile sensations: what are the smells, sounds, sensations, sights, and tastes of home?)

• What does home feel like for me now? 

• What do I want home to feel like? 

• How can I create a safe and loving home within myself? What does that feel like, look like, sound like? 

Spend some time meditating on that last question and visualizing creating a safe and loving home inside of yourself. What are the textures? How do you speak to yourself? What energies, feelings, and voices are welcome here? Let yourself sink into the soft coziness of this home you’re creating in your body. 

When it feels alive, safely submerge yourself in water for a moment to symbolize your commitment to building this home. When you emerge from the water, affirm that you are creating this home within yourself. Affirm that this home will always be there. Affirm that no one can take it away from you. Affirm that it is yours, that it is holy, that it is healing.

If it feels supportive, you might like to process your experience in your journal afterward. If you have a complicated relationship with home like many of us do, this ritual could feel especially emotional or tender. It could bring up memories or big feelings. Be extra gentle with yourself and make an aftercare plan to support yourself after the ritual. 

Happy Cancer season! I hope this card spread and ritual support you - share your spreads and rituals on Instagram and tag us @cassieuhl so we can see them! 

Card Spread and Ritual for Gemini Season

Gemini, our mutable air sign, is here to help us open our minds, connect to each other, and communicate our truth. At its most soul-centered level, Gemini energy helps us bring together people and ideas, share our message and our voice, create love through connection and communication, and find the magic right here at home in our neighborhoods.

In this blog post, I’ll be sharing a card spread and a ritual for Gemini season. To learn more about Gemini energy and your personal birth chart’s connection to Gemini, check out our Understanding the Energy of Gemini Season blog post here.

Card featured from The Starchild Tarot by Danielle Noel.

Card Spread for Gemini Season

We’ll use this card spread to explore the invitations and lessons Gemini has to teach you this season. Feel free to use a tarot deck or an oracle deck for this spread - whichever you prefer! 

I invite you to create a ritual space for you and your deck to communicate by taking a moment to ground and center yourself however feels good to you. In the spirit of Gemini season and air energy, you might like to take a few deep breaths while holding your cards.

When you feel grounded and centered, shuffle your deck and draw a card for each of the following questions:

• What is Gemini season here to teach me? 

• What truth do I need to speak this season?

• What supportive energies can I draw on as I speak that truth?

• How can I facilitate a deeper connection with myself, and my community?

• What possibilities are Gemini season opening up for me?

After you pull your cards, take some time to journal and/or meditate with them to really connect with the full meaning they have to offer you.

Gemini Season Ritual for Connection to Your Community

This ritual focuses on the aspect of Gemini that speaks to your local surroundings and neighborhood. Gemini drives us to connect, to create love, right where we are (as opposed to its polar sign Sagittarius, which is associated with world travel). 

1. To start, take some time to reflect on the questions below (feel free to meditate on them and/or journal about them).What are your wishes and dreams for the folks in your community (including yourself)? What blessings do you wish for your neighbors and for the land? What dreams do you have for your community as a whole? 

2. When you feel rooted in your intentions for your community, create offerings infused with these intentions and blessings. This could be little pieces of art or writing, plants, food, a sprinkling of oil, flower petals, or anything that feels good to you. Let your creativity and intuition lead you! As you create and gather, focus on your intentions and let them energetically weave with your offerings.

3. Then, take a walk through your neighborhood and intuitively leave your offerings around! You might like to whisper a blessing over them, take a silent, reflective moment, or do something else to honor this process as you leave them out. 

4. After you place all your offerings, close with a moment of gratitude and a deep breath, you might like to place your hands on your heart and feel how your heart is opening and expanding. 

Happy Gemini season! I hope this card spread and ritual support you - share your spreads and rituals on Instagram and tag us @cassieuhl so we can see them!

Card Spread and Ritual for Taurus Season

Taurus, our fixed Earth sign, is here to ground us in our bodies, teach us about beauty, root us into our innate worthiness and value, and help us tap into the tactile pleasures of being alive. During Taurus season in the northern hemisphere, we sink into the aliveness and blooming of spring around us and within us.

In this blog post, I’ll be sharing a card spread and a ritual for Taurus season. To learn more about Taurus energy and your personal birth chart’s connection to Taurus, check out our Understanding the Energy of Taurus Season blog post here.

Card Spread for Taurus Season

This card spread can be done using a tarot deck or an oracle deck. Through this spread, we’ll explore Taurus’ invitation for you. 

I invite you to create a ritual space for you and your deck to communicate by taking a moment to ground and center yourself however feels good to you. In the spirit of Taurus season, you might also want to work with some elements that touch the senses, like lighting some incense or herbs that smell good, having a smooth crystal to touch, or having a tincture to drop some sweetness on your tongue. 

When you feel grounded and ready, shuffle your deck and draw a card for each of the following questions:

• What is Taurus season here to teach me? 

• What can I root into this Taurus season?

• What is my relationship with self-worth?

• How can I start to heal my relationship with self-worth?

• How can I honor my physical body? 

• What possibilities are Taurus season opening up for me? 

After you pull your cards, take some time to journal and/or meditate with them to really connect with the full meaning they have to offer you.

Taurus Season Ritual for Self-Worth

Taurus season is deeply associated with the material, physical world. Its energy asks us to consider questions of value and worth: what are your values? Do you believe in your worthiness? What conditions do you place on your worth (i.e., I’m worthy if/when…)? 

For this ritual, we’ll be working with dropping into deeper self-worth. You’ll need a pen, a piece of paper you can rip or cut into small pieces of paper, a journal, and access to soil (this could be your backyard, or maybe just filling a bowl with soil and using it at your altar). 

1. Create a container for ritual that feels good to you, and ground yourself however you’d like (you can see some grounding tips in this post if you need some ideas).  

2. When you feel ready, open your journal and write at the top of a new page. I am not worthy because…

This exercise is based on Carolyn Elliott’s Deepest Fear Inventory exercise, and it’s one of my favorites. The intention is to list 5, 10, 15, 20 things that come up for you in completing that sentence. Don’t overthink or try to figure it out. Just let the words pour out.

3. Once you’re done, read what you’ve written and notice what really stands out to you. What feels particularly resonant, alive, and true? You could circle or star those. These are your big blocks, your wounded places around worthiness. You’ve touched a part of yourself that believes these things, even if your conscious mind doesn’t. Here is the work.

4. Take a moment to honor and accept these beliefs. There’s nothing wrong with them. We’re going to work with transmuting them, but they’re not inherently bad. They’re just things you’re holding that you might feel ready to complete so that you can hold something different. 

5. Take some time to reflect and/or write about what the other side of these beliefs could be. What beliefs do you want to step into?For example, if “I’m not worthy because I’ve gained weight” is one of the really alive beliefs that came up for you, what do you want to believe instead? That could become “I am worthy regardless of anything my body does or doesn’t do,” “My worth is not dependent on my body,” or “My body changes, but my worth does not.” The point is for it to be intuitive and feel good to you! 

6. Once you have your new beliefs you want to embody, take your small scraps of paper and write on them. On one side, write the old belief. On the other side, right the new. One at a time, read each out loud as you drop them in the soil and bury them. Honor the old belief out loud, and claim the new belief you want to grow into. Know that as you bury these seeds, you are asking Earth's energy to compost the old and grow new, to let the old beliefs transform into something nourishing, something you desire. 

7. Take a moment of gratitude for yourself, and if you worked with a bowl of soil, you could leave it on your altar for a few days before returning it to the Earth.

Happy Taurus season! I hope this card spread and ritual support you - share your spreads and rituals on Instagram and tag us @cassieuhl so we can see them!