New Moon: 10th (Pisces)
Ostara: 19th, Spring Equinox
Full Moon: 25th (Worm Moon)
Easter: 31st
March has me thinking about my upcoming marriage, and all the other Ms that might be associated with the month. It recalls Mad March, which refers to the wild and unpredictable hare in March, exemplified by chases and boxing during their mating season. This berzerk behavior is fitting for the month of Mars, the god of war. Other Ms that come to mind include music and the Muse. Together, these themes show March to be a month of passion, love, inspiration, competitiveness, energy, and action. Keeping the Ms in mind, I’ll be reading from the Marseilles deck once more to illuminate what we can expect with our openness to connect.
Theme:
Death ~Abstract (Psychopomp) by Hozier~
The presiding theme and overall message for the spread is represented by the Death card. Allowing past connections, old narratives and ways of operating to die can be scary and challenging, but we are encouraged to do it with vigor and a cheerful, diligent step. We can whistle while we work, sing, celebrate what once was and will be, in order to facilitate the process. Death reminds us of what we hold precious, and what joy we want to ensure more of in life. We’ll want to strip ourselves down to the bones, the core of who we are –beyond status, employment, riches or power–our fundamental selves that would stand before Maat to have our hearts weighed. This is who we want to bring forward into the next stage of our lives. This is where we act from, and where transformative change can happen. It will feel at first as though we are losing a critical part of ourselves when we release our old identities. Then we will feel lightened and reunited with our true selves, the version of us that operates from love and connects fully. We bring an end to an old way of connecting, and to bring in a new way of doing so.
The way am I most open to romantic/intimate connection:
Strength ~Light My Love by Greta Van Fleet~
It takes Strength to confront Death —which is inherent in all relationships. We transform over the course of a relationship, as do our ideas about love. In Women Who Run with Wolves, Clarissa Estes uses a Skeleton Woman tale to remind us that we all undergo the life/death/life cycle – the initial excitement, the deepening of the relationship, the decline of intensity, and a reanimation of fervor. A strong soul does not bolt at the first shift, but rather endures. The brave, courageous part of the self that is willing to confront and work with and reawaken the lion (fear, unruliness, unbridled desires) is the part that is most open to connection. This is the part that is connected to the higher divine self and the infinite, the part that feels strong enough to be vulnerable and open. We may not feel ready or capable, but we are able to summon up compassion and courage to step into connection. It’s not that we have an absence of fear, but that we are able to face it. We are grounded and empowered when we act from this space. We feel like a superhero with extraordinary abilities, and are able to initiate, act boldly, cultivate joy and play. We are able to confront our past, our demons, to listen, integrate, connect, forgive, and make amends both in relating with the self and our connections.
The part of me that is hesitant or resistant to intimate and romantic connection:
Reverse Page of Wands ~When I’m Small by Phantogram~
The reverse page of wands seems rigid and in discomfort holding the club, which is symbolic of power, libido and the creative spark. This page represents the part of ourselves that doesn’t feel up to the task of connection. We may feel vulnerable and fear getting burned by our own fire. The page feels they can’t trust their mind to come up with ideas for right action that can be confidently acted upon (perhaps feeling too hot-headed), and feels a need for clarity of thought. This results in having a stifled flame that lacks fluidity of action and movement. This is a part of the self that cannot see the ground or where it is going, resulting in the intuitive recesses not being addressed. The arms of the figure look like scissors, as though any action or movement cuts any connection it tries to touch. This creates a painful separation from what is desired – and we may even hesitate to keep trying since the result always seems to be the same.
What from the past is influencing my present desire/capacity for intimate connection? The Emperor ~Lovesong by The Cure~
In the past, we lived under the steady rule of the Emperor. We had either a sturdy father figure or a trust in the authority that we were raised under within the current patriarchal paradigm. In the Emperor we saw discipline in service of something greater, wisdom, needs being met and contained. In the Emperor’s presence we felt abundance, and grounding. With that also came rules, limited autonomy, a naivety and sense of safety that relied on wisdom belonging outside of ourselves. A structured path was laid out before us –school, work, buying a house, having children, and retiring. The ways we should and should not behave. Regardless, this far-sightedness gave us something to put our resolve and motivation towards each day. This affects our attachment style and what kind of connection we seek – a stable relationship, a sense of consistency, reliability, and someone whose wisdom we can turn to outside our own. We trust the sensible decisions the Emperor makes. When backed by the protective shield of the Emperor we are empowered to soar to our fullest power.
How can I actively invite in more romantic connections?
Reverse Knight of Pentacles ~All Mixed Up by 311~
The reverse Knight of Pentacles seems to have gotten turned around, but doesn’t want to admit it. We are being advised to share where we might be feeling ungrounded in the material plane (health, abundance, lifestyle, etc) and lost. It’s time to ask for directions instead of trying to figure it all out on our own. At this point even our horse, the seat of our desire and intuition has become turned around. Instead of dragging the horse against its will one way or another, we should let it guide the way once we have been resituated. It seems like we have our guard up but we don’t know how to really employ the club that we’re using to overly protect ourselves. What can we do on a daily basis to make ourselves feel more consistently secure? To activate our internal energy, creativity and enjoyment? To feel secure in our sense of abundance, health, resources, home and the body? What do we truly and naturally love and how might we increase that sense in connection?
What helpful healing advice do my spirits have for me?
Reverse Devil ~Take Me to Church by Hozier~
The reverse Devil is the natural part of life and humanity that we’ve been taught to demonize while in our Emperor phase. We’d been taught that our internal desires, such as lust, the insatiable quest for knowledge, and making our own path lead to terrible consequences, when in reality this is part of what it means to grow up. We should question and explore, rather than submit. The social construct of the Devil plays us for a fool when we play by the rules of shoulds and should nots. This leads us to believe that we are at the Devil’s mercy, when in reality we are the ones with the power. We have the ability to follow our inner moral compass. We are not whole when we sever the Devil within from our being. When we do this, we assume guilt and shame which can drive us to self punishment or addictive behaviors that keep us from acting in our full power. It keeps us from connecting to the wild, magical parts of us that enliven us and the world around us. The Lightbringer aspect of this card makes us aware of all the places we store shame, all the parts of ourselves we are holding back, which keeps us from fully connecting.
To sum things up, we can summon our Strength to bring about Death to the shadow ideas of the Emperor that demonize the Devil, which keeps us feeling small and turned around. We can let go of the parts of ourselves that we deem unworthy of connection. We can be fully held in connection when we embrace full vulnerability and unbridled authenticity in its stead.