1st: New Moon in Sagittarius
15th: Full Cold Moon in Gemini
17th: Saturnalia
21st: Yule, Winter Solstice
24th: Christmas Eve
25th: Christmas
30th: New Moon in Capricorn
31st: New Year’s Eve
This month features “Notoria: Tarot in Light,” which invites us to work alchemically to transform the soul into gold and work with the angels.
Much like the preceding month, December greets us with a New Moon in Sagittarius from the first. In it we find the temptation to leap into glistening boundless snow. With courage, spirit and a sense of understanding, we feel we can meet the winter head on. This brings us into the fold of a marvelous adventure, but as we approach the 15th with the Full Cold Moon in Gemini, we may find that our curiosity gets the better of us. We may find out more than we want to know, more than we feel we can handle. It takes a strong character, and a willingness to go through an arduous test to redeem ourselves. The sun undergoes a parallel journey through the underworld, until it can be reborn as a child of light and a new beginning. Yule ushers us into a period where the days grow longer after hitting their shortest point for the winter solstice. Festivities, family and abundance become a focal point beginning on the 24th and 25th. A New Moon is in store for us once more on the 30th in the sign of Capricorn, which is the perfect time for goal-setting for the next year. On the 31st we wish the old year farewell, and countdown until the new year is born.
The spread “Tau,” gives an outline of the ten Sephiroth affecting our experience in December. It consists of a vertical column, which is revealed below, and a horizontal row, which is personalized and can be booked here - 4 cards for $25.
Per the Notoria deck: “The vertical column represents the macrocosm mirrored on our plane of manifestation. The horizontal row represents our microcosm or timeline which we directly experience in our consciousness.”
Kether: King of Wands ~Vehuiah~
The origin or latency of the present situation, which will be reflected in your present by the Angel drawn and depicted in the sixth card.
On a macrocosmic level, the King of Wands, i.e. the angel Vehuiah, represents the origin that brings us to our current state in the month of December. It is fitting that we received this card in the position of Kether, pure potential, since this is the first card in the Tarot of Light deck. The deck states the following: “The first Angel, Vehuiah, is the beginning of the path of Ars Notoria, the first flame or spark…” The King of Wands, as embodied by Vehuiah, represents our original will to manifest. This will is the crown from which all else emanates. Per Tarot in Light, it is the grounding center we can turn to whenever we need to begin again, find solutions, get ourselves unblocked, or find clarity. It is the vision from which we reason and create. As King of Wands, we hold a mighty staff, which imbues us with the virility, strength and life force that is needed to see our desires take root. With Vehuiah in mind, we flap our mighty wings. This king holds high ideals and holds in his right palm a dripping candle, representative of our lives. It is a potent reminder to ask ourselves: what will we do here with the precious time we have left? The answer returns us to the core of our vision. We are asked to continually meditate on this point for the duration of December, so that we can best bring the vision to light.
2. Chokmah: 3 of Cups ~Asaliah~
The masculine/active archetypal force and impulse that has acted from the beginning in an occult way in order to arrive at the present situation.
In this tarot spread, Chokmah, also known as wisdom, stands behind our actions in service of Kether from the beginning. Asaliah, the angel that embodies the three of cups, is our occult driving force. As King of Wands is to Apollo, the Three of Cups is to Hermes. We can see this in the former’s idyllic form and the latter’s winged helmet. Thus, our impulse is founded in communication and travel as a courier and psychopomp. The means with which we fulfill our originary vision lies in the transmission of ideas of the living and the dead, in order to heal and rejuvenate. Hermes holds his left hand over his heart, exposing his rawest and most vulnerable self, while holding a written scroll in his right. It is with candour that he wins over his audience, and in this spirit that we should strive to do the same. It enlivens us to offer a spirit of youthfulness to the greater community. Wisdom makes us aware that we fulfill a communal need in this way. We have been incubating this ability for a long time, to bring us to our present situation.
3. Binah: 7 of Swords ~Yehuiah~
The feminine/receptive archetypal energy that has acted from the beginning in an occult way, giving shape to the active impulse coming from the second card in order to arrive at the present situation.
The third sephiroth in this spread is called Binah, or intelligence. Our intelligence in this sense is represented by the 7 of Swords, which is tempered by the angel Yehuiah. In relation to communication, we have trickster-like tendencies that grant us a cleverness and craftiness that allows us to think outside of the box, see where we can take shortcuts, rebel, and break arbitrary rules meant to control. These qualities need to be ruled over by a higher purpose to serve good, since otherwise we might fall into using our communication abilities to prove our own cleverness, earn praise, or gratify ourselves. Angel Yehuiah is the one who activates our third eye and allows us to see what really matters, informing us of our true place in the world. When we contribute our actions to a higher calling, this is when life grants us a position better than what we could have imagined. Rather than provoke, our communicative powers are meant to disrupt via questioning old narratives, facilitating conciliation and negotiation, and bringing people together. We plan carefully so that we can come up with a viable way to fight the dominant hegemonic narrative, and usher in collaboration in favor of a clear humanitarian vision.
4. Chesed: King of Swords ~Vasariah~
The loving energetic impulse at play that will work to retain and preserve the good you have done or, in the case of a negative situation, the attachment to a certain state or context that is preventing you from progressing.
Love, or Chesed, is the fourth sephiroth we encounter on the macrocosmic path of manifestation. This force presents itself as the King of Swords, or the Angel Vasariah. Thus far we have employed our will through communication, which has been shaped by establishing right place and right vision. Vasariah preserves these honest efforts with compassionate rule, justice and “rationality and indomitable will” (Tarot in Light). He polishes our raw outreach with refined speech, good memory, and mediation abilities. This angel takes the golden spark we wish to put out into the world, and amplifies it so that it can occupy its rightful place in the world and society. Its effect can be likened to the process of kintsugi, in which we break old forms apart. Broken bits are pieced together with gold that strengthens the foundation and made even more beautiful through their lived history and resilience. Our loving impulse shows up as a desire to spread knowledge while considering multiple points of view. Like the royal figure in this card, we sit ourselves upon the ground (in all the other cards the angels stand) so we can truly listen and observe all perspectives. Under Chesed’s guidance we find ourselves gaining a greater awareness of what work and what message will ripple out into future generations, beyond what may serve us in the now. What can we create that will open the avenue to freedom and peace for those living in the future? This love transforms our abilities into something far reaching so that we can make an impact on the collective.
5. Geburah: 8 of Swords ~Achiah~
The severe and dynamic energetic impulse at play that will push you back to later cut, or even destroy what you have built so far in order to unblock or renew yourself. In the case of a negative situation, it may be a violence suffered or an excess of pride or instinctiveness that prevents you from consolidating and completing one of your projects.
The fifth sephiroth Geburah stands in contrast to the last, as the force of might. It stands for the severe facet of the Creator which cuts or destroys. In December, we experience might as the 8 of swords, or angel Achiah. Before we can fly forward at full force, we must first focus our energies at cutting away at our habitual patterns and entanglements that keep us stuck. We experience this as self doubt, forgotten power, getting in our own way, and getting pulled away by life circumstances. Achiah urges us to practice patience, as this is an important step we must resolve before we can gain clarity and solutions. New experiences will continue to inform us until we feel an intense impulse to share what we have learned. We should lean into this learning aspect, so that we feel that confidently empowered when a powerful choice comes about that will open new doors for us. Our frustration and varying aspects of our lives may distract us or try to pull us away from the far seeing vision of the King of Swords above. It is true that we must tend to ourselves before we can help others, but we must find ways to pull ourselves out of an “I” mentality. There is a tendency to snowball or end up in a feedback loop, but the tools that we need to free ourselves up for aligned action are there.
6. Tiferet: Death ~Poyel~
This is the main card of the reading, the Angel that is your intermediary between the High and the Low and the synthesis of all the energetic influences that have preceded it and that were latent in the first card drawn. It is the Genius that you will have to rely on to resolve your situation in the best possible way. It may inspire you and infuse you with the necessary energy–or it may punish and rebuke you to push you toward your Great Work.
