Beltane is approaching, so I thought I’d revisit a deck I bought last spring – The Seasons of the Witch: Beltane Oracle. Still loving this oracle deck series! I love transitioning to a new deck with each season or solstice. It helps me work with the energy of the year and sync up with nature’s cycles.
Beltane is the Gaelic May Day festival, marking the beginning of summer, traditionally held on May 1st or about midway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Historically, it was widely observed in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man where rituals were performed during Beltane to protect cattle and crops and to encourage growth.
Special bonfires were kindled, whose flames, smoke and ashes were deemed to have protective powers. The people and their cattle would walk around or between bonfires, and sometimes leap over the flames or embers. All household fires would be doused and then re-lit from the Beltane bonfire. These gatherings would be accompanied by a feast, and doors, windows, barns, and livestock would be decorated with yellow May flowers to celebrate.
This Beltane Oracle deck has 44 cards that feel like a celebration of all women portrayed through beautiful images of diverse women across all generations, ages, & races embracing and celebrating each other’s differences as well as their gifts. This collection of bright, warm colored images with gold gilded edges energizes, nourishes, and renews your soul.
The honey-colored card backs sweeten our palate & entice us to join the bees in their infatuation with spring flowers that lead us on this creative journey. These vibrant images radiate the energy of new possibilities and welcome us into a whole new world where we are invited to dream our most beautiful and magical dreams & speak our deepest wishes into existence. It carries an energy of frivolity, experimentation, celebration, & the bursting forth of new creative inspiration.
The cards of flower crown, fae, earth worship, morning dew, & ribbons, use more pastel colors to evoke the energy of creation, spring, & fertility while other cards like the phoenix, bonfire, fire festival, inner power, & primal use their fiery, bold colors to stir up our inner power to encourage us to rise up from the ashes & unleash our inner fire in order to be reborn with a renewed fire in our belly.
Of course, you can use this deck during Beltane season, but really you can pull it out whenever these themes call to you. This deck was created to support us in finding growth, love, and fertility. But here are other times you could work with this deck outside of Beltane.
There are many ways you can work with these cards. You could use them for a daily 2 or 3 card spread. Or just pull 1 card a day to assess where you currently are and to hear the message you most need to hear that day. You could pick out a card and display it in your home or office or carry it with you for the day to usher in that energy or to use it for manifesting something you desire. These cards are also perfect to display on altars during the season of Beltane or in spellwork.
Along with card meanings you may find rituals, descriptions of Beltane herbs, flowers, and trees; and meanings for animal spirits, gods and goddesses. On the card image, they offer a poetic mini message that captures the energy and themes of the seasonal artwork. This allows readers the option to read intuitively if they prefer. They also provide a more detailed message in the guidebook for others who want to dig further into the message this card conveys. I read both ways depending on what type of spread I’m pulling at that moment.
These are great for quick spreads if I don’t have a lot of time but also if I want to dive deeper into the meanings of this season I can opt to spend a lot of time learning about each card and each tradition associated with this time of year. I’m learning so much about all the different sabbats on the Wheel of the Year and the more I learn, the more in tune I feel with the changing of the seasons. I love that these oracles in this Season of the Witch series allow for both ways of reading, giving readers more options. Every reader approaches their divinatory practice uniquely so the more flexible the cards are, the easier it is for us to integrate them into our daily routines.
With each installment of the Seasons of the Witch oracle series, the creators have provided some custom spreads to help us get the most out of these cards by tapping into the themes that each deck focuses on. For the Beltane oracle, they offer us 6 custom spreads offering us clarity, a creative spark, and opportunities for transformation & self-discovery through the Maypole Spread for shifting perspectives, Flower Crown Spread for clarity in difficult times, Goddess Spread for finding the right path, Self-Worship Spread for understanding your gifts, and a Creation Spread for starting something new.
These spreads allow us to explore these themes further and show us how we can work with the natural energy of this season. I love seasonal work as it allows us to rotate the areas of our life and self-care that we put our focus on, keeping our healing practice fresh and always moving us forward to a more whole version of ourselves.
I threw the Maypole Spread to explore why I haven’t been feeling too blessed lately. I’d like to share this spread interpretation with you below.
When exploring what’s preventing me from seeing the blessings in my life currently, the Maypole card urges me not to wait for happiness to find me but to laugh, sing, and dance now to lift my spirit. There’s no amount of worry or stress that will change things that are still in development, so happiness shouldn’t wait. It’s always been hard for me to enjoy things when I’m in limbo. I’m a Capricorn – we hate being in the middle of transition. We like getting to that finish line and basking in the glow of success and completion!
Adding play into my life will help me see the blessings because the stress and worry now about how things will turn out is blinding me to the joys of life that are available to me now. Obsessing over my circumstances only keeps me in a low vibration. Embracing the joys of living will show the universe that I have trust that things will work out and I will be rewarded for that trust.
Bee (Possibilities) reminds me what I have to be grateful for now. This card shows me that the universe is capable of providing all the resources necessary to live a comfortable life in this moment. But I must be willing to put myself out there by stepping out of my comfort zone to receive it fully. By opening myself up to the world around me, I’ll realize that I have an unlimited number of tools, resources, and people willing to help all my dreams come true.
What do I need to do to have a more positive perspective? Oak (Wisdom). “Don’t just look within; dive deeply into the eternal realms of knowing.”
I need to look within myself to evaluate my beliefs to see if anything is out of alignment with who I am and where I want to be. Then, I’ll need to shift my goals if some outdated beliefs need to be replaced or challenged. If there’s any misalignment found, that could be the reason I’m feeling off kilter and feeling a bit depressed at the moment. Hopefully, realigning with who I want to be and the destination that’s meant for me will help me live a blessed life.
What lesson am I learning right now that will benefit me in the future? Phoenix (Rebirth). “Summoned, your flesh rises from the ashes and into the expansive flame of your soul.”
I chuckled when I saw this card because I’ve always resonated so deeply with the Phoenix. The Death card in the tarot is my teacher card, so this death/rebirth theme is one I’ll experience numerous times on my life path. Right now, things are still being torn down in my life so I can build a new life for myself. My career and life path have taken drastic turns since my spiritual awakening in 2018. I’m still adjusting to my new path - becoming a published author. Until that shift, I'd been in my psychological private practice for over a decade and a half.
This card shows that there’s still more to shed before that new life will feel completely comfortable. But it is coming. And what I’ll receive in its place will be far greater than my old life. Bigger, better things are on the horizon.
Pluto in Capricorn (my sign sun) made sure that rebirth transformation was front and center. And now with Pluto in Aquarius (my ascendant), that new life is blooming. There’s a lot to be grateful for when you take this radical transformation into account. It’s always been my dream to be an author, and my life is being rearranged so that dream can finally come true.
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This series follows a group of women (witches, healers, diviners) who reincarnate lifetime after lifetime and reunite with their coven so they can fulfill a mission of keeping their craft of divination, healing, and magic alive for future generations.
Book Blurb for Book 1 in The Divining Sisters Series: The Call of the Cards
Alexandra Steele, a clinical psychologist, stumbles upon a mystical store in downtown, Memphis, TN, where she encounters tarot cards for the first time. She doesn't realize it at the time, but this simple encounter will leave her life forever changed as she uncovers a world of past life connections to the cards and the craft of divination. This sparks an awakening that opens door after door of a long line of mystic and witch incarnations that run throughout her history. As she reconnects to these deep mystical ties, she begins to learn about her destiny, which is revealed as she starts to encounter coven sisters and foes from previous incarnations. Will her tendency to hide in the shadows and play small continue to hold her back or will the call of the cards lure her onto her destined path of a life full of magic and sisterhood?
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Readers call it "Harry Potter for adults."
If you get a copy of any of the books in the series please leave a book review on whatever platform you buy it on if you enjoy it. That really helps me out and can help get my book in front of more readers. And if you love it please also review it on good reads. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see updates on the book releases there. I have 2 instagram accounts My tarot and podcast account - healingthrutarot My author account heatherhardisonauthor
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FTC Disclosure: In accordance with Title 16 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 255, “Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising,” I received The Litha Oracle from Rockpool Publishing for prospective review. Everything I’ve said here is sincere and accurately reflects my opinion of this deck.
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