From Stillness to Stirring: Deep Winter, Tarot & the Call Toward Imbolc
We've passed Samhain, we've passed Yule — so where are we in the Wheel of the Year right now? In this episode, Karen explores the quiet, gestating stretch of deep winter through the Tarot (hello, Hermit and Moon energy), then turns toward the first stirrings of Imbolc and the flame we're all quietly tending before spring.
Karen shares a simple at-home spread for checking in with what's still resting inside you, and shares details on her upcoming half-day Imbolc retreat at Cindy's Yoga Studio in Wodonga on Sunday 9 August — original Tarot spreads, ritual, and journaling to mark the season's turn.
Links:
Imbolc Retreat: https://www.soulfulnwild.com/retreats
Beginner Tarot course: https://www.soulfulnwild.com/online-resources
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Episode Transcript
Hello and welcome. Now it is actually an age, quite a long time since I did an episode for the podcast.
So today i thought what I'd like to do is, well I'm just going to start by picking a card - as you do. So. Where are we at?
Hah!
I've picked the Hermit, which is actually quite perfect because it couldn't be more perfect than this. This is exactly where we are located right now. For those of you who follow me on social media, you'll be aware this year... I'm doing half-day retreats. I skipped last year. Don't really know what happened last year. I think life just got busy and, well, I don't know, I went off on a different tangent I guess. But I'm back to doing them.
This year the focus is really going to be on the Celtic Wheel of the Year.
Now there are actually eight sacred days or Sabbats, they're called, that make up the Celtic Wheel of the Year. They’re special days on which we honour the shift of the seasons and pay attentionn to what happens in the world around us, in the physical world. We understand, of course, that those shifts and changes occur on an inner level as well.
Now, I'm not actually going to do all eight Sabbats. I'm actually going to do four of them, the four ancient Celtic fire festivals…
01:50.17
And we are currently in a space. I'll actually show you, for those of you who are watching the video, this is a circle of timber and it's got the eight Sabbat names on them with the dates as they land here in the Southern Hemisphere. Now, for a lot of you who read books on these things, or if you listen to astrologers or even Tarot readers speak about the Sabbats,.. you'll often hear a lot of these people are from the Northern Hemisphere - from the US and the UK. And, of course, it's different,, you know, like Halloween. They have Halloween in October.
02:37.21
Well, that's actually All Hallow's Eve. It doesn't happen in October in Australia. That's a Hollywood thing, but it's based on the Sabbat…
So just be aware of that. So for us, here we are, we've had... Samhain, which was in May, 1st of May I think it was. Let me just double check I've got that right. Yes, I think I've got that right. Yep, May 1st. Sometimes called All Hallows Eve, which is what I was just talking about before.
Halloween. We have it in May. On the other side of the world its the opposite side of the calendar, so it's October So we've just passed that a few months ago, and we've also been through the winter solstice - the deep darkest longest night shortest day, and that is the darkest point - so we went through that 21st of June (it falls between the 20th and twenty third of most years) and so we are in this weird space right now. We're in the deepest, darkest part of the year. So we're past the winter solstice, but we haven't made it yet to that first flickering of new light, which happens at Imbolc.
04:15.38
Karen Seinor
So it's very, you know, an interesting sort of space that we're in, so selecting the Hermit card couldn't be more perfect because we are in a way in this space where there is no light at all, except the light of Spirit; and it's from this space - like a seed in the soil You know, everything is underground right now. Nothing is out there. It's all down underneath. And for us, that's true too. I don't know if you're feeling that. I know I am. Even in the garden, you know, if you go and have a look outside,
I mean, in my garden, I've planted some plants specifically that will flower in the winter because I've got bees in the garden. But most gardens, traditional gardens, there's nothing growing. The leaves are off the the regular trees. They've dropped, you know, and the leaves are sort of all in decay on the ground. It's moist. Everything's still, and actually that's exactly what we need to be doing right now. We need to be still. We really need to stop the push, stop the drive, and just come into this place of real genuine rest. In fact I invite you to really embrace that for this is a time where self-care is really, really important.
06:00.98
Karen Seinor
You know, eating nourishing foods, snuggling on the couch and being warm under a blankie and reading that book that you you've always wanted to read but have always been too busy rushing around to make space for. It's a great time for meditation.
It's in the stillness, and I don't know if you've ever experienced this? I know sometimes when i get in the car and drive to Melbourne, there's this space, you know, between my world here in Albury, and where I'm going to or whatever I'm going to attend down there. That drive is like a magical, it's a liminal space for me, just like this season between Solstice and Imbolc is, this dark, quiet space. That's where the creativity comes from.
06:59.58
Karen Seinor
I often get amazing ideas when I'm driving to Melbourne, but I have to get still. There has to be a level of stillness for that to occur. And that's what we're up to right now.
So at this time of the year, nothing is dead, not really. It's just gone into hibernation, even the bees in the garden. I mean, they're still doing their thing. Like right now today, it's the middle of the day now while I'm chatting to you, and there's sun, there's no rain, it's a little warmer, and so the bees have come out of their hives and they're foraging. They're a bit hungry, but they're foraging for food. And so, but there's this real stillness around the hives - Just for this period of time while the sun is out where the temperature just gets a little bit better, they're out and they're busy. But for most of the day, late, late into the morning and early in the afternoon, they go back into the hives and they're still. And all they're doing is they're keeping things alive in the hive but you can't see it. They're fluttering their wings to keep the temperature at a level that will keep the baby bees, (the brood), alive, because if the temperature goes too low, they'll freeze and they'll they'll die. They won't ever hatch. So that work is happening out of sight. So for us it's the same.
So what are the Tarot cards that are relevant for now? The Hermit is actually one of those cards.
It's where we are, on our own, where we must listen to spirit and we do our journey in isolation. Spirit is speaking to us now, and if we will only allow ourselves to settle into the quiet, we can hear.
Likewise, I'll see if I can find it. The Moon card. I mean, there's a lot that comes up here.
Now I'm just flipping through the cards here to see if I can find it. There are only 78, so we'll see. Oh, there it is. Good. So this is another card that's really perfect for this time of year. too. In the moon, in this stillness, there's this lack of visibility.
At the moment, when I get up in the morning, it's still dark, (I'm an early riser). Even up until about 9 o'clock, it's misty and there's the fog - that's very moon energy. There's light in the sky, but you can't really see the sun. And so you're looking through this kind of film,and things look a little unclear. And that's exactly what's going on for us.
Things are coming up from the lower levels, but it's slow and it's steady…
10:37.57
Karen Seinor
There's so many gifts here. And you can see in the card itself, if you've got a deck, get it out and have a loo at it. From the dam, you know, we're here in Australia, so for me it’s the dam and the yabby.
Yes. In other parts of the world they'll talk about the crustacean, a much nicer term. But here in Aussie land, I call it the yabby and the dam.
11:12.47
Karen Seinor
The yabby brings things up. The moon is really, it's all about what is unseen, what's in the background, what's hidden.
What's unseen, what's underground, What's instinctual? So it's just we're sitting here in this dark space, waiting, and things are kind of underneath but not quite happening yet.
11:55.35
Karen Seinor
Now what I'd like to do is I'd like to offer you something to work with at the moment because this is a beautiful time to be very reflective.
So I'm going to give you two questions to ask and I would invite you to get your tarot deck out and actually shuffle the cards up and don't mind me, I'm just putting mine back together and giving them a little shuffle.
12:24.66
Karen Seinor
And ask two questions and choose a card for each question or just ask the questions and pull two cards, however you prefer to do it, right? and when you pull those cards, just sit with the cards.
12:47.02
Karen Seinor
There's no real rush to answer or write down the answer, your interpretation immediately. I really invite you to just sit with them.
12:58.36
Karen Seinor
and allow them to speak to you or just be with them. You don't have to come up with an answer, a response. There's no test here. And this is kind of um it's kind of the energy that that we need to work with right now.
13:15.54
Karen Seinor
Just the being with, being in. So these are the questions. The first question is, of course, what is resting in me now?
13:27.19
Karen Seinor
What is resting in me now? And the second question is what is gestating in me now? Even though I can't see it, what is gestating in me now?
13:44.47
Karen Seinor
So shuffle your cards. When you've shuffled them sufficiently, spread them out face down on the table in front of you, on the floor if you're sitting on the floor, on your bed if you're laying on the bed listening to this. And I would invite you to choose the cards with your left hand one at a time.
14:04.34
Karen Seinor
And the reason for that is when we use the right hand, it's a lot more conscious. Now, you already know what you know. Using the left hand sort of moves you into a different space. So you're kind of drawing a lot more from the subconscious. That's the intention of it. So I really invite you to do that. So just just take a few moments and do that now if you can.
14:29.88
Karen Seinor
So again, don't rush into this. Just sit with it. And actually, that's what I've been doing lately myself. I'm working on a...
14:41.24
Karen Seinor
ah been working on a particular chapter in the book I'm writing, ah very much about the Sabbaths and the tarot cards that align with them. And so I've been sitting myself and really being with those and sitting in the energy of the Sabbaths. Very interesting.
15:01.66
Karen Seinor
Very, very interesting. I'll share more with you about that a little later on. So, You might like to, after you've sat with your cards for for a while and you're feeling that it's the right time, you might like to get your journal out and actually write your thoughts down.
15:25.08
Karen Seinor
Record for yourself what comes up for you. And, of course, it's not definitive. It's not that is it. You can come back to it later, have another look in a week and just check in with yourself. How is that now?
15:41.08
Karen Seinor
How am I feeling about that now? Has there been movement? Or just be with it and see what comes up. Now, our next phase, I mean, we're about, Imbolc itself is on the 1st of August.
16:00.38
Karen Seinor
So we're a few weeks out from that now. i think it's about three and a half weeks away. And, oh, maybe it's closer than that.
16:12.38
Karen Seinor
Anyway, it's a little bit down the track. And um that is the first stirring of light. Bridget, of course, is the goddess that shows up perfectly for Imbolc.
16:27.93
Karen Seinor
And if we're not talking about a blazing fire. We're not talking about dramatic opening. At that point, when we get there, it's just the first stirring.
16:40.02
Karen Seinor
And... um i'm going to be doing a half day retreat, not actually on the 1st of August but on the 9th I think it is, it's the Sunday the 9th of August from 9 30am to 12 30pm and what we'll be doing in that space is, we'll really be working with identifying and beginning to work with that very first spark of light - but for now enjoy the stillness, enjoy the quiet. So for anybody who's really sort of resonating with this space of quiet, of stillness and really happy to enter into this, you know, the the half-day retreats might be a thing for you, it might be a match. And if you're they're happening um across the river in Wodonga at Cindy's Yoga Studio there. So it'll be a small grouping.
So If that's for you, you can go onto the website and tap in and get a bit more information about it, book if you want to come. um We will be going into the meanings of the whole season quite a lot and it won't just be the three-hour session, you know, in which I'm going to teach you a sequence of movement to actually activate your energy your physical and your energy energy spiritual energy clear the nadis or the ch,i clear your energetic body so we're going to activate the body clear the energy and get you open so that you can really strengthen your intuition and have the space and the clarity to move into the light and allow the intentions that you set Imbolc to really begin to move because they'll have the energy flow to take them where where you want to go.
18:59.26
So I'll be sharing with you the sequence of movements that that I will help you stay on track with. I'll teach you that. We'll do some meditation. There'll be some storytelling. There'll be cards,
journaling. It'll be a really lovely experience, actually. And what I'm going to do is I'm going to support people who come to that. um I'm going to support you on going through the season.
know by i'll send you emails and touch base with you to keep you on track because I know for me life can be very busy you know when you're working and you've got family and you've got all sorts of social responsibilities it's hard to keep your own spiritual journey on track honestly it can be a trick right so there'll be some touch points through the season to help you stay focused on your journey and I mean
What's the big deal about the Wheel of the Year? It's simple. We are a part of this planet. What is happening on the planet, what's happening with the seasons in nature, it's happening with us.
So when we honour the earth, when we honour the shift of of season, we're also honouring and allowing the shift and flow within ourselves too. It's really a win-win situation.
And what it's really doing in so many ways, from my perspective anyway, i mean, this is the stuff that keeps me balanced and stops me from being cray-cray. For me, my feet settle firmly on the earth.
I stay grounded in my body and in my mind because I'm an Aquarian. I can be very airy-fairy and go off on tangents and get lost and go down rabbit holes and all sorts of things. But it's these very simple practices, this honouring of the seasons, the observation of what's happening in nature that keeps me on track.
And it helps me to do the things that I'm here to do. So I've always wanted someone to keep me on track. So I'm going to help you guys. For those of you who want to play this game, um to stay on track with it too. Now, you don't actually have to come to the retreat to do this, obviously.
You can just stay on point. I will share some things on socials as well. There'll be blog posts and things like that.
So there's a few different ways that you can tap into this. But really, truly, it's not complicated. Watch what's growing in the garden. Start to pay attention to the sky.
21:57.30
All sorts of things. Yeah. So now for those of you who would love to come, but there's just no way you're in Addis Lovovia or something like that, um and you and you want to stay connected, i do have a pre-recorded, very full tarot training course that you can do in bite-sized chunks and that's available on the website. You can check that out if you want to. I'll put a link to it in the notes for this podcast.
But, yeah, invite you to join me with this Wheel of the Year. it's It's actually been wonderful. I've been looking at the gods and the goddesses, the the the the mythic side of things, herbs that relate, all sorts of stuff. It's it's it's so deep. These things, you know, they appear to be simple.
Seasons, tarot cards, two things, but you can go deep, deep, deep. deep deep right down niche right down and there's so much that can um support us okay well i've sort of talked at great length about this really probably a bit longer than i'd expected to but um yeah I invite you most genuinely just to really look at what's happening in the world around you and use that as a mirror to come back and see how is that happening inside you.
And the seasons do offer you guidance. So we are in that deep, dark space right now. This is a time for rest. In rest, we get regeneration.
When the light comes, we are renewed. We're in that dark phase right now. So rest, get your sleep, remember to drink water. Now, just one little tiny thing.
24:03.06
Somebody reminded me just last night um about this gorgeous, gorgeous, and I brought these things out I have a bottle of rose water in the kitchen cupboard and, of course, in the spice rack there are ground chillies.
If you want to give yourself a really delicious treat on a cold winter's evening or even a Sunday afternoon when you really want to snuggle and you just need to be deeply nurtured, a little bit of rose water and some ground chilli with some real cocoa powder, not that rubbish stuff, tiny bit of honey and some warm milk.
Oh my goodness. That is deep, deep nourishment for the soul, for the spirit, for every part of the being. so have a think about taking care of yourself and treating yourself with something as delicious as that.
All right. That's it from me for now. And, um, lovely to connect with you and, um, Hopefully I'll be talking to you again soon. Take care.