“ALL HALLOWS EVE”
"Pierce the veils." Get your black cat on! Read this "Day of the Dead Tarot Ritual"
In this sacred time of “looking between... the veils,” it’s appropriate to ask the venerable tarot for insight and foresight. Spreading out the Cards facedown, you have invoked the great mystery, asking for wisdom from the invisible worlds. According to this ancient autumn tradition called in some cultures, the “Day of the Dead,” you are inviting the curtain of the unknown to drop before you and reveal its wonders and secrets of yesteryear and beyond.
In keeping with this mystery, place yourself in a dark room and symbolically light a candle for seeing the light that shows you the way to the immaterial worlds. In this most symbolic of times, the more you ritualize your divination, the greater your intent and presence will enlighten the way.
In this state of anticipation and readiness, place before you the Deck that favors you. As creator of the 21st century multi-dimensional and multi-cultural tarot called Voyager, I am predisposed toward this expansive Deck of Cards that represent the complexities of life.
Establishing the right mindset for this invocation, I place in front of me the XX Major Arcana Card called “Time-Space” in Voyager. In old Christian and medieval decks, this is called “Judgement.” – enough of that for me, however.
The richly symbolized Time-Space collage Card is meant to take us in a meditative state to the past, present and future, to the here and there. This Card, representing our highest state of omni-consciousness, primes you for taking flights of imagination and dream to the other side. Allow your brain to fly, your heart to soar, and your body to fall away. Spirited away, go back in time and who you were with – from loved ones to ancient ones – and with your “active imagination,” engage and converse. Please don’t forget to ask for their blessings and guidance about your present and future life. In this alternative state, see what their wisdom pictures for you as your path of destiny, and what forewarnings you may receive.
In this Voyager proactive practice of “fortune creation,” it is now your responsibility to take the telling of the past into the making of the future. Declare to yourself and to others in your assembly, including the ancient ones, how you will conduct the coming year’s journey.
During this ritual of remembrance and opening, use your heightened state of awareness to now pick your own Card from your Deck. This is your talisman, your road sign for the journey. Perhaps, wear it as your mask, real or metaphoric, for the Halloween celebration. Remember, Cards are mirrors, so that whatever Card comes to you is you! Say “yes,” and journey to that part of you, that mask and role that wants recognition and expression.
Don’t forget to have Fun! Angels fly because they take themselves lightly.
- James Wanless, Ph.D.
Creator of Voyager Tarot Deck, Way of the Great Oracle, Adventures with Greening Man, Sustain Yourself Cards, and Voyager DIY Mindfulness Psychology. www.james-wanless.com