The work desk chaos as I’m writing the monthly decks of October–there is a cup of sanity tea buried in there!

So, October in my neck of the woods definitely has a vibe to it—not only is my particular neighborhood really invested in Halloween, it also has quite a large population of Wicca and Pagan practitioners, many of whom celebrate Samhain with vigor. One would be hard pressed to not want to get into the spooky feel of things! The weather in October typically starts to go from the balmy early fall to really cold, really quick. This sudden change often coincides with fantastic leaf colors (and don’t get me wrong, we’re getting fantastic colors this year!) and the desire to get cozy. However, as I finally get around to writing this monthly deck draw, it’s a sweltering 80F something in my office and we are maybe thinking of getting cooler in a few days. Maybe.

This is all to say, it’s rather hard for me to want to get into my typical dark and gritty decks that I start to bring out for October and the coming dark months. Both myself and by Tarot BFF decided that we will do something a little different this year, we will stick with the spook, but make it lighthearted (sorta)! For October, we’re choosing decks that are witch-themed.

From left clock wise: Ask The Witch Tarot, The Botan Tarot (second edition), The Nameless One Oracle and Tarot, Under the Oak Tarot, The Solitary Witch Oracle

It seems like the color theme this month are black, blue, and silver! Full disclosure–I actually have a lot of witch themed decks, but I wanted to pick a mixture of different flavors, and decks I haven’t used too recently, with the exception of the Under the Oak Tarot, which I used part way through September. I am not ready to put it on the back shelf just yet—I adore this deck!

I’ve had The Solitary Witch Oracle since it was first released, though I have not used it in my monthly decks at all. This is an oracle that is very gentle and kind, and I am in love with the images, though I do honestly think it’s a bit unbalanced being so nice.

To counteract that sweetness I had to include The Nameless One, a deck that I mention a lot on this blog, which, while not “mean” can be blunt and harsh and is oh-so-witchy (and it’s just one of my favorite decks so, any excuse…).

Ask the Witch Tarot is another deck that is no stranger to the monthly decks, but it is so odd and quirky that it is a great non-traditional tarot for the month that also matches the global warming trend with it’s bright, summery colors!

And finally, I just acquired the Botan Tarot end of last month and not only is it gorgeous, it has some serious magic and brings a non-European witch flavor to the roundup.

Lets review what the cards said this month had in store for me:

Well, how perfect for the witchy month to have a witch gathering! This card is pretty straight forward: you will have interactions with many of your friend group and perhaps others outside of it. You may be called to help others in a way that only you can fulfill, or perhaps you yourself need to ask others for help. There is a theme of community, empowerment through helping others, and social support. There also is a suggestion of festivities (hello Halloween!) and acknowledgment of seasonal cycles with the rabbit and the fox. What “season” do I find myself in now? How does that compare with my friends? How can I best support my friends, and in turn have them support me?

Ah. From the Nameless One I picked both a tarot card and an oracle card. The tarot card is the Ten of Branches (Wands), and if that isn’t a reference to Atlas having to carry the world I don’t know what is. This card speaks to having success but the burdens that come with it. It’s hard to celebrate when you have many responsibilities. The labor of love is a constant uphill battle. Our pretty butterflies remind us carpe diem, it’s good to put the load down every once in a while to look back at what we accomplished. And then from the oracle we have XIX The Energetic Flyer (get it? cause the birds are humming birds?). This is the second-wind card! You are full of energy and enthusiasm to begin either something new or go that last push to finish something! It warns I should be careful to direct that energy to a good outlet.

So far, these three cards together I get the sense that I’m going to have to help bear some social burdens, however I’ll have plenty of chutzpah to do it! What else do we have?

From the Ask the Witch I drew that page of wands. Here’s a curious youthful witch who is wondering how to use the tools at hand to their best advantage. Fresh ideas may spring up out of otherwise dead wood! I may start to see things in a different way, see possibilities that I didn’t before in various things or situations. There’s a bounding rabbit behind them as well, who knows where it’s going.

The Botan Tarot gave me the beautiful Star, quite a different take on the typical RWS Star! You’ve been searching a barren desert for a long time, here’s your big “sign” you’ve been looking for! This is the start of the hopeful journey—there’s no need to be lost anymore, don’t second guess yourself!

And the Under the Oak gave me the 3 of Wands, a wonderfully active and witchy three of wands at that! You’ve got the idea, try it out! It doesn’t matter if you don’t do things perfectly, try. Fail. Go back and try again. This is a card about doing, taking that first action after the first thought and plan. It probably wouldn’t hurt to be a little scientific about how you proceed; what worked, what didn’t. What do you want to try next time?

Interestingly we have two other references to rabbits (or hares, who’s to say?), both in the Page of Wands and the Three of Wands (which has two rabbits) along with the Gathering oracle card. I’m wondering if there is something that needs to be created or reproduced in my friend group?

These three together I see as motivation to take the next steps! I’m confident in my direction now I need to do the thing! The stars have aligned and all I have left is to take the first step and action. Enter with a curious and open mind.

All together, I’d say that this month I’m going to be very socially active; my calendar will be filled (seeing as I drew this twenty days ago I can attest that this was very true indeed)! It’s also a month where I’m going to try different things with my friends, share new ideas and just “go for it!”

What about you? What have the cards told you this October?