By Michelle Nollsch Inspired by Stacey Demarco‘s deck
Werewolf
Exploring Wildness
Luminosity triggers it. A wild moon rises. Pain and blood and fangs. Fur and howling and wolfen guises.
The werewolf is a kind of shapeshifter – but one that has traditionally had little control over his wildness. In a way, an inner battle between ‘civilization’ and wild animal nature fights inside the one body. The vitality, strength and freedom of the animal verses the reason, control and intellect of the man… which one though, is the dominant force? What is the healthy balance between our animal nature – one that is wild, free and connected to nature- and our radically ‘civilized’ humanness separate from or dominant over nature?
The werewolf asks us to consider this balance and to delve into our own ideas of wildness, independence and custodianship of the planet. When is the last time you spent all day outside? When is the last time you threw your head back and howled at the moon? Do you quash the vitality and curiosity of your body and mind by sitting all day in front of a computer? The werewolf challenges you to weave a balance between nature and your own essence.
The Underworld
Where All Things Pause and Begin Again
Another realm, shadow filled. Travel from death’s bed. Where we stop and transform. Within the realm of the dead.
The idea of an ‘underworld’, a whole realm we all go to after we die, is a concept that crosses a huge variety of cultures and eras. The Sumerians, the Turkish, the Incas, the Greeks through to the Siberians, the Maori and the Kymers. All had a distinct word for the underworld. What is different though is how those cultures treat this concept-whether the underworld is seen as a place of rest and rejuvenation or horror and punishment.
Perhaps you are being asked to consider exactly what you have to do to transform your life into something you find easier or more authentic to you. This may involve changing course. It may involve trials and tests. Keep moving. Certain things may fall away and your life may appear bare for a time, this is temporary. Space is being made in which you can create the new.
Trick-Or-Treat
Mischief and Play
Stalking and stomping. Eyes shining and begging baskets. Faces and bodies that are no longer ours. Laughing, skeletons and candy caskets.
We are just a few days away from Halloween! What a fun holiday for all of us. Corn mazes, haunted houses, decorating and buying costumes. Don’t forge the candy handed out as we watch spooky movies on TV or carve pumpkins. Oh what fun!
This card suggests it’s time to examine the role of play and mischief in your own life. You don’t have to be a child to let go and have some playtime and you can extend the fun to others. Sometimes we are afraid to make mistakes and play is one way to alleviate the pressure that we sometimes place on our ourselves to get everything perfect every time. Alternatively, it is worth knowing that there is a balance between manipulation and mischief. The former is not pleasant and the other has, at its core, a sense of irreverent fun!