December Symbolism
Overview
What I love so much about these symbolism reports is seeing the truth that we know about cycles, the universe, patterns… unfolding actively and consciously. They are always a reminder that there is something to listen to, and that we can indeed listen if we choose - if we know where to put our focus.
The first pattern I want to touch on for December is that every single card except for 888 is turned inwards… EVERY single one. It’s a time of self-devotion, reflection, and rejuvenation. There is a lot to process this month especially with the last new moon of the year + mercury retrograde happening on 12/12 and so much of the astrology + numerology in general pointing towards relationships and change and growth, there is a necessary recalibrating period.
I can’t help but laugh a little bit at how much this feels like a person attack, pulling all of these cards but ain’t that the point, I guess? To really feel it and connect with it. SO, let’s softly give in to the last lessons of December, that remind us we need time, soft spaces, and the ability to hold duality to rest + heal in ways that truly serve us. This is a month that is meant to be cathartic and prepare us truly for what comes next.
The Symbolism
Completion Rx
End of a year, end of a cycle. Maybe it bigger ways than just he calendar. Completion reminds us not that we are done, but that there is a check-point. Of course we eventually keep moving forward, of course completion can be more subjective than objective. But whatever it is and however it is reflecting outwards, we remember now that in some ways we are reflections of our own inner world and that what shifts within shifts without. Take time to see what that inner shift really is and focus there instead of how this may show up in external patterns + experiences.
555 Rx
I LAUGH! As we entertain another pattern-changing, end of something energy. Again, within us. This fives can feel like a fight. It’s the engagement of change without the knowledge of outcome yet. The process of making it happen, the immediate next step to completion - which perhaps is a thought or idea or notion here that we become complete with - that allows us to make the necessary moves towards change. Whenever I’m amidst an inner 555 energy, I have to ask myself what values I’m living by and upholding at the moment, and if focusing on those right now is helping me or hindering me. Sometimes I get so comfortable with a particular set of value fulfillment that I forget there are others, and that sometimes the lived reality of embodiment of these vast values can create inner conflict or friction or tension. This tension always has a common denominator or balancing opposite force though that we can utilize. I feel that’s what this inner shift is about - recognizing where we’ve become too comfortable or stuck in a spectrum of dualism we truly exist in.
Hermit Rx
As we spend much of December in Sag season, it feels particularly apt that Hermit comes about as an embodiment. Here to think, pontificate, ask questions. The Hermit is guided by two things; belief and desire. Not want, not need but desire. Our fantasies, our greatest becoming of ourselves, the nagging dream and inquiry towards that which calls us forwards - desire not as a completion but as a stepping stone towards truth. And that’s what this is - stepping stones. You don’t have to know right now how you will make it through, everything you will need, exactly what will unfold. What you need is to humble yourself to the knowledge that seeing the next step, no matter how small or unsteady or insignificant it feels is the most impactful thing we can do. Don’t shy away from your tiny steps, tiny questions, tiny curiosities leading you into bigger places. Get lost in the process - you’ll actually become found.
Grief Rx
I’ve been engaging a lot with the idea of grief being an endurance of love. There is so much in the world to grieve right now. There is so much in our personal lives to grieve right now. A year completed, stories unravelled, horrors shown, what is and isn’t escapable palpably highlighted. It is easy to want to run away from grief - to numb it, to hide it, to ignore it, to give it another face and name. But grief allows us to know now just what we have loved but how we have loved. It is the clasp next to love holding the secret third space of connection open. Grief is connection. You don’t need to feel it alone.
White Rx
This serves as a reminder that in not being alone, we’re also not just ourselves. We are the universe. We are patterns. We are made of things bigger than just this body, this mind, this timeline. There is a refresh here - and it reminds me of a poem I wrote almost a decade ago about midnight and blank slates and snow… how when we get this washing over of white, of new, that we can forget so easily that the darkness has come first. Like so much of this month, holding the duality can be difficult. No assigning value to each end of the scale can be difficult. See the darkness as neutral and comforting and opportunistic as the white is essential. But there is a brightness here - maybe it feels uncomfortable. Maybe it’s a necessary refraction point for energy. The truth is, there is a realization this month on a body level, on a knowing level, of what is possible within yourself. You can’t shy away from the reminder here that you are stepping into a new chapter - that it is better to write something than nothing while waiting for the perfect thing.
888
While so much of this month calls for inner work, the 888 recognizes that you have everything you need. It might not feel that way, there might be wants missing, it might be deeply uncomfortable but in order to move forward or stay still or feel the feelings or face the truth… you have all the tools and resources you need for that work. You have to choose to actively engage with them. You have to choose to show up and make something with it even if you don’t know what you’re making. You have all the external resources you need to be safe and supported in the internal work this month is leaning us towards.
Cherry Rx
Cherry is reprieve and sweetness in small moments and doses. It asks us to take our time, to savour, to honour the pit of things. Often we surround that which is necessary in that which is soft. The little treat for the hard thing. So while we indulge in the small moments and desires, we know that they give us endurance for the bigger picture of planting the pit and growing the tree. In your moments of sweetness and indulgence, do so with gratitude for what this offers you long term. Don’t deny yourself pleasure because it isn’t big enough or rewarding enough. Many small things are often what make up an enormous whole.
Shade Rx
The shade is our permission to step out of the spotlight - of our scrutiny, perfectionism, comparison, and also delusion. It gives us what we need to step back, cool off, see the bigger picture and witness ourselves and our lives from a different angle. It is meant to be restorative. It’s a necessary part of our cycles - like the sun moving across the sky and creating shade in different parts of our lives. We’re not meant to be active everywhere all the time forever. What part of your life is being eclipsed right now, and can you trust that by embracing the step back you will actually come back fortified and with a better perspective? Taking a necessary and induced break isn’t giving up. It isn’t jumping off the wagon or whatever the fuck other story there is. It is simply allowing yourself to be in flow and trust that whatever is in the shade right now is doing some needed recalibrating and neural pathway building. Be quiet here. Be observational here.