February 24 2024 | Snow Moon Reading
Every lunar month, I pull a single tarot card and consult the I Ching regarding a question geared toward this collective.
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The February "Snow Moon" derives its namesake from the month's penchant for a generous snowfall. The name was the inspiration for this reading, wherein we can use the environment of winter and materiality of snow to investigate the nature of our own inner environment during this time.
In the wake of fresh snow, the world turns hushed, streets echo with silence as if swathed in an immense acoustic shroud that absorbs all noise, rendering the atmosphere both hauntingly still and tranquilly peaceful. In contrast, the snow's brilliant white amplifies the world's brightness, vivifying its surroundings as it reflects the sun’s rays with such intensity it can coax tears from our eyes.
Given these solar and acoustic reflections, the question arises:
How do we navigate the winter's call for introspection and rest, a time when our bodies crave the quietude and resonance akin to that of the snow's acoustic blanket, while also actively seeking inner clarity and purpose? In other words, how can we use the snow’s wisdom of simultaneous acoustic silence and solar radiance to reflect our own desire of inner peace and solitude, as well as our active seeking of wisdom and clarity during the winter months of astrological dissolution?
The Reading
The Ten of Wands with Hexagram 33 Changing to Hexagram 50
This reading is basically telling us to chill the fuck out, in short. The answer of this reading also clearly sheds light (no pun intended) on the flaw of the question. Perhaps there are certain moments of life where it is appropriate to balance forward motion and rest, and perhaps there are certain moments where true rest is the best path to success. In short, this reading is telling us that if we make the choice to relax and fully surrender to the winter dissolution, that it will ultimately be in service to what we are actively moving into and striving toward based on the changing Hexagram.
First, as we call upon the tarot, we draw the 10 of wands. The element of this card is mutable fire but the imagery on the card itself speaks to weight, mass, and a dampening of creative force. The card depicts a man with much will, action and force to move forward, yet he is appears to be struggling to do so. The wands are too heavy for the load he is able to carry. This burden is quite apparent in the illustrations carried with the 10 of wands, but given that it is the number 10, we can also see a kind of reconciliation—endings and thus beginnings are near.
Though the man is determined to move forward, perhaps he would get to his destination faster and with more grace if he took a night to rest. The I Ching consultation reconciles this reading nicely as we draw upon Hexagram 33—Retreat—changing to Hexagram 50. The first Hexagram, as mentioned, is Hexagram 33 which is the trigram heaven over trigram mountain. The Creative over Keeping Still.
Retreat. Success.
In what is small, perseverance furthers.
“The power of dark is ascending. The light retreats to security, so that the dark cannot approach upon it. This retreat is a matter not of man’s will but of natural law. Therefore in this case withdrawal is proper; it is the correct way to behave in order not to exhaust one’s forces.”
It is through retreat that success is acheived. Given the nature of the initial question, the tarot card when read in conjunction with the first Hexagram is telling us that while it may be physically possible to undertake the burden of creative projects and active self unfoldment during this time, it may be a heavy load to carry until the finish line as it is going against the “natural law” of winter itself. It may be faster to put the wands down, take a night off to reset, and restart your journey in the morning. In our timescale and given the nature of the question, I would read it that those creative projects and any active self-work can wait until the firey month of March when Aries sets us ablaze with fresh energy ripe for new beginnings.
This Hexagram is changing into Hexagram 50—The Cauldron: Fire over Wood. Supreme Good Fortune. Success.
As we change from Hexagram 33 to Hexagram 50, we encounter the power of that stability of the mountain changing into the soft, mutable nature of wood.
The wood below serves as nourishment to the fire above, or heaven—the spirit. This Hexagram is really giving spring energy—new spark and new life.
“All that is visible must grow beyond itself, extend into the realm of the invisible. Thereby it receives its true consecration and clarity and takes firm root in the cosmic order.”
To usher in future success, a retreat into the present is essential. Just as trees shed their leaves and embrace withdrawal through the winter, so too should we. This reading shows us that as we embrace a season of introspection and surrender to the moment, we set the stage for our creative endeavours to flourish. Our projects and self unfoldment will burst from a spark to a flame rapidly, with the cost being a willingness to surrender to the immediacy of now and bring ourselves into alignment with the natural cycle of retreat and renewal.
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❥ Monarch