Happy Spring, everyone! With the zodiacal new year upon us, it’s time for an annual ritual of mine - the Burning of the Spells. As you may know, with every daily two-card draw, I write a spell: it’s part prayer, part argument, part conversation, part prediction. In other words, it’s my way of being in conversation with fate. At the end of each zodiacal year, I burn the spells in one of the last hearth fires of the season. (Except for the 2019-2020 year in spells, which were part of the decan walk that became 36 Secrets: A Decanic Journey through the Minor Arcana. Those I saved as a keepsake.)
When you see 365 spells all in one place, it’s pretty impressive. It’s hard to believe that just tossing off a couplet every day can result in such a tangible work. And it’s quite hard to consign them to the fire, while chanting the obligatory sacrificial Orphic Hymn to Hestia. So this year, I thought I’d memorialize them by choosing 36 of my favorite spells—one for each decan. I hope you enjoy them.
And if you’d like to see the entire year’s worth of spells (I know!), organized by sign and decan, here’s a link to the PDF for that.
My works take form. In silence, dare—
Words twist and fly upon the air. [Queen of Pentacles/Knight of Swords]Stream that empties into ocean—
Living dream and phantom notion. [7 of Cups/Page of Cups]Bear the burdens without rancor—
Fleeting respite is my anchor. [10 of Wands/4 of Wands]Patience, stamina, and tact—
Only fools overreact. [7 of Pentacles/10 of Swords]The Furies and the Fates are blind!
Protect me, twin gods of the mind. [8 of Swords/10 of Swords]Crab that scuttles by the shore—
Camel walking through the door—
Six, the sum of two and four—
This I dare, and so much more. [4 of Cups/2 of Cups]Gross and subtle, gently mixed;
The heavy air; the heart affixed. [Temperance/3 of Swords]The cunning mind of every thief
Safeguards a journey of belief. [The Star/7 of Swords]Hear and speak! My words are double.
[Planning my way out of trouble.] [The Lovers/5 of Pentacles]Pause the arrow in its flight—
Pools of thought and still of night. [4 of Swords/The High Priestess]Taut the bowstring of my being;
Strong, the knowing; sharp, the seeing. [Ace of Swords/9 of Wands]The strength, the speed, the lucky strike—
Sealing of deal! Dropping of mic! [Temperance/6 of Pentacles]Spectral demons we entail
When we insist we must prevail
Turn like the air, like changeful fire
Imagine works of Art, not ire! [10 of Wands/9 of Swords]Glimpsed as if within a dream
My wishes come to life downstream. [9 of Cups/The Moon]O sharp-eyed warrior, beware
Of what may or may not seem fair.
Only within yourself compare
The shifting currents of the air. [Knight of Swords/5 of Swords]The work I do, the joy I feel,
The wish takes form within the real. [3 of Pentacles/9 of Cups]From all my parts, exchange the sum
Who I must be, I shall become. [2 of Pentacles/Judgement]I make a cradle from a grave,
I am the water—and the wave. [Queen of Cups/Queen of Pentacles]In an ocean rife with seeming,
I am the fish that does the dreaming. [The Moon/Page of Cups]I am both rain and deep blue sea,
All risks and exiles known to me. [5 of Swords/Queen of Cups]Uncertainty can foster grief.
In the ritual, find belief. [5 of Pentacles/5 of Cups]Kings fall from grace, kings rise to serve.
May each receive what they deserve! [The Wheel of Fortune/The Tower]Called to account, the matter ends.
Behind the scenes, we make amends. [Judgment/Page of Swords]Every time my mind divides
Sevenfold I ride the tides. [7 of Swords/The Chariot]The burdens I depend upon
May be both bane and pharmakon. [10 of Wands/The Devil]I am the rainbow's quivering arc!
I write my way out of the dark. [Temperance/9 of Swords]The secret seed; the lighted lamp;
The reproduction bears my stamp. [The Hermit/Page of Pentacles]Steady earth and calm blue sea—
Between them, what may come to be? [Page of Cups/Knight of Pentacles]By these contracts do I bind
The conflagration in my mind. [King of Wands/3 of Swords]Beauty. It's a tensile wish.
For what is drowning, to a fish? [Temperance/Death]At last, the day! Inauguration.
Light in darkness for a nation.
With each fire that I light:
Burning arrows, taking flight. [King of Wands/Ace of Wands]Keeper of the secret list
Glamor rising up from mist. [Page of Swords/The Moon]Bank your fires, prune your limbs.
Wield your words and speak your hymns. [5 of Wands/The Magician]Sharp, the sea breeze on my sail:
I am the needle, and the grail. [Queen of Swords/Queen of Cups]Soul-Barterer, memento mori:
I ride in service to the story. [Death/The Chariot]The sword has struck, the arrow flown;
Endure with patience the unknown. [The Lovers/7 of Pentacles]
