Stepping into Spring

It’s not feeling much like spring in my neck of the woods, save for the change in birdsong and feathered visitors in my yard. Days are longer, but the snow still crunches beneath my feet when I trudge out to refill the bird feeders. Seasonal projects remain in stasis, poised and listening for the last drips of the melting icicles.

I made a long distance move back in October and spent the winter working on interior projects and getting settled into a new routine. Even now, some aspects of my life are like puzzle pieces that still haven’t found their place and remain scattered on the tabletop. I’m hoping the change in seasons will grant me the perspective and clarity I need to finally get everything put back together again.

Between getting settled and planning the exterior maintenance on my new home, I am filled with a sense of restlessness and urgency. Yet, at the same time, there is a lingering weariness that mirrors the stubborn snowdrops out my window. It’s a dichotomy that I think most people are familiar with. Nothing is wrong, but there is a sense of overwhelm because things aren’t quite in order and there’s a lot left to do even though so much has already been accomplished.

For me, these symptoms are indicative of the need for a mental spring cleaning. My thoughts need to be reorganized, plans need to be made, and wintertime goals left on the back burner need to be wrapped up. Fresh air to blow off the cobwebs sticking to my ol’ brainball would also be beneficial. Taking care of the mental side of things will ensure that I’m prepared and energized for the physical activity ahead. Perhaps this rings true for you as well, especially if seasonal affective disorder weighs upon you during the winter months. Therefore, I thought I would share my mental spring cleaning recipe with you today. It’s practical, simple, and it includes just a little pinch of magic for extra freshness.

Ingredients:
~ Your most saccharine oracle deck (this imparts an irresistible sweetness, but if you don’t have one you can skip this ingredient and go savory)
~ A Tarot deck (you can use a fresh deck, or a trusted pantry favorite aged to perfection)
~ A writing utensil (I prefer a black Pilot v5 Precise rolling ball ink pen)
~ Paper or a journal (a spiral notebook or composition book creates a classic flavor profile of youthful energy and poetic angst)
~ Your favorite beverage

Directions:
Prepare your beverage of choice according to your preferred methods. If you are making coffee in a French press, I recommend letting the boiling water cool for 2 minutes, then steeping for 4 minutes to achieve a high-quality brew. Be sure to pour the beverage into your favorite drink receptacle for optimal results.

Grab your writing utensil and paper goods. It’s time to purge the contents of your brain. What is on your mind? What needs to be accomplished? Write out everything as it comes to you. Once everything is penned down, you can organize it into a formal “To Do” list with defined steps. Often this allows some of the clutter to clean itself up. For example, that anxiety you described about getting the yard looking spiffy may be ameliorated when you break it down into manageable steps. Figuring out where to start, how to go about it, what tools you will need, etc. will transform a massive undertaking into a process.

Remember, a lot of the things in life are processes, not events. When you are able to remind yourself of this, it can ease your stress. Many things are slow to come to fruition, and as my husband always says, “it will take the time that it takes.” No ifs, ands, or buts. That’s just how it is. Accepting this frees your mind. Struggling with it is like being caught in a snare – it makes matters worse and it accomplishes nothing. Obstacles crop up, sometimes projects get stalled or delayed, and most things take longer than you envision. It’s just a natural part of the process. Anyhoo, once you have a clear list (as detailed or simple as you need to feel organized) the mental white noise often stills itself a bit.

Take some sips of your beverage. Things may still feel a bit intense, especially if you have a long list of items to attend to. Remember, the time you spent cobbling this list together was constructive, not frivolous. Crafting a game plan is important.

The next step is the Mary Poppins “for every task that must be done, there is an element of fun” magical bit. This part takes your spiritual threads and embroiders them into those not quite so pleasant tasks of daily life. In my opinion, there are aspects of spirituality that are separate and sacred, as well as elements that can be a part of everything we do. The latter can imbue mundane experiences with deeper meaning and more fulfillment. So, let’s weave some magic into that to do list and make it absolutely spellbinding.

I recommend doing this step for the very first task that you plan to tackle on your list, and then repeating the process when you are ready to move on to your second task instead of doing it for every item on your list at once. Your goal is to clean up your mental clutter, not inundate yourself with another variety.

Grab your Tarot and oracle decks of choice (or you can use your Tarot deck for the oracle position as well if you desire). This is the spread of cards:
The Challenge
Challenge Management
The Sweet Stuff (oracle card)

Every task has a challenge to address – some are small and some are monumental. The challenge card helps you to identify and articulate what will be difficult about this task.

The challenge management card highlights a way to address the challenge and work through it. If you know what will be difficult and identify ways to cope, you are more likely to finish instead of giving up or feeling overwhelmed or unprepared.

The sweet stuff is the infusion of spirit for the task. When you are meaningfully engaged in an activity you can find yourself brimming with a potent and exhilarating energy. It makes you feel alive, connected, and aware. This card is meant to assist you with generating that experience by providing a focal point to tap into while you are working. It’s the card that represents the deeper spiritual essence that is lurking in your activities. It’s something to ponder while you rake leaves, listen to while you pick up sticks, and feel in your hands when you plant hedges. Making your spiritual thoughts and beliefs come alive in what you are doing transforms the mundane into the magnificent.

There are several ways you can perform this reading:
~ A traditional blind draw where each card is chosen from a face down shuffled deck.
~ A combination of blind and deliberate draws where the challenge card is selected from a face up deck and the challenge management card is drawn blind. The oracle card can be either deliberately or blindly drawn.
~ A deliberate draw method where you select the challenge card from a shuffled, face up deck and look to one or both neighboring cards in the pile for the challenge management. Once again, the oracle card can be a blind or deliberate draw.

Example:
As I mentioned previously, I have a lot of exterior work ahead of me in my new home, and I’ve been waiting all winter to start tackling the problem areas. I know what challenges me about this project, so I decided to do a deliberate draw for the challenge card and look to the neighboring card in the stack for the challenge management. I opted to do a blind draw for the oracle card. Here is the reading for my first phase of yardwork:

The Challenge: 7 of Wands. I chose this card to represent the overwhelm I experienced when I started tackling my house’s exterior in the autumn. I could work for hours upon hours and nothing ever seemed to look any better. I was depressed that it seemed like I was getting nowhere.

Challenge Management: The figure in the 7 of Wands appears to be looking to his left, so I followed his gaze to the neighboring card, which ironically enough was the 6 of Wands (I promise this was a shuffled deck).  I need to allow myself satisfaction for the progress I make each day instead of focusing exclusively on what I haven’t tackled yet. I may only complete a small section of the yard at time, but that still brings me closer to my goal. Additionally, I need to listen to the people in my life who are cheering me on and assuring me that, in fact, the yard is starting to look better. I need to stop dismissing their optimism.

Sweet Stuff: Finding Sanctuary. I need to remember that I am building my sanctuary. Right now there is a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to invest, but in the end this will be a place of rest and refuge. A personal sanctuary is a sacred space, and that is what I am creating. What activity could be more fulfilling than this? The process should be savored and done with care out of reverence for the final goal. I’m building an altar, but on a grand scale.

I hope that if you give this activity a try it makes your upcoming spring cleaning activities a trifle less daunting and significantly more fulfilling!

Decks pictured in this post:
The Happy Tarot
The Sacred Traveler Oracle
Purchasing these decks on Amazon via the links above supports me and my ability to provide information and resources on this website. Thank you!