Start the Fire Again- For Tarot with Lady Saoirse

Start The Fire Again

By Lady Saoirse

Bright Blessings,

The Summer Solstice is almost upon us, and the time is celebrated with outdoor gatherings, basking in the glorious rays of the invincible sun! Festivals, Sabbats, Dinners, Barbeques in the park, trips, and things like swimming, are ways we gather with people, enjoying the seemingly new life the hot days bring. With the cold, dark days of winter behind us, we celebrate all things that bring us joy in life and we reach out to share these good times with the people who we love.

For some people, it’s not so simple. Illness, crazy work schedules, limited finances, or family responsibilities keep some people from partaking in the things that make life worth living to them. When you can’t do the things that make you happy, it might make you wonder why you get out of bed in the morning. You may feel your whole personality shift because you aren’t experiencing the joy that you used to when you did things that you were passionate about. You might stop hearing from the people who you used to enjoy those things with, because you’re busy doing what you have to do, and they’re busy out there enjoying what you used to love. Things you love that ignite a fire in your soul burn through the coldest darkest times of your life. If you had to give up those things you might feel like your fire went out.

I have an idea.

Maybe you can’t do exactly what you want to do in exactly the way that you want to do it, but you can do something related to it on some level. The energy of the Summer Solstice can fuel your efforts to get you back and to whatever it is that you love but miss doing. While you are having your Sabbath celebrations, going to your Solstice festivals, or even just lighting a candle for the powers that be during Summer Solstice, I would like to suggest a simple magical operation to help get you back into something that you may fear you have lost forever.

In this column, I write about Tarot, but there comes a time to put your cards down and do magic.  The only magical materials you will be using is a pen or pencil and some paper. You might want a box of tissues and your favorite cold drink if you cry easily. You won’t be casting a spell in the traditional sense. You will be doing self-work, which is transformation magic. You will deconstruct your mind and build it back up.  Some people can do this operation all in one day. Some people will need more time, but you can begin at the Solstice when the sun is at its most powerful. This Solstice magic can only happen if you are completely honest with yourself. When you are ready, begin and take it one step at a time.

• Find a spot in the Solstice sun and sit down to write. I want you to write what you loved doing and why you loved doing it.
• Identify what it is that made you passionate about this and how it improved your life.
• Next write why you had to step away.
• Write how stepping away made you feel and how losing what you loved doing changed your life.
• Identify what that you got out of what you did that you’d like to get back again.
• Next, identify what it takes to get there.
• Identify why you feel you can’t do those things. Is it a time constraint? A physical one? Is it too expensive?
• Next comes the surprising part- is there any aspect of what you loved doing that you CAN do at all? Maybe you can’t play your musical instrument again, but can you teach it? Can you volunteer for a local band that plays what you used to? You know what you CANNOT do, but what CAN you do?
• Next, identify the things that it’s going to take to do what you can do even if you can’t do exactly what you’d like to.
• Then go out and try.

I’ve seen examples of this in action. Some people who were injured in sports and could no longer play them went on to coach those sports. Others went on to be supportive of their kids who played those sports. I met a man who was a famous musician, and a tragic accident caused an injury that permanently keeps him from being a professional musician anymore. So now, he teaches huge music seminars all around the country. He’s also taught at Universities, and he still has his awards from years of being a great professional. Some people write about their past and the things they used to do and what they loved. Reminiscing is sometimes away that you can relive what you miss doing.

Just because you can’t do exactly what you want to do doesn’t mean that you have to give it up entirely. That’s hard to remember when you’re grieving some form of change that you didn’t want. The longer you live, the more life will change you. What you did in high school and college may be entirely different from what you do in your 20s. Once you’re in your 30s you may do other things instead. Once you hit your 40s you may look back and miss things that you used to do. For some people, celebrating different times of their life without being sad and feeling a loss is how they enjoy what they’ve done. For other people it’s impossible to let go of those things.

If you are one of the people who doesn’t want to leave something that you love completely in the past, then don’t. The energy of vitality, happiness, strength, and growth provided by the Summer Solstice provides a good time to get started again. It doesn’t matter how long ago you had to give something you love up. It can still be yours again. For some things once you do it, you’ll always do it in some capacity even if you’re just talking about it and enjoying watching other people do it. Your time may be allotted to other things, but that doesn’t mean that you have to completely give up everything that you love.

For the Solstice this time, celebrate life by reigniting the fires within you of the things that warm your soul. Do it by participating in the things that make your life worth living. Even if you have to compromise the way that you do it or limit the amount of time that you do it, find a way to do it anyways. May the life-giving power of the sun at its time of greatest strength fill you with energy, courage, and ambition to get back to doing what you love that was somehow taken from you. May you have the determination to weather difficulties, fatigue, or setbacks. May the Goddess and the Old Gods help you to reach within yourself to find the strength to achieve that which you seek.

Blessed Solstice.

Blessed Be