The Buck Moon Brings Insight to Self-Actuation
This July, the Buck Moon guided tarot group set out to discover the root of personal power, successful self-communication, and the source of motivation toward the peak of summer.
In this spread, we studied the sources of our native power and strength, methods by which to communicate with our deeper selves, and the truth behind what we prioritize in our lives, and why.
A moon of power and integrity.
Named for the season of velvet in North America, the Buck Moon derives its meaning from deer symbolism. During the spring and summer months, North American deer will form a protective velvet coating on their antlers, a part of the natural process of antler growth. This growth process reaches its most impressive stages in the middle of summer; and in July, North American bucks stand tall beneath nature’s most impressive crown, the very picture of Cernunnos.
In terms of symbolism, the Buck Moon takes its notes from this impressive figure: the buck, with its velvet crown, represents courage and integrity, personal power, protection, and renewal.
The spread that took no prisoners.
I took this symbolism to heart when creating this full moon spread, and I kept focus on personal power, self-communication, and reprioritization of our most important values. As usual, this seven-card spread packed its share of one-two punches, and we shared a few quiet moments of soft advice from one to another.
The first few cards of this spread focused on determining our individual sources power, and how we communicate that power to ourselves. I personally received a surprise Three of Hearts, but as I’m in a time of great transit, I expect that to quickly change. We discussed the ways in which our subconscious may try to communicate with us — such as unrestrained or uncontrolled emotions, physical sensations, or themes or ideas that just won’t leave our heads — and then moved forward into the realms of self-compassion.
Self-compassion is a tough trick for most, and so these cards provided quite a bit of useful — and very direct — advice. Most us discovered that self-compassion requires more mental clarity than we’d thought, and some discovered that self-compassion is only found when the expectations and comparisons of others are removed from view.
Two bucks using their sharp antlers to battle for resources.
We took a brief detour to discuss tarot as a psychological tool; not a method of discovering what will happen or why is the world the way it is, but instead a method by which to discover what’s already inside us — what we already know. When asking the cards for sources of strength, I pointed out that I had asked the cards not just for strength, but to give us ideas for strength we can use: a source or action that inspires us to reach for our own power, and to wield it like the force it is.
Of course, every spread I create inevitably hides its own landmines — and in this spread, that landmine was waiting for us in card position number five.
When asking the cards to help us determine what is most important in our individual lives — not what we think is most important, but what is — one of us received an explosion of three jumpers, and a direct refusal to answer the question at all.
This psychological tool, as a direct line to human subconsciousness, will sometimes respond unpredictably. This member of the meet was shocked to find that the cards they received hinted at earlier pulls in their own spread, and that the themes they’d received of emotions as a method of self-communication and a solid foundation of personal accountability weren’t suggestions, but demands.
When they pulled another card, looking for explanations, the deck threw Strength into their lap — a clear indication from their earlier pulls that they needed to focus on card position four.
They aren’t ready to make major life decisions yet.
Finding the courage to change.
For another psychological trick, I added a very specific question toward the end of our spread:
what is key to finding the courage to change?
This powerful animal, with its deadly pointed crown, represents not just raw power, but true integrity. To that point, I wanted to ensure that the questions I asked in this spread represented that sense of honor and principle. Instead of asking outright for courage, or for change, I ensured that this question demanded that we, the querents, did the work of finding our own courage — something that cannot be handed out on a silver platter, but must be discovered within the self.
In this spread, I asked not for answers, but for help to do our own work.
If this resonates with you, you’re already in the right place to utilize this spread.
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For an advanced practitioner, natural skill alone is not enough. In my nearly twenty years of interfaith study, I’ve prided myself in pairing my strict occult education with my instinctive skill in magic. My knowledge comes straight from the source, whether that be my beloved mother sorceresses, my connections in hell, or my golden divinity from above. Or, just as importantly, some of you.
