The suit of Pentacles is about life on this earthly plane, the material things, and here I have the Queen. She is a lover of nature and animals. She is earthy, grounded and a stable and trustworthy influence.

Staying Grounded and In Touch
This card speaks to me of the importance of staying grounded and in touch with this earthly plain throughout my pilgrimage; to keep in tune with the energies around me, inside of me and beneath my feet. As someone who disconnects (dissociates) easily, it is a nudge to be mindful of this tendency and keep checking in with the whole of me – my gut response, my heart felt centre, as well as my head and all its busy thoughts. In short, stay embodied, keep my feet on the ground.

On a practical level this is very important. I shall be travelling on my own, so I shall need my wits about me. My tendency to switch to autopilot has got me into trouble in the past. When not in an embodied place, it is easy for charlatans and predators to find their in.

Churches and Cathars
I shall be visiting churches and places with a lot of history and energy. Note to self: Keep checking in.

The Cathar belief system was deeply in tune with mother nature and the earth (believing earthly things to be the creation of the Demiurge!), so there is much for me to stay connected to here.

Mother Earth
A friend has pointed out the positioning of the Queen of Pentacles on the cloth beneath. I hadn’t taken that in!! Of all the three cards that could have ended up here, it had to be her. She is sitting beneath, and embraced by, the branches of a tree. It’s as if to reinforce the message of her connection to the earth and the nature upon her.

We refer to mother earth, and as such we link her to the feminine principle. This last tells me to keep in mind the healing needs of our planet as well as humanity, with the feminine in particular.

I have tried to be as eco-friendly as I can be with my transport choices. I shall be traveling by train, instead of car, for two big legs of my journey. And, of course, I shall be walking too!

Strength
The number eight links to the strength card in the Major Arcana. I have had to be strong to get to this point, but what strength is going to be required as I proceed on my way?

Stability
This card puts me in mind of the stability and groundedness of the Queen of Pentacles mentioned above. Here the Eight of Cups is replicating that message with the eight cups solidly stacked up at the front of the landscape..

I assess the three cups as representing the nine years since my separation, then divorce; and the five cups as the emotions belonging to the foundational years of my childhood, then marriage.

I feel that life has become calmer and more stable, but it hasn’t always been that way. This stability has been hard fought for, born of years of hard work on my own personal development. However, continuing to cling to the safety it offers, is like clinging to a life raft after the tempestuous waters beneath have subsided.

Numerology
I also notice a divide between the top three cups. They are placed as a one and a two. The number one numerologically represents the masculine principle, and the number two, the feminine principle. In The Tarot, number 1 is The Magician (masculine) and the number 2 is The High Priestess (feminine). This top row is therefore speaking to me of the gap between the masculine and feminine, a gap that needs uniting and healing; within the collective as well as within myself. We observe the character through the gap, as if to emphasise the gap’s presence.

Self-actualisation
Life is never static, there is a constant drive for self-actualisation and I have been feeling it of late. The siren call of this card is telling me to move on. There is more I could be achieving and playing safe isn’t serving me, or my soul’s progression. I could achieve more if I was prepared to take more risks.

This card says, it’s time to challenge myself more and change my relationship with uncertainty. It’s time to strike out from my comfort zone and embark on something that helps me grow more as a person.

Revealing the Unconscious
It is getting dark in the landscape and the moon is eclipsing the sun. The dark, and the moon are often considered to represent the shadow side, the unseen, the unconscious.

Moving into the darkness once more, I can expect things to present themselves on this pilgrimage. What unconscious aspects of my psyche will be revealed and help me to grow into a more evolved version of myself?

Walking Away From Sorrow
I know that I am still holding onto sadness and grief and I feel it in this card. I sense that the character is walking away from sorrow, although those cups will be holding the good stuff as well.

I’ve come a long way, but there is always further to go. The terrain in this card is rocky, mountains loom in the distance-so perhaps the emotional part of this pilgrimage is going to be difficult for me at times.

Solo Pilgrimage
The character cuts a solitary figure, but boldly dressed in red. Being dressed thus, speaks to me of wanting to be seen, but…….. it’s getting dark! I feel the conflict between the wanting to be seen (show up) and the wanting to hide by staying out of the limelight..

Traditionally the moon is considered representative of the feminine, and here it is eclipsing the sun, often viewed as masculine. This speaks to me of the rising feminine energy, eclipsing the heat and light of the patriarchy that has dominated for so long.

It has come about that I shall be doing this pilgrimage solo. It didn’t start out that way, but the card suggests that this is how it was always meant to be.

Divine Feminine Deck
My friend Sara has drawn two cards for me from her Divine Feminine deck (by Meggan Watterson). Meggan’s new deck, The Mary Magdalene Oracle is shortly to be released on 18th July 2023. This energy is clearly in the ascendant!

The two Divine Feminine cards drawn were Parvati and Edheduanna. My intuition drew me to read Parvati in conjunction with the Eight of Cups and I LOVED what transpired……..

Facing the Shadow
The Eight of Cups suggests that I shall be facing up to aspects of my shadow side………

but Parvati adds that this is all part of the journey towards “the mountain that love becomes”.

Self Actualisation
In the Eight of Cups, I am walking away from something, but towards something else. The drive to self-actualise is moving me away from a life of calmness and stability, but which is lacking somehow, towards love and fulfilment.

Her message continues: “What is soft, gentle and nurturing like water can be far more powerful than what is inflexible and fierce”. Again, as in the Suit of Cups, we have the reference to water. I sense the water energy as soft and feminine, moulding itself into the landscape around; that which is being so profoundly stirred up in the cosmos right now; sacred feminine rising.

Part 2 coming soon!