Dark moons provide lush astrological weather for being with and embodying the child self. In infancy and childhood, another kind of dark moon phase, we are closer to Source, especially by way of the imagination. Like a ghost, the child self lives forever in the present and future as well as the past.
“Let it go,” “Put it in the past,” “It’s behind you now”–these are all ignorant statements. The mind is a Universe and the past is its Milky Way. It is the souls’ imperative to compound in complexity as we experience the spell of time.
Accessing the inner child during moments of emotional duress comes in very handy because a lot of trauma is more deeply rooted in our childhood than we may perceive. Earliest moments of disillusionment cause waves of influence throughout the lifetime.
Tarot card reading is a form of spiritual play.
“...love and belonging is actually the highest need the physical human possesses. How do we know that this the case? Because when someone is faced with losing love or with not belonging, they tend to neglect or abandon their survival needs completely.”
When faced with triggered emotions, taking time with your inner child allows a chance to step through time and provide that which was desperately needed but not received. Such needs include love, protection, listening, kindness, and/or a non-threatening or non-violent response.
The Page of Cups offers true friendship.
Tarot cards provide ritual space for accessing intuitive messages otherwise left unheard by a busy mind by providing safe space for meditative inquiry. They also allow deeper layers of self, such as the child self, to be seen and heard. Feminine expression thrives in being seen and heard effectively, even if the only one doing the perceiving is one’s self.
Try the following when needing to access a child self during Tarot readings:
1. Play Dress Up - Costumes provide a sure path to the heart of your inner femme child. Don clothing and accessories that empower your child self to emerge. You’ll notice yourself respond to certain clothes with an excited and imaginative feeling when you apply the child self filter. What textures and colors feel natural? Curate an outfit and put it on before sitting down to your next reading.
2. Build a Tarot Tent - The child self loves to build structures for play and healthy hiding. Create a fort or similar area in your home. If this seems far-fetched now, apply this energy to your altar or be open to it as you complete your spring cleaning. This practice ignites the imagination and teaches spiritual self-soothing. Invite ancestors, spirit animals and other benevolent beings into your tent while disinviting negative energy. This space would additionally offer an appropriate place to play with this spirit veil during your readings.
3. Play “Memory” with Tarot Cards - The child self played the game of Memory, turning cards over to match pairs and exercise brain cells. Try a new version of this game with Tarot cards, only the point of this game is not to match same with same but rather to discover association between the two cards invite a memory to come forth. Lay out all 78 cards on a flat surface and pick up two cards at a time. Write down or speak aloud the first memory that comes to mind as you associate the two.
A bed spread.
4. Talk to Yourself - The child self sees no problem in speaking aloud for the pure pleasure of hearing one’s own voice. Let your vocal vibrations sound during your next reading. Speak your reactions to the turning cards, then tell yourself what you need to hear. Explore other tactile actions such as gently hugging yourself or massaging your feet.
5. Turn Lemons into Lemonade - Instead of trying to heal or relieve emotional pain, focus on integrating it. This shift will train your brain to stop treating traumatic memories as "wrong" and you become more supply strong in the face of fear. Imagine trauma composting and losing its original form; its remains becoming nourishment by the grace of the Universe.
Be warned that accessing and integrating the feelings of your child self may result in bursts of creative energy and playfulness.