The message of the Grumpy Red Fairy is that you have to be you, you have to be true to your heart.  So many people spend so much of their time focused on judging others, looking at their outer appearance and deciding who they are and what their worth is based on this.  She says “Check yourself!  Are you judging people based on the outer shell they carry?”  But she seems to stop for a second before even giving you a real chance to think and says “Better yet, are you pretending to be something you’re not because you don’t want to offend those who would judge you?  Are you too afraid of what someone might say to you that you pretend to be happy all the time, presenting yourself as someone else just so you can fit in?”

Take a moment today and sit with the Grumpy Red Fairy and see what she has to say to you and see what aspects of yourself she can show you need to be cleared away to make room for the true you to step forward.  Life is meant to be lived as your true, authentic self.  Life isn’t supposed to be a masquerade party where you go around pretending to be something your not for the comfort and benefit of others.

When I pulled this card today and started to listen to the Grumpy Red Fairy, one of the fairies in the deck that I really identify with, the song “Everyday Is Halloween” by Ministry came into my head.  I think this is a song that resonates with her a great deal and I think it’s one that gets across some of what she’s trying to say.  Below is the song and the lyrics for you to check out.  Enjoy!

well I live with snakes and lizards
and other things that go bump in the night
cos to me everyday is Halloween
I have given up hiding and started to fight
I have started to fight

well any time, any place, anywhere that I go
all the people seem to stop and stare
they say ‘why are you dressed like it’s Halloween?
you look so absurd, you look so obscene!’

o, why can’t I live a life for me?
why should I take the abuse that’s served?
why can’t they see they’re just like me
it’s the same, it’s the same in the whole wide world

well I let their teeny minds think
that they’re dealing with someone who is over the brink
and I dress this way just to keep them at bay
cos Halloween is everyday
it’s everyday

o, why can’t I live a life for me?
why should I take the abuse that’s served?
why can’t they see they’re just like me
it’s the same, it’s the same in the whole wide world

o, why can’t I live a life for me?
why should i take the abuse that’s served?
why can’t they see they’re just like me
I’m not the one that’s so absurd

why hide it?
why fight it?
hurt feelings
best to stop feeling hurt
from denials, reprisals
it’s the same it’s the same in the whole wide world

Death scares people because they misunderstand it; death isn’t an end but a beginning and there is much beauty to learn from death if we’re willing to listen and embrace it.  The Jack-O-Lantern may have a scary face but he isn’t here to be menacing but to be a helper, to light the way and guide you in the darker parts of your path.  And the Witch with her cauldron is here to share her magick and remind you that you have the power to create anything you wish if you’re willing to gather up and use your power.  As these three peer in the window of your life and you look out at them are you frightened by their appearance or are you enticed and intrigued?

The message with this card today is that something in your life that might not appear in a comfortable package has a big and important message for you, something empowering and useful in your life, but you may be quick to reject it because it frightens you or makes you feel a bit on edge.  You need to learn to look past the surface, look past the labels and the things that define us on the outside.  All the trappings of fashion and appearance only give a very surface hint of who we are, and even then they can be nothing more than a mask that we wear, much like the trick or treater’s in the card.  What’s behind your mask and what’s behind the mask of others is what counts.

Be sure to take time today to look behind the masks that others around you wear and see what it is that they have to offer you.

When it comes to working with oracle cards, unlike with my work with tarot, I love to read the books that the decks come with.  While I work with the cards on an intuitive and psychic level I also like to know what was going through the minds of the deck creators when they attributed their meanings to the cards.  One thing that the author of the guidebook for the Shadows and Light deck talks about with this card is the pointed hat that each witch has.  Lucy Cavendish says that the hats they wear are specially designed hats to connect the three witches to the spiritual and psychic energy above them as well as to one another, essentially becoming an antenna for each of them as they do their work in the world.  When they take their hat off they break that connection and instead become connected to the earth and the energy of the here and now.

The other thing that really stands out for me with all three of these figures are their eyes and the colors used here.  There are clearly worn tracks of tears and rust-like stains around their eyes.  These three little witchy helpers have seen a lot of difficult things in their time of helping others sort out their energy and their problems, but they are strong and focused and able to work with very strong and heavy energy of all kinds when they work together.  The middle witch takes off her hat so she can ground herself and connect to your heavy and strange energy that is bothering you while the other two work together to sort out these confused feelings on a psychic level.

There are a few different messages to this card.  The first is that working together, working with the energy and the psychic helpers at your disposal, will always yield more results in difficult times than trying to struggle on your own.  The second is that things do sometimes come in threes.  If you’re feeling unsettled by something that has happened recently it could be that this energy is still with you because the event hasn’t fully played out yet.  And if that thing has happened twice you may be a bit on edge now because you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak; it’s as though you know this is coming around a third time and you’re just waiting for it to happen.

The Three Witchy Sisters are here to help you let go of that unsettled feeling and to remind you that cycles are part of life.  They cycle together to help you see and be comfortable with the cycles in your own life.  Something is going to happen in threes in your life and when that cycle of three is done, the energy will be released and you will have come to a completion phase.  Call on these three sisters for support when you’re feeling that this is getting to be too much for you to handle.

In the deck, The Witch at the End of the World is the last card and signifies the ultimate end before a cycle starts anew.  There is no denying that things are coming to an end around her when you look at the environment she’s in.  The grasses behind her are whipping around, the sky is stormy and you can almost see the clouds shifting and the rain pounding behind her.  She is here to let you know that when a change of this magnitude has begun there really is no way to stop it.  You can wish for it to end or you can try and make changes to your course of action to prevent it, but in truth nothing can stop it.  It’s better to hang on and ride the waves of what is coming than to work so hard, expending so much energy, just to try and work against the current.

The message in this card today is that, while you might be frightened of changes happening in your life right now, there is nothing to fear and all will be well when things finish their shift.  This is something that is necessary and your only job in this right now is to weather the storm, learning and observing the patterns and changes that are taking place, and letting things just flow around you.  When the shift ends you’ll feel the peace and calm that it ushers in and you’ll be ready to move on to a new phase of life.

Often this card suggests major changes that involve some big things in life; this card can point to divorce, changes in a legal battle, even major health transitions that could be life changing.  Whatever your major shift is, The Witch at the End of the World isn’t a harbinger of sorrow of misfortune but a guide.  She is there to show you that the storm is coming, change is unavoidable, and she works to keep you safe as you wait out the storm.   She says “All is well and things will only get better in the end.”

The Angel of Alchemy is a card of healing and a card that asks you to evaluate and take notice of your life.  You may be dealing with a health issue or someone close to you may be dealing with something that might require a healing miracle.  We can see these miracles happen and we can invite them into our lives if we’re willing to let it happen.  We need to let the Angel of Alchemy know we are ready and willing to make changes to bring in healing.  This angel may be leading you into a situation where you will find the right doctors or the right methods of dealing with your condition (or the condition of a loved one; if this is the case you may be coming into a position of being a guide toward this person’s healing process).

Like with everything else, the Angel of Alchemy has the power to work miracles and do wonderful things in your life but you have to be open to letting them happen and willing to working with her.  One thing that she asks you to do when she approaches you is “What do you have left to do before you die?”  You could almost say she’s the one that provides you with a blank sheet of paper that says “Bucket List” on top of it and says “Here, fill this out” and then she waits to see what you want to do.  Then she’s going to help you to try and fulfill those desires.  If you’re willing…

Take this as a sign that now is a time to start evaluating your health and your life.  What do you have left to do with your life?  If you knew you only had a month left to live, what would you do with that time?  If you knew that someone you cared for only had a month to live what would you do for them or with them?  Take this opportunity to work some miracles in your life and lives of those around you.

The fairy is trying to guide you but she certainly isn’t trying to tell you what to do or how to do it.  It’s ultimately up to you to decide how you want to take action in your life.  Instead, see the Lantern Fairy as a guide to working through something that has been very challenging.  You’ve hit a wall somewhere and you’re at a point where you don’t know what to do to get around it.  Do you go over it, under it, do you try and take it apart brick by brick?  The fairy has found a break in the wall where things have naturally started to open up and she is trying to show you that if you go this way you you’ll be able to avoid a lot of work and difficulty.

To some people this might feel like cheating.  “I need to go through this experience if I want to learn.” you say.  This isn’t always the case.  We sometimes put ourselves through far more than is necessary thinking that we’re going to learn some giant lesson by being in a place of pain.  In this particular instance the Lantern Fairy wants you to see that if you go through the break in the wall, if you take this somewhat quicker route, you’re not going to miss out on the lessons, just the pain of ramming your head against that brick wall until it comes down.

What are you dealing with that has you feeling like you’re hitting a wall?  How is your approach to that working for you now?  Is it time to try and let the Lantern Fairy guide you to a better path or do you really want to keep running up against that wall for now?  It’s your choice.

In the image the girl has her jacket buttoned up all the way to the top and she is doing her best to shelter herself from the cold, foggy landscape around her.  It is clear that her loneliness is only made worse by the conditions of her environment.  But in her hand she holds an apple which is bright and shiny and can give her some of the energy and sustenance that she needs to make it through these lonely and cold months.  Inside the apple are seeds which she can either save and plant wisely to help grow more fruit to sustain her or she can make the decision to toss them away figuring that they are useless and that she doesn’t have the ability to grow anything for the future.

The problem is that she is clearly waiting for something.  She’s waiting for someone else to come along and help her and tell her what to do with the apple and how to sustain herself rather than using the power and strengths that she has to do it herself.  How do you see yourself in this card? Are there things that you need to do but hesitate to take action with because you’re waiting for someone else to come along and guide you?

If you’re waiting around for someone else to come and fill that well of hope, you’re going to find you’ll be waiting a long time.  Something that you’re doing right now that you feel you can’t do alone needs to be done alone; there are lessons that you can’t learn from your experiences when you rely on other people to help you.  This card is a reminder that you have the ability to succeed at whatever you truly desire and whatever you put your heart and soul into.  You have in your hands and inside yourself all the knowledge and ability to make your desires come to pass on your own, but you have to believe in yourself first.

Don’t lose hope that and know that what you seek is there waiting for you, you just have to believe in yourself to make it happen.

The girl in the image holds tightly to the Celtic Cross which symbolizes something dear to her.  It could be that it’s a symbol of her faith which she sees as something that defines who she is; it could be that it’s connected to someone near and dear to her that is no longer her.  Something has her holding on too tightly to something that is generating more of a state sadness and making her feel trapped rather than being something that she can celebrate.

What are you holding on tightly to?  With it being Samhain are you holding on too tightly to the memory of dear and departed loved one that you’re hoping to connect with as the Sabbat continues today?  Or are you holding on tightly to something else, maybe a practice of a part of your spirituality which is no longer serving your highest good and is instead holding you back from discovering new things in your life?

When this card comes up it’s suggested that not only do you need to loosen your grip on something or someone in your life, but that you need to find ways to fill the gaps with others of like mind whom you can connect with.  This is especially true for those who’s tight connection is to a departed loved one.  But when we talk about like minded people, we don’t mean people that do the same sort of work as you or people who have the same mundane interests as you, but people who are spiritually and magickally of like mind.  You have needs in this area of you life that need to be fulfilled and until you find a way to connect with such folks, people you can talk with and ask questions of as you seek deeper answers, you’re going to find you need to cling to something else to keep you steady.

Listen to what your inner self is trying to tell you about why you’re holding on so tightly and let your inner guidance bring you to a place of fulfillment in the here and now.

The message and energy carried in this card is that of loss; you’ve lost someone that means a lot to you or you are missing someone from your past.  This person doesn’t have to be physically dead, they could be someone that is no longer in your life and who you no longer have contact with and who, in a sense, may seem dead to you.   The problem here is that you’re content to keep dwelling on the past, possibly digging them up so to speak, and you just can’t let go.  The pain of being without them is too much to bear.  But clinging is doing more harm than good and it’s keeping you from living your life the way it was meant to be lived.

The thing that I am really drawn to in this card is the shovel.  It sits there within reach of the girl and she could just as easily use it to cover over the skeleton in its grave in the same manner as she has been using it to open the grave up over and over.  She looks sad, dazed, and lost; even still it certainly doesn’t seem as though what she’s been doing has helped.  It is time to let go.

Now, when I bring yesterdays card together with this card they seem to tell a bit of a tale about the dissolution of a relationship of some sort.  There is the need to break away from something that has been difficult and possibly abusive in some way but now there is sadness and regret over the loss.  Without letting go of the person or situation that had been causing you harm who knows where you’d be now!  And now that you’re out of immediate danger or trouble you need to let go of the person or situation completely so that you can move forward.  You’re not doing yourself any favors by creating energetic ties to hold you together.

The last thing that really grabbed me with this card is that it’s a reminder to us about Samhain coming up on Sunday; it’s OK to mourn and be sad about the loved ones that we may be honoring at this holiday for the dead, but we need to also be willing to let them go at the end of our remembrance.  We don’t need to let go of our memories or our love for them but we need to let go in way that will allow us to continue to live our lives here in this realm and allow them the freedom to live their lives on the other side.

There are two sides to this card.  You can look at it through the eyes of Death or the eyes of the Maiden.  The Maiden is frightened but she isn’t pulling away.  She knows Death wants something from her but she also desires something from death otherwise she’d find a way to leave.  Is it the comfort of knowing Death is with her?  Is there something about the way Death touches her that has her feeling somewhat comforted?  She may still be frightened but not enough to change her situation.

And what about Death?  Death lacks life and vitality but the Maiden is full of it.  Death can easily prey on her and take what it wants and she willingly gives it.  Does Death seek to drain her at all costs or is Death just trying to get a taste of what the Maiden has to offer?

The key to this card is imbalanced relationships; somewhere you may have a very imbalanced relationship with another that is based on a give and take of extreme proportions.  Are you taking and taking from someone without giving back or are you the one who’s boundaries and trust has been violated yet you refuse to leave the situation?  Someone may tell you over and over that they love you but their actions say otherwise; you feel it deep in your heart that they’re just taking advantage of how you feel for them but yet you worry that if you leave you could be walking away from the one person that really does love you.

Death and the Maiden come through to remind you that you need to stop and look at your relationships and see where there are major imbalances and find ways to fix them.  Are you dealing with someone who is taking from you or are you taking from someone else?  How can you bring balance back into that relationship or is it too far gone to save?  If you can’t find a way to bring things back into balance it is time to let go and leave.  That can be the hardest thing to do but it’s also the noose around your neck that may be keeping you the situation to begin with.  It’s time to make a choice and it’s ultimately your choice to make.