THE MAJOR ARCANA
The tarot represents the Divine Union of all aspects of self, reflected in the journey of the Goddess (e.g., Inanna, Isis, Demeter). The majors uncover different facets of magick and soul through the deaths and rebirths one goes through in this life. Here, they represent the living Goddesses of Love with whom you can connect to pursue the mysteries of each card. They are the guardians of the deck, and the rituals that accompany them are portals to these Deities. If you are drawn to a particular Goddess, you may do further research; learn about; and relate to Her through prayer, meditation, affirmations, offerings, and working with Her card.
I highly recommend recording the results of each ritual in your grimoire. Take notes on what it felt like and what knowledge you received.
THE FOOL
KEY 0
Renamed: The Void
Goddess: Shakti
Elemental Correspondence: Air
Welcome to the abyss. THE FOOL is the 0 key-neither here nor there, neither beginning nor ending. THE VOID is birth and death and rebirth expressed as infinity.
THE VOID is unyielding potential. It is latent sexual energy, the power of creation and love in its underworld form, waiting, waiting, waiting. It is Shakti, the Hindu personification of sexuality and power, who embraces nothingness and totality. She is in the microcosm as self (represented as Kundalini energy, coiled like a serpent at the base of the spine) and in the macrocosmic as the connective tissue of the universe. Shakti is the creative and life-giving principle.
THE FOOL asks you to step into new experiences and expressions of self, to trust and be willing to laugh at yourself. This card can mark a literal beginning-a new relationship or a career or a move-or the beginning of an emotional, spiritual, or sexual journey.
THE VOID is the first step in the journey of the Goddess as She embarks to the underworld and back again: a new romance, a new connection to your sexuality, a new recognition of what love and lust mean. Remember your ability to work with sexual energy, with Shakti, to create an aligned life. Practice sex magick to connect with your sexuality as an offering to the Goddess, to manifest love or sex, to protect yourself and your heart, or to heal or banish. Think of your sexual energy as a direct link to the Goddess of Love, and by summoning this power, you become THE VOID.
When THE VOID turns up reversed, something may be coming to an end, and you're being invited to go inward. Reassess whether you really need a fresh start; spend time in the nothing before you turn it into something.
Affirmation: I am born of THE VOID of the Goddess of Love, and I am filled with Her Divine Erotic potential.
Journal Question: What is being birthed from THE VOID, especially around sex and love?
Ritual: Create an environment that connects you to your heart and to the Goddess. Decide on an intention you want to explore through THE VOID. Come back to your center. Meditate on this nothingness, and breathe into the base of your spine, at your pelvis. Send energy up your spine and into your third eye. Allow this energy to expand until it touches all of existence. Repeat as you masturbate or have sex, and as you orgasm, or come as close as possible, feel the climactic energy of Shakti open and expand to the whole universe. Remember that you are THE VOID.
THE MAGICIAN
Key I
Renamed: The Enchantress
Goddess: Kurukulla
Planetary Correspondence: Mercury
THE MAGICIAN exemplifies living aligned with the universe and following your purpose, your dharma, your True Will. As THE ENCHANTRESS, the card does not walk the path of asceticism but instead embodies the idea that desires are sacred and a means of evolution and spiritual growth. She uses sex appeal, wealth, and other material pursuits to fulfill the soul's vision.
In the nebulous expression of glamour and beauty that is the Goddess of Love, THE ENCHANTRESS is Kurukulla, Dakini of magick, enchantment, and enlightenment. In tantric Buddhist tradition, the Dakinis are expressions of the Erotic Divine Feminine in Her role of wisdom keeper. Dakinis aren't Goddesses, but they can be worked with as Deities and guides. Kurukulla uses your attachments and desires to magnetize you toward conditions and experiences that help you find and follow your purpose, with sexuality, beauty, and love as part of a spiritual path. Just as THE ENCHANTRESS uses the wand, chalice, sword, and pentacle as his magickal weapons of choice, Kurukulla uses the tools of the erotic.
Remember to use your sex appeal, beauty, and that which you long for as a path to liberation and as an offering. This power is within you, and whatever you have drawn in is meant to be in your life as a teaching of the most sacred order. When it shows up reversed, step out of your ego, ask
for help if you need it, and return to the innocence of THE FOOL.
Affirmation: My desires guide me toward magick, wisdom, and blessings of erotic abundance.
Journal Question: What am I longing for in love and sex, and how can I see this as a part of my spiritual practice?
Ritual: Pick something that you desire or are attached to-wanting to be in a relationship or to have sex, or believing beauty is superficial. Fully invest in this desire, yet as you do so, release any attachment you have to its outcome, and surrender this to the Goddess. By enjoying your experience without linking it to a result, you can transmute this craving into wisdom. Spend time in prayer or meditation with your desire. Make art or journal around it, and see your experience with it as devotion to yourself, your higher erotic self, Goddess, or Kurukulla. Spend a week working with a desire/attachment in this way, consciously owning it while releasing an attachment to how it will manifest.
THE HIGH PRIESTESS
Key II
Goddess: Isis
Planetary Correspondence: The Moon
THE HIGH PRIESTESS is the guiding force of this tarot, unlocking the secrets to the heart, to the sensual, to the realm of the Feminine Divine. She is Isis, the most revered Goddess of ancient Egypt, who used magick to bring Her husband Osiris back from the dead, making love to him to usher in a new eon of peace and prosperity through the birth of their magickal child, Horus. Isis is a prismatic Goddess, ruling over necromancy as well as love, family, the earth, and magick. Her multifaceted nature reflects the shadowy and light sides of the Moon. THE HIGH PRIESTESS and Isis share the initiatory knowledge of sex magick and how it can usher you into new ways of being, into new dimensions, into new selves, tracing the lineage of the ancient temple Priestesses who worked with sexual ritual to channel the Goddess.
Listen to your intuition, and value stillness before action. THE HIGH PRIESTESS is a mirror to your magick and inner knowing; she parts the veil to the occult mysteries and is sharing this with you now. When this card is reversed, it's time for passionate decision-making; passivity is not working, and you need directed focus to find whatever answer you're seeking.
Affirmation: I am a Priestess of the sexual mysteries. I am a Priestess of the Goddess of Sex and Love.
Journal Question: What magick is THE HIGH PRIESTESS guiding me toward?
Ritual: THE HIGH PRIESTESS stands between the pillars of force and form, masculine and feminine, mercy and severity, love and lust. Journal around the mysteries of the body, the feminine, and the intensity of love and then about the mysteries of the spirit; of the masculine; and of lust, action, and change. Finally, journal or meditate on yourself as THE HIGH PRIESTESS, the middle ground between sex and the spirit. You may light a white chime candle to the right of THE HIGH PRIESTESS card and a black chime candle to the left of it. When you are ready, speak this declaration out loud:
I am a Priestess of the sexual mysteries
Standing before the pillars at the temple of the Goddess.
I am an initiating force of the current of love and lust
And I part the veil to step through into the sacred current.
This or something better for the highest good of all involved,
By the blessing of the universe, so mote it be, the spell is done.
Practice sex magick if you wish. Let the candles burn all the way down, and dispose of any excess wax at a three-way intersection-the modern witch's crossroad.
THE EMPRESS
Key III
Goddess: Venus
Planetary Correspondence: Venus
THE EMPRESS is effortlessly aligned with the promise of the heart and of pleasure. As Venus, the Roman Goddess of Sex, Love, Lust, Glamour, Victory, and Desire, THE EMPRESS isn't just an expression of the Goddess of Love, She is the Goddess of Love. Venus sings of pleasure as sustenance, of desire as a guiding force, and of beauty as the language of the divine. Venus is an emblem of being a vessel for the Divine Erotic. Her fecundity represents something being birthed. She is a manifestation of light and body-led guidance that leads to pleasure and connection.
THE EMPRESS comes up during those fertile moments when the desires and experiences you seek are at the edge of manifestation. This is a time of inner transformation and the joys that come with bringing something into the world, whether this is a creative project, a relationship, a child, or a new way of practicing magick. When THE EMPRESS appears, remember to indulge in whatever connects you to the Venusian current: drape yourself in delicious fabrics, kiss slowly, bask in nature, buy yourself flowers, or move your body as you breathe and make sounds. THE EMPRESS asks you to tap into the pleasure all around. When the card is reversed, you need to connect to the receptive; you're cutting yourself off from the wonderful gift of form the Goddess gave you. It's an invitation to pleasure-unless you've been indulging too much, in which case, seek equilibrium.
Affirmation: I am a Goddess of Love, Lust, and Erotic Devotion. I come back to myself, my body, and my sacred heart.
Journal Question: How does THE EMPRESS guide me into experiencing sensuality in my body?
Ritual: Create an altar to THE EMPRESS or Venus. Place THE EMPRESS tarot card here, as well as red roses; crystals you work with; gold jewelry or talismans; green, red, or pink candles; icons of the Goddess of Love; books of erotic poetry; shells; plants; offerings of honey, chocolate, food, sweets, or water; and whatever else makes you feel connected to your heart, to the Goddess of Love and Sex, or to the universe. Light a candle if you wish, and pray to THE EMPRESS or Venus, asking Her to guide you in embodying Her power. You may repeat the affirmation above. Come back to this sacred space whenever you need to embrace your inner Empress, and be sure to clean it, keep it tidy, and replace offerings regularly.
THE EMPEROR
Key IV
Renamed: The Sovereign
Goddess: Vesta
Astrological Correspondence: Aries
One of the most sacred visions of the Goddess of Love is the invitation to step fully into your heart's power-not as an act of control or dominance over another, but in sovereignty and commitment to the self. So it is that THE EMPEROR transforms into She who internalizes her power and devotes it to something higher.
THE SOVEREIGN is also the virgin, who is sexually independent, who works with Kundalini and erotic energy, whose devotion extends to the flesh. Here, the Goddess of Love is Vesta, Roman Goddess of Hearth, Home, Devotion, and Dedication, whose Vestal Virgins guarded Her eternal flame. Vesta represents sexuality turned inward into autonomy and personal power.
This is your chance to reestablish a bridge to sexual expression in a way that is aligned with who you are. THE EMPEROR is what turns us on, and THE SOVEREIGN asks you claim this force on your own terms. Devote your sexual energy to a higher purpose, a spiritual one. Reconnect to your sacred heart and sexuality outside of a relationship with another, and honor this as an offering. Your erotic energy is yours, and you are your own lover first and foremost.
When it shows up reversed, think about power-if you're using it fairly and who you're giving it to. Take your heart into consideration to ensure you're not abusing your authority.
Affirmation: I am sovereign over my sexuality. I reclaim my erotic energy.
Journal Question: How can I honor my sexual and loving energy as my own, or dedicate it to something bigger?
Ritual: Begin this short devotional on the new Moon, on a Tuesday (ruled by Mars, the ruling planet of Aries, whose major arcana card is THE EMPEROR), or on a Friday (sacred to the Goddess of Love, ruled by Venus). Spend a week or longer without masturbating or having sex and then practice sex magick (page 14). As you send this energy out through the crown of your head, see it as an offering to something you're devoted to or to your own sexuality.
Before you begin, think of what you're offering this sacrifice to: What are you reclaiming? What are you serving? Each day for that week, journal or reflect on your experience, meditate with THE SOVEREIGN, and spend time at your altar. You may light a red, orange, or white candle as an offering to Vesta and as a means of contemplating Her sacred flame, honoring Her through your devotion and sexuality.
After you're done and have practiced sex magick as an offering, take note of what you feel and how you have become more sovereign over your sexuality.
Copyright © 2023 by Gabriela Herstik. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
