Autumnal Equinox Tarot Circle Game

A.  Gather in a circle, whether around a table, on the floor, or on the ground.  Place a beeswax candle in the middle.  Remove any card(s) from your tarot deck that reminds you of Autumn or the Equinox (e.g. Justice for equal light and dark; any card that depicts harvest or letting go, etc.).  Place this card(s) in the centre beside the candle to represent your intention for gathering.  You can also add seasonal fruits or fallen leaves to the central space.

B.  One at a time, each person receives the tarot deck as it’s passed clockwise.  Each person, when s/he receives the pack, says one word or one phrase that lets the group know how s/he is as s/he enters this game(e.g. “I’m feeling grateful for X this evening.” or “I’m tired, but happy to be with you all today.” or “I’m curious about what we’re about to do.”).  If the players are new to one another, it’s a good idea to speak your name as well.  Then s/he mixes the deck and picks three cards at random before passing the pack to the person on hir left.  This continues until everyone has checked in and has three cards in their hands.

C.  Three rounds are played clockwise (each round’s topic is below).  During each, every player gets a turn to lay a card on the surface in front of hir and use its image to inspire a continuation of the open sentence provided.  This can be done by consciously selecting a card from your face-up hand or by keeping your three cards face-down and intuitively picking which one will be your sentence-completion image.  Each player can expand on the sentence as much as s/he chooses.

• FIRST ROUND: “Currently in my life, balancing times of dark and light means _________.”
• SECOND ROUND: “What I’m preparing to put to sleep for a while includes _________.”
• THIRD ROUND: “I’m grateful to be harvesting _________.”

D.  After everyone’s cards have been played, allow a fruitful, respectful conversation to unfold, continuing until it reaches a natural conclusion.

E.  For the final round, the tarot deck is passed around counterclockwise.   One at a time, people receive it, express gratitude for one thing they’ve heard or said during the game, mix their three cards back into the pack, and pass it to the person on their right.

F.  After everyone’s cards have been returned to the deck, the central card is shuffled back into the pack.  Extinguish the candle.

 You can enhance your Autumnal Equinox tarot circle game experience by reading poems or singing songs that are relevant to the occasion.  This can be done between parts A & B and between parts E & F.  Your time together can be extended by visiting over an autumn harvest meal (mmm…squash soup and apple pie!) after the game.