First Blood 'Butterfly' Spread
Creator: Kiama
(used with permission)
Dear all,
Firstly I am beginning to realize that the spreads I create are usually created
by being inspired by others! A previous one, the Wheel of the Year spread, was
created for my housemate's birthday and I have been using it a lot ever since.
This one is special to me. It is created for my little sister, Nicola. It is
easiest if I just type out what I wrote in my Tarot journal so you can see what
I mean:
"31st Jan 2004.
I suppose there is some significance in my creating this spread today, on the
eve of Embolic- Embolic is a time for purification, healing, rebirth from
infertility, and initiation. In a sense, this is what a girl's first moon time
is: a birth from pre-pubescent infertility into a fertile life and body, a
purification and subsequent healing of her womb for the first time. With her
first flow of moon blood a girl is initiated into a community of women that
stretches back to the dawn of time. Today's society, in my opinion, does not do
enough to honor this important time in a young woman's life, and does not
recognize the spiritual (instead of just physical) importance of it to her.
This spread is designed to help the young woman understand what the transition
is about, how it will affect her, and most importantly: who she is as a woman.
This is terribly important I feel, because the first flow of moon blood can be
the onset of the young woman's questions about her identity, her
responsibilities, etc. It can be a confusing time, and I hope this spread will
help with that.
For Nicola, my little sister, whom I have watched grow from the Pixie Ears baby
to a girl on the brink of womanhood, and whom I hope will soon be able to be
more than a little sister to me: I hope she will be my best friend."
This spread is laid out to look like a butterfly, since the butterfly represents
transition and growth from one phase of life to another, just as the first
period is.
16...............................................17
...........................1.........................
.....................12..5..13...................
..14...................8..4..9...............15
...........................3.........................
...........................2.........................
......................10....11....................
..6..............................................7..
(It looks like a butterfly in my journal, I promise!)
There are 17 cards, 17 being the number of the Star card: the card of hope,
healing, and regeneration. This card can also represent the Maiden aspect of the
Goddess, and thus the young woman having her first Moon blood. 
I have used the traditional idea of the Triple Goddess as Maiden (Waxing Moon),
Mother (Full Moon) and Crone (Waning Moon) in this spread, because it goes so
well with the cycles of the womb as well. But I also see the Moon as having a
fourth face, and thus the Goddess as having a fourth face: the Dark Moon, the
Whore. The Whore is not somebody who just goes around having sex with everybody.
She is called the Whore because she turns away nobody who comes to her (in a
metaphorical sense.) She is misunderstood I feel, and she is certainly the least
accepted face of the Goddess. But I feel she has a place in this spread all the
same.
Card 1- Her self-image, how she views herself.
Card 2- Her personality in its Maiden aspect (her qualities that are
still growing, what she is unaware of, what she has yet to become. The sparks
that are there, the seeds of potential with her.)
Card 3- Her personality in its Mother aspect (her qualities that are at
their fullest now, what she excels at, what she creates in her life.)
Card 4- Her personality in its Crone aspect (her qualities that are on
the wane, the aspects of her personality that she will leave behind because of
the transition.)
Card 5- Her personality in its Whore aspect (her qualities that are not
acknowledged by others or by herself, her most powerful and potent aspects, and
what she fears about herself.)
Cards 6 & 7- How she copes with change and transition.
Cards 8 & 9- How this change will affect her life.
Cards 10 & 11- What she now needs to cut away, what she has outgrown.
Card 12 & 13- What she now needs to learn.
Cards 14 & 15- What defines her as a woman.
Card 17- Blessings and advice to he from the Gods/God/Goddess/the Divine.
Anyway, I am hoping that this spread will be of use in making the First Blood
experience a lot nicer and less terrifying. It will be one of the gifts from
myself to my sister when she goes through the change.
Blessings,
Kiama
