A tarot prompt for midlife

When I was young the menopause was referred to as 'the change.' People would whisper it 'she's going through the change'.

‘Going through the change’ is an interesting way to describe menopause because the whole of life is change. From the moment we are born, even before, we are becoming someone new in every single moment.

So if change is something we live with from when we are born, why is the change in midlife highlighted?

I would say that change comes into sharper focus at midlife because midlife is when we are faced more of the truth.

When I say we face truth, I mean we face how precious and short our lives are.

Women in midlife meet with the truth of ageing biologically (more starkly than men in my opinion) and this reinforces the truth that life really is finite.

Periods stop. Breasts sag. The hips and waist thicken. The oestrogen drop causes anxiety and depression. Hair thins. The skin dries. (Sorry!)

But the phrase ‘going through the change’ should never have been derogatory or hidden. Being given the opportunity to face how things are should be celebrated. This is an opportunity to live wisely.

In this phase of life our inner crone becomes more fully conscious of the transience of life, and therefore has a chance to live from that knowing.

Imagine if all women in perimenopause were celebrated for becoming more conscious of how things really are.

I’d wear the T shirt.

Crone Conscious of Change or Falling Apart in the Wisest of Ways.

When I pull cards I do so in order to become more fully conscious of change. I see the cards as mirrors reflecting life back to me. And when confronted with change, the cards are good friends to have.

I asked my card today to tell me what the menopause is showing me.

I got the Three of Pentacles.

The three of pentacles is a collaborative card and I feel seen. I am collaborating with life rather than working against it when I accept the reality of ageing. Menopause is the master builder and I am the apprentice growing from the grounded truth, the solid facts of life. The three of pentacles encourages me to grow rather than shrink. This is not a phase for thinking I know it all already. In a funny way life has only just begun.

Would you like to ask your cards what midlife means to you right now. I’d love to hear from you.

Claire