As September draws towards its close, the autumn light brings questions of courage and faithfulness into focus. What needs protecting? Where must we stand firm? This Michaelmas Tarot Spread offers a prayerful space to consider those questions as we honour St Michael and the holy angels.
Michaelmas falls on 29 September. In the Roman Catholic calendar, this is now the feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels. Their biblical stories bring together protection, revelation and healing, always in service to God.
For me, the spiritual value of Michaelmas lies in learning how to remain faithful when life feels uncertain. We need courage that leaves room for tenderness, discernment that does not turn into suspicion, and strength that helps us serve. Standing firm need not mean becoming hard-hearted.
Jump to the Michaelmas Tarot Spread
What Is Michaelmas?
The name Michaelmas means Michael’s Mass. Celebrated on 29 September, the feast has deep roots in Western Christianity and a historic connection with the dedication of a basilica honouring Michael on the Via Salaria near Rome.
Historically, 29 September was the feast of St Michael alone in the Roman Catholic calendar. Gabriel and Raphael had their own feast days until the calendar reform of 1969 brought the three biblical archangels together on 29 September. The older name Michaelmas endured.
In England, Michaelmas also became one of the traditional quarter days and fell near the end of the harvest season. That gives the feast an autumnal character here in the Northern Hemisphere, but its Christian meaning reaches beyond season and place: it turns our attention towards the holy angels and the God they serve.
St Michael: Who Is Like God?
Michael’s name means “Who is like God?” It is a question with an answer already contained within it: no created being can take God’s place. His name establishes the humility at the centre of his strength.
In Daniel 10:13 and 10:21, Michael appears as a heavenly prince who assists in spiritual conflict and protects Daniel’s people. Revelation 12:7–9 presents him leading his angels against the dragon, while Jude 9 shows him appealing to the Lord’s authority rather than claiming ultimate power for himself.
Michael does not ask us to become powerful in our own right. His very name reminds us where true power comes from. His courage expresses obedience, truth and fidelity to God.
The Sword, the Shield and Holy Courage
Christian art often depicts Michael with armour, a sword and a shield. In devotional reflection, his sword can symbolise truth and discernment: the willingness to recognise deception, including our own comfortable excuses.
His shield suggests faithful protection. We may need to protect our attention, integrity, capacity to pray or ability to care without becoming exhausted. Sometimes the necessary boundary is simply a calm refusal to participate in something we know is wrong.
Courage and aggression produce different fruits. Courage can speak firmly while respecting another person’s dignity. Aggression seeks an opponent and often needs an audience. Likewise, discernment examines evidence, motives and consequences, while suspicion reaches a verdict before the hearing has begun.
Spiritual warfare has an ordinary, demanding side: resisting temptation, refusing a convenient lie, persevering in prayer and declining to repay cruelty with cruelty. These are places where faithful courage becomes real.
For a fuller discussion of his symbolism and devotional role, see my guide to Archangel Michael: Protection, Courage, Truth & a Tarot Spread for Divine Alignment.
Gabriel: Revelation and Faithful Response
Gabriel helps Daniel understand visions in Daniel 8 and 9. In Luke 1, he announces the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah and the birth of Jesus to Mary. His message comes from God and concerns God’s saving work.
At the Annunciation, Mary listens, asks a question and gives her consent. Her fiat, her willing yes to God, makes faithful response personal and concrete. She does not receive a complete explanation of everything that lies ahead.
Gabriel’s presence in the Michaelmas celebration draws attention to how we listen. Do we make room for an answer that might disturb our plans? Are we prepared to act on what has already become clear?
Revelation carries responsibility. We can spend a remarkable amount of time requesting guidance while postponing the one thing we already know we ought to do. The heavens may be waiting for us to send that apology.
Gabriel brings the message; faith must still answer it. My guide to Archangel Gabriel looks more closely at his role as messenger and the symbolic traditions associated with him.
Raphael: Healing and Companionship
Raphael’s biblical story unfolds in the Book of Tobit, received as Scripture in Catholic and Orthodox traditions and placed among the Apocrypha in many Protestant editions.
Travelling in disguise with Tobit’s son Tobias, Raphael provides companionship and practical guidance. Through his assistance, Sarah is delivered from affliction and Tobit’s sight is restored. When Raphael reveals his identity, he explains that God sent him to heal and directs the family’s gratitude towards God.
Raphael’s healing role is wonderfully grounded. His help involves instructions, travel, family responsibilities and actions that must actually be carried out. For Michaelmas reflection, he reminds us that healing may require us to accept assistance, follow through on practical care or allow another person to walk beside us.
His companionship also underlies his traditional association with protection during travel. You can read more about his biblical role and later correspondences in my Archangel Raphael guide.
The Spiritual Meaning of Michaelmas
Michael, Gabriel and Raphael bring three complementary questions into our prayer:
- Michael: Where is courage needed?
- Gabriel: What am I being asked to hear and answer?
- Raphael: Where must I accept healing, guidance or companionship?
These questions belong together. Courage without listening can become stubbornness. Listening without action can leave us permanently preparing. Service without care for our own limits can end in resentment or exhaustion.
Michaelmas gives us an opportunity to examine the quality of our strength. Can we tell the truth without using it to wound? Are we able to establish a boundary without deciding that the person beyond it is an enemy? Can we remain open to correction when fear or pride has distorted our judgement?
Christ remains the centre of this reflection. The angels serve his purposes, and our devotion should deepen our capacity to love God and neighbour. A useful Michaelmas question is therefore very simple: Who might benefit if I became a little more faithful, courageous and available?
Michaelmas and the Western Mystery Tradition
Alongside Christian devotion, Michael appears in Western esoteric systems with planetary, elemental and Qabalistic correspondences. These belong to later Western esoteric traditions rather than biblical teaching or universal Christian doctrine.
Angelorum follows the Golden Dawn planetary attribution of Michael to the Sun, while keeping this distinct from the sephirotic hierarchy in which Raphael is associated with Tiphareth and Michael with Hod. These systems overlap symbolically but are not interchangeable.
Within the same broad esoteric framework, the Sun brings associations with Sunday and gold, while Golden Dawn elemental ritual places Michael in the south and Fire. Angelorum also uses The Sun Tarot card as Michael’s principal Tarot correspondence through shared themes of illumination, clarity and courage.
These correspondences offer a symbolic language for contemplation while keeping Michael’s identity as a created angel serving God at the centre.
Traditional Prayer to St Michael
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
Michaelmas Tarot Spread
This six-card spread centres on holy courage, truthful self-examination and trust in God. Bring a particular situation to prayer, or use it to reflect on the season ahead.
1. Stand Firm
Where am I being called to stand firm?
Consider the commitment, responsibility or conviction that needs your steady attention. Distinguish faithful perseverance from remaining attached to something simply because changing course feels uncomfortable.
2. Fear’s Authority
What fear needs to lose its authority over me?
Notice where fear has begun making decisions on your behalf. How might you act with greater freedom while still respecting genuine risks and personal limits?
3. Face the Truth
What truth must I face clearly?
Look for something you have minimised, postponed or struggled to acknowledge. The truth may involve a difficult responsibility, but it could equally concern goodness or support you have found hard to receive.
4. Wise Protection
Where do I need protection or stronger boundaries?
Reflect on what needs safeguarding: your time, health, attention, relationships or integrity. Look for a practical boundary or source of support that helps you respond with clarity and care.
5. Faithful Courage
What does faithful courage look like now?
Identify an action within your present capacity. Courage might mean speaking honestly, seeking help, making amends, resting responsibly or fulfilling a small promise.
6. Faithful Response
What becomes possible when I align my actions with Divine Will?
Contemplate the grace, virtue or freedom that may grow through a faithful response. Read this as an invitation to cooperation rather than a guaranteed reward or prediction of external success.
How to Use the Michaelmas Tarot Spread
Begin with a few moments of silence and acknowledge what you are bringing to prayer. Light a candle if you wish, then ask for guidance aligned with God’s will.
Draw the cards mindfully. Read each question before interpreting its card and write a few honest observations. Let difficult cards challenge you without frightening you, and notice how the positions speak to one another.
Finish by choosing one practical response you can carry into daily life: arrange a conversation, protect time for prayer, ask for help or honour a needed boundary. Thank God for the time of reflection and allow some questions to remain open.
Sample Michaelmas Tarot Reading
1. Stand Firm — 10 of Swords
Where am I being called to stand firm?
The 10 of Swords suggests accepting that something really is over. Standing firm here does not mean trying harder to resurrect what has already run its course. It means refusing to retreat into denial simply because an ending hurts.
There is courage in allowing the finality of a situation to be what it is. Michael’s sword cuts cleanly. Sometimes truth does too.
2. Fear’s Authority — 10 of Pentacles
What fear needs to lose its authority over me?
The 10 of Pentacles points towards security, stability and the structures that make life feel safe. Fear may be whispering that change will cost too much or threaten something painstakingly built.
Yet this card can also remind us that true security is larger than one particular arrangement. What has been accumulated through experience, relationships, faith and wisdom is not necessarily lost simply because one chapter ends.
3. Face the Truth — Queen of Pentacles
What truth must I face clearly?
The Queen of Pentacles brings the reading firmly back into the body and everyday life. The truth may be very practical: I need care. I need enough rest, nourishment, time and support to meet what comes next.
She is not interested in spiritual heroics that leave the body behind. Her wisdom is grounded, patient and receptive. Before asking what comes next, she asks whether I am tending properly to what God has already entrusted to me.
4. Wise Protection — 10 of Wands
Where do I need protection or stronger boundaries?
The 10 of Wands makes this almost comically clear: stop carrying everything.
Some burdens belong to us. Others have been picked up through habit, guilt or the belief that being capable means being responsible for everything. A stronger boundary may simply mean recognising where our responsibility ends.
Protection here looks less like building walls and more like putting something down.
5. Faithful Courage — 7 of Pentacles
What does faithful courage look like now?
The 7 of Pentacles asks for patience. Courage does not always mean immediate movement. Sometimes it means allowing what has already been planted to develop without repeatedly digging it up to check whether it is growing.
There is work here, but there is also waiting. Faithful courage may mean resisting the urge to force the next stage before its time.
6. Faithful Response — 7 of Cups
What becomes possible when I align my actions with Divine Will?
The 7 of Cups suggests that clarity becomes possible when I stop trying to pursue every imaginable option.
There may be many possibilities ahead, but not all of them require action. Some are distractions, fantasies or simply paths that are not mine. The faithful response is to become still enough to recognise what actually matters.
This is a card of discernment before choice.
Reading Summary
Three 10s dominate the spread, signalling completion and the threshold of a new beginning. Something has run its course. The message is to accept the ending, keep what is truly valuable and put down what no longer needs to be carried.
The final two cards are both 7s, calling to mind the seventh day and the need for rest. Before rushing into the next chapter, slow down. The 7 of Pentacles asks for patience, while the 7 of Cups asks for discernment.
The overall movement is clear: completion, release, rest, clarity, then renewal. Sometimes the most faithful response to an ending is to give the new beginning time to reveal itself.
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