Weekly Forecast: April 4-10

Judgment / Nine of Wands / Eight of Swords

Yeesh, we have some hefty energy here, friends! “Welcome to April, let’s get serious,” the cards seem to be saying. We’ve moved from the big-picture expansiveness of The World last week and back into to the come-to-Jesus intensity of Judgment.

I say “back” here because Judgment is the penultimate card of the Major Arcana, the last step before the finale that is The World. So why return to the moment before the triumphant last shot of the epic film that has been our lives for the past several months? I can’t help feeling that there’s some unfinished business here, and that the perspective we were granted last week when things finally gelled together has given us a much-needed insight into our pasts. What, in other words, needs an edit in our final accounting of what we’ve just been through? There’s an important insight here (maybe more than one) and we’d be well served to take it seriously and edit our story before submitting it to our final records.

If going through your recent past with a fine-toothed comb doesn’t sound appealing, I don’t blame you, and The Nine of Wands is here to affirm any feelings of resistance and irritation. (I’m getting big Paul Rudd in Wet Hot American Summer vibes, here.) The Nine of Wands, however, is a massively motivating card. It shows up in moments when hard work is infinitely worthwhile, telling us that no matter how tired or over it we may feel, we still have more left, and so long as that energy is expended in the best interests of our higher self, we’d be foolish to give up now.

The pair of Judgment and The Nine of Wands is also refreshingly bold. We’re not dealing with subtlety this week; we know what to do. And, most importantly, we can see why it would be a bad idea not to do it. Cue The Eight of Swords, giving us a brutal illustration of how easy it is to get tied up in anxiety, fear, and indecision. The swords deal with the mind, and this week the mind is not a hospitable place. We may be dealing with more negative self-talk, self-limiting impulses, and stultifying stories about who we are. Pay extra attention to how you’re treating yourself - audit that inner monologue! - and take respite in the exhausting but tangible realm of things you can actually do aka The Nine of Wands.

Judgment is a card that gives us important messages; allow yourself to hear what’s coming through (especially from the events of last week) and act on them. It may be hard, but it’s work that supports your growth - budding wands instead of a wall of cold, cutting swords.

There’s also an undercurrent of trickery in this reading. The Eight of Swords illustrates the seductiveness of thinking yourself into a corner. Whether your thoughts manifest as rationalizations, self-fulfilling prophecies, or overplanning/perfectionism, be mindful of the ways you might perversely feel safer when you’re stuck. Looking at the illustration for this card we can see the false promise of the situation. While the figure is inarguably in a pickle - bound and blindfolded in a pen of swords - their solution can be found in the cage itself. Shimmy on over to those swords and the binds are cut. Similarly, we’re in a position to call our own bluff and use our minds to burst out of our self-imposed prisons.

Easier said than done, of course, and this is definitely a week to be extra kind to ourselves. We have a honking (heh) Major Arcana card (Judgment), always a lot to deal with no matter the overall meaning, and the two suits in the Minor Arcana best suited to poking and bludgeoning. Reading the negative space of this spread, we can see that a little gentleness and beauty (cups) and practical self-care (pentacles) are needed to give us balance and rejuvenation amidst our big endeavors.

So muster your strength, accept any important realizations from the big transitions you’ve been undergoing, and edit your narrative so that it feels the most truthful, resonant, and empowering.

This week, embrace:

• Taking time to ask big questions

• Loud, impactful, and even upsetting messages that feel like the truth

• Persisting!

• Decisiveness

• Awareness and presence in action

• Asserting your needs, desires, and ambitions

This week, avoid:

• Rushing past the hard parts

• Sloppy work

• Instant gratification

• Getting trapped in negative mental spaces

Get creative:

• Judgment: I feel like this card is going to be very specific for each of us this week. The call of Judgment is as subtle as the giant angel trumpeting above the figures in the card; you likely know what the big realization to focus on is in your life. There’s no better way to avoid the mire of anxiety seen in The Eight of Swords than to get ahead of your brain and write things out. Take some time to have a meeting with your higher self and face the message of Judgment head-on. I’d suggest writing out a simple statement, maybe even a word if you can boil your lesson down that far. What has come through to you, loud and clear? Now take some time journaling about how this new information changes your concept of yourself, your life story, and what is possible.

• Nine of Wands: Practice presence with the Nine of Wands. When this card shows up we can be sure that it won’t be an uneventful week, so as you’re running around taking care of whatever needs taking care of, practice noticing how your body feels. Embrace the sensations of scrambling to pick up the living room: the aching in your legs - interesting!; the way you clench your jaw when preoccupied; the feel of the carpet on your knees. Do this in little bursts. See how it brings you home to yourself. Practice being with yourself every step of the way.

• Eight of Swords: Time for a redirect! I like the “scary” cards in tarot because they’re extremely helpful when it comes to identifying moments we’re in a pickle. Chances are, you know exactly how this card feels. So, when you find yourself stuck in a swamp surrounded by swords, do one of two things: either shimmy up to a sword and cut yourself free - how can I mentally reframe this situation? Is my doom-and-gloom outlook entirely justified? what more is there here? - or dip your toes into some intuitive knowledge - what beauty or mystery is here, too? what if I do something completely different than my brain is asking for, like paint for a second or meditate? Relief is just around the corner.

Weekly Forecast: November 18-24

We have some seismic activity this week, dear friends. The Tower is back again, this time to shake us out of an uncomfortable urge to control and regulate our lives. Yet, like any tower experience, it’s not subtle, gentle, or entirely wanted, if you catch my drift. We may find ourselves scrambling to hold on to any sense of stability and narrative, and that’s okay.  I’m not sure it’s possible to have a calm, collected, and 100% dignified experience with The Tower; that’s what makes it so powerful. 

When this card comes up it’s usually an invitation to look at what we thought was strong, unassailable, and utterly true. Though we often take these forces for granted, there’s usually some sort of slow march towards the big moments when they come tumbling down. Like water slowly eating away at rock, we’ve been eroding our trust, belief, or connection to The Towers in our life. 

Where have we felt off lately? What big forces have been dictating our lives that no longer hold their seduction or strength? See if you can see the buildup to this moment: I have a feeling that doing so will be a huge part of our healing.

I feel tender looking at these cards because the destructive intensity of The Tower is followed by the limitless potential of The Fountain. And, guess what? Limitless potential is very intense in its own way! We can see the seduction and safety of The Tower with more compassion in this reading. Staying in crisis can often keep us safe from the pitfalls of the unknown. If we’re in damage control, we’re not taking any new risks, and who’s going to argue with us when we’re trying to salvage a situation?

Now I’m not saying that we’re all going to be embroiled in epic cataclysm this week! (Wouldn’t that be terrifying?) Tarot shows up in our lives on a spectrum, and I have a feeling that this iteration of The Tower is more mental. What, in other words, has been distracting our energy from the potential that’s presenting itself to us right now? The Fountain suggests not only a wealth of opportunity, but a deep connection with our innate desire to participate in the world as our full selves. That is, operating at our full potential and partaking in the wonder of the universe. Sure, it’s cosmic, but it’s absolutely available to us in the moment.

Pay attention to any self-limiting thoughts, particularly the ones that put you in the place of The Tower. I’m feeling this as more of a desire to fix, control, or even save something that’s falling apart. In this reading, the falling apart may be entirely necessary for the full scope of The Fountain to reveal itself. It may also not be yours to contend with at all; tending to others’ catastrophes will prevent their essential reckoning and distract you from your growth. 

Now all of this is big, epic, and lofty, yet on the other side we come down to earth with the Ace of Pentacles. Could there be a more sweet and affirming card than this? I don’t think so. Stepping into the possibility of The Fountain is quickly resulting in a tangible sense of stability, perhaps even a welcome and alluring opportunity. It’s as if a hand is reaching out from the other side to guide us across the rift. I love how the exciting and terrifying imagery of the cosmos in The Fountain shifts into the welcome greenery of the Ace of Coins. We belong on the ground, in our real lives, and there’s so much we can grow there. 

While shuffling for this reading, a fourth card jumped out: The Eight of Swords. This is a very helpful and straightforward addition to the reading. It’s telling us that getting caught in our thoughts - overanalyzing, rationalizing, and intellectualizing - is only keeping us stuck. Instead, we have the practical and zestful Ace of Pentacles to inspire us. What makes us feel at one with ourselves? What makes us feel connected to life - our bodies, sensory pleasures, homes, and nature. Doing simple things to foster this link will bring us forward and ground us at the same time, no analyzing required. 

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Weekly Forecast: November 11-17

What if you're already doing wonderfully?

I'm writing this forecast in the early morning, still bleary-eyed in my mismatched pajamas. I'm feeling the pressure of Monday morning acutely: What do I need to do today, exactly? What bill is due today? How am I going to squeeze in all of this?

When I turned over our first card, I have to admit I was almost startled. The World? Really?

Yet when I look around I can see it. My beloved dog is napping on the couch, the sun is peeking through the windows behind me, and I've just made one of the strongest coffees in my life. It's beautiful, even though I can see errant crumbs in the sun's rays on my counter top. Even though I have a big old bill to pay and six wildly different tasks to tackle. I'm here and here is touchingly gorgeous.

I've talked about The World a lot in these forecasts. It's the last Major Arcana card, the final stop on The Fool's journey. While tarot has paths and patterns of meanings, our experience of it (much like life itself) doesn't follow a predictable pattern. That is, we can always access The World no matter where we are in life. And, as we've all experienced, sometimes our combination of experiences is wild and strange - The World and Death, for example.

This morning, however, we just have The World as our sole Major Arcana card. It's dancing benevolently, almost teasingly, asking us to look around and see the beauty and accomplishment in our imperfect lives. More specifically, it's asking us to look at our role in all this. There may be many moving parts, some confusion, and a lot of desire to do right, but here we are in the center showing up and truly living life. Let's give ourselves credit, especially if it doesn't line up with our expectations.

Our subsequent two cards make up the kindest tarot reality check. If we look at our life from a place of pride and security, we can take each challenge and task as it comes with no need to get mired in the oppressive details. In fact, my list of tasks and worries fits in perfectly with the Eight of Swords. Here we see a person constrained and bound, frozen still and surrounded by the very tools that could cut them loose.

So what do we do when the pressures hem us in? The Page of Swords burst into the scene with its refreshing simplicity. The answer: one thing at a time. Wielded correctly, our thoughts give us direction. Translating them into action frees us from being stuck. I love how movement is the healing element in this week's forecast. How can we keep a relaxed pace and accomplish small tasks with regularity?

Tarot experts often refer to The World as "the world dancer," and I'm smitten with this idea of dancing through life as the highest form of mastery. It's not rote, predictable, or joyless. Instead, it's vibrant and engaged - an art form instead of a correct answer. Each of us will dance through life differently, but this week we're all ready to keep going and enjoy the magic of our own movements, one thing at a time.

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Weekly Forecast: April 15-21

As I write this a remarkably beautiful day is beginning in Durham. The rain and storms have cleared out the fog of humidity, making the air crisp and breezy, full of life. A similar change in weather is happening in this reading, unfolding in our emotional lives instead of the physical world around us. 

I look at The Fool as the manifestation of all of Spring's hopeful, energetic, and thriving energy. This character has the same daring and tenacity of a plant bursting forth after the winter. Fresh and tender, yes, but also putting so much towards its own growth and doing so without apology. 

We're undergoing similar changes this week, awakening from a period of seeking, confusion, and doubt with an almost shocking sense of clarity. The air has cleared and we've been transformed into something new, though we may not be so sure of the how, why, or what next. 

And, indeed, The Fool is the symbol of newness. The first card in the tarot deck, they show us the power of beginning, and not just for the first time. Our lives have seasons, too, and this card appears to point us to an important fresh start unfolding in this very moment. 

While The Fool is a charming and welcome card in almost any spread, it's also a challenging one to digest, because this card represents risk-taking, vulnerability, and a road ahead full of mistakes.

Here, however, the cards have a beautiful interpretation of the fears that arise when we sense ourselves embarking on a "Fool path." 

I'm struck by the mirroring happening here, as the archetypal power of The Fool, flanked or held back by his adorably awkward animal companion, transitions into the Page of Wands. Both face forward, to the future, yet they have some enlightening differences.

This week, these cards tell us, is a pivotal time to refocus on our own individual journeys. We all walk through life as ourselves and, no matter how hard we try, we must face the inevitability and uniqueness of our own path. Though we might want to hide behind distractions or other people's experiences, doing so ultimately leads to frustration, dissatisfaction, and anxiety. 

Why, in other words, would we want to side-step the transformative new start of The Fool and downgrade into the sometimes charming, but in this case trifling, stance of the Page of Wands?

This Page deals in the fiery realm of action and, as all pages do, represents youthful enthusiasm and inexperience. It seems like we may be tempted to re-frame our current moment, either to ourselves or others, as something inconsequential, silly, and bumbling. Just another experiment on our path, nothing to see here! 

Deep down, however, we know that this is big. That we have something at stake - a closely-held dream, important calling, or inexplicable pull to try something new. Downplaying this importance allows us to feel safer. If we fall on our faces who would laugh? It was only a joke, after all.

This is where the power of The Fool becomes evident for this is a card that sees the sacredness in taking risks, the power of living passionately and seeking to transform. Vulnerability is power, we don't need to have any certainty to begin, and we don't need to explain our journeys. The Fool owns and celebrates their mistakes, risks, and choices. He takes them seriously and dares to stand by his path of growth.

So the pull we feel this week to downplay the changes unfolding within us isn't one to heed. This is a time to practice constantly refocusing on our own experience, focusing on our Fool's journey. That means being mindful of the urges to engage in self-deprecating talk, undervaluing our talents and dreams, and hiding behind new projects we don't feel completely aligned with. 

Because there's an interesting thread here in that following our initial instinct to downgrade to the Page of Wands is leading us to the Eight of Swords, a familiar and well-trodden route of anxiety, collapse, and stalemate. In not taking ourselves seriously we take a detour into a dead end instead of continuing along a wide-open yet-unexplored road. 

Let's choose instead to stay present in our newness and invest in pursuing what makes our hearts beat faster. We're up for the challenge and ready to unfurl. 

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Weekly Forecast: July 2-8

This week we have some big themes at play and things are not what they seem at the surface. The Devil is appearing to show us that we've been feeling pulled back towards some bad habits. Though we know they're not the best for us, there's a perverse comfort in their familiarity and sense of ritual. Like gorging in junk food, it feels good in the moment, but there's a massive stomach ache looming in the future.

One the other side, we have the rich abundance of the Nine of Coins (aka Pentacles). Our surface life is coming through big and bright. Things are going well for us professionally and practically. We have all sorts of creature comforts and they're being seen by those around us. 

So what's at the center here? What's causing so much dissonance between our inner and outer worlds? 

The Eight of Swords brings it all into focus. Again, the theme of familiarity comes up. Here, however, we have a limiting array of familiar doubts and fears. These are guiding us back to the familiar bad habits represented by The Devil. 

Instead of expansion, ease, and enjoyment - The Nine of Coins - we're allowing ourselves to be ushered on well-worn paths to claustrophobic coping mechanisms. 

This is an interesting, if not slightly disturbing, combination of cards. What do we do with this mess? We might find ourselves being drawn to the intensity of The Devil. Big, scary-looking cards have that effect. "Oh no! The Devil! I don't want that! Let's pay extra attention to its horribleness!" is an understandable reaction. Yet it also shows our tendency to give so much air time to dysfunction and struggle. Meanwhile, the Nine of Coins shines alluringly to the right.

The challenge this week will be to redirect our gaze to what's going well in our lives. We can wrestle with The Devil and hold space for the parts of our lives that are blossoming. Turning away from our sources of happiness and the hard work we've done will only further our time spent underground.

And here's where I can't help but notice a tinge of self-sabotage. Are we being too hard on ourselves, occupying the critical space of the Eight of Swords so that we move away from the real, important work and success of the Nine of Coins? Is The Devil more in line with our idea of who we are?

The thing is, self-doubt and worry are part and parcel of our human experience. What we do with these thoughts is what matters. This week we're given the opportunity to listen to the messages of the Eight of Swords and do something new with them. Can we hold space for our personal growth and move towards the Nine of Coins? The bird in that card holds the key to a different relationship with The Devil. The bird, too, is wild, but here it's tamed and smaller. We can also channel the urges of The Devil and give them a healthy outlet of expression. One that opens up our lives and flourishes in the sun instead of keeping us in the darkness. 

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Exploring the Minor Arcana: The Eights

In this series we'll be diving into the world of the Minor Arcana. Each segment will group the cards by number where we can engage in their themes and differences. For all the posts in the installment, click here.

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If the eights could be described in one word it would be "action." These cards illustrate moments of dedication, movement, and commitment. Often growth-oriented, the eights show us how deciding to put our noses down and do the work can be in turns satisfying, galvanizing, and intimidating. 

Eights also have an entrepreneurial bent - they relish using their surroundings to their advantage and have a savvy way of negotiating with the world. In readings, eights are an indication of a path nearing conclusion that could benefit from work and focus. Below we'll look at each suit in depth.

Explore In-Depth Minor Arcana Meanings

The  Eight of Wands gives us one of the most visually straightforward illustrations in the deck. Eight budding wands descending through a vivid blue sky. There's not a cloud in sight, indicating smooth sailing, quick-moving action, and plenty of creative inspiration and motivation. This is a card that sees energy unleashed constructively and with no obstacles.

For the Eight of Swords is quite different. This card shows us the paralysis that comes with overthinking. The figure in the card is fenced in by a line of swords, bound and blindfolded despite the many sharp edges available to sever the ties. When we worry too much or fall into the overwhelming possibilities of our choices we lose sight of the end goal and even ourselves.

The Eight of Cups shows a profound emotional journey. The main figure in this card is leaving behind a row of upturned cups, heading up a jagged mountain pass under the light of the moon. The action in this card is personal, pioneering, and brave. It shows us an inward search for new sources of fulfillment. 

Finally, the Eight of Pentacles gets practical, as pentacles are known to do. Here we see a literal representation of work. The main character here is busy hammering away at a pentacle, the tree besides him decorated with those they've completed. This card shows us the pleasure that comes with being in the flow when we work, as well as the big strides we're capable of when we remain focused. 

All in all, we can see that the eights show us pivotal moments where we're being asked to commit to a task and be present with ourselves, whether it's through our love of work or our nervousness when faced with decisions. 

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Weekly Forecast: October 16-22

Sometimes it can be hard to recognize a gift when it arrives in our lives. Accepting a gift means change and change means loosening our attachment to control. We can't grow if we don't give ourselves space to unfold. We can't let in the new, the unexpected, and the magical when we hold ourselves to a narrow vision of the future. 

Sometime we're trained to see limitation and obstacles when life presents us with something new. The cards for this week show how that something new, the gift that the Ace of Pentacles represents, can be the missing ingredient - the cherry on top of the sunday of fulfillment if you will. It's glorious, it's unexpected and... it's frightening?

Fear is an interesting emotion. It's deep and powerful, a primal reaction, and yet it's also comfortable, a baseline that's so human and so animalistic that we can't help but be familiar with it. In its own way fear operates on a different level, below our rationality and empathy. Honed in a different time, it's a powerful response meant to protect us at all costs. It's just that sometimes it tries to protect us from the good as well as the bad.

Something about this blossoming (I love the floral imagery that Jonasa Jaus' tarot has given us today) is making us uneasy. Does it feel too conspicuous or ostentatious? Is it activating a sense of shame or "having too much"? Or maybe it seems too simple and doesn't match up with our vision for the future. Do we feel like we need to suffer to earn our happines and our accomplishments? 

Whatever these gifts brings up in us it's activating our fear responses with a siren song to retreat and withdraw. It's important, however, to look around before running the other way. Is something else going on? Maybe it is safe after all. Maybe the blossoming is beautiful and something we deserve.

Of course it can be overwhelming, too. There's plenty of room for that. The Eight of Swords shows that overwhelm, yet its tendency is to get swept away with it and back into harmful narratives. In these swordsy situations it's very helpful to connect with other ways of being - the grounded physicality of the pentacles, for example, and the free-flowing emotion of the cups. 

Allowing our thoughts and fears free reign to dictate our actions is no way to lead a blanced life. The cards for this week are asking us to be tender with ourselves and peek out after our initial reaction to withdraw. The gift can just be a gift. The success and fulfillment can just be something beautiful we know we've worked hard to create for ourselves. And it's safe to step out of our worried minds and enjoy the life that's presented to us. 

We can stop and smell the flowers we've grown for ourselves. They're blooming right now. 

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