Weekly Forecast: August 1-7
Well, judging by the cards above, August is starting out with a bang, not a whimper. A bang that leads to plenty of whimpering? I think so.
As we can see, we’re visited by one of the most arresting images in tarot, The Tower. A humbling experience, this card shows us what happens when a structure we’ve staked our sense of security on crumbles spectacularly. There’s no way around it; this is a challenging and often painful experience. Yet it’s important to note this: whatever is crumbling was meant to fall.
Well, judging by the cards above, August is starting out with a bang, not a whimper. A bang that leads to plenty of whimpering? I think so.
As we can see, we’re visited by one of the most arresting images in tarot, The Tower. A humbling experience, this card shows us what happens when a structure we’ve staked our sense of security on crumbles spectacularly. There’s no way around it; this is a challenging and often painful experience. Yet it’s important to note this: whatever is crumbling was meant to fall.
The Queen of Cups is extending her graces throughout the month. Not only is she leading us into the week, she’s the official “card of the month” in August’s forecast. This queen challenges us to remain connected to both our emotional/intutive selves and our practical selves. Rather than seeing these forces as in conflict, The Queen of Cups embraces the complimentary nature of passion and responsibility. Can we use our practical, problem-solving skills to be responsible for our own passions: desire, beauty, and connection?
Having The Queen of Cups leading off both this week and the month as a whole is telling us that the skills we’ve been practicing (and the facets of ourselves that we’re becoming acquainted with) are coming into focus right now. In fact, they’re the key to our growth and, perhaps on some level, survival.
Because, yes, The Tower can sometimes show us moments when we have to deal with something that feels annihilating. And, like everything in tarot, this occurs on a spectrum. Each of our experiences of The Tower this week will vary in intensity. It could be an external event, a shift in our self-perception, or something we’ve depended on crumbling before our eyes.
Take time to devote your loving attention to yourself this week, and reacquaint yourself with all the ways you’ve stepped into prioritizing your emotional and spiritual development. This is a time to re-commit to any self-care and spiritual practices that make you feel whole, centered, and alive. The Queen of Cups isn’t a flashy card at first glance, but she emits a magnetic pull, one of a person who knows themselves deeply and is committed to staying present for all facets of life, including the painful parts.
I wonder, too, if The Tower may represent a backlash to the new and increasingly bold ways we’ve been drawing boundaries to protect our inner space and creative/romantic/spiritual lives. Again, remembering that The Tower needs to crumble will be pivotal. In some cases, we don’t even need to participate in the collapse. If there’s someone around you being harmfully dramatic or reactive, simply stay in the lush and healing world you’ve been cultivating for yourself. Like the Queen of Cups, keep your foot dipped into the waters of your emotional truth, feel the beauty of the world around you, and let it all nourish you no matter how intense the rest of the world may be.
The King of Cups enters the scene and I’m feeling this card as an external presence. Look for someone in your life whose emotional maturity equals yours and whose ways of coping, understanding, and living with The Tower compliments your own. In other words, there’s partnership to be found in this moment of difficulty that may end up being pivotal. Think of allies, supporters, and mentors: who can stand with you and reinforce your experience of reality?
There’s no way around it, this is challenging energy. Yet I can’t think of a better team to face the intensity of The Tower. I’m also reminded of the immense difficulty of witnessing something or someone crumble. Both The Queen and King of Cups embody fluid, strong, and healthy boundaries. If you feel pulled to rescue, compensate, or intervene in someone else’s tower moment, don’t. There’s so much to take in from the seat of power you’ve carved for yourself - rushing into someone else's flames won’t help either of you.
This week, embrace:
Re-committing to your personal practices
Prioritizing beauty, deeper meaning, and spirituality
Emotionally mature supporters and partners
Your choices to lead a life that works for you
Facing uncomfortable truths
Embracing the healing potential of collapse, endings
This week, avoid:
Getting sucked into drama, bids for rescue
Catastrophizing
Reacting immediately instead of reflecting
Savior-complexes
Changing your beliefs, choices to accommodate others
Get creative:
Queen of Cups: It feels like we’ll need a sanctuary this week. I have several ideas: 1) An actual space - make a nook that really goes for it in terms of showcasing your romantic, poetic side. Pillows and string lights? Objects of beauty? Line them up! 2) A ritual you can turn to - think of something that makes you feel connected with your body and emotions. Meditation? A languorous bath? A walk in nature? Hold this in your back pocket and use it when you encounter The Tower. 3) A mental space - if you don’t have one already, think of a place you can travel to in your imagination. Like option 1, it should contain things and exist in an environment that makes you feel both safe and inspired. Unlike option 1, it’s not contained by the pesky rules of reality! Get decadent and travel there when you feel the destructive pull of The Tower.
King of Cups: While we’ll likely have a King of Cups IRL, I think this would be a good opportunity to identify King(s) in other places. Who do you view as an emotional role model? Someone who inspires you with their maturity, poise, and dedication? I think we run a risk of playing it small this week or muting our seeking dreamer selves, so this person or people should be trailblazers, too, people unafraid to live life on their own terms: authors, poets, artists, and more. List or simply visit these people’s work as you go through the week so you can remain connected to your larger self and a world beyond however the tower is manifesting right now.
The Tower: This one in simple: wait. If something is collapsing in your life, just let it fall. The Tower can invite panic and frenzied action. Resist the impulse. Time allows the fire to die down, the clouds to disperse, and the reality on the ground to become real.
Weekly Forecast: January 10-16
I’ll be honest: I’m excited to see the King of Cups leading us into the week. An understated and overlooked member of the tarot court, the King of Cups embodies values that often get pushed to the side in a world that moves fast, talks faster, and is quick to jump to conclusions. This King is not rash, easily swayed, or willing to sacrifice integrity, even in the face of immense pressures. It’s this energy that inspires us to step into the week with focus and determination.
Kind of Cups/ Ten of Wands / Ace of Swords
Deep wisdom providing the courage to make a final push towards clarity and inspiration
I’ll be honest, I’m excited to see the King of Cups leading us into the week. An understated and sometimes overlooked member of the tarot court, the King of Cups embodies values that often get pushed to the side in a world that moves fast, talks faster, and is quick to jump to conclusions. This King is not rash, easily swayed, or willing to sacrifice integrity, even in the face of immense pressures. It’s this energy that urges us to step into the week with focus and determination.
When I see the King of Cups, I’m always inspired to stop for a moment and take a deep breath. Once I’ve left the wild spin of my mind for that briefest of moments, I usually find myself checking into my body - feeling my feet against the softness of my house slippers (yes, I am working from home, why do you ask?), smelling the steam coming off my cup of tea, or noticing soreness in my clenched jaw. I might even be inspired to explore my emotional state as well. Is there something I’m not saying that has my jaw so tight? Do I need to get a glass of water, maybe think about how to articulate something important? The King of Cups leads us down similar paths of awareness, inviting us to follow the breadcrumb trail of our physical and emotional reality. We must, however, stop to accept the invitation, and follow it without judgment.
I’m seeing a similar “take the next step” energy at work in the coming days. We have a lot on our plates and we’ll need to muster all the wisdom and equanimity that the King of Cups has to offer. We have a lot of work to do in our external life which is why it’s equally important, even essential, to do so from a place of self-awareness, compassion, and self-esteem. The King of Cups embraces his role as a leader of himself and others. We may be given opportunities to use the wisdom we’ve fought to earn through our personal healing practices in the larger world, extending compassion in difficult situations and leading by example. Looking at this card, we can see that, despite being in the middle of a boisterous and action-packed ocean (check out that bizarro whale and bright red ship!) the King is, in fact, seated on a sturdy throne. Its stone base may float through some magic, but since the Minor Arcana are centered around the physical world, I like to imagine his throne extending as a pillar through miles and miles of deep ocean. What hard work have we done to construct emotional and spiritual stability for ourselves? What gives us quiet strength no matter what wildness happens in life around us? Now is a time to tap into these sources as we grapple with important work and big challenges.
The Ten of Wands shows us the nature of our undertaking. We’ve been toiling for quite some time, taking an idea or opportunity from its exhilarating beginning to near conclusion. Though we’re weary, we’re also almost done; the Ten of Wands illustrates the last few steps before the end of a journey animated by the fire and inspiration of the wands. What important endeavors have we been working on? How can we honor our commitment and see things through to the end?
This card can also come up when we’re simply so exhausted that we may not remember or be aware of the huge load we’re carrying, our perspective narrowed as we simply fight to keep moving forward. While we can trust in the process and continue nonetheless, don’t hesitate to recenter by returning to what inspires you - looking at the wall of wands and rediscovering the single idea, value, or event that started it all (in other words, seeing the Ace of Wands within the Ten). What was the spark of energy that started this powerful and, at times, overwhelming fire? How can you use that energy to finish the tasks at hand?
The King of Cups stands behind this card with reassuring calm. It would be wise to stay our course, he advises, and to avoid any mishaps or mistakes that spring from emotional reactions instead of wise, emotionally resonant decisions. The Ten of Wands is as many wands as you can get in tarot, and sometimes a collection of sticks is a bonfire waiting to happen. This is a time to practice patience with others and to simply observe our emotions before taking them as gospel truth or a call to arms. We certainly don’t need any more fire in this reading; allow yourself to relax in the deep waters of the King of Cups when difficulty and stress arise.
So, yes, a challenging week and one where we’re grappling with exhaustion and burnout, but what’s at the other side? The Ace of Swords gleams just beyond our burden of sticks - a breakthrough is on its way, and a shift in energy, from action and striving to awareness and ideas. Perhaps we’ve encountered some glimmers of new information, either as a result of our current projects and struggles or… they’ve simply appeared out of thin air. Aces are enlivening gifts and we never know when they’ll appear.
Towards the end of the week be sure to welcome and explore any new ideas, opportunities, or connections, particularly if they’re connected to swords-y topics: learning, communication, information, and mental clarity. Aces have an impish, alluring quality to them: what’s calling you forward, enticing you towards newness, or sparking your interest? It’s essential, however, not to push things (look at all those wands we’ve been carrying! We clearly need a break). We must rest and recuperate in order to be ready for what’s new. And what’s could be more in line with the wisdom of the King of Cups than that?
This week, Embrace
Self-care routines that keep you grounded
Bringing nonjudgmental awareness to your emotions
Taking time to recenter around your experience and values before acting
Perseverance and follow-through
Curiosity and lighthearted learning or intellectual exploration
this week, avoid
Abrupt changes, radical edits, or wholesale abandonment of longterm projects
Getting caught in the emotions, drama, or the conflicts of others
Downplaying your work and contributions or side-stepping acknowledgment
Burdening new ideas or points of curiosity with over-planning or expectations
get creative
King of Cups: Set aside some time for solitude, close your eyes, and journey inward with the intention of finding your peaceful center. Notice the sensations that arise when you feel connected to yourself, along with any images, memories, or impressions. Find whatever feels most powerful, whether it’s a single thing or a combination you weave into a powerful whole (I like to image my “inner sanctum” as a specific place, for example). When stress arises, call this image to mind and draw on its power and quiet any hubbub, drama, or confusion in the world around you.
Ten of Wands: Look at all the tasks in front of you and ask yourself the question: Does this connect back to an important spark? While the Ten of Wands represents a final push, we can also accumulate the weight of needless worries, unnecessary tasks and busy work, as well as the expectations and demands of others. Use the memory of your initial inspiration to burn away any of this energy-sucking additional labor.
Ace of Swords: Let your wandering mind roam free and pick up a book, article, or podcast about something completely out of your wheelhouse. I’m feeling strong “twenty tabs open in your browser” energy here - do share any interesting discoveries and let yourself get weird.
Weekly Forecast: September 23-29
My lovely friends, this is a reading to write home about! And, to be honest, a welcome break from all the soul-searching present in our recent forecasts. There's a bevy of cups available to us this week: satisfaction, fulfillment, joy, fun, creativity, spirit, and connection. So what's the first step?
My lovely friends, this is a reading to write home about! And, to be honest, a welcome break from all the soul-searching present in our recent forecasts. There's a bevy of cups available to us this week: satisfaction, fulfillment, joy, fun, creativity, spirit, and connection. So what's the first step?
Overwhelm, it seems, is an important sign for us, particularly the kind that arises from a wide sea of opportunities and options.
I'm getting this from the Seven of Cups, of course - that tricky and alluring exploration of our creativity. Like all sevens it represents the secret invitation of dissatisfaction. What happens when we peel aside the first layer of itchiness? Inspiration and a meaningful next step.
This card was also at the center of a collective reading we did at my local tarot meetup. In that reading, the Seven of Cups generated a lot of helpful and invigorating energy, and it does the same here.
We can try looking at the wide expanse of unknown in front of us as a grand stage to fill with actions, plans, and goals. The only requirement is that they're exciting and fascinating: No lackluster, half-assed dreams need apply!
If things have been feeling a bit heavy during the past few weeks we can expect that weight to lift. Our challenge will be to welcome that and all the silliness, experimentation, and dreaming that comes along with it. Embracing that will be healing, expansive, and fun (sign me up!) and bring us to the bounty of the Ten of Cups.
The King of Cups presides over the whole picture. We're learning our own creative language and taking our dreams seriously. And it's unlocking a much-needed and surprising source of inner leadership.
I can't think of a group of cards that would give us a more resounding invitation to think outside the box, lighten up, and walk towards what we really want, even if we're not sure why.
Underneath all this is a river of emotion; yet, like the King of Cups, we've looked into it and can now sail across its surface. What work have you been doing to integrate and process you emotional experiences? How have you been showing up for yourself throughout challenging times? What peace have you found within yourself?
I also think that the King of Cups has some words of gentle encouragement to share with us. Sometimes the Ten of Cups can be surprisingly triggering. All that sunshine and rainbows energy can seem ostentatious and flashy. Do we really think we're all that? What does it mean if we're a little afraid of our best possible scenario?
The King of Cups tells us that all of those conflicted feelings are welcome and necessary. We can have the rainbow and still be human, with all our fear, restlessness, and weirdness alongside the wonder and joy.
So let this week be one where you celebrate and explore your strangest dreams and ideas. Playing around will invite in the sense of feeling you're looking for as you start to move closer to your personal Ten of Cups.
Weekly Forecast: March 18-24
In order to receive, you must let go.
It feels nice to be safe and certain of our lives. Security is nothing to scoff at - we need to take care of our physical selves, provide for our basic needs, and doing so isn't always easy. Having enough is a huge privilege, but if we cling to it too long it can become stifling and limited.
In order to receive, you must let go.
It feels nice to be safe and certain of our lives. Security is nothing to scoff at - we need to take care of our physical selves, provide for our basic needs, and doing so isn't always easy. Having enough is a huge privilege, but if we cling to it too long it can become stifling and limited.
This week we're at a point that's difficult to reconcile. We may feel that asking for more after having worked so hard to get the basics seems greedy, as if we're tempting fate. Why go and invite in the unknown with any changes if we're fed, clothed, and safe?
We can see this position reflected in the Four of Pentacles, and I love how this card shows the sense of stability and pride that comes from providing for ourselves. Sometimes this card appears as a wonderful affirmation - we've made it and it's time to celebrate and get to know all the facets of what we've built for ourselves.
But, like any tarot card, it's meant to be a stepping stone on a larger journey. After all, our lives are animated by change, and clinging too hard to what we know can often leave us stuck and out of sync with the larger rhythm of our life.
This week we're presented with a choice and it may feel big and intimidating. The Ace of Pentacles is appearing center stage, tempting us with an alluring offer. It's asking us to accept a shiny new gift, but in order to do so we must put down one of our pentacles. Staying with what we know effectively blocks us from this new energy. Remaining in the four may seem safe, but it's no way to grow.
Luckily, the Ace of Pentacles is a gentle card. New things can often become the perfect receptacles for our anxiety. Because they're all potential and possibility we can offload all our general anxieties onto them, burying something shiny and new with frightening futures.
The Four of Pentacles, while a place to celebrate once you've reached it, can become mired with conservative thinking. Instead of seeing opportunity in newness it sees paths to loss. This is a wonderful time to dig deeper into our ideas of how much we can have and all the roadblocks that we put up in the face of emerging excitement. Where do these thoughts come from? And why might we look to them in the face of something truly exciting?
Oftentimes these protective mechanisms have a lot to do with our ideas of maturity and responsibility. The fourth card in the Major Arcana is The Emperor, an archetype that, to be frank, is amazingly adept at triggering old wounds around our experiences with our parents.
Is there something about this new pursuit that's bringing up our ideas of how we "should" behave? Are we silently following old ideas of what responsibility looks like, only to trap ourselves in inauthentic thought patterns?
The King of Cups emerges on the other side to show us that there's another path. Stability doesn't have to be rooted in utter certainty and known quantities. We can be much more fluid, creative, and flexible in our approach to life while maintaining our sense of responsibility.
If anything, this card shows us how we can gather power from embracing the unknown. This is a model of leadership that accepts and trusts in change. If it's inevitable (as we all know) then we can jump on in, a fish swimming in the waters, and navigate with confidence. Sometimes things will be challenging and sometimes they'll be calm. But we can always trust our experiences and the wisdom we've accumulated along the way to guide us.
In this mindset, the Ace of Pentacles is a small and beautiful invitation to move further along our path, not some scary entity here to disrupt and challenge everything we've worked so hard for. If there's something exciting on the horizon - an idea, hobby, opportunity, or practice - that you'd like to pursue - this card says go for for it.
Start simple and let it be what it is - something new and exciting that's still small. Exploring new things doesn't mean abandoning your security, it simply means building upon it. And that's what security is for, after all. Providing a foundation for our growth and expansion.
It can add to our sense of stability and bring in the energy of newness and opportunity. If it doesn't work out, we can always change course. But to turn it away for fear of losing what we already have would keep us feeling stuck.
Exploring the Minor Arcana: The Kings
I think I’ve been dragging my feet with this final post on the court cards because I don’t want to be done with my card meaning dictionary! But it’s a new year and the time has come to tackle The Kings once and for all, so let’s get to it.
The Kings are a fascinating group of cards and deal with questions of authority, expertise, and leadership. Like the Queens they are fully in control of their suit and element, having learned to master it after years of study, dedication, and real-life practice.
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.
I think I’ve been dragging my feet with this final post on the court cards because I don’t want to be done with my card meaning dictionary! But it’s a new year and the time has come to tackle The Kings once and for all, so let’s get to it.
The Kings are a fascinating group of cards and deal with questions of authority, expertise, and leadership. Like the Queens they are fully in control of their suit and element, having learned to master it after years of study, dedication, and real-life practice.
Yet while the Queens deal with a flexible and personal relationship to their suit, the Kings take their connection outwards, using their expertise in the social world.
Perhaps because of this they can tend towards being inflexible, though at their best they’re even-keeled, confident, and determined,
Let's take a closer look at how this stance is reflected in each suit:
Explore In-Depth Minor Arcana Meanings
The King of Wands is a passionate and noticeable leader. This is the kind of personality that loves to be in the vanguard, pioneering new ideas, sometimes without considering the feelings of others. Motivated by the thrill of doing, achievement, and success, this King values change, innovation, and creativity.
The King of Swords, in contrast, is a much more intellectual leader. They prefer to deal with concepts and principles over actions and value deliberation, knowledge, and planning. Sometimes abstract to a fault, the King of Swords can be thought of as a researcher whose intelligence is undeniable and inspires others.
The King of Cups has the fascinating ability to use healthy detachment to understand even the most complex emotional situations. Concerned with relationships and interpersonal dynamics, this card is deeply feeling, perceptive, and intuitive. A wonderful judge of character, this card speaks to bigger life questions and can inspire with his personal charm and equanimity.
And finally, the King of Pentacles is a jolly yet formidable leader. It’s not hard to see that this king has no problem cultivating abundance. Just look at those grapes twining throughout his card! A figure whose command of resources, money, and riches is unparalleled, the King of Pentacles also knows how to have a good time and values celebrating and using wealth for enjoyment, not just for himself but others as well.
Click on each card for the full meaning and share your take on the Kings below. How does their leadership and power show up in your life and your readings?
Weekly Forecast: October 8-14
The Seven of Swords has a lot to tell us these days. Last week it appeared as a creative solution to our personal issues. Being lighthearted and a little impish, it suggested, could help propel us to a sense of satisfaction. This week, however, the card is back to show us its more traditional meanings: conflict, trickery, and confusion.
The Seven of Swords has a lot to tell us these days. Last week it appeared as a creative solution to our personal issues. Being lighthearted and a little impish, it suggested, could help propel us to a sense of satisfaction. This week, however, the card is back to show us its more traditional meanings: conflict, trickery, and confusion.
We're dealing with a stolen victory, one that took advantage of large ideological conflicts, heedless of the consequences. These accomplishments are not honorable (literal thievery rarely is), but they do count. Our cards for the week show us grappling with these events instead of giving us any clear outcome. The Hermit, also known as Father Time, shows us that this is a long and plodding path, but one that could, at the very least, prove clarifying.
When we look at The Hermit we can imagine him turning away from the conflict of the seven with sadness. This is, after all, a card of deep processing. Sometimes that processing is profound and natural - a simple representation of us musing about our deeper calling or existence. And sometimes it's precipitated by something external. In this case, we're turning to our own experiences and higher values to process the shadiness of the Seven of Swords.
But before we jump to judge The Hermit as promoting inaction or selfishness, it's important to acknowledge that coming face-to-face with our true values involves introspection and questioning. The Hermit appears in moments when we must look at ourselves as big and important figures. What we do matters. And in walking through our feelings we can begin to identify the larger themes that guide us forward. Those are what brings our lives meaning and inspire us to act with clarity and determination.
This brings us to the King of Cups, the other side to this difficult situation. What's interesting here is that we're jumping to powerful cards - a major arcana, The Hermit, and a powerful King - instead of dithering in muddy and mundane suffering. In other words, we're ready to think and act big.
The King of Cups is an important illustration of the power that comes from accepting, seeing, and honoring emotions. Not as inconvenient byproducts of life or immature grabs for attention, but as a natural and illuminating part of human life. The King of Cups believes in reciprocal and respectful relationships, personal accountability, and the wealth and power that springs from seeing one another as unique beings whose experiences and feelings matter.
This is a card that shows utter commitment to a better world and the strength to navigate it while holding boundaries, values, and justice above the sometimes-murky waters of conflict and reactivity. The King of Cups is playing a long game, yes, but his status is comforting in this reading. We're more than capable of fighting for the world we'd like to see. Standing firm in this conviction and showing up in the public stage while consulting the wisdom of our own north stars will move us forward, perhaps with surprising effectiveness.
After all, the Seven of Swords is gazing intently at The Hermit, unaware of the fortitude and accomplishment it will face in the future.
Weekly Forecast: September 24-30
What does it mean to be powerful?
This question comes with a lot of baggage and very few diverse blueprints. We tend to see power as absolute, unwavering, and rigid. You either have it or you don't, especially if it's being wielded in a social setting. It's fierce, commandeering, and fiery.
What does it mean to be powerful?
This question comes with a lot of baggage and very few diverse blueprints. We tend to see power as absolute, unwavering, and rigid. You either have it or you don't, especially if it's being wielded in a social setting. It's fierce, commandeering, and fiery.
Doesn't it sound like we're describing The Emperor?
And, indeed, we have this actual powerhouse of a card in our final position. A potent image, to be sure, The Emperor is so imposing and confident that his message comes through loud and clear to those unfamiliar with tarot. We see authority, expertise, confidence, competition, and fortitude. Interestingly, in our power-obsessed culture, this card brings forth a lot of resistance. We often want to rebel when we see The Emperor, to seek freedom and individuality instead of all that structure.
The language of tarot, however, is multilayered and illuminating. We build up meaning around the cards from personal associations and experiences, both personal and cultural, and the cards carry that with them. If we work to scrape some of his off, however, we can reach different levels and see ideas, orientations, and approaches. It's a healing journey that introduces nuance and meaning to the harder aspects of life. This week we'll be working with The Emperor, directing his force and determination in more personally authentic ways.
So back to the cards at hand. Both the King of Cups and The Emperor - representations of power and authority - surround our central card, the difficult and upsetting Five of Swords. This week has the potential for conflict and misunderstanding. There's mischief afoot, especially when it comes to communication. Lies, manipulations, and gossip are some ways that this card shows us how thoughts and words can disrupt a situation. Reacting mindlessly to the wrongdoing only increases the hurt and confusion.
This is clearly a time that calls for power, authority, and confidence.
Many people shirk from these ideas because they seem so harsh and commandeering, much like our first impression of The Emperor. Fascinatingly, we have a much different representation of power leading us into the week: The King of Cups. Instead of a parched desert, this character lives in a dynamic ocean. A fish jumps out of the undulating waves on his right while the red sails of a ship peek out from the left side of his throne.
The King of Cups is telling us that we're already operating from a position of power. It just doesn't look like what we've been trained to associate with authority and strength. The King of Cups thrives off of connection, community, and emotion. Instead of distancing himself from others and wielding power over them, he's in the middle of life's complexities. He feels and connects and emotes. He's there.
This week is calling on us to reassess our personal power. Maybe we've been striving to look like The Emperor, thinking we need rules and absolute respect and a certain harshness that doesn't quite line-up with our personalities. And, in true Emperor fashion, anything less is an absolute failure.
But look at us right now. We're engaged in life, connected to people, and doing the hard work of processing our emotions. This kind of presence speaks volumes, and though it doesn't have the imperious gravitas of power with a capital P, it's often far more effective.
Which brings us back to The Emperor. Underneath all that armor is a pioneering spirit. What did it take to build that throne in his harsh desert landscape, with just a tiny river struggling through the sand behind his throne? The Emperor had to make things work in a less-than hospitable place. And he succeeded wildly. His accomplishment lies beneath the King of Cups. It's just that our world right now is flowing with beautiful water - friendships, alliances, love, and emotion.
Thanks to the hard work of The Emperor we've claimed our power, built something strong, and allowed an ocean to grow. We've softened our edges, but we also remain connected to this difficult and rewarding past. We have that solidity beneath our feet that allows us to sidestep the needless drama of the Five of Swords.
Water flows and steel clashes. Thanks to our hard work and newer, lusher surroundings, we no longer have to flatten or opponents or rise to every challenge. We can simply see what's happening and move around it, seeking out meaningful connections and rewarding work.
Weekly Forecast: March 27-April 2
What do we want out of life?
Yes, I know, what an epic question! But now is a good time to revisit our plans for the future. This can be big or small picture, by individual project or larger life goals. In either case, the cards for this week are directing our attention towards our ambitions.
Pay attention to your responses. Does the question make you feel energized, apprehensive, or neutral? No matter what you’re feeling, this week sees us all grappling with a sense of “what next?”
We enter the week with the affirming and powerful Chariot, a card that tells us our hard work has paid off in a satisfying, even epic way. We’ve made our parade through town, having achieved great things after harnessing our potential and persevering through hard work.
We can be assured this is no empty victory. We have both the scars and experience to prove it. Yet after mustering all that energy and creating something new, there’s a void in our lives. What do we fill the gap with on our way to the next project? How do we feel about ourselves when the external validation dies down?
Tellingly, we follow The Chariot with the King of Cups. We’re feeling like we’ve really accomplished something, at least enough to assume a position of authority and power of a king. Yet despite the mastery we see in the King of Cups, there’s an underlying sense of stagnation. With all their mastery, the Kings represent a set way of doing things that can lead to absolutism and entrenched thinking.
A far cry from the dynamic, go-getting energy of The Chariot.
This jump seems rife with “shoulds.” Are we acting like kings simply because we feel it’s what we should do next? Does getting what we want make us feel nervous and scared? Are we feeling like we need to repress these negative emotions and put on a cloak of authority to distance ourselves?
The King of Cups is a card that can distance from emotions like a true champion. This can be for good or bad. We need to be able to look beyond the tumult of our emotions when they threaten to overwhelm us. This is especially useful when dealing with the emotions of others in volatile situations.
But when it comes to the personal realm, too much detachment can be truly harmful. If we don’t know what we’re feeling, how can we make the decisions that are best for us? Perhaps the success of The Chariot has made us feel uneasy. Getting what we want can have unintended consequences. If that was possible, we might wonder, what else can I do?
This open ended question is the natural habitat of self-doubt and restrictive thinking. Because we don’t know what will happen next, we’re able to fill this space with uncertainty and negative thoughts. This can be even more powerful after a big accomplishment. What if we never do anything as good again? What if that’s all we’ve got?
Running to a King of Cups stance – being emotionally detached, calm, and stable – makes perfect sense. Who can critique someone who is knowledgeable and judicious? Not many people, but who wants to rule when there are other adventures to be had out there in the world?
This brings us to the Knight of Cups, a card that tells us we need to build on the pioneering energy of The Chariot and continue seeking new experiences. We’re not ready to settle down into a Kingly role just yet. We have too much youthful vim and vigor, too much ambition and creative thinking.
Now is a time to embrace our ambition, get adventurous and romantic in our thinking, and find the next invigorating project to propel us forward.
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Weekly Forecast: February 13-19
Tarot Cards by Kazumi Niikura
What do we do with our feelings? Do we let our tenderness shine at full force or express ourselves more cautiously?
This is an interesting question to bring into a week that’s been overstuffed with meaning. The biggest presence, of course, is Valentine’s day. Who could miss the piles of heart shaped candies that have been in the grocery store since January? (I, for one, am more excited for the candy sales the day after Valentine’s.)
Regardless of your feelings about the holiday (cynical corporate commodification? Romantic bonanza? A bit of both?) the cards we’ve pulled for this week are quite lovey. Whether you’re feeling it in a sexy and spicy way or a platonic one, love and how we express it is on our minds.
So how do we honor this? What about our plans? Whether you’re single our coupled, there’s a pull to commemorate your relationships. A ladies’ night out? Treating yourself to some chocolates and a bubble bath? Some schmancy candlelit supper with your partner?
I’ve been rushing around feeling February gain momentum and now look where we are. Just a day away from Valentine’s and I have no plans. What I do have is a growing sense of urgency and several options I’m convinced I have to pursue. Valentine’s for all my friends. A romantic dinner. AND a decadent self-care ritual.
Funny thing is, I haven’t really sat down to think about it all. Do I really want to be doing all these things, cramming them into my already busy schedule? What’s important to me right now?
The cards for this week tell us to take some time to reconnect with ourselves. They also show us struggling between outer expectations and inner desires. Getting stuck between the two can lead to inaction, which would be a shame seeing as we’re feeling very sentimental and effusive. There’s no better time to be writing Valentine’s and professing love than when you’re feeling it.
Now is a good time to consider who we want to express our love to and how we’d like to do it. There’s no time to get stuck in prepackaged ideas about what love “should” look like. This is all about you.
The King of Cups is a somewhat conflicted card. As the ruler of emotions, he must maintain distance. Emotions are notoriously slippery things. They shift constantly and are hard to pin down. Their ephemeral nature is what makes them so enticing and powerful. We can’t force ourselves to feel a certain way, though we can train ourselves to observe our feelings from afar.
The King of Cups has mastered this skill. He is able to separate himself from his emotions and those of others. Just look at him peering at the cup in his hand rather clinically. This can be helpful during times of conflict or when you’re engaging with healing work, but holding one’s own emotions at arm’s length is also stifling. We need to feel things directly in order to fully experience both the joys and pain of life. We can’t always be king.
The Empress shows us another way of being. She’s been a guardian angel of sorts lately, popping up in the past few weekly forecasts. Clearly her teaching is not finished, and thankfully so, because her approach is decidedly much more romantic and rejuvenating.
This is a card that unabashedly revels in sensuality. Rather than draining her and making her weak, displays of joy and affection renew her strength. She is able to both experience her feelings and communicate them. With her powerful boundaries, she is able to block out any negativity without blocking out her own experience of life.
How does she do this? By remaining utterly inside herself. Not locked away or removed, but present. Just look at her cradling a juicy pomegranate, a symbol of abundance. She embodies her feelings instead of removing herself from them like the King holding his cup at a distance.
This is a week to consider what acts of love make you feel like The Empress: solid in yourself, warm, and loving. Perhaps you need a bit of the King of Cups’ remove to figure out what works best for you before you jump into action. Once that’s done, however, jump on in. Now is not a time to limit your expression. When you feel it, you feel it, so let the world know. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s joyous and brings you strength while communicating your love to others.
And the rest of it? Leave it by the wayside. Fancy dinners don’t hold a candle to your own authentic feelings.