Weekly Forecast: November 28 - December 4
Playful energy is gifting us with some surprisingly practical insights this week, dear readers. And in case you’re missing the epic intensity of some our past readings, fear not: The Lovers makes an appearance highlighting the importance of our personal agency when making choices.
Playful energy is gifting us with some surprisingly practical insights this week, dear readers. And in case you’re missing the epic intensity of some our past readings, fear not: The Lovers makes an appearance highlighting the importance of our personal agency when making choices.
Let’s get into the details.
The Two of Pentacles has a refreshing, jaunty aura about them, and this week invites us to put down the burdens of plans, grand visions, and complicated structures in order to grant ourselves the freedom to experiment. Whether you’re staring something anew or need a fresh gust of inspiration in a project or area of your life that’s felt stale and stilted, this card has many helpful suggestions for you.
I think it’s time for a list, in true “practical-pentacles” fashion:
Return to or visit the basic principles of what you want: what are the two pentacles you’re juggling? Makes sure you’re really interested in them, enthralled even, like the energetic character in the card.
Embrace looking ridiculous and have a sense of humor about yourself. (How could this hat signify anything but a charming lack of self-consciousness?)
Focus on what you can do now, and have fun with it….
While keeping your eyes open to the possibility of a grand future, so that the excitement of your work can steer you somewhere new, instead of back towards familiar dead-ends or tough spots.
It’s likely that this card is speaking to an area in your life that has to do with those ruled by the pentacles suit: work, daily routines, physical health, sex and sensuality. Last week, we had the Queen of Pentacles holding court in the center of our reading, so it’s possible that your “thesis statement” revealed itself in the past seven days. Regardless, this week is an excellent time to find inspiration in going back to the drawing board or starting anew. Let this energy expand to revivify your practices, how you spend your time, and to refocus on what feels good while sustaining your life.
Towards the end of the week, our progress in this area starts to unfurl outwards. Oftentimes, the Two of Pentacles can seem frivolous or silly: can having fun really be transformative? And, especially, can it be helpful to the larger whole and not an act of selfishness?
The Six of Pentacles answers this question with a resounding “yes!” In tending to our sense of play, expansiveness, and even the basics of caring for ourselves (this Two of Pentacles sometimes highlights the intersection of mental and physical health), we become more able to direct our gifts outwards. Consider how, once you feel more grounded and inspired, you can express and honor your values in your actions. If the pentacles gives us one piece of wisdom, it’s this: What we do matters. Helping others, giving back, and recognizing our responsibility for the ones who come after us - all of this falls under the Six of Pentacle’s themes of balance, justice, and reciprocity.
Presiding over all of this, The Lovers lends its aura of pivotal change to this earthy reading. I like this! It means, in other words, that the key to our transformation can be found in the things we’re already doing. This isn’t a moment of looking for a grand epiphany, a prophecy from an outside source; the seeds of self-realization have already been planted, we just have to keep tending to them and watch them sprout into something grander.
If you’ve been agonizing over a choice, fearful of a change that’s afoot, or worried about striking out on your own, look around your life for signs that you’re already on your way and that things are working out just fine. The Lovers reminds us that all change require a healthy dose of self-respect. Growing is hard business, especially when it’s into our own unique forms. Individuality can feel vulnerable, but it also attracts the complimentary people, places, and opportunities that are meant just for us. Open yourself to both the tenderness and excitement of meaningful personal change.
This week, embrace:
Playfulness, good-natured humor
A willingness to make mistakes
Going back to the basics
Tending to your physical health
Starting new projects
Self-love and appreciation
Giving back, supporting others
This week, Avoid:
Overcomplicating plans, projects, routines
Naysayers, people afraid to grow
Limiting your vision for the future
Focusing on the future to the detriment of the present moment
Get creative:
Two of Pentacles: Let’s lean into the inherent ridiculousness of this card. I love how it combines the earthy nature of the pentacles with movement and joy. So, like this jaunty fellow, lift your leg and get dancing. Bonus points for being as ungainly, unhinged, and insane-looking as possible. Just one song, alone in your kitchen, is enough, but more is even better.
The Lovers: Let’s not allow the grandness of this card to eclipse the joy and excitement of the week. Because part of what makes The Lovers so powerful is that it holds the excitement, love, and passion that motivates personal change. Rather than forcing this card to reveal itself, spend the week looking for delightful pangs of love wherever you go. What pulls you closer? What do you desire? What makes you feel like you’re opening up to the world?
Six of Pentacles: Spend some time in gratitude - who helps you and how? Once you’ve identified several source of help, support, or inspiration (I suggest three), write out a way you can pay forward the same energy to others.
Weekly Forecast: September 12-18
There are times in life when the clouds begin to part and the murkiness of a transition, conflict, or challenge subsides. This week is one of those times, as The Lovers brings its energizing zest to a new chapter of our lives. The clouds, however, will be dissipating at different rates for each of us. Be sure to reach for any moments of beauty and inspiration while accepting your current place on the journey; Major Arcana cards represent impactful moments and entire chapters of our lives. There is so much time for this card to reach its full expression, and this is just the beginning.
There are times in life when the clouds begin to part and the murkiness of a transition, conflict, or challenge subsides. This week is one of those times, as The Lovers brings its energizing zest to a new chapter of our lives. The clouds, however, will be dissipating at different rates for each of us. Be sure to reach for any moments of beauty and inspiration while accepting your current place on the journey; Major Arcana cards represent impactful moments and entire chapters of our lives. There is so much time for this card to reach its full expression, and this is just the beginning.
The Lovers is about choice and agency, but unlike The Chariot it deals with divine forces instead of personal willpower. Look to the world around you for inspiration and beauty, small invitations for next steps that feel authentic to you and your soul. Lofty language, grand concepts, big stories - all of these will help encourage the energy of this card, so if you’re not feeling it naturally, be sure to take matters into your own hands in ways that feel delightful to you alone.
Actively engaging with The Lovers will be important as difficult and very earthly matters come into focus mid-week. The Five of Pentacles is a challenging card. There may be issues with money, health, or, more broadly, the basic functioning of our everyday lives. Things feel like a struggle, and we’ll need all our energy to stay our path or simply get through the day.
Having The Lovers at our back, however, is just the energy we need to weather moments of difficulty. We may be tempted to use whatever challenge is active as a litmus test for the big plans, dreams, and choices we’re holding close to our hearts. To which I say: just don’t! Momentary hardship doesn’t have to be a referendum on our identity, life decisions, or desires. In fact, The Lovers is asking us to use our lofty ideals and grand imaginings for support during stressful times. Wanting something and not having it yet, or wanting to do something and having some difficulties, is par for the course. And, as this reading suggests, the discomfort is temporary.
The Page of Wands concludes our reading, telling us that while we may feel hunched over and struggling through a headwind in the middle of the week, by the end we’ll be upright and in possession of a new idea to guide us forward. How can temporary setbacks and material limitations actually inspire us to innovate? This card is nudging us to lean into difficulty and treat it as a wise teacher. It’s also an affirming emissary for The Lovers’; we’ll need the practical passion of this page to bring our loft Lovers’ ideals into fruition this week and beyond.
This week, embrace:
Embracing a choice, change, or new chapter
Enacting your values, honoring shifts in identity
Romance, myth, utopian visions
Muscling through daily difficulty
New ideas and sparks of inspiration
This week, avoid:
Shrinking from your personal agency or vision
Treating temporary setbacks as defeats
Large expenditures, retail therapy, financial irresponsibility
Backing away from your dreams
Get creative:
The Lovers: I think this card is asking for a grand gesture this week. And while it appears to be outwardly about romance, it’s more about a devotion to a higher calling. So, take some time to feel out (NOT think/analyze) a grand vision that makes you feel alive, energized, and inspired. Search for a piece of art - a poem, image, or song - that brings you closest to how you feel when you think about this calling/future/vision and revisit it throughout the week.
The Five of Pentacles: I’m feeling drawn to the rags in this image and think it would be a powerful act to spend some time mending, washing, or restoring an item of clothing you wear frequently. Perhaps even break out the shoe cleaning supplies that lurk in the dark corners of your laundry room (am I the only one?). As you clean, stitch, or shine, focus on how you can always bring your care to what you have when you feel lacking, and in doing so, restore and revivify yourself.
Page of Wands: The pages are such rascals; they don’t care how goofy or awkward they look when trying something new. In fact, they may not even be aware of their lack of mastery. Like the truly young, they think their passion equals expertise. I think a healthy dose of this cockiness may actually be helpful for us this week, especially when it comes to shaking off the weight of the Five of Pentacles. So, when you find yourself transfixed with a new idea or plan (I’m thinking on the low-end of the “difficulty/responsibility” spectrum) just do it. Have fun, take a small risk, and leave your self-judgment at the door.
Weekly Forecast: May 8-15
I have a brief forecast for you all this week since our family has been under the weather this week. But! I figured it would be a fun opportunity to experiment with a short-form weekly forecast.
I’ve drawn just one card with “What is our area of focus this week?” as a guiding question. To mix thing up, I’ve switched to one of my favorite decks - The Kitty Kahane Tarot.
Our card? The Lovers.
I have a brief forecast for you all this week since our family has been under the weather this week. But! I figured it would be a fun opportunity to experiment with a short-form weekly forecast.
I’ve drawn just one card with “What is our area of focus this week?” as a guiding question. To mix thing up, I’ve switched to one of my favorite decks - The Kitty Kahane Tarot.
Our card? The Lovers.
What’s coming through
Despite it’s saucy title, The Lovers is a card about choice. In the Renaissance context from which tarot sprung, this meant between alluring vice and righteous virtue. I think you can guess which was deemed the “correct” answer. This week, however, I’m feeling drawn to the tender moment between the woman and the snake shown in Kitty Kahane’s illustration. What happens when we choose knowledge rooted in love, even if that means shaking up our worlds? In other words, are there some gardens that we’re meant to be cast out of?
Regardless of whether you hew to my slightly radical take on the Garden of Eden or more traditional interpretations, the moment Eve tastes the fruit is the catalyst for a huge story. This week we’re presented with a world-enlarging choice. It may come through in subtle ways - simply choosing to frame things from a gentle, new perspective - or as a decisive action. What is your story? In many ways we’re choosing a new moment in every moment, with every breath. The Lovers card reminds us of the incredible wonder, power, and responsibility of this.
What to do
A huge part of The Lovers is the electrifying feeling it brings to everyday life. Think the glow of excitement and anticipation that comes with falling in love, now transpose that onto the world around you. Look for the miraculous in the everyday, practice seeing people as if they’re new and fascinating, a whole world to be discovered. And, since this is a Major Arcana card we’re talking about, see how you can view yourself in grander terms. This is your time, this is your life - how does this viewpoint change the choices you make?
Shadow sides
Like being cast from the Garden of Eden, all choices involve leaving something behind. In the case of The Lovers, however, this choice is in honor of our personal growth. See if you can pay respect to the natural grief of losing or leaving something (a cherished illusion, naive and comforting fantasies, situations or people that don’t support your growth and expansion) while celebrating the strength and vigor it takes to invest in your self-actualization. It’s hard because it has to be. Not shrinking from this also makes the blues brighter, the world pop with the power of awareness.
Getting playful
If this energy is coming through on a less intense level (and even/especially if it’s underlined and highlighted with the brightest yellow imaginable) there are plenty of ways to engage with it playfully: get ready for the day as if you’re going on an exciting date, schedule an actual exciting date, write down the important truths that push you towards meaningful change, imagine yourself as the hero of a lush and edgy fairytale.
Thank you all for joining me in this little experiment. Full-on tarot readings will be back next week. And do let me know what you think (or if there’s any other content you’d like to see in future forecasts) in the comments below.
Weekly Forecast: September 16-22
What do we really want?
This week is bringing us a wonderful sense of focus and curiosity towards our inner life. Yes, I'm talking about The Hermit, the solitary hero of the tarot. Despite their wizened look and connotations of reclusiveness (and, perhaps, eccentricity), The Hermit is an immensely charismatic character. They embody the type of authenticity that's unafraid to chart new territory or look odd. If it fits and is personally important, it's a part of who you are.
What do we really want?
This week is bringing us a wonderful sense of focus and curiosity towards our inner life. Yes, I'm talking about The Hermit, the solitary hero of the tarot. Despite their wizened look and connotations of reclusiveness (and, perhaps, eccentricity), The Hermit is an immensely charismatic character. They embody the type of authenticity that's unafraid to chart new territory or look odd. If it fits and is personally important, it's a part of who you are.
At least that's what The Hermit teaches us.
Practicing this brave inner-alignment can be a challenge in the wider world. There are so many choices we need to make at any given time, from the relentless minutiae of everyday life to the bigger, crossroads-style choices that mark major life chapters. How can we keep grounded in ourselves amidst all this pressure?
Having The Lovers at our right points us in the direction of the "major life chapter" type of choice this week, which makes it all the more important to keep the small choices from adding up to serious fatigue. We need our energy, so it's essential that we say no to what doesn't matter, paving way for what's essential in the larger scheme of things. For The Hermit, this is not an issue; they're used to turning their back on anything that's a waste of time or energy with impressive ease.
Our reading is encouraging us to give ourselves plenty of time to think and regroup as we deliberate our next steps. Yet this isn't a slinking, cowardly retreat or procrastination. It's a wonderful, energizingly rebellious stand against our busy culture. We can stake out personal territory to think and feel things through, popular opinion be damned.
In the center of our reading we have the Six of Wands, a card that tells us we're doing this all in the service of our success. In other words, we're being smart here! So let's have fun with the time we can give ourselves; let's take our own counsel seriously.
With this in mind, The Hermit seems to be pointing to parts of ourselves that need integrating. Are there needs, preferences, or personality traits that we can celebrate instead of try to cure or fix? Are there some things we can just accept and love about ourselves instead of trying to change? Look to areas where you felt different, shunned, or shamed - how can you stand up for yourself and give yourself the uncompromising acceptance of The Hermit?
In fact, these parts may be the deciding factors in navigating this upcoming choice successfully. And I don't mean in an external, societally-approved way. Rather, embracing our weirdness may be the key to finding the right option that will lift us up in the long run.
Weekly Forecast: June 10-16
What do we really want?
Sometimes this answer to this question can seem mysterious and elusive. Life gets busy and convention and responsibility take over. It's a cycle that repeats itself over and over.
What do we really want?
Sometimes this answer to this question can seem mysterious and elusive. Life gets busy and convention and responsibility take over. It's a cycle that repeats itself over and over. We can't feel secure until we know the contours of our lives, yet we also crave the promise of the unknown and need creative license to reshape our lives when we hear a new future calling.
This week's reading shows us at the beginning of a new cycle of exploration. It's no surprise after weeks of heady and inspiring readings. Something's building to a crescendo and now we're here with The World leading the way.
Already we can see that a central theme of our new desire for change is about expansion and ease. If we're been carrying around baggage about scarcity, stifling duty, or the toxic romance of unnecessary or perpetual struggle, now is the time to shake it free vigorously.
When The World shows up it's a sign that there's big and beautiful work to do. And that it's the kind of work that flows with the ease of authenticity and brave desire. It is, in other words, time to get to doing what we'd really love to be doing. To go after what we truly want.
Sometimes a huge obstacle to this next step is the false idea that we have to choose one or the other: freedom or stability, creativity or safety, passion or tradition, acceptance or individuality.
I could go on and on.
But we don't have to cosmic and personal cards like The World and The Lovers here for no reason. Together, these cards almost slap us in the face with a much-needed wakeup call: Choosing our biggest, most beautiful future opens us up to the world itself.
The only "having it all" is being all of our true selves. Doing that lifts up our relationships, communities, and work. It's not irresponsible to prioritize our spiritual and creative growth and wellbeing. It only amplifies and feeds our energy and reach.
So, if we're feeling a bit shy about what we want, maybe making excuses - not allowing ourselves to even think about it - or have gotten so far that we've rationalized away our internal messaging, now is the time to stop all that.
It can be so simple, which is why the Ace of Wands is our final card. Both the beginning of a new cycle and the spark of limitless potential, the Ace of Wands shows us that the next step forward is doing what feels good. In our case, what feels good in a cosmic, toe-curling, personal level.
It can start small, taking the next steps, starting the new thing, or simply getting back in touch with our sense of what's right for us. Our task right now is to stoke and feed the fire, building small actions on top of each other until we have a raging and impressive bonfire of wands.
This is a time of few wrong choices if we can make them in service of our wild, lush, and unique growth. Don't be surprised if it reflects back on itself, building warmth quicker than we can even imagine.
Weekly Forecast: May 13-19
We have a nice and uplifting forecast for the week ahead. It's not a time for intensity, hand-wringing, or choice fatigue, though if those are present in our lives (as they often are) we have these cards encouraging us to skip in another direction. And what direction might that be? One that points towards a passionate engagement with ourselves.
We have a nice and uplifting forecast for the week ahead. It's not a time for intensity, hand-wringing, or choice fatigue, though if those are present in our lives (as they often are) we have these cards encouraging us to skip in another direction. And what direction might that be? One that points towards a passionate engagement with ourselves.
The Lovers is a card few people would turn down. The name, the imagery - it's all delightful and carries a romantic overtone that's often missing in everyday life. But who says that has to be the case? As a major arcana card, The Lovers also asks us to elevate our understanding our our situation. Is something boring, quotidian, or frustrating really all it seems?
Even more excitingly, this powerhouse card is followed by the Ace of Swords and the Queen of Cups. I've often written how The Lovers, in addition to romance, deals with the theme of choice. Here, we have two cards that often get stuck at opposite ends of a spectrum: The intellectual breakthrough of the Ace of Pentacles and the intuitive expertise of the Queen of Cups. This week, however, our real choice is between engaging in old routines that uphold this false dichotomy and reaching for something wilder, bigger, and yet-unexplored.
In other words, it's time to go for it. Now, whatever that 'it' is will vary for each of us, but common themes will be that it seems somehow too radical, too much, and too romantic. We might find ourselves thinking that the seed of a new idea - The Ace of Pentacles - can't coexist with a peaceful and emotionally integrated self. Or that being practical necessitates sacrificing our more soft, spiritual side.
The Lovers says, with loving candor, that that's all utter ridiculousness. If we don't choose our higher path, one that says all parts of us belong together and that we can fashion something authentic out of our unique selves, how can we say with any certainty what's possible?
This card also tends to appear during pivotal moments of expansion - times when we break from the pack to do our own thing. At first this can seem foolish and risky, but, as major arcana cards emphasize, we only need to answer to ourselves. In other words, when making big moves like this it's key to prioritize our own opinions, desires, and instincts.
In this case, we have both the exhilarating newness of an idea and the mature self-possession of the Queen of Cups. What magic can we create with this combination? Something truly singular and toe-curling, that's to be sure. So take the next step, trust yourself, and dare to move ever so slowly (or quickly) into the wild future you'd like to build.
Weekly Forecast: March 4-10
Build something beautiful, leave what's gone behind.
Sometimes we don't know we're over something until we've moved past it. It's a bit of emotional jet lag. Life can propel us into whole new timezones and catching up requires some gentle acclimation.
Build something beautiful, leave what's gone behind.
Sometimes we don't know we're over something until we've moved past it. It's a bit of emotional jet lag. Life can propel us into whole new timezones and catching up requires some gentle acclimation.
This week's reading gives us both the magic and splendor of building and choosing grander paths along with the bittersweet realization that we can now see some things that don't work. There's a sense of balance here - between the beauty of what's new and the sadness of moving beyond something we wish could've worked out for the better.
What's more, the joy and satisfaction of the week is upping the contrast. Seeing how good we can have it shows us how insufficient some aspects of our past situation really were. Above all, our challenge is to celebrate the new, keep working towards what we want, and give ourselves plenty of time to process and mourn what we're leaving behind.
But let's get back to the magic, shall we, because this is the true heart of the reading. We're dealing with the Three of Pentacles, a card of diligence and creativity, and The Lovers, whose romantic and complex meaning serves as the major focus of this week.
We can really pat ourselves on the back right now, even if it seems premature or foolhardy. Whether we can see it clearly or not, the choices we've been making to shape our lives are bringing us towards a very new and somewhat wild change. The Lovers shows us the boldness and vision that's required to make a choice just for us. Listening to our desires, taking them seriously, and then daring to do something about it? It's not small stuff, that's for sure.
Fortunately, we're taking baby steps towards this goal, hence the grounded Three of Pentacles. This shows us that any work we do in real life is paving the way for future openness and opportunity. Which is a nice way to balance the sometimes-intimidating nature of The Lovers.
So stay your course as you keep at it this week. Trust in the process and know that the grand vision isn't necessarily a specific goal, but a situation where you feel as in love with your life as the passion shown in The Lovers. This can come with a great deal of surprise - we're often shocked by what really gets us going! - and is completely and utterly centered around what we want, societal norms or pre-packaged life trajectories be damned.
Make room for the sadness, too. When we realize life can be bigger than we thought, the smallness we're leaving behind is especially tender and poignant. Feeling it connects us with our past experiences even more so that we can keep expanding and know the pieces of life that are no longer for us.
Weekly Forecast: January 21-27
Can letting go help us move towards what we truly want?
This certainly isn't part of our cultural narrative of success. Normally we're told to make our own way, to be proactive and shape the world so that it meets our expectations.
Can letting go help us move towards what we truly want?
This certainly isn't part of our cultural narrative of success. Normally we're told to make our own way, to be proactive and shape the world so that it meets our expectations.
This involves a lot of action and doing. As we sweat and strive things begin to change. Not doing anything, at least in this line of thought, is lazy and unproductive.
But we all know what life is a lot shiftier than that and, perhaps as a consequence, a lot more magical.
This week we're being asked to step outside the prescribed rat race and do some important and enlightening observation. This means stepping back from our usual patterns, paring down our list of tasks and goals, and seeing things for as they are.
Despite how it may feel, this is a week we begin with a swirling sea of wonderful possibilities at our fingertips. Without reflection and rest we can't take this in for what it is. What's worse, we may explain over it, mistaking it for something boring and mundane. Without the right framework, even the wild and open expanse of The World can seem stifling.
And this is where The Hanged Man comes in - the enigmatic and sometimes-frustrating figure in tarot whose advice is to step back, relinquish power, and see what happens in our absence.
Think of it as taking the passenger seat or becoming the audience to the movie you've been directing. What goes on without you? What forces are really at work? And are you in the right role for the story that's unfolding?
This card also instructs us to open up to the magic of change and chance. Nothing is static and pretending otherwise can leave us feeling frustrated and blocked. We have some control yes, but so much of our experience is in dialog with the unpredictable nature of life. Stepping back with The Hanged Man is giving us an opportunity to see this magic where before we could only see confusion.
Having three Major Arcana cards in the forecast is quite an event, and these cards in particular show us at an important moment of change and growth. How may our narratives about ourselves and our life paths need updating? The Hanged Man loves asking these big questions. Embracing this archetype frees up space for new facets of ourselves to emerge.
Have we been growing into new roles in our personal or professional lives? Exploring new interests and ideas that have surprised us by how deeply resonant they are?
Both The World and The Hanged Man ask us to take these things seriously (especially if they feel wonderful and exciting) and dare us to expand our ideas about ourselves and the lives we can live. It doesn't do anyone justice if we act as if we're relegated to singing pop songs into our hairbrush when in fact we belong on a big stage, performing for an adoring audience.
And that's where The Lovers comes in: We're at an important crossroads and it's one that's requiring us to identify our true desires and interests. If we embrace the wise inquisitiveness of The Hanged Man and give ourselves space to observe our lives with curiosity, we can discover a new through-line that's enticing us forwards. It might be so lovely and resonant that it feels outlandish. Who are we to ask for so much?
Helpfully enough, The World also instructs us that, whether we're aware of it or not, this important piece of our experience is very much active in our lives. It simply deserves more attention and support. What's more, we should be looking for something that makes us feel a bit nervous and exposed - The World is a big card, after all, and stepping into it can make us feel vulnerable, even when it's in the service of our progress. We can and should build upon what lights us up. After all, it radiates outwards and makes a much bigger impact than we can ever know.
Weekly Forecast: March 12-18
This week is bursting with transformative cards. We have a unique opportunity to look at the world with balanced passion. Yes, all the energizing and seductive energy of The Lovers is here in spades, perfectly matched with the flowing contemplation of Temperance.
Starting with two majors shows us that we're entering into the week with a boost of energy. Beneath the surface of our daily lives we've been working through some important personal growth that's now shining through quite brightly. Look for a clarifying feeling that places you and your needs front and center.
There's an important theme here of rediscovering our role as the protagonist of our own life. This can be easy to forget as we rush around doing what needs to be done in our daily lives. All the crossing of t's and dotting of i's can take us outside of ourselves. It's that feeling when the "to do" list becomes too long and action eclipses who we really are. Life boils down to a series of tasks instead of a winding adventure.
Now we're snapping back to a bigger perspective in a way that might initially be jarring. Suddenly we see The Lovers, a striking card. We've been missing a mythical quality in our lives. Now that it's here we might fight against it. Isn't it wishful thinking? Are we being fanciful? Can life really feel this way?
Not all the time, of course. We know this because we're not always traipsing around on quests or bursting with poetry. Yet we need the meaning and excitement of romance to remind ourselves that we're more than our actions and obligations. Fighting this energy in the name of being practical is actually wildly impractical. As we'll see later, the impassioned nature of The Lovers is urging us towards the finish line of an important task.
The Lovers isn't just about love. As a Major Arcana card it speaks to romance on many levels, not just the interpersonal or erotic. If we take this energy as overarching and essential, we can find love and passion in so many things. It's the spice that makes every dish sing, the feeling that elevates the mundane to the cosmic, and the creativity that finds poetry everywhere it looks.
This is a time to embrace the transformative magic of love, whether it's in an actual relationship or through a more universal life outlook. In fact, I'd urge you to expand the reach of your love towards all parts of your life, even if you are in a magnificently satisfying union. The Lovers asks us to see the importance of our life through the lens of love. With the balancing nature of Temperance front and center here, we don't run the risk of over-sentimentality or distraction. In fact, feeling our infatuations is showing us how important things are and how essential it is to follow our pleasures.
The Lovers also deals with choice and I see this card as encouraging us to use our romantic imaginations to engage with a decision we're facing. This card asks us to think big and to take our paths seriously. Shrinking from the visionary nature of our dreams won't do us any favors. If you were to write this choice in the style of an impassioned fairytale or dramatic young adult novel how would each option sound to you? Using these types of exercises - embracing our imagination and desire - is helping us to create clarity and re-frame our lives as truly and deeply important.
Temperance is showing up next to The Lovers as a friendly reminder that we can navigate this burst of energy with equanimity and wisdom. We won't get swept away with this creative thinking because we're balanced astutely between feeling and doing, imagining and living. We have experience. And we might even need the heightened expression and emotion of The Lovers to tip us back into equilibrium. We might be being too practical for our own goods here.
The Six of Wands tops off this reading as a very pointed and affirming answer to our experience of The Lovers and Temperance. The experience of infusing the everyday with the passionate is paying off, practically speaking. We're poised to find an important sense of direction by opening up to The Lover's energy and it's directing us towards a major creative breakthrough. Choosing between our options with the guidance of The Lovers in mind is directing us towards accomplishment and acknowledgment. Living passionately is fueling our growth, pushing us towards the spotlight and a deeper sense of our path.