Weekly Forecast: May 20-26
Can ambition and peace coexist? We certainly don't get many stories that reflect this situation. Usually, ambition appears as a single-minded crusade of sorts, a headlong and determined walk towards greatness. Sure, there may be some pitfalls along the way, but only ones that bolster the larger arc of growth. No matter how much slogging the hero endures, they end up on top, all the richer.
Can ambition and peace coexist? We certainly don't get many stories that reflect this situation. Usually, ambition appears as a single-minded crusade of sorts, a headlong and determined walk towards greatness. Sure, there may be some pitfalls along the way, but only ones that bolster the larger arc of growth. No matter how much slogging the hero endures, they end up on top, all the richer.
It's also a pretty exhausting narrative. Struggle equals success. We'll sleep when we're dead. Sure sounds healthy, doesn't it?
This week's reading might, at first glance, seem like the same old story. The peace of The Star is giving away to the ambition of The Chariot. In other words, the time for rest is over, and no we have to grab the reins and get going.
But who's this in the center? A minor arcana card, and a mysterious one at that: The Seven of Pentacles.
This is where the plot thickens. This card can often represent re-evaluation and dissatisfaction; that phase in a journey when we're not sure what we've done or if anything is working or worth it. A classic mini crisis of faith.
I see this card as an endearing human interjection. This week we'll be wrestling with our old stories of success. What can we have? How can it look?
In this card, we see ourselves hemming and hawing after making quite a bit of headway. Suddenly, the old ideas come back: we can't enjoy rest and success at the same time, right? It can't feel good and be good, that would just be too easy or, worse yet, a sign we're not working hard enough.
I love how the doubt and stalling of the Seven of Pentacles is sandwiched by two magnetic Major Arcana cards, as if these concerns are happening on a much less important plane. If we're to rise to their level, we have to accept that we can write our own stories and decide what our own definition of success looks like.
This is where The Chariot has more to say. After all, what card combines opposites in a more powerful way? You'll notice the two sphinxes in the foreground, illustrated in alternating patterns of black and white. Bringing seeming opposites together is what drives the chariot itself forward. In this way, we're being presented an opportunity to mesh together the care and consideration of The Star with the vision and adventure of The Chariot.
To bring this all back down to earth, these cards are encouraging us to remain dedicated to all the practices, big and small, that give us a sense of peace, healing, and greater meaning. The Star's approach is not one for us to abandon right now, rather it's something to bring with us on whatever journey towards success we're embarking on. It's just up to us to remember how much we can shape and choose its path.
Weekly Forecast: May 6-12
Well, my friends, it looks like this reading is quite gory, visually speaking!
Artist Ricardo Cavolo's illustration of the Nine of Pentacles is, to be frank, pretty gross. Why choose an open wound to illustrate a card traditionally associated with abundance and plenty?
Well, my friends, it looks like this reading is quite gory, visually speaking!
Artist Ricardo Cavolo's illustration of the Nine of Pentacles is, to be frank, pretty gross. Why choose an open wound to illustrate a card traditionally associated with abundance and plenty?
It's a lot to meditate on, particularly when the grisly theme continues with a blindfolded King of Swords committing seppuku. You know, just some light Monday messages to contemplate...
Yet this reading, despite its visceral nature, came across loud and clear: While oftentimes our old wounds are the wellspring of our unique gifts, there's a huge difference between honoring this connection and obsessing over it to the point of self-limitation and injury.
This is a time to let the reality of our lives ground us and lead us forward and to put aside the destructive urges of our minds. We've been hurt in the past, yes, but our future is unfolding now and not all of our actions spring from the hardship we've endured.
The King of Swords, the utmost monarch of the suit, is adept at using thought to create clarity. But sometimes we can only get so much clarity out of life. If we stay in the realm of the swords too long, we prioritize analytic remove over actual day-to-day involvement. What comes of this? Isolation, stagnation, and self-doubt.
Over thinking distances us from the movement and rhythm of life, a dance that leads us towards the answers we're seeking. It's not a view we can achieve from the top-down, safe in the hypothetical or the tempting certainty of the past. We have to get our hands dirty and accept that seeking fulfillment leaves no room for invulnerability. We're all living and breathing creatures and we can't go through life completely unscathed.
In this sense, this nasty Nine of Pentacles in reassuring. If we're feeling tender and bruised, it's not because we're failing. Rather, we're showing up and seeing ourselves - all the contours of our experience, even the painful ones. And that is a high achievement, indeed.
What to do from here? The Star tells us we have to love ourselves even more, and make room for a life of plenty that also feels exposed, tenuous, or too much at times. Nothing needs to change for us to be here with ourselves.
The King of Swords represents our urge to over-analyze ourselves at any moment of conflict, struggle, or indecision. Instead of seeing these times as a natural facet of life, the King reacts to them as threats to stability. Thus, the wide-open plenty of the Nine of Pentacles becomes an invitation to turn our swords on ourselves.
Are we feeling raw, excited, eager, a bit nervous about what we're moving towards? The King of Swords wants the answers now, and to him this is a scary threat to stability. Cue the self-doubt and criticism. Instead of accepting tenderness, this King is using it as an opening to harm the self: If we can't do it perfectly and with perfect knowledge, we shouldn't even try at all.
The Star is here to tell us that this is completely unnecessary and over the top and this reading gives us a wonderful alternate course. It's not a time to take our thoughts of worry and doubt with absolute seriousness. What if we could tell ourselves that we're doing our best and it's working out well?
Having a lot of feelings means that we're opening up to feeling life itself. We're already doing a wonderful job and now is a time to stay grounded in the beauty of our everyday lives, letting its rhythms and routines move us forward, instead of abandoning our path because it's not what we envisioned.
Weekly Forecast: April 8-14
Gentleness leading to inspiration.
What a treat to have a slow and healing tarot spread for the week. It seems as if we've been grappling with some especially big issues as of late and The Star is always a welcome figure in times of overwhelm and stress.
Gentleness leading to inspiration.
What a treat to have a slow and healing tarot spread for the week. It seems as if we've been grappling with some especially big issues as of late and The Star is always a welcome figure in times of overwhelm and stress.
That's not to say that this reading is 100% calm and inner-peace. It builds to an energizing crescendo with the Knight of Wands, a card that inspires us to charge into our future with creative zest. A nice mix if there ever was one.
So what do these cards have to tell us? Rest, re-calibration, and re-connecting to the source are of the utmost importance for us in the coming days. The Star is one of those cards that invites us to refocus on ourselves.
We may have some baggage around the idea. How often are we told that putting ourselves first is selfish? This accusation gets thrown about so frequently that it actually points towards the radical nature of valuing and centering around our own experiences.
What happens when we choose to pursue a balanced life? When our inner experience dictates our outwards actions? When we value our own rhythms, desires, and needs?
Doing these things, it turns out, allows us to know ourselves better. And when we know ourselves better, we come face to face with our own power, desires, and motivation. It makes us powerful, and that can threaten the status quo.
If we've been feeling creatively stymied lately and stretched too thin, The Star is pointing us inwards to regain our strength and re-orient ourselves to our inner compass. Don't worry if this isn't resoundingly clear. What if we don't know what our inner compass looks like, let alone where it points?
It turns out that none of us do 100% of the time. Never mind the wildness of modern life and other people, our own inner landscape is constantly shifting and changing. The good news? It's ours to explore and value.
This week we're being encouraged to take space for ourselves, lavish our own feelings, thoughts, and desires with attention, curiosity, and care. A key component of this card is detaching from outcome: plans, productivity, goals, ideas of what is and what isn't. Immersing ourselves in self-care in however that manifests for each of us is inviting in a special kind of knowledge.
See that cute, odd bird perched on the tree behind the central figure in The Star? This delightful creature represents knowledge. While we're focused on connecting to our source, dipping our toes into the healing pool of our intuition while being sure to feed back into it, the breakthrough and information we've been seeking with so much effort is naturally fluttering into focus.
Let yourself step back from the pressure of seeking and create space in your life. You can give yourself the gift of time and attention, even if it's in small bites, and doing so is actually far more effective in gaining clarity than muscling your way though it all with forceful diligence.
Paying attention to the little things is reigniting our creative sparks. It starts out as a slow burn with the Two of Wands as we begin to dream about changes, adventures, and new possibilities. Doing our Star work, however, is allowing us to rejuvenate and feel empowered, zesty, and capable.
Soon enough, what seemed impossible, out of reach, or ill-defined, comes into blaring focus. It's the swashbuckling Knight of Wands entering into the picture! With him comes ambition, energy, and focus, though we'd be wise to make sure that it's all in service of The Star. Otherwise we'll burn out and run straight into the same patterns we were experiencing before.
This week is a time to take a deep breath, center around yourself, and feel encouraged to block out all the rest. Know that doing so is valuing your energy and experience, not being selfish or cruel. When we act from our true sense of self we're able to bring our best into every situation, relationship, and venture. Now that's truly and genuinely inspiring.
Weekly Forecast: September 10-16
What does it look like when we take care of ourselves? Lately, it seems like elaborate baths filled with fancy oils and crystals are all the rage. Or maybe a profound meditation practice? A walk outside? Yet sometimes caring for ourselves diverges from the popular and palatable (and photographable) practices du jour. The Star shows us mulling all this over at the beginning of the week, seeking ways to connect to our source that are deeply personal and, relievingly, private.
What does it look like when we take care of ourselves? Lately, it seems like elaborate baths filled with fancy oils and crystals are all the rage. Or maybe a profound meditation practice? A walk outside? Yet sometimes caring for ourselves diverges from the popular and palatable (and photographable) practices du jour. The Star shows us mulling all this over at the beginning of the week, seeking ways to connect to our source that are deeply personal and, relievingly, private.
An introspective and rejuvenating card, The Star is inviting us to fall gently into the core of ourselves. Only when we're there can we ask, "What do I truly need right now?" If that's mindfully bathing with your quartz crystals, go for it! If it's more like reading Science-Fiction novels and eating beef jerky or listening to music while staring at the ceiling or drawing autobiographical comics, that's exactly what you should do.The Star invites us to lean into our unique desires and celebrate them, to follow our feelings with the goal of offering ourselves the care and kindness we often reserve for others.
So what happens when we dive into our inner sanctum and give ourselves space to nurture ourselves? We just feel amazing, right?? The remaining cards for this week tune us into a different, more complex reality.
Sometimes when we give ourselves space to relax it also makes room for more difficult emotions to emerge. Caring for ourselves means honoring the entirety of our emotional experiences, even those that are difficult and distressing. In our case, this week is all about the Ten of Swords, a spiky, bittersweet, and challenging card, to say the least. It looks like we're settling into an important truth about ourselves that, although beautiful and necessary for our growth, also requires us to shut a door on something in our lives.
The Ten of Swords represents the end of a cycle, the final chapter of the "story of Swords." With this suit we're dealing with the many ins-and-outs of our thoughts: their power to shape the world around us and their ability to reverberate outwards through the ways we communicate them. In the ten, we've reached the end of a difficult journey. It's time to shed some old ideas about ourselves, particularly the one's that have held us back or wounded us. If there's anything helpful about the the Ten of Swords, it's that these issues are obvious and unavoidable. In other words, we know exactly what is causing us pain and exhaustion.
Why might this be bittersweet? Whether we've inherited these ideas, picked them up from relationships, or absorbed them from the culture around us, we're familiar and attached to them. Maybe we feel like we're abandoning part of our upbringing by saying no to these patterns, betraying an idea that's been so important to us, or walking away from a relationship that has seen us through so much. The Star reminds us to tend to ourselves - to feel our feelings and let them flow through us - while prioritizing what rejuvenates us over what weighs us down.
Our final card, the Four of Cups, offers an important clue. In addition to feeling attached to these cutting sword thoughts and experiences, we may also be using them as a distraction from our calling. A classic card of ennui and dissatisfaction, the Four of Cups appears in an almost comic position after the Ten of Swords. After all the processing and suffering and over thinking there's... boredom? We may be making things too complicated for ourselves in an effort to avoid getting down to the exciting and vulnerable business of being ourselves.
This is an affirming card because it shows us that we've already grown beyond the Ten of Swords. Once we say our final goodbye we might be surprised to vault into a different state of being. It may be so uncharacteristically pleasant and calm that we feel wary. Hence the Four of Cups. Where we're expecting drama and deep, slogging emotional work we're instead finding peace. And for a second, it feels empty and strange.
The Four of Cups is an important reminder that embodying The Star - filling our cups with what regenerates and sustains us - feels good. And when we're used to feeling "bad," struggling through choices and decisions, we get suspicious when things are easy. This week is a time to replace that thinking, equating deep satisfaction and the magic of natural focus with progress, instead of immense effort and tough going.
Weekly Forecast: May 8-14
We’re caught in a transitional period this week, digesting deeper truths about ourselves while trying our best to make sense of our daily lives. On their own, one of these would be more than enough to keep us busy. Together they’re pushing us towards a seemingly inescapable sense of overwhelm.
It’s natural to throw up a flurry of activity to distract ourselves from personal concerns. Like the Seven of Wands, the underling turmoil gives us energy. Rather than looking inward to meet it where it lives, we prefer to fling it outwards instead.
It’s bustling, dramatic, and easy to hide behind. Who can get upset when you’re just working hard and getting things done?
As much as we’d like to insist that we’re being pragmatic and hard-working, the dust we’re kicking up serves a purpose.
Why is the strong character in the Seven leaping down the stairs to defend himself? Why not use his energy to leap upwards, towards something new?
Sometimes we’re more comfortable confronting old demons than blazing new and unknown paths. The man in the Seven of Wands didn’t grow strong completely on his own. Maybe he feels he needs to be fighting off enemies to stay that way. Maybe simply walking up those stairs makes him feel weak.
Well, that sounds exhausting. And it doesn’t leave much room for ease and exploration. What do we do then?
We have to create meaning that comes straight from ourselves and not struggle or distraction.
This might be scary, since it involves truly standing behind who we are and what we want. There’s nothing to hide behind, no excuses to offer. It’s just us and our own values and desires.
Judgement shows us that we’re reacting with understandable fear and insecurity to something that’s actually quite beautiful. We’ve been getting some clear messages about what’s important to us and who we really are.
Rather than leap towards the light we question it. Before we know it we’re tossing around sticks and feeling lost in the fray like the Seven of Wands. Our backs are turned away from the next steps forward.
Luckily things can’t stay this way for long. Judgement is a powerful card and as much as we try to ignore it, there’s no going back when we find something pivotal out about ourselves. Maybe it’s a dream that’s laid dormant for a while, something secret you wouldn’t even admit to wanting. Or maybe it’s a desire, something you want in your heart of hearts and don’t want to accept.
Well, here it is. You’ve gotten a glimpse at it and try as you might you can’t forget it. It’s natural to leap out of this awareness and into the confusion of the Seven of Wands. And this is not altogether negative. Sure, a dream or desire or truth about yourself is purely what it is. It’s an idea, after all. Making it come true, however, is not so simple.
The moment of Judgement – seeing something for what it is – is just a moment. When we try to make something out of it, well, it gets messy because we’re bringing an idea into the complexities of everyday life.
We end with The Star to remind us to be gentle with ourselves as we start grappling with making a dream into a reality. Yes, we’ll be tempted to run back down the stairs and grapple with old fears, but we can’t remain stuck down there and we won’t.
Why? Because when you see a dream for what it is for the first time you also see the power of your own guiding light that illuminates the way. And that’s utterly, and completely yours.
Weekly Forecast: February 19-25
Cards from the Tarot del Fuego
This week is packed with events and energy. There’s going to be an upheaval, the kind that we can’t avoid. Thankfully we’ve been channeling some grade-A serenity that will come in handy as we navigate the shakeup. There’ll be a mixture of peaceful little moments, satisfaction, and drama.
What can we do with this grab bag? Do we have to get swept up in the chaos or is there another way out?
The answer is yes, but before we get into all that, let’s take a look at one of my favorite tarot cards, The Tower.
This card commands attention in any reading. It’s impossible to ignore a tower crumbling in flames. The image is one of the most arresting in the deck, along with old favorites The Devil and Death. Though not warm and fuzzy like the Six of Wands or The Lovers, these cards are what make tarot such a powerful system. They account for the struggles and bumps in life. Without them we’d have lukewarm readings with no depth at all. And we wouldn’t be able to plan for the less than perfect moments in life.
So what do we do when the tower crumbles? Or, as in this epic illustration by Ricardo Cavolo, giant tiger paws destroy it?
The answer is, while it’s happening, nothing.
There’s absolutely nothing we can do against giant tiger paws as tiny humans. We just get out of the way and watch our tower get torn down from a safe distance. We don’t even need to run around screaming and waving our hands. It’s best to conserve our energy and remain calm.
The Tower shows us instances where forces outside our control swoop in and shake things up. It doesn’t have to be wholly traumatic, but it will definitely be noticeable. The landscape is going to change drastically and we’ll need to do some rebuilding when the dust settles.
This card indicates that some structure in our life is about to be dismantled. The change will leave us reeling, but in most cases, it’ll be necessary and pave the way for more growth. Though we may not have made the decision to initiate the change, chances are a part of us was ready for it.
Consider the tower itself. The walls are thick and clunky – built more for keeping people out than inviting them in. We probably didn’t build it in the first place. Taking it down brick by brick would be time consuming and intimidating. Luckily, or not, the universe has swooped in to make a change for us. The only question left is how we’ll rebuild.
Interestingly, underneath the drama, we’re in quite the pretty place this week when it comes to our personal and emotional lives. The Star is a bright-eyed card that shows the peace and beauty that can emerge when we’re solid in our identity and engaged with the world. Our self-esteem is just peachy and we’re doing a good job of feeling our feelings.
In other words, we’re more than prepared to hold our own during a little chaos.
There’s a quality of playfulness and ease to this card – the feeling you get when things are flowing naturally. We feel good, we notice the world around us, and we’re able to nurture ourselves in the best ways possible. In this mindset, when something makes a tower crumble we can see it as outside our control. Most importantly, we know that it’s not the way the world always is. We can see the sun shining through the dust and trust that we’ll be back on track soon.
If we pay attention to this powerful undercurrent, we can coast through the upheaval of The Tower with minimal hairpulling. Water puts out fire after all. Perhaps the watery fish arms seen in The Star are just what we need to deal with those marauding tiger paws. This week our attitude counts the most. Sure, the burning tower may command our attention, but it seems that we have bigger goals that will whisk us past this dramatic tableau towards something even better.
The aftermath of The Tower comes in the form of an ace, truly the most overt card we could pull to tell us that the mayhem and change is worth it. Aces symbolize new beginnings and energies arriving in our lives. It’s the breath of fresh air that clears the dust away.
In this case, something from this week’s shakeup will cut away a lot of our mental fog around an issue we’ve been considering for a long time. Tied with The Star, this ace suggests that a truth we’ve held close to ourselves is bursting forth into a clear thought and mission.
This is A LOT of energy swirling around and our dear ace tells us it’s just the beginning of a new ride. We must stay grounded with the energy of The Star if we want to avoid getting burnt out by all this fiery passion and change.
Take time to survey the scene, take it all in, and take care of yourself. Embrace all that’s watery because the world is heating up. That means paying special attention to your feelings, finding joy in the world around you, and making space for your own creative expression.
With that in mind, buckle up, because it’s going to be a wild and exciting ride.
Looking for a personalized tarot reading?
Weekly Forecast: Oct 24-30
There’s some sneaky and shifty energy afoot this week that seems fitting since Halloween is nearly upon us. You may find yourself lingering around the edges of an issue, being overly evasive, or feeling defensive. You might not even know why. We’re often the best at hiding from ourselves.
To be wild is to be wily. Surviving means living in the moment with just the goal of getting by. But we can’t live in this state forever. We need to thrive. Eventually we must let our guard down and roll over to reveal our soft underbelly. Life is stagnant without tenderness and vulnerability.
Say you get close to one of these opportunities to open up and grow. It feels alarming to let go and show your soft side. You’ve been told all your life to be alert and watchful. You could get hurt, you could get rejected. These are not neutral associations! Your alarm bells go off. This is the deep-seated creature part of us. It does not speak in nuanced tones. Run! Get out! Fight back!
Some of us hear these alarm bells before the moment is directly in front of us. We can smell the danger far off. Someone is going to ask me to show up. I’m going to have to take a risk. I might need to ask for help. We learn to head off these situations by keeping our spines pointed outwards in all directions.
And let’s be real. Spines look cool. You might see someone particularly spiky and think, “Man, they really have it together. I mean, look at those solid boundaries!” They appear calm, cool, and collected, but that’s because they keep the world at spine’s length.
This is what I mean when I say that there’s a shifty, wily, maybe even naughty tendency highlighted for this week. Your spines are up. And I mean this with a lot of tenderness and affection.
I have a huge soft spot for the seven of swords. It depicts the self-satisfaction that comes with getting away with something. The thrill of escaping an unpleasant situation. The glee of knowing something that others don’t.
"No one can even get close to hurting me!" we boast. I can’t help but love the trickiness inherent in all of us.
The Wild Unknown’s version of this card also highlights the restlessness that comes with constantly having to guard what you have. In this case, a trove of swords that suggest you’re holding back what you really think in order to protect yourself.
The fox, a symbol of cunning, peeks out from behind its bushy tail with one eye open. You must be eternally vigilant to keep your true self hidden. You feel you must carry your anxiety with you like a talisman: "I must constantly worry about slipping up otherwise I won’t be protecting myself," you say. This is exhausting.
And what are we hiding behind these bushy tails? Our spines? This week’s reading gives us a beautiful answer: The Star.
The Star is as luminous, inspiring, and comforting as it seems. We look to the stars for inspiration and to sense our smallness. We are also reminded of our place in the universe. Though a black expanse of space separates us over an unfathomable distance, we are made of the same matter.
The ten of wands shows us that if we continue as is, ignoring our need to grow in vulnerability and express our true thoughts, we’ll get lost in the woods. We see the brambles and branches of the ten of wands looming ahead. They tangle over each other and the light behind them is dim. This is a card of losing sight of goals, of being lost in tasks and in details.
As a symbol of our own divinity, The Star points us back to our inherent magic and the gift that we have to give to the world. If the stars can shine across the darkness for millennia undaunted, we can muster the courage to let down our spines, peek out from behind our tails and let our true selves shine through.
Weekly Forecast: Sept 26-October 2
Fall is here. The signs? Leaves starting to turn, shorter days, and pumpkins and gourds piled high outside of grocery stores. It’s a glorious time of the year. Last week we celebrated the fall equinox, officially marking the start of the season. And it looks like the season has ushered in a new change.
The cards for this week show the arrival of calm. Not just on a surface level, either. The Star, in all its major arcana glory, signifies a deeper sense of connection to ourselves and our values. The sort of peaceful certainty that makes decisions easy. You just know what to do because it feels right. Your intuition is lining up with your actions, a truly beautiful place to make decisions from.
So picture the crispness of a fall day. Maybe you’re going to pick apples. It’s just cold enough to wear your favorite sweater and feel your cheeks getting rosy from the breeze. The sun is shining and everything feels bright and full of possibility. This is the energy coming into focus this week.
Transitions come with a lot of activity and in the previous week you may have found yourself a bit exhausted. The seven of wands shows a young man fending off an army of sticks, defending his high ground. Similarly, you may have felt a bit besieged by work, obligations, and setting boundaries. All good things to accomplish, and yet once you realize what your time is worth, the unending exertion can get tedious.
This is a good sign, however, because who wants to be constantly grappling with life? There has to be some balance, right?
The Star gives us the answer and it is a clear, undeniable yes. You have integrated the lessons from the seven of wands. You know what you stand for, what is worth your time, and what you want. To stay in a defensive place past this point is a poor use of your energy. The Star tells us that you have made this move and are about to enjoy the peace and solidity of really knowing yourself.
Stars illuminate the night sky and when we look up at them we are simultaneously humbled and inspired. There is a playfulness and wonder to stars that will be helpful to keep in mind moving forward. Progress does not have to be a weighty thing.
When you’re following your inspiration and true self life is full of magic and excitement. This does not make it any less important than busyness and stress. In fact, it is the sign that we are headed in the right direction, under the guidance of our north star, so to speak.
Which brings us to the three of wands. In connecting with your true motivations and beliefs you are much better prepared to move forward. In this card a man stands on the shore of a body of water holding three wands. He has learned many things and knows what he needs to bring with him. Now he considers his next move, secure in his abilities and full of optimism.
You are arriving at a time where we have learned and integrated deep lessons. The next question is: where will you go next?