Weekly Forecast: April 24-May 1
I don’t know about you, but I’m especially curious about what the cards have in store for us. Maybe it’s because we’re in the last week of Mercury retrograde; things have been feeling extra mystical, mysterious, and even a bit topsy-turvy.
Interestingly enough, we have a visit from The Hanged Man as our central card this week. It doesn’t get more topsy-turvy than this. It looks like we’ve experienced a major change in perception from last week.
What in our life has been flipped on its head recently? Are we contending with a big change, something we didn’t see coming? The only thing that’s certain is that things don’t look the same and we have little control over the forces behind it.
This doesn’t jive well with the card in the past position, The Chariot. In The Chariot’s world it’s best to know all the aspects of a situation. In harnessing both positive and negative aspects with mastery and control, The Chariot can navigate the tricky seas of life towards victory.
This requires a great deal of energy, focus, and determination. The Chariot is not messing around here. In the realm of business you know there’s going to be reams of spreadsheets and research. In relationships, intense self-awareness and self-work. The Chariot does not half-ass anything and because of this it’s a card that’s used to getting results.
Contrast this with the perplexingly chill Hanged Man and we have a very interesting situation. The Hanged Man is a card that speaks to moments when the world changes us and we change with the world.
So what happens when The Chariot’s self-made world crashes into the unpredictable nature of the universe? In these moments what appeared one way right side up is radically different upside down. Are we able to receive the wisdom from this change in perspectives? Are we able to lean into it instead of fighting a force beyond our control?
The Chariot shows us that we may be carrying in an entirely different set of expectations. We’ve been holding our lives by the reigns, feeling masterful and accomplished. Peachy stuff, that’s for sure, but it’s hardly guaranteed. We don’t always get to feel in control, and when we’re used to this feeling a change can bring quite the blow to our egos.
So moving from the self-assuredness of The Chariot to the beatific surrender of The Hanged Man is no easy transition. This is a case when what’s between the cards is just as important as the cards themselves.
This is a week to see our change in perspectives as a gift. Carrying the reigns of The Chariot can be exhausting. We might even trick ourselves into thinking the whole world in our chariot. We can direct our future, make things happen, it’s all… up to us. Well, push pause on that thought and we can see how much pressure operating under a Chariot mindset can bring.
The Hanged Man has a distinctly spiritual ring to him this week. What we might initially think of as a setback has the unique potential to blossom into a life-altering moment. This is a week for unexpected and beautiful realizations. Maybe a big change will send us spinning off into a better place, a delayed plan will give us time for an unforeseen opportunity, or a humbling moment will allow for those close to us to reach out a helping hand.
This is a time to practice letting go and remaining open to the gifts the universe can give us. If you’re struggling with the woo (or picking at the word “spirituality”) don’t despair. The Chariot has a hard time letting go, and that’s just what The Hanged Man is asking of us right now. There’s room for struggle and feistiness, so long as we’re not so wrapped up in it that we ignore the special moments unfolding around us.
We end with The Page of Cups, a beautiful card that shows us letting go will bring us to a fresh place of exploration. We’re opening up to our feelings, to our relationships, and to the mysterious wonders of the world. A little youthful lightheartedness will temper the heaviness of the two Major Arcana cards at work here. And what’s more, this Page could also be pointing us towards some exciting news, a new epiphany, or even a magical sign pointing us in a new direction.
Weekly Forecast: April 17-23
This week sees us struggling with unearthing our intentions and expectations. There’s a tendency to bury ourselves in work – the kind that seems legitimate and even pressing. Underneath all the hubbub, however, there's something much more fun going on.
We’ve had a lot of this moth-about-to-burst-from-a-coccoon energy lately. It’s very of the moment, very Spring!
The two court cards – the Page of Swords and the Knight of Cups – show us that we’re doing a lot of growing right now, teasing out the meaning behind various impulses. The two most important for this week are our desire to communicate and our desire to seek out feelings. Both the Page and the Knight are young cards, meaning that these sides of ourselves are in the process of developing but haven’t integrated themselves into our identities. That is, we’re not so confident when it comes to expressing ourselves and going after what feels right in some arena in our lives right now.
So what is this? Perhaps it’s in our work. Are we feeling stretched thin yet unfulfilled? Maybe it’s showing up in a relationship. We’re feeling unheard, not able to truly be ourselves.
These feelings don’t have to mean anything conclusive, though being frazzled definitely adds some spice to life. But is it the spice that we want? Will it really make this dish taste any better?
We’re a little wiggly and awkward this week, but the intentions are good. The Page of Swords gives us a big advantage. We want to speak our truth and have the option to do some good inner work. If we take the time.
In this way, our reading gives us some options (though that’s always the case.) Rush ahead and barrel through these feelings and they should subside – the cards for this week don’t show anything too major and far-reaching. As we know well, however, the same things will pop up at some point down the road.
Why not use our boundless energy to play around with these feelings now?
How do we learn to talk, interact, and be in the world? Through play. Watch puppies cavorting with each other a) because it’s adorable and b) because it’s important. Though they do look cute, they’re also doing some real, serious work. And having a ball. We too can have these experiences as we grow this week.
If we choose to do so, the key will be accepting the gawky sides of our personalities with open arms and a sense of curiosity. We may stumble over our words as we try to communicate or rush headlong into a project without fully thinking things over. The lesson for this week is to embrace imperfection as part of the joy of leaning and becoming. It’s okay if we stumble or make a mistake! In fact, we might look just as endearing as those puppies.
So be kind and brave this week, especially to yourself. The stakes aren’t too high aside from the potential for very temporary embarrassment. Both the Page of Swords and the Knight of Cups show us yearning to get out and experiment. Our energy is plentiful and we’re not set in our ways. These are the perfect conditions for truly creative work and heart-warmingly vulnerable connections with others. Be eager, enaged, and excited.
Weekly Forecast: April 10-16
We enter this week full of practical ideas. It’s the very beginning of something new. An idea is hatching and we haven’t hammered out the details or narrowed down the scope. Far from it, in fact. The coming days are all about exploring potential before committing to action.
Our plans right now are new, flexible, and exciting. Maybe they seem more like a feeling than something concrete. This is a good thing! We want to harness the budding tenderness of our ideas right now and see where they can take us. It’s not a time to limit ourselves with practicalities and doubts. What’s the risk when it’s still all dreams and plans?
The Two of Wands shows us perking up and feeling motivated. Maybe we’re even feeling the itch of wanting to make things happen now. Pair this feeling with an unformed idea and you get some tension. We want to get started but we’re not quite sure what we want to do or how to do it. We think we need action, but we really need rest, time, and some creative introspection.
Again, the cards tell us this is natural. Instead of running away from our indecisiveness and uncertainty we should embrace it.
Well, where to then? The Seven of Cups points us squarely towards our imaginations. Beyond practical brainstorming, now is the prime time to get visionary about the future. In terms of thinking, we can go wild. Dream away, go to outlandish places. What’s the wildest, most extravagant outcome that our plan could result in. What do we want so much that we feel nervous even naming it?
This card instructs us to tap into our freewheeling, creative sides. If it’s natural to be indecisive now, we can truly explore all our options. We can do this visually, too. Art, self-expression, and playfulness will do wonders in giving us clarity as we solidify our plans. This can seem counterintuitive, especially given the logic-centric culture we live in. You mean we can abandon logistics and potential hazards, going straight to dreams, adventures, and fun?
In this case, yes. We don’t want to strangle the tender budding ideas just poking their heads above the ground right now. We’ll have plenty of time to think it all through later. In fact, the Four of Swords tells us that we’ll be entering a more logically introspective time after we let ourselves play in a realm of potential. We can trust ourselves here. Giving ourselves time to brainstorm, get creative, and then deal with practicalities will lead to something both doable and exciting.
This is our exercise for the week:
What are your wildest dreams? Put aside all your doubts, judgement, and fears. (Do this lovingly. They have things to tell you, too, though they can definitely be pesky. You’ll address them later.) Explore all sorts of options and then see what links back to the little idea you’re growing. How can they work with each other? Pay the attention to the way you feel when you don’t give yourself any limitations. Remember this feeling and do all you can to protect it when you decide to put your plans into action.
And once you’ve done all that?
Rest. Let all your ideas percolate, giving them plenty of time and space to settle. There’s a lot going on under the surface, and given a nice spell of nurturing and exploration it will soon be ready to burst out into action.
Weekly Forecast: April 3-9
Oh my, this week has a distinctly meandering and mystical quality to it. I’m imagining the feeling of walking up to an exhilarating ride at the fair – one of those bright and jazzy ones that whips you around while spinning upside down. After striding up confidently and exchanging our money we step aboard and secure ourselves with the not-so-comforting rickety seatbelts. Our bravura fades as we realize there’s no going back. We’ve never ridden this particular ride before. What will it feel like? Why are we doing this again?
I love rides at the fair for this reason. It’s a leap of faith. I certainly don’t’ need to be running up to the Cyclone, feeling brave and excited. I’m doing it for the rush. To take myself out of the mundane and feel new – first feeling scared, then shiny and triumphant when my feet touch the ground again.
The cards for this week show us taking a similar leap of faith, one that’s motivated by our feeling of plenty, not neediness. We start out embodying the assertive and adventurous Queen of Wands. This is a card that uses confidence and solidity to catapult to the next level. Fiery, brave, and passionate, she seeks out challenges with the knowledge that they will only sharpen her skills. This week we want to be sharp, to be on the cutting edge, and we’re seeking ways to push up against our limits and boundaries. We know it will take us somewhere new.
This is both the fuel and pluck that brings us to the carnival ride in the first place. Once we get there, however, the mood shifts.
There’s nothing like the feeling before the ride starts. I usually close my eyes, feel the breeze on my face, and take a deep breath before it all begins. It’s all nerves, anticipation, and a bit of self-doubt thrown in the mix. We see a similar effect with the Eight of Cups, our central card. All the chutzpah that brought us to this new place is fading. We feel vulnerable and nervous, full of anticipation before the gears start moving and taking us forward.
When we harness our pluck and strength to start something new we set things in motion that are out of our control. This week we’re being invited to lean into the feeling of vulnerability that comes after decisions. Once we put something out into the world, the world then responds. We can’t say what will come next. We must trust that the bravery that brought us this far is sending us in the right direction.
The Eight of Cups is an encouraging card here. Like the figure in the picture we’re climbing up the stairs with our eyes closed. It’s a beautiful depiction of calm faith and awareness. With closed eyes we can contemplate our inner workings. How are we feeling? What are we noticing arise in this tender time? How do we feel just before the ride begins?
This card also shows us that we’re ready for new things. Ready to add more excitement, bounty, and fulfillment to our lives. We have eight full cups, why not set out in search of more?
If at any time we doubt this search during the week, we should look back to the Queen of Wands for motivation. We are powerful, determined, and creative, just like her, and ready to actively create as rich and magical a life as we can imagine for ourselves. There’s nothing wrong with plenty and vibrance. The Queen of Wands doesn’t stand for self-limitation and neither should we.
So after we’re buckled in, thinking about life, and relinquishing some control to the universe, where do we go next? This cycle isn’t quite ready to wrap up this week and we don’t be doing any of the dramatic spinning of the ride itself. Instead, The Hierophant shows us that we have some mystical surprises in store for us as we wait for the action to start.
What insights and beauty will we find when we take our own special risks this week? Pay attention the little moments of encouragement, insights, and signs that pop up. They can be interior observations, memories, dreams, and even synchronicities and signs in the world around us. Special things are afoot, in no small part thanks to our bravery and desire to experience new things.
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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: March 20-26
This week we’re hearing a call to make a big decision. It’s time for a change, one that we may have been ignoring for a while. Naturally so, of course. Big shifts come with healthy uncertainty – why leave something that’s working perfectly fine? Where exactly are we going next?
There’s no way to confirm an outcome before we take the action. Planning, weighing options, and researching will help us, sure, but once the ball is set in motion… who really knows? Without risk we can become stagnant, and yet foolish risk can lead to unnecessary suffering.
The cards for this week give us as good of a go ahead as we could wish for. Two affirming Major Arcana cards leading towards a King tell us that assured motion towards a goal that’s close to our hearts will result in a feeling of clarity and mastery.
Being human, however, means that leaping from one powerful card to the next comes with some difficulty. Let’s dive into each a bit deeper and see where we can gain some guidance as we move towards something truly majestic.
We begin with Judgement, a card that represents a powerful call. It’s a moment where we must heed a summons, usually one that comes from our hearts. As I write this I can hear a flock of Canadian geese honking as they fly above my house. Every year they make a long migration, flying south for the winter and returning up north in the spring. They make this long journey instinctually; when they start flying it’s not because they logically know they need to get going, it’s because they feel it.
Judgement urges us to take a similar approach, looking to our bodies to tell us where we need to fly next. Now is a good time to check in with yourself. What feels right to you in this moment? What is pulling on your heart, telling you to try something different, to take a risk? Listen to your instinct rather than your brain.
It may be that our instincts have been trying to tell us something for some time now. We don’t have many opportunities to connect with this side of ourselves. Unfortunately, it has been systematically devalued as we favor logic, rationality, and control above all else. The hard-to-pin-down nature of instinct is too difficult to quantify and measure, so we cast it by the wayside with little thought.
Strangely enough, the cards are showing us that if we decide to embrace our instinct for change we’ll end up in a place of increased clarity and control. Tricky, tricky! Learning to magnify our inner voice and take it seriously will make us more powerful and decisive? We see this in the King of Swords, a card that represents power over one’s thoughts and mind. Perhaps the cards are trying to tell us that an integrated mind – one that values both instinct/intuition and logic/rationality – is the most powerful.
This brings us to The Chariot, another card that illustrates control over opposing factors. Or what appear to be in opposition. This card urges us to take the plunge and commit to what our inner voice is telling us. Once we let the call ring loud and clear we must do something about it – bring it into the light and make it visible. The Chariot is an extremely affirming card. It suggests that we can make this next move triumphantly. Our undertaking will be successful and well-received so long as we integrate ourselves fully and stay true to our original motivations.
The overarching message here is to be confident in our intuition and motivations. We can’t do this without knowing them deeply, so be sure to really understand what it is you’re after before you take the plunge. How does this decision reflect your higher values? How can you best use you strengths and truly be yourself? Once you’ve answered these questions, however, (or once you feel in your body that the time has come) make the move! You are primed for this next phase and ready to march out of the gates triumphantly. We could use every bit of heartfelt, authentic action right now. Heed the call and get going!
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Weekly Forecast: March 6-12
I don’t know what it is, but I have a strong need to convince myself and others that I am not into drama. I’m a rational person! I’m calm, considered, caring! Life is just fine for me in its dependable routine, thank you very much. I’m perfectly content over here.
Or am I?
We see declarations like this a lot in delicious, hard to resist reality TV – characters emphatically telling the camera that they hate stirring up drama and then… stirring up some ridiculous and highly entertaining conflict.
This thing is, without these shenanigans we wouldn’t tune in. It would be boring. Like any romantic movie worth its salt, the story needs some easily avoidable misunderstanding to add tension and spice.
This feeling can pop up in our everyday lives, causing us to do a double take. Me? Bored with my life and craving a dramatic disruption? That is, if we even catch it in the first place.
It’s important to admit that we can often create the situations we like to bemoan as if they fell down onto us from the heavens spontaneously. Sometimes we want to feel like the stakes are high and our decisions are charged with big meaning.
After all, it’s more satisfying to run around trying to put out a fire than it is identifying a small tweak you need to make so that your week is more productive.
This week finds us tempted to confuse confusion with calamity. When we see a powerful card like The Tower it can refer to actual events or simply our intense reactions. We might be tempted to assume that this card, in all its fiery drama, trumps the rest of the reading. There it is, front row and center. Something terrible is coming our way!
In other words, a nice, heaping serving of distracting drama.
In this reading, The Tower is a red herring. We’re feeling a creeping sense of dissatisfaction and we don’t know why. Are we more tempted this week to run around like the sky is falling than walk towards our dissatisfaction and investigate its source? Maybe the answer is yes, and this is entirely, understandably human.
Sometimes the energy of The Tower is a welcome distraction from the drudgery of the everyday, though we might not want to admit it at first.
Luckily, we have a choice. Do we turn our lives into a high drama because we’re feeling a tad anxious? Maybe the resulting freakout will be cathartic, but it will also send things tumbling we might not want to fall.
Or do we choose the less romantic route and explore why we’re craving the dramatic shakeup in the first place? In doing so, we have the opportunity to circumvent the chaos and skip ahead to pursuing what we really need to add zest to our lives.
Either way, this reading cheekily suggests, we’re going to have to contend with our dissatisfaction. The dominant color in these cards is a tepid, seafoam green. We see it in the background of both the Four of Cups and the Eight of Cups, but it’s also present in the robes of the people plummeting from The Tower.
This tells us that we’re carrying the feeling with us whether we like it or not. After we fall from the tower, we dust off our robes, and guess what? They’re still green.
So whether we choose to stir up a kerfuffle of distraction a la The Tower this week or not, we’re going to have to contend with these sticky feelings. The Four of Cups sees us wanting to ignore them, but in doing so also ignoring possible solutions. As we move forward in the week, however, we see ourselves journeying into a horizon of seafoam, embracing our true emotional landscape and moving towards it with bravery and curiosity.
Whether we reach this place of acceptance by wrestling through our dramatic distractions or stepping around them, now is a good time to think about what we’re missing and how we can seek it out for ourselves. The lovely thing is we can’t avoid these little adventures in life, so let’s get exploring and use restlessness to bring excitement into our lives instead of preventable chaos.
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Weekly Forecast: February 27 - March 5
Cards by The Fountain Tarot
Have you ever had a flash of inspiration? Or an experience that radically changed the way you look at the world? Moments that open your eyes to something entirely different?
This week sees us moving out of old patterns and into a brave and exciting new direction. In some aspect of our lives we’ve been staring at a blank wall, hoping for change. Like most walls, it looked solid and unnegotiable. Not something flimsy you could take a hammer to, but the kind of wall that only a wrecking ball could smash to smithereens. Maybe we didn't even notice it in the first place.
A lot of the stories we tell ourselves about change involve us rising to the occasion, taking control, and making things happen. We’re the hero of the story, the person who harnesses their power and creates their own destiny.
But this narrative can be exhausting. “Am I really responsible for everything?” we might think. In this story, there’s so much striving and struggling. And, to make things even lovelier, failure is personal.
If we don’t get what we’re after it means it’s our fault. We’re not pulling on those bootstraps hard enough! But what if we don’t have boostraps? (Who does in this day and age?) And what if we don’t feel like pulling?
Luckily, the world doesn’t work like this. We’re not meant to be straining all the time, making the veins on our forehead pop from effort. Revolutionarily enough, there are forces of the world that are out of our control.
If we believe wholeheartedly in this myth, we’ll be constantly disappointed when things don’t go our way. But if we don’t? Well, the world gets much more interesting.
Remember The Tower from last week? This is a card that expertly sorts out these two worldviews. If we’re obsessed with control and personal success, the random outside forces that The Tower represents will certainly seem catastrophic. Everything is falling apart! It’s ruined! It’s… my fault!
But as The Star and The Ace of Swords told us, embracing an open mind and making space for what’s out of control can give us an incredible opportunity. When the lightening recedes and the dust settles, we can either rebuild a better tower or move on to something new.
And sometimes we need The Tower's force to break through the walls we can't see or move ourselves.
The Ace of Swords has followed us from the calamity of The Tower last week and is now front and center. This tells us that however The Tower manifested itself in your life last week, it was for the better.
This week is where we begin to really experience the clarity that comes after a big storm. We’re feeling refreshed and invigorated. Beyond that, we’re seeing new avenues for change we didn’t before. The wall has been torn down and the way forward is clear.
The Fountain drives home the idea that our universe and our lives are complex, unpredictable, and full of possibility. That our lives aren’t simply plunked into a predictable framework and left to run their course. The universe is much bigger than us, and we’re free to revel and play in all its possibilities.
This card was created specially for The Fountain Tarot (perhaps another sign that this week is all about thinking outside the box.) The creators couldn’t put it better: ”The Fountain card is the eternal context beyond human experience in which anything and everything can happen.”
Anything and everything can happen? Well if that seems intimidatingly vague, have no fear. The Ace of Swords is bringing its powerful intellectual force into our lives for some much needed clarity. It looks like we’re already hatching some ideas and plans that, like a sword, are sharp and ready for action.
The new thoughts and ideas that are emerging represent the beginning of a path. It’s all fresh and inspiring right now, so pay attention to what’s on your mind while the clarity lasts. Now is a good time to journal, meditate, and think things through. You can be confident in your perceptions and abilities – use The Fountain card to inspire you. Think expansiveness and possibility. How would you like to explore it all?
This leads us to The Lovers, suggesting that the changes and ideas we’re hatching are going to bring us closer to a complimentary person or situation. When we have a clear idea of who we are and what we want we’re able to attract what we truly need.
Figuring this out, as seen in the Ace of Swords, is like polishing a glass lantern. The changes of the past few weeks have done an excellent job and things are looking shiny. Now our true self, our inner light, is shining brightly for all to see.
We can expect this new shininess to attract people and opportunities in the week to come. Using our newfound sense of clarity and direction, we’ll likely be able to determine who and what is worthy of letting into our lives. Whether romantic or otherwise, the coming connection we make will be taking us down a lush and creative path.
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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.