Weekly Forecast: September 25-October 1
We have a tender group of cards this week, the perfect way to ease ourselves into fall and into ourselves. In fact ease has been front and center for us. We can find it naturally in our innate talents and in moments that are purely enjoyable - holding hands with someone we love, gazing at the first crisp blue sky, taking a bite of a flaky, decadent pastry. But ease is also something we invite into our lives and something we achieve through deliberate effort and choices.
This is the type of ease we're dealing with this week. So, before we dive in, these early days of autumn are a wonderful time to pause and celebrate the bravery of our choices. We've showed up for ourselves, taken care of our needs, and remained open enough to the world around us to know when to let go and let things work their magic.
This, my friends, is all the energy of The Hanged Man. He leads us into this week with a reminder that inviting ease into our lives and then doing that at times terrifying trust fall into life is a brave thing indeed. Respecting and loving ourselves enough to want life to be smooth and gentle when it can be shows courage. It's the courage to fight against suffering for suffering's sake and to embrace the big lives we all have the capability of leading.
No small fry, indeed. It involves letting go of our egos and trusting that we've made the right decisions. And it also leaves us open and receptive to the magic all around us.
This week, as we're getting used to the new position of trusting relaxation, we're noticing a shift in our thinking. When we get tied up exclusively in the shoulds and to-do's of "busy", "normal" life we can steamroll over more timid desires and parts of our personality. Rest gives us a chance to see what's been hiding under the surface.
And who's that on the horizon? It's the dashing Knight of Cups that's who. Our romantic side is making a grand entrance, refreshed and inspired from our shift in pace and perspective. This is a grand time of inspiration, passion, and motion. Playing with this new energy will bring us lots of information. It may seem flowery and intense at first, maybe even embarassingly different from our usual way of being. If we try our best to run with it, however, we'll be surprised by the directions it leads us in.
Well, maybe not so surprised since the next card in our reading is The Lovers. Yes, this card is classic and exciting and there is a great deal of potential for connection with like-minded (and hopefully stunning) people. Yet the romance of The Lovers is also a larger kind. What parts of our lives have been illuminated by our Hangman-inspired change of perspective? What part of our lives and of the world are we falling in love with?
Now is a time to look at the world with the glow that comes with being in love. How does it change our ideas? Does it illuminate something we've once overlooked? Or does it simply fill us with warmth and appreciation for what we have, illuminating its true beauty and preciousness. Embrace all these feelings, share them, and invite them to expand.
Weekly Forecast pt. II: A Lovey-Dovey Follow Up
Yesterday was one of those days when the cards had a lot to say. It's exhilarating when a reading speaks on so many levels. There was so much going on! Two majors! The same Ace from the week before! I found myself struggling to stay within the limits I set for the weekly forecasts. As I'm sure you've noticed, I can get carried away and I like to jump right into deep subjects.
This latest reading was pretty hard to resist. I was also very moved by the continuing message that transformation and clarity can come from the unexpected. I love how the tarot makes room for the gifts and difficulties that come with change, and so I focused in on that theme. And it definitely gave us a heaping dose of wisdom for the week.
But there was a striking visual connection between the cards that suck in my mind, one that moved us away from change and towards the transformative power of The Lovers. I woke up this morning with it on my mind and I’d like to jump in and share that with you all today. After all, who says a forecast has to be just one post?
Tarot cards have many ways of speaking to each other that go far beyond any “set” meanings you can find in a book. Context, symbols, and history all have a say in how we interpret readings.
And then there’s the illustrations. I love how images relax us and invite our imagination and intuition to come out and play. The Fountain Tarot is an especially intuition-friendly deck. The ethereal paintings, colors, and compositions seem to present the perfect atmosphere for our minds to relax and let our inner wisdom work its magic.
What really grabbed me about yesterday’s reading were the vertical lines appearing in each card. The Fountain depicts a gorgeous, swirling universe with a ray of light emanating from the center, The Ace of Swords is divided by a… giant sword of course, and The Lovers shows a sliver of light shining at the point where a couple is joining hands.
I find this thread of connection so moving and tender. My initial notes on the reading were, “opening up & expanding our ideas of love.” That is, using the clarity of The Ace of Swords to illuminate the doorways love opens for us both interpersonally (The Lovers) and universally (The Fountain.)
The readings lately have been showing a persistent theme of moving beyond limiting ideas and absolute thinking. To see opportunities in places we’re trained to see setbacks. That maybe the most surprising thing is to realize that our experiences aren’t what we were told they’d look like.
I see this possibility so beautifully represented by these rays and lines of light. We might traditionally see a line as a point of division or a cut into something we assume should be whole. A line is a division, yes, but it is also a space. Something we can widen and walk through. Is this a representation of how difference and change bring us new opportunities? I think so.
Seeing this dividing light in The Lovers is especially interesting. Aren’t lovers supposed to be coming together as one? Is this ray of light separating them? Of course, with the positive meaning of the card and the soothing, beautiful colors, we know this isn’t the message.
In my mind, this is a complex and moving representation of how love brings together separate entities who, in nurturing their love for each other, open up a new path. Only by honoring their differences, choosing each other, and loving one another as two unique, whole people are they able to illuminate and expand their lives.
What’s more, the ray of light in The Lover’s is a smaller version of the one in The Fountain, suggesting that the love we share with others reflects the love and possibility in the universe around us. Ah, what beautiful stuff. I like to imagine what will happen next: The Lovers standing up and walking through the doorway they have created together. What a wonderful direction to be moving toward this week. Where is our love surprising us and what new places will it take us if we choose to follow it?
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.
Have a question you'd like to explore through tarot?
Weekly Forecast Jan 2-8
Cards from The Fountain Tarot
2017, here we are! The reading for this week sees us eagerly jumping forward into the new year. The celebrations and excesses of the holiday season left us chomping at the bit. This week we finally get to spring forward and put ourselves out there, reentering the normal schedule of our lives, getting back to work, and putting those resolutions to the test.
This re-entry is not a simple matter of picking up where we left off. We have plans. Lots of them. It’s time to make changes and set thing in motion.
We see this attitude embodied in the Seven of Wands, an eager and enthusiastic card. There’s a great deal of energy available to us right now, perhaps surprisingly so. We're not starting from scratch here, either. The Seven of Wands shows how the past year has shaped us. We have ground to defend and new paths we want to pursue. This is fortunate, because who wants a clean slate when we have so much to build on?
There is a hearty dose of challenge and conflict in the Seven of Wands, along with the more-rosy creativity and energy. Conflict can invigorate us, giving us boundaries to push against and expand on. It can also mire us in counterproductive disputes. Will we use our feisty enthusiasm to move forward or get distracted with each obstacle or irritation?
Some issues should be addressed head on, and some are meant to be moved through quickly. Others are simply signposts along the way, representations of a life we don’t want to live or things we choose to leave behind. Now is a good time to get familiar with what deserves our attention and what doesn't.
I like the Fountain Tarot’s depiction of the Seven of Wands. In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the figure is on a hill fending off six wands from below. He wears mismatched shoes, suggesting his stance isn’t so stable. In this card, however, we see a fit man leaping down a flight of stairs in bare feet: He’s grounded and although he’s protecting himself with his wand, he’s moving towards the source of conflict, heading towards the world instead of protecting a small patch of it.
This week is a time to explore and engage with what's around us. We're certainly ready after a season of holiday decadence an introspective resolution-making. The thing is, the world right now is a bit... much. Far from swinging a stick around wildly and acting out of fear, this card suggests that we enter the fray with a sense of excitement and consider what we want to engage with. What is worth our time and what can we pass by on our path to a more grounded life?
So what lies as the bottom of the stairs? The reading takes us to The Lovers card which ties into the higher motivations guiding us. Far from hurdling down the stair mindlessly, we’re seeking a sense of connection, love, and community. Ah, delightful, you might say, but what does challenge and conflict have to do with that? How can any sort of confrontation bring us closer to unity and compassion?
The Seven of Wands combined with The Lovers depicts the often-overlooked importance of truth and communication in love. To have respectful relationships we must show up as ourselves while understanding the unique identity of the other person. Sometimes it takes a bit of confusion and miscommunication to reach this understanding. It’s a natural part of the process – understanding others is not simple and we must be willing to listen, communicate, and stretch our imaginations.
That being said, the Seven of Wands shows that we’re entering into a phase of connecting with others with a bit of baggage and a predilection for head-on conflict. This does not have to be our way. We can choose to focus on the curiosity of this Seven (to run down this stairs you have to be curious about what’s at the bottom) and remember that engaging with the world doesn’t have to be contentious.
Consider the wand the man is grasping. We might want to set down our wand and pick up another, or add one to our collection and carry it along with us. 2017 is not about swinging our stick and proclaiming it is the one true stick to end all sticks. That is most certainly not the path to empathy of The Lovers.
We end with the King of Coins, suggesting that some of the struggles in understanding we face right now center around money and power. Now is a time to reexamine how we value both. What does it mean to wield control over money and prosperity? What is our responsibility when we get there? What do we expect from those in these positions?
With the Lover’s front and center, the reading is bringing our focus to unity and connectedness. We must consider whether our attitudes towards the King of Coins as he manifests himself in our lives – in our own relationship to money and prosperity and our relationships to those who have it in our society – match up with this value. And then, what can we do to reconcile the differences.
I see the Seven of Wands as us running towards these tough questions with more than enough energy and creativity to grapple with them. Finding a way to combine the compassion of The Lover’s with the power and mastery of The King of Coins would result in a plentiful and loving world. I like the sound of that.