Weekly Tarot Forecast: April 25-May 1

Four of Wands | Seven of Cups | Three of Pentacles

I am so deeply relieved to have a reading that falls on the jauntier end of the tarot spectrum this week. No Major Arcana cards, no stabby swords, just a pleasant array of minors showing us primed for some lighthearted creativity. Sometimes I think, however, that these lighter moments are because of the heavier themes that have come before. The clouds may part this week, and you may find yourself back on the ground just puttering around; take the time to appreciate being able to focus on the small things. I think we’ve all earned it.

We start things off with the energizing openness of the Four of Wands. We have accomplishments worth celebrating, and this card urges us to bring in our friends and loved ones to lift up the good things. Doing so cements and fosters alliances, brings enjoyable levity, and stokes our internal fire. This is a time to sing praises loud and clear, gather and cavort, and generally enjoy your life.

The Four of Wands also suggests that our grip has been lightening around some key issues in our lives. Whether of our own accord or simply a change in the emotional weather, this change has made room for a new influx of inspiration, zest, and pleasure. Take it seriously. You’ve seen the tarot deck - there are some gnarly cards in there! - the joy and rest we can achieve in the beginning of this week will not only nurture us, but give us a look at what works best.

Pay attention to what it feels like when life doesn’t feel like it’s on fire. Are you enjoying working with less pressure, jettisoning your perfectionism in favor of off the cuff magic? Does loosening up your personal rules yield creative bounties? The Four of Wands is about finding power in flexible and open structures. Allow yourself to experiment. collaborate, and follow your emotions and intuition.

Inspiration is a key theme for us this week, as we’re dealing with three of the suits of the minor arcana: wands, cups, and pentacles. Where the wands sees us reveling in action and connection, the cups inspire emotional and spiritual passions. (Thankfully, this is all being grounded in the earthy pentacles at the end of the week, so don’t worry if you’re feeling some trepidation with how far you fly in your imagination.) I enjoy readings with a balance of suits, and it’s worth noting that there are no swords here - stepping our of our analytical mind will be both fruitful and enjoyable.

The Seven of Cups sashays into the scene mid-week; all our collaborating and creating is kicking up some big dreamy energy. Stare into what’s tickling your fancy or sparking your interest. Consult your dreams when you awake, envision your future, and explore possibilities for your life. This card can bring a whole array of magic, not all of it warm and fuzzy. This is a time when we can also learn a lot about ourselves from what feels edgy, frightening, or too much. (Note the skull in the side of the cup on the bottom right, not to mention the spooktacular ghost and various reptiles popping out of chalices.)

As the week comes to a close we descend from the clouds and plant our feet firmly on the ground. The Three of Pentacles shows us that there are some worthy collaborators awaiting us there. What projects are you engaged with, particularly ones in the early stages? This is a time to start building in earnest, and with the support of like-minded and ambitious supporters.

Zooming out, this reading has a satisfying coherence. I’m feeling that this week will be on that’s very focused on a topic - an area of our life, project, or relationship. Embrace this and let your energy flow. We’re finally in a place where our energies are aligned (think creative-spiritual-emotional-practical) and things can start to move quickly.

This week, embrace:

• Gatherings, collaborations, celebrations

• Gleefully breaking, bending, or re-creating the rules

• Dreaming with wild abandon

• Forming alliances

This week, avoid:

• Being overly cautious

• Unnecessary busywork

• Rejecting facets of your life because they aren’t “perfect”

Get creative:

• Four of Wands: This is so simple: Have a party. It can be a party for one, a casual dinner with candles to make it fancy, or something bigger. Whatever you do, make sure to center the achievements and successes of everyone present. The wands have a brash, unsubtle charisma. Lift up your accomplishments, sing your praises to the heavens, see what happens when you let yourself live big.

• Seven of Cups: I’ll never forget when a dear friend of mine called this “the Pinterest card,” (shoutout to you, Lucas, you’re legend!), so in the spirit of that observation, get Pinterest-y. Collect images that evoke a future you’d like to manifest. You could draw, collage (aka the classic vision board), or hop on the app. Whatever you do, make sure you give yourself free rein to get weird and loopy. Pay particular attention to images, ideas, or things that feel “too much” and ask yourself, “why?”

• Three of Pentacles: Think about the people who make you feel the most grounded. Who calms your energy, sets you at ease, and makes you feel like new things are possible? Make a promise to yourself to seek out these people in one small way during the week.

Weekly Tarot Forecast: April 18-24

If things feel slow, why not play?

This week we’re visited by two of the youths in tarot, the page cards. These characters capture the coltish charm of new infatuation. Whether we’re starting something new, trying our hand at a task we’re far from adept at, or simply finding ourselves drawn to something novel, these cards show us that embracing our awkwardness and passion is deeply important.

Spring is in full bloom here in Durham with buds having turned into tender, soft leaves. While the frost date has passed, there’s always the potential for a sudden freeze. All this growth could get frost-bitten, and no matter what happens, that pale pale green of new growth only lasts a handful of days before it transforms into the rich viridian of full summer. Similarly, this reading urges us to savor the temporary nature of all new things. Pages are uniquely present cards, and this is a time to stretch into each moment, gently pushing aside any desires for perfection, painlessness, or a fully formed story. It’s not here yet, why force it?

There is a subtle transition at work this week; we’re leaving the analytical orientation of the Page of Swords and moving into a period of wands-directed action. I can’t help but tie this into another sword-toting card, last week’s Justice, which served as the main point of focus. Is there a justice-oriented idea that burst forth last week, one that we’re figuring out how to implement in our lives? Uncertainty and indecision will be short-lived as we vault into the Page of Wands mid-week, but be aware that the swords pull of over-planning and analysis paralysis will be present in our mental weather systems. Identify that paths not to take by their past presence in your life: If you’ve seen them before, it may be time to switch to new tactics.

Enter: The Page of Wands. It’s time to do things differently and step outside of our comfort zone. I’m not talking radical change, however. More of a slow-burning curiosity that’s grown to the point where you’re ready to take the first step. Speaking of which, first steps are all that these pages require. We don’t need to know the full outcome, have each patch of our trail mapped out. A playful mindset, attention to the present moment, and sense of humor are all that we require for the moment.

The overall energy here is prime for creative pursuits of any kind, reinvention, and exploration. If these feel remote in the current landscape of your life, take care to make space for freeing activities, no matter how small or short-lived. Pages have an instinct for growth and you might be surprised how the smallest things rapidly blossom into something impressive, compelling, or deeply healing.

While we’re busy feeling innovative and brave in the fast-moving elements of our lives (swords calling on our thinking, wands our action and creativity), our emotional selves are still undergoing a deep and slow process of healing. The Four of Cups returns once again, reminding us that stillness and silence are essential to our spiritual and emotional well-being. This card is also giving us the important reminder to tend to our tender core while taking risks in the outer world. Be sure to check in with yourself, ideally before things start to move fast.

I’m also feeling a thread of ambition or restlessness undergirding this card. We may have to leave extra room for a complex (or simply surprising) inner truth to emerge, perhaps around what we desire outside of easily measurable metrics of success. Feeling uncomfortable or like something is missing isn’t a sign of weakness; we may simply need to remain alert and welcoming to any new information, most likely coming in the poetic, mysterious language of cups. Wait for the feeling to arrive while enjoying the playful side of life.

This week, embrace:

• New ventures

• Playing with words, creativity, self-expression

• Space for solitude

• Emotional restlessness without judgment

This week, avoid:

• Heavy expectations

• Inflexibility

• Treating failures, difficulties, or dissatisfaction as a sign you have to change something now

• Hyperactivity

Get creative:

• Page of Swords: Write out all the ideas you’ve been toying around with in the past week or so. Do a good old fashioned brain dump, then pick one that you want to do something about. Identify the first step - what could translate this idea into reality? - and… big surprise here… do it, moving yourself from the realm of the Page of Swords to the Page of Wands.

• Page of Wands: Find a creative talisman. Give yourself a nice bit of time to browse around looking for a work of art or accomplishment that resonates with you. You may even be drawn to the creator themselves (Pages love an inspirational role model). Go with your instincts and don’t overthink it. Use this work or person to inject a spark of inspiration and motivation when you need it.

• Four of Cups: Spend some time contemplating the best possible scenario to a situation you’re facing at the moment. Sit with any feelings of discomfort, nervousness, or awkwardness as you really flesh out what would be an outlandishly positive outcome. Now… just sit on it. Have this image at the ready, turn it around in your mind from time to time, and wait. This isn’t a week to do anything just yet, but see how it feels to hold something wholesome, good, and abundant in your heart and mind instead of just something practical or pessimistic.

Weekly Forecast: April 11-17

Well, tarot friends, it looks like we’re approaching the center of the issue we’ve been working on for the past few weeks. This is another “Major Arcana Thesis Statement” - a reading where the cards show us how a single Major Arcana concept is at work in our lives. This week, the Major Arcana card in question is Justice. What is coming into balance in our lives? Where do we need to recalibrate the scales? And what values hold weight when we make decisions about how to structure our lives?

Despite being a lofty concept, Justice is bringing some of the wildness of our recent experiences into more practical realms. We’ve traveled through the wide expanses of The World card, heard the call of Judgment, and now we must sit out butts down on the throne of Justice and do some good old fahshioned discerning and deciding.

If the past few weeks have felt like a spastic merry-go-round, now is the time when all the experiences coalesce into something useful. Is it a new worldview or guiding principle that’s taking center stage in your life? Take time to outline what it is you know right now. When you take out your scales, what pieces weigh on either side? Above all, what is the unchanging, non-negotiable value at the center?

I think that this week is bringing us clarity; we’ll be well aware of what it is that demands the attention of Justice as well as our role in the process of deciding. The experience, however, is going to require some bravery. We have to step up to the dais, take the moment (and ourselves) seriously, and know that our needs, desires, and wants are justification enough. They stand on their own, because we say so.

And, I’ll add, because we’ve done the homework. We haven’t been cycling through Judgment and The World for nothing, here, and while those cards are more mythic and ethereal, Justice shows us how these concepts and experiences influence the earthly world we inhabit. Trust that the experiences and Ideas that have been working through your life and percolating into your conscious mind have traveled a long and winding path. This is not a time to second-guess, hem and haw, or equivocate. Take pride in the fact that, if these convictions or newfound sense of confidence have surprised you, you can still surprise yourself. Your powers go far beyond what you can perceive.

In the middle of the week, the Seven of Pentacles comes bearing an invitation to stop and consider what you’ve accomplished. Sometimes a sense of listlessness or dissatisfaction accompanies this card; don’t be discouraged, however, as The Seven of Pentacles carries a zing of trickster energy. Much like The Four of Cups from several weeks ago, this card tells us that a little itchiness never hurt anyone. In fact, pushing through the discomfort of applauding ourselves and assessing what we have (and yearning for more) often hides the seeds of something brilliant, unexpected, and magical. Here, we’re dealing with themes of the pentacles suit - earthly possessions, work, the physical body - and it may be time to shake up your routine or do something just for the thrill of it (while remaining true to your other commitments).

A break to connect with daily life and the body will be important as we have another visit from the Ten of Wands. I am, surprisingly, touched by its appearance here in the last spot of our reading. This has been a stalker card in our collective readings, accompanied by several “late stage” tarot cards (the 7-10s). We’re really doing the work, friends, and it’s felt like this work is interminable. Just when we think it’s over, another revision needs to be made, a deadline pushed out a few days. Be kind to yourself if you feel exhausted or burnt out.

I have a sense that this Ten of Wands is a particular culmination. Maybe it’s the punch of Justice and the finality of the decisions we can make under the guidance of this card. This may very well be a week of important breakthroughs - ones that we’ve had an important hand in fostering along their path. Trust in yourself, your values and experiences, and don’t be afraid to push for what you need and throw down your burden when you can see something is truly over.

This week, embrace:

• Taking space to separate your emotions from your thoughts

• Discernment, fairness… justice

• Reflection on your physical/tangible/real world accomplishments

• Persisting yet again!

This week, avoid:

• Seductive arguments

• Compromising your morals or values

• Self-criticism

• Seeking comfort in shirking duties

Get creative:

• Justice: It’s time to get our deciding on! Justice is a card of presence, and given the intensity of the Ten of Wands, it may be hard to give ourself the right environment to feel poised and collected. So, while things are relatively calm, take a moment to think about times during the week when you can do a self check-in. Justice finds clarity in concepts, deliberation, and rules. Schedule actual “meetings for one” where you can get into this headspace and ask yourself these questions: 1) Where am I being asked to do what is right and just for myself? My community? 2) What are the weaknesses and blindspots that steer me away from justice? 3) How can I remind myself to recenter around this card right now?

• Seven of Pentacles: I think, given the seriousness of the rest of our reading, that we should dive into the impishness of this card. Go on an accomplishment Easter egg hunt in your house. You don’t need to take much time, just wander around and find several (or ideally, you guessed it, seven) objects that represent something you’re particularly proud of. Photographs, souvenirs, a slice of cake you baked - it could be anything. Write them down or, if possible, gather them together and contemplate/journal how you feel beholding the evidence of your achievements.

• Ten of Wands: This is a very practical one: Let your environment support you. Whenever you notice yourself feeling stressed or overwhelmed by how much work is on your plate, take a break, look up, and take in the comfort and safety in your surroundings. See how all the pieces of your life are supporting you - the floor under your feet, the breeze coming through your window, the plant bringing cheer to your desk.

Weekly Forecast: April 4-10

Judgment / Nine of Wands / Eight of Swords

Yeesh, we have some hefty energy here, friends! “Welcome to April, let’s get serious,” the cards seem to be saying. We’ve moved from the big-picture expansiveness of The World last week and back into to the come-to-Jesus intensity of Judgment.

I say “back” here because Judgment is the penultimate card of the Major Arcana, the last step before the finale that is The World. So why return to the moment before the triumphant last shot of the epic film that has been our lives for the past several months? I can’t help feeling that there’s some unfinished business here, and that the perspective we were granted last week when things finally gelled together has given us a much-needed insight into our pasts. What, in other words, needs an edit in our final accounting of what we’ve just been through? There’s an important insight here (maybe more than one) and we’d be well served to take it seriously and edit our story before submitting it to our final records.

If going through your recent past with a fine-toothed comb doesn’t sound appealing, I don’t blame you, and The Nine of Wands is here to affirm any feelings of resistance and irritation. (I’m getting big Paul Rudd in Wet Hot American Summer vibes, here.) The Nine of Wands, however, is a massively motivating card. It shows up in moments when hard work is infinitely worthwhile, telling us that no matter how tired or over it we may feel, we still have more left, and so long as that energy is expended in the best interests of our higher self, we’d be foolish to give up now.

The pair of Judgment and The Nine of Wands is also refreshingly bold. We’re not dealing with subtlety this week; we know what to do. And, most importantly, we can see why it would be a bad idea not to do it. Cue The Eight of Swords, giving us a brutal illustration of how easy it is to get tied up in anxiety, fear, and indecision. The swords deal with the mind, and this week the mind is not a hospitable place. We may be dealing with more negative self-talk, self-limiting impulses, and stultifying stories about who we are. Pay extra attention to how you’re treating yourself - audit that inner monologue! - and take respite in the exhausting but tangible realm of things you can actually do aka The Nine of Wands.

Judgment is a card that gives us important messages; allow yourself to hear what’s coming through (especially from the events of last week) and act on them. It may be hard, but it’s work that supports your growth - budding wands instead of a wall of cold, cutting swords.

There’s also an undercurrent of trickery in this reading. The Eight of Swords illustrates the seductiveness of thinking yourself into a corner. Whether your thoughts manifest as rationalizations, self-fulfilling prophecies, or overplanning/perfectionism, be mindful of the ways you might perversely feel safer when you’re stuck. Looking at the illustration for this card we can see the false promise of the situation. While the figure is inarguably in a pickle - bound and blindfolded in a pen of swords - their solution can be found in the cage itself. Shimmy on over to those swords and the binds are cut. Similarly, we’re in a position to call our own bluff and use our minds to burst out of our self-imposed prisons.

Easier said than done, of course, and this is definitely a week to be extra kind to ourselves. We have a honking (heh) Major Arcana card (Judgment), always a lot to deal with no matter the overall meaning, and the two suits in the Minor Arcana best suited to poking and bludgeoning. Reading the negative space of this spread, we can see that a little gentleness and beauty (cups) and practical self-care (pentacles) are needed to give us balance and rejuvenation amidst our big endeavors.

So muster your strength, accept any important realizations from the big transitions you’ve been undergoing, and edit your narrative so that it feels the most truthful, resonant, and empowering.

This week, embrace:

• Taking time to ask big questions

• Loud, impactful, and even upsetting messages that feel like the truth

• Persisting!

• Decisiveness

• Awareness and presence in action

• Asserting your needs, desires, and ambitions

This week, avoid:

• Rushing past the hard parts

• Sloppy work

• Instant gratification

• Getting trapped in negative mental spaces

Get creative:

• Judgment: I feel like this card is going to be very specific for each of us this week. The call of Judgment is as subtle as the giant angel trumpeting above the figures in the card; you likely know what the big realization to focus on is in your life. There’s no better way to avoid the mire of anxiety seen in The Eight of Swords than to get ahead of your brain and write things out. Take some time to have a meeting with your higher self and face the message of Judgment head-on. I’d suggest writing out a simple statement, maybe even a word if you can boil your lesson down that far. What has come through to you, loud and clear? Now take some time journaling about how this new information changes your concept of yourself, your life story, and what is possible.

• Nine of Wands: Practice presence with the Nine of Wands. When this card shows up we can be sure that it won’t be an uneventful week, so as you’re running around taking care of whatever needs taking care of, practice noticing how your body feels. Embrace the sensations of scrambling to pick up the living room: the aching in your legs - interesting!; the way you clench your jaw when preoccupied; the feel of the carpet on your knees. Do this in little bursts. See how it brings you home to yourself. Practice being with yourself every step of the way.

• Eight of Swords: Time for a redirect! I like the “scary” cards in tarot because they’re extremely helpful when it comes to identifying moments we’re in a pickle. Chances are, you know exactly how this card feels. So, when you find yourself stuck in a swamp surrounded by swords, do one of two things: either shimmy up to a sword and cut yourself free - how can I mentally reframe this situation? Is my doom-and-gloom outlook entirely justified? what more is there here? - or dip your toes into some intuitive knowledge - what beauty or mystery is here, too? what if I do something completely different than my brain is asking for, like paint for a second or meditate? Relief is just around the corner.

Weekly Forecast: March 28 - April 3

King of Pentacles / Four of Cups / The World

My uncle once told me the best way to see rare birds. Go deep into the forest, find a big tree, lie down under it, and take a nap. When you wake up, stay completely still; the birds will have grown used to your presence and returned to play in the branches above you.

Our reading this week has a similar energy. And, again we’re visited by The King of Pentacles, a card so comfortable with themselves that they can express their power through their presence alone. How can we stay put in our own worlds, just being? What’s around us? The smells, textures, sights, and people blossoming under our observation, places becoming more magical as we sit back and let them proceed through time.

In the center of our reading we have the pensive Four of Cups. As you might guess, this card touches on themes of ennui and listlessness. This week, it seems, boredom is both a luxury and an important tool. This will be a time to embrace being in-between, not knowing what to do, and feeling vaguely dissatisfied. Can we just sit under our own trees, maybe even take a nap? If you’re itching to make moves, shake up your life, or demand answers, see if you can hold back the impulse and make space for something else. It may take time - this is not a reading of fast-moving revelations or breakthroughs - and you may do your fair share of wriggling with discomfort. But it’s not unbearable or epic, and this might be a time to bring some amused softness to your shortcomings. Like the grapes on the King of Pentacles’ robe, these make up the intricate and irreplaceable details of our lives and selves.

Doing nothing is a path worth considering this week, and the stasis of The King of Pentacles and Four of Cups suggests that the pieces we need are already in place. Some, however, might be buried underneath our awareness, as the Four of Cups shows the importance of silence and blank space in our creative and emotional processes. What can we do to invite what’s just beneath the surface into our consideration? Is there a feeling, insight, or wish we’ve been hiding from ourselves? Or has it simply not had the space to emerge, a shy bird in its own right.

Our final card, The World, is also the final card in the Major Arcana sequence. No matter how boring, blah, or inconsequential this week may feel, some big magic is afoot. In The World we see the clouds part and a joyous new horizon come into focus. Well, more than that - we ourselves float above that horizon, seeing far and wide. Sometimes this can manifest as an awakening of sorts, a time when we can finally see the big picture. It’s a liberating experience, one that gives us a deeper connection to ourselves and puts us in a state of flow, love, and acceptance.

The World also denotes the end of a chapter. After this card, the Major Arcana cycle begins anew, and it’s worth fully savoring and integrating this energy before venturing into a another go-around. Even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment, consider how you might see this week as the end of a major chapter in your life. Of course, the conclusion could be wildly obvious to you as well. Either way, see what celebrations, reflections, and cartwheels may be in order. The World asks us to put ourselves in the center and see what has truly brought our concept of ourself into focus. There’s usually some surprises in there - be joyful, bold, and proud of what you’ve accomplished.

This week, embrace:

• Giving your attention to the world around you

• Finding joy in your everyday relationships

• A healthy pinch of decadence

• Downtime, gazing off into space, utter silence - even if it feels foolish

• Commemorating a big chapter, end of an era, accomplishment

This week, avoid:

• Over-scheduling, hyperactivity

• Big expenditures or retail therapy

• Mindless media consumption

• Hiding your weird self

Get creative:

• The King of Pentacles: This king is all about a good time (why else would you have a grape-festooned robe?) and financial wisdom. Combined with the “let it be” aura of The Four of Cups, I’m feeling the need for a creatively frugal party. Whether it’s just for you or includes others, see what merry you can make from whatever’s in the pantry, whip up some diy decor, and wear your very best just because.

• The Four of Cups: Find your own birds in the jungle moment. Set aside time to just sit and ponder, ideally in nature. Zero expectations, no distractions, just be there. Something magical might happen. Something magical might not. The real magic, in fact, will be allowing some tinges of boredom to break through the oh so extra wildness that is life in 2022.

• The World: Ah, what a majestic card. The World is all about wholeness, the magic of our very being. It’s always with us, we just don’t give it much thought or acknowledment. And, of course, many of us struggle with seeing The World in ourselves for myriad reasons. This week, try to set that aside, and take yourself somewhere special with a view. Yes, we’re getting specific. Find somewhere with a vantage point and gaze outwards, imagining your life unfolding in front of you. What perspectives do you have now that weren’t there before? You may even want to ritualize your ascent to this place, imagining all the challenges and lessons you’ve been integrating recently with each step you take. At the top, take three deep breaths. You’ve arrived. Now go buy yourself a drink.

Weekly Forecast: March 21-27

Queen of Pentacles / King of Wands / Ace of Wands

Welcome to a new week, friends! This is an energetic and exciting reading - quite the departure from the challenges and exhaustion of last week. I’m feeling big themes of integration, transformation, and breakthrough. It’s not the flashy kind, though, more of a gentle yet impressive emerging; a branch you stuck into the ground with little hope it would root and grow, suddenly sprouting juicy green buds.

Zooming out, the focus this week is turning inwards and tending to ourselves. The Queen of Pentacles has taken the spot of the King of Pentacles last week. We faced some issues head-on in the past seven days, bringing fortitude and leadership skills to areas of our life related to finance, material support, and work. Now is the time to apperciate that bravery and grant ourselves time to integrate the lessons emerging from these actions, a shavasana of sorts after a long and challenging practice. What have we learned about our capability when it comes to providing for ourselves, advocating for our needs, owning our power, and taking up space in the world? How can we introduce these to our inner lives, our concept of ourselves?

More practically speaking, this is a time to treat ourselves well, lavishing love and attention on our body, homes, and environment. Place flowers in every room of your house, cook nourishing food, move your body in restorative and joyful ways, get intimate with someone you love. Any time we spend letting the sensory joys of our everyday life nourish us will be building and bolstering our strength.

This is especially important since we’re moving from a pentacles-focused past few weeks into the realm of new wands. (We just completed a streak of late-stage wands cards, showing the end of a project or endeavor that required a lot of follow-through and detail-work.) The King of Wands leads the charge, joining the Queen of Pentacles in a powerful alliance. In what ways are we bringing our hard-won wisdom around ambition, creativity, and drive to important decisions impacting our everyday lives? This is big energy, and court cards in multiples tend to create an aura of mystery and possibility. Take some time to consider how you relate to these cards and their themes:

• The Queen of Pentacles = comfort in your resources, pride in creating and cultivating a rich life, generosity, the overall energy of hosting a welcoming feast for all

• The King of Wands = fiery drive, taking command and acting boldly when you know the time is right, being unafraid to forge your own path, letting your charisma shine and be seen without shame

Note if you have any conflicts between these archetypes. Do you feel like being bold and wanting things from the external world is dangerous, conceited, or somehow “too much”? Are you pulled between living a quiet life and pursuing big dreams? This reading says these two stances are actually incredibly supportive of each other, and what’s more, they’re combining to potentially support an exciting new development. Something else worth noting briefly: Court cards can represent times when we play with our identity. Don’t let yourself get stuck in rote understandings of yourself, no matter how cozy. This week has the potential for unexpected growth, talents, and change. Just because you haven’t identified with certain traits in the past doesn’t mean they’re not there, ready to come into focus.

The Ace of Wands is showing up here, in the week immediately following the Spring Equinox (or Fall Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere), making a new beginning if we’re bold enough to rise and meet it. I’m seeing themes of ambition, directness, and healthy assertiveness. And, personally, I’m also relieved and just plain happy to see this card after the tedium of the Nine and Ten of Wands this past week. This ace is all about passionate excitement, alluring new plans and ideas, and the creatively satisfying early stages of bringing something into being. It’s also very spring-like. Consider where you’re starring anew, being reborn, and how you can harness the directness, power, and pride of the Queen of Pentacles and King of Wands to shape this moment into something that serves your best interests and deepest dreams.

This week, embrace:

• Re-investing, re-starting, or re-vamping your self-care rituals

• Finding strength in nature and the senses

• Centering around your needs, desires, and creative vision

• Direct action

• New ventures

This week, Avoid:

• Outdated approaches

• Self-limiting beliefs or habits

• Fear of innovation

• Acquiescing too quickly/trying to make peace when it doesn’t really serve you

Get creative:

• Queen of Pentacles: I’m drawn to the setting of this card this week. Find an actual spot you can visit and consecrate it as your “Queen of Pentacles” zone, a place where you feel grounded, relaxed, and in contact with the energies of nature. Set aside some time in your schedule to visit this place with the intention of giving yourself a recharge. It will likely be helpful as the powerful, fiery energy of the wands cards come into play mid-week and beyond.

• King of Wands: Inspired by the placement of our two court cards for the week, consider how your outer persona protects and advocates for your everyday life. The King of Wands is healthily assertive and has no qualms about clearly stating their needs. As much as I rebel against them in my personal practice, I’m thinking that a mantra of sorts would be a galvanizing way to tap into this king’s zeal, and it seems as if this card has some reassurance to offer the Queen of Pentacles. What message of “I got you” can you give your inner self? Use it when out blazing your path in the great big world.

• Ace of Wands: Aces are clarifying in their simplicity. They can also get eclipsed by heavy expectations, worry, and fear. Allow yourself to simply appreciate and enjoy the little sparks of inspiration and excitement (particularly of the creative variety) without worrying about where they’ll go. This card also invites us to trust our instincts and simply take the first step towards them, trusting that the path will unfurl from there.

Weekly Forecast: March 14-20

King of Pentacles / Five of Pentacles / Ten of Wands

Contending with feelings of inadequacy

When I look at the cards we’ve drawn for the week the word that comes to mind is worthiness. This appears in two ways: 1) How we’re feeling worthy of what we have or engaging with the idea of worthiness personally, and 2) determining which struggles are worthy of our time and energy.

We start things off with the King of Pentacles, a card that shows someone content and proud of the bounty in their lives. Yet afterwards we have two incredibly on-the-nose struggle cards. The wind is in our faces this week in two areas - our material resources (Five of Pentacles) and energetic resources (Ten of Wands). So there’s some incongruities in the picture. Why do we have an archetype of abundance and confidence framing a reading about struggle, challenge, and scarcity?

I like it when tarot gives us a riddle to solve. How often do we feel like life is more of a confounding puzzle than linear story? Obscurity is a big theme for us in the coming days as we have a lot to wrestle with in our everyday lives. Don’t expect to experience huge breakthroughs or epiphanies; the wisdom we’re receiving this week is hard-fought and very earthy, just like the element of the pentacles suit. There’s treasure just below our noses, however, and it’s a time to appreciate the intensity of our efforts, finding beauty in the act of moving forward even when things aren’t infused with ease and lightheartedness.

The pentacles suit encompasses the theme of work, and this week we’ll be dealing with questions regarding how we earn our livelihood and provide for ourselves. The big contrast here is between the King of Pentacles and the Five of Pentacles, and I’m feeling that these cards are asking us for a radical reframe: How might we see kingly traits of perseverance, expertise, and leadership in how we experience challenges this week? Whether we’ve been feeling less than, indadequate, or simply strapped for resources for quite some time, or new developments land us struggling through the snow like the figures in this card, The King of Pentacles is telling us that we have more than enough strength to push through. I’m also wondering if some external figures may be stirring up envy or insecurity. Who are we seeing as “having it all” or “a resounding success” this week? How might we look for these traits within ourselves instead? It’ll be worth investing some time in the beginning of the week for reflection, planning, self-esteem boosting, and preparation before the challenges of the Five comes into focus mid-week.

We’ve been dealing with some stickiness around self-worth and work for a while in our forecasts. The Ten of Wands makes a return, suggesting that some of our feelings of burnout from the Five of Pentacles may be self-inflicted. Have we been burning the candle at both ends, engaging in so many activities that our mental health and ability to see our struggles in context has suffered? This is where another facet of The King of Pentacles comes into play. This character features one of the most complex robes in the tarot deck (and believe me, I’ve studied/coveted them all), embellished with juicy grapes. Clearly, this person knows how to have a good time and is not about an austere, minimalist ethic, sartorial or otherwise.

This week we may be tempted to shrink ourselves, feeling more at home in stories where we’re suffering and put-upon than those where we’re leaders, taking up space, and owning our circumstances and skills. Resiting the temptation to treat ourselves with harshness is key: stepping away from the burden of the Ten of Wands and tending to our daily lives, finances, and careers with kindness will result in us stepping into the role of the King of Pentacles. How can our decisions relating to money and work lift us up? What if we saw ourselves as worthy and benevolent leaders? I also see something more fun in this card: the power of celebration, revelry, and generosity to uplift the spirit. Some fun may be in order - how can you incorporate it into your week?

Kings are also public-facing cards, and I’m feeling a call to reach out to the world, sharing what we can. Acts of generosity, charity, and support can help shift our focus from what we don’t have (The Five of Pentacles) to what we can offer. Doing so wisely and in proportion follows the wisdom of The King, too - the goal here is to be both responsible and in service to ones role as caretaker for one’s own life as well as the larger community. Collapsing into the mentality of The Five of Pentacles or spending and/or giving your way into actual poverty is not helping anyone.

Towards the end of the week we emerge from the sticky challenges of the pentacles and into the Ten of Wands. I’m seeing this as a moment when the skies clear and we can really let go of some burdens. This would be a prime moment to look at what’s been exhausting you with honesty, then letting it go for good. There’s nothing more motivating than discovering something new you’re excited about. As you brush away the debris that’s accumulated during this period of action what sprouts can you find peeking above the soil? Dream, get excited, and, most importantly, look at how far you’ve come. The Five of Pentacles hints at some criticism or disappointment around your life as it is, yet the King shows us the reality: what we have is quite beautiful, even if it’s not what we expected or what we think is expected of us. How can we reframe, love, and appreciate the reality of our lives and the reality of how much work and consideration we’ve put into creating and tending it? The scene beyond the wall of wands in the Ten is a lovely little village. With a blue sky, cloudless, and green trees lining the streets, we have a place of beauty and serenity waiting for us. Let’s get cozy and actually enjoy it.

This week, embrace:

• Financial planning, budgeting, getting your “money ducks” in a row

• Celebrating your successes

• Donating, volunteering, acting in service to others

• A minimalist schedule whenever possible

This week, avoid

• Big expenditures

• Negative self-talk, especially around money, resources, work

• Saying yes too quickly

• Shame-spirals and perfectionism

Get creative

• King of Pentacles: Since we’ve covered a lot of practical ways to engage with this card above, I’d like to get more personal here: How do you feel you embody the King of Pentacles? Are there parts of this card you struggle with? Do some serious reflection, ideally journaling about what this archetype means to you. Be honest - this is not about solving or even doing anything. Simple awareness can help massage tricky concepts into our identity.

• Five of Pentacles: A lovely part of this card is the glowing pentacles in the window above the figures struggling through the snow below. Many tarot scholars see this window as the same one seen in the Four of Swords - a church-like interior with a resting figure. This week we can engage with spirituality (however you choose to define that slippery term) as a way to soften and heal from feelings of inadequacy and shame. Take time to meditate whenever you find yourself feeling like the figures in this card (or, ideally, feel yourself approaching this state) - take deep breaths and remember the sacred space you carry with you always.

• The Ten of Wands: I’m feeling like we’re being asked to focus on what’s beyond the wall of wands this week. When you notice yourself feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, take a deep breath and look around you. Notice the beauty in your environment and how the world itself isn’t collapsing around you. What if everything was fine just as it is?

Weekly Forecast: March 7-13

Two of Swords / Nine of Wands / Two of Wands

Taking a pause before committing to a new course of action

This week has much more subtle energy than usual. By “usual” I mean the big, hefty Major Arcana cards we’ve been wrestling with the past few weeks,. The Magician and The Hierophant have been inspiring deep dives into what agency, tradition, and innovation mean to us. Now, back in the quotidian world of the Minor Arcana, we seem to have gathered enough “big picture” information (phew). What can we do this week to translate the answers we’ve received into work in our actual lives?

A pause here to insert a super-practical, tarot-to-English translation: This week is a time to make changes based on what we’ve learned about

• Which voices belong in the circle of advisors we listen to and trust

• Which traditions serve us

• …and which are we individually poised to (goddess pardon me for using tech-bro speak) disrupt

We begin our reading with the Two of Swords, and I’m seeing this card as a direct reminder to take a pause, reflect, and consider our next moves. This is a time for silence, taking the space you need, and allowing for a strategic moment of rest so that the big motions occurring in your life can settle into stillness. It’s worth seeking out the conditions you need in order to tune into the more subtle parts of your mind and intuition. Think the energetic equivalent of putting on noise-canceling headphones, then do it unapologetically.

You may notice that the Two of Swords bears some resemblance to The High Priestess, the archetype of intuitive and intellectual wisdom. How can we make space for this part of ourselves in the Minor Arcana realm of everyday life? The High Priestess is a learned and independent archetype who counts herself as her number one advisor, audience, and authority. Step into your wisdom this week; let buzzing distractions pass on by as you retreat into the seat of your power. Consider what spaces and activities grant you access to inner calm and confidence. When the dust settles, what do you see and what voices can you hear now that all the noise has faded into the background?

Taking time to confer with our inner advisors is granting us resolve and clarity in an otherwise busy and demanding week. The Nine of Wands shows a veritable forest of action rising up around us. But is there also accomplishment and fortitude sprouting in this dense growth? See where you can identify hard work paying off, if not just to give you that extra push to keep going. This is not the time to radically reinvent the wheel or abandon ship; however, towards the end of the week what seemed like an impenetrable thicket of work and happenings gives way to an exciting new vista.

What’s there to say about the Two of Wands? I love this card because it shows a moment of satisfaction and yearning, but the productive kind - a tug at the heartstrings with ambition that leads us towards meaningful change. At the end of the week we’ll have an opportunity to let go of our latest push towards success and consider where we really want to go, not out of fear or external pressure, but a sense of stability and abundance.

The figure in this card stands solidly on a stone parapet. Contrast this with the Nine of Wands to the left - in what ways have we built an impressive life, career, or work ethic for ourselves? And how might we feel about making decisions if we saw ourselves in this way, perched on something stable and ready to take flight, instead of harried and overextended? I’d also like to add that this card supports enthusiastic daydreaming for its own sake. Whether or not you end up acting on your dreams, the dreaming itself is doing something for you.

I’m seeing this reading as a pyramid instead of a line, with the Two of Swords and Two of Wands pushing up the Nine of Wands. Going back to the basics is giving us a much needed breather. Just keep an eye open at the end of the week for some refreshing inspiration.

This week, embrace:

• Taking time to make decisions

• Considering your words before sharing them

• Asking yourself what you think before soliciting opinions or advice

• Following through on plans

• Commemorating the end of an era, chapter, or endeavor

This week, avoid:

• Chaotic environments

• Information overload

• Overworking yourself

Get creative:

• The Two of Swords: Take some time to think about how you’ve made decisions in the past. What are the two most important values that inform your choices? Think of this as your two swords and use them to edit out any paths, ideas, or options.

• The Nine of Wands: I’m feeling a different approach to this card this week. You’ll notice we don’t have any cups in this reading, and what better suit to draw on for inspiration when it comes to putting out the fire of the wands. Pay attention to when you feel overwhelmed and, in the wisdom of a commenter I encountered on a parenting blog: Just add water. Take a sip, go for a swim or shower. See how it soothes your overwhelm.

• The Two of Wands: Take yourself on a planning and daydreaming date. You’ll notice how the figure on this card is living the life. Go somewhere fancy, bring your best notebook, and jot down some wishes and potential futures, ideally with a beautiful writing utensil.

Weekly Forecast: February 28 - March 6

The Magician / Page of Cups / Ten of Swords

This forecast was written before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; for an interpretation of these cards through that lens, visit the Incandescent Tarot Substack.

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A new start, inspiration, and fiery ambition. All of these traits are coming to the forefront this week as we engage with a powerful card, number 1 in the Major Arcana sequence, The Magician. This is a card that sees us aware of our own power and enlivened by the act of creating: What can we make with the gifts given to us as well as the skills we’ve honed along life’s journey so far?

Take some time to really explore this card personally. I have a feeling that The Magician has quite a lot to teach us this week, and my hunch is bolstered by the Page of Cups, an irresistibly curious character. See how they peer at the fish popping out of their cup - even though they’re different species, there’s a dialogue happening. In this case, it’s between the conscious, human self and the spiritual or unconscious self. What insights about our creative power can we uncover when engaging with intuitive, spiritual, and ineffable sources of wisdom?

This is a week to step outside of any previously held ideas of identity, skill, or aptitude. While the Page of Cups tells us that we’re trying out something new, The Magician suggests that we’ve been demonstrating skills we've never felt comfortable identifying with for quite some time. The Magician is framed by a profusion of blooms - red roses and white lilies - symbolizing passion and purity. These are also the colors of magic itself. What spells have we been working? What is coming into bloom?

Major Arcana cards point to deep and long-lasting themes. Last week we were visited by The Hierophant, a card about finding a place in traditional structures, lineage, and tradition. The Magician, in contrast, makes magic for themselves, by themselves. Ask yourself where you could use some innovation in your life. This week is a time to chart your own path, let your skills shine, and follow the exhilarating path of creativity. Where is your energy flowing naturally? That’s where you should go.

The Magician and The Page of Cups are forming a helpful alliance in a challenging time. While it may look like you’re engaging with some satisfying external growth (I’m feeling a lot of career-related energy here), the work you’re doing with these two cards is also inching you towards the final page of a separate, very challenging chapter. Yes, this is where the Ten of Swords comes into play - the card with a person stabbed with ten whole swords, looking like an upsetting approximation of a hedgehog.

I’m particularly interested in this card not only because it’s a ten and quite outside the themes of creativity and intuition seen in the rest of our reading, but because it also features the gesture of benediction found in The Hierophant. Look to last week to see what events or realizations may be bringing you to a natural conclusion. I say natural, but I don’t mean that to discount the severity of the Ten of Swords: this is a challenging, emotionally fraught moment; however, it’s worth noting that we’ve being guided towards it by the trustworthy forces of energetic and personally resonant growth (The Magician) and exciting spiritual discovery (The Page of Cups). This is a week to make time for your healing - how can you plan to care for yourself when you’re overwhelmed by emotion or laid low by grief? Any time spent giving yourself a soft place to land will be well spent.

Creativity is also a huge balm for any challenges that arise. Notice how the bright yellow background of The Magician reappears in The Ten of Swords. A new dawn is rising over the sad scene; growth is on the horizon, warmth is returning after a dark night. See where the glow of your creative pursuits are warming you and invest attention, time, and resources there. Swords are all about the mind, and this card shows a painful overabundance of mental activity while The Magician and The Page of Cups offer an alternative: rest, respite, and future growth in spirituality and creation.

This week, embrace:

• Self-directed action

• Transforming ideas, inspiration, and the intangible into action and reality

• Participation in life around you

• Cultivating curiosity in the face of suffering

This week, avoid:

• Being paralyzed with fear, perfectionism, self-doubt

• Neglecting or disavowing your sensitivity

• Connecting suffering with personal shortcomings

Get creative:

• The Magician & The Page of Cups: I’m combining these two cards this week to touch on a theme I only mention briefly in the reading. While we talked a lot about using The Magician to inspire real-world actions, this card works in tandem with the Page of Cups to highlight more playful creativity. So, with this in mind, spend some time channeling your experience of these cards into art of some form. The length, complexity, and form doesn’t matter here - just do something, preferably as playfully as you can. The key is to make “something” out of “nothing” - notice how it feels to look at whatever you’ve created, whether it’s a poem, photograph, painting, or doodle.

• The Ten of Swords: I feel like this card is requesting some planning and preparation. How can we make ourselves as comfortable and supported when the mental and emotional overwhelm of The Ten of Swords strikes? Personally, I’m taking some time today to write out things I can do to calm myself when I get overtaken by worries. This is all about comfort and being with yourself, not solving problems. For me it’s a cup of tea, deep breathing, and a quick browse through a flower catalog to reset. What’s your Ten of Swords plan? Bring it out when you find yourself feeling like someone face-down on the ground, pincushioned with swords. Like the symbol of benediction, it’s a potent gesture of care and blessing that we can give ourselves in dark times.