Weekly Forecast: June 26-July 3

This is a reading of deep emotion. A struggle is ending, or perhaps it seems like it’ll never end - where do we seek refuge when the outside world appears hostile and unbearable? How can we mark an ending for ourselves and gain perspective?

The Ten of Wands is all about bearing burdens, yet as a Minor Arcana card it speaks to the realm of the everyday. And we all know how many burdens can be found there. Where then, can we go? The High Priestess has the answers.

Many “tarot people” love this card, and I’m one of them. It symbolizes arcane wisdom, great mysteries, liminal spaces, and the inscrutable rhythms of nature and magic… just the entire vibe of the occult corner of the bookstore or a moonlit view on a solitary walk at night.

The High Priestess, however, does not deal in easy answers. This is not a time for easy answers. Nor, in fact, is it a time for frenetic action. The Ten of Wands is telling us we’re done with running to and fro; we’ve actually been doing this for quite a while (how else did we get all these wands?). We’re tired. And there’s great wisdom to be found in our dreams.

This is a reading where one card is inviting us in - the sun in our reading’s solar system. Take some time this week to gaze into the eyes of The High Priestess. Consider what difficult opposites you find yourself standing between. What big questions confront you when you step away from the busy world of the wands and journey inwards? What really matters?

I’m not talking about strictly solitary journeys here, but I do think that this reading is nudging us to consult ourselves first before starting down new paths. The self I’m talking about is the higher self, too, and not the ego. The High Priestess, despite her allure and charisma, is a difficult card. Don’t be surprised if things feel challenging and if answers don’t come easily. This is simply a reflection of the complexity and importance of what’s coursing through our lives right now. Most importantly, this card is about holding difficulty gently so that we can understand it, then letting it flow through us. We don’t need to grasp and grip like the Ten of Wands - we’re all keepers of a great mystery and this is a week to remember it and tap into something greater.

Ask yourself what greater stories and larger trends, whether they’re in history or your own life, can give you strength and perspective. The High Priestess exists in the nuanced shadows of life; she sits with power between the two pillars of opposites. This is her place of wisdom and this is her home. How can we find ourselves at home amidst challenge, polarization, and the seductive pull of easy but incomplete answers?

So, yes, there’s some confrontation in this card, along with the need to turn inwards. Yet taking the time to do so will open up avenues for stunning moments of connection and expression. The High Priestess sits on the land but peek behind her and you’ll glimpse a calm sea gently lapping at the shore. In tarot, water symbolizes emotion, intuition, and spirit. So what do we have as our final card? The ultimate expression of water itself - The Ace of Cups.

It’s as if the curtain behind The High Priestess has fallen away to reveal a great gift. The time we spend with this card (and consulting with our higher selves) will usher in a scene of nourishing connection and expression. If you’re worrying that taking time to gather your wits, consult your dreams and intuition, and retreat from the grind of the Ten of Wands is selfish and indulgent, just look to this card for reassurance.

I’d also like to point out that The Ace of Cups is telling us something important: emotion and feeling are the key to this moment. Find how The High Priestess expresses herself through you and you’ll begin to feel something moving and important. Let this through; see where the feeling takes you.

This week, embrace:

• Patience

• Inner Power

• Intuitive messages (have I mentioned dreams enough??)

• Standing your ground

• Inspiring and sustaining connection

• Romance and friendship

• New connections

This week, avoid:

• Burnout

• Avoidance through busywork, over communicating, or self-punishment

• Mistaking ego (of yourself or others) for wisdom

• Emotional repression

Get creative:

• Ten of Wands: I’m really feeling the burdens shown in this card this week, and I think this card is asking us to put our sticks down and shake it out. Spend some time caring for your body, period. But to really energize this card, treat yourself to a frenetic, joyful dance party. One song. Fast and exciting. Move like a wild creature. Drop those stick to the ground and shake the life back into your limbs.

• The High Priestess: I’m intrigued by the energy of The High Priestess in this reading. There’s usually a card that holds a teasing invitation: you don’t know all that I have to say just yet. This is the one for me this week. I invite you to meditate on the mystery you hold within yourself. Just five minutes will do, though more can be illuminating. Breathe deeply, sit with yourself, and maybe envision yourself walking towards The High Priestess, sitting between her pillars at the shore. Ask her/yourself: “What do I need to know right now? What latent power am I holding that needs to be brought into the world?”

• Ace of Cups: This card is so beautiful I almost don’t want to give any suggestions for it. Part of the glory of the aces is that they appear of their own accord. So, this week, let’s practice accepting beauty, connection, and tenderness. When someone reaches out with an offer to help, build relationships, or anything cups-y, reach back. This extends to the beauty of everyday life as well; nothing is too small to transform us. And, with all this practice, we’ll be primed to accept our big ace moment however it arrives.

Weekly Forecast: June 20-26

How do you react when a rainbow finally appears? Maybe you’ve been secretly praying for one, nervous and expectant. Or perhaps you’ve been hoarding rainwater, thinking you can collect enough to create your own downpour and invite one in. But we all know that’s not how rainbows work. They arrive on their own accord, a colorful expression of nature and change. The right conditions need to be present, and if we are too, we can rise up and take the sight in.

This week sees a big desire become real. The rainbow is happening. What will we do?

There’s a restrictive side to the Four of Cups that’s coming through in our reading. Where in life do your wishes come with a dose of fear? Sometimes we cling to our smallness, dreaming big and bold dreams, but secretly secure in not realizing them.

Yet this week a powerful wish-fulfilling card is taking center stage: the Ten of Cups is showing us that our dream is quite close. We could, in fact, get up and run to meet it. But is something holding us back?

We have the beginning of the week to really consider this. Our first impulse may be to think through the issue, but we’d be wise to follow the true nature of the cups and get in touch with our feelings. Looking at the Four of Cups I’m imagining a deep reservoir of water beneath the three cups on the ground. Are we in fact sitting on enduring wisdom while pretending we need to scrounge and scrape for inspiration? We can learn a lot about our desires this week along with any fears we have about our wishes coming true.

Take a look at the Ten of Cups. What do you see in this card? What does it make you feel? You’d be surprised at how upsetting this card can be to people. It can look flashy, garish - especially if you’re used to thinking that living your dream openly is dangerous, inviting trouble.

Fortunately, we have the Two of Swords on the other side, tempering our strong emotions. This wise card invites us to take baby steps. We don’t have to embrace an entirely new life wholesale, rush into good fortune, or change radically. There’s time to step into the rainbow-lit world of the Ten of Cups for a bit, then take a break and mull things over. Or, even better, just let yourself be so that its wonder can sink in.

Oftentimes we think that beauty, pleasure, and connection are fleeting, limited resources. The Ten of Cups, however, tells a different story. In its pure form, it depicts the eternal wellspring of connection. We can frolic together, yes, but we can also grieve together, struggle together, and yearn together. When done out of a place of authentic relationship, all of these endeavors become generative and, in their own way, gorgeous and transformative.

See where you can find yourself sharing in joy, connection, and bounty. Make room for whatever this brings up, and grand yourself the solitude or space to let the doses sink in. I have a feeling that this week holds an important revelation: an experience that points you towards the greater source of fulfillment that’s always there, no matter what happens.

This is a week of joy, surprised, and integration. Dream big, and don’t be afraid to embrace the rainbow when it appears.

This week, embrace:

• Taking it easy

• Being gentle with your fears

• Romance

• Connection

• Living your best life

• Respecting your dreams

This week, avoid:

• Overplanning

• Reclusiveness

• Shutting down emotionally

Get creative:

• Four of Cups: This card has been stalking us for most of 2022. This week, I’m feeling like its seriousness could use a shake-up. Try meditating on abundance, oversized dreams, outlandishly positive scenarios. Let yourself go wild, simply holding the images in your mind with gentleness.

• Ten of Cups: This card is begging us to get outside. Find a way to be in nature with people you love (or just like… for now).

• Two of Swords: I didn’t realize that there is a vast wellspring of water in this reading when I was riffing on the Four of Cups. It’s here in the Two of Swords! Which makes me think that we’re going to uncover a special source of enjoyment and acceptance this week. Preferably during the weekend, take some time to journal about where you noticed a sense of belonging, satisfaction, and peace. You now have a new source of insight and nourishment in your awareness. Congratulations!

Weekly Forecast: June 6-12

We have something very interesting here, friends: the first card from the first monthly forecast is also our first card for the weekly forecast. It’s Page of Swords time! And I think this is telling us that a lot of the main themes we’ll be mulling over this month are present right now at the beginning of the week.

I’m glad to have this page pop up. After recording the monthly reading I spent the next few days collecting insights and ideas about this intrepid card. I was worried I’d neglected to go into some of its more actionable, down-to-earth facets, but here we are with plenty of time and space to explore. Not to mention the reading definitely thinks we have more to learn from this page as well.

When I look at this card I think of questions and the dust they can kick up. What happens when we look at the world around us with the wide eyes of inexperience? When we ask from a genuine place of not knowing and a desire for understanding?

This Page seems to be looking in the direction the wind is blowing. Have they breathed a whole weather system into being just by asking? Questions start with clarity of intention and invite knowledge. The process of thinking for ourselves, however, means that we have to sift through the information that comes our way. When this page finally turns to the right, they’ll face into the clouds. We’ll be experiencing a similar situation this week. We want knowledge, but we must be prepared to navigate some fog, squint and seek and trust as we move towards greater understanding. It’s not simple or clear-cut. We’re going someplace different, we’re learning something new.

The central focus, and the focus of our questions perhaps, is reciprocity and justice. We’re not in the lofty “justice-as-an-archetype” territory of the Justice card itself, however. We’re in the embodied, complicated everyday world of the pentacles. The Six of Pentacles is a card about balance. How do the scales come back into balance after a disruption? What do we do with our time and resources to give and receive help? How do we structure our time to make sure that we are stewards of healthy relationships, both between human beings and nature itself, even the spiritual and material world. Typing this all out makes me glad we have the chutzpah of the Page of Swords in our corner this week. We want to know a lot. We’re asking hard questions. And, I think, these questions are coming (and going to) a really good place.

The pentacles are about there here and now. This is an opportune time to reassess our efforts to foster relational balance and align our actions with justice. Ask yourself what really matters to you - what change can you make? Who is helping you, and who can you help? I’m thinking of this idea of balance held in all the sixes in tarot: a 3 on each side with us in the center. How can we leverage our resources and communities, the ties that keep us held up in life, and extend them to the other side of the scale - those who can benefit from our help.

There’s an opportunity this week to effect some real change. Mind you, it’s in the pentacles - this is about doing something. Anything. Grand statements, epic commitments, complex plans? Not hanging out in this card. If you can think of a small action, do it. Or ask your nearest and dearest what they think you could contribute (or even, what you could all contribute as a collective). Since the Page of Swords is our overarching card for June, these questions won’t be answered right now, nor will the actions we take be reaching a big conclusion. I like this. We may be having a “breadcrumb situation” where each small step leads to another.

And what better card to have leading us along our exploration of the Six of Pentacles than the Knight of Wands? We’re in a position to find a great deal of energy, motivation, and enthusiasm in our search for right relationship, justice, and responsibility. Can this, dare I say, be fun? At the very least, the Knight of Wands shows us all fired up, and like fire, the light we cast through our actions this week will spread their light to all corners of our lives. Be open to new connections, surprising developments and gains. Don’t stray too far, however, as this card can lead to burnout and overzealous behavior. We are, after all, working on balance and reciprocity. Small steps with great enthusiasm will do just as much, if not more than, grandiose gestures and quick-moving plans that stretch us too thin.

This week, embrace:

• Questions, questions, questions

• New perspectives

• Flexibility

• Giving and receiving support

• Following the energy - going with what moves naturally and with ease

This week, avoid:

• Overanalysis

• Dogmatic thinking

• Dissociative behaviors

• Seeking control

Get creative:

• Page of Swords: Bring this card’s energy into everyday conversation. Ask more questions! Be sure these are rooted in your natural curiosity; no snore-inducing small-talk, or blandly safe topics. Treat each person you speak with as someone who holds an important secret to your personal growth and larger understanding of the world. How does this change your experience?

• Six of Pentacles: I’m seeing this card as a link in the human tapestry. Who and what are you connected to right now? Take a piece of paper and divide it into two columns. In the first column write out the people, resources, and experiences that have allowed you to flourish in life. In the second column, expand on how each item on the left could be extended towards others. You may be already doing some of these things - great! How does this list inspire you?

• Knight of Wands: I think this card is best experienced in the body. Find some way you can feel the wind in your face and enjoy the exhilaration of movement. Take a card ride with the windows down, preferably blasting a favorite song. Swing as high as you can, seven-year-old style. Spin in a field of grass until you topple over. That’s it. Just feel the energy of this brave and joyful card.

Weekly Forecast: May 30-June 5

Look at the forward-facing theme of this reading! Each character (and we have three - one for each card) is facing towards the right, the direction of the future, open and aware of what’s to come. Well, as aware as we can be of the mysteries of life before they reveal themselves.

This is a time to be open to and respectful of the synchronization that happens between our self and the deeper currents of life. Death is a card of natural transitions, a slow fade through artful gradations of shadow. What transformation do you feel you’ve been undergoing recently? Lean into the weirdness, for while Death is natural it’s still a journey into the unknown, and I mean that on many levels. When we truly don’t know, everything feels strange - ourselves and the world around us. Because we have two court cards on either side of Death we know this reading is about the self. What parts of you feel authentic and foreign? What are you turning towards, shifting into? We don’t have any answers yet - the picture has yet to come into focus - but we do have the curiosity and motivation to ride into the fog willingly.

Let’s rewind, shall we? The Page of Wands leads the charge into the week. It’s a time to follow our instincts, welcoming the sparks of interest popping in the fires of our lives. What I love about pages is their lack of linear thinking. This is a card that shows us how following a circuitous route, letting our eyes rove and our legs move with joyful freedom, can bring us to interesting places. What is making your spine tingle, the hair on your arms prick up? We’ll be getting clues about the larger direction in our life throughout the week; be careful, however, not to let your focus be on making change happen. Trust in the powerful current winding its way through your waters will be helpful. Struggling will only exhaust you.

Time to talk about Death. Those deep currents I’m talking about? Death territory. The name of this card is a conversation-stopper, but turn back and look at the Page of Wands. Would we skip towards Death if it was so annihilating and terrible? A part of ourselves, and a joyful and authentic one, to boot, is yearning for change and aware that an important season has arrived. In tarot, Death is not a fall into oblivion. It’s only number 13 out of 22. A step on the journey of life itself, but a big one that’s to be sure. What do you know must change, and how willing are you to embrace the change you’re not aware of just yet?

Part of Death involves taking responsibility: responsibility for your life path, for making the changes that serve your highest self, and for modeling the care and values you hold dear. This requires letting things go. What have you grown out of? Like a snake about to shed its skin you may need to rub against some challenges to loosen and release your old self. Doing the work is worth it and, helpfully, the larger process is happening of its own accord. With the Page of Wands leading the charge, we’re in a powerful position to accelerate our transformation and even enjoy the ride. So let whatever’s falling away, fall away, and be sure to fill your days with activities and pursuits that you quite simply enjoy. The little things are bolstering and supporting a great big thing this week.

If all the mystery and metaphor is frustrating for you, I do have some good news, as the deep transformation underway ushers in some helpful clarity. The Queen of Swords represents a parting of clouds, the grey skies becoming blue after a storm. Whatever conclusions or certainties enter into your life at the end of the week will be deeply important to you. It may take some bravery to stand by (and act) by them, but taking up your sword to advocate for yourself will be satisfying and empowering. This is a time to trust that your words will flow with ease when they’re connected to your truth. Communicating, networking, and advocating are all pursuits that fall under this card.

I will add that Death is a big card; the changes that happen this week aren’t isolated to this week alone, and have likely been the works for a month at least. And, importantly, they’ll continue to unfold over the next month or so. Know that any Queen of Swords ideas and epiphanies are only part of this bigger story, not conclusive answers to pressing life questions. Tread gently, deliberately, and with the Page of Wands’ sense of adventure and fun.

This week, embrace:

• Joy

• Exploration

• Self-expression

• The unknown

• Transformation

• Clarity

This week, avoid:

• Rushed decision-making

• Getting swept up in others’ opinions and choices

• Minimizing your desires

Get creative:

• Page of Wands: Make time each day for something purely enjoyable. A delicious cookie with your afternoon tea, dancing to your favorite song before heading out the door, driving a different route to work or any regular destination.

• Death: There’s a mystical side to this card (have you guessed?) Pay attention to your dreams this week, picking up on powerful symbols and events. Just carry them with you, noting their impact and resisting the urge to analyze.

• Queen of Swords: This is a two-part one. First, take some time now to write out some issues, questions, or pressing matters you’d like to articulate. Do it quickly, before your inner-critic adds their two cents. Save this writing and revisit it at the end of the week. What new information and insights can you bring to these questions? Write you answers and see how much more you have to say.

Weekly Forecast: May 23-29

I love this reading. It’s jarring, effusive, then serene. There’s a sense of multiplication as we travel from the hardship of the Five of Pentacles and into the bounty of the Ten. It leaves us in a pensive place; we recede into the background for a spell, consulting with ourselves in the deliberative Two of Swords.

If you’ve been dragging your feet, feeling exhausted or “in it,” this week has a helpful message for you: No matter the difficulty, there’s treasure to be found in your everyday life. Soon, these cards tell us, that treasure is multiplying into something splendid.

This could happen in one of two ways:

1. A healing breakthrough - finding a new frame through which to view your recent struggles that catapults you into a phase of action and enjoyment.

2. A big change, addition, or opportunity.

This is all happening in the realm of the pentacles, a place where what we do, touch, and tend to comes into focus. And, even if you’re not familiar with tarot, the Five of Pentacles does a good job of broadcasting what happens when these areas get pinched in the grips of difficulty. It’s a classic “bad times” tarot card, and I like how it doesn’t mince words (or, rather, images) when illustrating what it feels like to struggle - walking into the wind, limping along, out in the cold.

When I draw cards like this I like to take a moment of recognition. Where have you felt exhausted, overburdened, and unfortunate? How can you extend compassion to yourself and your struggles? This is, interestingly, also the only card with snow in it. Some part of our pentacles experience (work, domestic life, finances) has been experiencing winter - a period of dormancy, energy conservation, and endurance. If you’ve been scraping by, not doing as much as you’d like or simply feeling limited, cut yourself some slack. It’s likely this has been due to necessity - the environment just isn’t in your favor - and the smart thing is, in fact, to rest and wait or keep things simple. Just getting by or even doing nothing can sometimes be the best and smartest decision.

If the Five of Pentacles is winter, our next card, The Ten of Pentacles, is the golden days of high summer. This is quite the jump! Something is bursting forth in the middle of the week, making me think that our slog through this blizzard of troubles is well worth the effort. Fives are the midpoint in each suit and all deal with the theme of challenge. Entering into the Ten of Pentacles shows that we’ve faced a stiff challenge, continued despite adversity, and are emerging into a vastly different landscape.

There may be some overwhelm at this shift, like squinting into the bright sunlight after emerging from darkness. It’ll be helpful to plan for some adjustment while not shying away from the bounty. The Ten of Pentacles is a busy card (can’t you tell??) and represents the riches of a life fully lived. Expect support and growth in your community, family, and partnerships. Look to connections between yourself, nature, and your ancestors. This is a complex and gorgeous tapestry. What’s coming together for you? How has enduring struggles helped heighten your appreciation of what really matters? Colors may look brighter, tastes sweeter, sounds clear and resonant. This is a time to appreciate what we have and revel in caring for it. Also, I might add, letting ourselves take up space and embrace our messy humanity as a participant of this wild scene.

This arc gives us a lot to think about, and towards the end of the week we’re mulling over what we’ve learned and how things have changed. The Two of Swords shows us taking some mental space to gain clarity and insight. I’d urge you, however, not to retreat too far from the warmth and bustle of the Ten of Pentacles. Like all tens, this card shows an important culmination. Don’t sneak away from your own graduation party in order to analyze or create a mental story. The story that is still unfolding requires our full participation.

Using what’s happening in our world of pentacles to make decisions, however, is well worth our time. Just be sure to pay attention to any impulses to pump the breaks, seek safety in over-deliberation, or intellectualize something wild, beautiful, and full of potential. Drawing trusted others into your decisions and internal debates can help mitigate the Two of Swords’ tendency to isolate.

Either way, it’s clear that this week is bringing about a pivotal change. Let yourself take in the riches you have (and expand your understanding of this concept) and use your new situation as a foundation for growth.

This week, embrace:

• Endurance

• Re-framing struggles

• Community

• Sharing pleasures

• Celebration

• Intuitive messages

This week, avoid:

• Despair

• Fatalistic thinking

• Self-isolation

• Intellectualization

Get creative:

• Five of Pentacles: An often-neglected side of the pentacles is that it’s the suit associated with the physical body. Take some time this week to do something physical that gets you out of your mind and into your body. It may even be satisfying to do something especially challenging, showing yourself that not only can you get through hard things, but that they make you stronger.

• Ten of Pentacles: We talked about how this card intersects with daily life, but didn’t draw on its powerful spiritual side. I see this card as the ancestral tarot card. Take some time to find out how your ancestors navigated hardship, ideally through conversations with family members (this card is also all about real-life community and interpersonal interactions). Do a small ritual to honor the struggles your ancestors have endured - I’m a huge fan of lighting a candle - while meditating on how you have been doing the same in your unique life experience. For those with tense family relationships, you may want to widen this frame and find a historical figure you identify with, within your cultural tradition or not.

• Two of Swords: Let’s focus on the more positive side of this card here. The Two of Swords is, in its healthiest incarnation, all about balancing intuition with intellect. This week, see how you can practice tapping into your intuition, starting with the prompt: What makes me feel good right now? (Think: however the Ten of Pentacles is showing up in your life. What’s so great here? How does it feel in your body?)

Weekly Forecast: May 16-22

The deep pull of change characterizes this week, as the beginnings of a shift start to pull at our lives. Whatever we’ve become accustomed to is reaching its end - how will we face this new reality? Most importantly, how will we continue despite invitations to revert to old ways, stale plans, or unhealthy situations?

This is one of those readings that has both conflict and harmony. We start things out with the wily Seven of Swords, a card of trickery and deceit that can manifest on a wide spectrum, from helpful insouciance and rebelliousness to betrayal and mendacity. Spending some time here will be helpful: where in your life do you feel like corners are being cut, excuses made, or facts bent? Pay attention to whether it’s internal - a mental contortion (usually defense mechanism) that you’re engaging in - or external - something being acted upon you by another. These are serious themes, yet there’s energy here that’s in service of the bigger change taking shape at the end of the week. It’s up to use to recognize and transform it.

You’ll notice that the figure in the Seven of Swords in walking in one direction while looking back over their shoulder. I’m seeing this card being irresistibly pulled towards the vortex of The Wheel of Fortune, a symbol of cosmic change. Regardless of the situation you’re in, there’s something present in it that can either be redirected in support of change or simply reframed. Is there some lesson you need to integrate, a fear you need to face so that you can turn around and walk towards the future? Or is there some chaos being brought into your life that may give you clarity about what you really want (aka not anymore of that particular flavor of wild b.s.?).

Paying attention to restlessness, half-truths, or full-on lies that take you back to old, stale territory. There’s also a strong whiff of avoidance in The Seven of Swords - are you pulling away from inevitable change? Is someone else trying to keep you from expanding and flourishing? Despite the tension, this is a moment of power; the background here is a bright yellow, the color of creativity and energy. Seven is a number of spiritual importance. See where you can integrate difficulty into your narrative of growth and beware of seductive justifications to keep things the way they are or return to stifling situations.

Fortunately, we have an epic card of self-regard and personal power in the center of our reading: The King of Wands. This card is all about wise action - reining in our energy and directing it outwards to blaze a path for our selves. Excuses, unhealthy relationships, self-limiting thoughts, and self-sabotage are quickly burned away by the flames of The King of Wands. Let yourself act assertively, trust your plans, and assume responsibility for your direction and behavior this week. I’m also seeing a possibly surprising uprising of strength at play here. You may be surprised by how quickly and authoritatively you rise to the occasion when faced with pushback, challenges, and competition.

So here we see the more pernicious side of thinking and communication (swords) forced to travel through the clarifying and formidable boundaries and requirements of the ruler of the wands suit. A trial by fire? A clarifying conflagration? There may be some drama or tension here, but it’s giving us a running jump into a new cycle, as The Wheel of Fortune starts to spin at the end of the week.

Now this is a tricky card. But where The Seven of Swords deals with personal, mental trickiness, The Wheel of Fortune rules the ever-present force of cosmic change. Whatever we’re experiencing now is sure to cycle into something different. The highs turn back down, the lows begin to swing upward. And, like a cyclone, The Wheel of Fortune opens up new paths, suggesting that we’re going to be given the opportunity to make new headways, travel new ground, and effect the change we’re capable of making in a new landscape.

I feel like this has a lot to do with personal power and authority, as The King of Wands is almost standing guard. First he must deal with the trickiness of The Seven of Wands, after which he can turn around, strong and capable, and being doing what he can to work with the energy of The Wheel of Fortune. Beware the desire to shrink, equivocate, or make excuses. This is a time of powerful growth, and it appears as if we’ve been ready for quite some time. and the time is now.

This week, embrace:

• A long, hard look at the reality in front of you

• Personal integrity

• BOUNDARIES

• Trust in your capabilities

• Leadership

this week, avoid:

• Excuses

• Toxic relationships (no matter how familiar)

• Self-deception

get creative:

• Seven of Swords: Notice where you’re walking away from what you really want, just like the figure in this card. What do you have your eyes on? What feels too big, bright, and exciting? Imagine a face-off between this card and The King of Wands (just look at the photo above - they’re really staring each other down!) How can you elevate your internal boss/leader/ruler to rein in the avoidant behavior of the Seven of Swords?

• King of Wands: Write down a list of what you’re good at, the decisions you’ve made that have paid off, and, most importantly, instances when acting with trust in your instincts and experience have led to swift and authentic change. This is your King of Wands resume: bask in its glory.

• Wheel of Fortune: I like seeing this card as a storm sweeping through our lives. Not the catastrophic kind, but rather one that expels stifling humidity with fresh, cool air. Channel this into real life by conducting some spiritual cleansing in your space. Open the windows, burn incense or spritz some essential oils into the air. Imagine letting in the winds of change, visualizing how you’d like them to work their magic in your life.

Weekly Forecast: May 8-15

I have a brief forecast for you all this week since our family has been under the weather this week. But! I figured it would be a fun opportunity to experiment with a short-form weekly forecast. 

I’ve drawn just one card with “What is our area of focus this week?” as a guiding question. To mix thing up, I’ve switched to one of my favorite decks - The Kitty Kahane Tarot. 

Our card? The Lovers.

What’s coming through

Despite it’s saucy title, The Lovers is a card about choice. In the Renaissance context from which tarot sprung, this meant between alluring vice and righteous virtue. I think you can guess which was deemed the “correct” answer. This week, however, I’m feeling drawn to the tender moment between the woman and the snake shown in Kitty Kahane’s illustration. What happens when we choose knowledge rooted in love, even if that means shaking up our worlds? In other words, are there some gardens that we’re meant to be cast out of?

Regardless of whether you hew to my slightly radical take on the Garden of Eden or more traditional interpretations, the moment Eve tastes the fruit is the catalyst for a huge story. This week we’re presented with a world-enlarging choice. It may come through in subtle ways - simply choosing to frame things from a gentle, new perspective - or as a decisive action. What is your story? In many ways we’re choosing a new moment in every moment, with every breath. The Lovers card reminds us of the incredible wonder, power, and responsibility of this. 

What to do

A huge part of The Lovers is the electrifying feeling it brings to everyday life. Think the glow of excitement and anticipation that comes with falling in love, now transpose that onto the world around you. Look for the miraculous in the everyday, practice seeing people as if they’re new and fascinating, a whole world to be discovered. And, since this is a Major Arcana card we’re talking about, see how you can view yourself in grander terms. This is your time, this is your life - how does this viewpoint change the choices you make?

Shadow sides

Like being cast from the Garden of Eden, all choices involve leaving something behind. In the case of The Lovers, however, this choice is in honor of our personal growth. See if you can pay respect to the natural grief of losing or leaving something (a cherished illusion, naive and comforting fantasies, situations or people that don’t support your growth and expansion) while celebrating the strength and vigor it takes to invest in your self-actualization. It’s hard because it has to be. Not shrinking from this also makes the blues brighter, the world pop with the power of awareness. 

Getting playful

If this energy is coming through on a less intense level (and even/especially if it’s underlined and highlighted with the brightest yellow imaginable) there are plenty of ways to engage with it playfully: get ready for the day as if you’re going on an exciting date, schedule an actual exciting date, write down the important truths that push you towards meaningful change, imagine yourself as the hero of a lush and edgy fairytale. 

Thank you all for joining me in this little experiment. Full-on tarot readings will be back next week. And do let me know what you think (or if there’s any other content you’d like to see in future forecasts) in the comments below. 

Weekly Forecast: May 2-8

This is a week of great possibilities - a time of green lights, fresh starts, and smooth sailing. Like many moments of change and reinvention, however, it’s the challenges that have come before that give us the most guidance.

Yes, we have the Nine of Wands in our array once more, pointing us to our struggles. The sore muscles we’re nursing are also a sign of our increased strength, as much as it may seem otherwise. This is a time to appreciate how present we’ve been in our lives, moving forward even when we’ve felt lost and tired. When things fall together, what seemed all-consuming will fall away quickly; let’s just not forget how hard we’ve worked for the ease that’s coming.

Where does your life feel like a dense thicket of branches? Is there a place that’s been wild and tangled, resistant to navigation or change? See where this energy is active and, after taking a deep breath, imagine all of it changing.

This week we have a powerful moment of transformation. What has felt sticky becomes unstuck. We’re able to move again, make headway, and plunge back into the situation refreshed and motivated.

I love the image these cards give us: a divine figure floating above a forest of wands. The World is back, showing a version of ourselves that’s able to transcend the busy, energetic, and energetically taxing world of wands we’ve been traveling through. Like a dolphin leaping above the waves, glistening in the warm sun before diving back below, we’re given a moment to rise above challenging or complex situations, gaining perspective and insight, before returning to busy life.

We’ve been in a particularly wands-y past few months, so I’m wondering why I switched from wood metaphors to water just there. Perhaps, like The World card shows, we’re in need of some harmony. Whatever we’ve been overdosing on in life lately, it’s worth seeking out what’s missing. Too much hustle and bustle? Add some languorous moments of calm. Too much straightforward wheeling-and-dealing? Make space for poetry and romance. Whether it’s water, air, or earth, know we definitely have enough fire to go around.

Major Arcana cards have a powerful impact, and show us the active themes of a moment. Like a planet, they exert their own gravitational pull. While we can certainly work with them, we don’t need to do anything to bring their energies into our lives. Luckily for us, we’re dealing with The World this week. It’s presence always invites us to take a larger perspective, to situate our present moment in the bigger story.

The Nine of Wands has been a frequent visitor in our readings. We’re tired! We get it! And this week starts off feeling like a continuation of the last. Yet this is a different type of exhaustion - instead of being at a point of burnout, we’re at a point of simply needing to edit. After the visit of The World mid-week, where we gain some important rest and insight, we reach the uncluttered shores of the Three of Wands. Here, the clutter is lessened, begging the question: What doesn’t fit? We’ll need a break to determine this, which is where The World comes in. Be alert for opportunities to get out of your usual routine, experiment, and simply feel free. I think this will be completely removed from whatever the wands are representing for you, too. If possible, make time now to do something refreshing that puts you in the center.

So, beyond the refresher represented by The World, we’re due to consider what we can pare down in our lives at the moment. Creative projects, complex situations, routines and workflows may be where this feeling of overload manifests. In the Nine of Wands we can see exhaustion, but the wands are upright; we’ve worked hard and accomplished much. But we’re also itching for some mobility, a chance to move beyond. To get from the Nine to the Three of Wands we must identify what is truly working or worthwhile and jettison the rest. It’s not as if these extra wands were a waste of time, however. They’ve given us useful experience and knowledge. But now is a time to travel light, bring what matters most.

While this reading is tightly woven in that it’s themes are clear and in direct conversation with each other, it’s also quite mysterious and expansive. I can’t help but feel a tingle of anticipation whenever The World comes up, and as I alluded to earlier, this card can signify moments of reinvention and growth. I think here, however, it’s more of an uncovering. If we’re doing all this editing in our mundane, wands-centric lives, what does having some new space reveal about ourselves? Have we been hiding behind busyness, or is part of our true nature unfurling majestically after slowly growing behind the scenes? There’s a huge potential this week for glorious self-expression, blissful freedom, and coming into our own. If it feels easy and also big and even a little threatening to our ideas of what’s possible - good.

The Three of Wands shows a similar feeling of rising excitement, a time when we must step into the unknown and commit to a new endeavor. I’m reminded that we had another three - The Three of Pentacles - concluding our reading last week. That card dealt with themes of planning and collaboration while this week’s three is about movement, creativity, and fiery ambition. Has something you’ve been working on reached a turning point? If you’re feeling at the cusp, the change may arrive at the end of the week. Be sure to open your arms and embrace simplicity, clarity, and the feeling of wind on your face as you finally start moving towards new shores.

This week, embrace:

• Simplicity

• Self-compassion

• Fun for the sake of fun

• Bravery

This week, avoid:

• Loyalty to the status quo

• Pushing through exhaustion

• Complicated > Effective

• Waffling, hemming-and-hawing, shrinking from greatness

Get creative:

• Nine of Wands: Give what no longer works some love. It can be hard to say goodbye to old faithful techniques, ideas, projects, and approaches - I have a feeling this bittersweetness will be present for us this week. So, let’s dive into it. I’m thinking a “in memoriam” slideshow at an awards ceremony: How can we respect and highlight where we’ve been and what we’ve done, while acknowledging we’re going somewhere new? This would be good journaling fodder. Putting things down in writing would be especially powerful. But simple contemplation will do just fine. (And if you make a slideshow, do share ;)

• The World: I’m feeling like this card needs a grand gesture this week. The World is nude, loving life, front and center. And maybe it’s just because it’s hot here, but water keeps coming up for me when I look at this card. Go swimming, take a ritual bath or shower, or spend some time loving your body fully, decadently, and with focus.

• Three of Wands; This is so, so cheesy, but I’m doing it anyways. This is a cinematic card, y’all. What song would be playing in the moment of the biopic of your life where you make a pivotal change? Imagine yourself standing on the cliffside like the figure in the card, about to embark on one of the boats below. The wind is blowing in your hair. You squint your eyes as the setting sun hits them at just the right angle, giving you a determined and formidable glow. I may have said song, but now I’m feeling a whole playlist. Get into it, and play this whenever you need to recenter/rev-up/get going.

New Podcast Episode! Reading Tarot in Stressful Times

The podcast is back! I’m so happy to be recording again and sharing episodes with you all. 

In this episode, Reading Tarot in Stressful Times, I explore the topic of reading for yourself during moments of difficulty which, to be honest, is one of the most common reasons for seeking out tarot readings. How often do we approach the cards, the epitome of collected calm, and ask about something incredibly low stakes like when to do the dishes or where to go for dinner? (Not often! But I recommend you try it sometimes - it’s fun! and a refreshing change.)

Here, however, I share observations and insights from my personal and professional practice about helpful guidelines, techniques, and expectations for readings that:

• touch on sensitive topics

• deal with big decisions

• engage us emotionally, stirring up fear or anxiety 

And, because I can’t resist, I touch briefly on how these themes come into play when giving or receiving readings as well. 

For all of you who've reached out with questions for the “Ask a Tarot Reader” segment way back in the olden times, fear not! I’ll be addressing those and posting them in upcoming episodes. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar, this is a section where you can ask me anything about tarot - my personal practice, experience as a pro reader, questions about the cards themselves. You can also submit a question for a mini, one-card tarot reading, to be conducted on the podcast itself. I’d love to hear from you! Reach out via email or submit a question on the website here. 

If you’d like to be notified when new episodes launch, sign up for the Everyday Arcana segment of the newsletter. This is the inner sanctum of Incandescent Tarot, if you will. Sign up for extra insights, personal ramblings, and updates. Episodes will be posted here on the blog, as well, and you can subscribe to the podcast on all major podcast platforms. Do leave a rating and review if you enjoy it, and share with friends far and wide!