Last week found us working through some difficult themes, needing to maintain perspective on the good that was to come from struggle — here we are in a new week, reinvigorated and full of energy to keep pushing towards what we really want from our individual situations! This week finds that end goal very much within reach, with a few adjustments to be made to keep things running smoothly and on schedule.

This Week Ahead spread is drawn from the Art of Tarot (used as an oracle), Easy Lenormand, and my brand-new Minchiate Tarot! If you’re interested, the unboxing video of the Minchiate can be viewed here. After the slight heaviness of last week’s reading, I wanted to use some no-nonsense decks to get right to the heart of what we need to know this week. These decks are very direct, which makes the message of this week that much sweeter! To feed into this week’s “moving forward” energy, I laid out a crystal grid of brown goldstone for grounding through the knowledge that we are the masters of our own environments, black tourmaline for protection of your energy and shielding form negative influences, snow quartz to solidify your sense of hope for the future, clear quartz to help reflect clearly on the past and gain a foothold for the future, brecchiated jasper for further grounding through understanding of your personal patterns, two yellow jasper to help heal your sense of self and find you realizing the power you have over your situation, sodalite to unite your intuition and your self-expression for clear communication of your needs, rose quartz for heart-centeredness and compassion for your self and others, and smoky quartz to help you “see through the fog” thus finding yourself totally connected with your spirituality and your own individual thought process.

This week’s reading flowed so beautifully from the Shadow cards, to the main reading, to the Higher Self cards… we’ll start with the Shadow cards!

Shadow Cards: IV – The Emperor reversed + Snake + 0 – The Fool reversed

Indeed, last week was a mild bruiser, whipping you into shape in order to better be able to identify the structures that were absolutely not working for you, in favour of getting back to your true nature and reinspiring you to “take better care” and reconnect with that which makes you feel creative, loved, and alive. Yes, you were able to see clearly where your situation was being “poisoned” in such a way that things can actually begin to heal again — you may have been taken down a few pegs, but now you’re really able to get back to basics and start again, moving in a better and more suitable direction for the results you are prepared to achieve.

Oracle Cards: VII – The Chariot + Rider – Ship – Clover

Holy moly! Indeed, things pick up rapidly this week, finding you completely launched in the direction you want to be going — you have truly settled into your “will,” and antidoting the “poison” mentioned above has found you feeling light, free, and ready for action. It’s almost as though you did a “note to self” but actually remembered to take your own advice, finding you far further in your pursuit than you thought you’d be at this point — there are still a few things to be moved around and accounted for, but truly, luck is on your side this week in such a way that if you believe it, you can 100% DO IT.

Card 1: Theme/Focus of the Week: 8 of Swords reversed

So lovely ❤ When I first started reading tarot, the 8 of Swords freaked me out so much — the Rider-Waite-Smith deck shows a woman tied up, blindfolded, trapped in a fence of swords. This card upright is about “traps of your own making” — I’m seeing that little monkey right in the thick of the crossing swords, representing your “monkey mind” getting the better of you. Reversed, this becomes one of my favourite cards! You have been honest with yourself recently to the point that you are completely aware of how you’d been getting in your own way, finding you resolved not to do that any more at all — you are ready to think clearly and efficiently towards how best to accomodate what needs to be done to “win this war,” to remove the obstacles that are still apparent, and to keep slicing away at the work at hand.

Card 2: What to release this week: 5 of Swords

Stop fighting this so hard! You deserve every success that is waiting to be delivered to you, and you can know that no matter what anyone else does or says, they cannot effect your outcome. Only you can! Leave behind what you know is not working for you, do not engage in what you now know to be needless struggles — you have a crystal-clear picture of your next step, and oh my, are you ever ready to leave all that past baggage behind and make a clean, fresh, healing break for what will serve you, what will make you feel like if there needs to be a fight, at least it’s for something you whole-heartedly believe in!

Card 3: The energy to increase this week: 6 of Swords

So many swords! But what a complete confirmation that this week marks to beginning of your forward trajectory, the action of actually “getting into the boat” that will carry you to a place of mental freedom. This can be very easy — the community you need to support your healthly processing of all this here with you, and opening up to being supported as you continue to make progress will cement the revealing of the next steps once you make it over the river. Things are unfolding in a way that can be easy, and if not effortless, at least spiritually rewarding! You really are learning to go with the flow in a way that allows you to stay present and active. Keep up the good work and trust that you will be rewarded for your positive efforts!

Card 4: Advice: 23 – Air

Absolutely keep communication lines open this week, while at the same time doing whatever you can to keep your head “clear.” Listen to any random thoughts that occur to you, as they are sure to have value! The sun is coming up and there is a definite “friendly” vibe to the week. Your loyalties will play a big part in this week’s unfolding — keep those you love close and be present with them even when your mind is whirling and twirling with excitement at all the cool plans that are underway. There is time for everything now! While it’s not time to stop or relax, a minute or two here and there to indulge in daydreams and other lovely dalliances is always affordable. Keep an open, happy, even childlike mind — eyes on the prize, of course, but have fun with it!

Now the Higher Self cards — I actually squealed at these for their delicious confirmation at the direction this week is headed.

Higher Self Cards: 4 of Wands + The Fish + King of Coins

Yes, there is a “celebratory” energy surrounding this week! The 4 of Wands is one of the happiest cards in the deck, about unity, return on investment, wishes being granted, while The Fish is about fortune flowing in and filling you up with optimism for more of the same to continue to pour in. The King of Coins is on top of finances, business, stability at home — this week finds you empowered by your circumstances, as a direct result of all you’ve been doing to ground yourself and prepare yourself to welcome whatever life wants to send your way. Well, this week life is sending you bountiful gifts, useful resources, and the solid ability to trust that you are allowed to shine in your life — your success is not a fluke, it is the reward for conscious and concentrated action towards your vision of what you want your life to hold.

This week finds you set in your direction and empowered to launch forth! It will be important to maintain a happy, open mindset, as the attitudes of others have the potential to trip you up a bit — if it’s not your circus or your monkeys, let it be! Your circus and your monkeys are open and ready for business, and you’ve set it all up and trained so well that nothing can really stop this thing from achieving the success it deserves. You’ve received “the Call” and are answering happily — time to get excited, and get ready for an awesomely productive week!

This is an example of the $25 4-Card Reading in my Etsy shop! If you’re interested in a full month of personalized readings like this, feel free to use the coupon code 4WEEKS25 for 25% off the purchase of four 4-Card Readings — the 4th week is free! I look forward to working with you <3<3

Art of Tarot. Liz Dean. Illustrated by Emma Gamer. Metro Books, 2001.

Easy Lenormand. Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin. Llewellyn, 2015.

Minchiate Tarot. Brian Williams. Destiny Books, 1999.