Hello April! “Time” has felt so funny this year — a couple of weeks ago Steve and I were scratching our heads trying to figure out if it was the 4th or 5th month, when it was still March/ the 3rd month. Now that April’s here it’s amazing to think that we’ve entered the second “quarter” of the year! Most people sense the weight of this year, the air of importance it holds — 2018 is an “11” year, a gateway, a year of finding balance by whatever definition that holds for your own personal experience. The first leg was about gaining your bearings in utter darkness, and now the lights are coming on, allowing you to see how the next steps will take form.

This is an interesting week astrologically, with Mercury (still in retrograde) and Saturn playing major roles — the already-challenged communication planet combined with the planet that gave challenge its name? Mind your words and look for the “lesson to grow on” when things start to feel like they’re not going your way! Mars and Venus play minor roles, carrying over last week’s theme of relationships revealing where they stand and how to improve.

On Monday around 12:44 pm, Mars and Saturn form a conjunction in Capricorn — both are very happy here, and indicate some real clarity coming to you in terms of how to start acting towards getting your life, and most specifically your work/career, in order. You’ll probably find yourself focusing able to get a lot done — but mind yourself when your other duties pull you away from that work.

On Wednesday, Mercury forms a square with Mars, increasing the potential for snappishness and conflicts due to misunderstandings. This will be at its most intense around 8 am AST — watch out for heavy cases of the morning grumps! If you experience mental block in your work, try turning your attention to something more manageable and returning to the original task when your mind wanders back in that direction on its own.

On Thursday, Mercury forms another square, this time with Saturn — this day may feel like a very large challenge, again feeling the most intense around 9:22 am AST, so be mindful of slowing down and going with the flow as best you can!

Saturday brings some ease in the form of a trine between Venus in Taurus and Saturn in Capricorn, majorly lightening the load and most likely providing the solutions to any lingering sensitivities from all the Mercury/Mars/Saturn activity through midweek. Sunday too, with the Moon Apogee (farthest from the Earth) in Capricorn — allowing us to feel far less emotional and much more practical about where to proceed from here, as the Moon also enters its Waning Half-Moon phase, the time to begin finishing up with what was started at the last New Moon, and entering the “processing” phase where you give yourself permission to slow down a bit <3<3

This week ahead spread is drawn from the Mother Mary Oracle, the Art of Life Tarot, and the Impressionist Tarot. I’ve been missing all my “old” decks so much with the huge influx of new ones from my birthday — this is such a wonderful deck combination, and always looks so beautiful in spreads <3<3 I laid out a crystal grid of dendritic/tree agate for protection of the “roots” you’ve planted with seeds from your heart, prehnite to empower you to speak your truths gently but effectively, dumortierite to protect those messages and ground you in their delivery, ocean jasper to help you recongnize your personal patterns and flow calmly above the ones you wish to release, lapis lazuli to further encourage you to speak and communicate with focused directness, and honey calcite for a boost in confidence and a bit of light to add to your sparkle!

First, let’s look at the Shadow cards, a look at the underlying theme of the week:

Shadow Cards: 31. Our Lady of Sacred Sisterhood + Ten of Wands | “Patience and fortitude conquer all things.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson + 7 of Wands reversed

This week, lean on your most loving support system — it has the potential to be a real toughie, but you know exactly who to turn to when you need a listening ear and a soft shoulder. You’re so tired, but with good reason! — a quick look back over the past couple of weeks shows how very much you’ve been doing, and while it’s definitely been an uphill battle, know that you are very much poised to be recognized for your efforts. The time is coming where you’ll be able to be able to let up a bit, to slow down and gain your bearings — you need all the energy you can get for the big things you’ve set in motion, so do your best to relax into any downtime you can find to charge up and get ready. Exciting!!

Oracle Cards: 6. Our Lady of the Dark Mysteries + King of Cups | “It is a good thing to be rich and to be strong, but it is a better thing to be loved.” -Euripides

Indeed, take this post as something to keep in the back of your mind when the challenges crop up this week –sometimes it can feel so confusing when we stop to analyze what’s happening, when the world feels so cruel and all you’re doing is trying to keep up with the demands and hold what you can together! There there, take heart in knowing that’s how we all feel — and that’s why we get so defensive when our efforts, big or small, are questioned. Try to hear what’s really being said when tones and gestures muddy-up both what you’re trying to express this week, as well as what others offer up to you — especially with your immediate loved ones and the people you need to get along with to keep the world turning <3<3 This week, your real power lies in choosing to release your judgments, in turn welcoming the happiness that comes when people feel safe to voice their hearts and minds.

Card 1: Theme/Focus of the Week: 7 of Cups

Oh yes, this week will feel “unreal” at times — lean in to the confusion, ask questions when you feel like you don’t understand, and know that by this time next week, it will all feel like a dream. As such, don’t put any stock in any emotional grievances that arise — they really will blow over before you know it. The theme of lots of rest is continued here, strongly reinforcing the need to go easy on yourself, “choose not to choose,” pulling back from that which overwhelms you and just taking time to yourself to focus on daydreaming about the “next chapter,” visualizing the things you’ve set in motion and how you picture them feeling and progressing. There’s still time before things pick up again, so even though you’re raring to continue, give yourself time to rest too!

Card 2: Release: 9 of Pentacles

It’s true that your “comfort zone” has undergone some major reconstructions as of late — you barely recognize yourself as a result of the thick, hardworking skin you’ve had to develop! As you read the above with the heavy “rest” emphasis you probably though “right…when?!” Well, you’re right, there’s no time to actually “stop” with what you’ve started — just allow yourself to slow down, to do as much as you feel able, with the encouragement that you can continue to pick up the pace gradually as you ease into your new roles and responsibilities more thoroughly. You’re doing such a great job, and you’re getting yourself to where you want to be — this is the part where you establish the baseline, and continue to build on it and progress from there!

Card 3: Energy to Increase: 5 of Cups reversed

Part of this need to protect your energy is to maintain perspective on how far you’ve come — the heavy-ish astro forecast promises challenging encounters, so keep in mind that there is so much good to come, and that this week’s flare-ups are just blips on the radar that you can sail right through. If your feelings get hurt, feel that through, but do your best not to hang on to it — there are so many new opportunities opening up and being fulfilled. Recognize much of what you’re feeling as imprinted expectation of how things have gone before — things are different now, and it is okay to welcome in hope for the best <3<3

Card 4: Best Advice: XX – Judgment reversed

Wow!! Yes, even though tensions may be high, try to crash through this week with a firm focus on your own goals, on your own pursuits of happiness. Go easy on others when their sentiments don’t quite make their way across — don’t sell yourself short, but do excuse yourself from anything that feels too harsh and come back to it later, refreshed and renewed. Allow yourself to be vulnerable in favour of making your own intentions clear, being fully aware that this is a week of “true colours” being shown, of loyalties confirmed, and of connecting within for the light needed to guide the rest of the way.

Now for the Higher Self cards, a message of hope moving forward:

Higher Self Cards: 39. Our Lady of Holy Fire + Five of Wands | “The wisest men follow their own direction.” -Euripides + 3 of Wands

Yes, keep your vision close at heart, as this week will test it — stay true to what you’re so passionate about, and know that any upsets this week will pass just as soon as they started. Your message is being communicated, on some level, and you will be heard — trust in time to deliver the return you seek, and in the meantime, do your best to keep your end of any interactions as calm and noncombative as you can manage — or as is appropriate to protect your sense of integrity! This week’s trials-by-fire can be seen as a purification process, the final cleanse before what you need to hear is heard, and in turn finding things become much, much easier for you and everyone else involved.

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

Decks used:

Art of Life Tarot. Charlene Livingstone. Stamford, CT: U. S. Games Systems, Inc., 2012.

Impressionist Tarot. Corrine Kenner. Artwork by Arturo Picca. Torino, Italy: Lo Scarabeo, 2015.

Mother Mary Oracle. Alana Fairchild. Artwork by Shiloh Sophia McCloud. Victoria, Australia: Blue Angel Publishing, 2014.