Wow!! Can you feel the fresh, new energy that seemed to rush in with the start of this week? Mercury Retrograde is over, and that’s only the beginning of the shifts that are underway. Now that we’re back on the “waxing” side of the Moon’s compass, we feel more motivated than ever to really get a move-on with our plans for the future. This is another week packed with astrological happenings! The Moon makes its way from Aries, the first sign of the zodiac (Happy Astro-Moon New Year!) all the way through to Leo — this week begins feeling fresh, new, and full of high, toddler-type energy! Everything feels shiny, new, and full of potential <3<3

On Tuesday around 4 am AST, Venus forms an opposition with Jupiter. This will be felt in the form of recognizing where balance can be found between what we love and our actual “fortunes” — a revelation surrounding what can be done to make use of the skills and resources we already have that will find them expanding. This is closely followed by Chiron, the asteroid represented by the “Wounded Healer,” moving out of Pisces and into Aries around 5:11 am AST. Where before you were feeling those wounds painfully and emotionally, now you are ready to use them as motivation, as fuel to propel you towards bigger and better. Then at 10:04 am AST, Venus forms a trine with Pluto — that Jupiter-revelation is provided some passionate inspiration, the easy support it needs to really gain momentum. Keep this one on the front burner and close to your heart, as you’ll be working on it a while — Saturn goes Retrograde at 10:46 pm AST, finding us slowing down and going back over the details of all that’s been started in recent months. This is a good time to focus on what is already working, what is already in motion — Saturn is great for pointing out mistakes, but also fro providing solid solutions. If you’re proud of what you’ve been doing, this retrograde should be very productive. If you’re not, well — here come boundless opportunities to answer for any slip-ups and to make amends!

Wednesday the Sun opposes Uranus around 11:00 am AST — in a natal chart, this is referred to as a “genius aspect.” Prepare to be massively inspired in some life-changing way!

Thursday at 1:12 am AST, Uranus is Apogee, or at the furthest point from Earth in its orbit — these have been times of sudden and incredible change, and that influence will feel “lessened” at least for a little while. Thursday will be a good day for “gaining your bearings” and regrounding, especially as the Sun moves into Taurus. Focus on stability, but also “treat yo’self” if you feel so inspired — goodness me, you deserve it!

On Friday, the Moon is Perigree (closest to Earth) around 11:42 am, and soon after it forms a sextile with the Sun at 12:16 pm — you will receive an emotional/intuitive nudge that feels positively life-changing, kick-starting an opportunity to really connect with yourself and how you feel about all that’s been going on in your life.

On Sunday, Pluto joins Saturn in Retrograde (both in Capricorn too — holy reflection on our careers and personal progress, Batman!) around 12:25 pm AST. Now we’re in the position to think about all the transforming that’s been going on in a deep, soul-connected way. This will be highlighted in the evening, when the Sun squares the Moon around 6:45 pm AST — you’ll feel challenged, but in such a way that you kick yourself in the pants to really get a move on for the week to come!

For this reading, I drew from the Wild Kuan Yin Oracle, the Kuan Yin Oracle, and the Feng Shui Tarot. These are my favourite decks for “career”-type readings, very conducive to the astrological energies and the theme of inspiration and opportunity that runs through this week! I laid out a crystal grid of dragon’s blood jasper to connect you with your “inner fire” and help you express it from the heart, red jasper for grounding, tiger’s eye for courage and inner strength, moonstone for connection with and understanding of your personal cycles, black obsidian for further grounding and protection/healing of your personal energy, blue lace agate to help you express your truth clearly and effectively, sodalite to connect you with your intuition, carnelian for creativity and emotional understanding, and red tiger’s eye for even further grounding through connection with your personal passion.

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

Shadow Cards: 24. Princess of Purity Leaps Across + 1. Bamboo Moon + V – The Hierophant reversed

Yes, if anything the tense happenings of the past few weeks were a “cleansing process,” finding you feeling much freer to dance forth with your own ideas! You have truly grown so much, and are feeling much calmer, much more centered, much more settled in your personal truth. You have broken away from a “larger structure,” whether it was an institution, a person with more social authority, or even just a deep-seated mindset that you knew was oppressing you more than it was furthering your needs. Either way, you have turned the past on its head, and have risen above the tensions to such a place where you can see what you’re working with and you know what you want to do with it.

Oracle Cards: 23. Anchor to Fly + 15. Ivory Swan Goddess

You have been accomplishing such amazing things — it’s been hard to mark your progress because you’re so deeply “in” to what you’re doing. You have come through such a big and beautiful transformation — you are a sight to behold!! And truly, you have shown yourself to be an important point of grounding for others — your example is such that people are turning to you, looking up to you, seeking your wisdom and support on their own paths. This will be overwhelming at first, but is the first sure sign of success in your field — you are doing it, and you are so freakin’ legit that you can know that when “imposter syndrome” starts to creep in and make you want to hide your shining face, you can know that that’s just even further confirmation that you’ve made it and can, should, must continue to shine your unique and important light so those who need it will find you.

Card 1: Focus for the Week: Queen of Wands reversed + 3 of Wands (jumper)

I had to laugh when this pair came out of the deck! This week, there are a few things holding you back from really feeling like you’re “sitting in your power” — and those things are emails!! Or at the very least, some sort of message/communication that you know needs to be sent out, you’ve just been feeling too shy or have been having a hard time finding your words. No need to hold back any more — Mercury retrograde is over and with it some of that tongue-tied, shrinking-violet feeling should lift with it. Getting this done will really free you up to focus your passion more appropriately, and will also help you feel calmer in your interactions with others — lightening your load by checking this off your list will help you feel in a much better place to proceed with everything else.

Card 2: Release: 4 of Wands reversed

LOL!! The cards are being very “direct” this week — seriously, if you get one thing done this week, it’s the correspondences mentioned above. File that application, send that resume, make that phone call. At this point, that is almost the *only* reason you’re feeling less happy than you could be feeling. Just do it! This is something that really, really can’t happen on its own, and it needs your particular brand of passionate fire to be expressed properly. You can do it, and in doing so you’ll feel so much better, so much more responsible, so much more ready to accept the amazing things on their way to you <3<3

Card 3: Energy to Increase: 9 of Cups reversed

It’s true that, especially with Saturn and Pluto going retrograde, it’s time to pull up the ol’ bootstraps and stop being so indulgent. Poop, I know, but in order for things to get moving in the direction your heart wants them to go, sacrifices must be made! This very much agrees with the “release” cards, as well as the Bay Laurel reversed oracle card from last week — the wishes have been made, and now is a time for doing. Get up, get out, and get a move on — in order to fully heal your situation, you need to put in the work. At least you know what to do and have already begun making headway! You know that this is no time for rest — keep smiling, keep pushing through, and know that you are truly making something meaningful through the work you’ve chosen to dedicate yourself to.

Card 4: Best Advice: Knight of Pentacles

Beautiful <3<3 Yes, your best advice now is to make a working plan — hopefully you started this already, and have done a lot of the sentient, “thinking” work towards what needs to be done. Now it’s time to start moving, slowly but surely, aware that it will take a long time to see “results,” but that each step on the path can absolutely be seen as progress. You’ve set all this in motion, and that is something to be so, so proud of! You’re about to be provided with lots and lots of time to try, test, reevaluate, and reconfigure, tweaking your model to perfection for when Saturn goes direct again in September, taking all you achieve in the meantime to new heights. Keep chipping away, keep making adjustments, and always keep your end-goal in mind — you’re making your way up the mountain, and now that you’re equipped with a more solid sense than ever of what you’re really made of, nothing at all can stop you  <3<3

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

Higher Self Cards: 29. Blessing of the Kite Dancer + 37. The
Lotus Throne + 0 – The Fool

I almost have tears in my eyes at the positivity here! Things really are different, and the shifting that is underway can only bring you to a better place. The winds of change blowing in are here to lift you up, to carry you higher than ever before, but in such a way that you also feel much more stable, much more healthy, and truly, like you are actually blossoming. This has been a long, slow growing process, and it is far from over, but you feel much more open as a result of releasing your expectations and relying on utter faith in the path you have chosen to take you exactly where you need to be. And oh my — are you ever on your way!!

This is a time to persevere with what’s already been started — here comes the tests to the strength of your mettle, but you’ve already weathered so much that nothing can sway you, and what does provides answers surrounding what can still be changed. No need to overthink or get yourself wound up — everyone else is doing enough of that! You are seen as a pillar of strength, even when you don’t feel like one, and all you need to do is keep doing as you observe your own next steps and watch the next chapter unfold. These are exciting times — you are rising up and out of the past, making personal history, and writing the future the way you know it needs to be <3<3

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

Feng Shui Tarot. Eileen Connolly and Peter Paul Connolly. Published by U.S. Game Systems. Scans via Tarot.com, August 27, 2015. Illustrations from Feng Shui Tarot used with permission of U.S. Games Systems, Inc., Stamford, CT 06902. c. 2001 by U.S. Games Systems.  All rights reserved. [Out of Print]

Kuan Yin Oracle. Alana Fairchild. Artwork by Zeng Hao. Victoria, Australia: Blue Angel Publishing, 2012.

Wild Kuan Yin Oracle. Alana Fairchild. Artwork by Wang Yiguang. Victoria, Australia: Blue Angel Publishing, 2015. (pictured: First Edition; link is to purchase Second Edition)