I’m trying out something new this week, after doing some soul-searching surrounding how to breathe new life into my posts while staying true to what I set out to do with “all this!” Well, I’m feeling inspired to get back to the actual “tarotscope” element of things, and so I’m going to break down the week’s astrology in tarot-terms using the Major Arcana cards associated with the signs/planets and minor arcana cards to illustrate aspect patterns. Woohoo! Here we go!

This week the Moon makes its way from the final degrees of Leo through to Scorpio, entering Virgo almost right away at 5:40 am ADT Monday, then moving through Libra on Wednesday and Thursday and settling into that Scorpio intensity on Friday afternoon. I’m loving the progression of these images, with the Moon represented by The High Priestess/Black Widow, spinning her web. This week we’re “spinning” indeed, starting out with a “full cart” in Leo/Strength’s image, but almost immediately realizing a brighter way to lighten the load with Virgo/The Hermit’s praying mantis holding only the sun <3<3 This way of thinking makes you feel free and fantastic with the lovely dancing Libra/Justice crane — hold on to that feeling as the realness of Scorpio/Death’s vulture comes to make use of what’s left after all this purging in favour of personal balance.

On Monday evening around 8:26 pm ADT, Neptune goes retrograde! Neptune is the planet of creativity, of spirituality, and also of illusions, represented by the Hanged Man in tarot. I love how well reversals represent retrograde planets — these ants were crawling around on the ceiling, but now they’ve hit the ground and are really ready to get to work with the ideas they’ve been driven to pursue! Neptune is going retrograde right in the middle of the sign of Pisces, represented by the Moon in tarot, the card of the subconscious mind, inner depths, and finding your way through the darkness <3<3

Tuesday starts off with some weirdness, as Venus forms a quincunx with Saturn around 7:54 am ADT. A quincunx is a situation requiring a work-around, where you’re thrown for a loop that can be righted through remembering your purpose in the situation it applies to. Between Venus, the planet of love and beauty, and Saturn, the planet of challenge and perseverance (which is currently retrograde), this indicates Tuesday being about assessing what feels like it’s been overturned/dumped out and figuring out a better way to breathe new life into it. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater — this is a time for refilling with warm and adding fresh bubbles! Call on your nurturing Venus/Empress side by using your unrelenting passion to make your “World”(Saturn, see what I did there!) feel a bit less reversed 😉

Tuesday afternoon finds Mercury trine Jupiter retrograde around 4:42 pm. Yay! This will be the strike of inspiration that makes the morning’s events feel a bit easier, reminding you of the Mercury/Magician skills and resources you have to work with specifically as they apply to the way you’re processing change and interpreting your own personal “fortune.” Have fun with this, play with new ideas, keeping in mind that “the Wheel”/Jupiter is always turning. Moments of enjoyment are fleeting, but so are moments of distress — take the good with the bad, and keep jumping at new possibilities!

On Wednesday we have the First Quarter Moon, exact at 7:51 am ADT, a “square” aspect between the Sun and Moon. A square is an energy of conflict requiring resolution, and I chose the 5 of Wands to represent this energy. How interesting to think of the First Quarter as a square, because it’s the time of month where you’re ready to make use of what you’ve started after the New Moon, figuring out how to “make it work” in order to have your vision fully realized at the Full Moon. This First Quarter involves the Sun in the last degrees of Gemini, represented by the Lovers, and the Moon in Virgo (The Hermit). The challenge, according to these cards, will be finding ways to balance your choices — and your personal relationships! — with your need for space to tend and nurture both your health and your life-philosophy. Oops, I put the actual Moon here instead of the High Priestess! But really, this First Quarter will be about finding ways to remain open and receptive to what you’ve “chosen to catch.”

On Thursday, Mercury/The Magician is back in trine-mode, this time with Neptune retrograde! Here you find yourself really inspired to start working on a creative project, having received the friendly confirmation that you’ll be supported in this pursuit. You’re ready to make a change for yourself, and this aspect comes with the precise creative vision needs to get things off the ground <3<3 Interestingly, this one occurs at 12:58 am ADT, so if you’re a night-owl you may even consciously be struck with this one as you go about your nightly puttering. Otherwise, you may wake up Thursday morning having had an incredible dream that throws you into action!

Also on Thursday (7:07 am ADT), the Sun moves into Cancer, the sign of home, of nurturing, of deep emotion — I actually chose this deck this week because I love its Chariot, the card associated with Cancer. A lovely orca, reminding me of a happy Free Willy on his way home! Indeed, the Sun in Cancer represents reconnecting with your personal definition of “home,” of following your intuition and your emotional patterns towards finding what truly makes you feel comfortable, loved, and safe. If you’ve found it, bask in it! If you’re still searching, let your heart and your recurring thoughts be your unquestioned guide <3<3

Um, good thing we’ll be all heart-connected at this point, because Thursday afternoon throws us a little balancing act! Around 1:54 pm, Venus forms an opposition with Mars, represented by the Empress and the Tower, respectively. Here we find the need to “meet in the middle” in the realm of love and the realm of passion, of drive, perhaps of anger. This will be an instance where your sense of what is “good” or “nice” will be countered with something shocking, requiring quick thinking to find a way to understand both sides. This will allow a rocking, see-saw effect, allowing a gentle re-centering instead of the butt-hurting clang that would come if one side just jumped ship! Stay in it and you’ll win it <3<3 Look for the hidden gifts here, a clever eye and an open heart will always help.

On Friday you’re “rewarded” for how you’ve been handling things all week, as the Sun forms a sextile with Uranus, the planet of the Unexpected, of Shocking Change, of Rebellion from the ways of the past. Hoo-ee! Sextiles represent opportunities, a coming together of positive circumstances, and so I’ve chosen the 4 of Wands to represent that energy. With the Sun’s energy of happiness and vitality, this aspect should represent a massively positive breakthrough! Because Uranus is a bit of a roundabouter, if whatever happens on Friday doesn’t feel great right away, know that it was surely a space-clearer to make room for something truly, truly beneficial to rush in.

Saturday begins with another opposition (6:26 am ADT), this time between Mercury and Pluto retrograde, the planet represented by the Judgment card. I’m really seeing this as bringing in the theme of the “cart” from the beginning of the week: at the end of the week you’ve accepted what’s tipped, what has been dumped out for quite an obvious reason, and you’re really ready to start thinking towards a workable solution. You’re ready to start juggling with what’s left, and to truly make some magic!

This week’s “last act” is another square, this time a point of challenge between the Sun (your personal happiness) and Chiron, the asteroid of the “unhealable wound,” of past traumas that over time make us stronger and connect us with our own spirituality and healing ability (6:39 pm). I’ve represented Chiron here as a blend of The Hierophant and Temperance, looking particularly lovely as a polar bear with Northern lights and a flamingo with a rainbow! This challenge will feel like things were going great and then someone comes along and pokes you right in the eye — what the heck?! Argh!! — only to find that they were just trying to get an eyelash for you (weird, I can do that myself, but okay thanks). When something rubs you the wrong way today, ask yourself if there’s a way to get to the bottom of the sentiments involved — you and everyone involved will come through stronger, healthier, and with much better perspective <3<3

Deck used:

Animal Totem Tarot. Leeza Robertson and Eugene Smith. Llewellyn, 2016.

 

This week’s reading is drawn from Connected and Free: The Alchemist’s Oracle, the Magic of Flowers Oracle, and the Animal Wisdom Tarot. I’ve been using lots of plant/animal decks lately, because the idea of “grounding” is always on my mind: we recently came through a particularly intense Grand Water Trine, and looking at the upcoming astrological events of the summer, it’s not due to settle down for a good long while — what a great opportunity to find ways to soothe and stabilize yourself! This is a great time for exploring new possibilities, for accepting the need for a change-up, and for finding ways to make the most of whatever the astro-weather decides to throw at you ❤

I’m trying out something new with the Astro-Forecast, keep an eye out for another post!

For this reading, I laid out a crystal grid of a large amethyst cluster for calming of your personal anxiety and strengthening of the connection with your Higher Self, ruby zoisite for recognizing and finding ways to celebrate and make positive use of your personal uniqueness, amegreen for uniting your higher consciousness and your heart, and amazonite for finding balance between your masculine and feminine dualities in such a way that you find it easier to communicate your ideas authentically and effectively.

To begin, let’s look at the Shadow cards, indicating the “entry-point” to the week ahead:

Shadow Cards: Healing + Bleeding Heart | Heal the Heart + Vulture | 10 of Feathers/Swords

Beautiful <3<3 I love when the key words on the cards actually “spell out” the message! This is a week full of opportunities to better understand and really start to heal what’s been hurting you and draining your emotional energy. Moreso than before, where you identified the necessary release and began the healing process — you’re now entering a space where the hands-on, active part of taking on healthier new patterns finds form.

Oracle Cards: Confirmation + Water Lily | Transmute

Yes, change is underway, and you are “transforming” as a result of feeling confirmed in your chosen path — you’re finding the love you need to get you through, and it is allowing you to blossom through the murky mud and silty waters, breaking through and finally feeling the warmth of fresh and limitless possibility warming your face. You are radiant as you glide your way into new levels of connection with your own personal experience <3<3

Focus for the Week: Dolphin | 2 of Shells/Cups

Indeed, you are feeling loved, whether it’s by another person, from an inner place of self-contentment, or even the amount of pleasurable fun you’re having with the way your life has begun to flow! You’re open to being playful and creative, having found a cool emotional balance that lets you know that there’s no such thing as jumping too high, or laughing too loud. At this point in time you are proud of your reflection, and this feeling will be something to hold on to as an emotional boost moving forward!

Release: Firefly | 4 of Branches/Wands

Part of your current contentment lies in other recent “releases,” namely letting go of your expectation surrounding what happiness is “supposed to look like.” We can imagine all the structures in the world that seem like they would make us happy, but at the end of the day, it’s the energy brought in to those structures that provides the real loving warmth, the invigorating light, the happy returns that keep you pushing for the best <3<3

Energy to Increase: Lynx | 9 of Branches/Wands

This has been a reoccurring theme in readings lately: needing to set better energetic boundaries. Cleverly looking back over past successes and failures after a period of rapid change, you’re able to see the practices that got you here as well as the ones that probably didn’t help much along the way; now is the time to give yourself the healthy gift of promising yourself not to lay those self-made traps again, instead focusing on doing more of what you know protects your personal energy and keeps you moving in the right direction, while in turn protecting all that you’ve sacrificed so much for and worked so hard to achieve. Remember, this is a week of healing past heaviness — lighten your load!

Best Advice: Eagle | Guardian of Feathers (King of Swords)

Mentally, you are in an awesome place to make the decisions that will find you acting fairly and judiciously, knowing when it is time to proceed and when it is time to hold back and make further considerations. You have been thinking deeply and find your vision much further-reaching than ever before; use this to your advantage as you begin to plan for what’s next, gaining positive control over and clear direction for your vision.

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

Higher Self Cards: Expectation + Snapdragon | Assert + Manatee | 6 of Shells/Cups

There are times when it’s necessary to relax your expectations, and there are times when you need to speak up! You have thought long and hard, tangling yourself up in knots wondering if what your heart wanted was even a possibility — you’ve received some confirmation that you can have what you want, even if it looks a bit different from the vision-boards and childhood daydreams. Keep playing with what you’ve got, because you’re close to hitting the “sweet spot” — speak up, knowing that sharing what you want and need really does help things flow in a happier direction!

This is an example of a “Find My Focus” tarot + oracle card reading. If you’re interested in a private reading with me, head over to my Etsy shop! Feel free to use the coupon code THANKS15 for 15% off your reading at checkout <3<3

The Animal Wisdom Tarot. Dawne Brunke. Artwork by Ola Liola. Cico Books, 2013.

Connected and Free: The Alchemist’s Oracle. Lauren Aletta. Illustrated by Tegan Swyny. First Edition. Inner Hue, 2014.

Magic of Flowers Oracle. Tess Whitehurst. Illustrated by Anne Wertheim. First Edition. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2015.

 

This week I’m getting back to basics with my all-time favourite deck combo: Tarot Mucha, Astrological Oracle Cards, and the Nature-Speak Oracle. That’s the real theme this week, too: thinking “from your roots,” doing what you know works in a tried-and-true way, while being open to making adjustments to your overall approach.

I laid out a crystal grid of clear quartz for clarity of mind and Higher Self connection, olive onyx for protection of your heart and your creative vision, rose quartz for loving compassion for yourself and others, two carnelian for creativity and emotional understanding, two moss agate for an urgent reminder to establish and maintain effective self-care practices, and yellow mookaite for protection of your personal power.

Shadow Cards/Underlying theme of the week:
Saturn + Sunrise & Sunset | New doorways + 9 of Swords reversed
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Through dedicated focus to understanding your recent challenges, you’re feeling more assured of your purpose and ready to face what’s next.

Oracle Cards: Mercury + Meadow| Growth and abundance
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A fertile week for thinking of new ways to expand and communicate your vision!
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Focus for the week: 0 – The Fool reversed
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This is a week for making better choices; remember that the universe really does have your back ♡♡
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What to Release: 8 of Wands
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Last week’s zipping changes are settling down, leaving you more aware of what you have to work with.
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Energy to Increase: 6 of Wands reversed
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There’s a distinct potential for conflict this week, especially where it comes to feeling like you’re receiving the recognition you feel you deserve!
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Best Advice: 8 of Pentacles reversed
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Do your best to stay focused, getting things in order to accomodate the new direction you know you’re heading. You’ll be able to focus on what you actually want to be doing soon enough ♡♡Higher Self Cards: Message of hope moving forward:
Uranus + Dandelion | Persist in pursuits + Knight of Pentacles
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Change is uncomfortable, but it can also be exciting! Push through and keep planning — stay grounded with the motto “slow and steady,” pausing when necessary to recalibrate on your way ♡♡

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If you’re interested in a personalized reading with me, head over to my Etsy shop! Feel free to use the coupon code THANKS15 at checkout for 15% off <3<3

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Decks used:

Astrological Oracle Cards. LWB: Lunaea Weatherstone. Artwork: Antonella Castelli. Torino, Italy: Lo Scarabeo, 2012. © Lo Scarabeo Italy.

The Nature-Speak Oracle. Ted Andrews. Jackson, TN: Dragonhawk Publishing, 2006.

Tarot Mucha. LWB: Lunaea Weatherstone. Artwork: Giulia F. Massaglia. Torino, Italy: Lo Scarabeo, 2014. © Lo Scarabeo Italy.

Energy Update: Goodness me — the sun is shining, it’s warm, the birds and flowers and bees are buzzing, but it feels like a faraway corner of a deep, dark pit. Wtf??

This reading from the Wisdom of Trees Oracle, TWU Animal Spirit Oracle, and the Game of Thrones Tarot (3 favourite Shadow-Work decks!) seeks to understand what’s happening and why.

I laid out a crystal grid of a heart-shaped howlite to protect and stabilize your connection with your Higher Self, a quartz geode to further “part the veil” and help you access your personal flow, garnet to ground you in your life purpose, lilac lepidolite to calm you and help process the patterns at play, celestite to call in universal support and gelp tou communicate your needs clearly and productively, turritella agate to further unpack your patterns in such a way that you feel more in control, and brecciated jasper for further grounding from the heart, calling in support and abundance to getyou feeling back on track.

Oracle Cards: European Beech reversed + Panther

Ohh yes. You’re feeling disconnected from your creative purpose under the sheer weight of knowing that when you get it done (and you will) it will be so amazing, so transcendent, that that very pressure has you squalling and scrambling to put off those very rewards.

Situation: XXI – The World reversed

Wouldn’t it be so much easier if you could ignore your “calling?” You can’t, and once you’ve heard it, everything that does not support your trajectory naturally starts to fall away. However, that leaves you on uncharted terrain, unable to use your old map!! Things have been shaken up so much, and your compass is spinning as you settle into what to do next to restabilize and proceed.

Challenge: VIII – Strength

You *do* know which direction you want to go — it’s about remembering that you can do anything you set your mind to. The “Inner Beast” is roaring, rearing up and trying to scare you back into your old ways, but there’s no room for that anymore. Choose change, choose discomfort, choose to work things out diffetently this time, knowing you are growing stronger for going against the grain ♡♡

If you’re interested in a personalized reading with me, head over to my Etsy shop. Feel free to use the coupon code THANKS15 for 15% off your reading at checkout!

This week’s reading is drawn from the Nature-Speak Oracle, Pixie’s Astounding Lenormand, and the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, which I’m having a total love affair with lately! Check out the video at the end of this post for a full breakdown of the reading, including the astrology for this week.

I laid out a crystal grid of citrine to connect you with your personal power, Botswana agate to help process the big emotional patterns you’ve been experiencing, dendritic agate to nurture and protect your newfound “roots,” amazonite for balance between your inner dualities, dumortierite for direct/productice thinking, yellow calcite to solidify the advances you’ve made in the self-esteem department, prehnite to keep you speaking from a place of love, and fluorite to keep your heart and tour intuition on the same wavelength.

To begin, we’ll look at the Shadow Cards, indicating the underlying theme of the week ahead:

Shadow Cards: Oak | Be Strong but Gentle + The Scythe + X – The Wheel of Fortune reversed

Things have slowed down enough that you now know what needs to be “cut out” in support of your creative ambitions.

Oracle Cards: Clouds | Signs & Visions reversed + [The Sun + The Tree + The Snake]

The clouds have parted, finding you able to soak in the good that came of last week’s struggles; you have a bettee perspective on what is healing and growing, and again, you know what “poison” must be sucked out in order to proceed effectively.

Card 1: Focus: I – The Magician

Woohoo, you know you have the skills and resources necessary to succeed!

Card 2: Release: 5 of Cups

You can let go of last week’s emotional struggles, as someone came through for you in such a way that you feel you can trust that you are loved and supported.

Card 3: Energy to Increase: VI – The Lovers

Indeed — loving support! You feel assured in your recent choices and ready to climb that next nountain.

Card 4: Best Advice: 10 of Wands

Watch your energy levels — delegate responsibility and rearrange tasks to keep yourself on track. Very real potential for burnout — ask for help!!

Higher Self Cards: Forest | Awaken Your Magic + The Stork + 10 of Swords

Very cool things are happening — blessings abound! Cut out what you know is holding you back and turn to face that bright new horizon ♡♡

If you’re interested in a private reading with me, head over to my Etsy shop! Feel free to use the coupon code THANKS15 for 15% off your reading at checkout <3<3

The Nature-Speak Oracle. Ted Andrews. Jackson, TN: Dragonhawk Publishing, 2006.

Pixie’s Astounding Lenormand. Edmund Zebrowski. Stamford, CT: U.S. Games Sytems, Inc., 2015.

Rider Waite Tarot Deck. Arthur Edward Waite. Illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith. Stamford, CT: U.S. Games Sytems, Inc., 2007.