Here we are, feet-first in the Astrological New Year! This is a big, tangly week, full of interesting and complicated astrological events — I almost wish I’d gotten this post out sooner as a “warning,” as Monday marks the beginning of a defined energy of conflict rushing in. Let this serve as inspiration to fight for what you want, as opposed to letting yourself be crushed by what will feel like other people’s oppressive actions and opinions <3<3

Indeed, looking at the astrology for this week, the focus is on Venus and Mercury as we shift into the fiery energy of Aries. The Moon starts the week in Aries, along with a Mercury-Venus conjunction in the same sign in the wee hours of Monday morning; this will feel like shining a huge spotlight on where your heart and your mind are joined — or feeling disconnected! Try to think from a place of love rather than from a place of ego. On Tuesday the Sun moves into Aries in the early afternoon, strengthening the sense of drive, of motivation, of passion, but also adding to the tense and tight potential for hot heads and brute force. To add to the fun, Mercury goes retrograde on Thursday at 9:22 PM ADT — I’m already feeling it with apps crashing, phone glitches, work not saving — I’ll do another post on this, but when “breakdown”-type occurrences with technology, travel, and communication crop up, instead of getting frustrated, take some deep breaths, go get something to drink (water!! lol), and take it as a message from the universe to pause, re-center, re-collect, and redirect. Go do something else and come back to the original task later! On Friday, Venus in Aries squares Pluto in Capricorn, illuminating any challenges surrounding the transformations taking place in personal relationships and creative projects. You may be tempted to just “pull the kill switch” — probably don’t, remember that this is a week of fire and flames, knowing that what’s left standing will have stood the major test of time! Focus on what you know you want and what you can do here. Finally on Sunday Venus in Aries forms a quincunx with Jupiter — this will feel like your hopes for love and creativity have been skewed, but can also be seen as an opportunity to, aligned with Mercury Retrograde’s advice, re-envision and redirect. Phew!!

This Week Ahead Spread is drawn from the Sacred Rebels Oracle, The Wisdom of Trees Oracle, and the Bleu Cat Tarot. I laid out a crystal grid of a quartz geode that looks like a veil opening to connect you with your Higher Self and mark the new beginnings and new thresholds being passed through, a dolomite frog to support the transformations underway, lilac lepidolite to soothe your anxieties and help you remain calm, black moonstone to find support and understanding for your Shadow side, red phantom quartz to help you break old patterns and “vibe high,” and apatite to help you express yourself clearly, effectively, and from the most authentic space in your heart.

To begin, let’s look at the Shadow Cards, which represent the “underlying themes” of the week to come:

Shadow Cards: 25. Release the Dark Wound, Let Love Live + Cherry reversed + 2 of Feathers/Swords

Yes, this will be a week full of little decisions, where you are confronted with what needs to be “healed for good” and allowed to choose how to proceed. While there will be moments that feel anything but sweet, even bordering on toxic, on a certain level you’ve felt the build up and have been preparing already for how you’ll manage to “go with the flow.” You can feel yourself healing and are so ready to open your arms and welcome in more of what fills and fuels you — maintain perspective on where you want to be and all you’ve already done to move that process along. If you catch a “bad fish” this week, throw it back! But also if you find something coming out of you that’s less-than-representative of what you’ve been working towards, observe it and let that go too — it’s always a good thing to own and learn from your mistakes <3<3

Oracle Cards: 41. Bring It into Form + Silver Birch

This week is all about nurturing, developing, bringing forth the beauty that you have been cultivating all winter. It is Ostara, the Spring Equinox, and as the Earth wakes up to greet the Sun, so are you! You’re feeling how much you are stepping into your Dreams Made Real, and you are ready to continue to care for and help your heart’s vision grow. This is a time to be extra-conscious of not only caring for these external wonders, but also of your Self as a whole: try healthier eating, more exercise, and pleasant mental stimulation to keep yourself in tip-top shape as you tackle the road ahead. Mother your situation, Mother your Self — and with the barrages coming at you from others, try to view those behaviours from the perspective of an ever-patient (but also firm!) Mother!

Jumper Card: XIV – Temperance

Ooh-hoo, this one heavily underscores the above advice: this week you MUST STAY CALM. Be the pillar of strength who is unshakeable! And if you can’t do that, when you feel your own fire rising, go chill out by chugging a huge glass of water. Seriously, just do it <3<3

Card 1: Theme/Focus of the Week: 2 of Balls/Pentacles

Lol — when I turned this card over, I heard all of us collectively at different points in the week yelling “BALLS!!” This week will be a large test in the concept of “balance,” specifically where it comes to balance between your work and home lives. Reflect on how much you’ve been doing to know that you really have measures in place to keep yourself standing — stand strong in spite of the shifty and unpredictable nature of this week, and trust that if you drop one of those balls, it will not be the end of the world. Not at all, and you may be surprised at just who comes out of the woodwork to help you pick up the slack! Keep your nose to the grindstone and your eyes on the prize. Things really are changing for the better, but there’s clutter to be cleared!

Card 2: What to Release: 8 of Feathers/Swords

Recently you were searching for the “key” to releasing yourself from the traps of your own making that seemed to abound — well, the key is in your hands, and this week you get to use it! Be aware that the world is much different outside your old cage, and so you must think quickly and be light on your feet lest you get shoved back in. Trust that it won’t be the perceived jailer who tries to re-imprison you, it will be your own urge to run straight back to what you know. You can, but that will mean more of the same indefinitely — didn’t you want to stretch your wings and find out what-all else there is to see and experience? This week really does mark the first days of the Rest of Your Life — how do you want it to look?

Card 3: Energy to Increase: XI – Justice reversed

We had this card as the focus of this past weekend’s New Moon in Pisces! In a funny way, you can welcome the experiences that feel “unfair” this week — they are showing you what to move away from, clearly representing what is not working and as such is open to adjustment. Big changes are underway, and this process is anything but comfortable — do your best to go with the flow, rolling with and accepting the less-savoury events, knowing that in trundling on through you’re making headway by simply leaving these frustrating instances in your tracks. You could stuff them in your pockets to hang on to and mull over when you have some free time (that too will be in short supply moving forward), but that doesn’t sound like fun!

Card 4: Best Advice: 9 of Plants/Wands reversed

One of the biggest challenges this week will be needing to make adjustments to the boundaries you’ve been working on and trying to set in place. The energy is changing so swiftly that some of these new structures will fall to the test of time — that’s okay!! It will feel like a backtrack to the healing you’ve been doing, but know that you are not losing progress. You are learning to adapt! You can actually feel excited when things start to feel out of control, because you can try out the spiritual tools you’ve armed yourself with to protect the peace of mind that is slowly, slowly starting to feel like real and effective armour. Oops, a boundary got smashed? Retreat to the tap with your water-glass!

And now for the Higher Self Cards, a message of hope moving forward:

Higher Self Cards: 17. What is Already With You + Giant Redwood + 5 of Feathers/Swords

I was actually moved to tears by this first card — you are so, so prepared for the challenges ahead. You have everything you need to succeed though this week’s challenges, because oh my, how you have transformed!! It was a brutal pregnancy and a complicated birth, but here You are, shiny and new, ready for what’s next. You are majestic and your purpose is true — trust in your self and your efforts, and when conflicts arise this week, know that you will See what to do. You get to choose what you engage, you get to choose what past patterns to employ and which to banish forever. This week you measure your soul against you dreams, and you find them perfectly aligned <3<3

This is a week for hands-on self-healing! Go easy on each other as we’re all trying to do the same thing. It’s easy to applaud yourself for trying to change, but it’s a harder pill to swallow when your loved ones start changing too — remember that we are all focused on becoming our best selves, and be open — but also honest — about how all this newness is affecting you. Keep communication lines open even though this week that will prove quite difficult; again, if you feel like you’re gonna blow, water yourself!! Take the steps you know will help you to stay on track and continue to be proud of yourself and your efforts. This week, life and love will try to stop you in your tracks — the key word is “try.” You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do! It’s all you this week, everything is changing, and here’s the secret: that’s okay!

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

Bleu Chat Tarot. Beth Seilonen. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2013.

Sacred Rebels Oracle. Alana Fairchild. Illustrated by Autumn Skye Morrison. Blue Angel Publishing, 2017 (2nd Edition).

The Wisdom of Trees Oracle. Jane Struthers. Illustrated by Meraylah Allwood. Watkins Publishing, 2017 (2nd Edition).

Happy New Moon! Well, really, with the emotional currents surrounding this one, it probably feels pretty intense — we are closing out an astrological year with this New Moon in Pisces, bringing forth the “shift” that we’ve all been feeling at our cores. You’ve probably been feeling very restless, having wild dreams, old traumas being stirred up for revisiting! This is all very natural, and is allowing us to make a “clean break” in favour of beginning the ascent marked by the Spring Equinox, the longer days, and the Sun’s movement into driven, warrior-spirited Aries in a few days’ time. Mars also moved into Capricorn today, providing a solid floor for our passionate ambitions — it’s time to use these emotional currents to forge a plan you can stick to, the map you’ll use to navigate the fresh and motivated energy poised to pour in to all of our lives as the new moon cycle begins <3<3

I drew this spread from the Druid Animal Oracle, the Kuan Yin Oracle, and the Ostara Tarot. I laid out a crystal grid with my trusty selenite wand, desert rose selenite, and amethyst cluster to connect with the moon’s energy, establish Higher Self connection, and clear our energies, rose quartz to remind us to have compassion for ourselves and others, jade to help us stay “cool” and remember to go with the flow, sunstone for warmth and inspiration, crazy lace agate for laughter and good humour, petrified wood to draw in ancestral support through this turbulent emotional time, and moss agate to remind us to engage in self-care.

To begin, let’s look at the Shadow Cards:

Shadow Cards: Hind + 19. Mother of Mercy + V – The Hierophant reversed

Yes, we all feel like spindly little babies, ready for Spring! You’re probably feeling quite vulnerable under the invisible weight of all this sheer potential. Know that at this time, you are supported by the Universe, not only held but also being guided on a deep, subconscious level. Have you noticed a ringing in your ears lately, sometimes with increasing intensity? Right now we are all quite literally “downloading” the information we’ll need as we move forward into the coming weeks, months, year ahead. You are preparing to hear your “inner teacher” loud and clear, in such a way that you become inspired almost out of nowhere for the last few adjustments needed in order to gain the personal structure you’ve been developing, growing, allowing to unfurl — your time is now!

Oracle Cards: Bee + 29. Sound the Fierce Flute (jumper) + 30. Spin the Silken Thread Divine

Oh boy, yes indeed, it will soon be time to roll up your sleeves and get to work! This will be a very happy process indeed, one that nurtures your sense of who you are, why you’re here, what lights you up from the inside out and finds you humming your heart’s unique tune. You should have fanfare, but at this point, you don’t even need it — you know what you’re doing and cannot be swayed where it comes to what you know to be true. You are working hard at something that is truly meaningful to you, and as a result, everything is falling into place, one perfect tile at a time. This is a time to step back and marvel at how very much Divine Timing has been at play in your life, and to continue to trust in this power as all continues to unfold in synchronistic accordance.

Card 1: Focus of this New Moon in Pisces: XI – Justice reversed

Mm, change is hard to accept — we’re all often so focused on making personal changes to find balance in our lives that as soon as anyone else tries to make changes, it throws the whole thing off and we have to recollect, with the urge to yell out “it’s not fair!!” This New Moon will find you thinking that a lot, noticing what’s off-kilter, feeling the shifts, observing changes. That’s all you need to do with this — observe what’s happening, and consider how you can “be the bigger person” instead of lashing out with dissatisfaction. This is a New Moon for weighing our personal truths and just being with them, noticing how they feel, beginning the mental process of deciding how the shift will affect us. Actions speak louder than words at this time — is what you’re doing reflective of who you see yourself to be? Go easy on yourself as you make these identifications, and even more importantly, go easy on others, leaving the need to point out their imbalances to karma <3<3 This New Moon, “it all comes out in the wash” — focus on your own load!

Card 2: What to Release: Page of Cups

Indeed, as mentioned above, one of the themes of this Moon is having all kinds of “past stuff” dredged up and thrown in your face. Naturally, emotions will be high, and they will be raw! Let the tears flow, feel it all, in such a way that you’re able to purge it all out. Nothing like a big ugly cry to make you feel years better, right? All your personal shadows are coming out at this time, to stimulate you, to motivate you to understand yourself better, in such a way that you’re freed up to view the dreams you’ve been working towards with fresh, clean eyes. This New Moon’s tears are here to wash away what’s no longer serving you, to freshen up your perspective, and to force you to take measures to ground yourself and seek that which makes you smile from your heart’s depths — there is no shame in crying, but know that you do deserve happiness!

Card 3: Energy to Increase: King of Swords

All this emotional flexing and roundabout cycles have been swirling, again, to force you to re-center, to re-analyze your position, to show you where you have no control in order to be able to identify where you do. If anything this New Moon will present to you “where you stand” in your life at this point, showing you the mental power you hold over your situation, and proving to you that you really do have a firm grip on what you want and how to achieve it. You’ve been wishing you could be less, well, wishy-washy, and this desire has been heard by the Universe and is rapidly being granted. With it comes the ability to make better choices — the ball is in your court, the sword is in your hand, and you get to choose whether to continue the path you were on or to carve out the new one you’ve been thinking on, planning on, bringing forth through sheer manifestation power. The gate is open and you’ve dressed yourself for success — get ready to step through!

Card 4: Advice: 4 of Swords

All that being said, the time for action is not so much now — you’re still in the middle of the New Moon maelstrom, so as soon as it gets to be too much, allow yourself to check out and recollect. This is a great day for napping, for meditation, for solitude when other people’s own needs for some sort of elusive balance become too great, allow yourself to pull back — you don’t need to solve this today, you probably couldn’t if you tried, and that is so, so okay. Rest, rest, rest — the coming days will be filled with energy and progress, and now is the time to charge up so you can take on all that you’ve been wanting and welcoming into your life. You are being reborn, so soak up these last moments of kicking back to relax, reflect, and become reinvigorated!

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

Higher Self Cards: Wolf + 44. Weave the Future Golden + 3 of Wands

Yes, this New Moon will be a visible placeholder moving forward; in looking back it will noticeably be the time when you determined your “pack,” when you really began to howl the message you were born to share — right now is the moment your future begins For Real. You are transforming, and in this rebirth you will find that you know exactly what you need to do, you will find the words that you need to say, you will send out the energy needing to be sent in order to welcome in all that you’ve been waiting for. Your world is changing, that’s for sure, and all of these changes are your wishes being granted — some in different forms than you expected, others in complete alignment with your clearest visions. It’s all happening right now, and you can trust in the beauty to be found once the emotional storm passes and the Moon makes its way back to Full <3<3

The major themes of this New Moon will be connecting with and listening to your intuition, which will be facilitated by observing what is very apparently not working in favour of kick-starting the changes that will allow everything to fall into place. This New Moon asks you to listen to your Inner Voice in favour of making your own rules moving forward, for strengthening your personal structures and finding yourself far more in control of your own situation than you’ve been feeling lately. It’s true that some previous structures are poised to fall, possibly quite dramatically — again, do your best just to observe, release, and trust that what’s on its way out is making room for bigger, better, and far more stable circumstances. You’ll be gaining emotional control and crystal-clear clarity once the waves subside! While there are no Pentacles cards in this reading (the suit of material resources, but also of personal grounding), the dominant colour across the cards is brown — do your best to stay centered, not to let yourself be rocked around too much, reminding yourself not only that “this too shall pass,” but that when it does, it will be replaced with what you’ve been envisioning (and creating!) for your life with your whole entire open heart!

This is an example of the $25 4-Card Reading in my Etsy shop! Feel free to use the coupon code THANKS15 at checkout for 15% off your reading. I look forward to working with you!

The Druid Animal Oracle. Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, Illustrated by Bill Worthington. New York: Fireside/Simon & Schuster, 1994.

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

Ostara Tarot. Morgan Applejohn, Eden Cooke, Krista Gibbard, and Julia Iredale. Schiffer Books, 2017.

This past week was an interesting one — very productive, in spite of minor bouts of illness and two big snowstorms! It’s interesting to see the 6 of Swords reversed (fighting for your cause in spite of being under the weather) and The Hermit (taking time away, and there’s snow in the card!) play out so clearly in retrospect. While ill, I opened some new decks to help myself feel better — they’re so interesting that I wish I’d done a reveal video! The Art Nouveau Lenormand and the Art Nouveau Tarot are decks I’ve wanted since I first started reading, added to my wishlist as soon as I fell in love with Tarot Mucha! I’m thrilled with them, the Lenormand for its breathtaking perfection in every way (lol) and the Tarot for its brain-bending, mood-oriented images. I used both for this week’s reading, in addition to the Minchiate Tarot — I’ve tried the Art Nouveaus with a few other decks and this is the one they resonate the most beautifully with <3<3

Astrologically, this week’s moon phases pass from Capricorn through Aquarius and Pisces, ending the week in Aries. This is a week about endings, about tying up loose ends, about listening to your personal truths in such a way that you become 100% clear on what you are “fighting for” at this time. On Tuesday Venus in Aries squares Saturn in Capricorn, a challenging aspect where it may feel like your personal desires are being blocked — push through, knowing that this obstacle has been presented in order to help you really hone your vision and make it the best it can be. Mars moves into Capricorn on Saturday where it is in exaltation — know that whatever challenges crop up this week, things are starting to come together and you will soon receive a burst of focused, planning-for-the-big-time energy to even everything out for the better <3<3

For this reading, I laid out a little grid of “heavy hitters:” a big magnesite to help you stay “on top” of your mind, using your mental power productively, two singing quartz to remind you of your calling and clear your personal energy, a large amethyst cluster to dispel any anxiety you may be feeling and to connect you with your Higher Self, larvikite to strengthen your intuition and use it as a “beacon through the fog,” and garnet to ground you and support you in pursuing your purpose with security and stamina.

To begin, we’ll look at this week’s Shadow cards:

Shadow Cards: 11. The Whip + Page of Swords + 8 of Swords

Oh wow, this is a week that will be full of opportunities to cut something out! You probably already know what this is referring to — there is a pattern in your life that you know is holding you back, that’s keeping you from being able to work effectively, and you probably already spend a lot of time obsessing about how much you need to stop this. Well, you have the right idea, and this week provides a gateway to run with it — not too fast, go easy on yourself, but absolutely start the process of letting this go when you feel inspired to make a start. This pattern crept up on you and before you knew it it seemed to have taken you over — overcoming it will be an equally slow climb, but all you can do is begin, holding on to the trust that the results will be worth it <3<3

Oracle Cards: 2. The Clover + 20. Fire

Indeed, this opportunity to stop doing what’s been holding you back is directly in line with the other opportunities being presented this week! “Luck” is coming to you on swift wings, ready to light a fire under what you’ve been working towards so it can rise and rise and rise, unfettered by those pesky life-things that tend to get in the way. No more, a huge doorway is opening onto the escalator that will lift you up, up, up to the heights that you’ve been holding in your heart all this time, as you plodded away and relied on sheer trust that this was all going to come together. It is, and it’s happening now, still very much contingent on you allowing what you know will work to do so, in tandem with allowing what needs to fall away to do so for good. The path before you is opening up, and while it will absolutely require some sacrifices, you have what it takes to see it through!

Card 1: Theme/Focus of the Week: 2 of Cups

This week will be about finding “background balance,” learning where your supports lie as you determine the trajectory of your future. When things go south (and not in the fun way), do you feel like the people you surround yourself with are there for you? If so, fantastic! This foundation will serve you very well as the week unfolds. Be sure to express your gratitude for the presence of these people and support them equally when their own challenges arise! But if not, one of the opportunities this week is full of will be to choose to slam the door on naysayers and and energy vampires. If you fall into the latter category, close that door with love, focusing on letting go of your energetic ties to these people, forgiving them for projecting their own pain on to you and hoping the best for them on their way. Then turn all your love inward and build yourself back up, congratulating yourself for finding the balance needed to really throw your heart into what you want to be doing with your life <3<3

Card 2: What to Release: Queen of Swords

Yes, as we roll around into Springtime and Aries season, things are warming up — know that it is safe now to wear your heart on your sleeve, to show your emotion and your passion for what you do. The time for cold calculation is over, and allowing yourself to feel vulnerable now will keep the “doors of opportunity” vibe flowing. It’s true that you’ve been hurt and some wounds may never heal, but carrying on with an openness to new experience and new connection in spite of it all is where life’s true magic happens. Lift yourself up, dust yourself up, trust in the strategies you’ve developed, and decide that you’re getting a move on — the world is waiting for you with open arms!

Card 3: Energy to Increase: 7 of Swords

Truly, this week you get to decide “how to act” — you know now what works for you and what doesn’t, and it is time to be honest with yourself and others about the best way to proceed now. You feel like you’ve been performing, performing, performing, and it’s true — practice makes perfect, and you have developed a very effective facade to conceal what does not work. Part of this week’s energy will surely find that facade being blown off with a need for explanation, so knowing this, start formulating your response: authenticity is always the best policy. Speak your truth, and let the response determine how the next scene unfolds — will you head back on stage, or will you exit stage left?

Card 4: Advice: XVIII – The Moon

This week you will be fully confronted with your “Shadow:” the side of yourself you do your best to avoid, but that’s always there in the background, whispering your shortcomings and promising things will not work out. Hear that voice for what it is: past-based fears creeping up to keep you from progressing through the darkness, to keep you from sticking it out and pushing through to Sunrise. Oh yes, the Sun is rising for you — most of this week will feel very much like that “dark before dawn,” so keep that in mind as you choose to analyze the roadblocks that come up, seeing them for what they are, and transcending them as the necessary parts that come before the better, more triumphant leg of the cycle.

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

Higher Self Cards: 21. The Mountain + Four of Cups + Queen of Coins

So direct! Yes, this week will feel like a “mountain,” where all you can do is keep picking your way up. There will be a point where it gets easier, but this will be contingent on not letting yourself get down and disappointed when your “monkey mind” steps in to present all your shortcomings in an attempt to hold you back. Stay grounding, knowing that nothing can take your achievements from you, especially not with all the work you’ve been doing to continue to nurture your progress! Stay warm and be open, trusting that this week will find your “team” stronger, be it through testing your bonds and finding them strong enough to continue, or through identifying missing links and removing them to make room for better reinforcements. Either way, you’ll be feeling very proud of yourself by the time the weekend is through. Stay focused, you’ve got this!

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 Nouveau Lenormand. Lunaea Weatherstone. Illustrated by Antonella Castelli. Llewelyn Publications, 2016.

Tarot Art Nouveau Premium Edition. Lunaea Weatherstone. Illustrated by Antonella Castelli. Lo Scarabeo, 2015.

Minchiate Tarot. Brian Williams. Destiny Books, 1999.

 

Goodness, we all made it through last week!! Facebook suggested I “boost” last week’s week-ahead spread, which I had shared with something along the lines of “looks like it will be a great week!” On seeing it again I felt a little irresponsible for posting such a promise, as last week was a bit of a corker — there were some great moments and achievements, but it was also an emotional mire that more than anything felt very difficult to navigate. But! We are in a new week, and while this one has a much different tone, last week left us feeling more empowered than ever to pursue our own truths and keep seeking and pushing towards that which makes our hearts and souls sing <3<3<3

This week holds some interesting astrological shifts, aligned with — at the very least — some of the emotional maelstrom letting up, as Mercury moves from Pisces into Aries on Monday afternoon, followed by Venus on Tuesday. Our minds and our hearts will be feeling much more energized, invigorated, ready to fight!! Then on Thursday, Jupiter goes retrograde in Scorpio — this will find us thinking about ourselves and our fortunes in a far more “internal” way for a while, figuring out what we personally can do to mould our own destinies into something that speak to us on a soul-level, which we’ll be ready to take action on when Jupiter goes direct again on July 10. I’ll do another post on how to make the best use of this retrograde period!

This week-ahead spread is drawn from Creative Whack Pack, the Nature-Speak Oracle, and the Morgan-Greer Tarot. I actually drew a spread with the Morgan-Greer yesterday, but it was so intensely negative that I decided it was meant just for me (oh joy hahaha) — after “sleeping on it,” I asked Morgy if it didn’t want to be used for others, or if it just didn’t like the decks I put it with for that reading. Ding ding ding, it didn’t like Mama’s ideas to shove it with the Rider-Waite-Smith and the Thoth! It’s much happier with these oracle decks, which were actually my first instinct to pair it with. The Morgan-Greer has got to be the spunkiest, grumpiest, most interesting deck I’ve worked with so far! I love it!

For this reading, I laid out a crystal grid centred around a big celestite for connection with your spirituality and your higher guidance. I chose clear quartz for Higher Self connection, angelite to further strengthen that connection with your higher guidance, tiger’s eye for courage and emotional strength, moonstone for understanding of your personal cycles, leopardskin jasper to help you find power in your personal patterns, unakite to protect and help find balance your personal relationships, aragonite for grounding through Higher Self connection, a big dark green aventurine for heart-centeredness, carnelian for creativity, and black obsidian for protection of your personal energy.

First we will look at the Shadow cards for insight into the underlying themes of the week ahead:

Shadow Cards: 7. See the Big Picture + Holly | Be a spiritual warrior + 3 of Wands reversed

This week is very much about PERPSECTIVE — about striving to see clearly int he face of challenge. There will probably be a lot coming up to try and sway you, now that you’ve made so much hearty progress on your path! Stay strong, stay centered, stay grounded. Do your best not to be shaken to your core when these challenges crop up, instead trying to think about how you can use these hiccups as tools to keep picking along. I things start to feel stagnant, know that at this point you have done all you can to further progress for the moment, and that the time is ripe to be still and realize that you really are exactly where you need to be, doing exactly what you need to be doing, in preparation for a massive windfall that will find you having moved leaps and bounds ahead in the weeks to come <3<3

Oracle Cards: 64. Give Yourself a Pat on the Back + Sunshine | Shine forth reversed

When I flipped these cards, the song “Steal My Sunshine” by Len popped into my head — this week probably won’t be much one for external validation. It’s going to have to come from within! We’re all still reeling from a dark winter and a rumbler of a Pisces season, so it’s safe to assume that if your proverbial cup is feeling too empty to give from, surely others’ are too. We’re in the waning phases of the Moon when our bodies naturally ask us to slow down and go within, and that’s exactly what you should do when it feels like someone else is trying to “steal your light” this week — go shine it elsewhere, and preferably on yourself! You are bigger than these minute conflicts, and you have come too far to let that sort of thing be a real thorn in your side any longer. You’ve been working hard to be a “better you,” and here come the tests to your mettle — rise above!

Card 1: Theme/Focus of the Week: I – The Magician

Yay!! I was thrilled to see this card as the Focus for the week, partly because it shows Morgy is much happier with these decks (lol) but also because I “knew” this card would show up — this moustachioed Magician floated into my mind when I was planning this spread, and the Magician is aligned with the planet Mercury, who is moving into action-oriented Aries on Monday. Woohoo! No matter what happens this week, know that “you’ve got this:” it may feel like it’s you alone keeping the “magic” flowing, but flowing it is, and bringing with it everything you need to succeed in your goals. This will be a week of things “blossoming in the dark,” poised to be fully appreciated by all soon enough.

Card 2: Release: Ace of Pentacles

This week, it will be important not to anticipated when/how the blessings being delivered to you will appear. Trust, trust that this is happening for you, and that there are just a few turns and “learns” left to go before everything is illuminated. You are growing, both in your physical body and its responses to your environment, as well as in your spiritual body, which is where the real “armour” you need this week will come from. Lean on what you know to be true this week, and let the rest continue to unfold organically, trusting that it is all coming together exactly as it should — let’s hear it for Divine Timing?

Card 3: Increase: 6 of Swords reversed

Keep moving towards what you need to feel like you are “healing” this week. There will be conflicts that test you to your core, and in the midst of the struggle, know that these pokes and prods are all road-markers leading you to where you do want to be, to how you do want to feel, to what you do want to be doing with your life! Is this something worth fighting for, or are you fighting against what you need to get better, do better, be better? These are questions that only you can answer, and you’re ready to stop letting someone else answer them for you.

Card 4: Advice: XV – The Devil reversed

Yes, this is the week that you confront your literal “demons.” Aieee!! Nah, you’re not surprised — you’ve felt this turning point screaming up at you for a while, and here it is now, needing to be faced. Again, you are healing! Or trying to, anyway — you’re well aware of the shackles still chaining you to the past, but have also become aware that they’re fully removable as soon as you feel like making the move. You’ve been poking at these bonds, testing them, like when you were 6 and had a wiggly tooth — you know it will fall out, but when? and what if you applied a bit of your own force…?

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

Higher Self Cards: 48. Use Good Ideas + Carnation | Follow your passion + IX – The Hermit

You know what you need to feel “balanced,” and this week will provide lots of opportunities to act on your new ideas for how to better handle life and all that it throws at you while you wait for your vision to take its full form. Oh, you should be so proud of yourself, for planting the seeds of passion and continuing to nurture them — now that they’re seedlings this has all become very, very real, and you need to protect what you’ve worked so hard for. Keep your inner lamp lit this week as you face your detractors. They are seeking similar meaning in what they’re trying to do, and it can be hard to see others soaring with flying colours when you’re still just sewing your own flag’s pieces together. But look — you have a flag! And when it does fly, it will be just as bright as the rest of them — and it’s all yours!

Indeed, this week represents a gateway, the midpoint between the past and future. How exciting, once you excuse the frustration that you’re not *quite* there yet! A perfect opportunity to test-drive this new “best you” in the form of staying focused on “stopping to smell the roses” and finding the good, the useable, and truly, the joy to be had in the present moment. This week will provide opportunities to examine where your “heart” is — does it feel like it’s in the right place? Yes? Woohoo! No? Follow its messages to hear from your own perspective what’s the best action to take. You’re getting there, you really are! This week Challenge is the name of the game — think creatively to find your way out of the maze <3<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

Creative Whack Pack. Roger von Oech. Stamford, CT: U.S. Games Systems, Inc., 1989.

Morgan-Greer Tarot. Lloyd Morgan. Illustrated by Bill Greer. U.S. Games Systems, 1979 (2004 edition).

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

This evening we have a Full Moon in Virgo, exact at 8:51 pm AST! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been fully (haha) feeling this Virgo energy — there are currently four planets and Chiron (the asteroid representing the “unhealable wound”) in Pisces, so needless to say, emotions are high! The Full Moon takes place directly opposite this emotional knot, creating a recipe for feeling mucho anxious about anything that seems to be “out of order” combined with a deep need to sort that out, to fix what’s broken, to heal your situation against the odds. I’ve definitely been feeling that anxiety — I’ve been practically vibrating with an inexplicably nervous energy that past few days and was glad to find that this is a normal visceral response for the Moon’s current placement!

This Full Moon in Virgo spread is of my own design, and I chose to draw from the Moon Phases Oracle and two of my new birthday decks, the Dreaming Way Lenormand and the Dreaming Way Tarot! I’m super-impressed with how well these decks work together. I laid out a crystal grid of moonstone to draw in the manifestation energy of the Full Moon as well as to cast light on personal cycles at this time, carnelian to help you connect with your emotional body and your creativity, angelite to connect you with both your Higher Self and any other universal energies present to support you now, leopardskin jasper to draw out the strength to conquer any personal patterns you seek to do better with, aragonite to ground you through connection with your Higher Self, unakite to help in attaining relationship balance, aventurine to connect you with your heart and welcome in abundance, clear quartz for further Higher Self connection (I think we all need lots of that this Full Moon!), black obsidian for protection and healing of your personal energy, and tiger’s eye for courage and connection with your personal power.

To begin, let’s look at the Shadow cards for a picture of the “underlying theme” of this Full Moon in Virgo:

Shadow Cards: Intentions + Dog + 7 of Cups reversed

The last Full Moon was at the end of January, the Full-Super-Blue-Blood Moon that swirled with extremely powerful manifestation energy. There was no Full Moon in February, and as such the intentions for what needed to be released set at the New Moon two weeks ago were extra-potent too — this Full Moon finds those intentions becoming, well, full!, and you are increasingly aware of what’s left to be done to bring your vision forth to its — full! — effect (I’m having too much fun, lol). Indeed, this Full Moon has a distinct “loyalty” angle in terms of taking a long look at who you feel supports you and who you’re really seeing does not. This practice will find you released from the emotional overwhelm swirling amongst all this deep, watery Pisces season energy, feeling much more on top of things and ready to make some real heart-centered decisions based on your reflections. Look deep into your personal darkness to find where light can be let in!

Oracle Cards: Dusk + [Book + Rider + Bear]

Yes, this Full Moon will represent an ending of some sort, an entering into unfamiliar but not unwelcome territory. While sunsets represent the oncoming of night, they are so, so beautiful while they last — at this time, savour everything good that is happening, and try not to hang on to what feels less-than-comfortable. You are consolidating the humongous life lessons still being processed from the recent eclipses, and you need rest so you can gear up to make use of these lessons in the weeks and months to come. I wish I could say things will get easier, but there’s more ferocity on the horizon — you are being forced to look at what makes you feel threatened, unhealthy, weak, but for the greater purpose of realizing that there are certain situations that won’t heal, and can only benefit from choosing a different direction. Once you do, hight it away from this dangerous element <3<3

Card 1: Something being overanalyzed that will be illuminated with the Full Moon: 6 of Pentacles

You’ve probably been made acutely aware of what you feel you *do not* have lately — this has been a push from the Universe to use your words and ask for what you need! Know that it will be delivered to you, and that this low period is slowly melting away with the winter snow. Remain in touch with your emotional process and your creativity, and keep seeking ways to dig yourself out of the figurative hole until your help arrives. It will, and in the meantime, you’ve totally got this — cry if you need to because those tears will help cleanse out some of the gunky blockages being experienced now! But better yet, lean back on the spiritual practices that have been getting you through — you picked them up for a reason, and they are here to serve you very well now. I can’t emphasize enough that help is on the way! Hang in there and remain open to receiving exactly what you need, closing the gate firmly on the mindset that “things never work out” and so on — they do, they do, one way or another, and they always will. In the words of Jafar, “Patience, Iago!”

Card 2: What to continue nurturing at this time: Queen of Pentacles

Know that you really are doing everything you can to nurture your material situation back to health. You’ve chosen the tack of seeing what you’re working on as a tender little baby, that needs so much love and support in order to be all that it can be — keep going with this, because it’s working! And in turn, it’s grounding you to feel so much love and care for something, so much pride in watching it blossom, bloom, and continue to grow. Keep focusing on the development of your abundance, trusting that with the TLC you’re pouring in, by the time you look up it will be fully grown — and it will be magnificent.

Card 3: What you are manifesting this Full Moon: Queen of Swords reversed

Truly, you’re trying to be less cold and calculating, having realized that a heaping dose of “heart” in the form of genuine authenticity and love for what you’re doing is what’s needed, as opposed to forcing your emotional responses out of the situation. Get mad! Crash around a bit (safely, of course), and be amazed at the inspiration that comes with opening the floodgates this Full Moon. Part of being 100% authentic is being honest with yourself, realizing where you’ve been jamming yourself into a box that could never have fit — time to carve your way out, as you have many times before, finding yourself in a better place than you have been recently, and very much ready to act on the revelations dropping all around you, waiting to be noticed, absorbed, and used as rocket-fuel to launch you up and up and up into the stars.

Card 4: A challenge that will prove to be a strength: Page of Cups reversed

All this swirling nervous energy probably has you feeling pretty raw, which can be a gross combination for lashing out and hurting other people’s feelings, even unintentionally. Or perhaps your feelings have been hurt? Either way, the “tea has been spilt,” and at the very least you know where you stand — you don’t want to be a meanie! This is a healing Moon, and will not only inspire you with ideas for how to get your material situation in order, but will also jump-start the process of healing the relationships that can be salvaged and made so, so much better. Watch yourself at this time, learn from your reactions and responses, and resolve to do better, not only for the people you love, but for yourself!

And now for the Higher Self cards — a message of hope moving forward:

Higher Self Cards: Resources + Scythe + 8 of Pentacles

Yes, while there are fears surrounding scarcity under this Full Moon, these cards confirm: the resources you need are very close at hand, but can only be received with the proper amount of work. Keep hacking away at what you’re doing, because seriously, don’t you love it?! You do! You’re finally in a position to be doing something that truly fulfills you, and old patterns of complaint and dissatisfaction that felt like such comforts in different situations tend to try to creep in to see if they can still get you to believe that you can never get what you want. You can, you have, and you will continue to achieve — stay focused and don’t let the emotional pull of the Moon keep you off-course for too long. Nothing and nobody can take this from you, and whatever threatens to do so is a good thing to start wrapping your mind around releasing when the New Moon rolls around on March 17.

Now, something interesting about this reading is that there are *no* Major Arcana cards: while it surely feels like what is happening to you is extreme, intense, and absolutely major, know that these are not themes that will continue to play out in your life. No, the cycle these occurrences are related to is closing, and you are at the door of a new one, one that may find your relationships looking a little different, but ultimately finding you feeling far more settled and on top of things. This Full Moon is about taking a long look at your “team” and making the last few adjustments to really get things feeling “well-oiled” — your best bet is letting go of pre-conceived notions about how you’re sure things will turn out based on what went wrong in the past, replacing that perspective with an openness and curiosity invested in the big blessing the Universe has had in store for you all this time!

This is an example of my $25 4-card Reading, available in my Etsy shop! If you’re interested in a personalized reading with me, feel free to use the coupon code THANKS15 for 15% off your reading at checkout! I look forward to working with you <3<3

Decks used:

Dreaming Way Lenormand. Lynn Araujo. Illustrated by Kwon Shina. U.S. Games Systems, 2016.

Dreaming Way Tarot. Rome Choi. Illustrated by Kwon Shina. U.S. Games Systems, 2012.

Moon Phases Oracle. Devin Strickler. Artwork by Lexie Marquez. First edition. Mystic Moons Tarot, 2015. [Out of Print]

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.

 

Blub blub blub — do you feel like you’re swimming in a deep pool today, one that feels like you’d rather just be at home sleeping, daydreaming, taking care of yourself instead of having to muddle along with everyone else, who are also just trying to keep swimming and would rather burrow somewhere else too! What a fantastic opportunity to connect with the Piscean energies of compassion and unconditional love — we’re feeling this way because Venus, the planet of love and beauty, and Neptune, planet of spirituality and creativity (as well as escapism!) are conjunct today. That means they’re sitting right next to each other, combining their energies to create an atmosphere of deep feelings, massive creative inspiration, but also some very real potential for misunderstandings with the people we love the most, as well as heaps of emotional overwhelm and desire to “swim away” from whatever problems we are currently experiencing.

The tarot card associated with Venus is III – The Empress, and the card for Neptune is XII – The Hanged Man, further indication that today is a good one to “go easy” where it comes to matters of the heart — there is immense potential to feel like “hanging the other person [or project, heh]” out to dry, but know that this watery moment will soon pass, and that it is a perfect opportunity for personal introspection, for exploring where these feelings are coming from, and in turn channeling that energy more productively into an activity that feels like it feeds your heart and your loving nature (for me, that’s reading my own cards and drawing!). To help guide you through this transit, I drew from The Housewives Tarot, Crystal Reading Cards, and Everything I Need to Know About Love I Learned from a Little Golden Book. I laid out a crystal grid of red phantom quartz to help identify and release regressive patterns, a quartz geode to help “lift the veil” and connect with your Higher Self, chiastolite to find grounding through your chosen mode of spirituality, apatite to help you express yourself effectively from the heart, and amethyst to help you stay calm, release any anxiety you are feeling, and further establish Higher Self connection. I added a yellow fluorite at the end because the bands of colour in mine look exactly like the ones on the Crystal Reading Cards oracle card!

First, we’ll look at the Shadow cards, indicating the underlying theme of the Venus conjunct Neptune transit:

Shadow Cards: Dioptase | Heart Healing + Knight of Swords

This transit finds you processing a recent experience where cruelty was dealt — whether you were the dealer or the receiver, your heart is hurting, and Venus conjunct Neptune will stir up the emotions that will help you flow through this and settle into a better way of thinking about it. So far, 2018 has felt like a great big bandaid that you’ve been ripping off bit by bit — you’re getting at the real wound, and once it’s open, then even more productive healing processes can begin. For now, give yourself time to think through all that’s transpired, asking what direction will promote you getting better — you already know which direction will just cause more of the same, and it really is up to you whether or not that is something you can bear ❤

“Love gives us a voice, but it needs no words.” + Divine Temple | Source + 6 of Swords

Yes, this is a time for silence and reflection — trust that the relationships you know are working really are, and take any misunderstandings with a grain of salt. However, very important truths are being revealed at this time, ones that should not be ignored when they trigger your deepest intuition! If you are in a place where the silence is anything but comfortable, see this as an opportunity to really think about what would make you feel heard, seen, held. Today it could be that you need to look within for those needs to be met: as the saying goes, “happiness is an inside job,” and nobody knows better than you how to make you feel supported. At this time you are surrounded by divine support as well, being gently nudged in the right direction — unless the nudges feel anything but gentle, in which case that guidance is pushing a bit harder, needing you to pay attention! At present, your path may feel like a bed of nails, each step more painful than the last — goodness, you’re not wrong, and it gets so tiring to hear how “character-building” your current experiences are. But it’s true — you are being conditioned to receive something so much better than you can imagine, and all that you are muddling through now is basically demonstrating to you what is not working (and really cannot continue to) in favour of forcibly turning you in the direction that will. Today, try wrapping your mind around your ultimate ideal of where you want to be — Venus conjunct Neptune is a perfect formula for daydreaming and fantasizing, so feel free to really go for it! The Law of Attraction is very real — as you visualize, imagine to the fullest extent how it would look, feel, even taste, smell, and sound to be exactly where you want to be in your life! Major healing is underway, and as you know, you’re just at the stage where the past is scabbing over, preparing to drop off and free you to really begin the ultimate healing process.

Now, a message of hope moving forward — the Higher Self cards!

Higher Self Cards: Cuprite | Rites of Passage + Queen of Wands

I love when the Higher Self cards reflect the “body” of the reading — I always wait til the very end to turn them over for maximum effect! Indeed, you are going through a major character-building process, the type of trying experience that shows you exactly what you’re made of and forces you to answer the question of “what you’re going to do with it.” Yes, what you are experiencing will ultimately inspire you to nurture your passion, will find you with no other choice than to whip things into shape, to create the order that fulfills and inspires you! Both the Shadow/Higher Self Crystal cards are of clusters — I chuckled to hear “right now feels like a clusterf*ck” (I think I have a new swear-wordy spirit guide, I heard “cr*p” yesterday lol) — but really, really, trust that this is all stacking up into a much more useful energy, and everything will make more sense soon. It’s like an abstract sculpture that needs to be viewed from every angle before you start to feel like you “get it” — but even then, the secret is that meaning is always open to interpretation!

In the spirit of the Neptunian Hanged Man, pull back today if it all becomes too much — channel your inner Venus and love yourself through the confusion. Venus moves quickly, so today’s emotional currents will lessen before you know it ❤ Hang in there! Self-care!

This is an example of the $10 Super One-Card Reading in my Etsy shop! This reading is great for a quick overview of your situation at present. Thanks for reading!

Decks used:

Crystal Reading Cards. Rachelle Charman. Sterling Ethos, 2016.

Everything I Need to Know About Love I Learned from a Little Golden Book. Diane Muldrow. New York: Golden Books, 2014.

The Housewives Tarot. Paul Kepple and Jude Buffum. Quirk Books, 2004.

It’s almost the end of February! Have you noticed the days starting to get longer, the mornings getting brighter, and the general feeling that Spring really will come again? Yay!! This “fresh start” energy is very appropriate as we start the week with the Waxing Crescent Moon in Aries, moving through the first four signs as the week progresses — that means that this week is all about “getting back to basics,” finding ways to rediscover and integrate our selves to feel more able to connect with others when next week rolls around. Not much is happening with the outer planets, further supporting this vibe of resolidifying our sense of who we are and what we’re here to do.

In favour of connecting with our “animal natures” in this way, I drew this week’s spread from he Animal Totem Tarot, along with Astrological Oracle Cards and the Druid Animal Oracle. I laid out a simple crystal grid with some heavy-hitting stones: malacholla, a stone that combines malachite and chrysocholla, supporting protection of your heart and what you love while also allowing you to express yourself clearly; nuumite, a powerful healing and grounding stone; and lilac lepidolite, a calming stone that helps to release anxiety and see yourself from a balanced perspective, in favour of self-love “pockmarks and all.” To get a good picture of the energy surrounding this week I’m using my “4-Card Focus Spread” — although I did have two jumpers! The Animal Totem Tarot had a lot to say this week!

First, we’ll look at the Shadow cards for this week:

Shadow Cards: Taurus + Earth Dragon reversed + I – The Magician

Yes, this week will very much be about regaining stability after the tumultuous eclipse season vibes we’ve been muddling through the past few weeks! The Moon is in Taurus from Tuesday afternoon at 3:12 AST until 8:07 pm Thursday, and this will be the main timeframe for the “re-grounding” activities that this week promises. Earth Dragon reversed tells me that getting back on top of things will require a readjustment of how you thought things would look, but The Magician confirms that either way, it will come together beautifully — either way, you will find yourself with everything you need — time, resources, energy — to get what needs to be done, done! Seeing the fox in this card pouncing around makes me think of “looking in different places,” so if something seems not to be working this week, redirect and try something different — that is where the breakthroughs will appear. Slow and steady, slow and steady: stay calm and keep at it!

Oracle Cards: Neptune + Moon Moth

An “ending” is fast approaching — something you’ve been avoiding or having a hard time facing will be thrown into sharp relief, and it could even be pretty uncomfortable! However, this falling away will prove to be the final shackle that was holding you in a place of cold and darkness, and once it’s been addressed you will find yourself feeling light, free, and ready to soar to new heights of creativity and inspiration. There is beauty to be found in this process, and seeing what’s happening for what it is will provide even more fodder for your creative process.

Card 1: Theme of the week: 6 of Pentacles

The overall energy of the week is represented by the Hen: life in general is very much about give-and-take, balancing what we offer out with what we receive, and making adjustments when imbalance is found. this week, take a look at what you’re giving out — does it match up with what you find yourself receiving? Are you proud of your part in the equation, or is there something to be desired? As we know, this week is about self-connection — instead of blaming other people for what is or is not happening, zoom out to see if there’s anything more you could do to effect the results you seek. If you’re a farmer and your hens aren’t laying, they need something, and it’s up to you to figure out how to get them back to their egg-laying happy place! On the other hand, maybe you’re the hen stubbornly hanging on to what you’ve got — either way, take a look at the way you’re contributing to your environment, and take a position of leadership where it comes to seeing things through and keeping everything running like a well-oiled machine.

Card 2: Release: XI – Justice + 4 of Wands (jumper)

I had to laugh at this combination — indeed, since you’re “getting back to personal basics” this week, there is vast potential for some rather childish foot-stomping and the sense that things are “not fair.” As we saw with the 6 of Pentacles above, this week will be all about perspective, and asking yourself “did I do the best I could?” If the answer is yes, then fantastic, but if you know there were a few more details that needed attention, it’s probably time to go do just that. The only way to get a return on your investment is to make it in the first place — no more time for holding back and going over the “what ifs!” It’s time to go for it, because there is never a “perfect time,” and this week the only person you have to answer to is your Self!

Card 3: Increase: 5 of Cups

In accordance with that urge to foot-stomp will come some very real emotional currents. This week definitely has a challenging tone to it, combined with the promise that fully committing to “looking on the bright side” will absolutely find you making progress towards the better side of things, the shinier side of the coin, and truly, far less choppy waters. If you find yourself stopping to stare at what’s not working, what’s already been lost, immediately acknowledge what you’re doing and know that you can decide to “swim away.” There is so much that is going right, including new opportunities presenting themselves this week, so it will be very important to catch yourself if you start ruminating on the past — especially the parts of it that you have been consciously working to let go of in favour of self-improvement and true peace of mind.

Card 4: Focus/Advice: Page of Cups + VII – The Chariot (jumper)

When those waves of challenge start to swell this week, choose to lean in to them, embracing the emotions that come up and allowing yourself to feel them through. Primarily, know that it is safe to do this because at this point, you know exactly what you want — your vision is as black-and-white as it’s been in ages, and this release from the fog has you determined to push through and get what you want no matter what. Above all, find the fun in the moment, remember to laugh with yourself when you’re swept away by an unexpected emotional current! Take interest in the direction your subconscious sweeps you, listening within for little clues about what you’re trying to tell yourself about your surroundings in such a roundabout way, and allow yourself to be inspired all over again by the answers you receive and the directions they tug and toss you.

Now, a message of hope moving forward — the Higher Self cards!

Higher Self Cards: Sagittarius + Swan + 5 of Pentacles

These cards really reflect the variable, but ultimately positive energy of this week! This is definitely the week that you touch on something you can’t ignore, that sends you shooting off excitedly in exactly the direction your heart and your passion have been pushing you to turn. It is a week of beautiful transformation, and while it won’t necessarily be easy, it will be rife with opportunities to examine the stories we tell ourselves about what we do and do not have, what we do and do not want, how we are living and how we want to be living. You’ll be dropping off a huge load of past cr*p at the figurative dump, releasing that which holding on to was robbing valuable energy that can now be used to reestablish your connection with your self and your purpose, allowing you to make new waves in your life. The change you’ve been waiting for has arrived!

This will be a week of vulnerability, but allowing yourself to be raw and open will propel you towards that which you’ve been waiting so long to fully embrace. You really are moving towards what you know will truly make you feel happy and fulfilled — when you feel the opposite way, try treating yourself like a child, or the way you wish you’d been treated as one. Go easy on yourself through the emotional challenges that arise. This is a week of finding balance, starting inside and working your way out — you are connecting with your calling, and everything else is lining up accordingly, exactly as it should <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

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

Astrological Oracle Cards. Lunaea Weatherstone and Antonella Castelli. Llewellyn, 2012.

Druid Animal Oracle. Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm and Will Worthington. Touchstone, 1995.

On February 18, just after midnight in Atlantic Canada, Mercury moves into Pisces! This is my first post since New Years’, and what an appropriate energy for a Pisces like myself to start blogging again — Mercury in Pisces is about expressing yourself from your deepest depths, empowering yourself through your emotions and intuition, and channeling these strengths into creative endeavours including writing, painting/drawing, and even self-care activities like journaling and taking baths to stoke that creative impulse. The tarot cards associated with Mercury and Pisces are I – The Magician and XVIII – The Moon, the first being about having all the resources needed to succeed and being ready to communicate your “personal power,” the second about making sense of your personal cycles, learning to see in a “different light,” and going within to learn more about yourself and your truths. Mercury in Pisces is a great time for “mental healing,” for making sense of where your fears are rooted and for seeking new perspectives on how to use that knowledge for self-empowerment! Mercury’s transit through Pisces is all about connecting with what makes you happy from the inside out, by bringing your inner world forth to be loved and celebrated <3<3

I’m already feeling this energy and have felt totally inspired the past few days in terms of new ways to express myself through my blog, my business, my tarot offerings, as well as two really exciting creative projects that I can’t wait to share! I drew some cards from the Astrological Oracle, Nature-Speak Oracle, and Tarot Mucha for how to make the most of the energy of Mercury in Pisces. I laid out a crystal grid of Apache tear for grounding through emotional understanding, carnelian for creative energy and emotional connection, moonstone to connect with and understand your personal cycles, raw sodalite to help you express yourself authentically, raw black tourmaline for protection of your personal energy, amegreen to connect your heart with your intuition, amazonite to balance your masculine and feminine dualities, raw emerald to deeply connect with your creativity from your nurturing heart, amethyst for Higher Self connection and dispelling of any anxiety you are feeling, ruby zoisite for heart-centered modifications of the patterns that are no longer serving you, howlite for unshakeable spiritual connection, and labradorite for further connection with your intuition that allows you to feel safe “going with the flow.”

Uranus + 7 of Pentacles + Maple | Relationship balance

The cards have such an amazing tendency to reflect the intentions set before they are pulled — I was looking for a way to connect with both Mercury’s quick and communicative energy (lots of new project ideas) with the more Piscean free-flowing, intuitive and boundary-less energy. The cards say yes, keep thinking and coming up with new ideas, because they are really going to take you places — but first, get your space in order! Write these ideas down! You won’t be able to ficus on what you want to be doing if your space is a mess, if there is boring-but-important paperwork to be taken care of, if you don’t finish your other projects to make room for this new work that you want to be able to give your Whole Self over to. As added encouragement, taking the time to get things in order before you dive in and start creating all these wonderful new things will in turn improve your relationships, first with yourself as you feel ride and responsibility through checking off your list of mundane tasks, but also with your partner and the other people you share your life with as you will free up more time to focus on them too through gaining a grip on the loose ends that winter tends to find us letting go of. The days are getting longer, and you can trust that your energy levels are expanding too! Keep picking away, taking time also to keep yourself excited about what you’ll soon be able to spend all your time doing — for now, find the fun in creating new systems to make it all work!

If you’re interested in a private reading with me, head over to my Etsy shop! This is an example of my $10 Super “One-Card” reading.

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.

Here we are at the end of the year, where we look back on the past months and begin to think towards the new year to come! 2018 is going to be a Big One, where we really start to work towards finding personal balance after a couple of years of major challenges and realizations that have been pushing us to the point we are at Right Now: standing at the doorways of something totally new and terribly exciting. That’s some conscious word choice: this will be a year of allowing what’s not working to fall away without unnecessary struggle, of seeking justice through right action, and of measuring our actions against our hearts and finding useful answers in between.

I’ve been thinking over my own resolutions for the past few years, and am amazed at how far they’ve come, what as shifted in terms of my personal goals. For me, 2016 was about the 2 of Cups, 9 of Pentacles, and The World: I wanted to recognize the love in my life while also loving and providing for myself, and through that finding the balance needed to “step through the final veil” into a new cycle, which brought me to my main goal for 2017: the 6 of Wands, wanting to be recognized for my efforts in sharing my passion with others. I’ve been considering my goals for 2018 carefully, knowing it’s going to be a truly transformational year, and have consciously chosen my “cards for the year” to be the 2 of Pentacles, maintaining work-life balance, the 9 of Cups, emotional satisfaction, and XIV – Temperance, more balance through finding patience and calm within. These are majorly abbreviated meanings for those cards and my reasons for choosing them are super-deep, but I’m excited to have already started trying to live by my vision for what these resolutions mean to me!

To support my resolutions I laid out a crystal grid of my usual desert rose, selenite wand, and amethyst cluster for clearing of energy and anxiety and for Higher Self connection, nuumite for deep and powerful healing, a little turquoise Kali statue to help me recognize and communicate where changes need to be made, another amethyst to help me think clearly from a place of intuition, apatite to further help me communicate what I need to feel empowered in my life, lepidolite for further soothing of my anxious patterns, red phantom quartz for breaking negative habits, agatized coral to help me flow with my personal patterns and find strength in the ones that do help me grow, and turritella agate to ground myself through working on those patterns and releasing myself from the ones that are “poisoning” my life.

Together, these three cards will require me to be honest with myself about how much I can handle, and whether what I’m choosing to “handle” is even worth handling. If it throws me off balance, maybe it’s not worth it! For example, I’ve been trying to reevaluate how to do my blog posts because I’ve gotten kind of bored with the moon phase posts — this is my cue to be honest with myself and change my format so I feel more satisfied with the work I’m putting out. Yay! Admitting that to myself helped me calm down, release the guilt I was feeling for getting behind, and in turn inspired me for the new direction I want to take with posting — a “back to basics” card-of-the day style, visiting with each of my decks for the first month or so of the year. I feel good about it and feel one-card posts will be a more manageable use of my precious blogging time ❤

Consciously choosing these cards was an interesting exercise for me — I used to marvel at people who did it as opposed to “choosing blind” from the deck. But lately I feel like I can “guess” the cards in spreads before I turn them over, to really cool effect — it feels like “levelling up” in a video game!

It’s neat to notice that the two minor cards add up to 11/2, which is the number vibration of the year ahead, and then with Temperance it adds up to 25, or 7, which is my Birth number — this will be a year where I settle on my personal “will” and find the drive to persevere in my efforts!

What are your New Year’s resolutions? Feel free to leave a comment!

If you’re interested in a reading with me, head over to my Etsy shop! I’m currently offering a special on my 15-card Year Ahead reading: enter the coupon code NEWYEAR2018 for $15 off an $80 reading at checkout.

Deck used:

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