I'm going to be "freestyling", as spirit put it in a channeling session, these weekly readings from now on. I think you will find the content here more insightful when I am being myself instead of following what has traditionally worked for other people in my industry. I didn't even realize I was doing that until recently, but this is exactly what retrogrades are for!
How did I come to this conclusion? I created a tarot spread:
Of course, I encourage you all to pull your own cards using this spread if you know about Tarot (or Oracle) yourself, but for this week's reading, I thought I would pull cards collectively for what we could be doing differently. I also want to talk about the Sun squaring Uranus– a big "do things differently" aspect that is coming up this week.
This spread helped me in multiple areas of life, I would love to know if any of this resonates with you!
Here is the spread:
What is the collective energy right now? The Page of Pentacles reversed: We are collectively rooted in some kind of desire. What do you most want? Chances are that right now you might say something surface level like– "I just want more money," or "I want more space in my home," or maybe, "I want to share my life with someone who truly sees me."
Any desire that seems to be coming up right now is valid, yet it is rooted in something much deeper than we are wanting to recognize. It's so much less about the money, or the home, or the partner, or the recognition and much more about how we think those things will make us feel. There is a searching, a waiting, a wanting. The Page doesn't realize that once he attains _, the desire wanes, and he is still empty and hungry for more.
2. What is the energy for the collective who decides to make a change? The 10 of Cups. The basic Tarot guidebook will say that this card is about "emotional fulfillment" and frankly, that makes me want to vomit. Why? The 10 of Cups card is ruled by Mars in Pisces and in the traditional symbolism, it shows us the scene after Noah's Ark arrives on dry land once again. After a flood, a war, a general moment of upheaval and distress, we get to come home to ourselves. We're likely to find that the slate has been wiped clean– the house that once stood is gone, the chaotic love affair no longer thrives because it's missing the toxic partner, the job that once secured you doesn't exist anymore. "After the flood" is not as happy as it appears, so why is this the card that readers hinge all of our fulfillment on? That picture perfect vision that we hold in our minds is the influence of Pisces. It's romantic and it's a figment of our imagination. Like T. Susan Chang says about this card, "Mystery is not only inevitable, but essential to our well-being. The truth of the matter is that life is infinite and cyclical, so happy endings– or, indeed, tragic ones– are human constructions." (36 Secrets, pg. 266). Bleak, right? So, why should you even make a change?
After these retrogrades, after you let go, change, evolve, maybe it isn't promised that you'll have the happy ending, but you'll no longer lean on false security feeding an empty desire. This will, in fact, make you happier. Being hungry can drive us or it can consume us. I cannot promise you happily ever after, but I can promise a new vision of hope. The rainbow that shines through after the storm. Spirit always balances the pain and loss with something of equal blessing and abundance. If you make these changes, blessings will find you if you stay open and patient.
3. What is the energy for the collective who decides to stay the same? The 5 of Swords. What's interesting, this card is ruled by Venus in Aquarius which opposes Venus in Leo, the sign that Venus is retrograde in this summer. If we choose to continue the hungry, empty search for recognition, chasing the surface level items that ultimately will not make us happy, we will fall into comparison. If we continue to stay in what we are collectively comfortable with, your life as it is right now is as good as it will ever get for you. The ones who decide not to take a risk, not to sacrifice the comforts that are ultimately making you unhappy, these will be the people watching the brave risk takers receive their beautiful blessings and they will be consumed with jealousy on the sidelines. More and more we are headed towards this kind of society: A divide between the people who seem to be abundant and the people who seem to be without. If you want to be with instead of without, being uncomfortable for awhile is the sacrifice you must make. Maybe you don't have money, love, recognition, etc. right now, but that does not mean it will always be this way. Take the road less traveled, even if it's scary. Big risk = big rewards.
4. What perception and mental shifts need to happen for the collective wanting to make a change? The 7 of Pentacles. In a world of instant gratification where everything arrives now, we have lost the value of waiting and taking our time. Stop looking at yourself as a failure when you aren't reaching the success that you are deserving of overnight. This card is ruled by Saturn in Taurus meaning that we need to shift our focus to playing the long game and celebrating little wins. I promise you that you are often only seeing someone's final result after years of investment and learning– you have no idea how many people say things to me like, "Wow, you're so gifted with astrology!" and that is not the case. I am not a natural at it. It has only become easy because I have spent the last 6 years reading about it, experimenting, struggling through predictions to get to a place of understanding. Now is the time to remember that good things take time. Don't give up just because you aren't seeing a result. Collect spiritual currency, you'll know when it's time to cash it in.
5. What emotional shifts need to happen (what does the collective need to release)? The 9 of Swords. A few things come to mind with this card– fear, of course, but also "this or that" mentality. The main thing that is holding the collective back from change is the fear of the unknown and imagining the worst case scenario. It's important to remember that the society that we are moving into is not logical. Your logical mind is what creates emotional turmoil. Taming the mind is the secret to accessing the emotional body right now. Instead of trying to mentally figure out a solution to whatever you may be going through– listen to how you're feeling. Your mind may tell you to work harder, your body is telling you that it's tired. When we wait, when we rest, when we reject that something has to be difficult, ease and solutions can find us. Don't mistake the "long haul" for the "long, hard haul". Just because something is requiring time, it does not mean it requires burn out, stress, and difficulty. Combating burn out requires us to take apart our lives and restructure it completely to accommodate self care.
6. What can the collective physically do differently? The Ace of Pentacles reversed. Stop trying to find your next opportunity. Notice how this card in the reversed position looks as though hands are reaching out for this token of abundance– the ace cards are only presented, not found. Stillness is needed now, this is the great discomfort that creates change. It's so counter-intuitive! It makes logical sense that action creates change, but how has that been working out for you lately? Try a more embodied pace. The body knows how to lead you even when your mind can't understand how or why yet.
7. Repeat: What can the collective physically do differently? The Knight of Cups. Release expectation, it will only let you down. Keeping the faith, staying in hope, and wishing for more ≠expectation. We are genuinely stepping into a brand new, unknown chapter where expectation has no home. Remember that the North Node has just entered Aries, the sign of beginnings. Expectation comes from past judgements and I think we've already established: this reading is about moving differently so that we can see different results. Move forward in this time of darkness with the clarity of your body. When your body and intuition say "rest," obey. You'll need the energy that you're saving up now for later.
This week the Sun is square Uranus and the Moon in Leo will join in at 23º at the time of the New Moon. Mars and Mercury will also work very closely this week in an almost conjunction.
I want to expand on the New Moon themes in a separate article, but let's talk about the Sun-Uranus symbolism.
We have a lot of Sun and Uranus action going on generally. Not only is the Sun at its strongest right now in Leo, but like we talked about last week, Venus retrograde squared Uranus on the 9th and the Sun has just obliterated Venus retrograde on the 13th opening us up to revelations and clarity in regard to love, value, and worthiness.
Now that these two have met up with Venus retrograde to bring us these clear, rebellious "breaking free" moments, the Sun in Leo and Uranus in Taurus are meeting up to square each other on August 15th. The square aspect is a moment of tension. This isn't necessarily "bad" (good/bad is a matter of perception anyway), it just means that it creates change and as we know, change is often difficult to flow with, being creatures of habit and all.
Venus square Uranus likely resulted in surprises, revelations, and change in our relationships and finances.
Sun square Uranus will challenge us with surprises, revelations, and change in our very identity, vision, and life. These are the kinds of changes that affect our entire lives and livelihood, what we know about ourselves, others in our lives, and even authority figures and parents. Take a deep breath because we have this aspect twice a year, it's nothing to freak out about. The last one was on February 3rd, but the square was from the Sun in Aquarius in its detriment sign. It's a whole different vibe when the Sun is in its domicile in Leo gaining the upper hand. What does that mean? Creativity wins! Life wins! Love wins! Expression, what? Wins!
This is where we could be unveiling apart of ourselves that has felt repressed, it's a "Prometheus unbound" moment.
Now, Taurus is the 10th sign from Leo meaning Taurus is the result of Leo.
For example:
Leo = creativity and performance
Taurus = money and investments
People often pay to fund the arts and creativity because it brings joy and pleasure is the value of life itself.
Another example:
Leo = ego and survival since it is our life force
Taurus = resource (money, food, time, energy)
We panic when resources are limited because we know it affects our very survival.
These are the kinds of themes we could be seeing. Resources are still in flux, they are changing. That can be good– new kinds of resources available to us, but it can be not so good– our resources becoming unpredictable. This could even be a time where you are having to choose between what makes you feel secure and what actually makes you happy. More specifics can be found where you have Leo and Taurus.
Whatever happens, the Sun is still close to a square with Jupiter this month meaning: Risk taking and stepping outside of your comfort zone will bring the most rewards.
Mars in Virgo will also trine Uranus this week, I'll talk about this more in the New Moon post.
Changes are happening all around so don't get too comfortable! We are still among retrogrades so don't expect to be making permanent changes just yet.
Uranus brings the unpredictable, so stay open.
Additionally, Mars and Mercury are both in Virgo about 3º apart. This is almost a conjunction, but Mars will move forward into Libra by the end of the month while Mercury will need to go back to retrace its steps starting next week on the 23rd.
Be mindful of saying things out of anger, making rash decisions, being careless with your health, skipping over the details. These are things that can come back to bite you later when the retrograde begins. On the other hand, this is a great time to get through things quickly– like speeding through books you've been meaning to finish, writing, communication related issues may move faster.
These are the most notable transits this week, we do also have several Void Moons (On Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday). A Void Moon means slow down, don't try to accomplish very much. Void Moons are present when we need more time to integrate than usual and it makes sense with so many Uranus aspects.
I hope you all have an enlightening week.