Dec. 2, 2024: Community Tarot Reading for the Week

Monday, December 2, 2024
Waxing Moon
Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter, Mercury Retrograde

How did last week work for you? It was definitely a challenging week for me, on multiple levels, but I tried to navigate it with as much gentleness as possible. There were also plenty of lovely moments in it, and I am so grateful for those.

We are in December now. Later this week, on the 7th, Neptune goes direct. Being a Pisces, the Neptune retrograde make it more difficult for me to express my creativity, my dreams are all over the place, and brain fog often descends. I will be glad to clear those out of the way when Neptune goes direct (it’s been retrograde since early July). Mars goes retrograde on December 6, and will be retrograde until late February. Mars retrograde is always a challenge for me. I have to remember not to be reactive and assume the negative, and to pick my battles. A Mars retrograde around the holiday season can make things sticky and uncomfortable, especially since the Mars retrograde overlaps with the Mercury retrograde until December 15. We should always think before we speak, but during this difficult time, it may be better, in many cases, not to speak at all.

New month, new deck! This month, we are using the Yuletide Tarot, from Kristoffer Hughes with art by Erin O’Leary Brown. You can get it from Llewellyn Worldwide here. (Note: even though I’ve written for Llewellyn almanacs for decades, I do not get free decks from them, nor do I get a cut of anything you buy using this link. I bought the deck myself). This is the first year I’m using this deck. It was recommended to me by my friend, tarot reader and author Jamieson Wolf. I spent the last month getting to know the deck, in preparation for this month’s work with it.

In this deck:
Canes = Swords
Candles = Wands
Good Cheer = Cups
Gifts = Pentacles

If you’re new to the weekly readings, this is a spread of mine, that I’ve developed over months. It’s read from left to right, 5 cards. Any card that needs more interpretation can be built into further, above and below, with either more tarot cards, another tarot deck, or an oracle deck.

These interpretations are mine, based on my experience, intuition and responses to the artwork. You may have a different experience. This is an overview of the week as it stands now; every decision we make from the moment of the reading can change the outcome. If there’s something in the reading that worries you, you have the information ahead of time so that you can plan, make better choices, or handle it differently than predicted for a better outcome. Tarot sets out possibilities, which you change through your choices and actions.

Left to right, the positions are as follows:
1. The Collective Energy of the Week
2. The Week’s Challenge
3. The Week’s Opportunity
4. The Week’s Stretch
5. The Week’s Comfort

The Collective Energy of the Week – Page of Canes
This card is the equivalent of the Page of Swords in other decks. This week’s new moon energy is about being curious and building something tangible through thought. Our page is building a snowman. But look – she’s barefoot in the snow, wearing a summer dress. So she’s not necessarily making the most responsible choices. While the energy of the week may be to jump into something new, take a minute to prepare a little bit, like putting on appropriate coat and shoes.

The Week’s Challenge – Ten of Good Cheer
This card is the equivalent to the 10 of Cups in other decks. How can love under the mistletoe be a challenge? The card is about bliss and long-term domestic harmony. Well, when tied to the Page of Canes, it can advise that you make sure any emotional or creative situation you want to jump into is reciprocal. You may be seeing it as a 10, and looking for long-term stability, but without the reciprocity, it can’t fulfill. Again, dig a little deeper; don’t be satisfied with how things appear on the surface.

The Week’s Opportunity – The Ace of Canes
This card is the equivalent to the Ace of Swords in other decks. This week gives us a chance to look at things in fresh ways, and come at our lives with new perspective. We have an opportunity for clear thought, with the warning, again, to dig deeper. Don’t jump in as the page without your shoes, and make sure you know what’s going on beneath the surface.

The Week’s Stretch – Eight of Gifts
This card is the equivalent to the 8 of Pentacles in other decks. There’s work to be done, and it requires skill and that you actually show up and do the work. Look how lovely these wrapped packages are! And yes, they must be wrapped, and then either sent or delivered. Don’t drop the ball this week. Don’t get so excited by new ideas and possibilities and emotional promises that you neglect the chop wood/carry water elements of your life. Take care of your responsibilities, and then you can enjoy some relaxation.

The Week’s Comfort – Ace of Good Cheer
This card is the equivalent of the Ace of Cups in other decks. Look at that lovely wassail in the bowl! Warm and inviting. This is a card of new possibilities, emotions, creativity, and relationships. Even though the challenge of the week is the 10 – what we hope to attain, and indicates achievement and the end of a cycle, our comfort is knowing that that fulfillment is opening doors to new loving and creative opportunities.

The week offers new, exciting, and creative possibilities with long term rewards. We need to be cautious about jumping in too quickly and unprepared. If we show up and do the work, if we use our skills and pay attention to the details, the new moon energy will set us on a long-term path. We need to remember, with all the retrogrades, that it’s not about instant gratification. We are stepping on the beginning of a long path that offers creative joy and fulfillment, if we don’t rush it.

What do you get from these cards? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!