Monday, February 24, 2025
Waning Moon
Mars DIRECT as of yesterday
No retrogrades
We have a brief 5-day period without retrogrades until Saturday, March 1, when Venus goes retrograde until April 12. If you want to make a radical change to your look (as I do), wait until Venus goes direct again in April to make sure it’s the right choice and you pick people with the right skills to help. We also have a new moon in Pisces on Thursday, February 27 in the evening. Time to cut away what doesn’t serve us early in the week to make room for fresh creativity.
Last week’s reading gave some me valuable guidance. I had to rely on communicating, even when there were hard conversations needed. Otherwise, I would have been in limbo. I didn’t always get the answers for which I hoped, but at least I have information necessary to make the decisions for the next steps.
For the weekly readings in February, we are using the Cozy Witch Tarot by Amanda Lovelace, with art by Janaina Medeiros. You can learn more about it and buy it here. Several people recommended this deck to me, including my friend, author and tarot reader Jameison Wolf. I love the way it reads, although my interpretations are sometimes different than what is written on the card. I do sometimes worry that it doesn’t delve deeply enough into uncomfortable emotions, but it states clearly that it is meant to be cozy and comforting. February is a difficult month for me, anyway, often; it seems like winter will never end. And with all the stresses around us, I’m opting for cozy for us in these weekly readings.
To dig deeper, when necessary, I’m using the Shadows of Light Oracle by Haley Clare. I’m not sure if I received this deck from Goddess Provisions or Tamed Wild, during the time I had subscription boxes from them. The deck and I are becoming reacquainted, and it works well with this tarot deck.
If you’re new to the weekly readings, this is a spread of mine. 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
Apologies that the photos aren’t as sharp as I would like.
The Collective Energy of the Week – 5 of Wands
This is a card about a group struggling to come to consensus, with each person holding onto their position as part of their identity. With all the chaos going on, it makes a lot of sense. Let each person have a say, and then talk through the issues. See where there is room for compromise, and where you need to draw boundaries. But do so from a place of kindness and compassion whenever possible, rather than from anger, or it will just escalate.
Digging deeper into this energy with the oracle, the Foundation of this is Challenge: Opposition. Again, that makes sense to the tarot card above it. We are being challenged inwardly and outwardly. We know we need to work as a group to solve the issues, but we each have different approaches, and finding a way to integrate the best of these so we can move forward as a collective is difficult.
However, the Growth from here is Creativity: The Alchemist. If we put in the (often exhausting) work. Like the Magician card in tarot, this card is about taking action to turn creative potential into reality.
By working together, listening to each other, and weaving together different facets of people’s ideas, it’s possible to create a strong solution.
The Week’s Challenge – The Patient Witch
This is called The Hanged Man in many other decks. It’s about patience, sitting with uncomfortable emotions, and looking at things from different perspectives. This challenge ties into the previous card, the 5 of Wands, and the cards below and above it. It won’t be easy to come to consensus. Also, with Mars turning direct, even though he’s not at full speed yet, and only 5 days before hitting another retrograde, there’s an anxious energy to want to pile as much into this week as possible. This card warns us to slow down. Rushing now will have a high price later.
The Week’s Opportunity – 9 of Pentacles
I love this card. It’s about living the life you want, the life you’ve created yourself. If we don’t rush, if we listen and work together, we can take moments this week to savor what we’ve done, and that will build toward having this good life in the long run. Spend time every day with your gratitude practice of choice. Use that gratitude as part of your patience and your listening.
The Week’s Stretch – The Broom
This is the Death card in other decks. Those new to tarot often find the Death card uncomfortable. The card in this deck is somewhat gentler, showing both physical and emotional cleansing related to the home rather than a skeleton and those symbols that often cause distress. Don’t forget that your body is your home. This week is a good time to start your spring cleaning, especially before Thursday’s new moon. Make space for new possibilities, both physically and mentally.
The Foundation for this card is Cycles: Ouroboros, which makes sense to set the foundation for the Broom/Death card. We all live in cycles, by the month, by the season, by the year, by the time in our lives. Do we simply repeat the same cycle over and over again, or do we use each cycle to build something better? It’s our choice. Those choices are, however, often influenced by systemic oppression, which makes it important to relate back to the 5 of Wands in the first position, listening to each other and working together so we CAN make the next cycle better.
The Week’s Comfort – Justice
Being honest with yourself is the foundation of being honest with the world. What is your truth? Where is that in conflict with societal truth? Where is there common ground? Where is there not? Where are you being a hypocrite? Take some time, in all the listening, patience, cleaning, and gratitude practice to really define yourself and your values. The cleansing in the Broom/Death card will help with that.
The growth from doing so is Unity: The Sacred Paradox. If we are honest with ourselves and know our own truths, we can take it out into the world in a positive, compassionate way to work for collective justice through unity. Every choice we make has a ripple effect, because of the connection between us.
Although the week suggests the possibilities of challenges (again), there are also bright spots of connection, gratitude, healing, and cleansing, if we take advantage of them.
Did anything resonate for you in this reading? Are you sensing different meaning in any of the cards? The oracle deck, in particular, often works with sacred geometry. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Next week’s reading is in a new month, which means we’re using different decks! Stay tuned.