Monday, July 21, 2025
Waning Moon
Pluto, Neptune, Saturn, Mercury Retrograde
We are in Mercury Retrograde, and, with the other retrogrades, it’s making us slow down. A lot. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Check and recheck everything.
I have more thoughts on Mercury Retrograde and how it often affects me in last week’s post. I’m also seeing a lot of astrologers online gleefully telling us how much the next few months will suck, with the retrogrades.
Here’s a thought: How about if they don’t?
Yes, things will be more complicated. But what if we choose not to buy into the hype and panic? What if we are more careful in thought, word, deed, and slow everything down? When we hit a challenge or an obstacle, we say, “okay, not thrilled with this, but this is how we’ll deal with it” and then we do?
I have no idea if I will succeed in this intention, but I at least want to set it and try!
I took great enjoyment in both the Star and the Moon last week, even though there were some obstacles in the week.
We’re using the Herbal Tarot for July, from herbalist Michael Tierra and artist Candis Cantin. I’ve had this deck since the mid-1990’s, and just love it. In fact, I used it during the month of June for ancestor work. In addition to the meaning of a particular card, it pairs with an herb that you can use to navigate the card, and, in general, with which to expand your herbal knowledge. You can learn more about Michael here and about Candis here. You can buy the deck here.
Since I am not a certified herbalist, I will focus on the spiritual meaning of each herb rather than the medicinal. If you are interested in the medicinal properties, which are discussed in the THE SPIRIT OF HERBS guidebook that goes with the deck, I encourage you to invest in that book, research the herbs in other reliable texts, or consult with a certified herbalist.
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
The Collective Energy of the Week – The Eight of Wands
This card was the collective energy card back in the July 7 reading. It’s about things in motion. Once they start, their momentum accelerates, and things move quickly. Other decks have all eight wands flying in one direction. This deck has four and four pointed toward the center, which means things are moving fast, so focused attention is required. Sassafras connects to the throat chakra, helping with communication (always a good thing when Mercury is retrograde) and protection from negative “thorns” coming your way.
The Week’s Challenge – Two of Wands
The two of wands is about planning with purpose. The figure holds a globe, looking for their place in the world. Why would this be a challenge? Because planning with purpose takes time and focus, and the previous card suggests things may be happening quickly that want to pull our focus from this planning. In other words, we may have to deal with something happening quickly when what we want to do is sit down and make a plan (either on what’s happening quickly or on something else). However, this is a two, which is a card of balance. Basil is also the herb, an herb of love, prosperity, healing, and harmony. A chef with whom I studied once said, “no one ever sends back a dish for having too much basil” so liberally use basil in your cooking and around your home this week!
The Week’s Opportunity – King of Swords
The King of Swords ends a cycle, by rationally cutting away what is no longer necessary. This week contains the last few days of the waning moon, with the moon turning new on Thursday, the 24th. What do we need to cut away, once we’ve analyzed it and decided its purpose? The herb associated with this card is St. John’s Wort, one of my favorites. It aids in calmness and clarity, and protection. Somewhere in this week’s challenge of wanting to plan while things are moving swiftly, we have the opportunity of clarity and cutting away something that is no longer needed to make room for better as the moon turns from dark to new.
The Week’s Stretch – The Hermit
We are in the Year of the Hermit, so this card comes up frequently. This indicates that, with all of the three previous cards demanding our attention, it will be a stretch to build in the quiet time we want and need. But we should do it anyway. We can’t light the path for others if it’s still murky to us. Licorice is the herb with this card. I, personally, am not a fan of licorice and rarely use it in my own work, but it’s another calming, clarifying herb. If you enjoy it, make some time this week to sit on your meditation cushion and chew on a stick of licorice as you think things through.
The Week’s Comfort – Ten of Wands
Another wand card. How can the 10 of Wands, a card of carrying so many sticks, be a comfort? Because it indicates nearing the end of a cycle. Just hold on. You’re almost there. I know, in my case, I have to soldier on until Aug. 2, and then I can finally rest for a day or two, before picking up my next batch of sticks! Stick to priorities, avoid distractions, and keep on keeping on. We’re almost there! Prickly ash bark helps one transition from feeling like an overburdened victim to a rooted sense of responsibility and coping. I’ve used this herb as a tea, and I’ve also sat in meditation with bits of the bark in my hands.
This week’s reading has three wand cards, a court card, and one Major Arcana. The focus this week is on the daily details with passion and commitment to your true self. The Hermit demands that you block out some time to sit and think, but the rest of it is about balancing priorities and making decisions as things move quickly.
It has the potential for being the good kind of busy!
Did anything in particular resonate with you? Or did you get something different from the cards? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.