Monday, March 9, 2026
Waning Moon
Jupiter and Mercury Retrograde
Welcome to the second week of March. Yesterday was International Women’s Day. Tomorrow, Jupiter, the planet of expansion and wisdom, turns direct, so we get a little relief, even though Mercury Retrograde still hangs around for eleven more days to muck things up until the Spring Equinox.
I’m not buying into the current online attempts to rehab Mercury Retrograde’s reputation. Sometimes, things just suck. For me, MR sucks. These periods of time each year sucked before I knew what a Mercury Retrograde was. Once I did, it helped me cope, but it doesn’t make it fun. I do the best I can to navigate it, but stop trying to gaslight me that it’s a “gift.” If it’s a gift, it better have the return tag still attached, that’s all I’m saying.
Different experiences are part of the fascination with this work. If someone has a wonderful Mercury Retrograde and finds it a gift, I celebrate that for them. I’m still honest about the difficulties I have with it. Both can exist at once. So honor your own experience, even as you experiment with different tools.
Don’t let someone tell you what you feel and experience isn’t real, because that’s not their experience. We’ve had enough of that through the decades, and it’s time to change it.
Per last week’s reading, it was definitely heavy on the 9 of Swords for me, but the other cards helped me work my way through it, and the Ace of Swords was particularly helpful. As a Pisces, the eclipse also kicked my ass.
This month’s deck was a Winter Solstice gift, and, as a writer, I’m enjoying working with it. This month’s deck is the Mystic Storyteller, book and tarot by Amanda Hughes, art by Roz Kazaz. You can read more about the artists by clicking their names, and buy the deck here.
This is one of my spreads, that I call The Elemental Spread. It is very similar to many of the Medicine Wheel spreads I’ve seen, but I made a few tweaks to the way I use it over the years.
We start in the center, with Spirit/Self. This is the overall energy of the week, and how we relate to it.
We move to the position above, with is North/Tangibles, connected to the element of Earth, advice on how to deal with the week on a tangible, materialistic level.
We move clockwise to the third position, East/Thought, connected to the element of Air, advice on how to intellectually deal with the week.
Then we move down to the bottom of the spread, the 4th position, South/Passion, connected to the element of Fire, advice on how to deal with the week from a place of passion and identity.
Then we move up to the left side of the spread, the 5th position, West/Emotion, connected to the element of Water, advice on how to deal with the week from a place of creativity and emotion.
We wind up where we started, at the spirit center, integrating all the information for the week.
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.
Center – Spirit/Self: The Devil
The Devil Card at the center indicates that we need to deal with tangibles this week rather than theocraticals. It also warns us not to get so caught up in the tangibles that we forget the other aspects of our lives that need attention. Sometimes our desires overcome our practicalities. Sometimes we submit to more than we should because we feel trapped and chained. If you look at the Devil card beside the Lovers card, they are often similarly set up – two individuals with an entity above them. In this deck, the figures in the cards resemble each other so much they could be the same two individuals (which makes a lot of sense), with a different figure above them affecting the atmosphere, or, more to the point, the couple’s interpretation of the force above them. In this deck, the presence above the Lovers is an angel, and the Devil is a horned figure with wings. The couple’s positions to each other in the cards is similar, but their clothing is different, and now they’re chained rather than choosing.
Even though the Lovers did not come up in this week’s spread, only the Devil, I’m posting a photo of both, so you can see the similarities.
The last time The Lovers showed up in one of our community readings was on September 22, 2025, using the Tarot of the Owls, in the position of Challenge. You can refresh your memory about it here.
Think back to last September, and the challenge that was relevant to the Lovers card then. Has it turned into something that makes you feel trapped? Again, we’re still in Mercury Retrograde, so you might not be seeing the situation clearly and communication around it could be mucky. Sit with it until the Spring Equinox (it showed up on the Autumn Equinox). It could be that a cycle has run its course from last autumn. Or it could be something that needs new perspective in the coming cycle, and a gentler touch.
Either way, that energy is the central fuel for this week, so tread carefully and don’t make rash decisions.
North – Earth/Tangibles: Nine of Wands
The 9 of Wands is a card of readiness and defense. The immediate threat that shows up in the 7 of Wands is past, but the 9 indicates a readiness for the next attack. Be cautious, not paranoid. This is about something very tangible this week, as it’s in the position of north/tangibles. I do love the image and idea of defense by pencil. As a writer, this speaks to me.
East – Air/Thought/Intellect: The Sun
This is a terrific card, indicating joy and success. “Think happy thoughts” (it’s in the east) over-simplifies it, but as a card of joy and optimism in the position of intellect, it indicates that the way you think about things this week will affect how they turn out. Whatever comes your way, try an intellectual spin toward the positive, then take the actions necessary to move it in that direction.
South – Fire/Passion/Identity: The High Priestess
The High Priestess in the position of identity reminds us to trust ourselves this week. She wears the phases of the moon on her circlet in her hair, there’s a crescent moon at her feet, water behind her, and the pillars of balance on each side of her. The chair she sits in looks like it gives her wings. Trust yourself before anyone else this week.
West – Water/Creativity/Emotion: Knight of Wands
In last week’s reading, we had the Knight of Swords in this position. This week, it’s the Knight of Wands, which is about bringing out best, most unapologetic selves out into the world, especially creatively.
The reading is very much about something tangible that seemed wonderful at the last Equinox, but now feels like a trap. You need to trust your intuition, twist it to the positive, and defend it in a very real way by showing up as your best self.
Did anything resonate, or did you get something different? I’d love to hear from you.