Monday, July 27, 2026
Waxing Moon
Pluto, Neptune, Saturn Retrograde
Welcome to the last week of July! We start a new month this coming Saturday, and we’ll have a new deck for August.
Mercury went direct last Thursday, thank goodness. But Saturn turned retrograde on Sunday, and will be retrograde until December 10. Saturn is about structure and systems, and, most importantly, life lessons. Again, there’s an attempt in the influencer realm to rehabilitate the Saturn retrograde reputation with, “it’s not there to punish you.” In my experience, sometimes it is, when you’ve ignored the life lessons from the last retrograde instead of integrating them and moving forward. Sometimes, things are hard. Sometimes, we don’t get it all figured out in the first go-round, and we have to go through the hard stuff again. We are all desperate for ease right now, with the dumpster fire the world has turned into, but sometimes we just have to deal with what’s in front of us, even when it’s not fun. Last week, I talked about working with Saturn instead of against it during trines and squares (whether retrograde or not), and you can refer back to that.
We have a full moon on the 29th, which should bring things to a head, and then we can decide what to sweep out in the coming waning moon cycle.
We have Lammas on Aug. 1, which is a big day in my personal calendar (this year marks the 32nd anniversary of my initiation), and the first harvest. I spend as much time as possible on Aug. 1 in gratitude, even when things are rough. The harvest and the anniversary mean I have a lot for which to be grateful, while acknowledging I still have a lot of work ahead of me.
This is our last week with the Magic Pantry Tarot by Cedar McCloud. I’ve enjoyed working with the deck all month, and integrating ingredients that come up in the reading into my week’s meals. Cedar McCloud has several books and decks out, and you can learn more about them and buy this deck on Cedar’s website, Numinous Spirit Press.
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: Seven of Pentacles
The 7 of Pentacles is about patience, and allowing things to take their own time. In this era of hustle, that’s often difficult. It’s difficult in the era of bill paying, where the bills are due when they are due, but those paying us for our work after tap dance as much as they can to delay such payments. Oats sustain and soothe. This week, whether you prepare a bowl of oatmeal or eat an oatmeal cookie, do so mindfully and use it as a break from routine. You’ve put in the work. Many decks show someone leaning on a hoe or a rake, looking at what’s growing. Take a look at what’s growing around you. Know that what you’ve planted over the past months is growing, even if it’s not as fast as you’d like.
North – Earth/Tangibles: Strength
The Strength card is in the North this week, advising you will need to dig deep into your own reserves of strength in very tangible ways this week to push through. Nuts are closely tied to the earth, coming from trees or bushes. In the companion book to this deck, McCloud suggests envisioning your fear as a walnut, then cracking it with a nutcracker. Face your fears this week. Protect yourself without isolating yourself. See what’s causing unnecessary pain and toss it out, like you would with stale nuts.
East – Air/Thought/Intellect: King of Pentacles
This King, with its ingredient of cake, was in the north last week. I admit, I did not eat as much cake as I hoped. So shall I dream of cake or bake one this week? We will see! Last week it was about acquiring and providing. In its position this week, it’s about thinking about what makes you feel physically/financially secure, and how to get there. Don’t make moves out of panic. Be realistic about your situation and make considered decisions instead.
South – Fire/Passion/Identity: Nine of Wands
Rosemary, the herb in this card, is my go-to herb. It brightens my mood, I use it for prosperity, protection, and health. I keep a bunch of rosemary at the front door and the back window. Rosemary is connected to remembrance, and how we store and honor our memories. In many decks, this card depicts someone shortly after a battle/ready for more. This card shows a bunch of rosemary near a photo of, perhaps, a loved one. On this particular context, consider how your memories are tools to support you or weapons that can cause harm. Make careful choices this week, based on how you want to be in the world. When you feel you’re faltering, gather a bunch of rosemary, and use it to stabilize and calm yourself.
West – Water/Creativity/Emotion: Eight of Pentacles
The 8 of Pentacles is about showing up and doing the work, being the craftsman. In this position of creativity and emotion, it encourages you keep going, even if you feel conflict. This card in this position speaks to me this week, tied with the other cards (especially Strength), because I have to navigate several unpleasant conflicts this week that are also tied to my sense of self, at least one which is creative. So this card encourages me to keep showing up and doing the work as I also use my strength and memory/past experience to resolve things with grace (cake), rather than petulance or simply walking away. It takes skill and dedication to successfully grow corn and to then transform it into its many uses. Lammas hits near the end of the week, and that is a day on which I traditionally make cornbread first thing in the morning.
This week’s reading has three Pentacles, including a Court card; one Wand, in its home of identity; and one Major Arcana in the position of tangibles. This week is about navigating the day-to-day details you need to make it through and build for the future. It suggests using a solid, stable approach, rather than making snap decisions out of either fiery anger or watery emotion. Slow, steady, and calm will serve us better this week.
Did anything resonate with you, or did you get something different? I’m always interested to hear about it.