Monday, May 25, 2026
Waxing Moon
Pluto Retrograde
Here we are, in the final week of May. We have a second full moon this month at the end of the week, on May 31, a blue moon. It’s a nice bookend for the month. I like to enjoy blue moons, and celebrate them, rather than rushing around feeling like I “have” to get this or that done.
Sometimes, you need to take the time to simply enjoy.
I’m seeing a lot of fear-based content along the lines of “this will never happen again in our lifetime” and “this hasn’t happened for 200 years” and whatnot and so forth. Usually, it’s trying to scare you into giving them money because they claim if you don’t buy their expertise, your life will get worse, rather than you sitting quietly and learning from your own intuition.
Remember: Every day is unique and fresh. No day will ever be exactly like any other. YOU get to choose the small tweaks that differentiate it. A missed chance can open the way to a better one. You don’t want to be passive and refrain from any actions at all. But you want to do your best in your individual situation from a place of hope and wonder, rather than fear. With the fear mongers and systemic oppressors trying to make sure we can’t make decisions out of a good place, it’s even more of a challenge. You don’t need “influencers” who claim they have a hotline to spirit piling onto it, especially when it’s all about giving them money. Especially if they use AI, which, as far as I’m concerned, means they have zero connection to ethical spirituality.
There are a lot of carny barkers out there who will push you farther away from your direct connection to divinity than get you closer to it, taking your money along the way and laughing all the way to their bank.
We still have just the Pluto Retrograde to deal with, allowing us to explore it without distraction. There is plenty of dark, icky stuff being revealed in the world at large, and we need to decide how we, as individuals and collectively, are going to respond.
This is our last week with this tarot deck. Next Monday, we greet the new month with a different deck.
This month’s deck is The Forager’s Daughter, with book and art by Jessica Lei Howard. This is an absolutely gorgeous deck, and feels wonderful in my hands. I’m excited to share readings with you from this deck. You can learn more about Jessica’s work 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: Knight of Pentacles
The Knight of Pentacles is about consistency. It’s about sticking to routines that work, showing up, and being patient in order to make progress. The progress is slower than with the other knights, but it lasts. This energy is central to the week. Use reliable routines to stabilize you this week, and work incrementally.
North – Earth/Tangibles: Five of Cups
This card was in the East last week, and is in the north, the position of tangibles, this week. The 5 of Cups is generally about grief, and focusing on what was broken rather than what remains. The art in this card reminds us that the full, overflowing cups have the ability to heal the grief. It’s not about ignoring or cutting off what is no longer there. It’s about integrating the loss with remaining positives. Things break. Sometimes they can’t be fixed, so you hold the lovely memories and let the object itself go. Since this card is in the north, there is something very tangible this week that needs to be released with love, rather than anger.
East – Air/Thought/Intellect: Two of Cups
This card came up in the May 11th spread in the North/Earth/Tangibles position, and now it’s here, in the East/Air/Intellect position. This is about union, partnership, and balance. Two cups pour together, creating a unified stream. This week, there are ideas that grow when nurtured with someone else. This will also help balance or heal the loss in the previous card.
South – Fire/Passion/Identity: Ancestor
The Forager’s Daughter Tarot has several additional Major Arcana cards that other decks do not. One of them is this card, Ancestor. It makes sense that it shows up in the South, the position of fire, passion, and, importantly, identity. When you feel lost this week, tap into your ancestral wisdom. How did others in your lineage handle similar struggles? Ancestral lineage isn’t just of blood. It can also be spiritual, artistic, inspirational. There is a wealth of generational knowledge that can be accessed, applied, and adjusted to meet this week’s challenges. We don’t have to be trapped by “the way things were done.” We can learn from it and used it as a foundation to create something that works for us now. I love the image of the skull looking at the viewer from inside the crystal sphere. That portal to the past, mirror of the generations resonates with me.
West – Water/Creativity/Emotion: Six of Swords
The 6 of Swords suggests that, creatively or emotionally, you are about to transform and leave something behind. Often, the art shows travel over water. This art shows a cicada shedding its outgrown casing. This ties into the 5 of Cups up top, and (to me) actually puts a more positive perspective on it, along with support from the other cards – the 2 cups and the Ancestor, and the Knight of Pentacles reminding us to keep plugging along. The collective view of the 6 of Swords has gotten more negative in general over the years, but I usually view it as positives. The 6 is a level of stability reached after the chaos of the 5. Last week, we had the 6 of Pentacles in this slot, suggesting creative generosity and stability. This week, it’s creative transformation.
This week’s reading contains a court card, a Major Arcana, and three Minor Arcana cards. Two of those are cups, and one is a sword. The court card is a pentacle. There are no wands in here, but the Ancestor card in that position of fire and identity sends a strong message.
This week, keep going, slowly and carefully. Allow yourself partnership that helps you through a transformation, leaving something broken behind, but holding its pleasant memories. Tap into ancestral knowledge to guide you. Don’t let anyone rush you this week, and then, next Sunday, enjoy the blue moon’s blessings in quiet enjoyment. This is a good week to step back from the outer chaos as much as possible and nurture what you need on an internal level.
Does anything in this reading resonate with you? Or do you have a different interpretation? I’m always interested in hearing your thoughts.