Monday, January 20, 2025
Waning Moon
Uranus, Jupiter, Mars Retrograde
We’re back this week, with a reading. The wildfires are still causing pain and loss in LA. The United States is moving into a dark, tumultuous era. So it’s up to us as individuals to do what we can, and then band together to support each other.
This month, we are using the Rackham Tarot, with art by the illustrator Arthur Rackham, and text by Lunea Weatherstone. The deck is available from Lo Scarabeo. If you would like to learn more about Arthur Rackham’s life and work, you can do so here.
This deck was a gift from a friend a little over a year ago. I use it primarily for dreamwork, so it will be interesting to see how it works in community readings for the month. The suit in this deck is marked with a symbol in the center bottom, and the number on top. The Major Arcana cards have their number on the top and the bottom. It can take a bit of concentration to get used to it.
If you’re new to the weekly readings, this is a spread of mine, that I’ve developed over months. 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 – Ace Wands
The ace of wands is about a fresh start and new inspiration, especially when it comes to identity and passion. Here in the US, we are entering a new era that often feels hopeless. The ace is telling us not to give up so fast. See the rising sun peeking out from behind the tree? Let the magic reawaken inside.
The Week’s Challenge – 3 Wands
The 3 of Wands is often about taking the first steps after making a plan in the two, once the passion has been ignited in the ace. However, take a look at this card. Instead of looking out into the world and the new path, as in many other decks, the woman in this card has turned her back on the view. She rests against the railing, pulling inward for more reflection before moving forward. Remember, we’re still dealing with retrogrades in Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars, meaning individuality, expansion, and forward momentum are slowed down. Take a breath and assess, rather than just leaping into the first inspiration.
The Week’s Opportunity – The King of Cups
The court cards are difficult to discern in this deck; you have to sort it out between the design on the top of the card and then the suit design on the bottom. The booklet is no help with this, you have to set out all the court cards and compare. In any case, this is the King of Cups. In this case, he’s staying out of the emotional fray. With all the chaos going on this week, consider ways to step back and not get sucked up into waves of exhausting emotion that are created to be a distraction, rather than something real. Take the time to see where someone is trying to whip up your emotions for their own agenda, and what you actually think and feel.
The Week’s Stretch – The Moon
This is a week to rely heavily on your intuition. Connect with the waning moon and intuition. This will help you see where others are trying to deceive you, or to convince you that illusion is reality. In the past couple of years, I’ve noticed that the interpretations of the Moon card skew more and more negative, disavowing the positive potential. I disagree with that. Moonlight can illuminate, and heighten intuitive powers, allowing us to recognize deception.
The Week’s Comfort – 8 Pentacles
Show up and do your work without distraction. Take pride in your skills, and how they are growing. This ties into all of the earlier cards about attempts at distraction, new paths, and taking a breath before moving forward. Show up and do YOUR work, both physically and spiritually. That will help clear your path.
Does this reading resonate with you? Or do you get something quite different from these specific cards? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.