Monday, March 24, 2025
Waning Moon
Venus & Mercury Retrograde
Whew! Last week definitely had its challenges, but there were also a few high notes.
This week, we’re in the final phase of the waning moon, which, for me, is a great time for release, purging what needs to be purged, and protection. There’s a new moon on Saturday the 29th, with a solar eclipse in Aries.
While new moons are often great for fresh starts, with the eclipse and the two retrogrades, I’m going to be cautious. For me, it will be more about setting track so that I’m ready to move forward when first Mercury, then Venus go direct in April.
I look at Mercury Retrograde as a vacation from magic and ritual. I keep up with daily gratitude and blessings, with meditation and yoga. I still bless when I clean. But I don’t start anything new.
I also do not do 1 on 1 tarot readings for anyone else during this time, because of communication confusion so likely during Mercury retrograde. While I will continue to post the community readings during the retrograde, your own interpretation and discernment will be even more important than usual during this time. Take what resonates; leave the rest behind. That is always true, but especially during Mercury retrograde. Take the time to really think about what does and does not resonate and why.
For the month of March, we are using the Midnight City Tarot Mini Deck, written and illustrated by Jackie Franco, and her full-sized City of Dreams Oracle deck. They work really well together. Both decks are New York-centric. As someone who spent many years living and working in theatre in New York, this deck speaks strongly to me. The quality of these decks is wonderful. They feel good as one handles them. You can learn more about the decks and buy them here.
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
We have a lot of Court Cards in the reading this week, and I’ve expanded on those with oracle cards. Having four Court Cards in a five-card spread means this week’s focus is on relationships.
The Collective Energy of the Week – King of Swords
This card was in the “Opportunity” position in the March 10 reading a few weeks ago, and it has moved from an opportunity to the week’s collective energy. It’s about leading with intellect, and cutting away what is no longer necessary. It’s a strong card to have during the last bit of the waning moon. Lead with intellect this week, and analyze everything in great detail. Remember, we are still in Mercury retrograde, so the devil really will be hiding in the details. Be careful of those trying to gaslight you.
The Foundation of this energy, in addition to the shift from opportunity to driving energy of the week, is What You Seek is Seeking You. It’s about inspiration and alignment. Since it is the foundation of this week’s energy, analyze your inspirations and see where and how you can align with them.
The Week’s Challenge – Page of Wands
This same card was in the same position last week. There’s still curiosity about new opportunities. Tied back into the King of Swords, you’ll need to analyze this opportunity and explore it, rather than jump into it. Get more information from those offering the opportunity before you commit.
The Growth from this work is Crossroads. The art depicts the intersection at 34th St. and Broadway in NYC, showing the Empire State Building in the background. There’s a choice to be made. But the Page and the King in the previous positions are indicating it’s not yet time to move on that choice, just analyze it and decide where your instincts lead. The “What You Seek” card indicates that the choice you make, when you are ready, will be the right one for the moment, although you may have further choices to make down the road. This ties back into the reading from March 10, with the 7 of Cups in the Comfort position. Don’t be pushed into making a decision to suit someone else’s agenda. Take the time to daydream through your options. You’ll also remember the Emperor card in last week’s Collective Energy position, had us immediately in front of the Empire State Building, while the Crossroads card has us a little further away, with a different perspective. Again, this ties into the King of Swords analytic energy.
The Week’s Opportunity – Page of Cups
The Page of Cups is curious and creative, filled with imagination. It also indicates healing. This week’s opportunity suggests that you seek healing through creativity and imagination. You might seek out a healer, or you might be the healer for yourself or someone else. In any case, it will happen through curiosity, creativity, and imagination.
The Foundation for this is the Salt Bath, healing body, mind, and spirit with a salt bath, and letting the stress drain away with the water. It indicates that self-healing is part of the week, even if you then reach out to help someone else heal.
The Week’s Stretch – Knight of Coins
All of this takes slow, steady progress. The Knight of Coins is the most particular and conscientious of the knights, taking things one step at a time, instead of rushing ahead. That ties in with all the previous cards, about paying attention to the details, and not letting anyone manipulate you for their own agenda.
The Growth from this, which can sometimes feel more like plodding than progress, is the realization that Everything is Temporary. Imprint the joyful moments to your memory. Sit with the painful ones and know the feelings will heal. It’s all cyclical and in motion. The retrogrades slow things down, so you may feel like you’re in a rut, but it’s a necessary rut. Don’t be pushed forward too early.
The Week’s Comfort – 6 of Cups
This is retrograde season, a time to look to the past. So often, it’s with an eye to releasing the past in order to move forward. But also look back on the happy memories. Keep an album of them in your soul. Remember the bouquets of happiness. You can honor and enjoy the past without wanting to return to it or getting stuck in it.
This reading has close ties to the readings of the past two weeks, and shows a progression over those weeks. Take the time to think about how those ties showed up in your own life.
Did anything in the reading resonate? Or did you get something completely different? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.