Monday, August 25, 2025
Waxing Moon
Pluto, Neptune, Saturn, Chiron Retrograde
Hello, and welcome to the last week of August. We are finally getting a break in the heat and humidity here, which is very welcome.
This month, we are using the Tarot de Marseilles. This particular tarot is one of the earlier decks, with these designs becoming popular in the 18th century, with the Marseilles name coming into use around the middle of the 19th century. There are various versions of the history of this deck, and I encourage you to read as much about the history as you can.
The minor arcana decks focus on the suit and the number, rather than creating illustrated scenarios, the way many other decks, especially modern ones, do. Some people prefer this more ascetic version of the Minor Arcana. Others find it easier to interpret and find meaning in more detailed scenes. Play with different decks, and see what works best for you. I find I am drawn to different decks depending on what I need in a reading, so sometimes one type of deck works better than another for a specific question.
The deck I’m using was a gift, and is published by Fournier, in Spain. You can learn more about their decks here. This deck does not have specific artists credited.
Next week, with the new month, we start working with a different deck. I will be hunting around the apartment for weeks I am sure, because Bea ran off with the Star card from the Marseilles deck that was in last week’s reading.
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
At first glance, this spread looks a little chaotic, so let’s break it down and figure it out.
The Collective Energy of the Week – King of Cups
The King of Cups is kind and honorable. He’s also in control of his emotions, and chooses when and where to share them. The energy of the week is about doing the right thing, but doing it with kindness.
The Week’s Challenge – Ace of Pentacles
The Ace of Pentacles is a positive card, promising new paths on the material plane. So how can this be a challenge? I will use something that happened to be a few days back as an example: I was offered work that I feel is unethical and would compromise my integrity. Do I need the money? Yes. Do I feel the trade-off is worth it? No. Am I going to accept the work? No. I gracefully declined. What I will do, instead, is trust the Ace of Pentacles bringing me new opportunities on the material plane. I will trust that by saying “no” to something I know is not right for me, it opens the path to something better. Tying this card in with the previous King of Cups, do the right thing, but be kind about it. My sense is that there will be an opportunity offered that is not right for you this week. By refusing it, you will make room for another opportunity just out of sight that is better.
The Week’s Opportunity – 10 of Cups
It’s always great to see the 10 of Cups in a spread, because it offers joy and long-term emotional stability. Don’t get so caught up in the Ace of the previous position that you miss the 10 being offered in this position. Again, tying it back to the King, doing the right thing with kindness will open new paths on the material plane that will give you long-term joy and success.
The Week’s Stretch – 5 of Wands
This is an odd card for the “stretch” position, suggesting that you will have to put in a lot of work in order to have an argument, but you also may be in a position where it’s wise to compromise. Again, lean into the King of Cups energy here, of controlled emotion, so this doesn’t block the 10 of Cups. Don’t worry so much about the opportunity you know is wrong for you and miss all the fun and something better that’s waiting in the wings. Of, if you must take this new opportunity, negotiate that it’s for the short term, rather than the long (although, looking at the full spread, my gut instinct is you’re better off walking away, which is why this is in the “stretch” position). Read the fine print of any and everything this week.
The Week’s Comfort – 4 of Cups
Again, a strange card to come up as a “comfort.” In decks that depict the minor arcana cards with illustrations, the 4 of Cups often shows an individual looking bored or unhappy. This card just has four balanced cups in the picture. Fours can be about stability or stagnation. You get to choose here. If you walk away from something that is not right for you, you have the joy of the 10 and the possible new Ace that was hidden by the first Ace/opportunity that seemed good at first, but proved not right for you at this time. If you take the first thing offered, that your gut tells you is not right, you will have to make compromises that do not serve you, give up the joy offered in the 10, and get stagnant. Use the King’s emotional and creative discernment to weigh your choices this week.
Do the right thing and be kind. That will open the way to new opportunities that are right for you and also bring joy, without making harmful compromises, and give you stability.
Did anything in particular resonate for you in this reading? Or did you get something different? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.