Monday, February 10, 2025
Waxing Moon
Mars Retrograde
Last week, I kept remembering the King of Cups card, because regulating emotion was difficult. As often as possible, I tried to tie it into the 10 of Pentacles energy, being grateful for what I have. I took the King of Cups advice and attended a friend’s art opening last week. It definitely soothed my soul. It feels good to have only one retrograde at the moment, but Mars slows things down, and it’s difficult not to get impatient. We have two more weeks of the Mars retrograde, so take a breath and do your best to be patient, while setting up the plans so that you’re ready to move forward when it’s possible.
The Full Moon is on Wednesday of this week, and, being in Leo, can be challenging, depending on where Leo sits in your natal chart. There’s a sense of “look at ME!” that can make us forget there are other necessities on which to focus.
For the weekly readings in February, we are using the Cozy Witch Tarot by Amanda Lovelace, with art by Janaina Medeiros. You can learn more about it and buy it here. Several people recommended this deck to me, including my friend, author and tarot reader Jameison Wolf. I love the way it reads, although my interpretations are sometimes different than what is written on the card. I do sometimes worry that it doesn’t delve deeply enough into uncomfortable emotions, but it states clearly that it is meant to be cozy and comforting. February is a difficult month for me, anyway, often; it seems like winter will never end. And with all the stresses around us, I’m opting for cozy for us in these weekly readings.
To dig deeper, when necessary, I’m using the Shadows of Light Oracle by Haley Clare. I’m not sure if I received this deck from Goddess Provisions or Tamed Wild, during the time I had subscription boxes from them. I love the back of these cards. They can also serve as a meditative tool. The deck and I are becoming reacquainted, and it works well with this tarot deck. You can learn more about it and buy it here.
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 – 8 Pentacles
The 8 of Pentacles is about showing up and doing the work. Sometimes the work is the daily details that keeps everything running. It’s not always the most creative aspect of what we need to do to manifest, but every time we show up, we’re helping the work become a reality. This is true in our work, our creative life, our emotional life, and our political life. Show up. Do the work. Learn the skills you need to learn to make your world and THE world a better place. We’re all exhausted. Show up and do the work anyway.
The Week’s Challenge – The Magician
Especially here in the U.S. these past few weeks, we have been pummeled daily by bullies. The Magician reminds us that, although it’s often challenging, what we need to defeat them is already within us. We have access to the elemental powers and ideas that we can transform through our force of will and manifest into tangible realities.
This is reinforced by the oracle card below it, Turmoil – The Storm, in the position of the foundation of this challenge. There are stormy seas and a shark below the water in a position familiar to many of us. But look at the waves between the shark and the struggling sailboat. There’s a face. There’s magic there. How will you face the uncomfortable parts of yourself? Where do you need to bring the shadows forward to survive and manifest what needs to happen in order to survive and thrive, and still retain compassion?
These three cards are very clearly stating that we must take action. Sitting on the sidelines waiting for someone else to do it, or for the turmoil to pass us by, will not work.
The Week’s Opportunity – Page of Cups
The Page of Cups is curious, creative, dreamy, and caring. Taking action this week, showing up to do the work, offers us an opportunity to learn new skills and to be creative and surprised as we take positive action.
To go deeper into this card with the oracle deck, we have the card in the future position to this card, where this Page of Cups energy could lead. It’s Now – Seize the Moment. This ties into the Mars retrograde energy of being patient. Instead of looking at what you want 10 steps down the path, what can you enjoy, explore, and amplify in the moment? There’s a balance between the labyrinth below and the stained glass window above. It’s a card balanced between what is without and what is within.
The position of these cards in our Opportunity slot this week asks you to pay attention. Every day, take a few minutes to stop and appreciate the moment in which you currently stand.
The Week’s Stretch – The Sun
This week has the potential to be rocky. It may be hard to remember to search for and experience joy, and that there will be extended periods of joy to come. Tap into the Page of Cups/Now energy and seek moments of joy throughout the week, even when it’s difficult. Look at all the sunflowers in this card. Sunflowers symbolize good luck and good fortune, and they are “kissed by the sun.”
The Week’s Comfort – 3 Swords
How can the 3 of Swords, a card of despair, loss, and separation, be a comfort? Shouldn’t we explore this card further with oracle cards? Feel free to do so. To me, it ties back into last week’s card in the same slot, the King of Cups. Last week, we were advised to regulate our emotions and seek comfort and pleasure. This week, we are advised that, to find comfort, we need to release our emotions. Cry if you need to cry. Rage if you need to rage. Sleep if you need to sleep. All of these are ACTIONS, and thereby ACTIVE, tying back into the energy for the week, the 8 of Pentacles. This is where the art of a card becomes important. The figure walks down the steps from the Library — which is positive. It is the cover of the book that has 3 Swords through the heart, suggesting that the individual uses art to release emotions. The swords are not driving through the figure itself.
This week has 2 Major Arcana cards, one Court card, and 2 Minor Arcana, and we’ve explored two of the cards with oracle cards. I look at Major Arcana as the big energy, and Minor Arcana as the daily details to fulfill or turn away that energy. Both Major Arcana cards contain energy into which I want to tap and fulfill this week, and I hope to do that by showing up to do the work, crying if needed, and staying curious and in the moment as much as possible.
What do you get from these cards? Does anything here resonate, or do you get something very different? I’d love to hear your responses in the comments.