News & The Kemmyrk Blog

May 5, 2025: Community Tarot Reading for the Week

Monday, May 5, 2025
Waxing Moon
Pluto Retrograde

Happy May! I hope you had a blessed Beltane (Northern Hemisphere) or Samhain (Southern Hemisphere).

Pluto has gone retrograde, and will be so until mid-October. What’s hidden is revealed, and it’s a good time to face down fears and learn new tools to deal with hidden agendas.

We will not be retrograde-free until at least March of 2026. Retrogrades will layer in and out over the rest of this year. In 2024, we had a big stretch at the top of the year which was retrograde-free. Here, we only had a few weeks here and there, early on.

This month’s deck is the gorgeous Forager’s Daughter Tarot by Jessica Lei Howard. It’s a stunningly beautiful deck that reads well, and every bit of the artwork has layers of meaning. You can learn more about the creator and buy the deck 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

The Collective Energy of the Week – King of Cups
We have a blue heron with yellow iris and a full moon. How lovely! It’s about emotional balance and compassion. This week’s collective energy is about taking care of each other without throwing our own emotions out of whack. We can give each other room and support each other’s feelings without getting sucked into someone else’s angst. By holding compassionate space, we give them room to find the tools they need to feel more in balance themselves.

The Week’s Challenge – 6 of Wands
The card has a beautiful daffodil in bloom. The trumpet mushrooms near its base made it glow even brighter. The 6 of Wands is about achievement, recognition and victory. So why would it be a challenge? Looking back to the King of Cups in the previous position, our achievements might spark some jealousy in others. Let’s give each other room to feel what we feel. Because of someone else’s negative reaction, we might also feel we don’t deserve this victory and recognition. We do. Embrace it and enjoy it.

The Week’s Opportunity – 5 of Swords
The artwork here is hornets attacking apples which have 5 swords jabbed into them. Ouch. 5 of Swords often warns of arguments and intellectual disagreements. So why is this often painful card an opportunity? What if, instead of an argument, it was a debate that expanded one’s perceptions? What if it wasn’t done in bitterness and anger, but in the spirit of understanding other points of view, even if you choose to hold onto your own? Hornets are annoying, but they also serve a purpose. Hornets symbolize purpose, protection, and vitality. They munch on the apples to invigorate themselves for the fight ahead. Look at discussions this week as a way to invigorate, not a contest with a winner and a loser.

The Week’s Stretch – The Hierophant
The toad sits, watches, waits, and weighs opportunities. In a more traditional deck, the Hierophant often symbolizes teachings (often religious) and traditional structures. In this deck, and in this particular position, it’s about taking the time to consider the best approach. This ties into all three of the previous cards. Hold space for each other, enjoy your achievements, have a lively debate without viciousness, and don’t hop on an opportunity before dissecting it. Have a little bit of patience this week, which could be challenging, and let things unfold instead of trying to control every moment.

The Week’s Comfort – The Magician
The Magician is about transformation through will. All the tools are there; it just takes the magician to utilize the tools and transmute the transformation through their own power and will. No matter how rocky the week may get, remember that you have the tools to create the reality you want – even when there are things around you that are out of your personal control. Look at the reality. Use the tools you have. Create something better out of what’s at hand.

Did anything in particular resonate with you in this reading? Or did you get a completely different interpretation? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

April 28, 2025: Community Tarot Reading for the Week

Monday, April 28, 2025
Waxing Moon
No Retrogrades

Hello! We are about to finish one month and begin another. We are about to celebrate Beltane, on May 1. The new moon was yesterday, and we are in Taurus season, which is about stability, security, and tangibles – a very pentacle-centric time, in the suits.

At the end of the week, Pluto goes retrograde until October 13th. From May 4 until at least March 2026, at least one planet will be retrograde, often more. Pluto will be retrograde in Aquarius, so it’s a time to rethink how we show up as individuals while being part of a larger collective. What old associations need to be released? Where are you “going along to get along” instead of standing in your truth? This particular Pluto retrograde will challenge us to examine this, and make changes that benefit us while also benefiting the community. Too often, we are fed the lie that those are in conflict, when in reality, we need to be our best and more truthful selves in order to bring that best into the community, so the community can thrive as a whole, while still supporting individuals. They are not mutually exclusive. Those who feed that line are doing it for their own agendas.

This month’s deck is the wonderful Mystic Mondays deck by Grace Duong. It’s modern, bright, and colorful, a great way to jump into spring. A fellow writer recommended this deck to me, and I fell in love with it. It reads very well, and the artwork itself communicates with strength and clarity. If you want to read more about Grace’s work (she has several decks and gives workshops), and buy the deck, you can do so 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

The Collective Energy of the Week – 2 of Wands
The 2 of Wands is about making a plan that you can step into tangibly in the world as your future. The card itself shows the entrance to a path. It’s not a straight or flat path. There are ups and downs, hills and valleys. And we can’t see where it ends. We have to have the courage to take those first steps. So this week, let’s check that we have tools to start the journey, and soon we will take those first, bold steps. Wands are tied to fire, identity, and passion, so this road leads us to being better selves.

The Week’s Challenge – Princess of Swords
The Princess of Swords is smart, creative, and excited. She encourages us to speak our new ideas into being. Remember when the Ace of Swords came up in the April 14th reading? This idea has been percolating since then, and, partnered with the 2 of Wands above, it’s okay to talk about it now! So why is it in the Challenge position? Part of talking is listening, and since this is a fairly new idea, know when to talk and know when to listen to the responses. Even if you choose not to take all the advice in the exact way it’s given, really listen to see if something useful that fits your vision – or suggests something even more creative – is offered.

The Week’s Stretch – 10 of Pentacles
The 10 of Pentacles is about security, stability, and tradition in very tangible ways. You’ve achieved something and can enjoy the fruits of the success and share it with your community. Because we are living under such daily stress right now, it’s hard to remember or allow ourselves celebration for achievements. This card in this position reminds us that it is important and healing to do so, and gives us energy to keep on.

 

The Week’s Opportunity – 9 of Cups
The 9 of Cups is often called “The Wish Card” meaning something you wished for comes true. You’ve completed something creative and fulfilling, and can take a minute to feel good about it. This ties in directly to the previous card, the 10 of Pentacles in the Stretch position. Let yourself enjoy a wish coming true, completion of a creative project, a sense of fulfillment. You are not letting anyone down by enjoying your own achievements.

The Week’s Comfort – The Devil
How can this card be a comfort, especially since it’s so often viewed negatively? Because the Devil reminds us that we live in a tangible world. Take a look at the art on this particular card. It’s not an outside devil figure threatening anyone. It’s steps to the individual’s own mind. How often do we trap ourselves by overthinking? But there are also doors leading out to infinity. The Devil card in this position of comfort this week is further encouragement to celebrate the Princess, the 10 Pentacles, and the 9 of Cups. We live in a physical world full of pleasures, if we take the time to enjoy them. And, in such chaotic and stressful times, we need those moments of pleasure to renew ourselves. Once we are restored, we have the courage to step out on this new path indicated by the 2 of Wands.

Did something in the reading particularly resonate with you? Or did you intuit a different interpretation? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Next week’s reading will be in May, post-Beltane, in the Pluto retrograde, and we start the new month with a different deck. I’ve loved deepening my relationship with this deck over the month, and hope you enjoyed it, too.

April 21, 2025: Community Tarot Reading for the Week

Monday, April 21, 2025
Waning Moon
No Retrogrades

We are in a very brief period without retrogrades, so it’s good to set track for the rest of the year. Part of that is clearing out, since we are in waning moon. The sun just moved into Taurus, which means we are also focused on comfort and home. In other words, many I know are into serious spring cleaning right now and working on their homes. I’m doing it, too, and my landlord’s painting the exterior of the building, which is great!

This week’s reading has three court cards and two minor arcana. It builds on what was set out over the past few weeks.

This month’s deck is the wonderful Mystic Mondays deck by Grace Duong. It’s modern, bright, and colorful, a great way to jump into spring. A fellow writer recommended this deck to me, and I fell in love with it. It reads very well, and the artwork itself communicates with strength and clarity. If you want to read more about Grace’s work (she has several decks and gives workshops), and buy the deck, you can do so 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

The Collective Energy of the Week – Knight of Swords
The Knight of Swords is about intellect, good judgment, and fair decisions. It ties into last week’s Ace of Swords, which was in the challenge position. Last week’s new ideas have formed well enough to take out into the world. Let’s bring our new ideas to the table, discuss them, and find strong ways to move forward together.

 

The Week’s Challenge – 10 of Cups
This is an odd card to have in the challenge position, because it is such a positive card, and we tend to see challenges as negatives or obstacles. This is a card of emotional fulfillment and strong bonds, and creative expansion into fruition. How can that be a challenge? In this particular reading, there’s always the risk of fearing you will lose the 10, instead of realizing that the 10 opens the way to even more expansion. Because the 10 is often seen as the end of a cycle, people sometimes get scared a loss is about to come, and they start to hold tighter or try to shrink themselves so no one notices how lucky they’ve been. In this position this week, the 10 reminds us that we can be both grateful for what we have, and use it as the foundation for even more creative expression and fulfillment on a greater level than just our own. It ties into the community aspect – ten cups, let’s share! It also ties into the collective energy of the previous card, the Knight of Swords, about bringing new ideas – CREATIVE ideas (cups) to the table and sharing them (cups).

The Week’s Opportunity – Queen of Swords
The Queen of Swords learns from her mistakes and applies that knowledge moving forward. She is fair, often blunt, and knows how to balance the intellectual with the emotional. This week’s opportunity is to make a different, stronger, smarter choice from something where you mis-stepped before. Break a pattern that did not serve you. Make a smarter choice. Use what you’ve learned not just from your own experience, but from the new ideas brought to the table in community in the previous two cards.

The Week’s Stretch – 5 of Swords
The 5 of Swords is about intellectual conflict and argument. The stretch part this week is to remember that different ideas and opinions don’t have to be a negative experience. Respectful, lively debate can bring ideas further into being. If you practice deep, active listening and integration, rather than being reactive and feeling that disagreement means you have to switch into survival mode, different opinions can offer positive progress. That doesn’t mean acquiescing to those who are speaking or acting in bad faith. But it means taking the best of each genuine argument and shaping it into something that serves a greater good.

The Week’s Comfort – Queen of Pentacles
The Queen of Pentacles is about comfort, nourishment, enjoyment, abundance, and safety. Let’s take comfort that these new ideas and lively discussions, processed through what we’ve learned, will create a safer, more abundant community space. We can do this for each and create it WITH each other, rather than waiting for some unnamed source beyond us and beyond our community to do it for us.

Did anything in this reading resonate with you? Or do you have a different interpretation? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

April 14, 2025: Community Tarot Reading for the Week

Monday, April 14, 2025
Venus Direct as of April 12
NO RETROGRADES

We have about 4 weeks of no retrogrades. So it’s time to get ducks in order and quiet down feral brain squirrels.

Last week, Venus had a good sharp ass kick on her way out the door. A necessary one, but that didn’t make it pleasant.

This week’s reading is almost all wands, which means it focuses on identity, passion, and one’s inner fire.

This month’s deck is the wonderful Mystic Mondays deck by Grace Duong. It’s modern, bright, and colorful, a great way to jump into spring. A fellow writer recommended this deck to me, and I fell in love with it. It reads very well, and the artwork itself communicates with strength and grace. If you want to read more about Grace’s work (she has several decks and gives workshops), and buy the deck, you can do so 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

The Collective Energy of the Week – 4 of Wands
The 4 of Wands is about building structures that are strong and will support you through life’s chaos. Artwork sometimes depicts a marriage. This card shows a stable structure with colors from all the elements. After months of chaos, back when Mars went retrograde (we’ve navigated Mars, Mercury, and Venus retrogrades these past few months), we have an opportunity to build some stability that will allow us sanctuary for the future. Let’s build, and let’s build it together.

The Week’s Challenge – Ace of Swords
The Ace of Swords is about new ideas and fresh intellectual opportunities. That makes sense, after the fog of the past retrogrades. And, since there’s such a small window of time without retrogrades, we want to jump on this, because it feels so GOOD to have a fresh idea after all the muck. The reason it’s in the challenge position for the week is because we have to hold more than one thing this week – working on the stability while exploring the new idea. Neither should oust the other. If we do this well, the new idea will support the stability, which, in turn, will support the new idea. Don’t let the new idea distract you, and don’t let the urge for stability push aside the new idea. They are both important.

The Week’s Opportunity – Princess of Wands
I love the joy in this card. This figure is having fun! This is about dancing a creative spark into being, and ties directly into the two previous cards. Dance your Ace into existence in a way that is strong and purposeful, so that the 4 can provide the stability.

 

 

The Week’s Stretch – 7 of Wands
You will be challenged this week, on multiple fronts. Stand your ground. You’re not an imposter. You deserve stability AND creativity. We live in a society that demeans creativity and tells us that we can either have stability or be creative. That is a lie to keep us under control. Stand up for what you want and persevere.

 

 

The Week’s Comfort – 9 of Wands
You have what you need to protect yourself and persevere. This card relates directly to the 4 at the beginning of the reading. That structure you started building in the week will hold. Look at the contrast between the 7 in the previous position and the 9 here. In the 7, the figure faces front, out in the open, with multiple challenges coming at her. In the 9, the figure has her back to us, protecting it with the wand, looking out at the wands providing a protective fence. Perhaps she built them with the wands she acquired in the 7. It’s not over yet; don’t give up.

This is very much a reading of the self this week. It makes sense, after all these retrogrades, that we feel like we’ve been let out of the starting gate and have to win the race before the next retrograde in early May. There may be some collisions. Stay strong. Stay the course.

Did anything in this reading resonate? Or did you get something completely different? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

April 7, 2025: Community Tarot Reading for the Week


Monday, April 7, 2025
Waxing Moon
Venus Retrograde
Mercury goes direct today

Happy new week! I hope you are ready for some of this energy to clear up a bit, with Mercury going direct today, although today could still be challenging.

Mercury poked at me several times last week, between crossed communications, a power outage, spilling dish soap all over the place, and finding a great deal at a thrift shop. There was definitely a lot of Major Arcana energy in my week last week, and it left me feeling a bit drained.

As Venus prepares to go direct on the 12th, I’m being challenged to re-evaluate some relationships, and realize that some of them were just companions for part of the journey, not for the long haul.

It’s a new month, which means we switch decks for the month. This month’s deck is the wonderful Mystic Mondays deck by Grace Duong. It’s modern, bright, and colorful, a great way to jump into spring. A fellow writer recommended this deck to me, and I fell in love with it. It reads very well, and the artwork itself communicates with strength and beauty. If you want to read more about Grace’s work (she has several decks and gives workshops), and buy the deck, you can do so 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 one Major Arcana card, two Minor Arcana cards, and two Court cards this week. Let’s dig in!

The Collective Energy of the Week – 2 of Cups
This card is about partnership. Whether romantic, creative, or business, this card suggests a level of trust and connection on multiple levels. You bring out the best in each other, and can help each other heal through the worst. And it’s a reminder to treat yourself with the same love and devotion that you would treat a partner. Drink from the cup of love this week, my friends!

 

The Week’s Challenge – Strength
Not everyone likes it when you blossom, or when you create healthy boundaries. Some will try to subvert you. This is when your strength comes into play, both inner and outer. Can you meet challenges with grace, strength, and compassion? In many decks, this card has a human figure and a lion. This card has a tiger alone, stalking forward. Trust in yourself. You are the source of strength, and others will follow your leadership.

The Week’s Opportunity – 9 of Pentacles
The 9 of Pentacles is about sovereign security. You have accomplished more than you realize, and it’s time to stand in your own power, beauty, and stability. It’s time to celebrate your hard work. Look at the card’s depiction – a peacock. Peacocks don’t hide. They show their beauty. In your partnership and through your inner and outer strength, you have the opportunity to show the world who you really are. Revel in it!

The Week’s Stretch – Knight of Wands
The Knight of Wands brings their passion out into the world with ambition and enthusiasm. This card, in this position, with the previous cards, encourages you to take that new partnership, with the strength and boundaries, and your sovereignty, out into the world. Look at the gorgeous, passionate colors in this card’s background. Don’t be shy! Enjoy! It might be unusual for you to step forward into the limelight, but this is the week in which to do it.

The Week’s Comfort – Knight of Pentacles
The Knight of Pentacles is the counterbalance to the Knight of Wands. Thorough and thoughtful, they can seem like a bit of a plodder at times, but they make steady progress. This knight reassures you that you can take a little time for celebration this week, because the steady work you’ve put in up to this point, and the steady work you will continue to put in, is moving you in the right direction. A time-out to celebrate your achievements to date is earned, and not a distraction.

Mercury going direct definitely will take off some of the pressure this week. Venus reminds us to keep our boundaries (through the Strength card), but also encourages us to celebrate and strut our stuff (9 Pentacles). The Knights promise we can be both passionate and thoughtful.

What did you get from the reading? Did it resonate, or did you discover something else? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

March 31, 2025 Community Tarot Reading for the Week

Monday, March 31, 2025
Waxing Moon
Venus & Mercury Retrograde

I don’t know about you, but I’m still in eclipse hangover. There’s also the frisson of a new moon in Aries fighting the retrograde energy of Venus & Mercury to start the week. Fortunately, today the moon moves into Taurus, which is a little more stable, and then continues its journey throughout the week.

Last week was very much about relationships. There were some lovely surprises in a couple of instances, and some battles in others. I kept coming back to the reading for the week to try to stay grounded.

We have one more week of Mercury Retrograde to survive, and a little under two weeks of Venus Retrograde. From April 13 we have a handful of weeks retrograde-free until Pluto goes retrograde again on May 5.

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

I only used the tarot cards this week, because the information is reasonably straightforward. All five cards are Major Arcana, which means this week is about Big Things.

The Collective Energy of the Week – The High Priestess
Our High Priestess sits on a crescent moon. It’s a reminder to keep yourself above the fray this week, look for the symbols that come up to give you information, and most importantly, trust your intuition.

 

 

The Week’s Challenge – The Magician
The Magician is about having all the tools you need to create the life you want. This card depicts a beautifully decorated East Village fire escape, complete with magical tools. The challenge this week, as both Venus & Mercury tighten the screws nearing their end points, is to remember that these challenges are temporary. How we meet them and navigate them helps open our paths to the future we want, and we DO have the power to make it happen. The energy flows through the Magician, who then transmutes it through action into manifestation.

The Week’s Opportunity – The Lovers
This card doesn’t have to be about romantic love. It can be about partnership. Other decks often have three figures, indicating the need for a decision. However, look at this card – two hands clasped in harmony, facing a NYC skyline. This card, in this position, indicates the opportunity to join hands with those you care about to face the future.

 

The Week’s Stretch – The Hierophant
This ties into the earlier cards, especially the Lovers in the previous position. This week, you realize you can’t do it on your own. It’s time to be in spiritual community with others, and learn from a both a teacher and from your fellow students. And they will learn from you. You may feel like it’s just adding one more thing to your week, but it will be worth it.

 

The Week’s Comfort – The Wheel of Fortune
The art on this card depicts the Wonder Wheel at Luna Park on Coney Island. The Wheel of Fortune reminds us that everything is cyclical. We may be feeling stuck and challenged in this retrograde energy, but the days keep going, and it will change. Things will get easier; things will get more challenging. That’s the way of it. As these cycles happen, look at where you need to break patterns that cause you to repeat difficulties, or that hold you back. See where you can turn it into an upward spiral, rather than a hamster-on-a-wheel circle. This week, look around you and be aware of a lucky break. If you’re not paying attention, you might miss it.

Tomorrow is April Fool’s Day, which feels rather redundant this year, but there we are.

Next week, when we reconvene, Mercury will be going direct, and we will start a new deck for the month.

I’ve loved working with these decks this month, and deepening my work with them.

Did anything in particular about this reading resonate with you? Did you get a completely different interpretation? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

March 24, 2025 Community Tarot Reading for the Week

 

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.

March 17, 2025: Community Tarot Reading for the Week

Monday, March 17, 2025
Waning Moon
Venus & Mercury Retrograde

Here we start another week together! The full moon/lunar eclipse is past, although we may still feel some of that energy. The Venus retrograde has now been joined by the Mercury retrograde. Mercury retrograde reminds us to think even more before we speak, make sure we are clear, to back up tech, expect delays in communication and travel and build that into our schedule, to not sign contracts or purchase big ticket items. Or, if you must, make sure you read the fine print about a dozen times and understand what is going on.

A colleague, this past week, mentioned that when these two retrogrades are concurrent, they look at the Mercury retrograde to translate the Venus retrograde, which I thought was an interesting perspective. Mercury retrograde demands to slow down for clarity, which can help the reconfiguration of the relationships the Venus retrograde works on. I have to ponder that a bit more.

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 cook and 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

The Collective Energy of the Week – The Emperor
The Emperor is a card of structure, and of being part of something larger than oneself. This card is reminder to look at the structures you currently have in your life. What supports your vision? What fights against it? Although you don’t want to make sudden moves during these retrogrades, this is a good time to re-evaluate structures in your life, and start setting track you can then put down in new directions by mid-April. The art is this particular card is the Empire State Building, one of my favorites. When friends visited me in NYC, one of my favorite things to do was to take them up at twilight, so we could watch the city light up. Having the Emperor in this deck depicted as the Empire State Building, for me, reminds me that structures can be a positive, and not always just a restrictive. It also reminds me to share delights with those around me. This is a case of the art being very personal to the meaning of the card for me.

The Week’s Challenge – Page of Wands
The Page of Wands is about curiosity and the excitement around new projects. The reason that’s in the Challenge slot this week, is that, with these retrogrades, it’s not the best time to start a new project. This is a good time to dig deeper into why the project excites you, to research, and to do some pre-planning, rather than diving in with the passion of the wands suit. You may want to run around and talk about it, but, for the moment, stay in the quiet research and planning stage.

The Week’s Opportunity – King of Wands
The King of Wands knows how to inspire others. This ties into the Emperor energy. It also ties into the Page of Wands energy with the caveat – it’s not yet time to share this new inspiration, but to finish unfinished projects and inspire those around you to do the same. Mercury Retrograde, in particular, is a great time to revisit unfinished projects and complete them, so their energy clears the way to move on. Use this time to finish unfinished projects that will otherwise drain your energy once Mercury and Venus go direct.

The Week’s Stretch – 5 of Swords
5 of Swords is a card of intellectual conflict. This week is likely to bring arguments. Know when to apologize. Know when to cut your losses and move on. Sometimes, you might need to apologize in order to cut your losses. Someone might decide you need to be the loss cut. Again, this ties into the miscommunication aspect of Mercury Retrograde and the re-evaluation of relationships with Venus Retrograde. Keep your ego in check. Pick up the pieces, take responsibility where it makes sense, apologize where appropriate, and move on. There’s a good chance it will be painful, but necessary. Being reactive will cause things to shatter. Know when to hold your tongue. Know when to apologize. Know when to walk away.

Exploring this card further, the growth possible from this conflict is Sound, Frequency, Resonance. Arguments and conflict run on sound and frequency. They leave a resonance. If something has been necessary but uncomfortable, or maybe reactive rather than supportive, how can you change the sound, frequency, and resonance of it? What have you learned from the way you handled or mishandled this conflict, and how can you apply it moving forward? If you’re feeling angry and upset, play music to use sound to change your own frequency and resonance. If you work with tuning forks or sound bowls, this is a good opportunity to spend time using them to change how you feel and your energy field.

The Week’s Comfort – The Queen of Swords
The Queen of Swords learns from her mistakes, and does not repeat them. She has strong boundaries, and knows how to enforce them. This week’s various encounters, projects, and conflicts will teach you about methods of communication and boundaries. You will then be able to apply them moving forward. This Queen sits in Bryant Park, which is behind the main branch of the NY Public Library in midtown. The park is quite lovely, but if you are sitting on your own, random people come up and push your boundaries for their own agendas, whether it’s trying to sell you something or get you to be a contestant on a reality show or get you to come to their “church” (all of which were frequent demands in my years living in the neighborhood and spending time in the park). You need serious Queen of Swords energy to be able to actually enjoy the park and recalibrate.

Did this reading resonate with you? Or did you get something completely different from it? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

March 10, 2025: Community Tarot Reading for the Week

Monday, March 10, 2025
Waxing Moon
Venus Retrograde

Hello, and welcome to the beginning of yet another week.

I don’t know about you, but when we “spring forward” it takes me a couple of weeks to adjust, and I’m shambling around, disoriented. When we “fall back” I have extra energy for weeks.

We have a lot going on this week, astrologically. Venus is still retrograde. We have a full moon AND a lunar eclipse on Friday the 14th, and then Mercury goes retrograde on the 15th until April 7. Back up all your tech, plan extra time around any and all travel, take five extra beats to think before you speak instead of one or two, and try not to sign any contracts or purchase big ticket items. Slow down and be thorough with everything you do. Having the Venus and Mercury retrogrades together can be challenging. It can also help you figure out what you really want and need, although wait to make the actual move until both go direct. Mercury goes direct on April 7, and Venus goes direct on April 12.

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

The Collective Energy of the Week – 8 of Wands
This is about rapid movement. There’s a tendency, right before Mercury goes retrograde, to try and get as much settled as possible. But with the Venus retrograde, remember to still look at the details. While in some decks, it can have a somewhat negative connotation, this deck shows clear skies and focused attention. When this card comes up for me in this deck, I tend to breathe a sigh of relief, because it means I feel less stuck. This card tends to be about motion, rather than achievement. We’re not at the end of the cycle yet, but we’re making progress.

The Week’s Challenge – 10 of Coins
10 of Coins is about abundance and sharing. Here in the US, our government is currently trying to force us into deeper grooves of poverty through stripping away basic social safety nets. It’s difficult not to shut down and try to hoard, but this card suggests sharing is a stronger way forward, even if it feels counter intuitive. Together, we can accomplish a lot on the material plane. We can look back through time to see how other generations did so, and take heart from that. The artwork shows a potluck among neighbors. Even if that energy feels challenging at times this week, taking that out into the world will ultimately help the focused forward movement of the 8 of Wands. Last week, we had the 9 of Coins in this position, so we’ve built on last week’s challenge to this week’s.

The Week’s Opportunity – King of Swords
The King of Swords leads with intellect. He also knows when to cut away what is no longer necessary, ending a cycle in order to move on. This week, we have the opportunity to seek expert advice or to be the expert, depending on our individual situations. Weigh the different facets carefully, and make the choice using your head.

 

The Week’s Stretch – Death
This card was in the same position last week. And it was in the same position the week before, in the reading with the Cozy Witch Tarot. That means we are still in a space of needing to end a cycle so that we can start fresh. Three weeks in a row of the same card turning up in the same slot in two different decks is significant. It doesn’t have to be scary; remember, we are in retrograde/eclipse season. But it means we have to roll up our sleeves and do the work.

Last week, we had a card in the Foundation slot below this card (Letting Go). This week, there’s the card in the Growth slot above it, so we can see where letting go and clearing out for this change can lead. The card is The In-Between, which is a card of patience and waiting. We’ve started this major process of change, but it takes time. This signifies why it’s the Death card that showed up in the previous slot, rather than the Tower. Had the Tower shown up, the change would have been rapid. Death suggests more of a transition than a shock. The In-Between (showing a subway whizzing between the boroughs) suggests that since it’s such a major shift, it can’t be rushed. But keep showing up to do the work. The train suggests there is motion, even if we haven’t yet arrived.

The Week’s Comfort – 7 of Cups
The 7 of Cups suggests that whatever this major transition is we are going through, we will find comfort in that transition opening many options. Maybe we’re not seeing things clearly, and having so many options can be confusing. The 7 of Cups often gets a bad rap, but my personal experience of the card is often this: the 7 of Cups shows up when I have many options open to me, but the people around me are trying to push me into a decision that suits THEIR agendas, not mine. Therefore, when the card shows up, it’s telling me not to rush in making a decision (which ties into the Death, In-Between, and King of Swords cards), and to look at things clearly and objectively (King of Swords again), in spite of the forward motion (8 of Wands). . Eventually, you have to make a decision, but not right now.

This is reinforced by the oracle card below it, in the Foundation slot, Protection. Remember to protect your energy from those who want to siphon it off for their own purposes. You can protect your energy while still embodying the 10 of Coins community sharing card, even though it’s sometimes difficult to balance protecting yourself while being generous.

Even though the collective energy encourages us to be in community and move forward with clear focus, we also need to slow down to think clearly since we are still in the midst of the major transition that the Death card in the Stretch slot for three consecutive weeks indicates. This focused motion, clear thinking, and major transition opens lots of options, so we need to protect our energy and not be pushed into making choices to fit agendas other than our own.

What do you get from this reading? Does anything resonate, or do you get something completely different? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

March 3, 2025: Community Tarot Reading for the Week

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, March 3, 2025
Waxing Moon
Venus Retrograde

We are in March! Here in the Northern Hemisphere, there’s a hope that spring will soon arrive.

Last week was definitely a challenge. For me, there was a lot of 5 of Wands Energy. The Hanged Man helped, and I even achieved a little of the 9 of Pentacles. But, overall, it was an emotionally challenging week, and I felt wrung out by the end of it. The political landscape contributes a great deal to the stress. I do not have the privilege of pretending it doesn’t directly affect me on a daily basis.

For the month of March, we are using the Midnight City Tarot Pocket 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

Let’s dive in!

The Collective Energy of the Week – Queen of Wands
The Queen of Wands is someone who is comfortable in her own skin and her own power. She knows who she is, and doesn’t try to hide it. She’s vibrant, fun, and confident. In this card, she’s on a rooftop patio, watching fireworks over the city. This card is about inspiring others by being yourself. Since it’s the energy for the week, it advises us to inspire each other with our very presence.

 

The Week’s Challenge – 9 of Coins
9 of Coins (or pentacles, in some decks) This is about allowing yourself the luxury you’ve earned for yourself. Luxuries are anything that makes you feel special and abundant. It can be something complex, or it can be something as simple as taking yourself out for a manicure, as shown in the card. With Venus in retrograde, there’s a need to reassess finances and our relationship to money. That warns us not to overspend. But, at the same time, having this card in this position encourages us to do something nice for ourselves this week to make us feel like we’re living in abundance, and to recognize how much abundance we really have in our lives (even though everything on a larger level is determined to make us feel hopeless and poverty-stricken). Allow yourself a small indulgence to remind yourself that we do live in abundance, even when factions are trying to gaslight us otherwise, so they can remove that abundance and keep it for themselves.

The Week’s Opportunity – 1 of Coins
This is equivalent to the ace. It shows an acorn (set in Prospect Park). An acorn holds the possibility of growing into a sturdy oak, if nurtured and cared for. This week, we have a new opportunity to build something beautiful, strong, and tangible on the physical plane. By allowing ourselves moments of abundance (the 9 in the previous position) and going forth in the world comfortable in our own skins (the Queen of Wands), we put ourselves in a position to recognize this new opportunity and nurture it.

The Week’s Stretch – Death
Again, don’t be afraid of this card. It’s about transformation. It’s okay to mourn what you’ve left behind. In fact, it’s healthy and necessary. In order to make room for the 1 of Coins in the previous position, we have to let go and close out something else. We have to clear space – does that sound familiar? Because the same card showed up in the same position last week. In the Cozy Witch Tarot, we had the Broom, which is the card representing Death in that deck, encouraging us to sweep out what we don’t need. And last week, we were in the waning moon. Having the card in the same position this week, with the turn into the waxing moon, indicates that we didn’t clear out everything we needed last week, and it’s ongoing. Block in some time this week to think about what needs to be cleared away, honor it, and remove it, so that you have room for the wands and coins earlier in this reading. Look at the art on the card. The tree is losing its leaves. But next spring, it will have new buds and grow again, revived.

The Week’s Comfort – 5 of Wands
The 5 of Wands is a card of conflict. The dogs are barking at each other. Their leashes are tangled up. There’s a stack of trash bags in the background. How can that be a comfort this week? Chances are we’ll feel conflicted about letting go of something, about the new opportunity, about our self-worth (Venus retrograde again), and about allowing ourselves a treat. The comfort is that this is temporary. The 5 is a card of motion, and the middle of the suit. Things accelerate from here.

Exploring this card further, the Foundation of this conflict and discomfort is Letting Go. This ties into the stretch card for the week of Death. Let go, make room. The art on it is even a leaf which could have come off the tree in the Death card. Right now, in all the chaos, it’s very hard to trust anything, especially our own intuition. There’s a lot of toxic positivity going around, blaming us for feeling scared. Now is the time, more than ever, to dig into our personal Queen of Wands and be who we are. Trust our own intuition. Clear away what’s not working to make room for what is. With the Venus retrograde and an incoming Mercury retrograde in a couple of weeks, it may not show up quickly. And the gap between the clearing out and the new possibilities can be scary. But we’ll be ready when it does. The 1 of Coins in the opportunity position this week indicates that it is already a seed, but we must make room for it to grow.

Does anything in this reading resonate for you? Or is your interpretation different? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.