FATHER OF CUPS & MOTHER OF CUPS
My feet sighed into the sand as I gulped salty ocean air. Intentionally hyperventilating had an effect like rubbing a cool salve on a festered wound. I trudged quickly, trying to keep pace with friends who walked the flat plane of concrete next to Riis beach...

SEVEN OF SWORDS + 0 THE FOOL + ACE OF PENTACLES
Recent circumstances have left a sense of stalemate. Of almost, but not quite. Of getting everywhere but going nowhere. Of doing and understanding but not embodying. A stalemate always incites me to get out the big guns and start a search party for something better...

TEN OF PENTACLES
In a reading, The Ten of Pentacles is a sign of prosperity at its peak. Fully expressed, the element earth deals with tangibles; money, stability, physical labor. Yet this week, the Ten directs us to re-describe our riches and question what we need to feel secure. Some of us need strong credit scores and sumptuous Sunday brunch...

SEVEN OF SWORDS & FATHER OF WANDS
Yesterday Mars entered Cancer, its least favorite sign. Mars thrives on fighting, on stirring up, sticking out, burning bridges and causing commotions. More than war, Mars simply wants action. But Cancer will cut and run at any sign of conflict...

TWO OF PENTACLES
We rolled over together laughing, legs entangled, pieces of emerald grass stuck to flushed cheeks and sweaty backs as we stared up at the bright blue sky. I felt the power of the earth cradle me while you reached your arms up toward the canopy of clouds drifting overhead...

XIII | DEATH & DAUGHTER OF CUPS
A new moon in Gemini this Thursday ushers in two unlikely companions taking time for a tense talk. As Pluto and Venus square off, two cards emerge in extraordinary harmony, offering alternate frames of reference for a very variable state...

TWO OF CUPS
Love hurts. It gets hot when bothered, goosebumps in the cold chill of fear, stings under precise pressure and shatters when dropped. Love deserts and abandons and betrays. But love also teaches, inspires, heals. Love can be patient, though sometimes it waits too long...

SON OF SWORDS
This week is full of snark, sass, and sword savvy Mars getting a lot of action in many places at once. Mars is in Gemini, the sign of the twins. Think sibling rivalry. Think lots of questions and half answers. Think information inhalation that needs way more time to...

I | THE MAGICIAN
There’s a funny paradox about fear. It’s real but not. A construct of our minds, a feeling designed to keep us safe, a protective tool that says things like “stop”, “careful now”, “hide”, “danger”, and “run very far away as fast as you can”. Fear is developed after we learn about pain but before...

SIX OF SWORDS
We were fighting again. It felt like nothing compared to the tiny orchestra in my mind. Thousands of miniature violins hosting a renaissance fair of hysterical historical arguments and pity parties. The howl of a bull frog through the window snapped me out of it. Calmly now. “I need some space,” I said...

MOTHER OF PENTACLES
What makes a home a home? Is it the soft brush of a shaggy rug under the balls of your feet? The skin that cracks between your fingers after washing too many dishes? The satisfaction of pulling that last speck of dust from that tiny corner crevice? Is it the eyes that light up when you walk in the door...

TEN OF WANDS
Dusk had long since said goodbye, smearing a slice of peach across the mountains on the western horizon. “Just one mooooore,” you pleaded as the embers dimmed. Soft light glowed on the hairs of our shins, flickering in the summer breeze. Goosebumps popped up on my bare shoulders and I almost conceded. None of us wanted it end...

THREE OF CUPS
We have a tendency to look at retrogrades as a bad thing. Really, they are the epitome of a second chance – revising and redoing, offering perspective in the interest of progress. They are a moment to unleash love, hash out hurts, affirm actions, and swirl spinning thoughts into inquiries...

ACE OF WANDS
We stood at the top of the hill at high noon. The sun beat down, casting shadows under brows, noses and necks. I glanced sideways at the angle of your jaw bone thrust forward with confidence. Hands on hips, chest swollen with energy, somewhere between potential and kinetic...

MOTHER OF WANDS
I stood in a sea of francophones at Webster Hall, gazing at lights dancing among admiring eyes. Héloise Letissier of Christine and the Queens paced across the stage, jokingly sharing apprehension about being weird and unsure amongst her musical heroines at an awards dinner. I sensed her jokes were maybe half true...

IX | THE HERMIT
The process of becoming bears fruitful rewards. Rewards that require effort. When we think about effort we often anticipate arduous action. Lugging a suitcase up the subway stairs. Scrubbing elbow grease into an unruly pan. Heavy concentration on an essay, a set of data, or a conversation that hasn’t even happened...

IX | THE HERMIT
Six months ago, on the week of the full moon in Pisces, I pulled The Hermit for the first ever Selfish Tarotscope. As we approach the full moon in Virgo this Sunday, 178° from that first Tarotscope, she reappears, wraps up a story, asks us to gather strength to sit with her. The Hermit. Witch. Hag. Seer. Crone. The Wild Woman. The Wise Woman...

SIX OF WANDS
Eclipses reveal how we rebel. Against ourselves, against life on life’s terms. They also teach us to revel in the certainty of the unknown. They inspire us to take risks and drive us to dive. They inject us with emotion and incite us to act. The eclipse yesterday was the second of two this season...

FOUR OF SWORDS & THREE OF PENTACLES
All my life I wanted to fit in. I wanted a bff, a bf, then a gf, and a crowd of pals. I wanted you to like me and I thought I had to be like you. I became a master manipulator and sometimes I did fit in – miserably. There is a difference between fitting in and belonging...

SIX OF WANDS
We floated out over the water, coy dogs howling through the woods, crickets crooning, creating a symphony with the warble of your paddle dipping softly into the summer night. We were solemn, staring out at the waning moon, reflecting gazes off the water’s surface, exchanging gestures...