Weekly Forecast: November 18-24
We have some seismic activity this week, dear friends. The Tower is back again, this time to shake us out of an uncomfortable urge to control and regulate our lives. Yet, like any tower experience, it’s not subtle, gentle, or entirely wanted, if you catch my drift. We may find ourselves scrambling to hold on to any sense of stability and narrative, and that’s okay. I’m not sure it’s possible to have a calm, collected, and 100% dignified experience with The Tower; that’s what makes it so powerful.
We have some seismic activity this week, dear friends. The Tower is back again, this time to shake us out of an uncomfortable urge to control and regulate our lives. Yet, like any tower experience, it’s not subtle, gentle, or entirely wanted, if you catch my drift. We may find ourselves scrambling to hold on to any sense of stability and narrative, and that’s okay. I’m not sure it’s possible to have a calm, collected, and 100% dignified experience with The Tower; that’s what makes it so powerful.
When this card comes up it’s usually an invitation to look at what we thought was strong, unassailable, and utterly true. Though we often take these forces for granted, there’s usually some sort of slow march towards the big moments when they come tumbling down. Like water slowly eating away at rock, we’ve been eroding our trust, belief, or connection to The Towers in our life.
Where have we felt off lately? What big forces have been dictating our lives that no longer hold their seduction or strength? See if you can see the buildup to this moment: I have a feeling that doing so will be a huge part of our healing.
I feel tender looking at these cards because the destructive intensity of The Tower is followed by the limitless potential of The Fountain. And, guess what? Limitless potential is very intense in its own way! We can see the seduction and safety of The Tower with more compassion in this reading. Staying in crisis can often keep us safe from the pitfalls of the unknown. If we’re in damage control, we’re not taking any new risks, and who’s going to argue with us when we’re trying to salvage a situation?
Now I’m not saying that we’re all going to be embroiled in epic cataclysm this week! (Wouldn’t that be terrifying?) Tarot shows up in our lives on a spectrum, and I have a feeling that this iteration of The Tower is more mental. What, in other words, has been distracting our energy from the potential that’s presenting itself to us right now? The Fountain suggests not only a wealth of opportunity, but a deep connection with our innate desire to participate in the world as our full selves. That is, operating at our full potential and partaking in the wonder of the universe. Sure, it’s cosmic, but it’s absolutely available to us in the moment.
Pay attention to any self-limiting thoughts, particularly the ones that put you in the place of The Tower. I’m feeling this as more of a desire to fix, control, or even save something that’s falling apart. In this reading, the falling apart may be entirely necessary for the full scope of The Fountain to reveal itself. It may also not be yours to contend with at all; tending to others’ catastrophes will prevent their essential reckoning and distract you from your growth.
Now all of this is big, epic, and lofty, yet on the other side we come down to earth with the Ace of Pentacles. Could there be a more sweet and affirming card than this? I don’t think so. Stepping into the possibility of The Fountain is quickly resulting in a tangible sense of stability, perhaps even a welcome and alluring opportunity. It’s as if a hand is reaching out from the other side to guide us across the rift. I love how the exciting and terrifying imagery of the cosmos in The Fountain shifts into the welcome greenery of the Ace of Coins. We belong on the ground, in our real lives, and there’s so much we can grow there.
While shuffling for this reading, a fourth card jumped out: The Eight of Swords. This is a very helpful and straightforward addition to the reading. It’s telling us that getting caught in our thoughts - overanalyzing, rationalizing, and intellectualizing - is only keeping us stuck. Instead, we have the practical and zestful Ace of Pentacles to inspire us. What makes us feel at one with ourselves? What makes us feel connected to life - our bodies, sensory pleasures, homes, and nature. Doing simple things to foster this link will bring us forward and ground us at the same time, no analyzing required.
Weekly Forecast: February 27 - March 5
Cards by The Fountain Tarot
Have you ever had a flash of inspiration? Or an experience that radically changed the way you look at the world? Moments that open your eyes to something entirely different?
This week sees us moving out of old patterns and into a brave and exciting new direction. In some aspect of our lives we’ve been staring at a blank wall, hoping for change. Like most walls, it looked solid and unnegotiable. Not something flimsy you could take a hammer to, but the kind of wall that only a wrecking ball could smash to smithereens. Maybe we didn't even notice it in the first place.
A lot of the stories we tell ourselves about change involve us rising to the occasion, taking control, and making things happen. We’re the hero of the story, the person who harnesses their power and creates their own destiny.
But this narrative can be exhausting. “Am I really responsible for everything?” we might think. In this story, there’s so much striving and struggling. And, to make things even lovelier, failure is personal.
If we don’t get what we’re after it means it’s our fault. We’re not pulling on those bootstraps hard enough! But what if we don’t have boostraps? (Who does in this day and age?) And what if we don’t feel like pulling?
Luckily, the world doesn’t work like this. We’re not meant to be straining all the time, making the veins on our forehead pop from effort. Revolutionarily enough, there are forces of the world that are out of our control.
If we believe wholeheartedly in this myth, we’ll be constantly disappointed when things don’t go our way. But if we don’t? Well, the world gets much more interesting.
Remember The Tower from last week? This is a card that expertly sorts out these two worldviews. If we’re obsessed with control and personal success, the random outside forces that The Tower represents will certainly seem catastrophic. Everything is falling apart! It’s ruined! It’s… my fault!
But as The Star and The Ace of Swords told us, embracing an open mind and making space for what’s out of control can give us an incredible opportunity. When the lightening recedes and the dust settles, we can either rebuild a better tower or move on to something new.
And sometimes we need The Tower's force to break through the walls we can't see or move ourselves.
The Ace of Swords has followed us from the calamity of The Tower last week and is now front and center. This tells us that however The Tower manifested itself in your life last week, it was for the better.
This week is where we begin to really experience the clarity that comes after a big storm. We’re feeling refreshed and invigorated. Beyond that, we’re seeing new avenues for change we didn’t before. The wall has been torn down and the way forward is clear.
The Fountain drives home the idea that our universe and our lives are complex, unpredictable, and full of possibility. That our lives aren’t simply plunked into a predictable framework and left to run their course. The universe is much bigger than us, and we’re free to revel and play in all its possibilities.
This card was created specially for The Fountain Tarot (perhaps another sign that this week is all about thinking outside the box.) The creators couldn’t put it better: ”The Fountain card is the eternal context beyond human experience in which anything and everything can happen.”
Anything and everything can happen? Well if that seems intimidatingly vague, have no fear. The Ace of Swords is bringing its powerful intellectual force into our lives for some much needed clarity. It looks like we’re already hatching some ideas and plans that, like a sword, are sharp and ready for action.
The new thoughts and ideas that are emerging represent the beginning of a path. It’s all fresh and inspiring right now, so pay attention to what’s on your mind while the clarity lasts. Now is a good time to journal, meditate, and think things through. You can be confident in your perceptions and abilities – use The Fountain card to inspire you. Think expansiveness and possibility. How would you like to explore it all?
This leads us to The Lovers, suggesting that the changes and ideas we’re hatching are going to bring us closer to a complimentary person or situation. When we have a clear idea of who we are and what we want we’re able to attract what we truly need.
Figuring this out, as seen in the Ace of Swords, is like polishing a glass lantern. The changes of the past few weeks have done an excellent job and things are looking shiny. Now our true self, our inner light, is shining brightly for all to see.
We can expect this new shininess to attract people and opportunities in the week to come. Using our newfound sense of clarity and direction, we’ll likely be able to determine who and what is worthy of letting into our lives. Whether romantic or otherwise, the coming connection we make will be taking us down a lush and creative path.