This post features cards from the Moonchild Tarot and the Vindur Deck.
2020 is slowly crawling to its end — and if you’re like me, any hopes or dreams of balance went out the window long ago. In many ways this has been a year for survival, for endurance, for finding ways to stay safe and informed in the midst of seemingly endless trials and struggles. Balance has at times felt impossibly out of reach as we work to stay both isolated and connected to community, to be active but also rest, to expand our knowledge while simultaneously clinging to the truths we are certain of. It’s been exhausting, and draining, and I know you’re likely just as tired as I am.
And yet. As we shift from the shadowy depths of Scorpio to the bright, energetic fire of Sagittarius, as we move from the release of Death into the light and joy of Temperance, I want to offer a new tarot spread, one that will hopefully help these ideas of harmony, moderation, and yes, balance, feel a bit easier to grasp. After all, Temperance is not simply about holding back, patiently waiting, stifling all of our creative urges or desires: instead this is a chance to fully honor and examine every facet of ourselves, to see how all of our parts come together in sacred alchemy, to understand how our perceived contradictions and paradoxes actually work in beautiful harmony to make us the people that we are, and the people that we will one day become.
This is a season of freedom and expansion, of leaving behind what was limiting us and making space for all of our dreams and ideas, for the desires of our heart and the needs of our soul. What gives you a sense of calm purpose and a passionate need for movement? What inspires hope for the future and a rich celebration of the present? What makes you feel seen, understood, appreciated in your fullest and truest capacity? Sagittarius is begging you to ask questions, to explore, to indulge your deepest curiosity and recognize that sometimes, the pieces of ourselves that we don’t understand can offer us the most strength, power, and magic. Sometimes we have to believe in ourselves, even if we aren’t completely sure how or why. We are all tangled, delicious mysteries, and Sagittarius wants us to both enjoy all that we do not understand about ourselves and take the space we need to investigate and consider, to find joy in flexibility, to wander and dream and transform.
What does this have to do with balance? As exciting as it can be to travel and gather information and search for meaning, we cannot simply run away from our lives and throw everything we know into disarray in our quest for understanding. Sagittarius is fire and heart, passion and magic, endless and brilliant searching — and Temperance has joy and space for all of those sparks and flames and embers. Temperance knows the creative power of that fire, and offers something in return with cool, flowing water. Insights and intuition, trust in the self, relationships that ground and soothe and comfort, communities that encourage and support: water’s depth and emotion, vulnerability and faith, helps to offset the raging heat of fire, offering it control, creating both freedom and boundaries. Passion without depth can fizzle, exploration without intention can get us lost, but fire and water together create lasting, sustainable, goal-oriented growth.
Our spread this time around focuses on how to activate balance in your life, on honoring a need for movement and growth while also carving out space for healing, reflection, and comfort.
1. What has been changing or growing? Where have you sensed something shifting or evolving? What is taking up more space in your mind and heart lately? Are there transformations that you’ve noticed, either internally or externally, and what are they opening up within you?
2. Where have you been craving exploration or movement? What feels stagnant, dull, frustrating? Where are you finding friction? What dreams or fantasies have been coming forward?
3. What new magic has been revealing itself? What areas of your life have felt more vibrant, exciting, or captivating? What personal power has been manifesting?
4. How can you embrace the joy of the unexpected? Are there structures that you’ve been struggling against lately, and where could you soften some of those rough edges? Where could you allow yourself more freedom for emotion or expression? What is holding you back?
To give you an example of how to use this spread in your own work, Laneia has graciously agreed to let me share part of her reading with you, giving you some insights into how you can use your own cards to dive deeper into your own needs, desires, and cravings this Sagittarius season.
What has been changing or growing?
You may have been feeling like examining your options is all that you’re doing, to the point that it’s made you feel stuck, lost, or doubting everything you know about who you are and what you want and where you hope to go. The truth revealed by the two of swords is that you have choices, real opportunities, but by refusing to choose a path forward, you instead are allowing yourself to remain stagnant. What are you afraid of? What is holding you back from progress? How are you limiting your own growth? This card wants you to find movement and freedom, to put real energy and intention into going after what you want. And while recent truths and insights may have you rethinking everything, trying to find new layers of clarity and purpose within all that you do, you may be going so far to the analytical side that you’ve forgotten how to listen to your instincts. Which path forward is resonating with you? Which blade feels right in your hand? What have you been afraid to let yourself want, and what would happen if you embraced that desire and went after it?
Where have you been craving exploration or movement?
A child of water and heart, the page of cups is just beginning their journey into their next phase of growth. Emotional and intuitive, creative and artistic, eager to connect with others but holding a deep capacity for understanding their truest self, this figure is curious and insightful, unafraid of what they may find within. The heart can be a mysterious thing, sometimes desiring things that we do not fully understand or even recognize, but it’s likely that your heart has been craving something, has been wanting to move in a particular direction. Are you listening? Have you been giving your intuition room to speak, or have you been too afraid to hear what it might have to say? What would it look like to prioritize your own emotional and relational needs, and how can you make space for that kind of growth?
What new magic has been revealing itself?
A card of wishes fulfilled and new dreams being revealed, the nine of cups speaks to a time when we feel content and satisfied in what we have found, yet still recognize that we may have a desire for more. It’s possible to be both satisfied and yearning, to be grateful for what we have while recognizing what we still want. It’s also possible that you’ve been discovering new layers of magic within the places that you thought were stagnant, and it’s left you feeling a bit shaken, uncertain of what it all might mean. This has been a year that has challenged all of us, and whether you’ve found new kinds of magic or familiar places of friction, give yourself some room to explore what you love, and what you still long for. What makes you happy? How often do you experience those times of bliss? What magic lives in those moments, and how can you celebrate them more fully?
How can you embrace the joy of the unexpected?
The four of cups speaks to moments when it feels essential to guard ourselves from vulnerability, to make sure that no one is able to harm us — but in doing that, we may also suck some of the sparkle out of those experiences, leaving us feeling flat, uninspired, or bored. And while creating methods for work and play that protect us can be an incredibly useful skill, when it comes to matters of the heart, we can end up isolating ourselves when we build those walls too high. In trying to protect your heart, you may also be cutting yourself off from new experiences, from the joyous mess of living and learning. Where can you open up? How can you give yourself permission to soften some of those boundaries, to see what may be waiting for you on the other side?
