Reclaiming Sensuality with The Pentacles

The Pentacles often get a bad rap. Pigeonholed into matters of finance and career (they are also called coins, after all) these cards quickly become stagnant and stale. Where’s the romance? The passion? The adventure?

Yet the Pentacles have a hidden side, on that’s not always brought to light in tarot books. You might be surprised to hear that, of all the suits, I see the Pentacles as the most erotic of the bunch.

“What?” you might say. “Not the phallic wands or juicy cups?!” (Note: I strongly doubt anyone would peg the analytical swords as lush romantics! Sorry, swords.)

To get into my mindset, it’s important to remember that Pentacles are associated with the element of earth. It governs the everyday, the material… the physical. And how do we engage with the physical world around us? Through our senses, our bodies, and our presence.

This means that the Pentacles govern the feeling of the wind on our faces, a lover running their fingers along our skin, the taste of a delectable fresh peach, and the smell of an intoxicating perfume. Just look at the imagery in these cards. There’s depictions of work and labor, yes, but also characters fully feeling themselves.

Take the King of Pentacles and the Nine, for example:

These cards show figures unabashedly sure of themselves, luxuriating in life. Taken to the extreme, these traits can become wasteful, but at just the right level they acquaint us with our true power, presence, and capacity for pleasure.

Becoming aligned with our physical self aligns us with our connection to the world around us. What does this feel like? What does my body have to say? What feels good to me and what makes the people around us feel good?

How can we be aware and take joy in the riches around us if we’re not aware of the riches in ourselves and our bodies?

I see this group of cards as an invitation to take our pleasure seriously as well as to look for pleasure all around us. It doesn’t have to be through sexual eroticism alone. There’s plenty of sensuality in all aspects of life and, as these cards demonstrate, tapping into it makes life so much more lush, joyful, and satisfying.

Weekly Forecast: May 6-12

Well, my friends, it looks like this reading is quite gory, visually speaking! 

Artist Ricardo Cavolo's illustration of the Nine of Pentacles is, to be frank, pretty gross. Why choose an open wound to illustrate a card traditionally associated with abundance and plenty? 

It's a lot to meditate on, particularly when the grisly theme continues with a blindfolded King of Swords committing seppuku. You know, just some light Monday messages to contemplate...

Yet this reading, despite its visceral nature, came across loud and clear: While oftentimes our old wounds are the wellspring of our unique gifts, there's a huge difference between honoring this connection and obsessing over it to the point of self-limitation and injury.

This is a time to let the reality of our lives ground us and lead us forward and to put aside the destructive urges of our minds. We've been hurt in the past, yes, but our future is unfolding now and not all of our actions spring from the hardship we've endured.

The King of Swords, the utmost monarch of the suit, is adept at using thought to create clarity. But sometimes we can only get so much clarity out of life. If we stay in the realm of the swords too long, we prioritize analytic remove over actual day-to-day involvement. What comes of this? Isolation, stagnation, and self-doubt. 

Over thinking distances us from the movement and rhythm of life, a dance that leads us towards the answers we're seeking. It's not a view we can achieve from the top-down, safe in the hypothetical or the tempting certainty of the past. We have to get our hands dirty and accept that seeking fulfillment leaves no room for invulnerability. We're all living and breathing creatures and we can't go through life completely unscathed. 

In this sense, this nasty Nine of Pentacles in reassuring. If we're feeling tender and bruised, it's not because we're failing. Rather, we're showing up and seeing ourselves - all the contours of our experience, even the painful ones. And that is a high achievement, indeed.

What to do from here? The Star tells us we have to love ourselves even more, and make room for a life of plenty that also feels exposed, tenuous, or too much at times. Nothing needs to change for us to be here with ourselves.

The King of Swords represents our urge to over-analyze ourselves at any moment of conflict, struggle, or indecision. Instead of seeing these times as a natural facet of life, the King reacts to them as threats to stability. Thus, the wide-open plenty of the Nine of Pentacles becomes an invitation to turn our swords on ourselves. 

Are we feeling raw, excited, eager, a bit nervous about what we're moving towards? The King of Swords wants the answers now, and to him this is a scary threat to stability. Cue the self-doubt and criticism. Instead of accepting tenderness, this King is using it as an opening to harm the self: If we can't do it perfectly and with perfect knowledge, we shouldn't even try at all.

The Star is here to tell us that this is completely unnecessary and over the top and this reading gives us a wonderful alternate course. It's not a time to take our thoughts of worry and doubt with absolute seriousness. What if we could tell ourselves that we're doing our best and it's working out well?

Having a lot of feelings means that we're opening up to feeling life itself. We're already doing a wonderful job and now is a time to stay grounded in the beauty of our everyday lives, letting its rhythms and routines move us forward, instead of abandoning our path because it's not what we envisioned. 

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My Experience at the Readers' Studio Tarot Conference

Certificate & Treasures from the Readers’ Studio

Hello, tarot friends! It’s been a whirlwind past few weeks and, as you may have noticed, I’ve been a bit silent here on the blog.

One of those reasons? Lots of travel, and the most exciting journey was to the Readers’ Studio tarot conference this past week.

My “chill professional tarot reader” face

If you haven’t heard of this gathering, it’s the foremost in the tarot community. Hosted by the amazing RuthAnn and Wald Amberstone, founders of The Tarot School, it’s been meeting for 13 years and features the luminaries of the tarot world. People like Rachel Pollack, Mary K. Greer, Barbara Moore, Robert M. Place, and so many more have attended in the past. My 12 year old tarot self was over the moon to finally be going! Let’s just say nearly all of my tarot heroes - the people who wrote the books I learned with - were going to be there.

I also love to travel, something I hadn’t done much of since buying a house here in Durham two years ago. Hopping on a plane by myself to hang out with likeminded tarot lovers in New York? Sign me up!

And so I set off in the wee hours of Friday to take the quick flight up North. The conference was in the LaGuardia Marriott, so it was easy-peasy getting there. I can be pretty stubborn about traveling (having done a lot in my late teens and early twenties, I’m a bit obnoxious about packing light and timing things perfectly) and for some reason thought it would be the best idea to arrive the morning of the first day, waltzing into the conference on 4 hours of sleep and “fresh” off the plane.

In retrospect, I wouldn’t do this again, since my half-asleep self sat down at the first available seat only to realize that, as the crowd filtered in, I was sitting at the “big girl’s table.” It took all my limited energy not to fangirl too hard as modern greats like Benebell Wen, Ethony, and Theresa Reed sat down around me! I like to think that, with a little extra sleep, I’d have been the paragon of dignity and professionalism… but, probably not.

Ethony’s master class

A little note about how the conference is structured: Each day features several master classes from notable tarot professionals. During these presentations everyone pairs up to swap readings using the new techniques. So, on day one, I ended up reading with Benebell Wen AND Theresa Reed, aka The Tarot Lady. Wow.

Some of the typical tarot-reading wildness at the conference

What a way to start things off! I’d like to say it calmed down from there, but a general state of euphoria, delight, and overwhelm permeated the entire three days. Not wanting to miss anything, I attended several deck showcases (the incredible Herbcrafter’s Tarot and Chakra Wisdom Oracle), a very mysterious late-night class on mediumship, and a lengthy browse of the merchant’s fair, and so much more.

It was also quite emotionally overwhelming to be in a group of people who all practiced the same intuitive art and understood so many of the issues, challenges, and joys of the craft. I didn’t realize how much awareness I bring around with me regarding what’s “too much” to share regarding tarot and the sometimes stressful act of navigating less tarot-friendly circles. The professional camaraderie was deeply healing.

A major highlight was dressing up as The Empress for the Costume Ball

The only thing that didn’t seem to get healed was my bank account as silly “pre-Readers’ Studio Gina” had boldly decided not to purchase a single thing. Decks? I’ve got plenty! Books? They’re too heavy! Foolishly thinking that if I only brought a small tote bag carry-on I’d stick to my resolve, I found myself lugging home about 20 lbs of loot. And I have absolutely no regrets! Plus, how was I to know that my favorite eBay source for historical reproduction decks would be there??

After three days of presentations, readings, and mingling I was near-bursting with inspiration and exhaustion. The crowd itself was delightful, a fascinating mix of tarot greats (Rachel Pollack! Be still my heart!), newcomers, deck creators, witches, teachers, and more. I left with so many new friends and acquaintances (and even got to be in a video for a South Korean tarot school!).

And, most surprisingly, I got to receive so many tarot readings about my life during the workshops. As a tarot reader I’m so used to being on the other side of the table and getting these readings was so healing and tender and reminded me of the recipient’s perspective, so stay tuned for some more posts about that facet of tarot soon. These readings really cemented my goals and values as a reader, making me all the more grateful to be on this path and excited to see it grow.

So for those of you considering attending, please do! It’s a magical gathering celebrating tarot in all its forms. Just be sure to take a day off afterwards to catch up on sleep…

Weekly Forecast: April 22-28

This week, my friends, is all about rethinking our relationship to change. It's a topic that's long overdue for editing and fresh energy, as these cards show so clearly. Just look at the polarized options springing forth from The Wheel of Fortune! The next few days give us the calming opportunity to bring some space and shading into a formerly black-and-white corner of our world.

As anyone who's dabbled with tarot knows, the cards have a cheeky sense of mischief. Not wanting to address a topic? All of a sudden pointed clarity is staring you in the face. Looking for a specific answer? The cards act coy. 

In my opinion, there's no card that embodies this vague, teasing energy more than The Wheel of Fortune. It's initial impression is usually confusing. Just what on earth is going on with these mythical creatures congregating around a circle heavy with odd symbols? They're just hanging out in the clouds? 

This is a card focused on the energy and inevitability of change. And, perhaps not so surprisingly, it's overwhelming and unknown qualities. Hence, the indecipherable wildness of imagery. 

When we see the Wheel of Fortune we know that change is on the horizon. However, that's all  we can decipher. There's no specificity, clear-cut answers, or details. The Wheel is spinning, but we don't know where it'll land just yet or what our new world will look like.

 This week we're confronting and working through our initial reactions to a personal Wheel of Fortune situation: The newness and lack of clarity is overwhelming and, in our attempt to grasp some comforting certainty, we're reverting to old patterns.

Which brings us to the Five of Pentacles and the Ten of Cups. I can't help but chuckle a little when I look at these cards. Talk about polarized thinking! It seems as if we're approaching the upcoming change with a very black-and-white mindset. Either our Wheel of Fortune will spin and deposit us in the bucolic emotional utopia of the Ten of Cups or we'll end up in rags, struggling to survive.

In this sense, these cards urge us to take a breath and center ourselves before getting spun out into either manic idealism or fatalistic negativity. One of the wonderful things about change is that nobody knows how it'll unfold. Not us and certainly not some judgmental stranger ready to blame us for the outcome.

And so these cards are, with a healthy dose of classic tarot humor, pointing us back to ourselves and the present moment. What can we do to focus on our experience right now? To make room for change to unfold? And, most importantly, to care for ourselves? 

The trick to the Wheel of Fortune is that is reminds us how change is a constant part of life. We're always navigating it, in one way or the other. We have practice. We have ourselves.
It always keeps spinning, but if we stay anchored in what we do know - aware of our desires, skills, talents, and sticky spots - we can always land on our feet and, better yet, work with the motion to grow. 

Until then, all we can do is enjoy the ride, and know that the stakes are low so long as we continue to value and care for ourselves. 

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Weekly Forecast: April 15-21

As I write this a remarkably beautiful day is beginning in Durham. The rain and storms have cleared out the fog of humidity, making the air crisp and breezy, full of life. A similar change in weather is happening in this reading, unfolding in our emotional lives instead of the physical world around us. 

I look at The Fool as the manifestation of all of Spring's hopeful, energetic, and thriving energy. This character has the same daring and tenacity of a plant bursting forth after the winter. Fresh and tender, yes, but also putting so much towards its own growth and doing so without apology. 

We're undergoing similar changes this week, awakening from a period of seeking, confusion, and doubt with an almost shocking sense of clarity. The air has cleared and we've been transformed into something new, though we may not be so sure of the how, why, or what next. 

And, indeed, The Fool is the symbol of newness. The first card in the tarot deck, they show us the power of beginning, and not just for the first time. Our lives have seasons, too, and this card appears to point us to an important fresh start unfolding in this very moment. 

While The Fool is a charming and welcome card in almost any spread, it's also a challenging one to digest, because this card represents risk-taking, vulnerability, and a road ahead full of mistakes.

Here, however, the cards have a beautiful interpretation of the fears that arise when we sense ourselves embarking on a "Fool path." 

I'm struck by the mirroring happening here, as the archetypal power of The Fool, flanked or held back by his adorably awkward animal companion, transitions into the Page of Wands. Both face forward, to the future, yet they have some enlightening differences.

This week, these cards tell us, is a pivotal time to refocus on our own individual journeys. We all walk through life as ourselves and, no matter how hard we try, we must face the inevitability and uniqueness of our own path. Though we might want to hide behind distractions or other people's experiences, doing so ultimately leads to frustration, dissatisfaction, and anxiety. 

Why, in other words, would we want to side-step the transformative new start of The Fool and downgrade into the sometimes charming, but in this case trifling, stance of the Page of Wands?

This Page deals in the fiery realm of action and, as all pages do, represents youthful enthusiasm and inexperience. It seems like we may be tempted to re-frame our current moment, either to ourselves or others, as something inconsequential, silly, and bumbling. Just another experiment on our path, nothing to see here! 

Deep down, however, we know that this is big. That we have something at stake - a closely-held dream, important calling, or inexplicable pull to try something new. Downplaying this importance allows us to feel safer. If we fall on our faces who would laugh? It was only a joke, after all.

This is where the power of The Fool becomes evident for this is a card that sees the sacredness in taking risks, the power of living passionately and seeking to transform. Vulnerability is power, we don't need to have any certainty to begin, and we don't need to explain our journeys. The Fool owns and celebrates their mistakes, risks, and choices. He takes them seriously and dares to stand by his path of growth.

So the pull we feel this week to downplay the changes unfolding within us isn't one to heed. This is a time to practice constantly refocusing on our own experience, focusing on our Fool's journey. That means being mindful of the urges to engage in self-deprecating talk, undervaluing our talents and dreams, and hiding behind new projects we don't feel completely aligned with. 

Because there's an interesting thread here in that following our initial instinct to downgrade to the Page of Wands is leading us to the Eight of Swords, a familiar and well-trodden route of anxiety, collapse, and stalemate. In not taking ourselves seriously we take a detour into a dead end instead of continuing along a wide-open yet-unexplored road. 

Let's choose instead to stay present in our newness and invest in pursuing what makes our hearts beat faster. We're up for the challenge and ready to unfurl. 

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Weekly Forecast: April 8-14

Gentleness leading to inspiration.

What a treat to have a slow and healing tarot spread for the week. It seems as if we've been grappling with some especially big issues as of late and The Star is always a welcome figure in times of overwhelm and stress.

That's not to say that this reading is 100% calm and inner-peace. It builds to an energizing crescendo with the Knight of Wands, a card that inspires us to charge into our future with creative zest. A nice mix if there ever was one.

So what do these cards have to tell us? Rest, re-calibration, and re-connecting to the source are of the utmost importance for us in the coming days. The Star is one of those cards that invites us to refocus on ourselves. 

We may have some baggage around the idea. How often are we told that putting ourselves first is selfish? This accusation gets thrown about so frequently that it actually points towards the radical nature of valuing and centering around our own experiences.

What happens when we choose to pursue a balanced life? When our inner experience dictates our outwards actions? When we value our own rhythms, desires, and needs? 

Doing these things, it turns out, allows us to know ourselves better. And when we know ourselves better, we come face to face with our own power, desires, and motivation. It makes us powerful, and that can threaten the status quo.

If we've been feeling creatively stymied lately and stretched too thin, The Star is pointing us inwards to regain our strength and re-orient ourselves to our inner compass. Don't worry if this isn't resoundingly clear. What if we don't know what our inner compass looks like, let alone where it points?

It turns out that none of us do 100% of the time. Never mind the wildness of modern life and other people, our own inner landscape is constantly shifting and changing. The good news? It's ours to explore and value.

This week we're being encouraged to take space for ourselves, lavish our own feelings, thoughts, and desires with attention, curiosity, and care. A key component of this card is detaching from outcome: plans, productivity, goals, ideas of what is and what isn't. Immersing ourselves in self-care in however that manifests for each of us is inviting in a special kind of knowledge.

See that cute, odd bird perched on the tree behind the central figure in The Star? This delightful creature represents knowledge. While we're focused on connecting to our source, dipping our toes into the healing pool of our intuition while being sure to feed back into it, the breakthrough and information we've been seeking with so much effort is naturally fluttering into focus. 

Let yourself step back from the pressure of seeking and create space in your life. You can give yourself the gift of time and attention, even if it's in small bites, and doing so is actually far more effective in gaining clarity than muscling your way though it all with forceful diligence. 

Paying attention to the little things is reigniting our creative sparks. It starts out as a slow burn with the Two of Wands as we begin to dream about changes, adventures, and new possibilities. Doing our Star work, however, is allowing us to rejuvenate and feel empowered, zesty, and capable. 

Soon enough, what seemed impossible, out of reach, or ill-defined, comes into blaring focus. It's the swashbuckling Knight of Wands entering into the picture! With him comes ambition, energy, and focus, though we'd be wise to make sure that it's all in service of The Star. Otherwise we'll burn out and run straight into the same patterns we were experiencing before.

This week is a time to take a deep breath, center around yourself, and feel encouraged to block out all the rest. Know that doing so is valuing your energy and experience, not being selfish or cruel. When we act from our true sense of self we're able to bring our best into every situation, relationship, and venture. Now that's truly and genuinely inspiring. 

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Weekly Forecast: April 1-7

Can doing less bring us more?

This week we're being asked to step back and evaluate the rituals, tasks, and obligations we're engaging with. Are they bringing us satisfaction? Are they moving us forward? And, most importantly, are they even ours to begin with?

The Hanged Man is a card whose enigmatic presence often foreshadows some frustration. After all, we're often told that doing more is the key to any breakthrough. How can we make headway if we don't have any momentum?

Yet this idea that we can somehow will perfection and progress into existence is dangerous. Often it's a trick to keep ourselves occupied and distracted so that we don't have to sit with out itchy and inconvenient feelings.

Our feelings, however, are often far more interesting than we give them credit. The Four of Cups shows us feeling a tinge of ennui as we begin to slow down. We think we know the lay of the land and it is, to be frank, boring.

But the more we sit with things as they are, the more they're able to reveal themselves fully. This week introspection and quiet are our friends, and while we can expect some resistance - pesky inner voices and doubt, for example - we're really collecting useful and surprising information.

The Four of Wands is our final card for the week and it shows us where we're going - the reason why we're feeling called to take a step back. This card is a beautiful illustration of the importance of freedom and space in our lives. What do we need to feel enlivened and creative? How much structure is just enough to keep us feeling safe and oriented? And how much openness and room for growth do we need to stay on our toes, inspired and ready?

This is a gentle group of cards in that it's not asking us to do anything radical or wild. It's just that sometimes, in our busy and intense culture, it sometimes feels radical to stop and take stock. Now is a wonderful time to ignore all that pressure-filled messaging. The Hanged Man and the Four of Cups show us operating under some intense and powerful intuitive guidance. Trusting our feelings and internal compass won't lead us astray.

And sometimes it's difficult to see what's no longer working and hard to recognize that what we're doing may not even be for our benefit. The Four of Cups asks us to peer inside our cups - our relationships, emotional expenditures, and energetic output - and see whether they're flowing both ways. Does giving outwards bring something back in? This can be through gratitude, personal satisfaction, inspiration, support, and more.

If, however, a cup turns out to be a secret sinkhole, sucking our energy and leaving us feeling depleted, now is a wonderful time to say goodbye and accept a new, fulfilling opportunity on the horizon.

In order to flourish we need freedom. The wands suit inspires us to see space, movement, and energy as our allies. Think about the element associated with these cards: fire. When building a bonfire you don't want to stack sticks together, one against the other. There's no space for oxygen to circulate and, thus, no fire.

We have to travel light and leave room for our flames to grow, and this week is all about being mindful of what we have in our lives. Anything extra, crowded, or uninspiring doesn't have to be there and letting go can usher in the energy we need to thrive.

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Weekly Forecast: March 18-24

In order to receive, you must let go.

It feels nice to be safe and certain of our lives. Security is nothing to scoff at - we need to take care of our physical selves, provide for our basic needs, and doing so isn't always easy. Having enough is a huge privilege, but if we cling to it too long it can become stifling and limited.

This week we're at a point that's difficult to reconcile. We may feel that asking for more after having worked so hard to get the basics seems greedy, as if we're tempting fate. Why go and invite in the unknown with any changes if we're fed, clothed, and safe? 

We can see this position reflected in the Four of Pentacles, and I love how this card shows the sense of stability and pride that comes from providing for ourselves. Sometimes this card appears as a wonderful affirmation - we've made it and it's time to celebrate and get to know all the facets of what we've built for ourselves. 

But, like any tarot card, it's meant to be a stepping stone on a larger journey. After all, our lives are animated by change, and clinging too hard to what we know can often leave us stuck and out of sync with the larger rhythm of our life.

This week we're presented with a choice and it may feel big and intimidating. The Ace of Pentacles is appearing center stage, tempting us with an alluring offer. It's asking us to accept a shiny new gift, but in order to do so we must put down one of our pentacles. Staying with what we know effectively blocks us from this new energy. Remaining in the four may seem safe, but it's no way to grow.

Luckily, the Ace of Pentacles is a gentle card. New things can often become the perfect receptacles for our anxiety. Because they're all potential and possibility we can offload all our general anxieties onto them, burying something shiny and new with frightening futures. 

The Four of Pentacles, while a place to celebrate once you've reached it, can become mired with conservative thinking. Instead of seeing opportunity in newness it sees paths to loss. This is a wonderful time to dig deeper into our ideas of how much we can have and all the roadblocks that we put up in the face of emerging excitement. Where do these thoughts come from? And why might we look to them in the face of something truly exciting?

Oftentimes these protective mechanisms have a lot to do with our ideas of maturity and responsibility. The fourth card in the Major Arcana is The Emperor, an archetype that, to be frank, is amazingly adept at triggering old wounds around our experiences with our parents.

Is there something about this new pursuit that's bringing up our ideas of how we "should" behave? Are we silently following old ideas of what responsibility looks like, only to trap ourselves in inauthentic thought patterns?

The King of Cups emerges on the other side to show us that there's another path. Stability doesn't have to be rooted in utter certainty and known quantities. We can be much more fluid, creative, and flexible in our approach to life while maintaining our sense of responsibility. 

If anything, this card shows us how we can gather power from embracing the unknown. This is a model of leadership that accepts and trusts in change. If it's inevitable (as we all know) then we can jump on in, a fish swimming in the waters, and navigate with confidence. Sometimes things will be challenging and sometimes they'll be calm. But we can always trust our experiences and the wisdom we've accumulated along the way to guide us.

In this mindset, the Ace of Pentacles is a small and beautiful invitation to move further along our path, not some scary entity here to disrupt and challenge everything we've worked so hard for. If there's something exciting on the horizon - an idea, hobby, opportunity, or practice - that you'd like to pursue - this card says go for for it.

Start simple and let it be what it is - something new and exciting that's still small. Exploring new things doesn't mean abandoning your security, it simply means building upon it. And that's what security is for, after all. Providing a foundation for our growth and expansion. 

 It can add to our sense of stability and bring in the energy of newness and opportunity. If it doesn't work out, we can always change course. But to turn it away for fear of losing what we already have would keep us feeling stuck. 

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Weekly Forecast: March 11-17

What does it mean to make ourselves at home in the world?

The Eight of Wands shows us just how much is happening around us: movement, choices, people, energies, and more. The scenery changes so often - how do we know where we belong or where we even are?

The Queen of Pentacles asks us to turn away from all this and focus inward. The wildness is optional, after all, or at least a large portion of it is. Pretending we can take it all in and still function is a true fool's errand and a surefire recipe for overwhelm. 

 Wherever we go, there we are. Usually people use it to curtail any escapist fantasies. Moving to a new town still means we're bringing our same old selves with us.

But what if we look at this saying from a gentler standpoint, one centered in the nurturing lushness embodied by the Queen of Pentacles. No matter where we go or what happens, we will always have ourselves to turn to. 

What if our vantage point, our body, and our true self was the home we could come to again and again? This week is the time to direct all our love, respect, and care towards tending to it. 

Because life continues to careen forward, as we can see with the Eight of Wands. If we're not careful, all this action can take us away from ourselves, spinning us away from our center and sweeping our feet off the ground. It's better to care for ourselves and invest in the things that make us feel whole, like our life is enough. We are enough. So that these wild currents of life, with all their tempting options and additions, can swirl around us and not sweep us away.

Doing this can be wonderfully practical. After all, what group of cards is more about combining the practical with the magical than the pentacles? Pay attention the home within as well as the literal home you find yourself in. Feather your nest, spend time being cozy, use your space as a sanctuary where you can regroup and stretch into the corners of your full self. 

The amazing byproduct of all this is that the frenetic pace of the Eight of Wands can be transformed into the stable Two of Wands. Here, instead of advanced and complicated plans unfurling quickly, we have the oh-so achievable luxury of using our life and our sense of self as a solid foundation to explore options. 

Whatever we add to our lives must be in service of the important magic we're already cultivating. Anything else is just a distraction and we deserve our full attention.

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