Abundance Inspiring a Bigger Journey

We have an uncharacteristically gentle reading this week, dear readers. This is a time of subtlety and steady growth. Seeing these cards, I’m motivated to embrace this break in the action while it’s here.

Of course, modern life doesn’t often feel subtle and gentle, especially as we reach the end of the year and the thick of holiday season, so this reading could also be urging us to cultivate these states where we can. What can bring us a sense of contentment and balance as we move towards 2025?

Our reading starts with a small burst of energy. It’s not the live-wire, fiery energy of a wands card, but the grounded energy of the Two of Pentacles. This jovial person is urging us to mix up our routines and find adventure in the everyday. Don’t get fancy! The Two of Pentacles is not about complex plans and intricate, multi-step processes. Do what you can, where you can; make the practical magical and see how it widens your world.

The Two of Pentacles was also our “opportunity card” from last month. Was there something you learned about yourself in November that can help you lighten up and enjoy this week more? Some areas to consider: the conditions that open you up to spontaneity; the parts of your life that benefit from change and creativity; and the ways your resources can be funneled in small amounts to make daily life more delightful.

Experimenting with routines and resources in the pentacles areas of our life in the beginning of the week is setting the stage for a deeper emotional journey. Looking at the infinity sign, or lemniscate, and its coils winding around the pentacles in the two also has me thinking that we’ll be interweaving our flexibility and playfulness throughout the week and that doing so will give us some helpful levity and grounding in the real world. So don’t mistake silliness and experimentation for shallowness; a sense of humor in the face of deep transformation can be galvanizing and powerful in its own right.

In the middle of the week we’re being directed to the hard-won abundance in our emotional world. The Nine of Cups shows us backed by an array of relationships. Consider all the connections that you cultivate and don’t limit yourself to people alone. How does your connection to your home, spirituality, creativity, nature, and more support you in life? This is a time to uplift and appreciate what supports you without shame.

Speaking of shame, I’ve noticed that this card can sometimes be off-putting and challenging to some. It can bring up feelings of anxiety, as if in acknowledging the wealth of our connections and our good fortune, we’re inviting in some form of divine retribution. You know, getting smote down by a vengeful deity for gloating in our good fortune etc.

Yet the challenge of this card is in sitting with and learning from the discomfort if that’s indeed what comes up for you. Because how can we move forward if we don’t know what we have at our backs? Without a good sense of our resources and our relationships, we can’t navigate a path that’s right for us. What’s important is that this card is just one stop on the journey. Like any tarot card, sitting in it indefinitely is where the trouble comes in. So let yourself bask in the bounty of your relationships and be proud of the work you’ve done to cultivate and honor each and every one of them. Doing so is connecting you with the knowledge you need to move forward. See if you can let things be good without being afraid.

Towards the end of the week something comes into focus regarding what’s next in our emotional growth. The Eight of Cups is just one less than the nine before it. This could manifest in two ways, either as a pull to simplify or move back to a basic ideal in your relationships or a new horizon of relating that you’re being pushed to pursue. Pay special attention to what your heart needs - space to really tune in and listen to its messages? Tenderness, care, slowness? The types of messages here aren’t obvious, and it’s likely that we’ll be moving forward on intuition rather than absolute clarity. That’s the magic of the cups - that they invite us to tune into our deeper sense of knowing, one that unfolds underneath the world of thought and analysis.

I’d also like to note that, while this reading is slow and affirming, it’s also a little… jittery? The Eight of Cups is an act of faith and a journey to pursue something that’s unclear. Success isn’t promised here, nor is obvious recognition from others. This is a pursuit that’s for us and by us. Be extra gentle with yourself and expect it to feel edgy, uncertain, and a little nerve-wracking. Simply by making room for these feelings we can clear the way for ourselves to continue onwards when they arise instead of pausing or turning back.