The Wheel of Fortune has been spinning, that’s for sure! How are you holding up amidst this swirl of change, chaos, and disruption?

I’d planned on doing an edition of the newsletter on Imbolc itself, but life had other plans - sickness, snow days, disrupted schedules - and interstingly, it pushed me towards a potentially more aligned experience of the holiday: quiet renewal, rest, the first stirrings of growth still hidden.

Talking to friends and clients, it seems like many others have been having a similar experience, and while it’s nice to hit a holiday “on the nose,” I’m a huge fan of celebrating whenever and however life allows, so I’m going to be interweaving some Imbolc reflections and suggestions into our newsletter even though the official time has passed.

And this has been a particularly hard time, dear readers. The ache of seeing how the world is shifting - it’s violent contractions and the chaos of unrestrained power - is so much to bear. This is where The Wheel shows its painful side; things can be crushed beneath it and yet it rolls on. What can we do to care for ourselves and one another as we experience its turning?

Press play on the song above. It’s a spell for soothing, a beautiful moment of reclaiming, and an offering from me to you as we ride the wheel together.

Below, you’ll find a tarot reading interweaving the themes of Imbolc and Valentine’s, the themes for Imbolc (since we certainly are familiar with ye olde V-day, I think!), and a collection of practices and recommendations for the moment.

I hope they enrich your daily life and personal practices and radiate outward to shine on those around you.

p.s.

I’m still ironing out the cadence/structure of this newsletter, so many of you missed this month’s forecast - my apologies! Find it below and expect a more obvious notice next month <3

Having the Ace of Pentacles in a reading that’s encouraging us along the path to Spring is just plain delightful. I’m also struck by how we have another circle drawing our focus in this reading, but this time it’s not the chaotic Wheel of Fortune careening through our lives, it’s an enticing and stable ace. It’s as if the glowing promise of the Ace of Pentacles is giving us an antidote to the confusing swirl unfolding around us: plant a seed, tend to it, and watch it grow.

This chapter, then, is one where we can find solace (and focus!) in small, actionable goals. Plant the garden, do the thing, keep at it every day and see what happens. Not only will our actions shepherd our projects into being, the season itself is supportive.

And surrounding this glowing seed? Two cards of sprouting branches! The Five and Four of Wands give this reading unique. continuity but with a surprising direction. It’s not that we lack energy, just that we need to streamline our process and edit down to what’s truly generative and necessary.

Because they’re both so boisterous (and next door neighbors in the tarot deck) I’m seeing these cards as complimentary, not contradictory; we might need the trial-and-error messiness of the Five of Wands to get to the harmonious structure of the Four.

Looking at these cards, I’m also drawn back to our monthly “environment” card, The Magician. We have no shortage of energy or inspiration, but it is looking for the proper conduit. What are we wanting to channel our energy into? Which containers allow us to do this best?

We can find our answer by returning to the Five of Wands: messiness is best. That is, only by trying things out can we truly ascertain what is right for us. That we’re doing so in the service of newly-emerging and exciting opportunities (that have real potential for longterm sustainability, I might add) is all the more encouraging.

So there’s a reason for the mess! And it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to it, using all our Magician-like power and vision.

In a recent conversation with a friend and collaborator, we drew the Five of Wands and started talking about new associations with the card. She had an especially brilliant observation: the five wands interacting with the world can correlate with the five senses. It was a glorious aha! moment, the kind that keeps me enthralled with tarot after all these years.

With this in mind, how can you use your senses to gain insight into what you’re doing? What feels right in your body? What feels off? How can you expand into deeper understanding by engaging with all of your senses and consulting their wisdom?

I’m also thinking about nervous system load here. We might be over our capacity during this season and needing to heed the message to cut back or streamline our efforts. This is not easy! But the Four of Wands, with its enticing imaging of balance and energy is urging us on.

I’ve been thinking a lot about love lately. Maybe it’s the perennial disdain for Valentine’s Day - it’s a corporate excuse to get us to spend money! the decor is cheesy! all this love talk is so maudlin, so sappy! - that has me rebelling into whole-hearted endorsement. To all those criticisms, I say: So what! Let’s fully claim the concept of love and celebrate it as we see fit!

In years past, this meant giving elaborate handmade Valentine’s to all my friends in high school. More recently, it took the form of over-the-top house parties. This year, however, I’m feeling more thoughtful but no less enthusiastic and have been trying to expand my understanding of love and its many types.

It’s not uncommon for people to approach me shyly when they want to explore love in a tarot reading, usually after we’ve touched on just about every other aspect of life. “Is there anything else you’d like to explore?” “Well, uhhh, could we… maybe… look into my love life?”

Just what has us so shy about exploing, naming, and celebrating love?

It’s clear, however, that love is more important now than ever. And maybe our conflicted relationship around love, especially around discussing and owning our need for it openly, is part of the issue. If we keep love in the category of embarassing sappiness, tucked inside the overstuffed Valentine’s basket next to a box of chocolates and a teddy bear, how can it transform our bonds, culture, and society?

There’s something fishy when such a fundamentally human and transformative concept gets shrouded in taboo - who benefits and why?

So let’s strip back the pink cellophane and look into ways we can reclaim and expand the idea of love away from straight-up romance (though still delightful!) and into something powerful, holistic, and real.

I’ve been thinking about this insight from bell Hooks, Mother Theresa, and others - that love without justice is not real love. Watching Bad Bunny’s Superbowl performance, I was struck at how love was a central theme, one he enacted through an artful and celebratory tour of Puerto Rico that included powerful references to the injustice of enduring rolling blackouts as well as joyful and raucous dancing. Not pandering to the audience, Bad Bunny presented himself and his art as they are; we were invited into his world and had to meet him on his own terms. In doing so, we were given the gift of a real connection that fosters responsibility and movement towards justice. When we know and enter into relationship with people, we become responsible for them and our sphere of care expands as it should.

We’re here because of countless choices, actions, and sacrifices made by our ancestors, many of which we’ll never know. Thinking of how we’re held in this net of past care and history inspires us to continue weaving with patience and devotion of our own as we move forward, and this sense of continuity can give our lives so much meaning and direction. The other day, I stumbled upon the wonderful 2019 documentary on Toni Morrison, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, and was awestruck by her commitment to writing from and for the black experience. Criticized in an astoundingly racist manner for squandering her talents writing about the “niche” world of the black community, she continued on undeterred, writing a body of work that captivated the world with its brilliance. A true and enduring act of love for which we are all the richer.

Returning to the five senses brought up in our reading via the Five of Wands, this arena is one that often gets relegated to partnership. But you don’t need a partner to feel good in your body! To feel the patter of warm water in the shower, inhale the scent of the fancy soap you impulse bought at the co-op (no regrets), and marvel at the curves and shapes of your human form. And I have to say, I’m surprised at how infrequently I hear orgasms recommended as a form of self-care - I blame the Puritans. Either way, many of these experiences are free, readily available, and connect us with the world. Let’s enjoy.

I’ve been attending Somatic Experiencing sessions for the past two months and one of the exercises is to softly gaze at your surroundings, ultimately focusing on a point that feels good in your body. Well, without fail this brings me into a loving staring contest with the zz plant on the windowsill. As I look at the leaves, I slowly get a feeling of deep peace and connection. These plants are here, gently exhaling carbon dioxide and soothing me with their beauty. This feeling of connection with the world - we are a part of an ecosystem! - is deeply healing and brings me into right relationship with life as a whole. Tending to these non-human relationships is just as important: spend some time outside, pet your dog, and plant some seeds.

Orpheus descends into the underworld in search of his love, Eurydice. In order to return to the surface, he must continue onwards without looking back, trusting that his love is behind him. Similarly, Imbolc and this season ask us to trust that light will return as we press on through the darkness. What emerging light are we tempted to question? How does it feel to press through relying on faith and determination? The idea that some things are too tender and tenuous to gaze at fully feels tender, terrifying, and full of promise.

▶ Themes: early stirring, purification, renewal, devotion, threshold of spring, quiet ignition

▶ Direction: northeast, east-of-north, the first light on the horizon, the turning toward spring

▶ Elements: fire, water, returning light, thawing earth

▶ Symbols: Brigid’s cross, well, candle flame, hearth, cloak, seed sprout, snowdrop

▶ Colors: white, cream, pale green, soft gold, blush pink, light gray

▶ Food: milk, butter, cheese, oatcakes, bread, honey, early greens

▶ Stones: moonstone, clear quartz, amethyst, garnet, bloodstone

▶ Plants: snowdrop, crocus, rowan, willow, blackberry, bay

▶ Animals: ewe, lamb, cow, swan, dove, fox

▶ Gestures: lighting candles at dawn, blessing water, sweeping and cleansing space, making vows, weaving crosses, leaving offerings of milk or bread