After an October I can only describe as dense, I’m sensing a clearing this month.

Driven by the fiery motivation of the wands and the intellectual perspective of the swords - half and half of our reading - we’re awakening to our need to act, both because of and in spite of the messiness and complexity of the world around us.

This is a time when sitting on our hands is not an option. Neither is meaningless movement. I’m so curious to see what we’ll do with all this energy.

On a creaturely level, it’s making me think about our instinct to nest and prepare for the change in season. In the northern hemisphere where I’m writing from, the days are growing shorter. Leaves are falling and revealing a latticework of branches. In this negative space, I can see more of the scaffolding that holds our world up. How might that be happening for you?

Speaking of scaffolding, there’s plenty afoot in the Incandescent Tarot/Alchemag space, and we’ve fully transitioned platforms, moving from Substack to Beehiiv. Many thanks for all of you who’ve made the journey! I’m continuing to keep paid subscriptions off and will relaunch soon so those of you who want to continue to support this work (and get some fun little extras) can do so.

As always, this space is shaped by you, the majestic, delighftul, and wise readers, so please respond to this email if you have any questions, feedback, requests, or fun synchonicities to share. I adore hearing from you all.

Now let’s dive into the reading for November, the penultimate (I couldn’t resist using one of my favorite words!) month of 2025.

Best always,

Finally, a reading with some gentle cards! The news here is good, dear readers, but there’s some excitement to this gentleness, too.

We’re Major Arcana-free this month, positioning November to be a time of gentle(r) exploration, integration, and curiosity. I’m seeing this as a dip in the topography of the year, as if we’re descending into a gentle valley before resuming our trek upwards towards the new year.

Last month’s forecast featured The World card, showing us a glimpse of wholeness on a soul level. This is important! So, as we being our foray into a new month, consider what emerged for you in October. What new realizations, sudden or gently dawning, transformed your world? What can you see now that was murky, inscrutable, or seemingly impossible until very recently?

Sometimes the insights of The World card aren’t as obvious as we might assume, so spend time really feeling into the recent past. Perhaps there’s something that suddenly felt so natural you hardly noticed it; that before would’ve had you shrinking with anxiety - the figure in the world reaching for their clothes instead of dancing in their full (nude) glory.

The murky emotionality of October is - thankfully, in my opinon - waning, making space for the fiery passion of the wands to emerge. We begin with the first “boots on the ground” card of the group, the Two of Wands. A journey is just beginning and it’s no longer in the ethereal world of the aces, the number one in the minor arcana. This month, then, will be one to cultivate a deep appreciation for baby steps.

What have you already been doing? What’s working, no matter how small it may seem? And where are you itching to make some more changes?

Itching is an apt word for the wands suit since holding passion and energy in check is not a comfortable sensation. So, I have good news and bad news. The good? We have a ton of energy available to us this month. The bad? Figuring out how and where to channel it isn’t going to feel so cozy all of the time.

Yes, frustration is going to be our teacher in November. We can, however, welcome it as an integral part of the process of creation. If the view you got from The World card last month lit you up, passionate fiery wands suit stye, be prepared to sit with and, after some wise deliberation and planning, act from a burst of incandescent inspiration.

Thankfully, we start with a card that encourages a grounded approach. The Two of Wands is where passion meets planning; how will you encourage your energy to condense itself into something sustainable, to find a shape that is both powerful and constructive?

The key can be found in daily life. Use the routine of your days to channel the electric charge of your aspirations into manageable pieces. Take it slow, revel in the mundane, and let the more mysterious parts of your intellectual and creative processes do their thing in the background.

This is also a time to truly savor the stability that’s available to you, especially the stability that you yourself have been actively cultivating. This is no small thing! Especially in a world so wobbly and challenging. You’ve built a powerful base from which to plan and dream; the first part of the month is the perfect time to do just that.

I think it’ll also be important to actively define stability for ourselves. The “wild card” of our reading, the Seven of Swords (see below), pushes us to be original, even subversive, and to dare to stray from conventional interpretations. This can be a place where the fire of the wands meets the cunning of the swords. Reframing can both be a creative act and one that gives us a much needed sense of clarity and agency.

There’s an air of gleeful individualism in this reading. Not the kind that leaves us siloed in our own fantasies and opinions, but rather one where, fully embodying ourselves, we can unite and combine our innate strengths and talents. Mid-month, the Page of Wands comes bursting onto the scene, suddenly sure of what needs to happen next. Enjoy the relative calm of the Two of Wands, no matter how frustrated you may be from the lack of decisive action initially! Things are going to get busy once the irrepressible excitement of the page comes into focus.

I’m seeing the potential for a big choice being made this month, seemingly in the spur of the moment. Part of the magic of the wands suit is that they can burst into flames suddenly. We’re not always sure what causes this combustion, but it’s undeniable when it happens. Let yourself move with conviction when you feel called to launch a project, share an opinion, or make a decision, especially when it comes to your creative life (broadly defined!). If it lights you up and is humming with passion, it’s probably something to act on.

Both the Two of Wands and the Page of Wands have a beginners mindset. This is not a time to overthink things or take yourself too seriously. We’re learning by doing this month. Whatever takes us our of our comfort zone, driven by a genuine desire to create, experience, or explore, is well worth our time. It’s especially important to note that we’re being encouraged to enact this card throughout our lives, not just in one discreet corner. With the solid foundation of the Two of Wands to support us, we’re in the perfect place to try many new things and see what fully ignites.

The end of the month invites a poignant reframe. Our adventures fiery wands’-fueled adventures are illuminating some sadness, whether its from a necessary choice in the present or one from the past that’s rising into consciousness. We’ve been changing, and the first weeks of November are showing us just how much that change has taken root. Notice how what once seemed challenging and wooden now feels instinctive. How you’re able to act without overthinking, to speak up for yourself and others, and to create a life bravely and with conviction. Not rigid, indellectualizing conviction, but deeply embodied conviction that celebrates mistakes and missteps. You’re doing it, you’ve been doing it, you’re committing to it, and how does that change the story you tell yourself?

The Six of Swords also points to some difficult decisions. Well, I don’t mean that entirely. The decisions will be obvious and empowering. Making them, however, will be emotionally complex, requiring us to move away from familiarity and perhaps even alter or sever ties with relationships that can’t follow us where we’re going.

Yet the image I get when I consider these cards is that of a seed cracking open. Any discomfort, challenge, or loss is a function of our growth, and that growth is ongoing and undeniable. If we can stay strong in that - let the natural progression unfurl - then the bittersweetness and turmoil become signs we’re on the right path. The motion is bringing us forward and, as we look back, we can finally write the story with the wisdom of perspective.

Fun, right? But I truly think these words encapsualte a secret strength of the wands suit, especially the bold Page of Wands, our active persona/approach for the month. It’s the feeling when your body needs to stretch, a rising awareness of tension, a muscular yearning into movement. This month, the wands cards are instructing us to follow this instinctive stretching into newness; a movement that takes us into the real and makes us true agents, messily and vibrantly interfacing with life. Frustration as fuel, burgeoning awareness, irrepressible energy. Here, tension and even irritation become signals that action is on the way, required by the moment and undeniable.