Taking Action to Unfurl

A quick announcement: I’m doing daily(ish) draws on Notes! Wanted to introduce a lighthearted practice that gets into individual cards and how they can play out in everyday life. I’ll be posting these daily when I can and following up with a comment at the end of the day to share how the card appeared for me. My goal is to build up an archive of IRL tarot interpretations that anyone can access daily in the substack feed and use for overall inspiration in the Notes tab. I hope you’ll join me there and add your experience to the conversation!

Hello everyone and thank you for your patience with this forecast! January has been an eventful month, to say the least, and I’m writing this bleary-eyed in my kitchen with my third cup of coffee steaming next to me. I didn’t quite know what to expect when turning over the cards for this week. Would we get something epic, full of major arcana cards? Or something gentle and subtle? Well, it turns out we have something somewhat in the middle: A court-card only reading that reflects our reading for January.

Because these cards directly reference our larger reading, they ask us to consider how we’ve been progressing through our journey of self, identity, and social responsibility this month. When court cards come into play, they invite us to see how we show up in the world. Which parts of our personality are active? Which ones are asking to be given space to express themselves? And how has our presentation of self been intersecting with others’?

I don’t know about you, but this journey has been quite demanding! Our card of the year, The Hermit, is all about seeking the answers to complex questions, and this month has been giving us a thorough tour of that complexity. Reading in between and beyond these cards, it’s clear that we could use some pockets of ease and introspection. Do what you can to cultivate these this week so that the insights that can come from our adventures have space to emerge.

Canny readers may notice that we have a repeat card this week: The Queen of Pentacles reprises its place at the beginning of the forecast. Look back to the beginning of last week to see how your focus on home, routine, and physical & financial health turned out for you. Did it provide a sense of ease and stability? Was it stifling? Something in-between? We have a chance for a re-do now, so lean into small edits that have you focused and in your power.

Our work to ground and center ourselves at the beginning of the week lead to some clarity and energy via the Knight of Pentacles. I see this card as bringing us into February with some idea of a plan and what to do next. It’s not going to be big picture or even impressive, but it will be a solid first step. Much like the path in our card of the year, The Hermit, the journey of the Knight of Pentacles unfolds one step at a time. Be on the lookout for concrete things you can do that bring you a sense of energy, purpose, and even fun. Our final card, the Queen of Wands acts as a beacon and representation of where we can arrive if we commit to slow and steady growth that lights us up.

Having this knight between two queens also suggests the need for action to bridge our more private and material world with the world of creativity and community. Just envisioning this knight going back and forth between the two queens makes me smile; the Knight of Pentacles is dependable, steady, and devoted. Don’t underestimate the power of your determination this week. Things may feel repetitive, but you are getting somewhere.

And what about having two queens? These cards point to a vision of leadership that’s flexible, creative, and socially responsible. We’re being asked to see ourselves as leaders, role models, and change makers in a way that departs from traditional models. Can you have fun while effecting change? Embrace your authentic self and see your idiosyncrasies as sources of strength? This week holds a huge opportunity to relax into and ultimately flourish in your power while reaching out to connect with others.