Author: Louise Norgate

This week’s reading feels like a lesson in recovery.

The Knight (aka King) of Wands is all fire: warm and charismatic at his best, but not without impulsivity. When fire blazes uncontrolled, however, we all know how quickly it can lay waste to that which surrounds it. The result of these “scorched earth” experiences (either as a result of our own behaviour, or other people’s) is the despair of the Five of Swords. The companion notes to the Zillich deck describe the broken ram’s horn as symbolising “no rational thought or emotional comfort can get through” to the defeated figure. Sometimes, however unintentionally, we make a mess of things and coming to terms with it is hard, hard work.

And yet… Look at the ram stood proud beside the Queen of Discs. Recovery is possible, rooted firmly in nurturing and tender care of the self or of others. It takes patience and generosity – we may need to extend forgiveness and compassion not simply as a gesture, but as a process over time – but it can be done. If we ground ourselves in love, we can thrive again.

Have a good week and stay safe x

Short and sweet today!

We must continue to be diligent with work and learning, but there are chances this week to look outward – maybe to make plans and to feel confident in expanding our horizons a little. The Sun promises us that there are brighter days ahead. With the background of unsettling events globally, isn’t that a nice uplifting reading to receive?

Have a good week and stay safe x

Death arrives to make way for new beginnings, signified by the waxing crescent moon – which may also be a sign to watch for developments this week that reach fruition in the first stage of the next lunation, after the start of March.

It may be time to let go of feelings, plans, situations or things which no longer serve us. Change is inevitable: that is not to say it’s easy, of course. The Emperor’s role here is to inspire how we respond when change happens. He embodies considered presence, authority and leadership. He tells us, essentially, to have the courage of our convictions in the face of uncertainty or discomfort.

So: stand firm in your power, as much as you can, this week. New beginnings will always come around.

Have a good week and stay safe x

Two hefty Majors for the week of the full moon… feels like a big shift coming.

I want to begin with the Ten of Coins though, which has a slightly different feel in this particular deck. Robert Place christens it the Miser, linking it with selfishness and holding tightly to resources. It feels, after two years of pandemic living and all that has entailed, as if many of us have been doing something along these lines: turning inward, holding a little tighter to what makes us feel secure, maybe out of fear.

That brings us neatly to the Devil, who here holds us – in all our faces and forms – captive, chained to the fiery scales of the dragon. This card invites us to consider what we feel bound to. In the context of the Ten, what unhealthy attachments, habits or patterns of thought are we clinging on too tightly to, in order to try to feel safe? What aspects of our fullest selves are being held back?

Judgement promises us a wake-up call in this respect, and a loud one at that (who could miss that enormous angelic trumpet?). It’s a card of revelation but also, clearly, of resurrection. Things we thought dead may be revived, things we thought ailing may be healed. It’s a card of hope, transformation and progress. Maybe it is here to tell us to hold on a little less tightly.

Have a good week and stay safe x

Quite a deep ask from the cards this week.

When the Three of Swords arrives we are very often in the territory of painful growth. It’s a card that speaks of sorrow – often born of conflict between heart and head – but also how fine the line is between our experience of agony and ecstasy. We are asked to weigh carefully the cost of opening ourselves to the whole glorious gamut of human experience, against the discomfort of the consequences when we willingly wear our hearts on our sleeves.

Flanking the High Priestess on the opposite side is the Three of Cups. In some ways we might view this as the opposite of the Three of Swords: collaborative, celebratory, nourishing, supportive, a testament to the positive power of friendship and connection.

So what of the Priestess herself, there at the centre? It feels like she is the mediator of a choice. To hold on to our sorrows alone, or to seek the support of those who lift us up? To hide from the risks of engaging fully with the world, or to choose company?

The thing about the High Priestess, however, is that she tends (I find) to show up in readings with a gentle rebuke: you know the answer to that question. Why are you asking the cards? She offers no glib solutions. Her realm is in stillness and silence. She is the open space in which you find your true self, if you look closely enough. So in this case, she counsels us to look within this week. If we are hurting, or torn between licking our wounds alone vs placing trust in others, our decisions should be reached in contemplation, not in haste.

Have a good week and stay safe x

Last Monday’s full moon felt like a tough one, to me at least, so I’m not altogether surprised to see the Moon show up in this week’s reading.

This week, we may all be feeling the lunar uncertainty quite strongly: that sense of things that are hidden, unsaid, lurking in the shadows. The Ten of Wands reminds us how hard this kind of uncertainty can be to carry, how heavy our mental burdens can be. It may all be feeling like a bit Too Much.

There’s hope, though. If we can relax enough to lay our burdens down for a while, the Fool will allow us to start over with much less to carry and with renewed optimism for the path ahead. The Fool is a hopeful card, a reminder not to dwell too long on the heavy stuff. We can always begin again. Let’s keep that close to our hearts over the coming days.

Have a good week and stay safe x

As we begin the week with a full moon in Cancer, we have some tricky feelings to negotiate around failure. Discs are cards of manifestation relating to the material or financial world, so we may feel that we are wanting in physical or fiscal terms: or we may be allowing our fear of failure to prevent us from moving forward in a practical sense. Whatever the reason, the path appears beset with thorny obstacles.

The High Priestess is the key to finding our way out of the thicket. Our inner resources, intuition and subconscious voice – the knowing in the stillness – are what we need. I feel like that’s something I probably say a lot in these readings… but if we’re honest, how many of us regularly squash that inner voice because we dare not allow ourselves to trust it, or because we feel like all the external noise is what we should be listening to? Too many, too often, is my guess. We need reminding not to do that. Pause. Listen in stillness.

And if we do? The Two of Wands is the energetic push we need to make it through the tangle and back to a clearer, brighter path. It’s our promise of better energy to come.

Have a good week and stay safe x

A nice clear message this week. Listening to our inner voice and utilising our intuitive capacity is a priority – but we require space and stillness in order to do so effectively (it is January and this is definitely a recurring theme!). If we do this successfully, the Father (aka King) of Wands suggests that we will be at the top of our game in terms of having the energy to translate our will into action.

Or to put it another way – if we take the time out to understand what is required, we stand a good chance of getting it.

Have a good week and stay safe x

Happy New Year, friends, and well done for making it through the last one!

To begin this tarot year we have a firm reminder of what winter is for. It might be unusually mild just now but this is the season for dormancy in nature; rest and reflection should be on our minds too. There is always the temptation with January to throw ourselves into activity, filling the post-Christmas void with promises of distraction, adventure, travel to come. There is nothing wrong with any of those things, of course, but this reading cautions against haste.

Dream a little, make cunning plans, sure… but if we wish to keep our balance, honour the solitude of the Hooded Man and take enough time to look inward in stillness. After the bustle of Christmas and new year, a little quiet time will do us all good.

Have a good week and stay safe x