THE THEME: No theme per say this week, just travel notes, which are quite fitting for Sagittarius season.
ARIES
This morning (as I write this) I went to the dentist here in Bogota, Colombia, to get my teeth cleaned. I know it may not seem like it from reading Tarotscopes, but I’m actually pretty private about my personal life. So when the dentist asked me what I did for a living, I told him, rather reluctantly, that I’m a tarot reader. He asked me to repeat myself several times until I tried a different pronunciation, “Tahr- ott.” “Ohhhh! Tarott!” He exclaimed. After a few minutes he said, “ You know, things have been very good for me lately. I would like to know what is going on. Would you like to do a trade? A teeth cleaning for a tarot reading?”
You may find that certain things in your life are beginning to work out as if by magic. You are the magician, Aries. You need only acknowledge and stand by who you are and what you do to see positive results.
(I Magician/ Fight the Power- Public Enemy)
TAURUS
As my mom and I were walking down a main street in Bogota to meet a friend for lunch, I noticed a large apartment building with a balcony for every apartment and on every balcony was a Santa Claus mannequin. At first I thought the decorations strange merely because there were so many Santas, but after a moment I realized that, stranger than the number of Santas, was the way they had been positioned on the railings, as though they were all contemplating jumping. “Son Santas suicidas?” a business man asked in disbelief as he paused in front of the building with his colleague.
Taurus, your situation this week may be twofold. First, you may be presented with an opportunity to express yourself (even if only with holiday decorations). Secondly, this assertion of your opinion or of yourself may feel like a potential suicide, perhaps because it has the potential to bring about a significant change in your life. Understand that it is actually your fears and anything blocking your authentic self that really stand to be extinguished in this process.
(2 of Swords R/ No More Prisons- Hurricane G)
GEMINI
The international baggage claim in Bogota is like a fish tank. Anyone meeting you at the airport can see you through the glass, swirling around the conveyer belt, waiting for your bags to drop. As I entered the claim area I spotted my parents searching me out of the crowd on the far end by carousel 4. We waved at each other and then what followed was a confusing exchange in which I tried to signal that I was going to the bathroom and they tried to frantically express what I already knew which was that my baggage would be coming out of carousel 4. I shook my head and mouthed, “BATH-ROOM!” They both shook their heads and held up 4 fingers.
Gemini, the road down which you are headed is your own path. For this reason it may feel difficult, as though you were talking through glass, to explain what you are trying to accomplish to those closest to you. Now may not be the time to explain. Instead trust that others will understand what you are doing and where you are headed when they see you do it, because you most definitely will when you follow your genuine desires (such as going to the bathroom).
(XVII Star/ How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise- Brother D)
CANCER
My first day in Bogota my parents and I made our way up a very steep mountain to view the city, first via tram and then back by cable car. Up and down I had to steer my mind away from disaster, precipitated by my fear of heights. We survived without any complications and decided go back to my parents’ neighborhood for coffee at their local coffee shop. We sat on the third floor which was an open roof with views of some of the surrounding mountains. After we’d finished our drinks and were about to head back downstairs I noticed that one of the stairs had a few broken ceramic tiles. As if on cue, my father said, “Watch you don’t kill yourself on that stair!”
Cancer, this week you may have an opportunity to get some perspective on your current situation. Perhaps accessing this aerial view involves you confronting your fear of heights, or quite possibly a fear of achievement. Change and death are things you typically don’t have much control over. You can set your goal or your destination, but you can’t usually anticipate all the broken tiles on the way. For this reason, it may be best to settle in and enjoy yourself and hop over the slippery steps when you come to them.
(XVI Tower/ If I Ruled the World- Nas feat. Lauren Hill)
LEO
The dentist I visited in Bogota was the same dentist who recently completed some extensive work on my father’s teeth. I had a few cavities and as he prepared to numb my mouth with the anesthetic the dentist said, “Your father is a great man. I like him. And he loves you very much. I think he talked about you every time he came to visit.” I found his kind admission almost humorous in contrast with both my own experience and stereotypes of dentists as being cold and clinical. I wasn’t entirely convinced of the validity of his statement, only because it is so difficult to carry on a conversation with all the equipment they put in your mouth. It seemed unlikely my dad would have had the opportunity to mention my name more than once, but in the next moment I understood what he was really trying to do. He was occupying my mind and body with love, with feeling cared for, the way a parent would love and care for their child. And not surprisingly, for the first time in my own dental history, I felt no pain.
Leo, this week you might find yourself instinctually tensing up as you approach a situation (such as the Thanksgiving table) in anticipation of difficulty or pain. Instead try to remind yourself of the love you feel, where ever and with whomever you feel it. Just the act of releasing these endorphins may ease any difficulty or pain you might otherwise experience.
(Son of Cups L/ Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud- James Brown)
VIRGO
I was feeling stressed about trying to finish writing Tarotscopes today (as I write this), but was finding it exceedingly difficult to find a minute given the events of the day. “Maybe you can write on the bus,” my mother suggested. We were taking a bus to a town 4 hours away called Villa de Leyva. Unfortunately, I get incredibly nauseous in a moving vehicle, so writing on the bus was not an option. When we finally called a cab to take us from Villa de Leyva to my parents friends’ “finca” a little farm outside of town it was already 5pm. The cab driver’s name was Ruby and she was wearing denim overalls and had her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. In the back seat her four year old granddaughter, Manuela, was sitting cross-legged. Ruby told her to move over and make room for my mom and I. I sat in the middle next to Manuela. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed she was holding a large red lego in her left hand and black comb in her right. It reminded me the old Russian fairy tale about two children who escape Baba Yaga the witch by throwing magical objects behind them. In the tale the comb turned into a forest buying the children time to escape Baba Yaga. Not long after we started rolling down the bumpy streets, Manuela fell asleep with her mouth open and her legs still crossed.
Virgo, you may feel pressured this week to accomplish multiple things at once. Trust that your day can hold what you need it to if you are willing to stay present with events as they unfold. Surrender to your needs. Even the opportunity to take a nap may present itself. If you still can’t “do it all” throw down your magical comb or lego and buy yourself some extra time.
(2 of Discs Rev/ The Message- Grandmaster Flash)
LIBRA
Besides my parents and me, our cab driver, Ruby had another passenger, her four year old granddaughter, Manuela as she drove us from town (Villa de Leyva) to my parents friends’ finca (farm). Ruby told us that her daughter worked until 7pm so she would watch Manuela until Manuela’s mother got off of work. “Pero es delicioso,” which translates to, “but it’s delicious,” she meant that having her granddaughter for those hours was a joy and not a burden.
Libra, this week you may be doing more than your share of dishes or watching someone else’s kid or cooking more than usual, but es delicioso tambien (it is delicious also) because it is a demonstration of your love.
(6 of Discs R/ Young, Gifted and Black- Nina Simone)
SCORPIO
As I write this my parents and I are in Villa de Leyva, a small town in the country about four hours away from Bogota. When we arrived the town seemed suspended, caught between moments. It wasn’t entirely asleep, but many doors were shut and the ones that were open looked like yawns with people leaning on counters or sitting in chairs. When we got to the Plaza Mayor (the main plaza in town) the church doors were open and a mass of people in black and blue poured out onto the cobblestones. As we got closer we realized that it was funeral procession. Except for the time I witnessed Michael Jackson’s funeral procession, I hadn’t seen a larger attendance. I liked that everyone was following the hearse on foot because it seemed like a parade, a timeline of all the people still living that had known and loved the person who was now gone.
Scorpio, as we exit (ironically I accidentally typed “excite”) Scorpio season, which has really gone on for a few years with Saturn in Scorpio, you may feel a sort of panic or urgency around the changes you are trying to make. Perhaps it feels like this is your last chance for transformation. In fact, Saturn will move back into Scorpio this summer for one last dance before it leaves for the next 29 years. But for now as many planets have now shifted into Sagittarius and Saturn gears up to join them next month, it might be helpful to think about all the changes you’ve already made. That momentum won’t die, it is carried with love.
(XIII Death R/ Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around- Sweet Honey on the Rock)
SAGITTARIUS
I’ve had several cavities over the years. I often joke that my teeth are made of sugar and if I bite down too hard they might crumble. Because of my extensive dental history, I get nervous when I know I have to get a cavity filled. I worry the anesthetic will hurt and I worry that it won’t work and the rest of the procedure will hurt. I’ve had experience with both. At my most recent visit, as the dentist prepared the anesthetic, I had the sudden realization that the dentist and I both had the same goal. I even threw the universe in there…the dentist, the universe and I all had the same goal in that moment, to prevent me from feeling pain. I rolled my eyes away from the dentist’s tray and rested my gaze on a clock on a shelf above me that I hadn’t noticed before. This also seemed significant since time is a wheel that turns, moving us towards and away from things, into and out of pain.
Sagittarius, this week it might be helpful to remember that your efforts to achieve your goals or dreams are not in opposition with the goals and dreams of others or the universe or time. Trust that when you have the courage to admit to yourself and then to others what you are desiring, it will be supported and that the wheel of time moves us through any pain.
(XII Hanged One R/ When the Revolution Comes- The Last Poets)
CAPRICORN
After our bus arrived at the far end of town in Villa de Levya, my parents and I wandered through town in search of lunch. There seemed to be more dogs than humans walking the streets. After we sat down at a restaurant on the edge of the main plaza I had more time to watch the activity peppered across the cobblestones. An exceptionally tall man in a grey jumpsuit strode across the plaza, a few paces behind him a roley polley brown puppy struggled to keep up with his long gait. The dog had no collar and at first I wasn’t sure the pup belonged to him, but when the same man passed back in front of us a second time the little brown ball was still in his shadow. I suddenly realized that there were at least three more collar-less dogs following various other people to and fro across the plaza. We hadn’t seen this Bogota, all the dogs there had at least collars if not leashes. After lunch we got a coffees at a coffee shop on the other end of the plaza. Two young women entered and sat down, a few moments later two more men dribbled in, one after the other. The two men sat with the two women, but I still wasn’t sure they were together because they didn’t really seem to acknowledge one another. After their coffee they each left the restaurant separately. Out in the plaza one woman reached out to one of the men and he pulled her into a hug. The other two threw their arms around each other and then they disappeared from view.
Capricorn, the love you feel would be best given and received without a leash or a collar. Trust the pack you are traveling in to hold itself together.
(Priestess of Cups R/ Dancing in the Street- Martha and the Vandellas)
AQUARIUS
Last night I fell asleep looking out a large picture window in a casita my parents friends built outside of Villa de Leyva, a small colonial mountain town in Colombia. There were intermittent flashes of lightning and in between the lightning were tiny flashes from lightning bugs bobbing in and out of the bushes. The lightning illuminated the whole sky and the lightning bugs (fireflies) illuminated a more detailed area of shrubbery.
Aquarius, this week you may find yourself having small epiphanies and big ones. Perhaps both flashes reflect one another, illuminating areas in your own life and the ways those individual understandings contribute to your understanding of the larger world around you.
(9 of Wands/ Up Above My Head- Betty Mae Fikes)
PISCES
I’ve always been a comfortable observer. I was a quiet kid and preferred to listen to the adults talk. In church, the congregation would sing all the children to sunday school, but I preferred not to follow and instead stayed with the adults to listen to the sermon. As the Grand Jury’s decision following the trial of police officer, Darren Wilson for the shooting of Michael Brown was released the other night, I watched from Colombia. I was raised in a rather stoic midwestern family perhaps for this reason I often find that strong emotions choke the words out of me. As the verdict surfaced I felt physically ill. I knew what the verdict was likely to be, but it didn’t prepare me for its actual arrival. I didn’t want to just observe the protests erupting in several U.S. cities, I wanted to be there with others who felt a similar sick sadness and anger. The internet will never replace the power of standing side by side with others especially when you can’t find the words.
Pisces, this week you may be feeling very emotional, perhaps due to recent national events or the holidays or something else of significance in your life. It may be important to find others to stand with during this time because the feelings may be too heavy to hold all alone.
(8 of Cups Rev/ A Love Supreme- John Coltrane)