ARIES
PAGES OF A BOOK
When I was a kid I used to take a break from the book I was reading to appreciate how many pages I’d read. I still do this on occasion. I’d hold all the pages together between my fingers to feel the weight and thickness of what I’d read. It felt good to have tangible evidence of what I was accomplishing, to be able to translate my understanding into a shape and weight.
Aries, this week it may be helpful to take note of the things you have put time into and accomplished. Consider the weight and shape of even intangible achievements, like relationships, or thinking through a problem.
(Ace of Cups R/ Somebody to Love- Valerie June)
TAURUS
A PARTIALLY OBSTRUCTED WINDOW
On one of my flights back from Colombia recently, I was assigned a window seat. As I shuffled onto the crowded plane cautiously avoiding scrapping heels or toes, I felt a sense of calm knowing I’d soon be able disappear into the world outside the window. But when I arrived at the number and letter indicated on my ticket I saw that my seat was the only window seat on the plane that was not equipped with a window. Later, as we were landing in bad weather, I was grateful I didn’t have a window to see out of because the plane had to make a few unsettling maneuvers in order to get us safely on the ground.
Taurus, this week you may find yourself waiting for something to materialize. Trust that there may be a lot happening in the part of the window out of which you can’t see.
(7 of Discs/ Everywhere- Fleetwood Mac)
GEMINI
UMBRELLA SPOKES
Growing up I was always getting my hair caught in the spokes of my umbrella because I would try to get my ears as far into the dome the spokes created as I could in order to hear the rain and also the way that the nylon muffled the other outside noises.
Gemini, this week you may need to take a reprieve from outside noises, even if your escape simply involves taking a few deep breathes under your umbrella.
(4 of Swords/ Progression- Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland)
CANCER
FOLDS IN A HORSE’S NECK
I’m actually not sure if a horse’s neck wrinkles when it bends, but the image that came to mind when when I closed my eyes was a horse whose head was pulled back by the bit in it’s mouth, a horse on tight reigns.
This may be how you are feeling this week, Cancer. Perhaps you are trying to corral negative emotions, but they still may surface as irritability or testiness. You don’t have to hold the reigns quite so tightly, but don’t let go altogether.
(5 of Swords L/ Skateboard Song- Norma Tracey and the Cinderella Kids)
LEO
ROBOT FROM THE JETSONS
I didn’t really watch the Jetsons much growing up, so I’m not entirely sure why Rosie the Robot surfaced when I closed my eyes to your card this week, Leo. What I know about Rosie is that she is a truthsayer and she always delivered the truth directly and without much emotion.
Consider taking on this tone with yourself this week, Leo. What would Rosie say to dispel a potentially dramatic situation? Feel all your feelings, but try to let the truth in without a lot of unnecessary theatrics.
(3 of Swords Rev/ Come Up and See Me Sometime- Mae West)
VIRGO
BOTTOM EDGE OF A VELVET CURTAIN
At the cheaper movie theater I sometimes go to, the movie screen has curtains to the left and right of the screen and one short curtain across the top so it looks like it has the same haircut as Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. The curtain I saw when I closed my eyes for your Tarotscope, Virgo, was similar to that curtain fringe, but unlike that fringe, it seemed to be coming down over whatever had been played or performed behind it. This may be what is happening for you this week, Virgo, as we approach Winter Solstice. Now is the time to consider what thoughts you need to close the curtain on so that the next show may begin.
(10 of Swords L/ Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!- Little Richard)
LIBRA
A FISH SKELETON
One of the things I remember most prominently in my grandparents house was a painting my grandmother had made that hung above their kitchen and below a set of clerestory windows. It was of a silvery blue fish. When I asked her about it once she told me that she had made it by painting one whole side of an actual fish and then stamping it onto paper. This act seems reflective of the old witchy adage, “As above, so below.” If you want to paint a fish, why not paint a fish? What do you want your life to reflect?
Libra, this week it may be best to step back and consider what you are trying to accomplish and whether there might be an easier solution. As above, so below, a painted fish makes a fish painting.
(XII Hanged One R/ Shattered Image- Dolly Parton)
SCORPIO
CRASH TEST DUMMY
I think it was on the plane that I saw a short video about crash test dummies, their importance and their evolution. According to the video, there are now crash test dummies to reflect almost every size, shape and age. The video took the viewer inside a crash test laboratory where people in white coats and clipboards imagined, created and analyzed catastrophes.
Scorpio, this week it might be helpful to imagine yourself in a similar position, but instead of coming up with tragic scenarios, consider more generative possibilities and then create and analyze the outcomes of those possibilities in a laboratory of your own making.
(7 of Cups/ Problem (Solved)- SBTRKT feat. Jessie Ware)
SAGITTARIUS
RUFFLED EDGE ON A LASAGNA NOODLE
Why does the lasagna noodle have a ruffled edge? Maybe some of you truth-seeking Sagittarians already know the answer, but for those who don’t I will tell you what the internet told me. The ruffled edge is to help “trap sauces.” Interestingly, it is only the American lasagna noodle that has a ruffled edge, in Italy the noodles are completely flat. Besides “trapping sauces” the only other reason I could find in my internet wormhole for a ruffled edge was aesthetic and that was heavily contested among various connoisseurs.
Sagittarius, is there something you are coming to realize is not necessary to a process, but instead is a matter of opinion? As you delve deeper into your understanding, you may discover that the dominant opinion isn’t one you share. Allow your own recipes to surface.
(Son of Wands L/ Train Song- Vashti Bunyan)
CAPRICORN
INKWELL IN A WRITING DESK
In first grade, our girl scout troop visited some sort of historic school house in rural Iowa. Our troop leader wanted to show us what a classroom looked like in the 1800s. I don’t remember much, but I remember there were inkwells built into the desks and that each desk extended from the seat in front of it so you couldn’t move easily or shift your position. I’m not sure if this is just the way I remember it or if it they were actually there but when I close my eyes I see ink stains on the wood around the well.
Capricorn, this week may be a period of self study and reflection. There is an emphasis on the past and its indications for the future. Consider how you might shift to accommodate new growth and understanding.
(9 of Discs/ I’m Not Tired Yet- The Caravans)
AQUARIUS
A PLATE OF HORS D’OEUVRES
In one of my favorite movies, “Mermaids,” Charlotte Flax says about her mother, “A word about Mrs. Flax and food, the word is hors d’oeuvres. Fun Finger Foods is her main source book and that’s all the woman cooks. Anything more, she says, is too big a commitment.” I think of this cinematic moment every week when I make hors d’oeuvres for Tarotscopes. “Anything more,” I say to myself, “is too big a commitment.”
Aquarius, you may feel that something you want or need this week is in scant supply. Perhaps you are low on groceries and your paycheck hasn’t gone through, or perhaps mangos aren’t in season and you have to revise a recipe. Know that the resources you need are coming. Until then, may I recommend hors d’oeuvres, they are fancy, filling, simple and create a feeling of abundance until the next shipment comes in.
(10 of Discs L/ Make It With You- Ralfi Pagan)
PISCES
EMPTY SHELL
Seashells are one of the few containers that many people may be happy to find empty, unless the point of the search is to find some sort of edible clam or oyster.
Pisces, this week it may be necessary to revise your hunt. Perhaps you’ve been doggedly looking for clams or oysters and all you can find are empty shells. Consider that the empty shell may be exactly what you are looking for when seen from another angle.
(3 of Discs Rev/ I’ll Bring It On Home To You- Carla Thomas)