Aries: Ace of Swords

Your card this month — the Ace of Swords from the beautiful Prisma Visions Tarot — is all about achieving the kind of clarity that’s needed to focus your intentions and accomplish your goals.

The Ace of Swords can act as a tool for manifesting. It is raw, pure, unharnessed energy that can be channeled into something both powerful and magical.

It can act as a lightning rod for either positive or negative energy, depending on how it’s used. It refers to getting to the heart of the matter, cutting through the BS, speaking your mind and honoring your truth.

But the Ace of Swords can also be somewhat aggressive and argumentative. When used negatively it really does “cut like a knife” with respect to cruelty or hurtful words. For this reason it’s sometimes best to put some distance between yourself and whatever outside influences are triggering reactions.

Your ruling planet (Mars) is dignified in Capricorn this month. This is a strong placement, associated with climbing to the top, staking your claim and asserting your power — all of which are so beautifully represented here.

Aces are associated with fresh starts and new beginnings, and nowhere is that more evident than the Ace of Swords in this deck, where each card is represents a small snippet of a much bigger picture. Here the Sword glows against a midnight sky, Here there are references to clarity, perfection and purity with the embedded Sword glistening in a new-fallen snow.

The Ace of Swords can have a dual meaning just as the blade itself is double edged. It can be victorious or defiant, depending on how you decide to wield it. Remember that your words and actions can have far reaching consequences, so wield yours not as a weapon this month, but as a conduit for fairness and honesty.

TAURUS: Four of Pentacles

This month, you want to think about what it is you might be holding onto too tightly, and more importantly why.

The Four of Pentacles — this version from the Hezicos Tarot — can refer to a hoarding mentality, a poverty consciousness and a resistance to change. All of these end up creating blockages in your life, where your fear of letting things go can prevent new things from coming in.

The little sprite in this card protects her territory while holding on tightly to the coins clasped in her hands (and under her feet). She’s made sure that nothing can tear them away, but has she considered that she’s now stuck in that position, with no way to walk (or fly) away, and no free hands to gather more.

There’s a big beautiful world out there that she is unable to explore. She knows she’ll risk losing it all if she leaves her hoard unattended, so she’s trapped by her own fears.

In this regard the Four of Pentacles is also about trust — or the lack of trust more specifically. The implication is that someone could take something from you (something you’ve ascribed a false sense of value to), which prompts you to hold on even more tightly (or hide it away).

With this in mind your challenge this month will be to loosen up the reins a bit. Let the darkness (avarice, hoarding) out so you can let you some light (enlightenment, prosperity) in. Think about sharing what you have with others, or giving something back.

Remember that the Universe does not appreciate a vacuum. All that you’re willing to let go of now will be replenished with something new in the end. And news flash: that’s not just money and material possessions. It also applies to negative thought processes, dysfunctional relationships and outdated ideals.

GEMINI: The Tower

Your theme this month will be “out with the old and in with the new” courtesy of a New Moon in Virgo and a Mars/ Saturn conjunction in Scorpio. What better representation of this energy than the Tower card, referred to here as the Serpent or Quickener.

The Tower card normally refers to sudden (or rapid) change — the unexpected dismantling of whatever in your life is in need of a drastic overhaul. It speaks of destruction and deconstruction — the breaking down of whatever’s stagnant or restrictive so that you can rebuild anew.

In most versions of the card the “tower” is a literal fortress that’s been struck by lightning and is crashing to the cliffs below. People are falling out of the structure while flames and smoke shoot from the shattered windows.

This version — from Nigel Jackson’s Medieval Enchantment Tarot — is kinder and gentle, although not entirely without wrath. There’s still an ominous flash of lightning aimed directly at the tower. In this vase it emmanates from and angry red eye while storm clouds churn in the background.

There’s a lot of destruction associated with this card, yet if you consider the source — that one earth shattering bolt of lightning — you can see how it lights the whole sky, making everything momentarily clear. It is this flash of insight that all of us need to be paying attention to, especially as these planets tighten their astrological grip. Rather than running and hiding — or hanging on for dear life — cooperating with the process may go a long ways towards mitigating the destruction;

You may feel like your carefully-constructed world is falling apart or that all you’ve held near and dear (and previously thought was indestructible) is no longer capable of sustaining you. And you’d be right. But look closely at the card and you can the makings of another tower deep within its recesses. It tells you that all is not lost here after all, and that there is still hope for renewal.

Cancer: Eight of Wands

Things should be moving quickly for you this month and you may find that most days you’ll have a full schedule ahead of you even before you walk out the door.

You’ll want to stay on your toes and pay attention to opportunities that come your way, especially anything related to travel, adventure, spirituality or higher mind pursuits. With a lineup of planets in the area that relates to these things for you, life is bound to get interesting.

You also want to stay focused: otherwise you run the risk of being pulled in several different directions or going off on a wild goose chase that distracts you from your original goals.

This is the Eight of Wands from the Joie de Vivre Tarot. The little space explorer in this card cleary has places to go. You want to be like him: staying focused, aware and present, and aligning yourself with the Universe so that you become a part of it rather than fighting against it.

There’s a lot of movement in this card and as you can see it’s all going full speed ahead. The message here is that “things are happening, and they’re happening NOW.”

The Eight of Wands also a card of communications. Networking and sharing ideas. Hearing and being heard. This is important because relationships are up in the air for you now -– especially those where differences of opinion may have stopped them in their tracks.

This card speaks of not only communicating effectively, but also clearing the air and getting back in sync with those you may have had differences with. It can also refer to travel or messages that come (in the form of good news) from afar. You may feel a bit overwhelmed, and worry at times that there are not enough hours in the day. But as long as you stay focused, you can get a lot accomplished.

LEO: Five of Cups

You may be fighting feelings of loneliness and isolation this month and if so you might want to ask yourself whether you’re seeing the full picture.

The Five of Cups is often tied to feelings of disappointment and regret. You may be feeling shut out at time when you most needed to be let in; rejected at a time when you most wanted to feel included.

In this version of the card — from the Chrisalis Tarot — Quan Yin, the goddess of mercy and compassion, gazes down on a lotus blossom she has cupped near her heart. She raises her other arm and drapes it over her crown chakra, uniting the two.

This card is called “Forgiveness” in this deck, a reference to the teachings of Quan Yin. It invites us to work through negative feelings and set aside petty grievances so that we can heal our own fractured souls.

How might this imagery apply to you? And what can you learn from the circumstances that make this card now relevant in your life? The Five of Cups can refer to heartache, disillusionment and lost love.

The Five of Cups is not an easy card. It can indicate emotional upheavals, feelings of loss, loneliness, grief and regret. You could be stuck in rut, reeling from a rejection or coming to terms with a relationship that was never meant to be. You may be struggling with understanding the reason that There is as much danger in not learning from your mistakes as there is in focusing only on what might be.

But there are positive aspects of this card as well. There are messages to be unraveled and lessons to be learned. Perhaps the “wounded healer” aspect provides you with an insider’s understanding of what it’s like to hurt, to be alone, and to be denied the very thing you’ve so desperately wanted.

Your heartache becomes a powerful conduit for healing. It can also become a gift that you pass onto others: the gift of empathy. Your own experiences lead to a deeper understanding of what others may be dealing with, and can translate into compassion, understanding, forgiveness and unconditional love.

VIRGO: Page of Swords

Pay attention to messages you receive this month as Mercury (your ruling planet) goes retrograde in Pisces, where it is debilitated. As a result you may find that communications can be veiled or cloaked in double meanings.

The Page of Swords — this version from Yoshitaka Amano’s Amano Tarot — is a messenger card and is known for ferreting out the truth. But this “two-faced” version implies that things are not always as they seem and may come about through deception or duplicity.

You may uncover a deception or meet with someone whose motives prove to be disingenuous. Or you may have to be the bearer of uncomfortable news yourself, in which case you find yourself needing to deliver it carefully and diplomatically.

The Page of Swords is all about communications, ideas, information and news. He (or she) is generally very curious, a good judge of character, quick to size up others and able to see through ulterior motives and agendas.

In this respect it’s very difficult to hide anything from the Page of Swords. Yet this Page appears to be good at hiding his own true motives: presenting one face to the outer world while hiding his true identity in the background. This could be a necessary strategy or it could be a sign of duplicity.

Communications are going to be important and at some point this month, the potential for being at odds with others is high. But be careful too that you don’t make assumptions about someone’s motives that turn out to be colored by your own paranoia. The downside of this card is the potential for distorting information or reading into it something that is simply not there.

The challenge for you is to figure out a way to look at the whole picture without accepting things at face value. While here’s likely to be more than meets the eye with respect to any communications, your goal should be to work on getting at the truth and disregarding anything that detracts you from that goal.

Libra: Justice

You may be struggling with doing the right thing this month, or you may be trying to make a choice between right and wrong. Sometimes those choices aren’t clear — depending on whatever prerequisites you have in place for making those kinds of determinations.

The Justice card — this version from the Ostara Tarot — refers specifically to knowing (and acting on) the difference between right and wrong. But it also usually involves finding a middle ground between opposing forces: cause and effect, action and consequence, head and heart, etc.

The woman in this card is blind-folded, reminding us that Justice is blind. And the scale she holds is precariously balanced. Between head and heart. Need and desire. Right and wrong. If any of those were given more weight than the other, that balance would be lost and the quiet contentment disrupted.

The Justice card speaks of a universal justice, divorced from what you want or wish for, and held under the microscope of truth, wisdom and universal law. This means that no matter how desperately you want a specific outcome, the one handed down will be fair and just.

The Justice card calls for you to look at all sides of a situation before you make a decision, especially if the “right answer” is unclear. You may have to remove yourself entirely or detach yourself enough from any personal investment to make a fair determination. It may be a situation that you’re personally involved in, such as a relationship that tugs at your heartstrings but is not in alignment with your principles. Or you may be asked to mediate a disagreement among friends or family members.

It isn’t about choosing sides. It’s about being able to tap into the “truth” objectively and impartially. In the end you’ll have to live with the fallout from your choices — for better or worse. So be sure you know which side of the fence you’re on before you take a stand.

Scorpio:  Seven of Wands

There may be times this month where you feel the need to defend yourself (or your views). The Seven of Wands is often associated with a need to be more alert, guarded and cautious, rather than accepting things at face value.

You may face opposition from others, in the form of competition or outright resistance. You may also feel “under siege,” as in being attacked or ganged up on.

As with all Sevens, there’s usually a moral dilemma or a situation in which you feel you’re being asked to compromise your ideals.

This may be a friend who asks you to keep an uncomfortable confidence, an accusation that’s put you on the defense, or a situation in which you feel unfairly targeted.

The Seven of Wands requires you to look at your situation from all sides before you determine you best course of action.

In this version of the card — from the Light Seer’s Tarot  — the choice is pretty clear. It’s not going to be about fighting or one-upping anybody. It’s about distancing yourself from all the noise and reclaiming your own power.

There is a “hold your ground” element to the traditional Seven of Wands and a call to find your center in this one.  Either way it’s about self-preservation. But what better way to strengthen your position than to harness all that energy, rather than allowing it to scatter all around you.

Think about the obstructions you’ve been standing in the way of obtaining your goals and work on breaking them down. You may have to explore uncomfortable feelings or you may have to conquer some fears. Whatever it is, know that you do have the tools at your disposal. The Seven of Wands requires you to consider solutions that might not be readily available as you plan your next move.

Sagittarius: Queen of Wands

If you’ve been hiding in the shadows or downplaying some of the more expressive or dramatic aspects of your personality in recent weeks, now is the time to step up and be seen.

The Queen of Wands is not someone who goes unnoticed. Especially this Queen of Wands — from Cathy McClelland’s Star Tarot. She’s warm, vibrant, confident, expressive and creative. She knows how to lead with her heart and to garner the respect of others.

Whether you’re trying to make an impression at work or are hoping to leave your mark on the world in other ways, you should have no problem making your presence known.

The Queen of Wands embodies the feminine or yin aspects of Fire (wands) energy: warmth, enthusiasm, energy and drive. She’s regal and majestic; dynamic and refined; confident and authoritative. She’s creative, expressive and passionate. She’s also very worldly and knowledgeable.

She may be someone in your life, an event or a part of yourself. She may be a supervisor, a parent, a friend or even some facet of yourself that has long been dormant.

If however this card refers to you, see it as a reminder that you do possess these qualities and may need to re-incorporate them into your personality. You may be called upon to act in a leadership role or to channel your creative energy into a project of your own.

The Queen of Wands represents feminine strength and power. She’s bold, confident and courageous, and knows how to make things happen in a big way. The presence of this card today encourages you to recapture the essence of the Queen of Wands and to put her to good use.

CAPRICORN: Nine of Pentacles

This is a good month for you to focus on all that you have and expressing gratitude to those who have helped make that possible. to  is a good day to be present in the moment and to be grateful for all that you’ve acquired.

The Nine of Pentacles — this version from the Morgan Greer Tarot — is all about enjoying the bounty that life affords you rather than focusing on what you lack. You may be feeling good about how far you’ve come and deserving of all you’ve been able to acquire. And now is the time to start enjoying it.

There are symbols of abundance and prosperity all throughout this card — from the colors on the card to her lavish jewelry to the bowl of grapes and gold coins around her neck to the partridge on her shoulder. Even the pine bough behind her is said to represent fertility and immortality. The woman in this card appears to be content which what she has: she knows she’s earned and deserves it.

You may not be feeling very “prosperous,” especially if you’ve been struggling to make ends meet. But this card is all about putting that consciousness into perspective, and focusing on what you have rather than what you don’t.

Sometimes the Nine of Pentacles appears as a generous benefactor or someone who opens a door for you that leads to a good financial opportunity. If this is the case be mindful of his (or her) contribution and make sure you give credit where credit is due.

Sometimes it comes not from an individual but an event that is the catalyst that leads to opportunity. Be grateful for the opportunity as it’s this shift in consciousness — to that of prosperity, abundance and gratitude — that will make all the difference in your life.

AQUARIUS: Seven of Cups

This month, you might find yourself walking around in a haze at times, lost in thought and dreaming of a different reality. Alternately you could be fighting the urge to escape into a fog of romantic reverie.

The Seven of Cups — this version from the Crow Tarot — is a card of temptations, often fueled by irrational thoughts or fantasies. There can be too many options available, which makes it hard to decide. But it’s often a case of wishful thinking and foolish day-dreaming that can interfere with actual progress.

The crow in this card gazes out at Seven goblets, each more tempting than the last. There’s a snake, a mountain, a heart, a skull, a castle, a lotus flower and a laurel wreath. These are tied to the Seven deadly sins and in fact this card is called “Debauchery” in some decks, referring to the superficial appeal of things that most of us only think will make us happy.

This is the dilemma with the Seven of Cups. What you long for looks so appealing while what you have appears so drab. But it’s just an illusion and even if it weren’t — even if it were perfectly attainable — it’s not going to come about by sitting around daydreaming about it.

There are elements of seduction also inherent in this card. Being seduced by something intangible or just out of reach, or being lured in by a fantasy that falls short in the harsh light of day. Notice the crow’s almost hypnotic gaze toward all of the trappings of fame, glory, power, wealth and acclaim, which are just hollow victories in the end.

While you may think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, chances are good that when you got there you’d want nothing more than to return back home. The message behind this card is to aim for reachable goals and to participate in attaining them rather than allowing yourself to fall into the trap of wishful thinking.

Pisces: Ace of Cups

This month you’ll have five planets moving through your sign, including the Sun and (New) Moon on the 23rd. And with Venus and Neptune also dignified there, your cup should be positively overflowing all month long.

You may be embarking on a new romance or revving up an existing one. You may be thinking about starting a family or getting ready to give birth to something else — like a new business or creative effort.

Whatever it is, know that this card represents new opportunities, to grow, to express and to create. Like all Aces, it represents raw unformed energy that can be molded and transformed.

This is the Ace of Cups from the gorgeous Ceccoli Tarot. If the woman in this card looks a little shell-shocked, it may be because she knows it takes a lot of courage to put her heart on the line.

You may be feeling a vulnerable yourself, and you may be worried that your hands are too full. But this card represents a compassionate, unconditional, and all-encompassing love that is capable of reverberating throughout your very being.

If there’s a downside to this energy, it’s the tendency to lack motivation and purpose. Too much “going with the flow” can see you being carried aimlessly along with life’s currents.

You want to keep this is mind when it comes to making decisions and asserting your needs to others. This is a time of giving and receiving: and you can derive as much pleasure through giving as you can through expressing gratitude for all that you receive. The Ace of Cups is ripe with potential and opportunity. What you do with it — and how open you are to the possibilities before you — is entirely up to you.

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This month’s tarotscopes feature some of Ask the Astrologers all time favorite cards.

We hope you like them too! 

February 2020 Tarot Scopes

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