I love flowers and May is the month for them. The above painting is from Rachel Ruysch. She is the one of the most documented still-life painters from the Netherlands during the Dutch Golden Age (the span of the 17th century). For not only were her paintings popular but she painted from the age of 15-83. It was unusual for a woman to do this during that time, but it seems that she might have been the main breadwinner of her family.
In her paintings, she focused mainly on flowers, fruits and “forest floors” with a superb attention to detail carried with her delicate brushstrokes. Her still-lifes are impossible in real life. The colors and composition of the arrangement comes from a stylized version of the actual flower. She manipulated the color and the physicality of the flower to enrich her composition.
P.S. Remember signs with an * it a big week for you. And all you Taurus now is the time to book your Astro Reading.
Aries
Nine of Wands – The Nine of Wands is the card of preparation and perseverance. Take steps before you start each workday to prepare. You can’t plan for everything that is coming your way this week and that is where perseverance steps in. Put on your Wellies and slog on.
Taurus
*Emperor – You are in the midst of building something pretty amazing and it is time to fully concentrate on it this week. The Emperor gives you the strength and the due diligence to get a big part of what you want done – done. Also, it is a great time to stand back and do some “city-planning.” This can look as simple as rearranging your priorities for this week to find time to do what you need to do. Or as complex as rearranging some gender roles in your life. Either way this week has all the materializing energy supporting you to make this a very productive time.
Gemini
*Justice – The Justice card comes when, as much as we want decisions or ideas to be yes/no – good/bad, there is more to be considered. For true decision making you will need to see the background and context of each choice, and the answers maybe wrap in the complexity of paradox. Ultimately your decision(s) should be based in integrity and fairness. This is one week where intellect reigns over emotions.
Cancer
Ten of Wands – The Ten of Wands is the card of over obligation or burdens. You have the tendency to take on too much this week. Take your to do list and move at least two things to next week. They will be there at the end of the week or their urgency or need will vaporize.
Leo
Page of Wands – The Page of Wands comes to help you ignite your passion. Your assignment is to do at least one thing this week that makes your toes curl in either pleasure and/or passion.
Virgo
Page of Pentacles – The Page of Pentacles is the card of the student. Your assignment is to learn something new each day. It can be something little like having fun going down the google rabbit hole. There is a message or a skill to what you learn this week that you will need for the coming weeks.
Libra
*Hierophant – The Hierophant comes when you are having problems with structure in your life. Here is the key to this card: structure is supposed to be like the best house – making you feel safe, stronger and protected. It is not meant to make you feel frustrated, bound or obligated. So, this week examine your structures – morals, laws, schedules. Are they hindering you? – then break free and create new ones. If they are supporting you, build on them.
Scorpio
Page of Swords – Last week the Hermit and King of Pentacles advised, to get anything done and some perspective, you had to create some solo space and time. The Page of Swords wants you to continue in information gathering that perspectives buys you; however, you will have to be more devious about hiding or gaining physical space.
Sagittarius
Two of Wands – Last week the Moon and Page of Cups suggested that you get in touch with your inner child by following the plot of Where the Wild Things Are. This week the Two of Wands still wants that inner child to play but the book changes to Harold and the Purple Crayon by expanding your horizons. Your inner child is craving for you to dream a bigger life for yourself.
Capricorn
King of Pentacles – The King of Pentacles is the doer card. Time to get things done. He is the more practical version of the Emperor (read Taurus above). So, like your fellow earth sign, you are building something important in your life; however, where the emperor can dream a little you need to be more practical with your resources. This week make sure you have enough resources, like finances and time, before you start projects.
Aquarius
Five of Cups – The last couple of weeks you have been dealing with some big energy. The High Priestess advised you to stop long enough to hone your intuition and listening to your inner voice. Then Justice had you focusing your mind’s eye to the concepts of integrity, fairness, and seeing other’s points of view. Now, you will need the last two weeks guides to help you through this Five of cups’ week. Five of Cups foretells that this week’s happenings get to you and can color it with melancholy. The challenge with this card is to see the silver lining. Think of this week as your cups/emotions that no longer work for you will be spilled, however, the ones left standing are far more refreshing and enlivening. Your motto this week: Don’t cry over spilt milk or wine, lol.
Pisces
Six of Swords – The Six of Swords foretells that small trips or local travel will give you benefits and/or insight into your surroundings and your inner thoughts. Your local environment has information that you may not know you lack until you see it.
May light be on you, around you, and within you,
Nina
*Temperance – Wow three big cards for you in a row. The last couple of weeks the Ace of Cups and the Sun united their power helping you expand any area of your life you focus on. Then the Chariot rolled in saying this change is all under your control. And now Temperance the card of balance and moderation is chiming in. So, this coming year while you are growing and change it is important that you do this with an equilibrium that does not come naturally to you. You would rather attack life with a series of big pushes, then slow and steady, or you get so focused on one area of life you forget to pay attention to the rest. So, Temperance advises with your growth – moderation. This can look as simple as scheduling in play with your work, or as complex as growing the yang/male side of your personality while equally balancing the growth of your yin/feminine.
Sun – Well like Aries above this year is a Sun Year for you all, a time of growth and illumination. The great part of getting this card is what you focus your light on will grow and with that growth so do you. The challenges this year are twofold. When you are shining, you will illuminate the good, the bad and the ugly and how you focus your beam of light can either grow with a lite ambient focus or destroy/cut away like a laser. So, this year, while you shine, experiment with what kind of “watts” you need for maximum growth potential.
Eight and Four of Cups – Ok Twins this is a double week for you. The Eight of Cups is the Spring-cleaning card. Not only of your literal house but also of your emotional one. And with the Four of Cups telling you how and where to do this cleaning – three-quarters of introspection and the left over fourth you will find outside of yourself. The big lesson with this combo is get rid of what works and be grateful for what is left over.
Nine of Cups – The Nine of Cups challenges you to find the places of contentment in your life, feed them and not only enjoy them but also the process. As with all cups card and the combination of water signs, water helps if you are stuck.
Ten of Wands – The Ten of Wands means this week you will have to watch your people pleasing nature. If you continue to say yes, you will feel the burden of your obligations by the end of the week. You can fix this problem by either taking somethings off your present list, or just tell people you are swapped and not take on anything more. Either way this is about decreasing your load this week before you collapse from exhaustion.
The Ten of Swords – Last week the Universe offered you a time-out with the Hanged Man to practice the art of perception. Hopeful with the Hanged Man you practice the art of reverse-thinking, for you will need it this week with The Ten of Swords. The Ten of Swords is the card of troubles whether that is from your own negative thoughts or prompted by the outside world. Your challenge is to use the Hanged Man’s lesson of seeing the dark clouds as opportunities to “water your plants” or at the very least preparing you with an umbrella.
Queen of Wands – The Queen of Wands is the closest thing you get to the Mother Earth Energy in the lower cards. She advises you it is time to take a break and get into nature or doing something creative. She comes to remind you that your flame needs to be stoked, and that you are not attending to your inner cycles of growth, death and rebirth.
Nine of Pentacles – Last week the Wheel of Fortune had you looking for karmic intervention in your life or the sign posts of places that need changing. The trend continues this week but having you focus only on the areas of how you make your money. There are some places you need to tweak, and this is the week to do it. The only challenge is this is best done in private at first before you can invite people in on it.
Six of Pentacles – The Six of Pentacles is the mini-karma card. This week all the positive energy that you put into anything will come back three-fold, but this also includes the negative. The challenge with this card is that the return of good or bad does not typically take a straight path back to you.
Ace of Swords – The Empress’ growth period continues with the Ace of Swords. Last week the Empress wanted you to cultivate your life in a way that is more comforting and relaxing but knowing this will take some time. Now the Ace of Swords has you making your first step. Take this week to decide on the details of how, when and where this is going to happen. This is a week of planning and as they say the devil is in the details.
*High Priestess – The High Priestess you would think would be an easy card for you all, for she is the card of the philosopher and can easily fold into lotus position for hours. And you Aquarians are the astrological marathon thinkers and meditators. It just hard for you to get in that state because you all are easily distracted. This week this card wants you to try spending some quality time in the ethereal realm. Whether that is conversing with nature, mediating, or doing yoga every day at sunset. This week you need to tap into your intuited/woo self. The challenge this week will be honing and listening to your inner voice for long enough to get its message.
*Judgement – Judgement comes when it is time to shed your skin or evolve some aspect of your life. This can look as simple as trying on new styles of clothes, make-up, or changing your hair. It’s not that the outer layer matters it’s just practice for you to do some inner work. Here is the challenge – can you see and love the new parts of you that you are growing and leave self-judgment behind?
Still celebrating the Earth this month by highlighting artist who highlight nature. The eco-artist for this week is 
*Chariot – Last week, the Ace of Cups and the Sun foretold your coming year as auspicious. Their combined power helps you expand any area of your life you focus on. And this week another big card surfaced, the Chariot – change that is totally in your control. So, this year’s mission is off to a running start this week. In its simplest form this card wants you to jump in your car, bike or shoes and get outside, find new places and explore. In a more complex form this card wants you to start – that project, business, and/or relationship you shelfed so long ago. The challenge with both last week and this week’s cards is if you want expansion or change it’s all in your hands. This year you need to make things happen, so grab the reins and go.
Ace of Coins – Happy Birthday month. What a great start to your birthday month. Ace of Coins means new beginnings on the material plane – business, money making, projects or your environment. This week start something that keeps your hands busy. The energy for new beginnings is literally held in the palms of your hands this week.
Four of Cups – The Four of Cups is the card on contemplation. You can do some belly-button gazing and self-compassion this week. However, your challenge is that you will need to look outside yourself to complete the answer/puzzle/picture.
*Hanged Man – The Hanged Man is the card of stagnation, or so it seems. It is the Universe giving you a forced time out to do some thinking or re-thinking. The challenge with this card is not doing the internal work that is needed. This can be as simple as being stuck somewhere and instead of playing on your phone, you do some proactive day dreaming. Or as complex as turning your perspective upside down for a week – like making the negatives into a positive and the positives finding their negatives. This reversal of thinking helps you see hidden cycles and scenarios. Side note- Do not make big decisions, start projects or relationships this week.
Three of Pentacles – The Three of Pentacles advises collaboration and practicing your skills on work with others. The “work” you do is better if you have another set of eyes to look it over and give you some pointers. Listen to others advice this week; it will give you deeper insight into projects and problems/solutions.
*Wheel of Fortune – The Wheel of Fortune is the card of karmic change. This week look for karmic intervention in your life. These are signs post of places that need changing. This can look as simple as you lose your keys three times in a row, so you need to get a place to hang your keys on when you get to your house. Or as complex as figuring out what is not working in your life by playing the mind game – What would you do if you won 100 million dollars, and then get to work making some of that happen with the salary you have now.
Eight of Swords – The Eight of Swords is the card of binding yourself with your thought patterns. This week it is time to let go of your negative thoughts. This challenge can be tricky and disguised, for your thoughts are as smart as you are. An example of a negative thought could be wrapped up in judgement of others which in turn allows you to overly judge yourself.
*Empress – The Empress foretells this is a great week to begin something that will grow over the next 9 to 10 months. This card comes when it is advantageous to cultivate your life in a way that is more comforting and relaxed way of life. The Empress also advise that you indulge all your senses this week. By doing so, your five/six senses will help you find the places or projects you want to grow. This can be as simple as planting a garden or as complex as planting seeds for the next cycle of your life. The challenges simple or complex are enjoying your growing pains and process along the gestation period, and it will take time to grow to a place where you can enjoy its bounty.
Three of Swords – The last two weeks you had Judgment, the card of evolution shedding your skin, molting your feathers, or wrapping up in a cocoon to evolve into the next phase of your journey. And the Lovers having you choose who gets to ride with you into this next stage. The Three of Swords continues this theme but is siding more with the challenges of Judgement and the Lovers. You have 3 negative thought patterns that are keeping you from your heart’s desire. It is hard to let go of some of our thoughts, but this week now is the time to pull out the thorn and do some healing. So you can evolve into the newer you.
Page of Cups– Time to put on your rose-colored glasses and bring out that set of unicorns to play with. This week the Page of Cups is wanting you to drop some of your sarcasm and cynicism and spread some joy around the office, home and/or neighborhood. Love and hope literally starts with you this week.
Two of Wands – Last week, the Moon’s reflective light revealed the fact or fantasy of your fears, and helped you finesses navigating by your intuition and feelings without letting them overwhelm you. This enlightenment on one’s fantasy and fears should have readied you for the action of the Two of Wands this week. For this week is the time to strike out on your own and discover some new places and people. This week expand your world and don’t let last week’s fear stop you.
Eight of Coins – This is your second eight so let’s look at 8s for a sec. Eights are the cards of expansion and contraction. The Eight of Cups last week had you contracting by doing some spring cleaning. The Eight of Coins wants you to expand by growing your skills. This week is all about work, but it isn’t all about how hard you work. It is about using your skill-set to work smart. This combination of cleaning and efficacy should give you a sense of accomplishment by the end of week.
King of Wands – The King of Wands is about spirituality, passion and creativity. He wants you to understand and work with not only parts of yourself but your destiny that ignites it. This life is to be lived with gusto, so do something every day this week to kindle your spirit, passion and creativity and it will lead you to a brighter destiny.
Ace of Cups – Ace of Cups foretells new beginnings or insights in relationships. This week spend some time with someone new or reignite an old relationship. This can be with our love partners, but it also is just about spreading love to any living thing – earth, plants, animals and humans. Because ultimately –Love is all there is.
*Temperance – Double whammy weeks, last week the Hierophant advised you to work on structures and efficiency. Then Temperance doubles down reminding you that structure is great but does not last without balance and moderation. So, with your work there must be play. With your happiness there is also sadness. With hatred is love. The challenge is how to do the balancing. Not as reactive equilibrium act – falling to one side and rebalancing the other in a teeter-totter fashion – but as a proactive act of accepting the paradoxes and mixing a new cocktail. Think if it like cooking without salt but getting the satisfaction of saltiness by using a mixture of spices and herbs.
Five of Coins – The Five of Coins is the card of loss, despair or loneliness. No joke this can be a hard week with mishaps and misdirection; however, the lesson with this card is realizing you are not only resilient but also not alone. Your challenge is asking for help. No shame, this is not only beneficial to you but a way for the people around you helping someone who has helped them.
*Chariot – The Chariot gives you energy to do some moving and shaking of your own this week. Take this time to do activities that will move you closer to your goals. The only challenge with the Chariot is all movement is up to you this week. It’s not exactly that you must do this solo, but it is essential you do all the driving.
Page of Swords – The Page of Swords is the card of the investigator and hidden information. There are clues and messages you need, but you will be required digging for them this week. Ask lots of questions, read between the lines, digger deeper, keep your ears, eyes and mind open.
Nine of Swords – The Nine of Swords is the card of worry and over-thinking. This card makes sense with the past two weeks of heavy lifting in your mind. The challenge and work with this card are finding ways to turn off the mind by giving it a break or diverting it with playful thoughts. You can do this with a bout of binge-watching TV (no commercials), escape into a good book, day dreaming, or meditating to quiet the monkey mind.
*Judgement – Judgment is the card of evolution. It is time to shed your skin, molt your feathers, or wrap up in a cocoon. The shift of your paradigm has happened. The question is: have you evolved to survive in it a healthier way than the previous phase of your life? If not take this week to be tender with yourself, you are still in your soft-shell phase of your evolution. Take this week to harden your shell/skin, grow in your feathers, grow your wings. The only thing you should be doing this week is figure out what you need to grow/obtain in this new phase.
*High Priestess and Ten of Swords – The High Priestess is here to help with the Ten of Swords. The Ten of Swords is the card that foretells that the World can be a triggering place. One reason we get trigger is we let our reactive ego do the driving instead of more kind conscious mind. The High Priestess steps in with her cool thoughts sitting on her lofty seat seeing the bigger pictures and cycles. She challenges you to stand back from the World and not react – just watch. You will find that observation and not confrontation will bring you more enlightenment in situations this week.
*Moon – The Moon card comes to light when you need to investigate the darker parts of your subconscious – lighting a fear. This anxiety or fear can be grounded in truth, and the Moon’s reflective light reveals the fact or fantasy of it. This can look as simple as if you are walking down the street and get a hint that someone is following you, don’t blow it off. Walk with courage to a well lite area with people, say Hi to someone and then turn around. Or a more complex situation of confronting an anxiety and dissecting it to see if it is based in reality. In both scenario your intuition and feelings are something to listen to but not let them overwhelm you.
Eight of Cups – The Eight of Cups is the spring-cleaning card. This card can literally mean you need to do some spring cleaning in your home or metaphorically any area of your life. Open the windows air, out your linens, and vacuum the dust bunnies from under your bed. There is a witchy ritual where you sweep out your front door sweep out the bad vibes. If you don’t have a broom to do that then at least clean out the bag/canister in your vacuum cleaner.
Five of Wands – Second five in a row, so let’s dive into the meaning of five. Fives are the cards of chaos where the chaos brings out things that are hidden or things that can sweep us away. Last week the chaos had you uncovering the positive and negatives in your life and asking you to choose the positive perspective. This week the Five of Wands looks at the chaotic energy you allow in from others. You have a choice whether to play in the chaos or simple turn around and walk away. The challenge with either choice is not getting swept up into or trigger by the drama of others.
Ten of Cups – The Ten of Cups is the rainbow card. It advises us to celebrate even after a storm. The challenge is seeing that happiness is not the absence of pain. Pain can co-exist with happiness without canceling it out.
Page of Cups – Time to pull out your rose-colored glasses. The Page of Cups advises you that this week no matter what happens to find the silver lining and the rainbow. You need an injection of naivety, play and an innocent perspective, even though that grumpy lion-ic side wants to roar. This week it’s all about your inner cub.
*Hierophant – This is card that Virgo feels comfortable in as long as you don’t get to self-critical. The Hierophant advise you to work on structures and efficiency this week. This can look as simple as oiling the door hinge that squeaks. Or as complex as fixing your money or schedule so that you are no longer broke at the end of the month or too tired at the end of the week.
Three of Wands – The Three of Wands advise you to do some planning before diving into projects this week. The best use of this time is focusing on how to make the work run smoothly. Think of yourself as the guy on the tarmac that guides the plane into the gate. The challenge is having foresight and peripheral vision for things to line up.
Two of Pentacles – Juggling is the name of the game this week with the Two of Pentacles. The challenge with this card is getting too brash. Make sure you start out simple and have two items/things/people on your plate and once you do that well then you can add another “ball” to the mix. This week a misstep can be a mishap.
Seven of Coins – The Seven of Coins is the worker bee card. This week’s energy is best used working your butt off. All the things you do and partake in this week fertilize and grow your productivity for the coming summer months. This is a week to start projects/plant seeds, weed projects in progress, exchange seeds, direct people in helping to tend the garden, water relationships, etc… Use this gardening metaphor to the fullest so you can harvest in the Fall.
Queen of Swords – Last week the Hierophant and Eight of Wands had some spiritual messages having you create a deeper meaning and structure to your life. Lucky for you the Queen of Swords is helping you with another week of this esoteric challenge. She is the card of critical thinking. So, take this week to do some Socratic questioning on the concepts of meaning itself to help complete the blueprint of the structures that you need.
Six of Swords – Last week, the Justice card said all things are just and fair, but it may take a while to see it play out. Justice challenged you to see the truth in situations and yourself without the lens of emotion. Reminding you that you can’t control every aspect of this life and by letting go of some of the control you let Justice takes its course justly. This concept still rings true this week. The only added advice that the Six of Swords is giving is to “let go” you need to simplify your life. Also, this card reminds you if you are stuck in how to do that, water either its rhythm or water itself can help you realize where and what to pare down.
Eight of Coins –The Eight of Coins is the card of mastery. You challenge is to use this energy to up your game at how you make money. Whether that is learning a new skill, honing an old skill, networking, refreshing your website/LinkedIn page, etc.., it is all business this week.
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