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Tarot and Art Forecast for Week of July 12, 2020

Arghavan Khosravi
Arghavan Khosravi

Arghavan Khosravi was raised in Tehran, Iran.  In her art, she weaves historical and pop culture motifs into her personal and political experiences.  Khosravi invites the viewer to traverse the threads that connect and possible bind culture to personal identity.  She has us pondering how, who and what has helped construct the answer to who am I.  Globally we are on seeing where aspects of institutions, historical constructs and political systems are dividing us, frightening us, and hindering our civilized evolution.

Our analysis can be painful in seeing where history and culture has bound our potential, but also productive in the fact that we can break and reweave our systems to become more humanitarian, united, and better humans individually.  Khosarvi’s art is vital in this process for seeing cultural influence but also her art has the viewer seeing aspects of themselves in another.  She gives us strands to weave a new global perspective where there is no other just us.

P.S. Signs with an * it a big week for you.  Cancer this is a perfect time to get an Astrological Tarot Reading for your coming year.  And Capricorn it is your halfway mark for your birth year, so if you need a Planetary Reading for a check in now is the time.

May light be on you, around you, and within you,

Nina

Aries
Arghavan Khosravi
Arghavan Khosravi

Eight of Coins – The last three weeks were high energy full of pondering, purpose, and cleansing.  This week the energy drops down and becomes more practical.  The time is ripe for doing things on the material plane.  Focus on one project and take it to completion.  The challenge is that you may have to fine tune your skills to complete the project, however that is easily within your reach.

Taurus
Arghavan Khosravi
Arghavan Khosravi

Six of Coins – Cause and effect are big aspects of this week.  For all the positive you do, positive will return to you three-fold.  This however is true for negative energy you send out.   The peculiarity of this energy is that the payback comes for seemingly illogical sources.  Your motto:  The road to success is never a straight-line.

Gemini
Arghavan Khosravi

Three of Swords – Interesting this is your 3rd week of threes, so a quick check in with that numerology again.  Threes are stability through expansion.  First you were advised to reach out to friends to fill your cups.  Then you were asked to visualize your future and faith became your stabilizing force.  Now you need to heal your heart to stabilize your mind.  Take time this week to honor your sorrow while not dwelling in suffering.

Cancer
Arghavan Khosravi
Arghavan Khosravi

Nine of Cups – This is your last birth card for the month, and it is a blessing.  The past two years the eclipses have been moving and shaking in your sign causing havoc and change.  The last energy for your birth month is contentment.  So, your challenges for the coming year: build new structures that allow you to do you more authentically, let go of controlling everything by letting the Universe work behind the scenes in obtaining your dreams, and in your plans allowing this new life to bring you contentment.

Leo
Arghavan Khosravi
Arghavan Khosravi

*Strength – Strength is your power, your nemesis, and what to ponder as you finish your last week before moving into your birth month.  There are paradoxes with your strength you need to be aware of.  Your strength comes from dealing with your weakness.  Your self-doubt comes from trying to control things that cannot be tamed.  Your insecurity is also the root of your compassion.  Once you allow these truths into your constructs of self – you will find and tap into your inner strength more easily.

Virgo
Arghavan Khosravi

Ten of Swords – This week is prickly but is also an ending of a perfidy.  You are caring a pain of betrayal and the energy surrounding you is here to help you cleanse it.  The challenge with this energy is not to allow the cycle to start again but rising above it.  Your motto:  When they go low, we go high.  Michelle Obama

Libra
Arghavan Khosravi
Arghavan Khosravi

*Death – Where last week’s energy was manifestation:  a time to build and expand your empire, this week’s energy is very organic and only partial in your control.  Continue to put energy in the things you want to move on the material plane, but be aware that somethings are out of your influence.  This does not mean that the project you are working on is rotten or erroneous, it is just you cannot control every aspect of it. Do what you can to move things along, but the Universe has the pace in which it will happen.  Your motto this week: Go with the flow.

Scorpio

Ten of Cups – Last week’s energy asked you is your life-path aligning with your integrity and your goals for the year 2021.  That challenge is still on, but this week’s vibe wants you to add an extra ingredient: bliss.  Somehow you have disconnected or become dysfunctional with pleasure.  Pleasure is defined as a feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment.   Your challenge is to adjust your plans, so they integrally aligned with you.  The test is you find yourself enjoying the process, satiated by the outcome, and finding your bliss in the mix.

Sagittarius
Arghavan Khosravi

Knight of Wands – The last couple of weeks your muse asked you to do the work by exploring your physical, mental, or spiritual plane, and enhancing attributes and circumstance that bring you that sense of Ah.  This week is more of the same, but it is not all on you.  Now your muse is leading you to be in the right place and right mind to do what needs to be done.  The challenge is believing that.  Your metaphorical motto:  Green means go, red means stop, and yellow play it mellow.

Capricorn
Arghavan Khosravi
Arghavan Khosravi

Six of Swords – You are moving to the next level this week.  It is a small but significant rite of passage.  The challenge is simplifying your thoughts to get through this allegorical eye of a needle.  Side note:  this card also signifies messages when around water.  Look for synchronicities when you come across the element or visage of water.

Aquarius
Arghavan Khosravi
Arghavan Khosravi

Eight of Swords – Last week, you were asked to look for the keys to enlightenment in the daily simple things – finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.  Though you had to pull away from society to do it.  This week that space is still needed but do not be entrapped by it.  Too much aloneness and/or to far into your thoughts untethers you from reality.  Your challenge is finding ways to get out of your thought and its patterns.

Pisces
Arghavan Khosravi

*Universe – This week’s energy is a paradox wrapped up in enigma.  This energy holds infinite growth with stagnation.  It achieves evolution with regression.  The challenge is not to try and figure it out or control it but ride the quantum wave.  If any sign can do it is you my fish-friend.

Tarot and Art Forecast for Week of July 5, 2020

Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger Questions

Barbara Kruger uses contemporary mass media and its strategies to create sexual, social, and political messages.  She challenges the viewer to examine stereotypes, classism, gender roles, social relationships, political issues, constructs of power, identity, consumerism, and sexuality.  Most of her work consists of black and white photographs overlaid with bold captions.  Kruger did the above piece 19 years ago in 1991. Her pieces are even more relevant now, even in the context of race, because she pulls her images from mass media where the lack of POC voice still challenges us as a society.

I normally let the pieces speak for themselves, but I would like to share why I particularly picked the above piece as my hero shot.  Yesterday there was a lot of hate rhetoric around the celebration of July 4th.  Though I agree with the anger behind it, I fear we might be losing the hope and sentiment that those 13 colonies fought for, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.   I have lived in a place where at the time woman where not allowed to drive or vote.  So, when I came back, I had a new respect for America’s quest as a nation.

So, are we still asking these questions Kruger poses? Yes!  But we are also in a system where we can and should always ask them. For this questioning helps us in aligning our government and our citizenship with equality and humanity. Just look at what is happening now to freedom of speech in Hong Kong or Russia.  Do not let our pride in our concept of America create contempt for our fellow compatriots, the nations within this nation, or the nations that we co-habituate with on Earth.  Keep asking these questions of identity, society, who is holding the power, and strive for the truths that are said below.  For in a true Democracy the power is with its people.

Below is the preamble to the Declaration of the Independence (with a few words tweaked- which is my unalienable right).  Re-read it, for it is still a very powerful statement for a creed on how to live and govern.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men Humanity, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind humans are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

P.S. Signs with an * it a big week for you.  Cancer this is a perfect time to get an Astrological Tarot Reading for your coming year.  And Capricorn it is your halfway mark for your birth year, so if you need a Planetary Reading for a check in now is the time.

May light be on you, around you, and within you,

Nina

 

Aries
Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger

*Death – Another high energy week for you.  The past couple of weeks’ focuses had you pondering your purpose and aligning your plans of action to that that purpose.  However, before you take your steps into this new landscape, the energy this week is wanting you to slough off the old.  Do a thorough cleansing of body, mind, and spirit of all that feels dusty and of no use.  This can look as easy as cleaning your house and/or doing a full body scrub.  Or this can be as challenging as letting go of old habits or mind sets that are no longer relevant or useful.

 

Taurus
Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger no

Nine of Wands – The energy this week is perseverance.  Make your boundaries strong and follow through on what work needs to get done.  This is a great week to complete projects and/or conversations.  The challenges with this energy are feeling overwhelmed, hyper-vigilant and/or defensive.   You can make a boundary without making it life or death.  You can be prepared but you can not control the outcome.

 

Gemini
Barbara Kruger Your seeing is your believing

Three of Wands – This is your second week of threes, so a quick check in with that numerology.  Threes are stability through expansion.  Last week you were advised to reach out to friends to fill your cups.  This week the focus is expanding your dreams and faith will be its stabilizing force.  Things will get better; the universe is working behind the scenes.  However, it is up to visualize what you want in the future.  This imagining helps the universe include you in the plans.

 

Cancer
Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger

Queen of Wands – This week the energy is giving you a bit of a birth month reminder.  You are here for the soul purpose of being you.  The energy summons your creativity, self-expression, self-acceptance, and compassion.  The challenge is asking: What edges do you want to explore?  This is a great week to set those intentions and inspirations for your coming birth year.

 

Leo
Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger

Four of Wands – This week’s energy is designed to connect with home and family.  Take this time to give a nod to those family groups that surround you.  Also is a great time to find moments where you can nestle into your den and curl up with your favorite form of entertainment and cup of fluid.  This is a nesting type of energy use it to acknowledge and hang with your pride.

 

Virgo
Barbara Kruger

Four of Cups – Use the energy that surrounds you well this week by pondering, meditating, and seeing the bigger picture/purpose/cycles.  The challenge is that this energy can also feel like quicksand if you do not tether yourself with hope.  If you can see your place in the bigger picture, that the arc of evolution is long and heads towards the positive, then you can use this pause to hone your talent of visualization and creativity while being in the moment of stillness.

 

Libra
Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger

*Emperor – The energy that surrounds you this week is manifestation.  This is a great time to build and expand your empire.  One challenge is that you need to lead, and therefore you making decisions solo.  Thus, making your go-tos of compromise and negotiation nearly impossible.   And the other challenge, though for you all might be joy, is your creation must be for the greater good of those around you.  Go get things done.

 

Scorpio

Barbara Kruger

*Justice – This week’s energy has you utilizing the concepts of cause and effect and/or big karmic.  Take this week to ponder and plan is your life-path aligning with your integrity and your goals.  However, this week is not time for big action.  But it is perfect for imagining your choices, what path they will lead you to in 2021, and taking small steps in the now to get closer to your soul path.  Side note: For any of you about to do legal stuff or contracts get it ready this week make sure all is in order and works to your goals, so you can jump once Mercury is out of retro on July 12th.

 

Sagittarius

Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger

*Temperance – Another big energy week for you.  Last week your muse asked you to explore the physical, mental, or spiritual plane.  This week the energy turns to harmony, balance, and patience.  If you can accomplish this Zen like composure you will attract/see meaningful events and people.  Enhance attributes and circumstance that bring you that sense of Ah.

 

Capricorn

Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger

Five of Cups – The energy this week can come at you a bit hard and you might just be a bit sensitive to it.  The key to this week is to let your emotions out like the rain but look for the silver lining in every cloud. This is not being Polly-anna but a nod to the emotions you are feeling without them sweeping you away.

 

Aquarius

Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger

*Hermit – Deep thoughts are useful this week.  Now is the time to process and learn from your experiences since your last birthday.  You might have to pull away from the masses to do this kind of work.  The keys to enlightenment are in the simple things you do daily.  Find the extraordinary in the ordinary.  Listen not only to your inner muses but also wise words can come from people passing by.  Ears and heart open; mind sharp.

 

Pisces

Barbara Kruger

Ten of Wands – This week take advantage of the energy of ending cycles.  For those items that are no longer of use, let them go.  For those items that are too burdensome, delegate them.  Simplify so you can focus on what is a priority and move that to completion.

 

 

 

Tarot and Art Forecast for Week of June 28, 2020

Ingrid Pollard Pastoral Interlude
Ingrid Pollard Pastoral Interlude

Ingrid Pollard’s work is a case of visual intimacy meeting a panoramic mind.  She is a photographer, media artist and researcher.  Pollard’s art has the viewer often focuses on a vignette that holds the reverberations of history and the physical/social landscape that history inhabits.  You can look at the landscape as a working environment that’s very managed and not natural at all. The very romantic, nostalgic view expresses more about society’s understanding of what’s important, what to preserve. It’s also [connected to] relationships to other landscapes across the sea and how that’s changed in the last 500 years. You’ve got to look at landscape in the wider sense. (from an interview in Frieze, April 4, 2019.)

In these times this view of the wider context is vital if we want to change our intimate exchanges. For systemic change we need to see our history, how we got here, and like Ingrid points out in her work why we kept what we did and do.   It will be awkward, but it is essential in seeing the present we must look at bigger picture both longitudinal in the society and culture and latitudinal in time and space.

P.S. Signs with an * it a big week for you.  Cancer this is a perfect time to get an Astrological Tarot Reading for your coming year.  And Capricorn it is your halfway mark for your birth year, so if you need a Planetary Reading for a check in now is the time.

 

May light be on you, around you, and within you,

Nina

 

Aries
Ingrid Pollard
Ingrid Pollard A heavy nonpresence

*Justice – Another high energy week for you.  Last week was about evolution and awakening to your divine nature.  Asking the question am I fulfilling my purpose or calling?  Hopefully, you have answered that question for this week you are called to align your purpose, integrity and plan your next steps.  In essence, wake you that you hold the responsibility for your actions.

 

Taurus
Ingrid Pollard Self Evident series

Seven of Swords – Last week, the energy around you was dripping with creation.  And reminding you that with the power of love anything can flourish.  The energy has shifted what once was abundant is now slightly off.  Pieces of the puzzle feel as if they are missing.  Do not look for trickery but be aware that the future is shifting.  If you keep to your integrity and calm your emotions, this wobble will pass.  You will re-find your path, by creating and moving with small steps.

 

Gemini
Ingrid Pollard Seaside series

Three of Cups – Take this week to hang with friends.  You are needing imbibement in some truth, honesty, and vulnerability that only your soul group can give you.  Time to empty and refill your emotional cups and maybe some real cups too.

 

Cancer
Ingrid Pollard Landscape Trauma

Three of Wands –The energy of crumbling systems is still resonating this week. As you build new structures, boundaries, and schedules to access this next part of your journey, realize things are also working behind the scenes.  All the pieces can not be seen or dealt with this week.  This is a time to ponder and dream while the future continues in its reconstruction.

 

Leo
Ingrid Pollard
Photograph by Ingrid Pollard from the series ‘Self Evident’

Two of Swords – Indecision and a feeling of being lost surrounds you this week.   The key to working with this exercise in free choice is to hone your intuition skills.  If you pause, you will feel the strings pulling you to a direction.  The challenge is realizing this journey is more about the trip then the destination.

 

Virgo
Ingrid Pollard Hidden Histories, Heritage Stories

Two of Wands – Now is the time to step out of your past and into your potential.  This week’s energy is encouraging you to take a few steps into the future you have been planning and dreaming of.  The challenge is actively being present in taking that first step.

 

Libra
Ingrid Pollard Landscape Trauma

King of Coins – Creating prosperity is a skill this energy is wanting you to practice this week.  It is a great time to ie: rework your budget, find ways to increase your credit score, access the wealth you need to live the life you want…  Getting a firm foundation around your finances, allows you to start accumulating the material abundance that you require for a comfortable future.

 

Scorpio
Ingrid Pollard
Ingrid Pollard Pastoral Interlude

Nine of Swords – Worry and fear add to the stressful energy this week.  This can make you vulnerable and might end up with you not getting a good night’s sleep.  The skills you need to work on this week are putting your worries to bed before you.  A good exercise is writing them all down on paper about an hour before bed and then tuck all but two in.  Then ask your subconscious to work on the chosen pair while you sleep.  You will be amazed when you wake up your mind often sorts it out while you get a solid night’s sleep.

 

Sagittarius
Ingrid Pollard Hidden Histories, Heritage Stories

*Fool – Your muse this week is the explorer on the physical, mental, or spiritual plane.  Time to get in your car or bike and feel the wind whistle past your ears.  You need to feel movement and newness.  And when you do partake in them your wanderlust and/or stagnation will subside.  Take advantage of head in the cloud’s kind of days, for inspiration awaits upon your arrival.

 

Capricorn
Ingrid Pollard
Ingrid Pollard Self Evident

Ace of Cups – The energy this week wants you to find new ways to connect to your emotions.  Your emotional depth is found in acts of creation.  This energy asks what would your heart want you to start on this week?  What can you create that will have your heart figuratively skipping a beat?

 

Aquarius
Ingrid Pollard

Eight of Cups – Simplification and cutting off what is not useful is needed this week.  What is not working for you anymore?  What steps need to happen for you to heal?  After you have dumped the spoiled contents of these cups what will you fill them with?  For some of you, you will need to walk away and for others you will need to stand your ground for your emotional well-being.  Either way this is a week where the new paradigm is waiting to happen you just need to walk to it unhindered.

 

Pisces
Ingrid Pollard
Ingrid Pollard Contenders

Nine of Wands – You are almost at the end of a cycle.  Take this week to tie up loose ends, follow through and meet your goals.  Use this week’s energy to maintain your boundaries so you can check things off your list.  The challenge is to not give up; you have the energy and are prepared for this push.

 

 

 

Tarot and Art Forecast for Week of June 21, 2020

large_Portrait-Self_Portrait_of David Wojnarowicz

David Wojnarowicz came up in the New York art scene in the late 70’s doing graffiti of burning houses and falling people.  Throughout the 80’s he began crisscrossing the genres of performance art, film, music, photography, and painting.  He did not adhere to any one technique but keep experimenting throughout his life.  Queer and later diagnosed HIV-positive he became an advocate for people with AIDS when thousands were dying due to the government’s inaction.  Even with the positive Supreme Court decision, LGBTQ+ folks are still fighting today.

Art and activism can be exceptional companions.  What made his art so active was in each piece you can see into his spirit.  He laid it out, vulnerable, quivering and sometimes with anger, in each format he chose.  And because of that it is jarring possible hard to look at but necessary to understand the pain, the questioning, and the joy.  In David’s words: “To make the private into something public is an action that has terrific ramifications.”

This eclipse season, rumbling until two weeks after the July 5th’s Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn, is our midway point in 2020, and with this week’s five planets in retrograde, it is a great time to take pause.  Reflect on your past, see what is no longer important.  (Take a gander back at my 2019 in review see how 2019 set us up for this year.)  Review now what is.  And reassess how you will continue you forward.  Life has been rough for many of you.  Take care of yourself, be active, make change where and how you can.  And know you are loved.

P.S. Signs with an * it a big week for you.  Cancer this is a perfect time to get an Astrological Tarot Reading for your coming year.  And Capricorn it is your halfway mark for your birth year, so if you need a Planetary Reading for a check in now is the time.

 

May light be on you, around you, and within you,

Nina

 

Aries

*Judgement – This week’s energy is about evolution and awakening to your divine nature.  Time to allow self-compassion and forgiveness to leave the past in the past. The question to ponder this week is am I fulfilling my purpose or calling?  If not, this is the time to start creating the parameters to allow your evolution.  If you are, take it to the next level.

 

Taurus

David Wojnarowicz*Empress – The energy around you is dripping with creation.  With the power of love anything can flourish: plants, children, creativity… You have the seeds in your hands.  What will you plant?  What will you nurture and grow?  Your only challenge is not to control all the expansion.  Just be in tune with your big bang heart and give to the energy of creation.

 

Gemini

4 of Coins – Savings is in the air around you.  What do you need to feel financial safe?  What on the material plane do you need, to feel you have your own back?  A new car?  6 months savings?  Now is the time to make sure you know what you require and start to save for it.  Your challenge is to remember though it is always nice to have and build more they are not the only essentials for joy.

 

Cancer

David Wojnarowicz*Hierophant – The outdated systems are crumbling around you.  Hollow out by a loss of integrity or alignment to who you are now. What will be the systems you put into their cavities? What new structures need to be built to access this next part of your journey?  New structures, boundaries and schedules need to be created.

 

Leo

David Wojnarowicz5 of Cups – Emotions like grief, sadness and hurt are lingering around you, and this energy wants you to feel into the feelings.  Dive deep with empathy and process them, and when you get to the bottom you will find a reservoir of love, laughter, and hopefulness.  Your challenge is processing is a process.

 

Virgo

Queen of Wands – This week’s energy invites you to engage with inspiration.   Follow your internal compass, exploring places in nature or things that create awe.  A Muse is waiting there to entice, support and sprout originality and creativity.  The challenge is pushing your boundaries around concepts of self-acceptance, courage, and leadership.  Color outside the lines.

 

Libra

Knight of Coins – The energy around you is about diligence and work.  The challenge is relaxing into the tasks you love and find meaning in the tasks you do not.  This is not a week to future trip or think of goals but to keep a steady pace forward.

 

Scorpio

Ace of Coins – The energy this week is expansion and growth on your material plane.  Look in your environment for seeds to plant and what roots to grow.  This is a time for new opportunities.

 

Sagittarius

David Wojnarowicz7 of Coins – This week’s energy could slow time for you.  This plateau of pause if perfect for the 3 R’s:  reflect, review, and reassess especially around work, projects, your physical environment, and anything on the material plane.   Your harvest is around the corner take this time to prepare and tweak what is not just right.

 

 

Capricorn

Four of Cups – The energy this week has a tendency to be self-indulgent by being self-deflecting.  The challenge is seeing your own self-worth.  You are here for a reason yes, but literally part of that reason is you being you.   Reflect on your unique qualities that you bring to the table and focus on strengthening them.

 

Aquarius

5 of Coins – The energies around you are working with you and your relationship to money and prestige.  Who you are has little to do with what you own or your work that makes you money. You know that, but you are losing your concept of self-worth with only what you do on the material plane.   Take this week to reflect on what people love you for.

 

Pisces

David Wojnarowicz6 of Wands – Last couple of weeks had you seeing the depth of your energy-well and how to manifest on the material, mental and people planes.  This week the energy level dials back just a little.  You are in the spotlight of success this week.  Can you see it?  Can you see how far you have come to creating the future you wanted?  Take this week to sit in that dusting of confetti celebration.  Be proud of all that you have done and take this week to prepare for the battles and victories yet to come.

 

 

 

Tarot and Art Forecast for Week of May 31, 2020

Selma Burke
Selma Burke Booker T. Washington

The artist this week is Selma Burke.  Her pieces express an overall emotionality and truthfulness created from her interesting nuanced choices.  Selma’s subject with a furrowed brow conveying the rawness of intention, or the curiosity of raised eyebrows, or the tilt of a child’s head expressing innocence.  With her more experimental pieces like The Torso her choice of figure and tilt articulating a more realistic view of a women’s form, or the tenderness of a mother holding a child.  This is a lesson in the subtleness of choice conveying powerful emotional content.  Each of us effect change in our lives and maybe the more subtle, more nuanced may just have a more lasting a broader effect then we think.

She started her education by becoming a nurse in Raleigh, N.C. and moved to NYC after graduation.  There she became associated with the Harlem Renaissance and began teaching art appreciation and education to New York youth.  Then during the 1930’s she traveled across Europe honing her own artist skills.  By 1940 she opened the Selma Burke School of Sculpture in NYC while graduating from Columbia with her own arts degree.

In 1942 she joined the Navy become one of the first African American women to enroll and worked in the shipyard during the war.  During that time, she won a competition to do a bronze relief of FDR.  Historically this is her most famous and controversial piece.  Many say her piece was the inspiration for the dime; however, it is detested by the artist who designed it.  She returned to roots and from 1968 to 1981 she founded and ran the Selma Burke Art Center in Pittsburgh, continuing to provide art to the youth of the undeserved communities there.

P.S. Signs with an * it a big week for you.  Gemini this is a perfect time to get an Astrological Tarot Reading for your coming year.  And Sagittarius it is your halfway mark for your birth year, so if you need a Planetary Reading for a check in now is the time.

May light be on you, around you, and within you,

Nina

 

Aries

Selma BurkeQueen of Wands – This week the energy can invigorate anything you put your focus to.  It also supplies you with the courage and fierceness to take charge of all that you survey.  The challenge is doing it alone.  It is not necessary, but you can if you must.

 

Taurus

PhotoCredit: John Wilson White

*World – The world is your oyster this week.  But it is up to you prying it open to reveal its’ pearls.  This is big energy for moving outcomes into triumphant directions.  The challenge with this card for you Taurus is that you do have the work ethic and commitment to move things to completion.  But are you flexible enough to know when to let it go if it isn’t working or allowing it to evolve into an unknown ending?  To utilize this energy, go for the feeling of a job well done without attaching it to a material completion.

 

Gemini

PhotoCredit: John Wilson White

Two of Swords – Confusion flies through the lines of communication and thought.  This causes stalemates and indecision not only for you but for those around you.  The best way to work with this energy is either flipping a coin or waiting until next week to decide if you can.

 

Cancer

Selma BurkeEight of Swords – Self acceptance is key this week.  You might be feeling entrapped, but this time is meant for healing.  Sometimes the inertia of life has nothing to do with you as long as you don’t take it on as your story.  Let go of the collective thought patterns.  They are not part of your narrative.

 

Leo

Selma BurkeQueen of Cups – Last week your brain was taxed.  The energy takes a 180 degree turn to your heart this week.  Compassion, calm and comfort are the keys to ease.  Find time daily to invite in the 3 Cs.  This is no time for martyrdom – take time off and have some fun.

 

Virgo

Ten of Wands – Another week spending energy in completing old projects and cleaning your desk/mind/spirit.  The challenge is being responsible for your obligations to those close to you but also to yourself.  This week is setting you up for new beginnings once your plate is cleared from the old.

 

Libra

Four of Swords – This energy shows up when you need to recuperate and relax.  You are being drained and are not aware of the source or how much it is taking out of you.  The best way of finding the leaks is by walking away from all your responsibilities for a small amount of time.  Then once you return the seepage will be more obvious and easier to fix.

 

Scorpio

Selma Burke*Temperance – The energy that surrounds you this week is excessive.  This overload unbalances you, so emotional outburst may be necessary to vent and re-calibrate.  However, be careful, impatience can trigger more negative and unworthy outpourings.  The key is purposely vent before the pressure makes you burst.

 

Sagittarius

*Sun – The sun will come out tomorrow and shine on you all week.  So that is great if you are ready to play in the sunlight.  However, there is a distinct possibility you may also want to hide in the shadows of pessimism.  The challenge is that more you try to be happy the less you accomplish it.  In other words, you are thinking to much.  Sag your free spirit is needing airing, a drive in the car with windows down, a picnic in the woods, or anything outdoorsy without any goal setting is required.  Try spotlighting your focus on things you want to do – not things you have to do.

 

Capricorn

*Justice – Last week organic change was asking you to not resist or fear transformation.  Letting things end so others can begin.  You are hopefully now moving with a more natural pace and to a more comfortable place.   Luckily, you get another week to work on this shift by focusing on cause and effect.  For each decision you are making imagine the possible or impossible outcomes.  Why focus on the impossible?  Because your mind wants to think of the what ifs and this is the week to let it.  Those out-there worst-case scenarios need airing.  Not to bring them in to being but to see the truth of their outlandishness.

 

Aquarius

Selma Burke*Chariot – Wow four weeks in a row with big energy.  It started with summoning you to take a bit of control over your destiny by showing up.  Then Temperance energy suggested creating your life like a refined meal that has many notes to balance in the creation of a delectable dining experience.  Then Justice had you looking for the grey areas to find a true sense of fairness and harmony.  Now self-determining change has arrived.  This energy is giving you control.  The good side is that you have more sway then you think.  The bad side is it is all in your hands.  This week if you want movement to happen you will need to take the reins.  If you look at all of May/June’s forecast now is the time to be flexible and delicate when applying energy but continue moving forward.

 

Pisces

Selma BurkeTwo of Wands – Discovery is the name of the game this week.  The challenge is that you are still in a place that is neither the past nor the future; however, you are not inert.  You are just taking a moment finding needed items and planning for the move forward.  The only challenge is while you are doing this be mindful of the precious moments this pause has given you.

 

 

 

Tarot and Art Forecast for Week of May 17, 2020

Beth Cavener

This week’s art is the incredible sculptures of Beth Cavener.  The exquisite lines of these sculptures are like Japanese calligraphy strokes in clay. The sculpting style feels loose in appearance but tight in emotion. In her own words: Primitive animal instincts lurk in our own depths, waiting for the chance to slide past a conscious moment. The sculptures I create focus on human psychology, stripped of context and rationalization, and articulated through animal and human forms. On the surface, these figures are simply feral and domestic individuals suspended in a moment of tension. Beneath the surface, they embody the consequences of human fear, apathy, aggression, and misunderstanding.

Many people are seeing their and others’ worse sides right now.  Wanting to be free but fearful and aggressive in obtaining that freedom.  We must try to calm our primal emotions of flight, fight, or freeze, and enhance our innate capacity for empathy and compassion.  But to do that, we must face our underlying fears.  We must stare at them even though uncomfortable, possible wrestle with them, but ultimately, if we are truthful with where they are rooted, they will not overcome us.  And for others’ feelings, empathy is necessary, for they are as scared of something as you are.

Please check out her website especially check out her process. It is amazing!

P.S. Signs with an * it a big week for you.  Taurus this is a perfect time to get an Astrological Tarot Reading for your coming year.  And Scorpio it is your halfway mark for your birth year, so if you need a Planetary Reading for a check in now is the time.

May light be on you, around you, and within you,

Nina

 

Aries

Eight of Coins– This week is all about work.  You got skills and you need to use them. So, now is the time to get things done.  The challenge is being humble enough to know you always have something more to learn

 

Taurus

Two of Cups – It is all about partnerships this week.  This time holds possibilities of unity and connection, but if emotions are not attended to, it can also hold tension and disharmony.  Be aware it takes two to tango or waltz. One can lead but the other must agree to follow.

 

Gemini

beth cavener Ten of Cups – This week’s energy is around family bliss.  Spend these coming days cultivating harmony and happiness.  Find ways to enjoy the company of others, whether that is with a web wine meet up or a virtual game of cards.  Companionship is key this week.

 

Cancer

Beth Cavener*Star – Last week’s energy is about bring the divine down into practical applications.  Using your resourcefulness and skills to create action.  Now the card of healing joins the mix.  For last week’s energy was a mix bag of actions.  This week you can step back and see why your creative fires did not light or burn as brightly as you intended.  Do not be discouraged.  This is part of the process of action you need to learn before your new birth year starts.  Understanding and mending is needed as much as action to create a healthier future.

 

Leo

beth cavener Eight of Swords – Ok week two of moody thoughts and feelings surrounding you.  The key to this week’s feeling of being trapped is again around self-acceptance.  You are allowed to have feelings, but overthinking those feelings is where the trap gets triggered.  Take this time to discern and disengage from the entwinement of your heart and your mind.

 

Virgo

*Empress – Creativity is calling to you.  But something is holding you back.  This week find out how to mother and not smother that creativity.  It is natural for you to nurture others but when it comes to yourself you stop.  Why?   Let loose of the structure and cultivate organic expression.

 

Libra

Ace of Wands – Last week’s energy was about creating new beginnings if you are not reckless or naïve in its undertaking.  The energy continues this week.  However, so does the energy of distraction.  Why are you hesitating on moving to the next level, beginning a new project, or just being creative without any goals?  Again, the key and conundrum is around planning.  You do have to plan the whole project.  This energy is about taking one step at a time and enjoying the process hopefully as much as or more than the result.

 

Scorpio

Knight of Swords – You are unstoppable this week, and that has two potential outcomes.  Either you can impulsively rush in without thinking and either bruise yourself or another.  Or you can swoop in with heroic and selfless actions and save the day.   The key is thinking before you act.

 

Sagittarius

beth cavener Four of Coins – Conservation is the energy you will need to work with this week.  Your resources are limited, so use them wisely.  This isn’t about being miserly but being frugal.  Frugal in the sense of simplifying and focusing your energy, within the context of what you feed grows.

 

Capricorn

Ace of Swords – The energy this week is about breakthroughs.  There is clarity in the air which brings new ideas and thoughts into your mix.  The challenge is deciding either surfing the chaos like a Zen wave rider or diving into the depths letting the waves roll above the contemplative stillness you have found.  The choice is yours.

 

Aquarius

beth cavener *Temperance – Last week, it was time to take a bit of control over your destiny by just showing up.  The high energy continues this week but with less of a roller coaster feel.  This energy asks you what is your purpose?  The keys to finding these answers is patience and balance.  Your life is complex, so balancing out different aspects and aspirations is important to moving forward in the year to come.  Think of your life like a refined meal that has many notes to balance its tastes into a delectable dining experience.

 

Pisces

Beth CavenerTwo of Swords – Decision making time.  There is a stalemate that is about to happen but just being decisive about what you want and how you want to feel will avoid later confusion.   Do not avoid what you know needs to be done.

 

 

 

Tarot and Art Forecast for Week of May 10, 2020

Today is Mother’s Day. By taking the gender out of the day, this is about recognizing the nurturers in our lives.  Nurturing is the process of caring for and encouraging the growth or development of someone or something.  They can be your mother, a nurse, a partner, teacher, Mother Earth, a friend, a gardener, or your child… to name a few.   

This week’s artist is Uemura Shoen (Uemura Tsune).  She is considered a major innovator in the bijin-ga style.  Shoen grew up in a time when women were admired for painting but only behind closed doors.  Her mother, a widow, nurtured Shoen’s desire to become a painter by defying cultural norms. She let her paint in the corner of her tea shop, were Uemura soon became recognized for her painting skills. At age 12, Shoen’s mother sent her to study under Suzuki Shonen a famous Chinese landscape artist. By 15, Uemura became famous for the purchasing of her painting The Beauty of Four Seasons by the son of Queen Victoria.

Shoen was drawn to the bijin-ga style of painting. Bijin-ga, beautiful woman pictures, were produced from the 17th century to the 19th century and were exceedingly popular with the middle class. They traditionally depicted courtesans or “women” Noh performer (all the woman roles were played by men).  However, Shoen chose celebrating ordinary woman and often portraying them doing domestic chores or dressing up in their finery.  This elevated the women cultural, from lower-class citizens to beautiful and unique. Shoen paid forward the nurturing of her mother to all women.   

Thank you, nurturers for giving us space to grow!

P.S. Signs with an * it a big week for you.  Taurus this is a perfect time to get an Astrological Tarot Reading for your coming year.  And Scorpio it is your halfway mark for your birth year, so if you need a Planetary Reading for a check in now is the time.   

May light be on you, around you, and within you,

Nina

Aries
Dattatraya Thombare
Dattatraya Thombare

Four of Cups – This is your second four, so let us dive just a bit into fours.  Four is the number of stability.  Last week you needed to relax to increase your stability.  This week is you need to withdraw.  A retreat is needed.  A time for reworking what is necessary to maintain your strength in the coming months.  With that idea in hand you will feel less apathetic and more apt to action.

Taurus
Sonya Boyce

Five of Coins – Some weeks are harder than others, so do not be shock if this week comes at you relentlessly.  The best way to work with this energy is to ask for help.  Assistance is there though you will need to exchange coinage in some form.  This can be as easy as baking cookies for your helper or picking up milk for them when you run to the store. 

Gemini
Diego Rivera

Two of Swords – This week’s energy is full of crossroads decisions, which you cannot avoid.  If you come to an impasse, remember make the decision based on how you would feel once you have started on this path.  Or another way to see this, the decision is more about the journey than the destination.   

Cancer
Mother

*Magician – This week’s energy is about bring the divine down into practical applications.  Use your resourcefulness and skills to create action.  Now is a great time to conjure up next steps.  The challenge is that the product needs to not only benefit you but has components that benefit others. 

Leo
Nguyen-Thanh-Binh

King of Cups – Careful this is a moody week for you.  The energy around you can set you off easily and you may come across as uncaring.  So, the challenge is finding balance by being compassionate with yourself.  This is not time apologizing for your behavior, but it is a perfect time being vulnerable and tell people how you are feeling.  And if they can’t take f@$% them.  Figuratively or literally. 

Virgo
Midnight mother
Kitagawa Utamaro

Two of Coins – It is a balancing act this week.    It is essential that you figure out your priorities and then cut that list in half.  The key to this week’s energy is flexibility and avoiding overwhelming yourself.  This is not a week to multitask or jump from one project to the next. 

Libra
Beatien Yazz_mother_daughter_one
Beatien Yazz

*Fool – This week has the energy creating new beginnings if you are not reckless or naïve in its undertaking.  If you feel you do not have all that you need to begin a project, now is not the time to rely on seat of the pants logic or free-spirited spontaneity.  This week needs planning and preparation before embarking on a new project or direction.     

Scorpio
mother-and-child
Helene Schjerfbeck

Page of Cups – The energy this week is full of possibilities if you can only be vulnerable and follow your heart.  Pull out your rose-colored glass and look for the good.  The more positive and open hearted you are the easier solutions will be found.  Open heart – Open mind. 

Sagittarius
Ravsaheb Gurav

Nine of Swords – Last week you were dealing with the card of change and awakenings.  It wanted you to find your fissures, fix what is fixable, and if too broken then it is time for a significant change.  Luckily, you have another week to work on this.  The energy this week of letting go helps you cope with the strains and fractures of your structures. Worry only about the things you have control to change. 

Capricorn
Silva Manansala

Six of Coins – The energy this week is about investing and receiving.  Share and you receive in return, but be warned that goes for good and bad energy.  The challenge with this exchange is that it takes a serpentine and circuitous route coming back.  So, receiving the gold or the coal can be from surprise sources.

Aquarius
B. K. Lusk

*Wheel of Fortune – It is time to take a bit of control over your destiny by just showing up.  Yes karma, fate and luck all come into play this week and nothing is a guarantee.  But just indicating your wants will give you that bit of control you need and even the odds more in your favor.

Pisces
Shijun Munns

Page of Swords – A piece to the puzzle is hidden that you will need to solve a conundrum(s). Using your charm will get you the needed information.  Be aware this hiding is not to undermine you. It is done out of ignorance.  Also be warned, your intuition is likely to miss some of the facts.  This week intellect is your ally.