Happy Birthday month Scorpio!

The spooky artist this week is Katsushika Hokusai.  His most famous work is The Great Wave which he made in his seventies.  However, this week the focus is on the series Hyaku Monogatari (One hundred Ghost Stories) also created around that time.  He only took five of his sketches to completion, but they all represent aspects of the supernatural stories of Japanese culture and a popular Edo period game called Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai (A Gathering of One Hundred Supernatural Tales). This game is believed to have started among the samurai to prove courage but quickly spread to all the classes.

Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai was played of course after sunset. The participants would sit in a circle and light 100 candles. Each of the guests would take turns telling supernatural tales of macabre encounters.  These tales became known as kaidan. Upon the end of each kaidan, the storyteller would extinguish one light.  (Another version would have the guests in one room and 100 lanterns in another with a mirror you would look into after you blew out the one of the lanterns).  If the participants reached the one hundredth tale it was said it would create a haven for the evocation of those spirits.  Now that is some spooky storytelling.

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

Aries

Ten of Swords – The past two weeks the Sun card lent its energy to make you and what you focus on grow.  Then the Magician took the Wand supporting you on manifestation skills.  This week the energies switches from helping to hindering.  The Ten of Swords comes advising to listen to your intuition.  You know, when you get a chill in the back of your neck, your arm hairs rise, or you feel like someone has walked over your grave.  This card says pay close attention to that.  The outside world is not helpful this week.  So, if something is telling you not to go down that street or someone is trying to pick a fight with you.  Walk away. This is one-week avoidance is advisable.

Taurus

King of Cups – The King of Cups counsels you this week to see your emotions, even the ones that make you feel lonely or angry, as friends coming to help you emote who you are. Our emotions are facets of the human experience.  Do not shy from them for they have great worth.  Your motto the poem by Rumi The Guest House .

Gemini

King of Coins – The King of Coins lends his energy to any plan on the material plane.  This is a good week to start projects or finish off major items on your to do list.  The challenge is this energy can be sluggish to start, but once the fire has been lit it blazes.

Cancer

King of Swords – Last week you got a lot of information.  This week the King of Swords advises that your time is best spent on filtering that information and doing some long-term planning.  A good exercise is setting some goals for 1 month, 1 year and 5 years from now.

Leo

*Wheel – Well you are back on the karmic roller coaster this week, so I hope you had some fun last week.  It is not like you can’t continue the good times, but fate and karma have anteed into the game.  The Wheel of Fortune card comes when taking chances lead to lessons and profitability in the long game.  The challenge with this card is the more you step up and spin the more chances you have to win.  This can look like asking out that person you have been afraid to or sending out resumes to your dream jobs.  You have everything to gain and really, nothing to lose.

Virgo

*Justice – Last week the Moon had you taking a deep dive in to your subconscious finding pearls of wisdom. It was about things hidden in the dark.  This week, Justice continues the theme of things behind the scenes with ideas, communications and decisions.  The challenge is nothing is as red or green as you may prefer.  Look for the reasons behind the facts to help you with decision making.  Truth prevails but you will have to search for it.

Libra

Six of Swords – This is a great week to take a little trip. Whether that is physical – taking a walk on the beach or mental – turning off all electronics of 24 hours.  Taking a tiny respite from your daily life will gain some needed perspective and simplify matters.

Scorpio

Four of Coins – This week it will be hard managing time, space and money.  The Four of Coins advises the best way to work with this energy is to spend money, space or time, only on things that will last “a life time.”  This week is about quality not quantity.

Sagittarius

*Lovers – Another big energy week with the Lovers card.  Last week the High Priestess had you looking to synchronicities for guidance, texts for knowledge, and your soul for cyclic behavior.  By doing this you become more sync with your divine purpose and the Universe’s helping hands.  The Lovers continues the theme of cooperation with the Universe and with other living beings.  This week collaboration and teamwork are key to gaining momentum.  The challenge with this card is flitting from flower to flower.  This card is about quality not quantity.  This can look as simple as honing down the people you follow on Instagram so you actually have time to engage with the people that inspire you.

Capricorn

Five of Coins – The Five of Coins foretell that physical items can be easily lost this week.  The best way to deal with this energy is doing things like:  pay your bills so you won’t pay sur charges, check each time you use your debit card that you put it back in your wallet, change your passwords that haven’t changed in over five years,  put your keys/glasses in the same place, etc.…    Motto: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure- Benjamin Franklin

Aquarius

*Strength – The Strength card advises that this week your true strength comes from taming your inner demons.  You have been through a lot in your life.  And the amazing thing is you are still here.  One of your strengths is your resilience.  This week contemplate on your superpowers.  Name at least three.  The challenge is with every superpower there is a corresponding kryptonite. You will need to name that too.  By identifying both your strengths and weaknesses, this week will go more smoothly and be easier to plan for what is coming.

Pisces

Two of Swords – Decision making time this week.  When the Two of Swords shows up it means that you are being indecisive, and you just need to pick a path. This week is less about right or left and more about moving.  Motto: It’s about the journey not the destination.

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

Nina