the week of June 30th, 2025
Honor yourself... hear the message of your rage, cultivate self-trust, re-fence boundaries, and demolish the status quo of underestimating yourself, and others.
(Long John Silver vibes.) *whispered*
Not of fast fried fish and hushpuppies fame, but rather the character of Stevenson’s Treasure Island. When we are in our peace, steady in our emotions, we can best weather the stormy seas around us. Just because we may often be underestimated by others, does not mean we must follow suit and underestimate ourselves.
How often has someone been overlooked due to the perception of their appearance or affect? An aging face does not equate senility, but rather history and an opportunity to learn from the tradition of oral storytelling. A body differently abled does not equate weakness or helplessness; a sweet demeanor does not negate strength or ferocity. How often do we discount ourselves? If the antagonists didn’t teach us something, we wouldn’t write them into our stories. And can you face the antagonist within? As it is said, we are our own worst enemy.
Review. Give yourself a little time looking back at how far you have come already, how much you have accomplished. Don’t just count your blessings, or weigh them against your perceived losses. But review your blessings, remember the memories made. And if given the opportunity, pass along your stories, your wisdoms earned, to young ears eager to listen. Show them how to mend the net. Tell them the tales of your scars. Teach them how to judge the weight, and thus the reward, of the barrel just by seeing how full it is. (I really flowed with the fisher metaphor there, but you have lessons learned you can impart onto others. We do not share our tales to maintain the status quo or instruct the ‘right’ way to do a thing, but rather to expand the horizon of what’s possible in navigating that thing. Showing, sharing the course you plotted allows others to better think outside the box.)
When a day seems to be trying to give us nothing but sorrows, this is when a trip down memory lane has benefit. Not to despair at the lost past or wish it back, but to remind ourselves of how we spun thread into gold at times when we thought everything was going wrong. Even garbage can make compost; even a pile of manure can fertilize the harvest to come.
Late last night, Mercury entered the pre-shadow phase, marking for us what will be reviewed during the Retrograde period, July 17th through August 11th, and again during the post-shadow phase, before again moving forward into new territory. Mercury governs all things communications, messaging, electronics, travels, contracts, and notably, often inspires impulse purchases, and thus buyer’s remorse. Areas of friction avoided at this time will become the theme until you address them. If you can’t avoid starting new endeavors during this time, then be sure to…
…carefully read all contracts before signing, double check return policies before purchasing, back up files, proofread that text, confidently resolve the conflicts that face you, and aim to flow with laughter through the frustration of potential misunderstandings and trip delays (especially leave extra time for traffic and re-weighing your luggage).
How much of your power are you giving away in a state of indecision with a simple request for another’s opinion? That indecision and external validation was taught to you, likely by someone who had it taught to them. You know the choice that feels right to you (and I don’t mean dawdling until one of the options is removed, making the choice for you by default). One, the other, both, neither, not right now? What feels good and vibrates true within you in the moment? Or is it not about the choice at all, but seeking the external to soothe something we unconsciously feel missing inside of ourselves?
Self betrayal is taught, but can be healed and recoded with consistency to self. What is it you seek from others, and how can you bestow that gift upon yourself? (This is not an endorsement for toxic independence, but a loving universal reminder that anything we seek externally will never fill a void we don’t nourish ourselves first; we must mend the holes in our bucket if we aim to keep our cups full.) We already have the access to the answers we seek within us… what we lack, and yet can gain, is trust in ourselves.
Do something creative! There is no wrong answer to art. You don’t even have to think of <it> as art, if that’s a successful work around for you doing the thing. Think rage painting, think plate breaking or guitar smashing, even taking a baseball bat to a 1983 Honda Civic (I am not advocating property damage without consent; most major cities have rage rooms and axe throwing venues, etc.. the point is to be creative and let your emotions move through you in a reframed and healthy manner). Give your inner teenager a day. Because that rebellious, mouthy, anger little sh!t is actually your protector! When they feel spitting angry, it’s because your boundaries were crossed, either by someone(s) else, or even by yourself. That anger is fierce, and protective, and educational. Listennnn. Just offer an ear. Sometimes they/we just want to feel heard, even if we can’t yet fix or transmute whatever has p!ssssed us tf off.
(shadow work tip: if boundaries work befuddles you, perhaps you were never taught how to establish, identify, understand boundaries… 1} you’re allowed to establish new boundaries at any time in your life, and at any time during the course of a relationship, friendship, businesship, etc. & 2} you can teach yourself boundaries in reverse by observing your anger. When you feel that seething internal rage, ask yourself why; are you angry at yourself or someone else or both [this is who crossed the unseen boundary]?; what are you angry about [this gives you the soft edges of the boundary]?. The deeper you ask the repetitive “why” the more clarity that can be revealed. This is just the start to healthy boundaries for yourself…)
When we feel boxed in, sometimes the smallest act of rebellion can make us feel like we have reclaimed a bit of our peace, a bit of control, a bit of space in our confinement. I dare you to scribble outside the lines (literally, crayon in hand, coloring book spread wide, scribble the page to your rage’s content! Ah… so satisfying). I dare you to stop shaming your anger, and instead invite it into the conversation of self reflection because it has much to teach us.
(Unleashing anger onto others or yourself, even swallowing or burying the anger, is not healthy and not advised. Seek healthy outlets to express your rage AND open the dialogue within yourself, so anger can be your pinch hitter rather than feeling that it is your opposition.)
Mmmm... you ever just people watch? It beats reality TV any day. Just taking a minute for yoself, enjoying a beverage, and seeing the beauty that exists in the world! (especially when every headline can make us feel like there is no joy, or worse, that we do not deserve to feel happiness with so many suffering… do it anyway!)
If no one is tugging on the other side of that rope, we’re all just sitting in the mud with our knots.
Sometimes the brave thing is daring to see the beauty, daring to create the beauty, especially if it gives others something to tug for, something to fight for, something to hope for.
“Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear.” (President Snow, The Hunger Games)
So find yourself a local cafe with window seats or patio tables (preferably one owned by LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and/or women), purchase a beverage that makes you feel warm and luxurious on the inside, and watch the world walk by:
…all the lives intersecting even when they don’t realize it, all the simple joys of dandelions growing through concrete, doggies excitedly out for a walk with their human(s), the individualism of fashion choices and hair expressions, even the flutter of a butterfly…
Rest is not earned, it is inherently necessary. And a slow quiet moment of beauty can help balance the ugly, the trodden. xoxo
~these cards are pulled from City Labyrinth tarot, painted by Dmytro Ryzhak, printed by Pentagram Publishing, made in Ukraine.
Divinationist’s Note: For those that enjoy the process of it all, each divide represents a separate card or emphatic point. However, each card often whispers several messages, potentially disjointed. Additionally, spirit often speaks to me in sentence fragments, even unconventional word combinations, as well as images & scenes & storied bits or quotes from a variety of media over my life to convey a deeper understanding of the translation. I then edit only with soft touches of capitalized lettering and punctuation (italics and bolding for nuance of tone), even if a bit avant garde, as spirit doesn’t give af about our proper rules of grammar and writing rhetoric, ha! I also weave in shadow work tools for healing and astrological transits of note where suited and at spirit’s nod, as the knowledge bases were cultivated to be collaborative.