Solstice beams her sunshine at us all. 2023 is almost halfway over. The theme for June is Enjoy.

Acknowledge how far you’ve come by enjoying the life you have created. If you are reading this, you have infinite gifts to be grateful for. Spend June in active gratitude mode: tell all your beloveds that you love them—most importantly, show them. Help them with annoying errands. Reach out with a homemade meal. Mail them a surprise, small gifts you made for them on a Tuesday night. Times are really hard and many people are going through it. An easy way to feel less lonely is to reach out to others.

Make new friends, if that’s what you need to do. Connect to your benevolent ancestors. Thank the Earth for all her gifts, as well as show her. Pick up trash one afternoon, and each time you see it. Learn about what bills are being passed to end fossil fuels, and support them. Love is an action.

Love the world enough to be a person who shows that love through enjoyment. Open up to what you enjoy without shame. If doing challenging or unusual things brings you pleasure, embrace it. Cultivate transmissions of joy and peace in your days. For those of us with trauma, or who are facing deep challenges, it can be tough to experience relaxation, pleasure, or play. Start with small moments. Go glimmer hunting.

— Excerpt is from the 2023 Many Moons Lunar Planner. Order your digital copy of Many Moons here! Order your copy of the second, benefit-edition of Many Moons from LULU.com. 

This month's Tarotscopes were channeled and written by Gala Mukomolova. Connect with Gala online by clicking here. Read these Tarotscopes for whatever sign you feel called to: your Sun, rising, Moon, or a placement that is particularly loud right now.*

June is a joyous month here at Moon Studio: Clear Channels is back! Sarah Faith Gottesdiener is going to share everything she knows about sharing work from the heart and sharing it publicly in her one-of-a-kind business workshop. Click here to learn more!

June 2023 Tarotscopes by Gala Mukomolova

Aries
6 of Wands

In the Rider-Waite Tarot as drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, a champion returns on horseback, crowned in laurels. A welcoming crowd surrounds the rider, the scene celebratory. At its heart, the card is optimistic, just as you are optimistic at heart, Aries. And, as is notable with sixes in the Tarot, it marks a transition or a turning point.

In this case, the transition takes the form of a return, but where you’ve arrived is not your final destination. Here, the card invites you to stand in the light of your own achievements, in the light of recognition both public and private. Do your achievements feel like your own? Do they satisfy you? What have you accomplished and what has it cost you? Can your spirit afford to keep paying that price?

This month, your ruling planet does well under the stars of Leo, but your fellow fire sign’s penchant for pride can forge a double-edged sword. While it may be virtuous to push on and defy expectations, it’s ultimately unsustainable to live life as a never-ending series of campaigns. You don’t have to keep riding until your body (or your horse) gives out, Aries. You have the right to dismount at any time. You’ve earned your laurels, rest on them.

Suggested spell ingredients: carnelian, juniper branch crackling in the fire, a sweet memory of kisses on your forehead, a stone fruit you devour slowly–sucking on the pit, and shares from the heart. 

Taurus
2 of Cups 

With your ruling planet, Venus, in Leo this month, the 2 of Cups is certainly a fitting card for the weeks ahead. Look again at the Rider-Waite version of the 2 of Cups where a winged lion shields the meeting of both the cups and the minds that hold them.

Rachel Pollack describes the lion as “all the feelings, fears, desires, and confusions suppressed by the ego in its attempt to control life.” Here the lion is a herald, and the meeting of these two personalities is a vital union. Herme’s staff, wrapped in snakes, is there too – a symbol of reciprocity and exchange between equals. While it may be tempting to focus on external forces that stand to bring you “balance” (lovers, friends, two beverages alike in dignity), the 2 of Cups can also be an invitation to work within.

A great Taurean poet once wrote of love as work against “forces we had ranged within us, within us and against us, against us and within us.” What feelings, fears, and passions do you suppress in service to “a greater whole”? Are there parts of yourself that exist within false binaries (like the free artist vs. the responsible caregiver)? What might the holy union of those parts look like?

Suggested spell ingredients: citrus and sunshine, bedroom dancing to Stacey Q’s “Two of Hearts,’ Damiana–a gentle sweetness in your iced tea, a strip of photos from a photo booth sesh shared with a beloved, and clear containers.

Gemini
9 of Swords 

The 9 of Swords is not an easy Tarot card to encounter, few of the Swords are. But there’s something to be said (and surely you know how to say it) for a difficult card arriving at your winged feet when the Sun shines brightly under your stars, Mercury grants you their favor, and even the new moon anticipates her turn. Under these auspices, difficulty can transform into challenge and challenge can give way to innovation.

Of course, transformation is a possibility but transformation can be a hefty thing to aspire to. How does one know when one is transformed? Humans are hardly butterflies, our form remains more or less the same. Innovation is a goal that a Gemini like you can work up to. Innovation can begin with your day-to-day activities and work its way down to the particle level.

The challenge this month is a mental one: to observe the patterns of your thoughts without succumbing to their power. In her book Tarot for Change, Jessica Dore ties this inquiry to the 9 of Swords: “Ask yourself whether it’s possible to have the thought you’re having and behave in a contrary way. Ask yourself who these thoughts serve… in what house do they worship?” Innovation is introducing a new track of thinking to the old train of thought and creating the possibility of new paths–new ways forward.

Suggested spell ingredients: clarity and connection, bird watching at dawn, playing a silly song on a new instrument, writing a letter to your kid self about all the things you’re not afraid of anymore, and cord-cutting support.

Cancer
The Fool

There’s something dynamic about a sign like Cancer guided by the energy of The Fool. The sign of origin, of caregiving, of kin-work invited into the unknown: a journey of self-discovery, a chance to bet on themselves. The invitation arrives just after Venus’ tenure under your stars and before the arrival of the Sun. It begins with a full moon in Sagittarius that renounces old beliefs/ways of being and looks toward a new moon in Gemini–rich with theories and ready for praxis.

Are you ready, Cancer, to answer The Fool’s call? Are you willing to put yourself out there, if only to feel the wind changing direction? Are you open to donning the cap of optimistic youth and giving it “the old college try”? If you are, but you’re not sure where to start, let the full moon in Sagittarius this month illuminate the once-sacred containers within you that no longer hold water.

Waterbaby, you are not bound to the containers you once chose anymore than a crab is bound to their old shell. The unknowable sea offers you countless shells to shift into. In the dark light of the ocean floor, surrounded by all manner of creatures, making a fool of yourself can be a joyful act—erotic in its ordinariness.

Suggested spell ingredients: wisdom from the moon, a sturdy branch that makes the perfect walking stick, thick moss that grows on certain sides of trees, a hydrosol made of frankincense, and a weekend workshop to expand your mind.

Leo
6 of Cups

It’s true that Leo is a fixed sign, with a steady outlook and constant energy. But, Leos are also changeable in their way, like cats who ask to be let out and then let back in, adored and ignored in turn. Perhaps the Sun is partially responsible, ruling over our leonine companions, shifting from Zodiac sign to Zodiac sign, and striving to embody each one with all his light.

You begin this month with the Sun in Gemini, a sign that signifies duality, the convergence of opposites, and the space between lovers where a new language is formed. The 6 of Cups invites you to live in that space with tender curiosity. To let yourself un-know what came before and, like a child, receive the world anew.

With both Mars and then Venus in your corner, small flickers of desire build, eager to consume what feeds them. Your hunger is a sacred thing, Leo, a kind of gift. But so, too, is your tenderness and your considerate restraint. Can you live in the between long enough for a new language to form, a new way of connecting with others, a new way to be yourself again?

Suggested spell ingredients: warming and grounding support, chrysanthemum tea poured from a glass teapot, the scent of woodsmoke lingering on your clothes, a sexy dance in the dark with someone you have yet to touch, and channeling for your future.

Virgo
King of Wands

Do you think it’s true, what Stevie Nicks sang in “Gold Dust Woman”? Do rulers make bad lovers? Or maybe it was just our Gemini rock queen’s way of releasing her grief at being unable to sustain both the crown and her consort? If it is true, is it true because rulers are always masters while lovers are in the business of switching positions? And if one is a ruler, a master at their discipline, a line other lengths are measured by, is one a ruler always? Or can you imagine a life where rulers take turns like lovers do, relishing the chance to lie at each other’s feet?

Of course, no one truth is the only truth and no form is final, any Mercury-ruled sign knows that. This month, your ruling planet and the Sun take their yearly tenure in Gemini, a sign associated with The Lovers in the Tarot, and you are invited to the ball. In their other home, Mercury is agile, sharp of wit, and quick to change their mind, so be prepared for thoughts that move faster than reason does; for conclusions that you’re better off not rushing toward.

This is where the work of the King of Wands begins for you Virgo, the place between being a master and a worthy player: the staff is but a long branch, a switch in someone else’s hands. If you mean to be a good lover—to another, to the world around you—then you are meant to learn the limits of your kingdom and the power of giving it away.

Suggested spell ingredients: Earth magic, sauna time punctuated by the pleasant strike of eucalyptus branches, an all-day date you did not plan, a foot massage exchanged for a foot massage, new songs playing in the background, and learning to lead with your intuition.

Libra
6 of Pentacles

While shuffling these Tarot cards for you Libra, I thought of the Libras in my life who–in their own way–are difficult to know. Libra Suns, risings, and moons who appear to show up wholly and openly, and yet remain in shadow. During this contemplation, the 6 of Pentacles surfaced, a card that holds a candle to your mystery, featuring the scales you are known by.

Rachel Pollack referred to the 6 of Pentacles as a “gate,” a portal to one of the greater mysteries, and a Tarot card that speaks of “giving people what they are able to receive.” The wisdom of this card is in the work of recognition: of the positions we find ourselves in, of our parts in various dynamics, of the role our own perceptions play in knowing others and letting ourselves be known.

Venus’s transit under the stars of Leo this month might have you feeling generous and bold, bubbling with a desire to be seen and known for all that you bring to the table. This desire is the call within you but answering it requires showing up as your whole self—even the parts you might have decided others aren’t able to receive. The portal is a mirror you let others hold up, the truth is that recognition requires vulnerability.

Suggested spell ingredients: containers to honor your desires, a cold dip in a clear lake, a favorite book exchange with a new friend, arriving at a party in a thrifted outfit that your teenage self would have swooned over, and labradorite for extra awareness.

Scorpio
The Emperor

The Emperor isn’t a Tarot card that’s easy to behold. There’s something inaccessible about it, a figure guarded by unknowable forces. The word “authority” is often associated with this card and that word too is enigmatic. From where is authority deployed? Who grants it and who takes it back?

In her book, Tarot for Change, Jessica Dore described true authority as “marked by a degree of behavioral sovereignty–the ability to choose actions with intention and care, even when we feel scared and powerless.” Under Dore’s critical lens, The Emperor is less of a guarded figure and more of a trusted guide. Under his guidance, you are encouraged this month to steady yourself in your own power—to trust it.

This means resisting the urge to find it outside yourself, through the eyes of others, through validation, or the myth of closure. Resist the false safety of an eremitic life that tricks you into thinking that isolation protects you from harm. You are powerful enough to protect yourself. You are powerful enough to practice power as it ought to be practiced: in relation.

Suggested spell ingredients: dried lavender and calendula, quiet meditation in a well-made chair, a crown made of fresh flowers you weave and give away, a picnic lunch with an old friend you haven’t seen in years, and Clear Channels.

Sagittarius
Ace of Swords

Jupiter’s ingress into Taurus has been getting a lot of fanfare, heralding a time of deeper connection with the Earth, with an expansive understanding of our resources and our role in securing them. But Jupiter’s ingress into Taurus is of particular importance to signs ruled by Jupiter. For roughly twelve months, your ruling planet will spend time in a sign whose style differs vastly from your own; a stalwart Earth sign who takes her time and is hesitant to change.

To move through a landscape in an unfamiliar way can feel disorienting. To move forward without shooting your optimistic arrow first can seem disingenuous. Perhaps that is why the Sword appears to you, an instrument designed to cut through false narratives and distracting emotional entanglements, a tool to help you make your way through the wilderness and toward wisdom.

Of course, the more you can find out where exactly Jupiter in Taurus falls in your birth chart, the more precisely you’ll be able to wield your own sword this month. But, discernment applied generally can still do quite a bit of good. June’s full moon in your sign deepens your understanding of the soul-searching that began under the new moon in Taurus: your relationship with resources, the compromises you’re willing to make, and the restrictions you’re amenable to for now in service of a better future.

You’ve spent a long time learning how to hold the sword of decision-making with reverence, Sagittarius, now you must learn to trust the decisions you make.

Suggested spell ingredients: a weekend without wifi, star rose quartz, cleansing baths or extra-long showers, dream embodiment, courage, and Clear Channels.

Capricorn
10 of Swords

Of course, as I made my way through these horoscopes, the 10 of Swords surfaced for you. Who but the Saturnians of the Zodiac are equipped to face this Tarot card? Who could be better at bearing the truth in its foreground and patient enough to hold out for what lies in the hopeful distance? It’s important to note that the 10 of Swords arrived reversed, what Rachel Pollack described as “the swords falling out of his back.” So this month I urge you to hold the truth both ways: that pain is a teacher and temporary, and that our lessons are never finished.

Saturn, your ruling planet, is also known as the Great Teacher and, in June, Saturn stations retrograde under the stars of Pisces. Saturn retrogrades yearly for about 4 ½ months but it’s the days closest to her retrograde station (June 17th!) when we tend to feel it most. Much like the image of the 10 of Swords, the weight of our responsibilities during this time can seem unbearable, fear and insecurity have a way of bubbling up and muddying the picture. And, much like the image of 10 of Swords, Saturn Retrograde can be a master class in perspective shifts, in learning to see the bigger picture with its promise of clear skies ahead.

It’s worth noting that in the days before Saturn stations retrograde, Pluto retrograde will find his way under your stars. Because you are an excellent student, you might find yourself interrogating your relationship with power. These self-inquiries will serve you well in the months ahead and prepare you for Saturn’s lessons, lessons that mean to show you how to achieve your dreams while moving with integrity and honoring all that you have survived to get this far.

Suggested spell ingredients: black tourmaline bathed overnight in the light of Sagittarius full moon, a cup of cedar tea when the sun sets, re-reading a book that inspired you when you were young, and clearing blocks with support.

Aquarius
3 of Pentacles

Like the sign of Aquarius, the suit of Pentacles holds within it a great deal of mystery. Aquarius is ruled by Saturn, a planet that prioritizes mastery of the mundane and divinity through discipline. Pentacles is a suit that’s anchored in the mundane but holds within it the fundamental keys to sacred observance and practice.

As this Tarot card surfaced, so too did the chorus to that Charlotte Day Wilson song, "It’s gonna take a bit of work (A bit of work) / Oh, work (Work, work) / Now that you're here / Woah, work (Work)." It’s a song that I’ve never put on myself, a song that must have wormed its way in and waited for this moment. Simple yet potent, the song’s power lies in its tenaciousness, the slow but insistent refrain of work is soulful in its ordinariness.

Saturn’s retrograde under the stars of Pisces is not a dissimilar soulful refrain. If you have taken a sabbatical, it is time to return. Servant of Saturn, your presence is requested at the workshop, the place where the bones of your dreams reside, ready for assembly. Don’t worry if you don’t know what the finished project will be, what you make moves through you and leads you forward, and what you build you build for the world ahead.

Suggested spell ingredients: a talisman of your dreams, a collection of seashells arranged at the shoreline, time spent in the company of fellow dream chasers, a lemon pie with Swiss Meringue–toasted with a torch, a nummary gem of your choosing, kept close.

Pisces
Queen of Swords

I wanted to write to you when darkness fell but my mind wandered. I wanted to give you a poem but no poem seemed right. I was looking for the perfect entry point but then the Queen of Swords arrived and said there are no perfect entry points: the moment of decision is the initiation, and each search thereafter is a lapse of will, troubling the first and cleanest cut.

Some queens were said to be born with swords in their hands. Queens of antiquity like Queen Zenobia of Palmyra, Queen Semiramis of Assyria, and Hippolyta—Queen of the Amazons. In modern-day, wigs high and high heels brandished in their fists, the queer queens made themselves carry the sword of truth in their hearts: that life must be lived fully at any cost, that lovers serve a higher law.

This month, Saturn’s retrograde beneath your stars beckons you back toward clarity. The sword of your mind steadies and begins to sing. Return, dear Pisces, to the moment of decision. Remember the joy and the pain that got you there, the wisdom that found you on the other side of it all. The one who was strong enough to receive that wisdom and brave enough to act on it is still with you. If you have the will, she knows the way.

Suggested spell ingredients: a switchblade snug in your palm, time spent looking at the full moon with binoculars, a bunch of mugwort you gently wrap into a wand.
 

Gala Mukomolova is a Moscow-born, Brooklyn-raised, poet and essayist. Her full length book, Without Protection, is available through Coffee House Press. Her chapbook, One Above One Below: Positions & Lamentations, is available with YesYes Books. Known for her past astrology work as Galactic Rabbit, with NYLON and Refinery29 , Gala now offers tarot readings through QueerHealers.com, a directory she helped create. Gala also co-hosts Big Dyke Energy Podcast and is a part of The Cheburashka Collective.

*Please note: These Tarotscopes are not intended as an alternative to medical or psychiatric health services and should not be interpreted or used as such.

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