Sometimes when you don’t know that you don’t know, life can be easier. Sometimes when you know that you don’t know—when you begin to understand that what you were taught or told wasn't the truth—a painful awakening occurs. Trust has been lost, and identity, and actions feel unstable. If you aren’t ok right now, that is understandable. There is a lot that is not ok right now. There is a lot that needs to change, and there is a lot that is changing. You are part of all of this as well. How are you changing, and what are you changing?

I pull a card every month before I channel your Tartoscopes. I interpret it is an overall energy that helps to frame the present moment. The theme of this Full Moon is the 8 of Swords, otherwise known as “oppression”. The 8 of Swords details a moment of mindset transformation. It is sometimes the moment when we realize that we don’t know. It is sometimes the moment we turn inward. We mine the Self for a few truths to place in our pockets, to help us continue our journey. Lies erode trust and create divides. It is rough to realize no one is coming to save you, that you have more responsibility than you were told you do. Ultimately though, this knowledge can be liberating. When we plug back into ourselves, labels get dropped and so do limits. Maybe we weren’t who we thought we were. Maybe we were something even more brilliant. We can connect to others who have known these truths for much longer, who have been organizing from integrity from before we were born. We must recognize that we owe one another more than we were taught we do. Hope fosters trust. The unknown, the "not knowing” becomes a site of curiosity; the known no longer is an ego crutch.

The truth could be painful, and it could set you free.

I write to you from the so-called United States of America, otherwise known as Turtle Island. Oppression is what this country has built its economy and its mythology on. We enact heartbreaking violence on others and use false ideologies to reconcile it. Lies about meritocracies and greatness make the worst kind of science fiction, a fake forced nostalgia that no one benefits from. The oppressors suffer too. Fear and denial are strong drugs.

Facing the truth is difficult, that is why so many don’t. Some make up stories, myths, and excuses to elaborately avoid it. If you are reading this, most likely you are grappling with what is true and what is false. What to keep and what to discard. The mind could be reaching, grasping, and clinging to anchors: what is the right way, what is the only way. That easy answer is an echo of the lie. Turning inward to parse out your few truths—like some smooth river rocks to slide into your palm—is a good use of your time. Taking action in accordance with those revelations is another. Let’s not internalize the oppression we’ve been sold as truth. Let’s not inflict more shame or pain on ourselves, or our friends, in the fight. We must support ourselves by supporting each other.

The collective isn't a monolith luckily, and this Full Moon is going to land differently for each person. This can be a Full Moon about abundance, or a Full Moon about celebrating your recovery. It can be a Full Moon about rest, or a Full Moon about no longer interacting with the projections of others. As always, meet yourself where you need to be. Tune into what you need and answer back with the truth.

The Tarotscopes below were channeled and written by meditating on each archetype and pulling a Tarot card for it. You can read for whatever sign you feel called to: some read for their Sun, rising, Moon, or all three. Please note: If you don’t know if you are allergic to a specific herb or plant, use caution or consult with your herbalist or doctor before ingesting. Never leave a lit candle or flame of any kind unattended. Please note there’s no playlist for this month’s Tarotscopes, that will return soon—thanks for your understanding!

Pisces

The Emperor

This Full Moon glows brightly in your sign, Ocean Dreamer. This lunation will light up all the aspects of your life that are ready to grow, as well as everything that holds you back. The world rages on in endless ways that do limit and influence certain aspects of your existence. However, you hold endless potential. Yet in a few ways you are the one holding yourself back.

One way to boost your energy is to protect it. Not everyone needs access to you. Not everyone needs to be protected by unreciprocated caretaking, complicity, or denial. One way to unlock more energy is accepting that certain things you are protecting might not need it: old identities, old beliefs, and old ways of doing things do not need to be coddled.

A Full Moon is always an opportune time to explore a new identity. This can be based on how you want to feel most often, and what you wish to experience frequently. Pick 2-4 energetic or emotional states, descriptions, or keywords, and structure another life around those. It might be especially hard to relate to others right now, Pisces. That’s because not everyone is in process of an ego death. Turn to your spiritual life. Turn towards the earth. Turn towards who you are becoming. Turn towards this Full Moon and its glorious reflection.

Suggested spell ingredients: snowflake obsidian, plant magic, yarrow, a box of pieces of paper that hold your handwritten memories of nights spent under the stars, swathes of vintage silk and lace, and the poem "Mornings at Blackwater" by Mary Oliver, read aloud to yourself and then to someone you love in a voice note.

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Aries

9 of Cups

Emotional fulfillment is at the forefront of your meditations and musings, Aries. If you feel like you haven’t got any, you could be blaming yourself. Take some deep breaths, send yourself some compassion, and remember the present context. Then, regroup. This Full Moon wants you to stop looking so hard for good news, or forcing bliss. Both are available to you when you stop confusing contentment for something that you have to force. It is something you can remember, it is something to receive.

There have already been wide swatches of emotional fulfillment in your life: you’ve felt filled up with love, surrounded by your purpose, and reassured by desire. To enter another stage of fulfillment, reconnect with your people—your flock. Read inspiring thinkers, look at your favorite art, and surround yourself with beloved inspiration. Get out in the streets, make phone calls, organize a fundraiser. Connect to activities that constitute a life well-lived.

This is an opportune Full Moon to make some promises to yourself that you actually keep. There is a healing potential around community, creativity, and using your voice. Who you will become in the next 6 months will be based on what you want, not on submerging yourself in what you don't. Surround yourself with enough wonder, and soon enough, you'll be reminded of the awe you so often inspire in others.

Suggested spell ingredients: A week spent wearing nothing but primary colors, kyanite, a candlelit bath or shower to scrub away distractions and emotional-dead-ends, essence of violet, and a sunset walk every night this week to encourage new paths and slower steps.

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Taurus

Hermit, Reversed

When so much has been taken away, rearranged, or changed immeasurably, it can make the way back to the path hard to find. Be careful not to internalize the chaos, the hate, and the fear that is seemingly everywhere right now. Out past the distractions, you still know who you are.

Part of the discomfort you are feeling is the extreme contrast of your ideals, your heart, and your hope, operating in a world that increasingly feels devoid of these qualities. Part of the tension that could be impacting you is that those in your closest orbit have forgotten who they are. It is hard to be a visionary. No one really mentions how lonely it can be. It is hard to be the strong one. People forget that leaders need support too. Don't be afraid to ask for what you need. Use discernment: don’t go to the bakery and try to order a salad.

This Full Moon is about staying on your path. You are currently visioning a series of dreams that will eventually help to define a new world. Do not be deterred if others cannot see it yet. So long as it is affixed firmly in your mind’s eye and reflected in each forward step, you are in alignment with this vision. Tend to the soil and the roots to gain clarity on future blooms and branches. Tend to the precious underneath of the surest way forward.

Suggested spell ingredients: Obsidian and jet pieces set on your nightstand to help anchor your dreams, an hour each night dedicated to your hands: working with them, healing them, strengthening them—whatever they need, earthing meditations to listen to you while you walk, and the oil or scent of blackberry.

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Gemini

4 of Swords

Gemini! This Full Moon has some strong messages for you: stop taking on extraneous tasks that rob you of energy, or burdens that aren't yours. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you SHOULD do something. Just because you do something well doesn't mean you HAVE TO. Not if it makes you resentful, frayed, or frazzled. Not if it takes away from your soul's calling.

This is the second Swords card you’ve received in as many Full Moons. You are absolutely progressing in all matters requiring decision making, communication, and mindset. There's some detachment still waiting to be undertaken. We get taught all kinds of damaging beliefs about how to do things, and how to be, that guide us unconsciously. You are absolutely ready to unravel some of these. Do so and your day-to-day will be much improved.

This is the first step of a longer process that will continue for the next few months. It is a simplifying and clarifying process that will have incredible results. Question and delegate. Decide that you can be the final arbiter of your schedule, your actions, your relationships, your career, and your calling. Your time is your own. There’s one last message Spirit wanted me to give you, and those are the words Trojan Horse. Meditate on what will get you in the door, sell an idea, and help the most people. Meditate on what is most alluring about you, and magnify it whenever possible.

Suggested spell ingredients: Read Codependent No More by Melody Beattie, listen to the sounds of uninhabited deserts, watch time-lapse videos of the fog above the Smoky Mountains roll in, keep rose quartz in your grasp, and drink cups of sage tea to better understand not all is what it seems.

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Cancer

The Fool

You can’t keep doing it anymore, Moonchild. You’ve been trying to fit yourself into other people’s boxes. Trying to make yourself seen to those that refuse. Trying to live for a past life’s dream. Trying to deny your current passions, ambition, and your need to break free from the confines of doubt. You can't keep doing it anymore, so stop. Invite in other ways of being.

At the heart of most everything you do is the yearning for everyone to be safe and loved, including you. Over the last 6 months you've realized that the trade offs you've made to procure safety are not worth it. Security is arbitrary: what we’ve been told about safety has mostly been lies. Security is a state of mind, safety is something you can try to give yourself— not a promise that someone else or an institution can keep.

This Full Moon is an opportunity to cast spells for another future filled with adventure, connection, and brilliance. Your ticket to ride will cost you aspects of who you were, but that is a sacrifice that will be well worth it. Under the light of this month’s Full Moon, summon the luminous future awaiting you. Take some deep breaths, and launch yourself into the realm of infinite possibilities.

Suggested spell ingredients: Psychedelic prints to meditate on as you envision your bright future, circular breaths for 2 minutes at a time 3 times a day, Yrsa Daley-Ward’s poems and stories, and a gratitude altar made up of chrysocolla, aquamarine, glasses of water, and birch bark to give thanks to the version of you that got you where you needed to be.

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Leo

6 of Pentacles

This Full Moon wants to remind you that going easier on yourself will make the confusion easier to navigate. You've got to focus on who you can help, what you can control, and what tends to derail you. You've got more influence than you give yourself credit for, so if it is time to use it, step it up. If the greatest urgency is caring for yourself and procuring help, do that first. This month is all about making decisions to support realignment around resources and your overall bandwidth. You can only do what you can do: for some of you Lionhearts that's doing more in certain areas, and for others, that's doing less.

To help figure this out, take out two sheets of paper. First, write down the best possible outcomes. Do not edit yourself. Involve the rose petals, the standing ovations, the camera’s flashes. Now, on the next sheet, write down the fears that plague you. Include it all: the nightmares, the jeers, the flat tires. Take a breath, and recognize that, most likely, neither extreme is going to happen. Notice how much both your hopes and anxieties stem from the external, or things you can't control. Reaffirm that you absolutely can control your self-regard, the commitments you make, and the way you communicate.

Focus and purpose are the baseline of your dreams. A generally altruistic view of the universe and your capabilities are the fuel that moves you closer to self-actualization. Let this Full Moon help you get real about who you are and what you came here to do. Let this Full Moon guide you away from extremes and into a rebalanced reality.

Suggested spell ingredients: cinnabar, meditations on the colors yellow, red, and purple, Zadie Smith’s book of essays Intimations, a collection of handpicked wildflowers to press into future journals, peppermint tea before bed, and time spent in Child’s Pose for the next 7 days.

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Virgo

Ace of Cups

Virgo, it is your season and your time to trust. Trust in an open heart. Trust in endless creative rejuvenation. Trust that you can move forward in joy, aesthetic abundance, and spiritual connection. Trust that you don’t have to hold up this entire broken-ass world all by yourself.

In a lot of traditional Tarot decks, the Ace of Cups depicts the Holy Grail: the Christian relic that knights strapped their armor on for—the ethereal object that allegedly touched God. It has become a symbol for what one prizes above all else, that which is deemed elusive: eternal youth, eternal love, and unwavering Source connection. Whatever it is for you, this Full Moon will emphasize this yearning and ask you to drink it in. If you want to touch God, you need only to show up for yourself with wonder. To have what you want, you need to be what you want.

When the Ace of Cups appears, it is blessing. It is a reminder to create more blessings by counting all of yours. It is a prompt around honoring love: a deeper love, not a higher one. The time for withholding pleasure is over. You can only go as far as you can feel.

Suggested spell ingredients: A night spent dreaming & drawing up your own family crest that features all the things you love about yourself, an hour spent research and trying EFT tapping, 15 minutes spent each morning of this lunation planning your pleasure for the day, prehnite, a basil plant, and a new hobby that gets you on your feet and out of your head.

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Libra

6 of Swords

Once upon a time, you were trained to be a certain way for certain people. So, you became a quiet dove. Now you are discovering that you are far more akin to a hawk. Insights are gained through wider perspectives and by enjoying your fierceness. The more you claim, the more you break free. If this Full Moon has one message for you, it is that each moment you act in the truth of who you are, you become more protected. Float out of your worst-case ruminations, entanglements with cage-baiters, and soar into the relationships that give you the space to be helped and heard without expectation.

If this Full Moon has one reminder for us all, it is that the symbol of justice is a sacred one. Even if justice isn't being reflected right now, it doesn't mean you can't keep fighting for it. Justice doesn’t always look like peace, but your inner peace must always be your highest priority. To quote Mariame Kaba, “hope is a discipline”.

You can be both a dove and a hawk at the same time. You can be a child and a parent, a seasoned wizard and an eager apprentice. If folks try to tell you who they think you are, let their projection serve as entertainment, nothing more, nothing less. Keep it light and keep moving. Don’t look back.

Suggested spell ingredients: Calendula flowers or oil by your bed to remind you of gratitude, videos of hawks gliding and soaring in a cloudless sky, a playlist of bird songs, onyx, amethyst, and a loving offering to the element of air.

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Scorpio

The Lovers

This month is about recalibration. You’ve been going really hard, firing on all cylinders, and your system is paying the price. The exhaustion perpetuates an inability to discern emotional or energetic subtleties. This pops up as reactivity loops: applying the anger you have about the news or a rude person on the internet to a loved one, or in another inappropriate way. It is time to take a step back, and explore some nuance on the energetic level. It can be fun, it can be an experiment, and it can be a lesson in deep self-knowledge.

Energetic boundaries are most effective when they are established from the inside out. This Full Moon, place all your intention and awareness on how you want to feel most often. Pick a word, it can be abstract: space, clarity, weaving, crimson, cherry. The word doesn't have to "make sense”, but it must invoke a physiological response. Attune to that feeling. Attend to the tasks/chores/conversations/activism that resonate most with that sensation. Extend that sensation into your actions. Speak with a clear intention. Be clear about what you will and will not do. When it is time to move forward on uncomfortable or potentially activating tasks, ground and protect your energy beforehand. The energy of this Full Moon will support you in this process. Each moment becomes every moment. Each movement becomes every movement.

Suggested spell ingredients: An attunement ceremony, an hour spent in  silence for a particular time every day, time spent in Mountain or Tree Pose, a homemade room spray or diffuser of rose and frankincense and myrrh (for focus and respite), and the artworks of Agnes Pelton.

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Sagittarius

5 of Swords

All around us, we see the impact of careless words and communication, of shots fired out of hate and fear. A vehement, defensive attack is permanent. Once it has happened, it cannot be taken back. The consequences ripple out far beyond the initial exchange. Instead of letting all that can't be taken back drag you down, figure out a way to humbly move forward heart-first.

This summer has brought much heartbreak that's chipped away at your clarity, maybe even at your sense of self. Some was needless suffering: it is ok to experience lingering regret or resentment. Some of it occurred to show you what is most important: while initially harsh, it brought some much-needed truth.

The time has come to make some decisions around some losses. You simply aren’t the same person you were at the Summer Solstice. If there are some environments that are particularly toxic, this Full Moon will highlight where to step back and cut cords. Self-forgiveness will help you move out of the storm. Be kind, but firm. This will help you discern what is worth fighting for in the future.

Suggested spell ingredients: Hawthorn leaf and motherwort, a bath with your favorite flower essence or petals, blue sodalite, a confession letter addressed to yourself and a response full of forgiveness, and a self-designed ritual or spell dedicated to reckoning: call in two opposing elements and the love of your ancestors.

Subscribe to Sarah’s Moonbeaming newsletter to get early access to Tarotscopes, first access + updates on the 2021 Many Moons Lunar Planner, and more.

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Capricorn

King of Pentacles

Capricorn, under the light of this Full Moon you may be feeling the tension between your desire for systems and processes, and your soul need for growth, change, and unconfined freedom— a yearning for your wild and a shedding of preconceived notions and out-dated ideas. There isn't a hierarchy between earth and air, or fire and water, or through any magical or spiritual practice. There isn’t a right way or a wrong way period, there’s only the way that resonates for you.

One theory of how various Judeo-Christian based religions gained more power is by creating hierarchies, gatekeepers, and removing access to Indigenous traditions. That ended up creating a division in folks: a split from their own divinity prompted them to find it externally, in the ways certain organized-religions presented. There was also a move from earth to sky: in some religions and belief systems, the afterlife/underworld changed locations from being underground—something we stood on, something we connected with through our bodies—to being far, far away in the sky. This connection could only then be accessed through specific, religion-sanctioned ways: always above us, mostly out of reach. One of these interpretations is “better" than the other; there is space for both.

If you aren’t changing, if you aren't exploring, if you aren't growing, if you aren't getting your hands dirty and your clothes stained, if you aren’t listening to the earth, and the air, and the water, the sparks, the wonder, and the awe, then messages are being missed. If you aren’t becoming a body right now—which is to say, some kind of glorious mess—than the artistry of your life is missing out on sustenance, some traction. If you are doing all these earth-bound explorations, then use this time to celebrate them.

What parts of yourself are you keeping just out of reach? What part of your divinity are you blocking access to? This Full Moon wants you to wriggle down into the earth of your life and find out.

Suggested spell ingredients: selenite and citrine, meditations on the element of earth and the color green, a donation to the Native American Heritage Association, doublethink theory, and a cup of St. John’s Wort tea instead of your second cup of coffee each morning this week.

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Aquarius

5 of Pentacles

This Full Moon could be bringing up feelings or thoughts around scarcity. There could be some perceptions about being left out in the cold, or unable to access support. You might be activated by one or more situations happening in your personal life, and/or in the world (they are more and more the same, it seems).

Once, I overheard an economist remark that in the current economy, the most important resource isn't money. One is relationships. Another is adaptability. Lastly, a proximity to and ownership of land, food, and water sources—or land-based survival skills—are also quite valuable. Aquarius, you've got a ton of authentic relationships with a ton of remarkable people. You are incredibly adaptable (this is a realm where you thrive). The last resource depends on your particular situation. You know more than most that it is never too late to pick up a new skill, or befriend someone who possesses them.

This is all coming up because of the state of the world being what it is, but you’ve been reflecting on abundance for longer. Let this month be a reminder of all the resources that really matter. In 5 months, it will be your season. Get real, get curious, and make a plan. It’s time to shift your mindset by adopting strategies appropriate for these emerging paradigms. In doing so, you’ll experience deep enjoyment of your life's true riches.

Suggested spell ingredients: a ritual for sustainable abundance, time spent foraging, videos of camels, (socially distanced) trades with friends, and a piece of black tourmaline and amber placed under your bed.

Subscribe to Sarah’s Moonbeaming newsletter to get early access to Tarotscopes, first access + updates on the 2021 Many Moons Lunar Planner, and more.

Pre-order Sarah’s forthcoming The Moon Book on Bookshop.