By Brandon Alter:
Cancer Season means coming home. For all its chaos and uncertainty, the world is still our home. And it's the only one we have. For some of us, the world may not feel safe anymore, for others it never felt safe. For some, our childhood home was a paradise we can never seem to recapture, for others a warzone we can't seem to escape. Home is a complex place. Like all the Zodiacal symbols, there are surface meanings and then a hidden trapdoor of insight; the home which Cancer alludes to is so much more than just a physical dwelling. Cancer is curious about our ancestral homes, the soul's home, maybe even the question of where souls come from in the first place, the home to which we will someday return . . . but perhaps I've gone too far.
As the first water sign of the Zodiac, Cancerian energy wants us to remember the roots of home; again, not so much as a place but a feeling. It's a highly sensitive and nostalgic sign that can connect our history to our destiny. In some ways, the water signs of the Zodiac help us catch our breath. Here we can begin to integrate the journey so far and let our hearts catch up to the rest of us. I don't know about you but so much has happened in these last eighteen months that I still need time to process. I'm still coming to understand who I am now in this mercurial world. I'm still coming to understand who this world is and how I might engage with her. I need a water season more than ever, for they sensitize us and give us space to feel into the truth of where we are. From there, they simultaneously prepare us for the next great leap.
The element of water is emotional, relational, and intuitive by nature. And as human beings we are more water than anything else. While Scorpio Season and Pisces Season tend to get the fanfare for being witchy or visionary times, Cancer Season is just as lush. Whether you are entering into the peak of Summer or the pitch of Winter, these next few weeks have us answering directly to the moon, the chief beacon of psychic power. You see, Cancer is ruled by the moon, and any planet in her sign answers to her. When the Sun is in Cancer, as he is right now, he must acquiesce to the lunar body. He is subject to her whims, her tastes, her demands, and her moods. We all are. It's an opportunity for planets who usually exert themselves through strong will or sharp acumen to acquaint themselves with a softer side of their own power. In Cancer Season, everyone is ruled by the heart.
This isn't to suggest that Cancer Season is a walk in the park. The waters of the heart can be turbulent, strange, even foreboding—especially if we haven't taken the plunge for a while. But now that we are learning how to come home, we must learn how to be at home in our hearts, no matter the turmoil of emotions that characterize human life. Consider the ocean as a metaphor for your own heart. On the surface is the relentless churning of the tides, breakers hammering the coastline, whirlpools and riptides. That isn't going anywhere. There will always be a current. You can wrestle it all you like, the motion will not cease. But what if we allowed ourselves to submerge, to travel downward toward quieter oceanic depths. Do you think the bedlam on the surface would bother us on the ocean floor? Do you think deep-sea creatures are greatly troubled by waves crashing on the shore? What if we could become our own version of deep-sea creatures, so settled in our hearts that the superficial crises of modern day barely reach us.
Cancer the crab takes its home with it wherever it goes. This is true for us more than ever. Everywhere we go is our home, and yet nowhere is our home if we still feel out of place in ourselves. The more we can come home to being ourselves the more we can trust our own inner truths. So much of the drama of these last eighteen months has come from our reticence to source truth for ourselves. Is it fear, control, or just plain laziness that makes us so quick to relinquish our own authority over ourselves? When did we stop trusting our hunches? Our gut feelings? Aren't these messages coming from those inner oceanic depths?
The New Moon in Cancer, a striking lunation that answers to itself, occurs in the late hours of Friday night and wants us to grapple with these questions. Mercury, still in his rulership of Gemini, craves understanding. I imagine the Sun and Moon in this chart as legendary lovers huddled together in a cosmic embrace, safe among themselves but well aware of the other planets' designs on them. In some ways, this New Moon feels like a brief holiday, a respite from the storm. Not that the storm has so much stopped raging, just that we've finally found some decent shelter for a change. There is still much to be faced. Not long after his rendezvous with the Moon, the Sun will oppose Pluto, and a battle will be waged. Meanwhile, the grinding wheels of the Saturn/Uranus square continue to click along. But in the silent hours of this new moon, perhaps we can tap a stillness, an inner reservoir that can buoy us through some of these challenges to come. Perhaps the space to root deep into our hearts will allow us a new resolve that isn't as easily shaken by the relentless barrage of panics we scroll through in our daily feeds.
At its essence, this New Moon feels bolstering. Like the Cancerian crab, we can take a well-deserved retreat to withdraw behind the shell and tend to our soft meat for a spell. We can allow ourselves to be resourced by deeper aspects of our humanity and individuality. There is so much despair and anger in the world right now—much of it well-justified. And yet, anger can only fuel us for so long. Despair zaps our resolve. What ever happened to love? Where, in this great outlandish mess we call modern life, is love? When the ocean is on fire, can we still love her? When our people are sick and starving and turned inside out, can we still muster up the oldest medicine there is? Love doesn't cure everything. I'm not simple. I'm not a fool. But without love, nothing we cure has meaning.
What feels like the most striking astrological feature of this year is the Saturn/Uranus square. It's still in process, and like all great astrological turning points, its impact won't be fully known until we're looking back at it. But suffice to say this is a closing square (as opposed to an opening square), meaning we are being compelled to take action that empowers some sort of resolution. We might be trying to fuck shit up but it's in the interest of settling things down. Essentially, we are all trying to put something to bed, once and for all. A square creates a ninety-degree angle between two planets (it should be called a corner because that's what they do; they corner each other). When I meditate on this energy, I keep seeing a railroad junction, a place in the railway where a switch point enables a train to smoothly shift onto a different track. Except instead of two tracks, I keep seeing five or six. We may not get there smoothly, thanks to Uranus, but all year long we keep being edged toward this switch point. All year long, the cosmos is trying to get us to change tracks.
This New Moon is part of that larger Saturn/Uranus story. Although separating, that square still rings out in the Cancer New Moon chart. Without our intuition, we cannot hope to feel our way onto this new, more-aligned track. Without our intuition, we may not know which track to switch our train onto. Without those intuitive nudges and gut checks, we may keep pursuing the wrong changes. External forces may be catalysts for change, but they do not inspire the change itself. Knowing the right track you wish you switch onto, that must come from you, from your oceanic depths, your lunar heart, your unwavering, most intimate truth. Seek that. No one but your own soul can tell you how and where the road unfolds. And learning how to speak with your soul is precisely what Cancer Season has come for.
For those of you who are wanting to learn how to awaken or strengthen your intuitive gifts, The Spiritual Gayz are here to help! Our signature Tarot course, TAROT + COSMOS is open for registration, and it starts on September 2nd. We designed these twelve weeks to do so much more than just help you navigate the 78 cards of the Tarot. This is a course to help you understand how to work with your psychic gifts in a practical way. This will be our third time teaching this course, and our students have raved about the experience. If you're looking to support yourself on a soul level, consider joining us for fun, community, and heart-centered learning. Everything we teach is filtered through our particular brand of queer magic, making sure you feel well resourced to claim these esoteric practices as your own.
We also are back with twice monthly Breathwork Healing Circles. Breathwork is awesome—no seriously, it fucking rocks. There's nothing else like it to get you unstuck and reconnected to yourself, your heart, and the hidden magic of being alive. This simple practice moves large amounts of energy through your body, and in doing so promotes serious healing, insights, and inspiration. Don't take our word for it, try it yourself—seriously, you've got nothing to lose! And if you can't join us live, don't worry, we record each session and send it out within 24 hours. That way you can still benefit from the energy of the group! You've heard us talk about it for years now, stop wondering and see what the fuss is all about for yourself! Sign up for Breathwork for Pushing The Edge, HERE.
You'll find your Tarotscopes below.
It's a Cancer New Moon, so your Moon sign is the first doorway to walk through.
Then, after that's been digested, by all means read for your Rising and you Sun.
CANCER
Page of Wands (Reversed)
The Cancer Moon native is intuitive, finely tuned to their own heartstrings and highly sensitive to themselves and others. Prone to steeping in their feelings until they are a strongly brewed tea of emotion, they have no choice but to follow their hearts to the edges of the unknown universe. They thrive when they feel comfortable, safe, and protected. They struggle when they are forced to reveal themselves to those they do not trust. A Cancer Moon takes their time letting people in. But once you are in, you are family.
The Page of Wands knows how to take their time, respects when they are being called or when they must continue to be patient. If you are feeling like the time is now to make certain things happen, do not delay. Widows of opportunity open and close. You cannot expect them to hold for your convenience. But if you are feeling like the window is a wall, let yourself be still. Eventually those bricks will reveal a transparent portal through which you will be well poised to walk through.
Timing is a tricky thing. If you got what you wanted before you were ready for it, it could destroy you. Trust that things are unfolding at a perfect pace.
LEO Five of Wands (Reversed)
The Leo Moon native lives out loud, willing to share their most heartfelt truths with everyone, from their closest friend to the checkout clerk. Generally the life of the party and certainly never lacking in emotional flair, the Leo Moon loves to express themselves and uplift others. They thrive when they feel seen and heard. They struggle when their feelings are diminished or dismissed. A Leo Moon may come off as dramatic—but to them their lives just feel bigger than average. Trust that a Leo Moon isn't making more out of something than is there, they truly experience it that way. The Five of Wands wants to shake up energy that has grown stuck, stale, or just predictable. Learning to find new ways of expressing yourself will help you find new rivers of creativity and maybe even new friends, audiences, and amours. Challenge yourself to try something new, even if you're really bad at it. Fun and play are just as important as success and skill. The more you can remember to live your life as opposed to making a show of your life, the more radiant you will seem to others. What you feel is real. Don't worry if others don't or won't agree.
VIRGO
Queen of Wands (Reversed)
The Virgo Moon native craves order and wholeness. They can be quite hard on themselves, even when they're doing everything right. A healer of the heart, these natives thrive through disciplined self-care and physical nurturing, but they struggle when they can't get out of their head. A Virgo moon wants to be of service to the world around them, but they may feel as though they never measure up. The more they can feel at home in their body and their surroundings, the more peace they will find in their heart. The Queen of Wands is the most sensual of the court cards, a witch by trade and pleasure. She is a seductive and passionate creature who makes magic through her connection to the physical world. She does not shy away from anything that delights her. Where we hold ourselves back from our pleasure, we diminish our power. Let yourself be fully in the world, as opposed to contemplating it. Lean in to temptation and see where it might lead.
Your breath is a spell, cast it. Your body is a cauldron, allow it to be stirred.
LIBRA Two of Swords
The Libra Moon native is a peacekeeper, a smoother-over of situations and social snags. Deeply empathic and sensitive to the plights and slights of others, the Libra moon sometimes feels as though they can't be ok until everyone else is ok. They do best when everyone around them is thriving. They struggle when those around them struggle. They must learn that at some point, other people's problems are not their problems. A lover of beauty, culture, and class, they can be found beautifying everything they touch. The Two of Swords invites us into meditation and stillness. The heart evolves. Identity is not a fixed point on a map but rather an undulating line. When we can quiet the mind, our sensitivities deepen, and we can begin to understand who we have become. There is a new understanding of yourself on the horizon. But this is not a dry, intellectual perception, it is a heartfelt revelation of who your life has called you to be.
Everyone has their own life to live. Choose yourself over others, you'll be of more value to them in the long run, anyway.
SCORPIO Nine of Cups
The Scorpio Moon native is a moody brooder, a powerhouse psychic and a relentless detective of the soul. They refuse to suffer fools or small talk, preferring to dive deep into the heart of mystery. They thrive when they can follow their own whims and chase their passions down rabbit holes of their choosing. They struggle when they are forced to flit on the surface of things or fake zeal. Loyal to a fault, with a PhD in grudge holding, the Scorpio Moon has no issues going their own way to pursue their own transformation. The Nine of Cups suggests a fulfillment of the heart that can only occur in the innermost chambers of one's own being. This is satisfaction through solitude, seeking the connection that comes through immersion into one's art, creative expression, or devotional practices. Simply put, the Nine of Cups doesn't care if no one laughs at your jokes, provided you find yourself hilarious. Take stock of what you truly value and make sure you are giving that to yourself every day. We don't have to be understood by others to be loved by others. But we must learn ourselves if we are ever to discover what it is that we really want.
SAGITTARIUS
Three of Swords
The Sagittarius Moon native is an adventurer, a boundary-tester, and a good-time girl who always has a book or a restaurant or an out of the way hotel to recommend. A profound lover of life, they crave experience and activity in their pursuit of a truth they can taste, feel, and maybe (probably) even fuck. They thrive when they feel free and unfettered. They struggle when others impose their idea of a good time on them. The Sagittarius Moon wants to live life to the fullest, and they don't care if they break a nail or the bank on the way. The Three of Swords wants to help us get a deeper understanding of our heart's true desires. It suggests that there are deep needs we haven't been able to meet yet—maybe we don't even know they exist. It's so easy to assume that we want what everyone else wants, or rather, what everyone else has been told they want. But maybe our heart yearns for something quieter, stranger, more unique. Learning to listen to the language of the heart is challenging because the heart rarely uses words.
Muster up the courage to listen inwards and give your heart what it wants, even if you don't understand why it wants that in the first place. Especially.
CAPRICORN Six of Swords
The Capricorn Moon native is a fortress of resolve, self-discipline and control. They know how to compartmentalize, strategize, and achieve. What they don't always know how to do is process their feelings. In fact, you may not even know what you are feeling until the feeling has almost passed. They thrive when they can be their own boss and service their formidable ambition. They struggle when pressed for vulnerability or emotional exposure. The key is to acknowledge and honor your emotional depths instead of ignoring or resenting them. The Six of Swords indicates a brand-new way of thinking about things, a mental trip, a change of mind—even a change of heart. It's a card that suggests mental expansion, space, grace, and breath. Pay attention to a shift of perspective that may not seem profound initially, and yet it transforms everything it touches. It may even be related to your own thoughts about your inner life. Don't be afraid to adventure within yourself and explore where previously supposed weaknesses are actually untapped sources of strength.
Changing perspective doesn't alter what you see, it alters who does the seeing in the first place.
AQUARIUS Six of Cups (Reversed)
The Aquarius Moon native is a secret weirdo, a dreamer, and disrupter who wants to understand the world around them. They know how to observe and see patterns, excellent at judging character and assessing risk. The Aquarius Moon wants world peace for real, they just may not want to be in the world when it happens. They thrive when they are allowed to march to the beat of their own electronic drum. They struggle when forced to dance to a generic beat. Innovation and inspiration are their gifts, being ahead of their time might be their curse. The Six of Cups suggests that an opportunity for healing is right around the corner, but it might be quieter than you think. Healing has so much to do with recontextualizing our trauma. We walk around with these wounds from childhood, thinking it's all our fault. One day, we realize we were literally victims of someone else's inadequacy or unhappiness. We didn't bring this on ourselves, we were a casualty of someone else's trauma. Just this understanding can help catalyze our own journey toward self forgiveness and reclamation of authenticity. Never underestimate the healing power of awareness. One profound revelation about your past can clear a wide road of freedom for your future.
PISCES Death (Reversed)
The Pisces Moon native is a romantic water-baby who craves dreamy escapes, spiritual ecstasy, and absolute pleasure. They can joyfully lose themselves in the world around them, and therefore should be mindful about setting clear boundaries with themselves and others. The Pisces Moon is blessed with gifts of prophecy and poetry but can also delude themselves into thinking that life will always be kind. They thrive when allowed to indulge their imagination, but they can struggle when told to "get real." To the Pisces Moon, life is a dream, but if they sleepwalk through life, they may find it becomes a nightmare. The Death card always appears to signify some profound change. When reversed, Death indicates the change is coming from within. Your inner transformation is seeking your attention, and I would venture you know precisely what I'm talking about. You're closer to the transformation achieved than the initial invitation, so keep going. But don't be surprised if you start to feel unrecognizable to yourself, that's a sign that you're heading in the right direction. When we change completely, on a deep soul level, there comes a period of courtship, where we must date ourselves and learn how to love ourselves anew.
ARIES Seven of Wands (Reversed)
The Aries Moon native is a wide-eyed wonderer, delightfully brash and brimming with explosive interest in living life on their own terms. Never one to back down from a fight or a fuck or even just some heated debate or heavy petting, the Aries Moon exudes fire energy at its most unfiltered. They thrive when they have something to chase, be it people, places, projects, or ambitions. But they feel most challenged when their need for instant gratification is unmet. Patience is a lifelong lesson for the Aries Moon, but their ability to express without premeditation is a refreshing blessing. The Seven of Wands suggests a period of battle, a time when your will must be used to pioneer your own way forward. This is the trailblazer card, which means it's time to ignore others and venture out into uncharted territory. You are fighting for your life right now, and the battle is being waged within. Now is not the time to get advice or ask others what they think; they will misunderstand you, dissuade you, or worse, keep you from following your own instincts. Reconsider the wars you wage outside yourself, as they might be distracting you from a subtler inner campaign.
TAURUS Ten of Swords
The Taurus Moon native is a lavish lover of luxury, a natural beauty with inherent taste and a taste for the expensive. They take care of themselves through physical pleasure and comfort, sparing no expense in search of the very best life has to offer. They thrive when they can linger in their own experience, operating from an innate sensuality. They struggle when forced to pick up the pace or settle for second best. To the Taurus Moon, life is a banquet, a midnight buffet meant to be savored every night. The Ten of Swords suggests the end of a very old cycle of suffering. Usually suffering comes from our stories, the ones we either inherited from those who traumatized us or the ones we created to survive the trauma inflicted. Either way, this story has long outlived its usefulness. There is a great open gateway through which you can release an old identity that feels more leaden than liberatory. You can reinvent yourself at any moment, your willingness to let go is all that stands in your way. Take your old stories to the river and send them downstream.
GEMINI
Justice (Reversed)
The Gemini Moon native is an infinitely curious soul who loves to live in the question. They take care of themselves through their minds, the stories they weave, and their willingness to flirt with almost anyone. No stranger to conversation, they thrive on epic phone calls or marathon dinner parties. They struggle when met with rigid dogma and those who spout it. The Gemini Moon is an intellectual explorer who sometimes has trouble making up their mind, only because they can see so many different points of view. This is their gift and their challenge.
The Justice card indicates a key understanding of one's own life purpose. There is the having of the vision and then there is the interpreting of the vision. This card places you firmly in the latter. Our lives can feel like these incredibly layered and symbolic dreams; who can even begin to know what they mean? But when Justice appears, all of a sudden, a glimmer of revelation graces us. Take a moment or two to "Google earth" on your life so far, attend to the patterns you see. For a moment, you might just remember who you really are and what you're here to do.
The path is made by walking it, turn around and you'll know exactly what sort of trail you've been blazing. And if you're not a fan, time to change course.
BRANDON ALTER is a spiritual healer, Tarot reader, Astrologer, mystic and writer living in Los Angeles. He is passionate about sharing spiritual tools that have helped him reconnect to the wisdom of his heart. Brandon is a thoroughly trained healer and teacher who co-hosts The Spiritual Gayz with his husband, a twice-monthly podcast dedicated to exploring the wide reaches of spirituality, without pretending that it all makes sense. Brandon’s mom took him to his very first psychic when he was seven and gave him his first Tarot deck when he was eleven. Since then he has devoted himself to the study of Tarot, Yoga, Pilates, Reiki, Astrology and the myriad ways one can work, heal and grow with the help of the spirits.
Visit www.thespiritualgayz.com to learn more. To sign up for The Spiritual Gayz newsletter and get these Tarotscopes delivered to your inbox, click here.
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