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September 15 through September 21, 2025

There are a few astrological events going on this week, and the highlight will be the Virgo new Moon/solar eclipse, occurring on Sunday. This will set the stage for the next six months, and turn our focus to making the changes that will bring us a step closer to our dreams. We may not get much done the first two days of the week as the Moon wades through Cancer, as the focus will be on our emotional balance rather than what gets done, so go with the flow and don’t worry about material things. The Leo Moon will hang overhead on Wednesday and Thursday, restoring our confidence and making it easier to get things done. Mercury will move into Libra on Thursday, turning our thoughts to relationships, love, and balance. Venus will enter Virgo on Friday, where it will spend the next few weeks encouraging us to make some important decisions about where our priorities are. The Moon travels through Virgo Friday through Sunday, ending the week with the Virgo new Moon/solar eclipse!

The Fullness of Shadow Work, by Christine Jette

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

When I finished the manuscript for Tarot Shadow Work in 1999, I didn't believe I could write one more thing about tarot and the shadow. I was wrong. Time has passed and I am able to revisit the book with a more objective viewpoint. I originally wrote that I used only the 22 cards of the Major Arcana because shadow work is a spiritual endeavor. While this is true, it's time for writer honesty: the concept of using 78 cards eluded me in the beginning. Four years later, I know how to use an entire tarot deck when doing shadow work and the Llewellyn Journal is the perfect place to share my expanded ideas on it.

Taking my cue from astrology, the Major Arcana cards represent the WHAT of shadow work, a description of the shadow and what its challenges and gifts entail. The Court Cards are the HOW and WHO of shadow work—how the shadow presents itself in personality development and whom we draw to us for our life lessons. The Minor Arcana depict the WHERE of shadow work, or in what department of life the shadow is operating.

The Major Arcana (Numbers 0-21), The Fool through the World, speak to you of both life lessons and life wisdom: those qualities being tested and developed, your gifts and challenges, karma and the reasons you are here. The twenty-two cards symbolize spiritual development and help you understand your place in the world. The "Greater Secrets" will point to the higher overview of life and give you insights into the "big picture." They will also hint at your healing potential and what lies in the shadows. (See the appendix in Tarot Shadow Work for more information.)

The Minor Arcana, or "lesser secrets," offer information along the planes of existence: Wands, spiritual creativity in everyday life; Cups, emotions and feelings; Swords, psychological well being/the mind; and, Pentacles, physical reality and the body. When the different suits shows up in a reading, ask yourself: What action can I take? (Wands) What am I feeling or dreaming about? (Cups) What am I thinking or what decision needs to be made? (Swords) Because Pentacles explore issues of food, housing, money, work, the body, and physical health, ask yourself: What do I value?

In life, there is no separation between body, emotion, mind, and spirit. It is impossible for something to happen to us without all four levels of existence being affected. It is likewise impossible to change without attending to these same four levels of being. Life does not fall neatly into categories. Because stress or concerns at any level affect all levels, the lines sometimes blur.

No other cards in the tarot deck have more interpretations than the Court Cards. Just pick up any three tarot books and compare. It's mind-boggling. We all have qualities that are traditionally associated with masculine and feminine ways of being. For instance, a woman can be competitive and a man can be nurturing. Be aware that the King and Knight can represent a woman and the Queen can symbolize a man. The gender or "occupation" of the court card is less important than the qualities it describes.

Pages can represent a child, but they also introduce the element of their suit, the willingness to change, risk, or learn something new. Pages can symbolize the catalyst needed for change and the child within us all. Pages also carry messages related to their suit: Telephone calls or significant e-mail (Page of Wands); important dreams (Page of Cups); written warnings (Page of Swords); and messages from your body, especially in the form of illness: What is your body trying to tell you (Page of Pentacles)?

Knights represent young adults or someone starting over, focusing on a specific task through their suit, be it creative (Wands), emotional (Cups), psychological (Swords) or physical (Pentacles). Our "knightly" qualities include being energetic, daring, headstrong and goal oriented. Knights show movement and action through their suits.

Queens are mature. They take their understanding of life inward and use this life wisdom to nurture others and encourage self-development through their specific suit. For example, the Queen of Cups nurtures the emotions. Because they are the embodiment of the feminine tradition of healing, Queens often represent healing in relationship to their suit. An example of this is the Queen of Pentacles symbolizing a natural healer. Our "queenly" qualities include sensitivity, fullness of expression, empathy, and personal, inner control.

Kings are also mature, but they project their maturity outward in the form of leadership through their suit. They take charge and give advice: Creative or spiritual advice (King of Wands); emotional advice (King of Cups); psychological or intellectual advice (King of Swords); and, practical advice about the everyday world (King of Pentacles, especially in the area of finances or work.) Our "kingly" qualities include being capable and in control, with an air of authority, leadership, and worldliness.

So how do you use the entire deck in shadow work? It's simple. Separate your deck into three stacks: the 22 Majors, 40 Minors and 16 Court Cards. Do a star layout, or any other activity in Tarot Shadow Work using Majors only, as described in the book. Look at your shadow layout or activity and select one card that puzzles or bothers you, or one that you especially like. Pull that card out of the layout.

Now think of the Minor and Court Cards as the cards to use for more information. Shuffle your Minor Card stack. As you shuffle, concentrate on WHERE, or what department of life, this particular Major card is operating. For example, you have chosen The Fool from the shadow layout because you know you allow others to take advantage of you and have decided that now this needs the most work. The minor card that turns up is the Ten of Wands.

You first decide if the Ten of Wands describes the challenge of the shadow or the gift of the shadow. In other words, does the card feel negative or positive? Hint: If you like the card, it probably represents a gift of shadow work, something to keep and nurture. If it feels negative, for instance being reversed, it means it is a lesson to be learned, something to improve or work on. You realize that it depicts the challenge of the shadow: others take advantage of you because you are unable to say no and you take on too much responsibility as a result.

As you shuffle the Court Card stack, concentrate on HOW the shadow presents itself in your personality. You can also think about the people in your life and why they might be there. Remember, the Court Cards are always a reflection of you—you draw the people to you that you need for your life wisdom. So it doesn't matter if the Court Card describes someone else. The card is still about you and your need to have those qualities in your life for good or ill. Randomly select one Court Card. First decide if it represents the shadow's challenge or the shadow's gift. Does it feel negative or positive to you?

Continuing with our example, you have drawn the Queen of Pentacles. At first you think, oh, great, the smothering mother card. After some thought, you decide she symbolizes the shadow's gift after all: Yes, you have been taken advantage of because of your need to nurture (rescue) others; but the answer is still in the Queen of Pentacles—if you start saying no and allow others to learn self-responsibility. Then they are able to find their own way, and you are free of the martyr's shadow.

You can use the Minor and Court Cards for more information on any shadow star layout, single card in a layout, or any tarot activity in the book. Using the entire deck helps pinpoint both strengths and challenges of doing shadow work. Think of it as your magnifying mirror for a better reflection of you. And for goodness sake, trust your intuition when deciding if a card feels negative or positive. Only you can know that. To review, ask the following questions when doing shadow work with the entire deck:

* For Major Arcana cards: WHAT shadow is this card describing? Does this card symbolize the challenge of shadow work or the reward for facing the shadow, the gift of shadow work?

* For Minor Arcana Cards: WHERE or in what department of life is this card operating? (Physical, financial, emotional, psychological, legal, creative or spiritual pursuits, etc., according to its suit.) Is this card a challenge (something that needs work) or something to keep and nurture—my strength or talent?

* For Court Cards: HOW does the shadow present itself in my personality development? HOW do other people see me? HOW do I see myself? WHO have I drawn into my life for soul development? Does this card describe the shadow's challenge or gift?

For me, shadow work and its resultant soul development are meaningless if not viewed through the lens of everyday living. Divinity lies in the details of life. The magic of shadow work doesn't come from the tarot cards—the magic comes from our willingness to change. If we ascribe to the philosophy of "as above, so below," then who we are and what we do is spirituality in action—not "out there" somewhere, but in us, here and now. May you find joy in the shadows.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2003. All rights reserved.

Lately I find myself saying things out loud like I hate my life, and this always surprises me: it just falls out of my mouth as I'm driving to work or I'm rushing to get out the door. I need to uncover what this is all about. Currently I teach kindergarten, and while I love my job, there are aspects of it that I don't like - mainly the exhaustion. At the end of each day, I just have nothing left to give. I find myself trying everything I can to avoid fatigue and keep my energy up. My relationship with my partner is suffering a bit, and prior boyfriends have complained about how wiped out I am at the end of each day. I know I'm not alone, as almost all teachers feel as drained as I do each evening. Is there a spiritual way to keep my energy up? What do you think is causing these sudden thoughts and outbursts about hating my life?

- Stephanie

Astrea:

While it can be a very rewarding experience, teaching little kids can suck the life right out you. Kids are like sponges, and they soak up every iota of energy they can. I taught K-6 for years, and by three o'clock every weekday, I felt like someone had made me into a wet noodle to drag around behind them.

Finally, I discovered the secret that teachers of small fry must have known for centuries: instead of letting wee ones suck you dry, get some energy back from THEM! They have plenty to spare, so they don't mind. Kindergarteners LOVE the teacher. They're willing, ready and able to help you recharge if you let them. While you have to find your own way to do this, here's what worked spectacularly for me:

Find the time of day that you feel the most spent. I'm sure you have one of those circle rugs in your room where you can all sit down together. Have the kids wash their hands, and let the cool water run over each child's hands for at least thirty seconds.

Sit down with them in the circle and join hands. Teach them this little nursery rhyme with one or two kids (and you) in the center of the circle with drums or claves or maracas or something on which they can keep the rhythm. I always put the pot stirrers in the center of the circle with me. Have your beaters beat out sixteen counts in four-four time; that's ONE two three four, TWO two three four, THREE to three four, etc.

Then in that time signature, everyone says:
Earth my body (now four more beats)
Water my blood (beat, beat, beat, beat)
Air my breath (beat, beat, beat, beat)
And Fire my Spirit (beat, beat, beat, beat)
Sun my mind (same as before to the end)
Moon my heart
Rock my Soul
And PUCKER MY POWER!
(Have them make a big smooch noise at the end!)

By the time you've done this three times, the energy flowing into you will be SO GREAT it might even knock you down! Breathe it in. Savor it. Enjoy it. LAUGH.

You'll leave school that day a new person. You'll be energized, upbeat and happy to have shared in all this fabulous, youthful energy.

It sounds silly and frivolous but it works. When that "sinker" towards the end of the day hits you right between the eyes, there is NOTHING like a unified bunch of little kids chanting something powerful to create energy for all involved.

You can use any chant to do this, but this one always seemed the most appropriate, and you can't really get in trouble for teaching something that is nature based. Thanks for teaching, Stephanie. We could use a few thousand more teachers like you!

*****

Susyn:

It sounds as if you're so busy giving to everyone else that you've forgotten to give to yourself. With the high demands on everyone's time and energy these days, it's easy to put our needs on the back burner in order to ensure that everyone else is happy and well taken care of.

Your first task will be to discover how to reclaim some personal time. Then you can use that time to rebuild a connection with your true power source: Spirit.

Most people don't realize how much restorative energy can be gained through meditation, and how just a few minutes each morning can add hours of energy, direction and guidance to the rest of one's day.

Stating that you hate your life indicates that you're more than ready for a change. The frustrating thing is that there doesn't seem to be a way to make these changes or regain your energy.

With regular meditation, you'll be shown how to make those shifts happen. Then many obstacles now in your way will start to disappear on their own.

Let's start with a quick metaphysical pick-me-up that takes just a few minutes. You can use this ritual any time you feel drained, stressed or uneasy, like when you get home from work.

Get a raw egg from the refrigerator, and taking care not to break it, gently rub it over all over your body using a light massage motion. You don't have to undress; just glide it over your clothing. Don't forget your hair, face and neck area.

The egg will act like a magnet to pick up any stray, negative or unsettling energies you may have taken on during the day. Once you've gone over your entire body, you should notice an immediate shift in your energy. Crack the egg into the toilet and flush it away.

I also recommend that you reset your alarm clock fifteen minutes earlier than usual, and spend that time in meditation each morning. As soon as you awaken, instead of going over all that has to be done that day, stop and try to formulate an image to concentrate on as you meditate, such as a rose, a landscape, or an open window.

If your mind starts to drift, keep pulling it back to the image you are creating on your mental screen. Given how frantic your life has been, it may be difficult to spend the whole fifteen minutes meditating at first, so start with five minutes a day the first week, and increase this one minute per day after that.

Throughout the rest of your day, notice how much more energy you have and how much more balanced you feel. Watch how obstacles disappear, and how smoothly your classroom starts running.

Sound like magic? It is! It's also the simplest, quickest avenue to regaining your energy and enthusiasm for life.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.