Welcome to this week’s card reading! Glad to have you here sharing this space with me!
Assisting me with this week’s reading is the Archangel Power Tarot by Doreen Virtue, Radleigh Valentine, and Jeff Bedrick.
After acquiring the deck, I once heard Radleigh Valentine say that working with this deck is like working with angelic life coaches—and being a trained and certified life coach myself, that observation added another layer of meaning for me to have it in my collection.
With deck in hand, I’m shuffling the cards with this question in mind: “What do we need to know about the week ahead?”
This week’s video reveals the cards for our reading:
If you prefer to read the post, here it is:
After shuffling the deck, I turned the entire deck over to show us the base card, which I consider the foundation for the week.
The card is 6 of Ariel, and its theme is giving and receiving.
6 of Ariel tells us that in our relationships, we will, at times, be a giver, and at other times, be on the receiving end of someone else’s giving. Both roles are important, in the grand scheme of things—there can be no receiving without giving, and no giving without receiving.
The 6, being an even number, suggests balance. This is a caution to us about playing the role of always being the person who gives, and has difficulty receiving from others; it also cautions us to not just be the “takers,” meaning the people who are only willing to take what others give them, yet they are either incapable or unwilling to give of themselves.
The scales behind Archangel Ariel in the image of the card also indicate balance (like the number 6); in addition to balance, the scales are a symbol of the law. The law here can be man’s law, but it also indicates Universal Laws, like the Law of Cause & Effect and the Law of Attraction.
The Law of Attraction basically states that “what we place our focus and attention on is what we get more of.
When 6 of Ariel is being offered to you, spend some time giving of yourself to others. See what the people around you might be needing and how you can meet those needs. Give to yourself as well. This is a card of service.
This might be a good week to make donations, give gifts, give to charitable organizations, and consider volunteering. You might be the one to receive a gift or a bonus. A loan might even be repaid.
There’s a saying that fits this card perfectly: “Give unto others, and it shall be given unto you.”
Moving on to pulling cards from the deck as I feel led, I pull three: the first for the beginning of the week; the second for the middle of the week; and the last to round out the rest of the week.
The cards are: 9 of Michael, Ace of Gabriel, and 8 of Ariel.
Our cards for the week: 9 of Michael, Ace of Gabriel, and 8 of Ariel, from the Archangel Power Tarot Cards.
For the beginning of the week, we have 9 of Michael, and its message is to check our thinking.
Thoughts of worry, stress, and anxiety may be disturbing you, and may be causing restlessness. Thoughts may be falling into a pattern, because this card can suggest a pattern of thought (a “mental pattern”), or one thought that comes to mind again and again, running in your head like a loop.
In my personal experience, I have found that worry can be such a waste of time. It doesn’t change the situation, and all I’m doing is giving it more power by focusing my attention on the problem, rather than looking for a solution.
Also, worry is rooted in fear, so a couple of questions to consider, when we find ourselves worried are, “What am I afraid of? What do I fear will happen?”
9 of Michael can be about what we fear will happen. As a psychologist, I see this card representing those of us who have a tendency to imagine the worst possible case scenario, to jump to the worst possible conclusion, and to fear and dread the future.
More often than not, when we imagine the worst possible thing that could happen, it doesn’t happen at all.
Why do we put ourselves through that mental agony? As a person who works with the Law of Attraction, here’s something to consider: If we’re always thinking the worst and putting feeling into it (in this case, worry), we have a greater chance of creating that experience.
In this case, 9 of Michael becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
So, for this week, consider the things that worry you and frighten you–and then ask yourself why that might be. And then see what you might be able to do proactively to alleviate those worries and those fears.
Moving to the card for the middle of the week, we have Ace of Gabriel.
When this card sprouts into your life, a new cycle, phase, or situation is beginning. Aces suggest the promise and potential for the future, so consider this the starting point for new thought-seeds to be planted now that will develop and manifest at a later time. This is a time of power!
This week, look for anything that comes your way as a source of inspiration, motivation, passion, and sparks your interest.
This source could be the thing that gets you started on a new business or creative endeavor, as Ace of Gabriel helps to reveal the creative path or the career path you are on. You may be considering a new job or up for a promotion on your existing job (which would fit nicely with 6 of Ariel, which can be a card of receiving a bonus or a pay raise).
Ace of Gabriel can also suggest a spark or passion being re-ignited, so some of us might find ourselves returning to a former project we started that we may have sidelined and allowed to collect dust. Time to blow the dust off!
When Ace of Gabriel appears, look at it as a power boost of supercharged energy. As with all the Aces, this energy boost is a gift (another nod to 6 of Ariel, which can be a card of gifts) to do with as you like. If you accept it, be clear of your intent, as the suit of Gabriel can represent our intentions and the actions that result from those intentions.
Coming to the card for the end of the week, we have 8 of Ariel, which is a card of self-improvement.
This is known as the “apprentice” card; an apprentice is someone who studies under the tutelage of a master, learning to perfect his or her skill(s), which is symbolized by Archangel Ariel pointing something out to the young man reading the book, as if to take on the position of being a teacher, instructor, or tutor.
Life is how we learn about ourselves. In some circles, it is said that Life is the curriculum of the “Earth School,” and we are students enrolled in its various courses. In this vein, Life is helping us learn “self-mastery.”
This week, we’re being encouraged to pay close attention to the work we’re doing on ourselves. What have we learned about ourselves throughout our life experiences—and how can we practically apply (Ariel being the suit of practical application) that knowledge going forward?
What resources (Ariel being a suit of material resources) do we have around us that might be of use to us in our personal work?
8 of Ariel can also be about the work we perform in the world to make money, which is a nice follow-up to both 6 of Ariel and Ace of Gabriel. This card, for some of us, might be an encouragement to take a closer look at our talents, skills, and abilities connected to our working lives.
This week may be a time to consider any additional training—be it courses, seminars, or books (symbolized by the man reading a book, with stack of books around him)—in your profession that will help you further your career—and increase your earning potential (6 of Ariel).
Being a card about making money, Ariel can also be encouraging you to master wise money management (which is again supported by 6 of Ariel, which I look at as a “money changing hands” card).
However you choose to look at, be it the external or the internal, 8 of Ariel is asking us to do the work that will be sure to increase our sense of worth and value (the extrinsic and the intrinsic).
To round out this reading, I’ll take the numbers on all the cards, reducing them to a number between 0-22, seeing what Major Arcana card will be the Lesson card for the week.
Adding 9 + 1 + 8, we have a total of 18. The 18th Major Arcana card is The Moon.
When The Moon shimmers your way, it is asking you to be guided by your intuition. Intuition is subtle and speaks softly. It is, as symbolized by the dog and racoon on the card, instinctual; it is a natural part of our being.
Intuitive prompts often don’t make sense to our conscious, rational, analytical mind, which is why the card’s backdrop is the night—the night symbolizes our subconscious mind and awareness.
In some decks, this card is named “Luna,” and one of its meanings is “lunacy,” which is derived from “Luna.” That is just another way of saying that “something doesn’t make sense.” Intuitive prompts often don’t make sense, and we can, at times, often say, “Well, that’s just crazy! That makes absolutely no sense!” But, instinctually, it does.
This is a card of dreams (as is 9 of Michael). So, this week, pay close attention to your dreams to see what messages they hold for you. The Moon is a card of heightened sensitivities, and an aspect of that is the ability to recall more of your dreams, which may seem more vivid.
And speaking of heightened sensitivities, be aware of how people around you may “trigger” emotional reactions and responses from you.
Finally, the appearance of The Moon card is asking us to consider examining the things that we fear (just like 9 of Michael). I mentioned dreams earlier, and one form of our dreams is nightmares, which are usually rooted in some kind of fear.
Should you experience a nightmare, I consider it to be an acknowledgment that you’re ready to face that fear. But you don’t have to wait for the nightmare; like I said before, you could be proactive and ask yourself, “What do I fear? What scares me?”
But that’s just the beginning. Follow that with the question children so wisely ask: “Why?” The fear is the surface appearance; the truth (another aspect of The Moon is confusion and bewilderment) beneath the fear is in the why.
That’s all for this week—wishing that it’s a Tarot-tastic one!
For a personalized Tarot reading, please visit my Tarot Consultations service page over at jameshimm.com to get all the details.
life of HIMM 