May 1, 2026
Welcome to the Flower Moon! I thought it would be fun to try something more helpful than my general rambling around, and this focused spread of five cards indicates:
- What is this full moon illuminating? (The truth or situation surfacing)
- What am I ready to release? (Blocks, old stories, or habits to let go of)
- What should I celebrate? (Recognizing progress and personal wins)
- How can I honor this energy? (A ritual or action to take)
- Message from my intuition (Duh)
I think this (internet generated) spread works neatly with what I’ve suggested in intuitive spreads here to date; the full moon nets up everything you’ve been throwing out there since you got salty and set some intentions at new moon (you did, didn’t you?) and from those results, you can pick through and see what has an energetic reward or, failing that, a pull. This exercise in imagination, discernment, and recognition of how we shape our environment deserves more thoughtful attention than perhaps we are used to giving it. (Editor’s note: Elizabeth would later come to regret the decision to use this spread.)
The cards:
- 4 of Cups
- 10 of Swords
- 6 of Cups
- Page of Swords
- 3 of Swords
Now, you may be rejoicing over the fact that there are no reversed cards in this spread, and I must tell you that I chose deliberately NOT to have them. It’s fine to read the cards all upright, and never read reversals. I thought it would be particularly appropriate for this spread to have all the lights on green for this warm-fuzzy spread, no reversals unplugged and collapsed senseless on the table, but the joke is on me because look at all those Swords! Ha, ha. Hilarious.
Right. What truth is the Full Moon nudging toward us? 4 of Cups. Stupid, stupid 4 of Cups comes to remind us that our feelings will swing between wild pleasure and great sadness, but most often fall somewhere in the middle, where ordinary days get off to a bad start because you burn the toast and have no more bread in the cabinet, but then when you get gas and buy a honey bun and a scratch-off ticket you might win five bucks which pays for your breakfast, and then work might be pretty calm and sort of boring, and you go home and eat leftovers, and watch a funny old movie, and a friend texts about getting together at the weekend.
It’s not terrible. It’s not fantastic. It’s just life. We could say, in the above scenario, that at least we have a home and a job, and leftovers and streaming services and at least one pleasant friend; and that if we ever stopped to really think about, that is more stability than many people enjoy. That’s a lot to be thankful for. But security (the 4) is not sexy, and our feelings (Cups) like to be whooped up, not hung neatly in the closet with the windbreakers.
4 of Cups is smoking with discontent for no good reason. Having surveyed the placid emotional landscape, 4 of Cups has found it lacking, due to lack of tornadoes or similar catastrophic thrills.
Could the next Moon question, what am I ready to give up, throw some light on this? It’s 10 of Swords so yeah, ya think? Ten is a concluding number and Swords are communications. When 10 of Swords shows up, it’s over. Please stop talking. Please. I’m ready to give up: not giving up, obviously.
Third position: what to celebrate. Celebrate?! It’s 6 of Cups, and you know what 6 of Cups celebrates? Hesitation! The six in a suit is the first step on a new road after having come to a decision/crisis with the card before it, a five. But we hesitate to go forward sometimes, hobbled by our feelings and things we just can’t let go of, emotionally.
6 of Cups is particularly focused on nostalgia and looking back with rose-colored glasses. “Oh, it wasn’t that bad!” we say, unwilling to cut ties even though we’ve been pushed beyond our limit. It was that bad. Clearly it was, dear, or you would not have had the five energy that got you to this point.
Good Lord, this spread. Don’t worry, I will make every effort to pull it together. Right now we’re still shaking pieces out of the box of parts.
What to do to honor this situation? Page of Swords, oh thank God. Pages are feisty. They are a preview of coming attractions, and hope to get everybody ready for what is coming. They don’t actually do anything; they just announce and alert.
Page of Swords, being in communications, is particularly mouthy. “Can I have five minutes of your time?” he asks, determined to deliver his message. Clearly, honoring this situation is going to require sharing it.
Message from intuition? This: 3 of Swords. That’s a terrible message and I’ve got to say, this entire reading is a cautionary tale, not a delightful spring tea in the garden while the Flower Moon sits just behind the horizon, dozing a bit while it waits for dusk. This whole damn spread is a movie where the dog dies.
3 of Swords. Seriously. 3 of Swords, if we are using it as guidance, surely must say, “How ‘bout you don’t let that mouth get you right back into trouble, okay?”
Here’s how we are left to assemble this spread, with its message from the May 1st Flower Moon: Stop cosigning the public version of some recent past event that upholds a fictitious portrayal of how much better your life was before, and try telling the real story to someone before you circle right back and find yourself repeating it. Telling it might reshuffle this deck.
This is not the movie trope full moon that shines benevolently down on us from the velvety night sky, and I’m sorry if the cozy branding of calling it the Flower Moon made you assume that.
In Tarot, the Moon card shows up when there is a reflection of reality that needs to be called out or warned against. There is some serious truth-telling called for by this moon, and if we keep avoiding it, we will not get off this (mediocre) roller coaster and into a new place where we can be happier.
