February 23, 2026
A Reading in Two Acts
Boy, these cards are slippery! I think about, and literally feel in my fingers, straw sliding between my hands as I try to hold them. And that lets me know it’ll be a challenge to weave this straw into gold, but I will try to make it make sense. As I’m pretty sure this week’s energy is a huge mess.
Remember as I write this that we are in the last week of the new moon, as it fattens itself up to a big, beautiful full Worm Moon. We’re still shadowed by the gentle hand on our arm, holding us back at the curb when what we really want to do is run across the street and see what the ruckus over there is all about. That’s what the new moon brought us and we’re still under its influence.
For how many years have we been held back, observing and doing basic maintenance, but not allowed to break loose and move forward? Aren’t you tired of it?! I’m sure tired of writing about it. But I’m just hear to report, not invent, what you might encounter energetically.
Oh my God this is a terrible reading, nobody is going to visit my website ever again.
- High Priestess, reversed
- 7 of Pentacles
- Devil, reversed
- 5 of Swords, reversed
- World, reversed
The only upright card we get is a seven? A seven? REALLY, SEVEN? There’s not a wait-ier card in the deck than 7 of Pentacles, which is the card that reminds us we can’t pull up a carrot or a potato to see if it is big enough to harvest, even if the tops look ready, and then stick it back like a greeny banana we’d return to the fruit bowl for another day of ripening.
If you pick a root vegetable too soon, it’s ruined, a complete loss. Like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.
And that’s our UPRIGHT card. The rest? All reversed. Nothing happening. No insights, no lessons learned, no opportunity to pivot and reframe our stated goals and opinions, no finish line. Not even a participation trophy and the tepid reward of orange slices and lukewarm Capri Suns that didn’t make it into the cooler in time because somebody’s mom was late.
The only way to gain context is to return to our 7 of Pentacles. Are we there yet? NO WE ARE NOT, SIT DOWN AND PUT YOUR SEATBELT BACK ON. AND LEAVE THAT DAMN CARROT ALONE.
I’m not joking about the seatbelt. Three of the reversed cards, did you notice, are Major Arcana cards. That’s heavy duty energy which reflects on overarching life lessons and soul gains. If they were upright, we could use the energy of the High Priestess to unlock some secrets about our Devil shadows, and the World card would crown us in glory for our efforts.
But these Majors aren’t upright, and even in their reversed positions they are bumps in the road or turbulence, so we need to be wary.
More context, offered by reversed 5 of Swords. If it were upright, we’d be at a decision point and it would focus on improving and refining our communications going forward.
But it’s reversed, and a Minor Arcana card that deals with how we go about daily life. (If you take care of the Minors, the Majors will take care of themselves, I always say.)
So what are we NOT doing, as this card is reversed, that we could look at and learn from? Where are we indecisive with our messages, about ourselves and about the world and the things we believe in? I’m just suggesting, while we’re sitting on our hands, that we could put consideration toward those 5 of Swords issues and gain some clarity. Then we would be ahead of the game, when the energy shifts and allows us to go forward.
This is such a horrendously discouraging reading that I asked for three clarifying cards, simply to tell us what factors would make this week so difficult. Those cards are:
- 6 of Wands
- 9 of Pentacles, reversed
- 9 of Swords, reversed
And I take from this that there is the possibility of celebration and self-congratulations over an issue, only to find that this was wildly premature and not as it was presented.
Is this global or personal? Could be either, or. Depends on how it manifests, if it does, in your life or in your environment. I am concerned, however it plays out, that it is a situation that initially promises to bring real, individual relief for concerns that hit close to home.
Not like, “Oh, the animal shelter just received an enormous donation out of the blue, isn’t that wonderful!” That would have us rejoicing for other people. But instead, the 6 of Wands promises individual, personal good fortune and news. It promises relief from stress. But nope, it’s not true. Don’t buy it.
It’s the vegetable plant that has a lush, ferny green top but when you pull it the carrot itself is tiny, puny, misshapen. It’s the 7 of Pentacles all over again, the promise that the harvest is ready and bountiful, when it is not.
Ermahgerd. Okay, so are you ready? SHOULD this energy assemble itself and play out as the cards are showing, are you ready to weather this storm and still be standing when it blows itself out? It will pass us, as everything does. And you will be fine, because you saw it coming and it did not catch you unaware. You’ll be ready. Please don’t desert me.
