This month as I pulled the cards for this issue, I decided to ask the reading to focus on how we can be prouder and more accepting of who we are right now. The messages this time will be centered around what we need to put our energy towards in order to embrace all that we are.

As usual, close your eyes and take a few centering breaths, focusing on the intent of being guided to the message or messages that will be your best companion(s) this month for that goal. When you open your eyes, see which card you are drawn to the most out of the images provided, or if you would prefer not to use images you can ask yourself which number (one, two, or three) you are drawn to and go to the corresponding message.

When you’ve read your message, you can connect with your card further by coloring in the image(s) and meditating on what the card brought forward for you.

Card One: Five of Wands

The Five of Wands is a card that involves competition, comparison, and letting your voice be heard. While it can represent some form of conflict, this conflict is usually not the kind of conflict you were meant to avoid. This card represents a time in which disagreement and standing out is a positive thing. It is finding the value in the moments where we have to make our point heard and how that shapes us as individuals.

This card appearing as your guidance for how to be prouder and more accepting of who you are is indicative of a person who needs to be heard. Standing your ground and making sure that your authentic self is being represented is very important for your well-being. You will likely face challenges this month that seem to encourage your silence. While you do need to pick your battles at times, whether that be for your own well-being or safety or simply to conserve your energy, there will be a time where you are meant to ruffle some feathers. You have a voice that carries weight, and learning when, how, and where to make your stand is important.

Another important aspect of the Five of Wands card is that while the figures in the card may disagree, there is a foundation of respect among them. This means that while your voice does hold value, make sure that you are also looking out for your teammates who may be silenced or talked over at this time, and help amplify their voices, too. While this is a card of competition and conflict, there’s no reason this can’t also be a collaborative effort to help those struggling to be heard.

Card Two: Page of Cups

For those of you who received the Page of Cups for guidance on how to embrace and empower all that you are, it will be all about finding the childlike joy in the little things. This Page is a vibrant card representing a very openminded and creative way of seeing the world. They are open to new ideas and lead from the heart. Being a page, they may also be underestimated or told that they are naïve and unrealistic in the way that they see the world. This card is asking you to hold onto that gift of thinking outside the box and leading with your heart.

The world is often changed unexpectedly by those who still hold on to a child’s way of seeing the possible in the impossible. While the page may lack in experience at times, they make up for it in open heartedness and a fresh, clear viewpoint. They do not care for things remaining the same just because ‘that’s how it is’; they challenge the norm and wish to see things work from a compassionate place.

There are many aspects of our society that will try to force the page to see things differently under the guise of being more realistic, but the page asks us to challenge ourselves and society into being better. You may be tempted to stop leading from the heart, but this card is here to remind you that you must cling to it, instead. Stay optimistic, joyful, and compassionate, and keep the love for your fellow humans well nurtured. You are not ‘too sensitive’; you are the much needed sensitivity in the world.

Card Three: Nine of Cups

The Nine of Cups is a card of emotional abundance and satisfaction. The figure in the card is often very proud and emotionally satisfied with their accomplishments. The figure in this card is not agonizing over what the next step is, or if they did enough to deserve what they have, or dismissing the efforts they put in to get here today. This card being from the suit of cups means that this has more of an emotional influence than a tangible one. I see it more as pride in connections and emotional potential rather than physical abundance.

The Nine of Cups card is a great reminder to stop and credit yourself with how far you’ve come. You may not be where you expected to be, you may still wish for more progress, you may point out all of your flaws to yourself and maybe even others, but you are meant to take this moment and simply be proud that you are here.

Within the context of this month's focus for these card draws, your road to being prouder and more accepting of who you are lies within your ability to credit yourself for where you are at right now, not where you think you should be or could be in the future. Emotionally speaking, you are meant to sit back and remind yourself that you are enough right now. There will always be more emotional work in the future, but we have to stop and look at how far we’ve come. You are here, and that is enough.

Main image by Anete Lusina

Jae Melland is a tarot and rune reader at Lotus of the Moon in Richland. You can schedule readings with Jae by emailing her at jae.melland@gmail.com. Jae also has walk-in hours at Lotus of the Moon Fridays and Saturdays noon–3 p.m.