I’m not ready for spooky season to end, so for this month’s pick-a-card reading, I focused on what fears we need to face the most right now. While that may sound a little too spooky, the goal of the reading is to offer some guidance as to how to get past some stuff that may be holding you back.

When you’re ready, close your eyes and take a few centering breaths. Ask yourself to be drawn to the image that is meant for you. Open your eyes and see what you are gravitating towards. As always, it’s okay to be drawn to more than one!  Read the corresponding section(s) and see what messages pop out the most to you. Feel free to highlight things, read them over a few times, and spend some time with them. This reading is just the beginning; to further connect with your message, try keeping the image with you, trace or sketch the image, take notes, or go on a walk with the intent to meditate on it. Take some extra care of yourself after any time you’ve spent reflecting on your message, and good luck!

Card One:

The Ace of Pentacles is about new opportunities, career changes, and the potential of new goals. It can also indicate a time of abundance and hard work paying off in a different direction than expected. As positive as it is, it also requires adaptability, a new perspective on current plans, and some hard work with the future in mind. Think of this card as the seed stage of something new, so fragile that it takes some extra attention before it will start to stabilize on its own.

As a fear to face, being drawn to this card may mean that you are coming into a time where you’re being asked to shift gears in your tangible life. A new opportunity, even one you want, can still be terrifying because staying in a familiar environment is tempting. It is not easy to say yes to yourself when you’re used to underselling your capabilities. To embrace this card, examine where you may be holding yourself back, whether that be denying new opportunities out of fear of change, or being afraid to divert your path from the original plan. This card also refers to routine and the home, as well, so the new changes you are meant to accept may have to do with your day-to-day routine or how you spend your time at home. Watch for moments where you tell yourself “no” when you’re meant to say “yes!”

Card Two:

The Seven of Pentacles is all about that long-term plan and doing the small tedious work to benefit the future. The card appeared in the reversed position, which means that the long term is not being best served at this moment.

If you are drawn to this card, you may have some worries that the efforts you’re putting in may not pay off in the way you expect them to. This card takes a lot of upfront investment and sacrifice before results are seen, and it’s not uncommon to worry that maybe you’re working for nothing. The good news is that it isn’t all for nothing, it’s just going to require an adjustment in your plans and a lot of patience. So in a way, the current method of moving forward is not going to produce as much, but there’s room for improvement if we face it and prepare. Be wary of the allure of instant gratification at this time; your moves should be focused on the long term and your course should be adjusted with that direction in mind. A good thing to reflect on at this moment is how are you focusing too much on the now. What could you be doing to make things easier on future you? Know that the changes won’t be felt immediately, so have some trust in yourself.

Card Three:

The Moon card came up for this third spot, which is a card that often refers to anxiety and fear. It represents the unknown moments in our lives when we try to get all the details and ask all the ‘what if’ questions, and still feel apprehensive about going forward. It’s a time when we don’t know enough to put our anxieties to rest and a lot feels up in the air. You know you can’t stay where you’re at, but you don’t quite feel ready to move on, either.

This card is not dooming at all; a fear to face it just means that some of your perceptions right now — especially those coming to the forefront — may be more rooted in fear and subconscious patterns lurking about than they are in actual reality. To face your fear, you have to first accept that you won’t have every answer. It’s a big trust fall, and that is certainly anxiety inducing! You also have to trust that the small efforts you’re making to tackle this do matter. The card came up in the upright position, which means that really great things can happen when you find a way to take the leap. Are there decisions you’re putting off at the moment? You are far more capable than you give yourself credit for, and you can handle going into this moment without being armed with all the knowledge. Stay flexible and patient with yourself. You are so ready!

Jae Melland is a tarot, palm, 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.