MOON TAROT: A CUSTOM SPREAD FOR EVERY PHASE

Just in time for Eclipse Season 2017, we’ve got your Moon Tarot guide to navigating each Moon phase—with customized card spreads. By Tina Gong.

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Tina’s Luminous Spirit Tarot Deck

As a lifetime student of tarot, and a newer student of lunar cycles, I’ve started exploring the moon’s teachings by casting cards for each Moon phase. I call it Moon Tarot. For this workaholic Capricorn, connecting to the phases of the Moon has taught me that there are times to push forward and times to just chill out a little bit, and I seek the cards’ assistance in figuring out exactly how.

The Moon’s magical cycles invite us to sync our lives to universal rhythms. Through her expansions and contractions, each phase offers us a lesson to incorporate. Likewise, Tarot’s ability to tell stories, ask questions, illuminate answers, and bring fresh perspectives to challenges provides a concrete channel for adjusting to the moon’s timing.

Each spread below offers you the chance to explore challenges and lunar lessons and, like the moon, to incorporate times to push forward and times to reflect. Feel free to infuse your own rituals into these readings to create truly customized Moon Tarot magic!

*Editor’s note: Unsure when each Moon phase begins? We love the Luna Solaria app

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New Moons :: New Beginnings

This phase is all about gathering our energy, strength, and willpower, and finding ways to recharge as we prepare for the coming cycle. It’s a moment to think carefully about what we’d like to accomplish. Use this simple 3-card spread to kickstart your lunar month!

Card 1: Where you have been
Card 2: Where you are
Card 3: Where you want to be

Labyrinthos Academy Online Tarot School Luminous Spirit Tarot Tina Gong The Numinous Moon Tarot Golden Thread Tarot New Moon Tarot Spread
New Moon Spread

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Waxing Crescent :: Setting Foundations

During this phase, we’re ready to develop clear foundations. To break out our notebooks, markers, and post-its as we sketch outlines and create strategies for achieving our dreams. This spread is built to help you identify and utilize all your resources.

Card 1: Your source of energy & willpower
Card 2: Your talents
Card 3: The environment
Card 4: Your resources

Labyrinthos Academy Online Tarot School Luminous Spirit Tarot Tina Gong The Numinous Moon Tarot Golden Thread Tarot Waxing Crescent Tarot Spread
Waxing Crescent Spread

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First Quarter :: Actions & Obstacles

Armed with a vision, we’re ready to act with decisiveness and drive. This time is perfect for pushing forward with our plans and setting things in motion. As we shoot into the future, the First Quarter spread identifies any lingering doubts that might be holding us back.

Card 1: Your self-perception
Card 2: Your obstacle
Card 3: What will help you overcome
Card 4: What holds you back

Labyrinthos Academy Online Tarot School Luminous Spirit Tarot Tina Gong The Numinous Moon Tarot Golden Thread Tarot First Quarter Tarot Spread
First Quarter Spread

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Waxing Gibbous :: Pivot Point

To flow is to survive, to stay rigid is to break. After we’ve worked on our goals, this phase is a perfect time to take a more detailed look at our approach and to assess alternative pathways.

Card 1: The problem
Card 2: Our expectation
Card 3: The reality
Card 4: Guidance

Labyrinthos Academy Online Tarot School Luminous Spirit Tarot Tina Gong The Numinous Moon Tarot Golden Thread Tarot Waxing Gibbous Tarot Spread
Waxing Gibbous Spread

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The Full Moon :: Celebration!

The Full Moon is a time of harvest, self-love, and appreciation for all the things we’ve been given and have earned. Go hang with the people that make you happy and celebrate the joy with this spread!

Card 1: What gives you joy
Card 2: Your gifts to world
Card 3: Your unrecognized potential

Labyrinthos Academy Online Tarot School Luminous Spirit Tarot Tina Gong The Numinous Moon Tarot Golden Thread Tarot Full Moon Tarot Spread
Full Moon Spread

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Waning Gibbous :: Turning Inward

The world is a reflection of our inner selves and so sometimes, our greatest challenge is ourselves. This phase of the lunar cycle asks us to look at our shadows, and challenge our beliefs about who we are. This spread is perfect for drawing at night, complete with an altar of mirrors and candles.

Card 1: Fears
Card 2: Secrets
Card 3: Lies
Card 4: Regrets

Labyrinthos Academy Online Tarot School Luminous Spirit Tarot Tina Gong The Numinous Moon Tarot Golden Thread Tarot Waning Gibbous Tarot Spread
Waning Gibbous Spread

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Last Quarter :: Letting Go

After we acknowledge the shadow self, we must also learn to confront it, embrace it, and let it go. Break out the smudge sticks, and imagine yourself banishing all that burdens you. Each puff of smoke that vanishes in the air represents a piece of your suffering that’s dissolving.

Card 1: What to accept
Card 2: What to forgive
Card 3: What to learn

Labyrinthos Academy Online Tarot School Luminous Spirit Tarot Tina Gong The Numinous Moon Tarot Golden Thread Tarot Last Quarter Tarot Spread
Last Quarter Spread

 

Tina Gong is a self-taught illustrator, developer, and designer of both physical and digital things. She is also the creator of Labyrinthos Academy, an online tarot school taught by monsters and mythical creatures, as well as Golden Thread Tarot and Luminous Spirit Tarot. She resides in Bushwick, and in her own bizarre imagination, with her partner and several sassy stuffed alpacas.

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Nina the Alpaca—Tina’s Alter Ego

LIKE A LULLABY: READING FOR THE CANCER FULL MOON 2017

The Cancer Full Moon opens a portal of transformation, if we can process our feelings, get inspired, and stay present in the now, says Sandra Sitron.

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Wolf Moon :: January 12 2017 :: 6.36am EST :: 22 degrees Cancer

This Moon is like a lullaby. She sings, “Find the softest part of your psyche. Open there just a little bit more. Somewhere there is a vulnerable part of you that is ready for a change. It’s time to heal. Shed a protective layer. Turn a wall into a ladder.”

You are in a moment of incredible growth. The Cancer Full Moon is offering you an opening. It’s transformational. The Cancer Full Moon is opposite the Sun in Capricorn. Capricorn is ambition and Cancer is nurturance. The Moon is the ruler of Cancer and she is nice and comfy in her sign right now. Yet this energy can feel so loud. Emotions come to their full blossom or their full boil. And the Cancer Full Moon chart is packed with heightened astrological energy. Let’s delve in…

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The Moon and It’s Message
Pine trees in the moonlight.

Trees standing straight and tall, like you. The trees house an internal drama. There is a veil of peace and serenity, yet within each tree is a Universe. Cells multiply. Moss grows and birds sing. Sap flows and insects die. For the tree, time is different. Maybe it’s more like a series of rings and less like a straight line. Your message is to root yourself down and hold yourself up. Remind yourself that nothing is as it seems. The Cancer Full Moon wants you to remember that everything is more complex and more simple than you think. Capricorn Sun is Father and Cancer Moon is Mother. Hold yourself like a baby and let yourself truly experience the mysteries of the world. On this first Full Moon of the year, you are an infant. Let yourself be in awe of the enigma.

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Moon Inconjunct Saturn.
Scaffolding.

The Moon is in her own sign and inconjunct Capricorn’s ruler, Saturn. Your feelings may get hurt. The squishy, vulnerable parts of you may feel like they are spotted by everyone. You can’t hide. Your old stuff is ready to be drawn out and healed. But the process may be downright frustrating. Find a structure for your emotions. Here’s one:

Step 1: Forgive yourself. If your emotions are causing behaviors you aren’t too proud of, accept it.
Step 2. Define your feelings. What is this feeling called?
Step 3: Identify the pattern. When was the first time you felt this way (high school or before)? If you can’t answer that, try this one. Name three character traits of the person(s) involved. Who else in your formative years also had these traits? A parent? Yourself?
Step 4: Go back and hug the child/teenager part of yourself that needs the hug. You are an adult now. You can nurture that inner child and tell them it’s going to be okay. Sit the little imaginary version of you on your lap and rock them.
Step 5: Process. This could mean different things… journaling, apologizing, writing an affirmation about how you would like to feel, or talking about it.

This 5-step process can be used whenever high emotions feel frustrating. Keep at it. It brings together the nurturing nature of the Moon and the structural energy of Saturn and the Capricorn Sun.

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The Grand Cross Pattern
Stuck in a doorway.

The Grand Cross pattern is made up of Sun and Pluto opposite the Cancer Full Moon and squaring the opposition of Jupiter Uranus. Two oppositions. 4 squares. It looks like a giant square in the sky with a cross in the center. It’s a cardinal grand cross. The cardinal energy is initiative. Cardinal means “hinge,” which describes walking through a doorway into a new beginning. A new door opens. But the grand cross itself can feel like stuck energy. It’s like you being pulled in four different directions. Whatever portal you need to walk through on your healing journey, this is you standing in the doorway.

You’ve got your arms and legs outstretched and clutching to the door-jam. It may feel scary. It may feel like there is something on the other side that you shouldn’t see. Something will either push you through or you will retreat. Who’s to say which is better for you at this moment? The important thing for now is that you honor your experience in this moment. Your arms and legs are the grand cross. There is a sense of being pulled in many directions. How do you stand in the middle of this storm? How do you hold your center? How do you breathe through it? You need an anchor. It needs to be spiritual. It needs to be inspiring.

Which brings us to our next clue…

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Venus Conjunct Neptune
A magic wand.

Venus is exactly conjunct Neptune. These two are buddying up and creating a Thor’s Hammer aspect pattern with the Moon and Jupiter. Don’t underestimate the powerful energy that you are emitting at this very moment. You’re sending out vibrational beams that are attracting more of the same to you right now. Find a way to funnel your energy. Make yourself into a magic wand.

Enchanting, lovely Venus and Neptune together can help you to transcend. If the balance is out of whack for you right now, you may find yourself locking into the lower vibes of Neptune—drugs, alcohol, bewilderment. Keep yourself inspired. The verb “to inspire” means both to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence, and to draw in air.

Do both. Focus on your breathing. And then find something that inspires you by engaging your sense of purpose. Use this inspiration to funnel your thoughts and emotions. This is how you activate the power of the magic wand that the Cancer Full Moon chart is presenting you with. How to connect with your higher-self. Probably you do this through meditation. Maybe you listen to inspiring music. Maybe you create something. You will have to get out of your typical thinking-cycle for a handful of moments. Keep leading yourself away from the swirling thoughts. You will keep returning, but you can keep leading yourself away. Focus on the moment. Like when you’re making your coffee in the morning. Or washing your hands. There is so much magic in the moment. The “now” will help you move through the doorway to the next stage of your healing journey.

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Summary: This is a powerfully energetic time. Allow your feelings. Get ready to change and heal. If you feel stuck, pulled in four different directions, vulnerable, or confused—that’s okay. You will move through the doorway by processing your feelings, inspiring yourself and staying present in the now.

The below suggestions are for self-inquiry by sign to help you work more deeply with the energies of the Cancer Full Moon. For a more accurate reading, check where 22 degrees Cancer falls in your birth chart, and also read for that house…

Aries or 4th house.
In what area of your life do you wish for more security? How old is the part of you that wants security? Can you give more empathy to that part of you?

Taurus or 3rd house.
What would you like to be able to believe in? What is stopping you?

Gemini or 2nd house.
What are you building in your life? What is your most valuable asset when it comes to this task?

Cancer or 1st house.
What would you like to say “Yes” to? What would you like to say “No” to? What is blocking you from asserting your desires?

Leo or 12th house.
Ask yourself, “what feeling am I not allowing myself to acknowledge?” What comes up?

Virgo or 11th house.
What are your hopes for the future? Who in your community will support you?

Libra or 10th house.
What are the structure or systems in your life that you are ready to simplify?

Scorpio or 9th house.
Can you make a commitment to explore a new place or philosophical idea this week?

Sagittarius or 8th house.
Where in your life can you let go of control? What does the idea of spiritual surrender mean to you?

Capricorn or 7th house.
Who do you think you could be more open with? How might that change the relationship?

Aquarius or 6th house.
Is something stopping you from feeling grounded? If so, what?

Pisces or 5th house.
What can you do to bring more playfulness and lightness into your life?

KNOW YOUR STRENGTH: READING FOR THE TAURUS FULL MOON 2016

The Taurus Full Moon is here to bring stamina and keep us focussed on the long game, says Sandra Sitron

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TAURUS FULL MOON :: Monday 11/14/16 :: 8.51am EST :: 22 Degrees Taurus

After an election in America that feels to many like a massive step backwards, we seek direction. Amid the chaos, there are many reactions. When considering the election result, many People of Color who have experienced the lifelong effects of racism are not surprised. Many Liberal white people who don’t have to walk this walk on the daily are in shock.

Women, People of Color, the LGBT community, immigrants, Muslims, and the disabled are in need of safe spaces, and are more aware than ever of their vulnerability. The media is back-pedaling and finger-pointing. Pollsters are re-evaluating. Trumpers are thrilled. Republicans who don’t like Trump but voted for him anyway are hopeful and silent.

As a reader of astrology and out-there, old soul, witchy sh*t, I am assuming that you are among the forlorn and aching choir. That, like me, you are seeking understanding, collective and personal healing, and a plan of action. Let’s see if Astrology can help with at least some of these points.

The Taurus Full Moon in Taurus is the first lunation in the wake of the election. As such it is shedding its light on a path forward. During a Full Moon the energies of two opposites meet to bring us awareness of the whole. The meeting of two opposites can feel like a head-on collision, or it can feel like an epiphany. This Taurus Full Moon is illuminated by the full light of the Sun in the opposite sign of Scorpio.

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The Taurus Full Moon and it’s Message
Peeling an orange.
We are working to get to the sweet fruit that is inside. There is a bitter rind. We must keep peeling. Keep working. Keep taking off the layers to get closer to the truth. Keep sustaining ourselves with sweetness. Keep nurturing. Keep taking care of our bodies, and keep diving deep into our emotions.

TAURUS is your strength; your body, your resources, your self-worth. SCORPIO is union; your strength melded with another person’s strength. Emotional, spiritual and physical. Both signs are Fixed. They show us the value of persistence. They remind that we must keep digging in to achieve progress.

The Taurus Full Moon is helping us know our strength, to unite, and to keep our eyes on the long game.

A deeper look at the signs at play.

TAURUS is the sign that rules our material world. It is our body, house and resources. It is our natural talents. Taurus teaches us how to stay alive AND that we deserve to be alive (because our talents are of value). This sign yearns to impart the wisdom of abundance. When Taurus is afflicted, it can cause us to fear scarcity until we remember our inherent worth. Taurus done right is as steady and stable as bedrock. The strength of Taurus comes from it’s championing of value; value of body and value of self.

SCOPRIO is yours and mine together. Scorpio is merging. Union. Scorpio reaches out to understand the emotions of the other person. Because of this inter-personal sharing of emotions. Scorpio rules both control and letting go. It can be hard to surrender control for the purpose of emotional, physical, and spiritual union. But the wisdom of Scorpio teaches that we must. You must let go so that you are light enough to move into the next stage of your evolution. One of Scorpio’s symbols is the Phoenix rising out of the ashes. Scorpio reminds us that there must be destruction before we can break open to progress.

When the Taurus understanding of self-worth and abundance is intact, Scorpio is secure enough to easily let go of competitive control and merge. This is the gestalt of the two signs.

The Taurus Full Moon reminds us that if we want to evolve, we must do both Taurus and Scorpio well.

We can do the Taurus things. We can believe in our own personal strength. We can own our part in this, by taking responsibility for our thoughts, words and actions. We must use our resources to create positive change. We must use our bodies to resist. We must build safe-houses for people who need physical, emotional or psychological shelter. We must defend everyone’s right to material security and abundance.

And we can do the Scorpio things…We can reach out to understand another person’s emotional and psychological perspective. We can look into the eyes of the murderer and see the humanity within. We can gaze boldly into our shadow. We can let go of control and feel our feelings. We can notice if fear is encouraging us to be controlling. We can forgive when we are ready.

We can be the Phoenix rising out of the ashes.

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Taurus Full Moon Semi-Sextile Uranus
Stepping stones leading across a flooding river.
There is quick movement, changes are happening within all of us on microscopic levels. We must be very aware of change. We must remember that there is a flow of progress. Sometimes this flow comes so erratically that it feels as if we are drowning. It can be hard to see further down the river. The Moon in Taurus wants us to stay the course and Uranus in Aries asks us to jump ship in search of a better way. Find your leadership within yourself. Find your true course. It is the course of your heart. Follow that river loyally, even if the destination is unknown and the waters are choppy.

Taurus Full Moon Sextile Chiron
Pulling up buckets of well water.
A healing is welling up from deep within. As the puss of our wounded nation pools around us, so does the healing salve become available. We could never move forward without seeing clearly the ills of our society. The wounds of our history have festered. We must now make a thorough examination, and through this practice, heal ourselves. The only folly comes from refusing to look. In a safe and quiet space, ask yourself what you are refusing to see. Make this query into a prayer.

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Below are suggested areas of self-inquiry for each sign. If you know what house in your birth chart 22 degrees Taurus is in, also read for that house.

Aries or 2nd House
What is the one thing on which you know you want to take a stand? How can you use your natural talents to do so?

Taurus or 1st House
What have you struggled with that you’ve learned how to master? This is something that makes you unique. Can you see yourself guiding others to master this same struggle?

Gemini or 12th House
What have you been refusing to see when it comes to your relationships? Your wellbeing at soul level? The world around you?

Cancer or 11th House
What are your hopes and dreams for the future? Can you add more detail to the picture? Who can you reach out to?

Leo or 10th House
Do you feel empowered to have the career of your dreams? If not, what belief stands in your way? How is this belief keeping you playing small?

Virgo or 9th House
Research a philosophical perspective that can guide you and soothe you. Write down what speaks to you and keep this piece of paper in a place where you’ll see it often.

Libra or 8th House
Are there any feelings that you have been stubbornly holding onto? Is there room for movement now around this issue?

Scorpio or 7th House
Finish the sentence “A relationship is…” fifteen times. Write it down in list form.
A relationship is _______________
A relationship is _______________
A relationship is _______________ (etc.)
Notice what different words and ideas come to mind when you contemplate what relationship means to you.

Sagittarius or 6th House
Can you pinpoint the potential cause of overwhelm in your life? Write a list of simple things you can do to address this, and commit to tackling one per day.

Capricorn or 5th House
Experiment with different mediums for self-expression. Write a blog post or record an Instagram story about what’s in your heart.

Aquarius or 4th House
What would you say to your inner child? Write some ideas down. If any feel like positive affirmations, read them out loud to yourself before you go to sleep.

Pisces or 3rd House
Collect facts that can help you ease your mind. As you consume media and news, ask if what you are taking in is improving your mindset.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Sandra here or follow her on Instagram.