Welcome to your Cancer Season Self-care Tarotscopes.

Cancer Season represents the waters and waves of mothering, intuition, birth, and nurturing — which is not at all limited to women, the traditional birth experience, or gender. This cardinal (initiatory, action-oriented) sign wants to move and is motivated to move by feelings and emotions. Ruled by the moon, the Cancer crab drifts with the emotional tides, bringing its home along wherever they go — placing a special emphasis on being at home in our own bodies by nourishing and nurturing (aka mothering) ourselves.

What if — with all these (currently six!) retrograde planets PLUS the intensity of eclipse seasons PLUS a seismic global shift in the way we view racist structures and the white supremacist patriarchy — this Cancerian motivation to move manifests as personal care, healing, releasing old ways, and growth?

Now’s the time to: 

Dive to your deepest depths. If your soul were an ocean, what would you find on the floor? What’s dark and hidden? What’s glowing phosphorescent neon? What wants to be brought into the salt water and sun-drenched shores to be looked at? Let go of? Hugged and put in pride of place? 

Align with your heart. Real courage comes from leading with love, kindness, and warmth — not fear. Fear will always be floating around or in your face, but being centered in your core self and your heart means being unafraid to face your fears because you’ve got your own back. 

Repattern. Once you’re not afraid to be honest with yourself and face what you’ve been avoiding, you can start to make shifts and live from your core self. Take small actions every day that push you a little. These actions can push you out of your comfort zone and closer to the person you are in your heart. 

Care. Take care of that nervous system of yours like it’s a newborn baby. Check on it, swaddle it, sooth it hourly. Then you can turn that care towards the ones you love. Then outward to the world. 

Do a water ritual. Deeply feeling, intuitive Cancer Season is a naturally witchy time. Opt for baths or dips in the ocean with the intention of shedding unwanted energy and strengthening your body and heart.  

What’s a Self-care Tarotscope?

It’s like a horoscope, but instead of interpreting planetary movements, I pull a card for each zodiac sign and share the themes and questions coming up at this time. I read tarot with an emphasis on self-care and self-development, so I suggest practices or activities that I think might be beneficial to you based on the card.

You can read about the cards for your Sun, Rising, and Moon signs — in fact, I recommend it if you want a fuller picture. If you don’t know your Sun (that’s the sign you’d typically read your horoscope for), Moon, or Rising/Ascendant signs, get your birth time and city, if possible, and plug it in over here.

If you didn’t catch your Gemini Season Tarotscope, check it out here. 

For a more personalized and in-depth reading with me, this season I’m offering  pay-what-you-can tarot readings. I’ll be donating 25% of the profits from these readings to The Okra Project. Email me at leah@leahvanderveldt.com for more info.

And here are your cards for Cancer Season:

Aries: The Magician

You have everything you need to start creating something new. Clear the way to create by setting up the conditions you need. You might just need a little space and a few deep breaths. You might need to move your body, get into nature, or take a cold shower to clear your mental and emotional space. Whatever it is you need to connect to yourself and your intuition, go for it. You’re being tapped to manifest something into reality in your life, it’s ready to come through. Take the actions necessary to create it, express it, and/or put it out there in a way only you can — then let it go. Don’t get caught up in other people’s feelings about it or the judgements you project onto others. Trust that if you’re feeling aligned and true-to-you, you’re on the right track.  

Taurus: Page of Cups

You’re being invited to play. Can you let yourself? Can you try to approach everything you do with a playful mind? Beyond board games and hula hoops, the concept of play in this card is far reaching and life altering. It’s a mindset of being open, curious, and allowing yourself to experience everyday wonder. It lets you imagine the possibilities and get into a creative flow by following the little intuitive hits you get. It can touch everything you do, if you let it — even the hard stuff. Play teaches us how to roll with the waves instead of trying to control them (which is impossible, anyway), it makes us available to new and unexpected experiences without resistance and ego. The Cups are about intuition, emotions, and self love and when we’re able to ground those concepts in the real world, it feels a little magical. 

Gemini: 4 of Pentacles

Give your body time and space to catch up with your mind. If we don’t process our emotions as they’re happening, our bodies hold onto to them until we can. This card is asking you to spend some time caring for your body and exploring what it might need after a long period of taking on a lot without letting yourself really feel and process. In what ways can you give your body time, space, and care to let things fully digest and get out of your system? (Sorry that was kind of a poop reference.) Perhaps it looks like setting aside time at the beginning or end of your day to tend to your body, checking in on it throughout the day, or incorporating certain meals, routines, or rituals to support you. There’s a desire for steadiness and security that can only come from soothing and strengthening the nervous system. And that starts by setting up boundaries for yourself right now. 

Cancer: King of Pentacles Rx

Being your authentic self isn’t always easy. Think of the crab that represents this sign, it’s hard shell and pincers protect its very soft, sweet interior. You might be in the habit of pulling back when your sense of security feels threatened, and rightfully so, but right now you’re being asked to step into a new way of acting in the world. One that requires you to be the most authentic version of yourself without fear. There’s a lot of layers around the innermost self, which can make it tricky to honor at all times, even if you truly want to. Trust your timing and be patient with yourself. You’ve been doing the work and you’re ready to step into your power and start living the way YOU truly want to. Re-examine the rules you have for yourself around the way you do your work, the way you care for your body, the way you express your heart. The rules that family, society, or past experiences put in place need no longer apply. Reflect on the change you want to feel and see and start to filter your priorities through that lens.  

Leo: The Star Rx 

You can’t rush healing. The Star asks, what still needs to be tended to? There’s a sense of wanting to skip to the end and poof! be healed. We all want that, especially when our healing involves a lot of mental and emotional release, which can bring up old pain and be extremely draining. The word healing has this calming aura around it, but the act of healing isn’t easy, it’s actually very hard work for the body and brain. Think of a broken bone in a cast — it’s uncomfortable and you’re in a kind of holding pattern — but it’s necessary to come out the other side whole and healed. Make healing your daily practice, your work this season. You might not always feel like it, but even the smallest gestures toward caring for and soothing yourself will help you release what you no longer need. Seek out calm. Let yourself be tender and vulnerable right now. All forms of water are therapeutic but definitely make sure you’re drinking enough. 

Virgo: 9 of Pentacles

How much gratitude do you have for yourself? Can you appreciate how much you’ve done and how far you’ve come? I know you’ll be resistant to this one, Virgo, but really take some time to luxuriate in your accomplishments. It’s time to do a little patting yourself on the back. It’s a time for slowing down and enjoying the aspects of your life you worked really hard for. We move so fast that we’ve made goal setting and accomplishing a chronic condition. What TF is the point if we can’t kick back a little and revel in what we’ve built? Get outside. Take a break. Smell the flowers, Drink the rose. And love on yourself — you don’t even have to tell anyone that’s what you’re doing. 

Libra: 8 of Swords Rx

You’re coming out of a time of feeling stuck. Taking consistent small steps is the way you’ll gain confidence. To keep from backsliding into fear and inaction, be aware of the way your thoughts want to loop into old patterns. When you can have the clarity of mind to see your limiting beliefs start to creep up, you also have the power to stop the pattern and choose a different route. Meditation or mindfulness can help you notice the way your thoughts behave and how they can take over. Meditation isn’t really about totally clearing the mind (that’s kind of impossible) but rather noticing your thoughts, seeing them as separate from who you are, then letting them go. Practicing this and taking small actions day by day will help you gain clarity and direction. You might not be able to see the exact way forward, but you’re close. 

Scorpio: 2 of Swords

Go within for guidance. There’s so much noise available to us right now. And while it’s important to stay informed, only you and your heart hold the answers as to the next right thing you should do. The Swords in the tarot are about brain chemistry, communication, and thoughts, but this card suggests bringing your intuition on as a collaborator. You possess more wisdom than you’re aware of. You must quiet your brilliant mind for a sec and just feel into your options. Creating your own ritual might help you access your depths — turn your phone on airplane mode, close your eyes, breathe into the earth, work with the moon phase, light a candle — use the intention and small actions of ritual to guide your mind to a place of stillness and knowledge.

Sagittarius: King of Swords

You have something to say and the ability to say it well. This card is an invitation to step into a new alignment of your heart and voice. Do you have a new vantage point, where you see things in a new way? Do you have a desire to share what’s on your heart? You might feel like you’ve reached a masters level of your own brain chemistry. You might feel like your throat chakra is lit up. Right now, you’re able to shed your ego, align with your soul, and deliver your message clearly. You might not be leading the masses, but you have influence on those in your spheres, don’t be afraid to say what you have to say. It’s important that you express yourself in this moment and share your point of view. You and those around you will always benefit when you speak from the heart. 

Capricorn: 6 of Swords

Moving on from an old way of thinking is a process. It’s one thing to decide to change, but another to leave what you’re used to behind — the brain HATES it. That’s why change is so difficult. The transition and transformation time can feel painful, but that also means things are swirling and reforming underneath the surface — you just have to stick with your willingness for change. It’s all happening for your best interest, you just might not be able to grasp the bigger picture at this moment. Seek out a guide or a tool to help you through it and give you a different perspective. The Swords suit represents communication, thoughts, brain chemistry and the element of air, so I’d suggest tools like journaling, hypnosis, talk therapy, breathwork, and tarot (of course!). 

Aquarius: Justice Rx

Before we can begin to make changes towards balance and equity, we must be able to see the full truth of reality. What do you need to take a closer look at? You can’t truly right a wrong without getting all the facts first. Can you find the area that you might be blind to because of your own personal experience (or lack of)? Do you need to get a new perspective to see things more clearly? This card is asking you to get radically honest with yourself and take personal responsibility for what needs balancing. However big or small the change you’re trying to enact may be, it has to start with you as an individual. Journaling is a great way to get clear with yourself. Stream of consciousness writing can help you get to the heart of a matter and bring attention to the things you might be afraid to look at. From there, you can begin to make changes — first to yourself, then out in the world. 

Pisces: 3 of Cups

This card is a repeat from your Taurus season tarotscope, which makes it an extra special one!  This is a call to seek out your community. Connect. Find ways to take care of each other and celebrate. We’ve become complacent in our self-isolated grooves. We’re now used to this distance, the smallness of our own company or that of our immediate family. This card is urging you to refresh your connections. Even if you still can’t see your coven in person, make phone calls if Zoom doesn’t feel great anymore, send them voice memos or a gift from a small business you want to support. We need bolstering, celebrating, and heart-felt support now more than ever. Don’t be afraid to make the first move. Send the text, the pic, the invitation. Your community needs you.  

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For a more personalized and in-depth reading with me, this season I’m offering  pay-what-you-can tarot readings. I’ll be donating 25% of the profits from these readings to The Okra Project. Email me at leah@leahvanderveldt.com for more info.