Liz Worth ~ Tarot + Astrology

 Whew! If you are following the astrology of the moment, there is a lot going on.

First, we are in eclipse season: The Aries new moon and solar eclipse occurred on April 20th (or April 19th, depending on your location).

And Mercury is retrograde from Friday, April 21 until Sunday, May 14.

If you’ve followed my work for a while, you might have noticed that I try to bring some balance into the usual planet panic that takes place during notable astrological events.

Horoscopes used to play quite a big role in my life at one time. But the increasing popularity of astrology, coupled with the pressure for content creators to compete with a culture driven by clickbait and merciless algorithms, has led me to a different relationship with astrology.

It seems like every month there is a new astrology column telling people to “buckle up” or “watch out.”

And I know that that the kind of language gets people’s...

On Tuesday, March 7, Saturn entered the sign of Pisces for the first time since the mid-`90s: The planet of structure and limitation last swam through Pisces’ oceans from 1993 – 1996.

In pop astrology, it’s common to hear negative takes on Saturn’s influence. People dread their Saturn returns and worry that whatever area of life Saturn is touching upon will become a desiccated husk.

On one hand, it’s understandable as to why some might assume Saturn leads to worst-case scenarios. It is symbolized by the scythe, an instrument that cuts.

Saturn reminds that we reap what we’ve sown. It can be a time of great reward, but it can also be a time when we must address any sickly crops in our lives.

Are you tending to something that needs a different kind of nourishment? Are there weeds in your garden that are running wild?

Saturn helps you take control. It shows you where you can make choices to make deeper commitments, tie up loose ends, and build a...

Readers of this newsletter who’ve been here for a while might remember that I used to share quite a few thoughts about astrology in this space.

In more recent times, I took a step back from my astrology practice to focus more deeply on tarot, and to re-evaluate my relationship with modern astrological trends.

But I never truly “quit” astrology: It has remained part of my personal spiritual practice all this time, as it has always been.

And so I hope you don’t mind if I reflect a bit on astrology today.

Jupiter has been a major influence for me lately. Maybe it’s because my sun is in Aries, and my moon in Pisces, and the planet of exuberance and optimism has been traversing through both signs this past year.

But Jupiter is now full steam ahead in Aries until May 2023, when it enters Taurus. The presence of Jupiter in Aries feels significant to me for so many reasons, mainly because Aries is the first sign of the zodiac and marks a new Jupiterian cycle.

...

Are you taking a lot of cues and tarot lessons from social media?

If so, you’re not alone: Tarot’s popularity continues to explode online.

It used to be very hard to find like-minded fans of all things esoteric. Now, all you have to do is hop online and gain instant access to tarot readers from all around the world. 

There are so many tarot accounts to check out. And a lot of them post similar content:

• Tarotscopes or readings for each zodiac sign;
• Collective readings for the energy of the day or week;
• "Pick a card" readings where you might choose from a selection of photos and then read the corresponding message.

 These can all be fun ways to engage with tarot online.

And they have certainly helped some tarot readers build their social media followings.

But throughout the last year, I noticed some questions coming up in my tarot classes that I hadn’t heard before:

"How do I read tarot for each zodiac sign?"

"Does it matter if I don’t know a lot about...

If you've been following my blogs for a while, you might have noticed some big changes around here since 2020... 

I used to write about astrology. A lot. Maybe you used to check in for new and full moon tarot spreads from me, or to learn about upcoming Mercury retrogrades... 

But not anymore. Why? 

I’ve been concerned about the impact of online content and social media on practices like astrology for some time now. As a result, I decided to re-evaluate my role and impact as an astrologer who also shares information online.

I discuss why I decided to step back from astrology over on Refinery29. You can read the essay here.

Until next time,

Liz xo

A couple of blogs ago, I shared why I’m no longer talking about astrology here as much I used to.

(You can read it here if you missed it.)

I didn’t come to that decision quickly, or easily.

When you put years into something, it can feel disorienting to realize you don’t feel the same way about it as you used to. Given that astrology is part of my spiritual practice, it was a decision that went beyond just a newsletter.

For a while, I questioned myself:

Do I not believe in astrology anymore?

Do I not think it’s important?

Do I not want other people to discover it and see it the way I do?

I do believe in astrology, and I do think it’s important. But I want to have a different relationship with it now.

And to do that, I need to take a bit of a step back from working with it so publicly.

This isn’t an easy thing to do these days, with our lives so out in the open online.

This is a reflection of what happens when spiritual practices evolve. Our...

If you’ve been following me for a while now, you might have noticed I haven’t been writing about astrology as much I used to.

I started this newsletter over five years ago as a place to talk about tarot cards and lunar cycles. It didn’t begin as a weekly mailing, but eventually it grew to that.

Along the way, I began to expand to write about more than the moon. Eventually, my newsletter grew to share weekly astrological updates.

But throughout that time, I started to lose one of my original intentions: tarot.

Throughout this last year, I’ve felt limited by astrology. Not by the practice itself, but by the pressure to keep up the astrological conversation here week after week.

Astrology is fascinating, but it’s always changing: Our universe is in constant motion. Writing about astrology requires timeliness, as its relevance can come and go in a matter of days, weeks, or months.

As a writer, this is frustrating. I was starting to feel like some of my work...

Whenever there’s change in the air, such as talk of important astrological transits, it’s normal to wonder: “How will this affect me?”

We often turn to tarot, astrology and other divinations to predict what’s around the corner. It’s not unusual to worry about whether you are making the wrong decision, or to worry about where your future is headed.

I find that whether you’re clear on your own direction, or you’re still trying to figure out your life’s path, uncertainty will always be a companion to some degree.

One of the main reasons why we turn to divinatory tools like tarot and astrology is because we want certainty, clarity and confidence in what we are doing.

Knowing how things will turn out can help alleviate some of the stress of the unknown.

After all, wouldn’t you go ahead and head back to school, start that business, or write that book if you knew for sure that you would be successful?

It would also be so much...