A fish in a cup: how our August story is looking…
I know this is a tarot spread, but I’m definitely feeling the upcoming astrological transits looming quite large for the next few weeks! It doesn’t look like it’s going to settle down any time soon, either, so hopefully these cards will give us a path to follow to ease the ups and downs, and remind us that we have agency among the sometimes strong winds of change.
So what do we need to know for the coming month? On first glance, we’re starting bright and positive, approaching a few exciting challenges in the middle, and ending slightly battered but standing strong. So far, so manageable. Let’s break it down a little.
First up, we have the Page of Cups. I love this for starting the month. We’re still in the relatively fresh energy of Leo season, and summer is thoroughly here. We’re standing on a new horizon, excited to dive in to the next adventure, feeling bright and hopeful, and just like Leo we’re filled with a childlike zest for life – our inner child is wide awake and ready to play. Plus, we’re holding a cup with a fish in it! Who wouldn’t be happy!
Both the fish in the cup and the water lilies on the Page’s tunic represent intuition, and the connection between emotion and creativity. Water lilies’ roots grow in the deep, murky, unseen depths, and grow to bear clean, clear, beautiful flowers floating on the surface of the water – taking strength and inspiration from where you have come from, the beauty of who you are now is all that is visible to the outside world. The Page seems to be very happy with his fish, and the fish likewise doesn’t appear to be any particular rush to leap back to the ocean. It must be quite a surprise to find a fish in your cup – just like messages, synchronicities and inspiration can pop up, seemingly out of nowhere. Creativity, however you approach that in your life, is available to you now, and you can draw from past experience to create something beautiful out of what’s been given to you.
During August, borrow some of the Page’s youthful optimism whenever you feel like your mood is dipping. Allow wonder to guide you, listen to your subconscious and the messages it has for you – these may come in dreams or random thoughts, through songs or unexpected conversations. Shore up the positive against the bumpy road ahead. This Page tells us not to take things too seriously. Find the levity. New opportunities might arise and if it feels good, take them! You may want to pay a bit of attention to your inner child, too; if there’s something there that needs healing, the Page of Cups tells you that you now is a good time to do that. You have the resources.
There’s choppy water ahead of us, but nothing we can’t handle. Add a bit of rose quartz self-compassion, too. I pick my crystals at random, never knowing which card will sit with which stone, and am always delighted – though never surprised – at how the messages are echoed.
Here’s the Three of Wands, with our figure standing steadfast gazing ahead at the path ahead of him, ships full of news and opportunities sailing in calm water, and beyond that, a new land filled with unknown challenges. Exciting!
Now that the surprises of the Page have settled into our hearts, we’re ready for this next adventure. Whatever is on your personal horizon, you are more than capable of handling. you’ve put two wands into the ground, firm and ready, and you have one hand firmly wrapped around the third, ready to venture forth. You haven’t quite left home yet, though. You’re standing on the edge of the land, still undecided; is it safer to turn back to the safety and familiarity of home? Those mountains look big – but mountains are there to climb, and how will you see how far you’ve come, if you don’t climb the mountain to look back?
This is a card of expansion, and travel. What does it mean for August? Partly, that’s obvious. Many of us travel more in August than at any other time of year, particularly in the northern hemisphere, when many children are off school, and family holidays are taken. For readers in the southern hemisphere, your winter solstice has been and gone, and spring is getting closer. Maybe you feel the change coming, or maybe you’re still snuggled and hibernating, just dreaming of the awakening of the earth. For you, this expansion might be more metaphorical than physical. For all of us, the card tells us that whatever we’re planning, it’s got the seeds of success. Yes, we have to cross the water, and yes, there are mountains with their unknown dangers, but look – there are ships with new information and new faces, and we have our three wands, the creative energy we’ve already developed. We can take the next steps in our ventures. It’s time.
Ah, the Nine of Wands. At first glance, this might look alarming – we have a guy who’s weary, having built a defensive blockade around himself. He’s clearly injured, looking like he’s waiting for the next attack. Life has been tough. But let’s look closer.
The characters seen in tarot’s minor arcana1 are on a journey through the numbers from one to ten. Here, the person we saw just now, looking longingly over the water, has made it to the mountains. He’s right up amongst the peaks, now; see? And not only that, the mountaintops that we see right there are green and fertile. It was worth the climb.
He now has nine wands instead of three – that’s three times as much wisdom, creative fire, experience. I personally like the significance of threes (things happen in threes!) and to have three squared is extra special, even though it doesn’t always seem it at the time. And yes, it looks as though he’s been using one of those wands as a weapon, but maybe we can see that positively, too – maybe he’s been using his experience and gifts to defend himself against attack. Defence is uncomfortable, but sometimes it’s necessary. Learning to stand our ground is the same. It would be much easier to capitulate, but when we have built our defences out of the sturdy materials of our own wisdom, when we back ourselves with what we’ve earned through lived experience, we can stand tall, even when we feel a little bruised and battered by the bout.
And about that bruising. Do you see that bandage around his head? Of course, that means there’s an injury there, a wound that needed to be tended to, but it has been tended to. He has experienced care; either self-care, or the care of someone who loves him enough to tend to his hurts. We’re not alone up here. We might have other people fighting in our corner, just out of sight, or we might see that we can rely on ourselves, both for justice and also for healing. We have it in us to bandage our wounds and still stand strong, afterwards. Nine is coming to the close of a cycle. Sometimes the hardest bit of the cycle is the bit right before the end.
So what story do these three cards tell us about the next month?
It’s looking positive. We’re in the cycle, and being in the cycle is never plain sailing. There are ups and downs, and as long as we remember that those peaks and troughs are all part of the experience, we won’t go far wrong. Like any cycle, no part of it stays the same for long. The good times don’t last; they slide away into normality and everyday concerns, and likewise the bad times don’t stick around, even when they feel overwhelming and we can’t see a way out.
We have agency. Nothing that’s happening this month is out of our control; we can be fully and actively engaged in it, as much as we want to be. If we keep our hearts open and listen for those whispers from our souls, which know the truth of what is meaningful, we will find that the path becomes clear ahead of us, small step by small step, and cheerfulness and optimism can brighten the darkest of days.
We may not be able to see it, but we all have a cup with a fish in it.
Have a blessed August 🐟
Note: I use the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, both because it is universal and recognisable to others, and because my deck speaks to me.