Tarot for the Month of August 2020

Katie-Ellen Hazeldine – The Ten of Pentacles (Mercury in Virgo)

For the month of August 2020, I have drawn the 10 Pentacles in its positive manifestation, drawn upright (dignified).

This stable, positive card suggests that after months of acute strain, August – in particular late August- brings a respite; a welcome sense of returning order with more normal routines.

We may find that August feels like a game of two halves. Although the Ten of Pentacles has emerged as the keynote card, early August has an undertow of a quite different energy; a touch quirky and unsettled; possibly even prickly. Events in public life may continue challenging to the collective well-being.

This may likewise feel, either refreshing or even exciting, as we go out and about more, and even a day trip feels like a much-needed breath of fresh air. Or big new ideas come to us, and we’re feeling inspired and can’t wait to get stuck in.

A word of caution; however, the disruptive and disagreeable Five of Swords has also made an appearance, denoting no- win conflicts. Disagreements at home, just as in public life may be sharp, but will not be reconciled or resolved except by mutually respectful de-escalation, or at least a standoff till it cools down. Anger can be useful, but in this case the anger is not productive. In everyday situations this card translates as ‘think twice and don’t go there’.

However, the positive, upright Ten of Pentacles has turned up tops, and here you can see what looks like three generations of a family, plus pets, out and about in what looks like a picturesque Italian townscape.

We enter the zodiac sign of Virgo 22 August. This is the zodiac House of service, food, and health. Virgo is the goddess of the ripened vines. When her chief star, Vindemiatrix, appeared overhead in the dawn sky, the Romans knew the vines were ripe.

Astrologically, the 10 Pentacles representing Virgo ruled by Mercury is about intergenerational dynamics: money, family, and organization…and also about learning, passing down knowledge to a new generation. It is conservative with a small ‘c’- the acceptance of change, balancing this with the protection of vital resources and preservation of shared treasures of the past.

Virgo territory is the harvest field, the kitchen and the wine rack, the gym, the school, the museum, the community hall, the office, the filing cabinet and the medicine cupboard.

This Tarot card is about Virgo at her most communicative. There is movement and flexibility…adaptation down the generations. Grandparents have many things to tell their grandchildren, who need to pay attention, while grandchildren keep fun alive for their grandparents- and can also teach their grandparents new things, for instance, showing them how to use it.

It’s appropriate that Virgo season corresponds with back-to-school time after a long and for many, demanding and challenging break in those routines. The Ten of Pentacles represents the family ‘treasure chest.’ Parents are free to go back to work, debarring a second lockdown.

It’s time to write a few to do lists.

The Ten of Pentacles is the ultimate card of legacy, within the family and in wider society. It’s a card of shared culture, architecture, cultivated and natural landscapes, traditions, ancestry, and legacy, collective and personal. This includes genetic legacies and inherited gifts and talents. What are yours? How do you express them?

Earth itself is the greatest legacy of all. The goddess of the harvest, Demeter herself, asks us to do what as individuals we can do to pay it forward, to husband its resources with care and respect. Even the smallest, most basic life training, such as teaching our children never to drop litter, is to honour that most sacred of ultimate legacies.

Katie-Ellen Hazeldine, BA Hons, is a Tarot and Rune reader/consultant, writer, and historian in the UK, and has been reading professionally since 2006. Website – True Tarot Tales. Twitter: @truetarottales

Kyra Oser – Nine of Cups (Reversed)

The tarot card I drew for August is Nine of Cups Reversed. This card features a Renaissance man guarding nine chalices. In its upright position, Nine of Cups can denote generosity, abundance, and dreams coming to fruition. Reversed, the meaning shifts into an opportunity for restructuring your dreams in exciting and revolutionary ways. If you’re experiencing external changes beyond your control, just know these circumstances can become a positive catalyst for self-improvement in the areas of creativity, relationships, or possibly career.*

This card sometimes signifies a shift away from glorifying the external life. For instance, I received this card in its reversed position during a previous period in my life and it helped me recognize that I had lost my way. I had just moved to Los Angeles, a city rife with opportunities for spiritual growth while paradoxically being a beacon of materialism. I became obsessed with my career, and was caught up in fashion, appearance, and an insatiable pursuit of accomplishments. However, after meditating on Nine of Cups Reversed, I was given the guidance I needed to reconnect with my inner life. Years later, I now know a joy that’s different than anything I’ve ever experienced before. It’s not constant, as no emotion is, but my enjoyment of life deepens more with time as long as I continue to stay in touch with a world beyond the material. The point of this story is that it’s hard work to work on oneself, but the payoff is well worth the effort!

On a global scale, this card is a sign that people are ready for an upheaval of the material world, which is a form of extreme change that ultimately begins from within. Expect more discussions in mainstream media about religion, as well as movements on social media for new and creative forms of group meditation that incorporate art and music into spiritual practice. In upcoming news reports, there will be a focus on riots and protests, as well as celebrity drug, alcohol, and sex addictions. Depending on the other cards surrounding it in a tarot spread, Nine of Cups Reversed sometimes serves as a caution against overdoses. It’s likely that a prominent celebrity will bring heightened attention to 12-step programs in the month of August. This renewed interest in the 12 steps, especially as practiced through Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, will be instigated by a slew of shocking celebrity sex scandals like we’ve never seen before in the history of Western civilization. If you want to know where to find some of your favorite celebrities in September, look no further than the SLAA meetings.

In your own life, this card offers an opportunity to redesign your dreams. Perhaps you’ve had to update your previous hopes to fit the limitations of the times, or maybe you’re adding new plans to prior goals. If that’s the case, this is an opportune time to engage in creative visualization. If you’re looking for a place to start, I personally connect a lot with Shakti Gawain’s audiobook, Creative Visualization, but there are many other effective sources on manifestation. Alternatively, Nine of Cups Reversed can encourage moderation in all things, including food, spending, and sex. Staying at home as much as possible and catching up on reading or developing a spiritual practice is really what August will be about for many people.

In sum, find what’s meaningful to you and follow the path where your heart most leads you. You can also ask for the next right thought or action to gain amplified clarity on the best steps to take whenever you’re faced with confusion. In my own experience, even attempting to develop inner growth has always led me to a better version of my life. I believe that can happen for you, too, as long as you’re willing to connect with something higher and check in with that source when you’re feeling lost or if you ever want to reconnect with the boundless energy of eternal love. I wish that each one of you may encounter the gift of spiritual awakening that the Renaissance man of the Nine of Cups Reversed so generously offers as an option every time he appears in your tarot card reading.