By Brandon Alter:
Pisces Season is a mystery. The last sign of the Zodiac doesn’t promise answers to the most profound of life’s questions; it only promises to take us deeper into the questions themselves. Depending on your relationship with the unknown, Pisces Season can either be a mystical, creative time full of surprise or a miserable slog through your own hidden loose ends. I’ve had both, sometimes concurrently. I think of Pisces as the sign of the dreamtime, the void, and the invisible world.
Pisces is the crossroads, limbo, the space between the end and the beginning.
Remember, each sign evolves into the next. After traveling out into the deep reaches of space in Aquarius Season, Pisces Season finds us venturing to the edge of the known universe and then well past it. If the Zodiac starts with Aries, a sperm hurtling toward an egg, Pisces is wherever that impulse for life originated in the first place. So, in some ways, we end up where we began, but on the other side of the veil. We look out at our lives through the eyes of spirit. For some, this direct access to the psychic soup provides tremendous comfort and perspective, for others its scope is unnerving.
The key to understanding the energy of this sign lies in its planetary ruler, Neptune. Neptune is the planet of spirituality, mysticism, dreams, and visions. When we are working with Neptune on the high vibe, we are tapped into the cosmic oneness, channeling our need for spiritual connection into art, prayer, poetry, or just long meditations and walks in nature. When we are working with the low vibe Neptune, we channel our need for spiritual connection into our bongs and bottles of wine, compulsive masturbation, or shopping until we hit the inevitable nervous breakdown. All these things are Piscean in nature. You see, the last sign of the Zodiac wants to release us from our prisons and return us to our divinity, but sometimes the release feels scarier than staying trapped.
When was the last time you sat alone in the dark? Try it sometime this moonth. Find the darkest place you can, don’t even light a candle. Set a timer and sit there for five minutes. What does it bring up for you? Do you get scared? Bored? Lonely? Do you start to see things? Do you lose your sense of yourself? This is a great way to feel into the pure energy of Pisces. For those of you who find this suggestion less than appealing, you might ask yourself what you are afraid of. You see, everything we’ve been avoiding or hiding from on our journey through the Zodiac is waiting for us at the end. But it’s not out to get you. It’s trying to teach you something. It’s trying to heal you, empower you, grow you all the way up.
Pisces Season can make a hot mess out of those of us who pretend we’ve been doing our inner work when really we’ve just been posting about it on Instagram.
But Pisces Season can also provide us with revelations, meaningful dreams, creative awakenings, and emotional catharsis. It all depends on how honest you’re willing to be with yourself. And it all depends on how open you are to the great mysteries of existence.
At the end of the day, the invitation with this particular corner of the sky is to rediscover what your authentic spirituality really is and dive deeply into it. Spoiler Alert: it doesn’t have to involve the Buddha or Allah or any deity. It only has to involve your concept of a higher power. That can totally be Quantum Physics or the Pacific Ocean or even Diana Ross. The key is to find something larger than yourself that you can call on when you face the endless darkness. We can look to where Neptune is in our own birth chart to explore the style in which our spirituality expresses itself. I believe that there are as many spiritual practices as there are people on the planet. So your mission this moonth is to find out what an authentic spiritual practice looks like for you right now, as you are. The secret isn’t about doing it right; the secret is to do it for real and for you.
The New Moon in Pisces took place on Sunday morning, February 23, and it’s a much needed spiritual shower for us all. It wants to invite you into your own inner sanctuary and help you find your own personal relationship with a cosmic oneness that speaks your secret language. I don’t want to use the word God because I don’t believe in a God. And for lots of us who grew up queer or even just different, this word makes us want to spin on our high heels and head in the other direction. But maybe we shouldn’t throw the baby Jesus out with the bathwater. Divinity is our birthright, we are celestial beings in earthly bodies, and perhaps at this time we need to find our own unique religion.
My religion involves crystal singing bowls, the spirits of nature, Astrology and Cher—does that make me crazy? Absolutely. But ironically, it also keeps me sane in this absolutely ridiculous world.
Spirituality isn’t for anyone else, it’s for you. This New Moon wants to help you reclaim your relationship to the mystery of all that is. But that doesn’t mean it can help you make sense of it; you have your whole life (and after-life) for that. Remember, Pisces doesn’t have concrete answers, rather it lets us touch the deeper questions.
Practice prayer all moonth long. Prayer can be anything that brings your spirit alive: a dance, a song, a really delicious chocolate chip cookie you baked from scratch. Prayer is how we free ourselves from our own limited experience and tap into the universal love that connects us all. Prayer liberates us when we feel scared and small and stuck. Liberation is the name of the game this moonth, and this New Moon will help you in a major way. All you have to do is ask . . . and then open yourself up to receive.
This Pisces Season contains the first Mercury Retrograde of 2020. When Mercury travels backward through Neptune’s realm, we get a second chance to see the wonders we missed the first time. Slowing down will help you find the grace you skipped over in your rush to get somewhere. We have already arrived at where we are going. Try to accept each moment as perfect. Try to sink into the magic of each minute—and if your current landscape doesn’t seem magical, you’re not looking hard enough.
Magic is everywhere in Pisces Season, and Mercury’s retrograde through the mystical cosmic waters of this sign will stir up the witchcraft in us all.
If you’re really wanting to get in touch with your own inner magic then I strongly encourage you to join me and my husband for TAROT + COSMOS 2020. This is our eleven-week online immersion into the Tarot that will help you unlock your own psychic potential. Week by week, Angel and I will break down the hidden energies the cards speak to and help you to uncover the language your own inner gifts use to communicate. It’s not just a classroom, it’s a virtual sanctuary.
Registration is open now for a March 24th start date—but don’t worry if you can’t attend class live, all students will get lifetime access to the sessions within 24 hours of recording. Each class will begin with a guided meditation and end with a Q&A. You’ll get a copy of my extensive and original Tarot notes + additional materials to inspire and expand your relationship with the Tarot. And as a bonus, you’ll receive free access to the Spiritual Gayz Moonthly Astrology Webinars while class is in session! Here’s a week by week break down of what you can look forward to learning!
For more specific Cosmic Updates and Tarot Wisdom, I highly encourage you to tune into The Spiritual Gayz. This twice monthly podcast that my husband, Angel, and I offer up is dedicated to exploring the wide reaches of spirituality without pretending that it all makes sense. Our latest episode is All About Mercury, and we unpack what this current Mercury Retrograde has in store for us. I’m sure you’ll get a lot out of that. We have tons of episodes on Astrology but also on Tarot and Shamanism and healing and magic. Not to mention fascinating interviews with groovy cosmic queers like Steven Canals, writer/co-creator of the hit TV show POSE, actress/icon Lena Waithe, and beauty/make-up expert Lihja Stewart. If you’ve been looking to expand your spiritual horizons in a fun, accessible way, look no further!
Below you’ll find your individual Tarotscopes for the complete lunar cycle. In the interest of Mercury Retrograde you’ll find your Tarotscopes concise and direct. Read for your SUN and your MOON . . . and if you don’t know your moon, look it up, gurl, that’s part of your personal power waiting to be claimed!
PISCES
Magic (Reversed)
This is not a traditional Major Arcana card; it is a bonus card that the creator of this deck added in. I keep it in the deck because who doesn’t want the opportunity to pull Magic every now and again? Magic is what can happen when we stop trying to force our limited will and connect our little drop of divinity to its divine source. Magic is when we let the cosmic ocean pour through us. It’s a miracle of good fortune that can’t be explained. When we live in magic, we trust that our knowing is limited but our future is infinite. In the reverse, this card may indicate your fear of your own power or your hesitancy to trust unexpected blessings. You can’t make magic happen, you have to allow it to happen. So get out of your own way. Don’t hem yourself in with the logical and the practical. Instead start asking yourself what impossibilities are just burgeoning realities in need if a heartfelt belief in magic.
ARIES
Eight of Swords (Reversed)
We filter our entire existence through our minds. Our inner narrative literally crafts the world around us. This is why we need to be very careful about the limitations we place on ourselves. These limitations become laws. The Eight of Swords is where we start to identify the self-limiting beliefs that keep us stuck. You are ready to evolve, to succeed, to win. The only thing that stands in your way is your deep- seeded reluctance to think of yourself as a winner. Is it fear of success? Is it fear of visibility? Does it even matter what it is? What really matters is how quickly you can pull these swords of self sabotage out of yourself. Maybe the thoughts that you think are keeping you safe are really just keeping you small. Question everything. Expansion is yours for the taking and the growing pains are just the price of admission.
TAURUS
The Star
What is your deepest wound, my love? Who in you feels like they can never be healed? Where is your most tender spot? When we avoid our pain, we end up corralling our whole life into smaller and smaller corridors. But as soon as we admit there’s pain, that’s when feeling better can begin. The Star is the part of the journey where the hero meets a benevolent goddess who bestows a healing so pure it can only be described as miraculous. This is what awaits you this month. There are cures you’ve never dreamed of. Each hex has a counter-spell. For every mysterious ailment, there’s a mystical remedy. The Star transports us to cosmic realms and delivers us the medicine we need. Double down on your self care this moonth, and I don’t just mean massages and bubble baths. Take a trip to a natural oasis, sign up for a soundbath or at the very least make sure you’re getting eight solid hours of sleep so that your dreams can heal you.
GEMINI
Death (Reversed)
Death reversed isn’t as bad as it sounds. It’s a gentle death, an honorable death, a death that has been a long time coming. It’s like an old friendship that just doesn’t feel good anymore, and instead of having a big old confrontation, it just fades away. However, the friend in question is you. You see, Death comes when parts of our identity have outlived their usefulness. There are aspects of yourself that you are holding on to—but that isn't you anymore. In fact, if you got really honest with yourself, you might realize it hasn’t been you for a long time now. Spend this next moonth lovingly burying the pieces of yourself that no longer have any life left in them. Bury the old dreams. Bury the old fears. Thank everything. The way we tend to our endings has everything to do with how auspicious our new beginnings can be. Don’t skip this step. You are ready for a grand new adventure, but first, write the closing chapter of your last thrilling escapade.
CANCER
Knight of Cups
The Knight of Cups is you when you choose to observe your emotions as opposed to being bossed around by them. If you are used to letting your emotions call the shots, if you tend to be reactionary, this moonth will be some seriously sweet medicine. I think of this card as a very Zen card. It’s not that we don’t have emotions when we embody this archetype, it’s just that we don't attach to them. You are not your sadness, you are not your rage or your shame or your despair. You are the cosmic being that gets to experience them. And the more compassionate and curious you can be about these visiting dignitaries, the more quickly they will leave you. The Knights function as movers, moving energy along. The Knight of Cups in particular wants to help us clear out our heart. If you can allow your emotions to move through you like the flu, soon they’ll have moved on. Don’t cling, don’t obsess, don’t judge, just allow all your feelings to visit you and soon they’ll be visiting someone else.
LEO
Two of Pentacles (Reversed)
The only thing we can really count on is change. We change all time. Consider that our skin cells regenerate every couple weeks, and our blood cells don’t even make it a year. If we resist change, we resist our own nature. If we embrace change, we might begin to feel the wind at our back again. Twos in the Tarot always present us with a choice; the choice in the Two of Pentacles is to change or stagnate, grow or die. These are esoteric changes. These are practical nuts and bolts changes in the physical fabric of your life. Has your morning routine grown stale? Change it. What about your diet? Change it. Is your mattress supporting your sleeping and dreaming? What about your wardrobe, is that still your authentic style? Maybe it’s time to pull some old pictures off the wall and put up some new ones. It’s time to make some outer changes that support the new inner you—but don’t make these changes rashly. Slow and steady. Be contemplative and intuitive as you feel into what you want reflected back to you on the regular.
VIRGO
Five of Pentacles (Reversed)
I have a new take on the Five of Pentacles reversed. I pulled it on my birthday this year. I was in the Arizona desert getting ready to attend the Tuscon Gem show for the first time. As I prepared my morning three card pull, I was surprised to see this old friend show up for me. Generally the Five of Pentacles speaks to some sort of physical contraction in our lives. Sometimes it’s a bounced check, sometimes it’s a sprained ankle—other times it’s just traffic. But in the reversed position the meaning becomes more complex. The Tuscon Gem show is the second-largest gem show in the world. When I arrived, I understood the Five of Pentacles upside down—there was too much possibility. I was overwhelmed by all the different crystals and stones. My husband wanted to buy me a birthday present, but I couldn't choose. I was stuck. But I wasn’t stuck because there wasn’t anything for me—there was too much for me. So what did I do? I slowed down. I took my time. I looked at everything I could. And then, the next day, we went back and I found the perfect gift. If you find yourself overwhelmed with possibilities this moonth, so much so that you cannot choose the next step, relax. Take your time. Consider all your options. You are being prepared for some new delight.
LIBRA
Six of Wands
We always have a choice. Even if it feels like we are being backed into a corner, we get to choose our reactions. That is the power that comes with being a human being. We always, at all times, have 100% power over ourselves in the present moment. This moonth wants you to exercise that power and not get caught up in the drama that’s swirling all around you. The Six of Wands is an expansion of your vital life essence, a big gust of wind that carries us up above the fray. This is the energy most available to you in these coming weeks. Avoid the gossip, avoid the negativity, and don’t let yourself get bogged down in the details. That which comes easy should be followed at all costs. That which feels hard and drains you should be avoided until you can attack it with confidence and ease.
SCORPIO
Two of Wands (Reversed)
Twos in the Tarot always present us with a choice. The Two of Wands presents us with a choice about action. Will you set foot on your new adventure, even though it isn't assured you will succeed? Or will you stay safe in your castle and refuse to explore the wider world? Wands teach us how to assert our will in the world. They reconnect us to our power. Are you leaking power by the day staying stuck in your same old routine? Is your fear of the unknown keeping you from pursuing your dreams? This moonth will help you initiate your new beginnings, but you must get clear on the road ahead. What’s the vision for your future? What’s the business plan? You can’t leave everything up to fate. Fate wants to partner with you. The more specific you can be about what you want and where you’re trying to go, the more confident you will be to actually start the journey.
SAGITTARIUS
Queen of Cups
When I design a Tarot deck, the Queen of Cups will be sitting on the ocean floor, hanging out with the mermaids. She represents our ability to mine our own emotional and intuitive vastness without fear. The Queen of Cups is you when you submit fully to the mysterious transformation of your heart and soul. You may not understand intellectually what’s happening to you at this time. People will ask you how you’re feeling, and words will elude you. But that’s ok. This isn’t a time for words. This is your time to continue to evolve in the silent depths of your inner being. Trust your hunches, your dreams, your inexplicable knowings. You are onto something, so keep following the invisible road. Give yourself large doses of solitude, long baths, and plenty of peace and quiet.
CAPRICORN
Nine of Cups (Reversed)
Nines in the Tarot represent a completion of sorts. Think of it as a graduation. We look to the realm of the suite to further elaborate what sort of graduation this is. For Cups, we consider our emotional life, we look to our relationships (with others and ourselves) and see if we haven’t achieved some sort of leveling up. Now most people don’t think of Capricorn as an emotional sign, but we know that isn’t true. I think Capricorn may be one of the most sensitive signs in the Zodiac—they just don’t show it. But I know you’ve been going through a heart-centered journey recently. You’ve been exploring your vulnerability and maybe even letting it show through a bit—good on you! When we are fully in the Nine of Cups, we are servicing our heart at all costs, even when that means we can’t show up for others in the way they’ve come to expect. Think of this next moonth as opportunity to explore self satisfaction at all costs. Now that you’ve gotten into the sanctuary of your heart, ask it, what does it want to do with your life?
AQUARIUS
The Lovers
The Lovers is one of the most beautiful cards in the deck. It speaks to the power of love to connect us all. When we are in the energy of this archetype, we are choosing how our hearts want to connect to the world around us. There is an element of agency at play here. You must choose. You must individuate. You must plant your flag in the soil of heart and claim This is what I love, this is what brings me alive! The Lovers is connected to Gemini, your Astrological soul-mate, another Air sign that loves ideas and communication. Gemini is all about choice, this or that, either or. The Lovers also makes us decide what parts of ourselves are we allowing to act on the stage of our life and what parts have we hidden in the wings. How we partner with others reflects how we partner with ourselves. Let this moonth reveal to you which aspects of yourself are ready to stand in the spotlight.
BRANDON ALTER is a queer healer, Tarot reader, teacher, mystic and writer living in Los Angeles. He is passionate about sharing spiritual tools that have helped him reconnect to the wisdom of his heart. He is the Tarot reader in residence for The Numinous and he co-hosts The Spiritual Gayz with his husband, a twice-monthly podcast dedicated to exploring the wide reaches of spirituality, without pretending that it all makes sense. Brandon’s mom took him to his very first psychic when he was seven and gave him his first Tarot deck when he was eleven. Since then he has devoted himself to the study of Tarot, Yoga, Pilates, Reiki, Astrology and Shamanic Skills.
Visit www.brandonalterwellness.com to learn more. And to sign up for his twice-monthly newsletter, click here.