Cycles Of Growth: A Tarot Reading For February

Hello everyone and welcome to this Tarot reading for insights into the month ahead.

We'll be looking at the influences for February 2025.

Perhaps you've stumbled across this reading at a later date.

I would encourage you to tune into your gut and if you have or feel drawn to this reading and it's June or July,

It's still possible to get something from it.

The unconscious is timeless and the influences and the lessons and the reflections that we're going to be discussing might still be applicable.

My name is Ben.

I'm a yoga teacher and I've been working with Tarot cards for the last 20 years.

My approach is that the cards aren't used as a tool to predict the future.

There's too many other variables at stake,

But as a way to explore the unconscious patterns that are influencing our lives at any given moment.

Think of this as an opportunity to reflect and gain clarity as we step into a new month.

I'll be releasing this recording on the 1st of February,

Which is also according to the Celtic wheel of the year.

The start of spring and the start of a new season.

So I'll be interpreting the cards through that lens as well.

Spring is a time of renewal when the earth begins to awaken and the seeds planted in the dark begin to sprout.

It's a season of growth and hope and possibility.

So let this reading help you nurture the seeds that you've planted and recognize what is beginning to take root and to sprout in your life.

As always,

Take what resonates with you and leave the rest behind.

Just to note that I'm recording this session live from a very busy,

Slightly cold,

Wet and icy yoga center in central London.

And there may be some background noises that I'm not able to edit out.

I hope they're not too distracting,

But it could also be quite nice as I can hear some wonderful singing and mantras coming from the adjacent rooms.

So maybe it's going to infuse this reading with a little bit of that vibe.

I like to keep these monthly readings quite light with few cards.

So I would say that these are the meta influences rather than going into the detail.

If you wanted to then explore later on,

You could do your own reading based on this reading.

I'll be choosing six cards.

The first card will be the overarching theme for the month.

Then I'll be choosing a succession of three cards,

Which I kind of refer to as the journey that we're going to be going on.

Then there's a fifth card,

Which I kind of think of as being the attitude that we need to adopt.

Or I sometimes interpret it as things that we kind of need to be mindful of,

Things that we need to watch out for,

Positive and negative.

And then lastly,

The sixth card is what I consider to be the best possible outcome.

If we are mindful of the situation,

Tune into the journey,

Make heartfelt decisions.

What's the best possible outcome for us and our communities?

So with that,

I think we're just going to get started.

I'm using a traditional 1909 original tarot deck.

So I'm going to draw the first card,

Which amazingly is one of my favorite cards in the whole deck,

Which is the world.

Which is a card of completion and fulfillment,

What I consider integration and individualization,

To use a Jungian term.

It's the 21st card of the major arcana.

If you look at the front of the card,

You'll see a kind of female presenting figure draped in a purple cloth,

Which symbolizes spiritual wisdom.

They're surrounded by a laurel wreath,

Which is,

If you know the expression,

To rest on one's laurels,

An ancient emblem of victory and triumph.

So you have the laurel leaves and then within the wreath,

There's some red ribbons,

Which form the kind of figure of eight shape of infinity.

Hinting,

I guess,

That endings and beginnings are eternally connected.

Once we reach one level of completion of a cycle,

It's not too long before the new cycle begins.

There are four figures in the corners of each card,

Which is the lion,

Leo,

The bull,

Taurus,

The eagle,

Scorpio,

And the water bearer,

Aquarius.

So these are the fixed signs of the zodiac,

And I'm no expert on astrology,

So I'll probably just pause that there.

I don't know too much about it other than that they represent the four of the elements,

Which is earth,

Air,

Fire,

And water.

So the four sort of solid manifest material elements of the universe.

So my interpretation of the world symbolizes fulfillment,

Achievement,

And completion.

It signifies that the hard work and the dedication that we've invested in since the beginning of whichever cycle you identify with at the moment is beginning to bear fruit.

And this card reflects successful completion of a significant milestone in your life.

It can highlight sort of resilience as well.

Maybe we've had to undergo some significant challenges along the way.

The world often represents the kind of conclusion of long-term projects or an educational pursuit,

Maybe,

Or other major life event.

It can also point to other meaningful accomplishments,

Could be the birth of a child,

Or a marriage,

Graduation,

That's for me,

Or any other significant triumph.

And I guess because we're looking at an entire month,

Maybe moving into an entire season of spring,

And if you're feeling like,

Oh,

Well,

You know,

I'm still really in the thick of it here,

You know,

Nothing's finished.

I can't see the end.

This is just a reminder for us that there is an endpoint,

That things will reach a conclusion,

And that we will move on to the next cycle.

So in a way,

For me,

It's about not giving up at the last sort of hurdle,

And to keep working towards our goals,

Knowing that at some point the cycle will finish,

And that we will have gained that sense of completion,

And then we'll be able to take what lessons we've learnt,

The areas that we've grown in,

And then move on.

But much like the seasons,

Coming back to our kind of theme of spring,

It's important to note that this isn't the end.

It's not such a hard ending as the death card,

Or maybe the tower,

Which can be radical,

Sudden shifts and changes in our lives.

This is much more of a natural culmination,

A fruiting of something,

Just for that fruit to be shed,

And a new cycle will begin.

It's a pivot point,

But it's certainly not the end,

And it may be that we move into something just as exciting and new afterwards.

So I think it's a good opportunity to maybe just reflect here a little bit about what we are bringing to completion at the moment.

And how we're going to use this sense of fulfilment to step into our new chapter.

And the world to me also speaks of wholeness,

That sense of being complete and whole,

A sense of feeling alignment.

And we're pieces of the puzzle,

The puzzle that's our life.

You know,

We're living quite complex lives,

I'm sure I know I am,

Lots of different moving parts.

And it's that sense that everything's starting to come together.

How am I,

What's my lived experience of that right now?

Also it's a time to take stock and maybe just to honour what it's taken,

What we've had to draw on,

What inner resources and inner resilience,

Inner fire have we had to tap into in order to get to this place.

It's a lovely card,

It's a beautifully depicted card if you're not familiar with it,

I do encourage you to go and take a look either online or to buy yourself a new deck.

I'm going to move into the journey now,

I don't want this to be too long a recording.

And the next card,

So this is the start of the journey,

We've got the six of coins or the six of pentacles.

So for those not familiar,

I'll just again give a little description of the illustration.

So it shows a figure that we can presume is someone who is quite wealthy.

They're holding scales in one hand and they're dispensing coins to two individuals that are kneeling down on the floor.

I think scales are quite common symbols of balance and fairness and justice and this six of pentacles reminds us of the importance of material generosity.

But the image to me also raises some deeper questions,

Who is giving and who is receiving?

And what are the benefits of giving which aren't necessarily immediately apparent?

And also I guess what kind of power dynamics come into play when resources are exchanged?

There's always some key words that come up with any of these,

I have these key words in my mind to help me kind of tap into what's going on.

So words like generosity,

Charity,

Community,

Very much material help and support,

Giving and receiving.

But also,

You know,

The gratitude as well to acknowledge when we've been helped.

I think it's good to acknowledge which side of this dynamic that we're on.

There is three people in this image,

There's the two people on the floor who certainly aren't,

Don't come across as being destitute or beggars like in other cards.

It's as though they're receiving what they're owed.

The scales of balance and fairness are there and they're receiving a fair return for something.

My question for me personally is,

Well,

Where am I in this dynamic?

And if I'm the person on the floor who is receiving,

Am I open to receiving?

You know,

Am I available to receive when others want to support me?

And if I'm the person in the position of the giver,

The wealthy figure or the philanthropist,

How does giving back help me achieve what we experienced in that first card,

Which is the world?

How can giving and receiving help me to elevate myself or to evolve,

To reach that state of wholeness and completion that we saw in the world card?

And just on the word wealth,

It has many,

Many different meanings.

And I do not,

For one minute,

Just mean money.

Wealth can be love and support.

And I'm actually looking for a mentor right now,

You know,

Someone who's just,

You know,

A little bit further along the journey of healing and facilitation that I want to be on and just learning from them.

You know,

Just learning and knowing that I actually deserve that.

I mean,

That's the big thing for me is am I open to that?

And yeah,

This has been a big challenge for me,

Which is accepting help when it's offered.

And I guess that's what,

How I would,

That would resonate with me.

Looking at wealth as just energy,

I guess this card invites us to consider the flow of energy in our lives,

The giving and the receiving.

They're both necessary for balance.

This month,

You may find yourself in the role of benefactor or the recipient.

And I'd say if you're in the position to give,

Do it with an open heart.

And if you're the one receiving,

Embrace it without shame or hesitation.

Sometimes all of us need support and there are people out there that can do it.

Don't be afraid to ask.

Don't be afraid to receive.

We're going to need,

It's a team effort to get to that place of wholeness.

We're going to need help along the way.

And then coming back to our theme of the spring,

The background of this card actually shows quite barren earth.

There's no plants.

You know,

There's no sustenance.

Seeds won't germinate without the help and generosity and compassion.

And that when those things are in place,

There can be real renewal,

Both physically and also in our hearts.

Maybe this is a month to reflect on where the abundance flows into our lives and to keep that flow moving in a healthy way.

OK,

So the next card is the Four of Wands.

Another beautiful card.

It depicts two figures who are clearly having a great time and they're dancing.

I think they're dancing because I love dancing.

They're dancing beneath the canopy of flowers in the foreground.

There are four wands that are firmly planted into the earth.

And there's kind of like a garland of greenery symbolizing growth and the wands symbolizing the stability.

And beyond them in the sort of middle distance,

There lies a castle.

And this card,

Again,

It sort of suggests going back to the key words of community,

Home,

Celebration,

Reunions,

Stability.

I would put all of those into the category of belonging.

Where do we belong?

Where do we find that sense of groundedness and wholeness and safety?

Where do we experience that,

Whether it's an internal experience or whether there's an actual place or group that we can find that from?

I feel that this card is an opportunity to pause and actually,

You know,

With all the hard work that's going on to reach that state of integration and wholeness,

That actually you need to pause and actually be grateful for how far we've come.

It may be a chance to celebrate.

This is very much a card of celebration and the importance of honoring.

You know,

Like the first blooms of spring,

Which I saw on a lovely walk at the weekend,

Honoring the milestones,

No matter how small.

No matter how small the success,

It can always be shared.

We should always,

Always have the opportunity to find joy and connection and community and share that success with our nearest and dearest.

Yeah,

Just looking at this card now,

Definitely home.

I feel like this is something,

Again,

I like to just put a few personal anecdotes in there to kind of bring it to life,

But I can be so focused on goal setting and trying to get where I want to be and all of these things.

Sometimes I can just forget that actually,

You know,

I've come a long way,

Firstly.

And also,

You know,

There's people around me that really want to celebrate in my success and also just the joy and the sustenance that I get from being around others.

Coming back to that last card,

Which is what is wealth?

You know,

For me,

Wealth is very much about connection.

So tapping into that sense of connection and belonging to sustain us through.

That's what I'm getting from that.

So the last card for the journey section of this reading.

Another wands card,

Six of wands.

So this card depicts a figure riding a white horse,

Holding a wand crowned with a laurel wreath.

Another laurel wreath,

Lots of laurel wreaths in this reading.

They're surrounded by a crowd and their victory,

It's definitely a victory of some description,

Is being recognised and celebrated.

There is definitely a theme with this reading.

I hope some of you are connecting with this because it's quite powerful to see the thread running through this.

The horse's colour is white,

Which usually symbolises purity,

Traditionally.

And the laurel wreaths are victory and success.

This is about public,

What I feel is like public recognition.

Confidence,

Certainly.

If you just look at the expression on the individual's face,

It's a raised head,

He's proud of his achievements.

Confidence and success.

You know,

The effort that we've put in is starting to pay off.

Not just for ourselves.

Not just for ourselves,

But other people.

This card is all about the crowd.

The other people are also starting to take notice.

It's the people that are really,

These are our cheerleaders.

They're the people that we've taken along the journey with us.

There's a lot of teachings about trying to wean ourselves off external validation.

And I agree.

But we all love external validation.

And to deny that part of ourselves,

I think,

Is to miss something.

And it's great when people have our back.

And this is suggesting that we are moving into a space,

A time,

A way of working where people are going to start to think,

Wow,

You know,

They're on to something,

They're doing something really powerful.

They're doing good work.

And there's like a buzz,

There's a celebration about it.

I mean,

I'd love it for me if this was about,

For example,

Insight Timer,

Which is something I really enjoy doing and I love doing these readings and recordings.

You know,

Whenever I get a little review,

It's,

You know,

It's just like,

Yeah,

I don't need it,

But I really like it.

And there's something about that,

Being seen that I'm doing something that I love doing.

And,

You know,

That's what I'm getting from this.

But also on the other side of that,

There has to be balance with the internal acknowledgement.

That sometimes we need to be our own cheerleaders.

And when things aren't necessarily,

We don't see or feel or hear that crowd amongst us,

That we have to really push ourselves.

Yeah.

It has to be both things.

Success doesn't exist in isolation.

And your journey may involve others supporting and celebrating you,

Just as the card before the last one suggested,

With that wealth being distributed and that expertise or support being distributed.

Very much this theme of this spread is about reaching the state of wholeness with others in some way.

There are other people around.

I'm going to move on to the attitude that we,

The attitudes or the behaviours that we might need to adopt.

Sometimes I think of it as things that we need to be mindful of or to watch for,

Depending on what card comes up.

OK,

So we've got the two of pentacles.

So for those not familiar,

Again,

This shows a figure juggling two coins.

It's connected by an infinity symbol.

And there's waves in the background with some ships riding on the currents.

With this card,

It's the sense of.

Well,

There are two things,

I guess.

There's the attitude we need to adopt,

Which I think is we're going to be juggling quite a lot.

But also.

It's about prioritising the.

The figure is juggling these two things,

Two coins in the image.

But he hasn't fallen.

He hasn't fallen over.

He's managing to do it probably just because there's two.

So I think that.

I often get this card when I'm juggling a lot.

That.

There's too much on my plate.

I think that this card is showing us that we are probably being pulled now in a multitude of different directions.

And that trying to balance competing demands.

Yeah.

It's difficult.

The figure is managing to juggle,

But he only has two things.

I have a lot more than two things.

And that in the balance.

The balance isn't static.

It's like a constant dance.

And the ships in the background.

Opportunities and the challenges that come and go with the tide.

The key is to remain grounded and agile.

I guess trusting that whatever we're given that comes our way.

We can.

We'll be able to handle it.

But at the same time,

Where in our life do we need to find some rebalancing?

Is there stuff that I,

You,

We need to.

Say no to.

Am I working towards like what my highest priorities are?

As shown perhaps in the previous cards that there is something I'm working towards in this cycle.

Am I actually clear about what that is?

And it's the thing that I need to be mindful of.

Taking on things that,

You know,

Distract me from that.

I hate to sound like a kind of careers coach or something that's not my vibe at all.

But,

You know,

Am I setting clear goals?

Do I know what success looks like for me?

Do I have a clear vision of where I'm going?

And can I get rid of anything that doesn't contribute towards that?

That vision.

So just be mindful of competing priorities,

Not taking on too much.

Juggling,

But juggling with an amount that you're able to handle.

Maybe there are two competing mental processes.

It doesn't have to be physical activities.

Could be due to a decision that you need to make and you're juggling between the two.

Maybe both,

Both are,

Both have their positives and negatives.

I'll just close this part just by saying that,

You know,

If we do feel overwhelmed,

Being overwhelmed is not a great place to be making decisions from.

So my,

The final thing that's kind of coming through for me is that if we are feeling this,

At any point in the month,

Take a pause,

Take a step back,

Rebalance,

Reground,

Remain agile,

As shown by the previous cards,

Look for some people that can help and support,

Hang out with friends,

Get grounded in a sense of belonging,

And then you'll be victorious.

I'm going to draw the last card now.

Okay,

So we've got the King of Swords.

This is like our best outcome for the month.

Best outcome might not be like the thing that we most desire,

By the way,

But this is our best outcome for,

You know,

What's good for us in this moment and in,

You know,

In relationship to the previous cards.

So the King of Swords sits on a grey throne which has butterflies carved into it,

Representing,

As butterflies tend to,

Transformation,

And some crescent moons,

I think,

In there,

Which symbolise intuition.

Certainly the crescent moon is associated in the yogic tradition with the god Shiva,

A very powerful symbol.

He holds,

He has an upright sword,

Which is a beacon of truth and clarity and intellect.

It's sharp,

It can cut through illusions.

And the clouds in the sky are beginning to clear,

Indicating that we're moving into a space of clarity,

Mental clarity.

Maybe the confusion of the preceding month is starting to lift.

Very,

Very powerful card.

And this card really represents what I believe to be sort of mastery over your thoughts and your ability to make decisions with logic and integrity.

I think by the end of this process and by the end of this month,

We'll be able,

Those that are connecting with this reading,

Will feel more in control of the direction that you're travelling in,

Maybe at the start of a new cycle,

And actually will be much better equipped with the insight and wisdom that we need to move forward.

So in the context of a king,

Like the archetype of a king,

The king of swords embodies structure and discipline and authority.

Things that I really don't like.

Definitely authority.

Very difficult card for me.

But the card represents not the tyrannical parts of that.

The card represents,

In its upright position,

The qualities of leadership.

Leadership that's rooted in logic and reason and ethical integrity.

It really speaks to a clear,

A clear healthy mind that prioritises kind of rationality over emotion and embracing,

I guess,

Like a methodical,

Process-orientated,

Calculated approach to decision-making.

It's about fairness,

Which we also saw earlier on in the cards,

With the scales,

Moral strength and like a power that comes from sound,

Judgement and self-control.

It's a masculine archetype and not in a kind of binary sense,

If that's the right word,

But we all have a king inside us,

We all have a queen inside us.

I have a very kind of strong feminine principle within me.

But the king can act as a counterweight.

Again,

Coming back to the image of scales,

If it's all emotional,

If it's pure queen on one side of those scales,

The emotion without boundaries and reason can be overwhelming,

Can be absolutely overwhelming.

I have experience of this.

We end up just giving too much or being so affected that we become,

I guess,

Almost depressed with the bad things that happen in the world because we're just taking it all on,

We're just feeling so,

So much.

But when balanced by reason and logic,

But reason and logic without the emotions,

We become cold,

Ruthless,

Tyrannical.

We don't care about the collateral damage,

We just make cold decisions without a thought for other people.

We don't want to be that either.

We're always looking to balance these polarities,

These binaries within us.

It's a very Gemini card,

Which is me.

Yeah,

So I think the king of swords is asking us to lead the way,

Whether it's leading others,

Leading our families,

Leading ourselves with fairness and with truth.

I think clear communication,

Being able to express your needs clearly,

Making decisions that align with our values,

With our vision.

Trust your head,

Trust your thoughts.

Don't cut them off and just leave with emotion.

Trust your intellect.

Don't neglect the emotional or the intuitive.

Nurture both.

And like the sword he holds,

We can cut through and cut out that which doesn't serve us.

So just as a closing few remarks,

As we step into the month,

The world reminds us to honour the cycles of life and celebrate the growth that we have achieved over the previous cycle.

And as we enter the month,

We're going to be taking on a journey,

Illuminated by the six of pentacles,

The four of wands and the six of wands.

These cards invite us to seek balance,

Savour moments of joy and embrace the victories that come our way.

The two of pentacles gently encourages us to be adaptable.

Remember,

Life is a dance,

Not a burden.

And finally,

The king of swords offers us clarity and wisdom to guide our steps with truth and integrity and purpose.

So trust the unfolding path and let this be a season of renewal,

Moving us towards that sense of complete integration and wholeness.

Thank you so much.