🌿 This week in Sage Leaves… 🌿
Welcome, wise ones, to this week’s Sage Leaves, as the sky itself begins to shift its tone. With both Mars and Mercury stepping into Aquarius, thought and action turn toward vision, truth, and the courage to imagine something different, while Neptune’s long awaited entrance into Aries quietly stirs the first sparks of new life beneath the surface. These movements arrive as we sit with The Moon as a Jungian archetype, the card that guides us through uncertainty, intuition, and the deep inner waters where old fears and ancient memories still speak.
The year is slowly turning now toward Imbolc, that subtle threshold where winter has not yet released its grip but the promise of return is already present. In this liminal space, you are invited to trust what you sense rather than what you can prove, and to honor the quiet work happening in the dark as the light prepares to rise again.
The Moon Card As Jungian Archetype
The Moon is one of the most psychologically rich cards in the Tarot, and from a Jungian perspective it speaks directly to the deep, instinctive layers of the psyche that operate beneath conscious awareness. In Jungian psychology, this realm is often called the unconscious, the place where memory, emotion, fear, intuition, and ancestral material live together. When The Moon appears, it signals a moment when the rational mind no longer holds all the answers and the inner world asks to be listened to with patience and care.
Archetypically, The Moon represents the Shadow and the Great Mother in her more mysterious forms. This is not the comforting, nurturing mother of daylight, but the ancient maternal force that governs cycles, tides, dreams, and instincts. Jung understood the Shadow as the parts of the self that are hidden, denied, or pushed aside because they feel unsafe or uncomfortable. The Moon does not demand that you conquer these parts. Instead, it asks you to walk beside them slowly, learning their language without judgment.
In a Tarot reading, The Moon often appears during times of uncertainty, emotional confusion, or heightened sensitivity. From a Jungian lens, this confusion is not a flaw but a signal that conscious control is loosening so deeper material can rise. Dreams may become more vivid. Old memories may resurface without warning. Emotional reactions may feel stronger or harder to explain. These experiences reflect the psyche working through material that has been waiting for acknowledgment.
The Moon also represents the instinctual self, the part of the psyche that predates logic and language. Jung believed that modern humans often disconnect from instinct in favor of control and productivity. When The Moon appears, it reminds you that intuition is a valid form of knowing. You may be asked to trust sensations, images, or emotional responses rather than facts alone. This can feel unsettling, especially for those trained to value clarity and certainty, but it is a necessary stage in psychological integration.
In the Heroine’s Journey, The Moon marks the descent into the inner landscape. This is the part of the journey where the outer world fades into the background and the inner world becomes the primary terrain. Unlike the Hero’s Journey, which often emphasizes conquest and external achievement, the Heroine’s Journey values receptivity, emotional truth, and embodied wisdom. The Moon invites the heroine to sit with ambiguity rather than rush toward resolution.
The Moon teaches that not all wisdom arrives in light;
some truths emerge only when you are willing to walk slowly through shadow.
Jung emphasized that healing often occurs not by eliminating darkness but by forming a relationship with it. The Moon teaches this lesson gently but firmly. It shows that fear often grows when ignored, while understanding grows when fear is faced with compassion. In readings focused on emotional or transgenerational healing, The Moon may point to inherited patterns, unspoken family stories, or emotional responses that were learned rather than chosen. These patterns often operate quietly, influencing behavior until they are consciously explored.
Importantly, The Moon is not a card of deception for its own sake. While it can indicate illusion or misunderstanding, its deeper message is about perception. Under moonlight, shapes change. Familiar paths look unfamiliar. This does not mean the path is wrong, only that it must be walked differently. Jung would describe this as the ego learning to step aside so the Self, the organizing center of the psyche, can guide the process.
Ultimately, The Moon invites trust in the process of becoming. It reminds you that clarity often arrives after confusion, not before it. Emotional truth may not appear as a neat answer but as a feeling that gradually makes sense over time. By honoring dreams, intuition, and emotional rhythms, you allow the psyche to complete work that daylight consciousness cannot accomplish alone.
When The Moon appears, you are not lost. You are listening. And in Jungian terms, that is where real transformation begins.
Reflection Prompt:
Where in your life are you being asked to trust intuition over certainty, and what emotions or memories surface when you allow yourself to listen without needing immediate answers?
🌿Sage Leaves Weekly Tarotscope
Tarotscope for January 20-26, 2026
This week unfolds like a turning of the inner wheel, asking you to release what no longer fits while stepping toward a wider sense of belonging and purpose. With so many planets gathering in Aquarius, the energy favors change driven by insight, courage, and future minded vision. You are not meant to stay where you are. You are meant to move, even if the movement feels uncertain at first.
The Cards of the Week
Tuesday: 8 of Cups | Mercury Enters Aquarius
Wednesday: 10 of Cups | Sun in Aquarius conjunct Mercury in Aquarius
Thursday: Wheel of Fortune | Mercury in Aquarius conjunct Pluto in Aquarius
Friday: The World | Mars Enters Aquarius
Saturday: 9 of Swords | Moon in Aries square Jupiter in Cancer
Sunday: Knight of Wands| First Quarter Moon in Taurus
Monday: The Sun | Neptune Enters Aries
Tuesday: 8 of Cups
The week begins with The 8 of Cups, a card of conscious departure. You turn away from what once felt meaningful but no longer nourishes you. This is not abandonment. It is discernment. Mercury entering Aquarius sharpens your thinking and helps you name what you have outgrown. You may feel a quiet sadness, but it is paired with relief. You understand that staying would cost you more than leaving. This is a future facing choice, guided by clarity rather than drama.
Wednesday: 10 of Cups
The story deepens as The 10 of Cups appears, also turned away from the viewer, aligned with the path opened by the previous day. This card reveals why you walk away. You are not leaving in search of loss. You are leaving in search of belonging. With the Sun and Mercury joined in Aquarius, conversations bring insight and emotional honesty. Shared values matter more than shared history. You are reminded that true happiness comes from alignment, not obligation.
Thursday: The Wheel of Fortune
On Thursday, The Wheel of Fortune turns. Change arrives whether invited or not. Mercury meeting Pluto brings deep realizations, sometimes sudden, sometimes unsettling. You may see how much of your life has been shaped by forces beyond your control. This is not meant to frighten you. It is meant to free you. The Wheel reminds you that resistance creates suffering, while awareness creates momentum. You are not powerless. You are participating in a cycle that is larger than fear.
Friday: The World
Friday brings The World, dancing openly and facing you with confidence. Mars entering Aquarius adds boldness and forward motion. This is a moment of integration. Something comes full circle. You recognize how far you have come, even if the road ahead is still unfolding. This card carries pride without arrogance. You are allowed to stand in your experience and say yes, this matters. The recurrence of The World suggests that completion and recognition remain key themes in your life right now.
Saturday: 9 of Swords
Saturday introduces tension through the 9 of Swords. The Moon’s square to Jupiter can magnify worry, especially around emotional security and responsibility. Thoughts race. Sleep may be restless. Old fears resurface. This card does not mean something bad will happen. It means your mind is processing change faster than your emotions can follow. Be gentle with yourself. Anxiety is not a failure. It is a sign that something important is shifting.
Sunday: Knight of Wands
On Sunday, the Knight of Wands charges forward, eager to confront the fears of the previous day. This energy is bold, impatient, and courageous. The First Quarter Moon in Taurus offers grounding support, helping you act without burning yourself out. You feel the urge to move, speak, or decide. Let enthusiasm serve you, but do not let it override wisdom. Action taken with intention becomes progress rather than escape.
Monday: The Sun
The week concludes with The Sun, radiant and forward looking. Neptune entering Aries brings inspired beginnings and renewed faith in your direction. Illusions fall away, replaced by a clearer sense of purpose. You feel more like yourself again. This card restores confidence and reminds you that growth does not always feel gentle. Sometimes it feels bright, bold, and undeniable. You are stepping into visibility with greater honesty.
Themes of the Week
This week is about choosing the future without denying the past. The strong Aquarius influence encourages innovation, truth telling, and collective awareness. You are invited to release emotional attachments that limit your growth while trusting that joy can still be found ahead. Change is active, not passive. You are part of it, shaping it with each decision you make.
Numerology and Recurrences
The recurrence of The World and the 10 of Cups highlights fulfillment through alignment rather than effort alone. Two Cups cards emphasize emotional truth, while the presence of only one Sword suggests that worry is temporary rather than defining. Three Major Arcana signal a pivotal week where choices ripple outward into the months ahead.
Conclusion
As this week closes, notice how movement leads to illumination. You are not meant to stay small or silent. The shifts you make now carry long term significance, even if they feel uncomfortable at first. Trust the process of becoming. Let clarity replace fear, and allow joy to return on its own terms.
Reflection:
What are you ready to walk away from in order to move toward a fuller sense of belonging, and how does your body respond when you imagine choosing that future?
As this week draws to a close, notice how the sky and the cards echo one another. With a powerful stellium of the inner planets gathered in Aquarius alongside Pluto, collective themes of awakening, disruption, and reimagining the future press gently but firmly at the edges of your awareness. The Moon reminds you that not all guidance arrives in clear daylight; some truths rise through dreams, body wisdom, and quiet emotional signals that ask to be felt rather than explained.
As Imbolc approaches, the year reaches another subtle turning point. The land is still cold, yet something stirs beneath the surface, preparing for renewal long before it can be seen. This is not a time to rush clarity. It is a time to listen closely, to honor intuition, and to trust that even confusion has a purpose. What you tend now in the dark will shape what grows when the light returns.
Until next week, may the cards guide you gently. Take care, be well, and good bye for now.
—Dr. Winkler
That’s it for this week! Look for Sage Leaves in your inbox on Tuesday afternoons (North American time.) We look forward to exploring more about Tarot, Healing and more! Take care, be well, and good-bye for now!
\(*_*)/.....My ruling astrological sign is the Moon.