Welcome, wise ones, to this week’s Sage Leaves. In the heroine’s journey, The Sun represents the moment when hard-won awareness rises into conscious life, illuminating truths that were once hidden in shadow. This is not the naïve brightness of early innocence, but the mature light that comes after descent, uncertainty, and reclamation of the self. As the days slowly lengthen and we move toward the spring equinox, this growing light mirrors your own internal process. Each additional minute of daylight reflects a gradual restoration of vitality and clarity. In transgenerational healing, The Sun symbolizes the breaking of inherited silence and the gentle exposure of patterns carried across time. What was once endured without understanding can now be seen, named, and transformed. This is how healing advances: not through force, but through illumination, as awareness brings warmth to what was once held in darkness and allows new life to emerge.
The Role of The Sun in the Heroine’s Journey
The Sun plays a powerful and affirming role in the Heroine’s Journey, appearing at a point where hard-won self-knowledge turns into lived confidence and quiet joy rather than external validation or performance. In this journey, the heroine has already faced descent, loss, doubt, and inner reckoning, and The Sun marks the moment when she steps back into the world carrying her truth openly, without needing permission or approval.
Unlike the traditional hero’s arc, which often emphasizes conquest or triumph over others, the Heroine’s Journey centers on integration and authenticity, and The Sun reflects the stage where the heroine no longer fractures herself to survive. She has learned who she is beneath expectations, roles, and inherited stories, and now she lives from that knowing with steadiness and warmth. This is not the blinding light of ego or spectacle, but the sustaining light of self-trust.
In many Tarot images, The Sun shows a child riding freely beneath a radiant sky, and within the Heroine’s Journey this child symbolizes reclaimed innocence and embodied truth rather than naivety. The heroine does not return to childhood, but she recovers the parts of herself that were once silenced, shamed, or pushed aside. She allows joy to exist without justification, and she permits herself to be visible without armor.
This card appears after the heroine has already crossed thresholds that required courage and endurance. She has faced The Moon, where fear and uncertainty ruled, and she has survived The Tower, where false structures fell away. By the time The Sun arrives, she is no longer asking who she must be to belong. She belongs because she exists. This is the deep teaching of The Sun in the Heroine’s Journey.
In the Heroine’s Journey, The Sun is the moment when
joy no longer needs permission and truth no longer hides.
Importantly, The Sun does not suggest that all pain is gone. The heroine still carries memory, grief, and complexity, but she no longer defines herself by those wounds. Instead, she integrates them into a broader sense of self. Her strength is no longer reactive. It is rooted. She moves through the world with a sense of inner permission that does not depend on constant reassurance.
In the Heroine’s Journey, The Sun also marks a shift in how power is expressed. Earlier stages may involve endurance, resistance, or withdrawal. Here, power becomes creative and relational. The heroine gives rather than proves. She radiates rather than defends. Others may be drawn to her presence not because she seeks attention, but because she is at ease with herself.
This card also speaks to embodiment. The heroine is no longer living primarily in her mind or her wounds. She inhabits her body and her life fully. She allows pleasure, laughter, and rest to exist alongside responsibility. This balance is essential in the Heroine’s Journey, where wholeness matters more than dominance or perfection.
The Sun reminds us that the end of the journey is not escape from the world, but a return to it with clarity. The heroine does not abandon relationship, work, or community. She enters them differently. She no longer dims her light to make others comfortable, nor does she shine to outshine anyone else. She simply is.
In this way, The Sun represents a mature joy. It is the joy of alignment. It is the joy of living honestly after learning the cost of silence. In the Heroine’s Journey, this card affirms that becoming oneself is not selfish, but necessary, and that a woman who knows who she is becomes a source of warmth rather than threat.
Where in your life are you being invited to live more openly and warmly from who you already are, rather than who you once needed to be to survive?
Sage Leaves Weekly Tarotscope:
February 17-23, 2026
This week unfolds beneath the powerful shadow of the annular solar eclipse in Aquarius, a celestial event that alters perception before it alters circumstance. You are standing inside a corridor of transition, where the old order weakens and the new has not yet fully taken form. The Sun’s entry into Pisces softens the edges of certainty, inviting intuition to guide where logic cannot. At the same time, Mercury’s retrograde shadow begins to stretch forward, reminding you that reflection and reconsideration are essential parts of progress. This is not a week for forcing outcomes. It is a week for listening carefully to what is ending and what is quietly preparing to begin.
The Cards of the Week
Tuesday: 4 of Swords | Aquarius Solar Eclipse
Wednesday: 9 of Swords | Sun Enters Pisces
Thursday: Queen of Wands | Moon in Aries conjunct Saturn in Aries
Friday: 9 of Cups | Saturn in Aries conjunct Neptune in Aries
Saturday: Judgement | Moon in Aries sextile Mars in Aquarius
Sunday: Ace of Wands | Venus in Pisces trine Jupiter in Cancer
Monday: Death | Moon in Taurus conjunct Uranus in Taurus
Daily Story
Tuesday – 4 of Swords | Aquarius Solar Eclipse
The week opens in stillness. The 4 of Swords turns inward, choosing rest over reaction. Under the eclipse, this stillness becomes sacred rather than passive. You may feel withdrawn or contemplative. This is not avoidance. It is preparation. The eclipse obscures the familiar light, asking you to pause and allow deeper awareness to emerge. You are not meant to act yet. You are meant to observe and recover your strength.
Wednesday – 9 of Swords | Sun Enters Pisces
Rest gives way to awareness, and awareness can bring discomfort. The 9 of Swords looks toward the future, troubled by possibilities not yet realized. With the Sun entering Pisces, emotional sensitivity increases. Thoughts that were once quiet may now speak louder. You may question decisions, direction, or your readiness for change. This card reminds you that anxiety often appears at the threshold of growth. You are seeing clearly, even if what you see feels uncertain.
Thursday – Queen of Wands | Moon in Aries conjunct Saturn in Aries
Strength returns, but it arrives through responsibility. The Queen of Wands looks forward with confidence and intention. She does not wait for permission. With Saturn in Aries, discipline and courage become inseparable. This is a day to reclaim authority over your direction. The doubts of yesterday do not disappear, but they no longer control you. You act not because fear is absent, but because purpose is stronger.
Friday – 9 of Cups | Saturn conjunct Neptune in Aries
Fulfillment stands before you, bold and unmistakable. The 9 of Cups faces you directly, presenting emotional satisfaction earned through perseverance. Yet Saturn and Neptune together remind you that fulfillment is both real and evolving. What satisfies you now may also reveal deeper desires waiting beneath the surface. You are allowed to enjoy what you have achieved. Contentment is not complacency. It is acknowledgment of growth.
Saturday – Judgement | Moon in Aries sextile Mars in Aquarius
The call arrives. Judgement does not look at you because it is focused on awakening rather than validation. This card marks a turning point where you recognize who you have become. Mars in Aquarius supports decisive action rooted in authenticity. You may feel drawn to release old roles, beliefs, or identities. This is not loss. It is liberation. You are answering a call that has been building quietly over time.
Sunday – Ace of Wands | Venus in Pisces trine Jupiter in Cancer
Where something ends, something else ignites. The Ace of Wands offers new creative and spiritual energy. This is potential in its pure form. Venus and Jupiter expand emotional and intuitive capacity, making you more receptive to inspiration. You may feel renewed enthusiasm or clarity about what you want to build. This is the spark that follows awakening.
Monday – Death | Moon in Taurus conjunct Uranus in Taurus
The week closes with transformation. Death rides forward without hesitation. This card does not represent physical ending. It represents necessary change. With Uranus involved, transformation may arrive suddenly or decisively. Something familiar reaches its natural conclusion. This ending creates space for what is more aligned with your present self. You are not losing stability. You are redefining it.
Overarching Themes
This week centers on awakening through release. The eclipse initiates reflection, while the Sun’s movement into Pisces deepens emotional awareness. Fear and doubt appear early, but they serve as gateways rather than barriers. As the week progresses, clarity strengthens, culminating in decisive transformation. You are moving from rest into renewal, from uncertainty into alignment. The presence of Judgement and Death confirms that this is not a temporary shift. It is a permanent evolution in how you understand yourself and your path.
Numerology and Recurring Cards
The numbers this week reinforce progression and emotional depth. The pair of 9s signals culmination and completion. These cards appear in both mental and emotional realms, suggesting that endings are occurring internally before they manifest externally. The Ace of Wands introduces new beginnings, balancing closure with opportunity.
Two Major Arcana, Judgement and Death, define the week’s turning point. These archetypes do not represent ordinary events. They signify irreversible transformation and conscious awakening. Their presence confirms that this week holds lasting significance.
The directional focus of the cards tells its own story. The 4 of Swords turns inward, beginning the week in reflection. The 9 of Swords and Queen of Wands look toward the future, signaling emerging awareness and forward movement. The 9 of Cups meets your gaze, affirming emotional truth. Judgement focuses on awakening rather than approval. Finally, Death moves forward, carrying transformation into lived reality.
There are no recurring cards, emphasizing that each stage of the week builds upon the last without repetition. This is a continuous progression rather than a cycle.
Conclusion
This week represents a threshold between who you were and who you are becoming. The eclipse initiates reflection. Emotional awareness deepens. Courage returns. Fulfillment appears, followed by awakening and transformation. The process may feel intense, but it is purposeful. You are not being undone. You are being reformed. What ends now makes space for something more authentic, more aligned, and more alive.
Final Reflection
What truth about yourself are you now ready to accept, and what must you release in order to fully step into the person you are becoming?
As the annular eclipse in Aquarius continues to cast its subtle influence, you are reminded that transformation often begins in shadow before it becomes visible in light. This is the deep heart of winter, when the land appears still but unseen forces are already reshaping what will emerge in spring. The aurora borealis, shimmering across darkened skies, serves as a living symbol of this hidden activity, revealing that even in darkness, energy moves and meaning unfolds. Each evening now, the sun lingers slightly longer on the horizon, marking time’s quiet promise. You are moving gradually toward Ostara, the spring equinox, when light and dark will briefly stand in balance. What is shifting within you now may feel subtle, but it is no less profound. Trust that the changes begun under this Aquarian eclipse are guiding you toward greater clarity, renewal, and the steady return of light.
Take care, be well, and good-bye for now.
Until next time,
—Dr. Winkler
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