This season’s tarotscopes feature The Next World Tarot and The Compendium of Constellations.
Aries season marks the start of a new zodiacal year. And whether you live your life by the cycles of the moon or are a more casual astrological observer, this time of year is always an excellent opportunity to revisit where you’ve been, what you’ve longed for, and where you want to go. If you are the type who sets intentions, chooses a word of the year, or makes vows for things that you want to accomplish, take some time over the next few days to review those goals, and to consider any adjustments or changes that you might want to make. And if you’re more the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type, Aries season can be an amazing time to look ahead, dream big, and clarify your most pressing desires.
Associated with the major arcana archetype of the Emperor, Aries is cardinal fire, bold and determined, ushering in the spring and the new year with confidence, energy, and purpose. With Aries, we tap into initiations and ambitions, pursue what we want with passion, take joy in our wildest dreams. The Emperor is a natural fit for this aspect of Aries’ energy, encouraging us to create structures that empower us to accomplish everything we can possibly imagine. And as archetype number four, we see those characteristics reflected in this card’s numerology, as four is a digit of foundations, stability, and intentionality.
I’ve written so many times about the Emperor’s sometimes off-putting approach, and how this archetype can feel alienating or uncomfortable for queer and marginalized communities who have experienced harm from heteronormative, patriarchal, capitalistic systems. But the Emperor is so much more than wealth-gathering, power-hungry leaders who want to build rules that restrict and regulate. Instead, this is about understanding our own limits, our own boundaries, and knowing ourselves well enough to recognize what we need in order to thrive. What makes us feel protected, empowered, emboldened? Which methods allow us to fully harness our creativity, optimism, imagination, and skills? How can we use plans and procedures to give our work shape, form, precision?
In this season of Aries, don’t let your power get lost in fussy procedures or self-policing. Instead, allow your ambitions to burn brightly, and balance all of that passion with intentionality, focus, and self-control. Experienced tarot readers or astrologers can plug the cards I’ve drawn for their sun, moon, and rising signs into the spread below to create a custom reading for this season. Aries is ruled by Mars, planet of action and friction, so if you know your Mars placement you can plug that into this spread template for a more complete picture of your Aries season.
My first book, Finding the Fool: A Tarot Journey to Radical Transformation, is out in the world, and you can pick up a copy wherever books are sold! I would also love for you to join us for the A+ Read A Fucking Book Club in May, when we’ll be discussing this work together. The best way to stay up-to-date on my writings, offerings, and latest tarot spreads is by subscribing to my newsletter, Devils & Fools. I’m offering client readings on a limited basis again, as well as some new email courses, and subscribers always get first dibs on these offerings. You can also still find me on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
As always with these tarot readings, take what you need and leave what you don’t. Happy Aries season!
Aries
Nine of cups
Happy birthday, Aries! What brings you joy, pleasure, satisfaction? This season, carve out some time to feel deeply, to let yourself get swept away by happiness, to celebrate how much you’ve achieved. The suit of cups is tied to the element of water and matters of the heart, and with this card we tend to think about the wishes that we have made and had fulfilled, as well as any wishes we may still be hanging on to. It’s okay to still want things even when we have received so much, to make space for new dreams once the old ones are fulfilled. Where is your gratitude these days? And what new desires might be making themselves known in your emotions, intuition, or subconscious?
Taurus
Ace of cups
What gifts might the element of water have for you this season? As we shift into a new astrological year, it may feel like something new is expanding within you, your heart making room for new dreams, new relationships, or new discoveries about your internal landscape. While this kind of flow may not feel as easily controlled or understood as you are comfortable with, there can be real magic in seeing where your water naturally cascades, in recognizing what you are innately drawn to. What grounds your heart? How do you balance safety and longing? What new discoveries are you ready to make about yourself?
Gemini
Six of swords
It may feel like you’ve been moving through something intensive and complex, something that has required soul-searching or firm decisions, something that has left you feeling reborn in a way. The suit of swords is all about the element of air and the mind, and when we find ourselves parsing and processing difficult truths, it can leave us feeling a bit worn, a bit exhausted. Yet this kind of travel can be grueling or disorienting, and in moving into a new phase, can require us to take a beat, catch our breath, and assess our new surroundings. Where have you been going, whether you realized it in the moment or not? Where do you now find yourself, and what does that mean for your next steps?
Cancer
Knight of cups
Where are you exploring big feelings, tender sensitivities, or new connections? Open-hearted, eager to please, and prioritizing emotion above all else, the knight of cups can feel like being swept away by romance, love songs, and anything else that makes our hearts flutter. But knights always require discernment, asking us to consider how we are balancing this energy in our lives — and with this suit of water and matters of the heart, the knight of cups urges us to not get so lost in tidal waves of vulnerability or connection that we lose sight of ourselves. Where are you letting emotions flow through you, offering passion and wonder and joy? And where might emotions be carrying you off to sea, making it hard to remember which way is up?
Leo
Seven of cups
Where have your dreams been wandering? It may feel this season like there are so many possibilities stretching out before you, like only your imagination is the limit to what you could accomplish, discover, or become. There is joy and wonder in this feeling, in looking at all of your opportunities and connections, in making space for every single dream you carry in your heart. But it can also be paralyzing sometimes, to look at the scope of your aspirations and not be entirely sure what you want to pursue and prioritize. Take your time in fantasy land, but don’t get lost there, gazing into your dreams without committing to any. What does your heart want most?
Virgo
Three of wands
What is beckoning to you? As you move into the fiery passion of Aries season, this is an excellent opportunity to look up from your work and shift your gaze to what you are working towards. Vision is a powerful tool, and it may feel like things are clicking into gear this season, as your imagination and your intentions align to let those dreams manifest in tangible and necessary ways. But you have the gift of care, and can often anticipate what might need particular attention, a more thoughtful eye. What do you see stretching out before you, that is finding its form and turning into something extraordinary? What are you striving towards?
Libra
Four of swords
If you’ve had your nose to the grindstone lately, putting all of your energy and intentionality and focus into a major issue or tantalizing challenge or important opportunity, this season may be an invitation to be more intentional about your mental boundaries. How often do you let stresses, obstacles, or other things that you cannot control creep into your consciousness? What systems or limits do you have in place that help to protect your mind, your peace, your sense of stability? Sometimes this card means pacing yourself and other times it’s an invitation to shut the laptop and take a vacation, but either way, it’s time to take some space for yourself. What do you need to feel safe?
Scorpio
Nine of swords
This season may feel intense, confusing, or even desperate, so if you’ve been working through something challenging, complicated, or painful, please show yourself some grace. This card tends to point to our deepest fears and most potent nightmares, a time when we are so lost in terror that we have trouble seeing reality for what it is. You likely have more support, options, and even hope that you might realize, so this is a time to lean on those you love and let their perspective help you find yourself again. How are you determining what is true, and what is simply one viewpoint? What can you do to offer yourself tenderness, even if it feels like everything is falling apart? Where are you spinning your mental wheels, and where could you actually make a necessary and impactful change that opens up a new door?
Sagittarius
Ace of wands
What gifts might the element of fire have for you this season? You’re a fire sign moving into a season of fire, so this ace of wands feels perfect for you: high energy, passionate, joyfully exploring and seeking and expanding. For you, Aries season might feel vibrant and exciting, with new things to make, discover, and understand. What is capturing your interest right now, pulling you in and demanding more of your time, energy, imagination? Where is your creativity sparking and igniting, begging you to feed it? This could be a season to really lean into your passions, so don’t put a cap on your magic. What makes you burn?
Capricorn
Ace of pentacles
What gifts might the element of earth have for you this season? After making space for your desires, curiosities, and longings last season with the Fool, Aries season gives you an opportunity to ground and stabilize, to settle on the earth and find your footing even as you begin to plant new seeds. Aces serve as invitations, and you are so good at recognizing opportunity, at seeing how something small can grow into something big and beautiful that sustains us for the long haul. Consider what you are ready to invest in, what you want for your future, what will support you over time. What are you ready to thoughtfully initiate?
Aquarius
Strength
What is grounding you, sustaining you, assuring you? In this fiery season of Aries, you might feel tempted to rush ahead, start big things, or make quick decisions so that you can get to the heart of what you really crave. But Strength is a card of patience and purpose, of taking our time, of leaning into the things that help us stabilize. You are stronger than you may realize, and are capable of creating containers for safe discovery and deep analysis. Where is your resolve being tested, and how do you navigate major choices? What do you feel certain of, and where might you be craving more time to examine and explore? How are you showing up for yourself, and how does that consistent care empower you to make the kinds of moves that deeply and authentically resonate?
Pisces
Eight of pentacles
Last season may have brought some important realizations or new clarity around a particular situation, relationship, or desire. And this season, hard work, daily devotion, and intentional effort are the name of the game, which could be an excellent opportunity to put those recent discoveries to use. We don’t always give patient, consistent effort its due, yet when we recognize something that we want and put continual exertion towards reaching that goal, sometimes we make progress that we don’t even fully see as its happening. Tend to your darlings, let them root and stabilize, and see what is blooming when you finally raise your head. What are you ready to dedicate yourself to?
