Mary Iverson paints and collages exquisite natural landscapes crisscrossed with graphic geometric designs. She conducts the viewer to explore our “complicated relationship with nature.” Even in the most pristine places of parks, industrialization overlays the landscape, through climate change and industrial pollution. Iverson uses national parks for many of her backdrops to initiate conversations about conservation and sustainability.
Olympic National Park is my favorite in North America. It feels as if you are back in a primeval North America. The park covers nearly one million acres of Washington State going from craggy Pacific coastlines, glaciated mountains and verdant temperate forests. Teddy Roosevelt realized its magic and in 1909 protected it by giving it national monument status. This started the struggle between the timber industry and conservationist. By 1938 Olympic was designated as a national park by congress and signed into law by Franklin Roosevelt. If you donate on Giving Tuesday, Dec. 3rd, think about donating to your local national park. Nature Matters.
P.S. Remember signs with an * it a big week for you. Sagittarius this is a perfect time to get an Astrological Tarot Reading for your coming year. And Gemini it is your halfway mark for your birth year, so if you need a Planetary Reading for a check in now is the time.
Aries
*Emperor – Last week’s energy helped you with the processes of change. Telling you that, the more balanced you are with your goals the easier change can happen. This week’s energy adds builder energy to the mix. The combination of these two cards are great for building anything already in progress. Doing things with your hands and your body will help you connect to this energy of momentum. This can look as simple as rearranging your furniture or as complex as building a new product in your business.
Taurus
*Devil – You roll into December feeling as if you are in mid-terms. There is a sense of completion if you could just finish your tasks. The key to getting through this week’s trials is sticking to your morals/plans. However, the challenge of that is two fold. First, you feel irritable and easily unbalanced by distractions this week. Also, you will need to listen to others this week even though you don’t agree. This energy has karmic threads tied to it, so the more tested you feel the more important it is to make sure you are on your moral ground before saying your peace.
Gemini
*Sun – The Sun brings with it the energy to do what is needed. Anything you do this week should come with ease if you focus energy on it. The challenge with this energy is focusing the right amount of attention on each project/person. Think of it like this, lasers are great for cutting away something but not so good for growth. Where a more ambient light is great for growth. Or soft light is great for viewing a landscape but sucky for details. Or candlelight is better for conversations and romance. All of these are light energy, but each has a purpose and a mood. This will be your fine-tuning challenge for this week.
Cancer
King of Cups – Last week’s energy was creating opportunities in all areas, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual planes. Asking you questions like: Does this get me to where I want to be in five years? Does this feel right? Is this interesting to me? Does it connect to my purpose? This week’s energy drills down this idea of looking at your future on how you want to feel moving through it. This is a week to trust your feelings. They can feel overwhelming but that is a great time to pull back and sit in them. You don’t have to be scare of owning your feelings, and you can pull back to do that if that is comfortable for you. The big challenge is not running from them. They are opportunities of discovery.
Leo
Two of Wands – This week is best used by overall planning and designing what’s next. You can use this energy to go through emails or stuff to lighten your load, but this energy needs to be pointed towards the future. If a project is stuck let it drop and focus on the bigger picture, the details can be better handle in weeks to come.
Virgo
Four of Coins – The energy this week is all about frugalness. You can do a lot during this time even though it feels as if there is not enough time, space or money. Also, this is when your sign rises to the occasion. You all are masters at making a dime stretch to a dollar’s worth. The limitation of resources brings out your creative response – use it to your advantage.
Libra
Two of Cups – The last two weeks have been high energy. The Death card’s energy was about letting something die off, and the Empress came in with strong growth energy to follow. This week the energy is lower and has the potential of being more fun. Romance and relationships are in the spotlight. The challenge is tending to the easiest of your relationships. They are the ones that feed you as much as you feed them.
Scorpio
*Magician – Bring the divine into the world is your task this week. Your dreams and ideas are asking you to bring them into reality. This universe is saying you are ready for the challenge. You have all the tools and lessons needed to create something new. This can be as simple as putting together a bike for your kid, or as complicated as starting the steps to bring your dream business into reality. The only challenge is you might have to hurry because even miracles take a little time – Fairy Godmother in Cinderella.
Sagittarius
Nine of Coins – Another material plane week for you. Last week it was about enjoying the material plane with others. This week it is more about enjoying solitude. There is plenty of work to be done but this energy is best used when you are alone, or you have a finite group of people to work with. Your challenge is finding that alone time.
Capricorn
Two of Swords – Well last week was a decision-making time and this week follows another round of making decisions and planning. The big challenge with this energy is feeling like there are too many options and you don’t know where to go next. What this tries to teach you is that even though this feels like a crossroads, it is not. The decision or goal is not important but the journey. If it doesn’t feel right don’t do it. This is a week to follow the heart for it will guide the mind.
Aquarius
*Emperor – The energy this week is about building on what already exist. This is not a week to create something new. The challenge is making sure what you’re building helping others and is not from a place of hubris. My way or the highway thinking will get you nowhere. Build to create community not a regime.
Pisces
*Hermit – You are at your best this week if you can gain perspective and some distance literally and metaphorically. You need time to hear yourself think and ponder. So, any quiet time you find will be vital for decision making, scheduling and planning going forward. The only challenge with this card is you must tell people you are taking time out otherwise they will think you ghosted them. Communication is vital before you take a hiatus of any kind. This can look as simple as taking a walk for 20 minutes each workday to readjust or as complex as taken a week long sabbatical.
May light be on you, around you, and within you,
Nina
*Temperance – Wow three big cards for you in a row. The last couple of weeks the Ace of Cups and the Sun united their power helping you expand any area of your life you focus on. Then the Chariot rolled in saying this change is all under your control. And now Temperance the card of balance and moderation is chiming in. So, this coming year while you are growing and change it is important that you do this with an equilibrium that does not come naturally to you. You would rather attack life with a series of big pushes, then slow and steady, or you get so focused on one area of life you forget to pay attention to the rest. So, Temperance advises with your growth – moderation. This can look as simple as scheduling in play with your work, or as complex as growing the yang/male side of your personality while equally balancing the growth of your yin/feminine.
Sun – Well like Aries above this year is a Sun Year for you all, a time of growth and illumination. The great part of getting this card is what you focus your light on will grow and with that growth so do you. The challenges this year are twofold. When you are shining, you will illuminate the good, the bad and the ugly and how you focus your beam of light can either grow with a lite ambient focus or destroy/cut away like a laser. So, this year, while you shine, experiment with what kind of “watts” you need for maximum growth potential.
Eight and Four of Cups – Ok Twins this is a double week for you. The Eight of Cups is the Spring-cleaning card. Not only of your literal house but also of your emotional one. And with the Four of Cups telling you how and where to do this cleaning – three-quarters of introspection and the left over fourth you will find outside of yourself. The big lesson with this combo is get rid of what works and be grateful for what is left over.
Nine of Cups – The Nine of Cups challenges you to find the places of contentment in your life, feed them and not only enjoy them but also the process. As with all cups card and the combination of water signs, water helps if you are stuck.
Ten of Wands – The Ten of Wands means this week you will have to watch your people pleasing nature. If you continue to say yes, you will feel the burden of your obligations by the end of the week. You can fix this problem by either taking somethings off your present list, or just tell people you are swapped and not take on anything more. Either way this is about decreasing your load this week before you collapse from exhaustion.
The Ten of Swords – Last week the Universe offered you a time-out with the Hanged Man to practice the art of perception. Hopeful with the Hanged Man you practice the art of reverse-thinking, for you will need it this week with The Ten of Swords. The Ten of Swords is the card of troubles whether that is from your own negative thoughts or prompted by the outside world. Your challenge is to use the Hanged Man’s lesson of seeing the dark clouds as opportunities to “water your plants” or at the very least preparing you with an umbrella.
Queen of Wands – The Queen of Wands is the closest thing you get to the Mother Earth Energy in the lower cards. She advises you it is time to take a break and get into nature or doing something creative. She comes to remind you that your flame needs to be stoked, and that you are not attending to your inner cycles of growth, death and rebirth.
Nine of Pentacles – Last week the Wheel of Fortune had you looking for karmic intervention in your life or the sign posts of places that need changing. The trend continues this week but having you focus only on the areas of how you make your money. There are some places you need to tweak, and this is the week to do it. The only challenge is this is best done in private at first before you can invite people in on it.
Six of Pentacles – The Six of Pentacles is the mini-karma card. This week all the positive energy that you put into anything will come back three-fold, but this also includes the negative. The challenge with this card is that the return of good or bad does not typically take a straight path back to you.
Ace of Swords – The Empress’ growth period continues with the Ace of Swords. Last week the Empress wanted you to cultivate your life in a way that is more comforting and relaxing but knowing this will take some time. Now the Ace of Swords has you making your first step. Take this week to decide on the details of how, when and where this is going to happen. This is a week of planning and as they say the devil is in the details.
*High Priestess – The High Priestess you would think would be an easy card for you all, for she is the card of the philosopher and can easily fold into lotus position for hours. And you Aquarians are the astrological marathon thinkers and meditators. It just hard for you to get in that state because you all are easily distracted. This week this card wants you to try spending some quality time in the ethereal realm. Whether that is conversing with nature, mediating, or doing yoga every day at sunset. This week you need to tap into your intuited/woo self. The challenge this week will be honing and listening to your inner voice for long enough to get its message.
*Judgement – Judgement comes when it is time to shed your skin or evolve some aspect of your life. This can look as simple as trying on new styles of clothes, make-up, or changing your hair. It’s not that the outer layer matters it’s just practice for you to do some inner work. Here is the challenge – can you see and love the new parts of you that you are growing and leave self-judgment behind?
Still celebrating the Earth this month by highlighting artist who highlight nature. The eco-artist for this week is 
*Chariot – Last week, the Ace of Cups and the Sun foretold your coming year as auspicious. Their combined power helps you expand any area of your life you focus on. And this week another big card surfaced, the Chariot – change that is totally in your control. So, this year’s mission is off to a running start this week. In its simplest form this card wants you to jump in your car, bike or shoes and get outside, find new places and explore. In a more complex form this card wants you to start – that project, business, and/or relationship you shelfed so long ago. The challenge with both last week and this week’s cards is if you want expansion or change it’s all in your hands. This year you need to make things happen, so grab the reins and go.
Ace of Coins – Happy Birthday month. What a great start to your birthday month. Ace of Coins means new beginnings on the material plane – business, money making, projects or your environment. This week start something that keeps your hands busy. The energy for new beginnings is literally held in the palms of your hands this week.
Four of Cups – The Four of Cups is the card on contemplation. You can do some belly-button gazing and self-compassion this week. However, your challenge is that you will need to look outside yourself to complete the answer/puzzle/picture.
*Hanged Man – The Hanged Man is the card of stagnation, or so it seems. It is the Universe giving you a forced time out to do some thinking or re-thinking. The challenge with this card is not doing the internal work that is needed. This can be as simple as being stuck somewhere and instead of playing on your phone, you do some proactive day dreaming. Or as complex as turning your perspective upside down for a week – like making the negatives into a positive and the positives finding their negatives. This reversal of thinking helps you see hidden cycles and scenarios. Side note- Do not make big decisions, start projects or relationships this week.
Three of Pentacles – The Three of Pentacles advises collaboration and practicing your skills on work with others. The “work” you do is better if you have another set of eyes to look it over and give you some pointers. Listen to others advice this week; it will give you deeper insight into projects and problems/solutions.
*Wheel of Fortune – The Wheel of Fortune is the card of karmic change. This week look for karmic intervention in your life. These are signs post of places that need changing. This can look as simple as you lose your keys three times in a row, so you need to get a place to hang your keys on when you get to your house. Or as complex as figuring out what is not working in your life by playing the mind game – What would you do if you won 100 million dollars, and then get to work making some of that happen with the salary you have now.
Eight of Swords – The Eight of Swords is the card of binding yourself with your thought patterns. This week it is time to let go of your negative thoughts. This challenge can be tricky and disguised, for your thoughts are as smart as you are. An example of a negative thought could be wrapped up in judgement of others which in turn allows you to overly judge yourself.
*Empress – The Empress foretells this is a great week to begin something that will grow over the next 9 to 10 months. This card comes when it is advantageous to cultivate your life in a way that is more comforting and relaxed way of life. The Empress also advise that you indulge all your senses this week. By doing so, your five/six senses will help you find the places or projects you want to grow. This can be as simple as planting a garden or as complex as planting seeds for the next cycle of your life. The challenges simple or complex are enjoying your growing pains and process along the gestation period, and it will take time to grow to a place where you can enjoy its bounty.
Three of Swords – The last two weeks you had Judgment, the card of evolution shedding your skin, molting your feathers, or wrapping up in a cocoon to evolve into the next phase of your journey. And the Lovers having you choose who gets to ride with you into this next stage. The Three of Swords continues this theme but is siding more with the challenges of Judgement and the Lovers. You have 3 negative thought patterns that are keeping you from your heart’s desire. It is hard to let go of some of our thoughts, but this week now is the time to pull out the thorn and do some healing. So you can evolve into the newer you.
Page of Cups– Time to put on your rose-colored glasses and bring out that set of unicorns to play with. This week the Page of Cups is wanting you to drop some of your sarcasm and cynicism and spread some joy around the office, home and/or neighborhood. Love and hope literally starts with you this week.
Four of Pentacles – The Four of Pentacles brings a week where you do not have enough cash, time and/or space. This can make you hold these things even closer and causing you to feel resentful, frazzled or ungenerous. The challenge for this card is to learn that less can be more.
*Aries – The Star – The Star card is here this week to get you all to slow down and do some much needed healing and breathing. When we slow down we notice the “simpler” things in life that are essential and how amazing they are. For example, the stars are heavenly bodies that can bring us awe, and in the same instance we are made of the same elements. As Carl Sagan said The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff. So your challenge this week is to be as amazed at your existence as you are in the stars’.
Taurus – Queen of Swords – The Queen of Swords is the card of self-truth and realization. This card challenges you to answer honestly – what do you want to happen this week. What is your deepest desire? Rest, happiness, love? And then she challenges you to strategize how to make that happen. Go to bed at a decent hour, make time to hang with friends or family, or make a romantic meal (even if it just with your cat or dog – I can guarantee they will give you some love if you share your dinner with them.)
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