We have crossed the halfway threshold of 2023 and are now officially in the second half of the year. If that doesn’t blow your mind, as it did mine, I don’t know what will! The year continues to move quickly as we now descend into the darker (or lighter, if in the Southern Hemisphere) half of the year. The Solstice brought with it the winds of change as the Wheel continues to turn.
Just as a personal reflection on the year so far, I can see that the readings have been fairly accurate for me. In my life right now, that Justice Reversed is playing a large role. It mostly has to do with me being honest with myself and trying to find my own balance. I can’t say I’ve seen too much of The Star being an obstacle, but maybe it’s been subtle or life has moved so fast that I just haven’t noticed.
Anyway, let’s get on with the reading!
If you need a refresher for our collective reading, you can find that here → Peering into 2023 
Collective Tarot Reading. If you are new here, this is a periodic divinatory reading I do to shine a light on the collective reading that I do at the beginning of the year. The cards pulled here for the next month are a reflection and check-in with the relevant card from the yearly reading.
Was June Relevant?
Let’s take a minute to look at June’s collective reading card and update, just to see what was relevant. Then we can move on to this month’s check-in and the cards I will pull.
June 2023: Five of Pentacles
Prepare for difficulty this month. Financial difficulty may be coming your way but don’t get lost in the misery. This is only a minor arcana card – the difficulty will pass. If you get lost in the misery, you may end up feeling like no one is coming to help you. You may feel left out in the cold, so to speak, as the people in the card are during winter. But look closely at the card. Do you see the windows? They’re all lit up! Help is available to you but you have to overcome your pride and ego enough to ask for it. Seek help from your support system when necessary.
Read more : Five of Pentacles – Spells8
The three cards I pulled as the update for June were the Four of Cups Reversed, the Three of Cups Reversed, and the King of Cups. A lot of cups energy, a lot of emotion, and a lot of loneliness last month. Personally, I can say that I felt the hit of the Five of Pentacles. It wasn’t as bad as we thought it was going to be, but we did take a loss of sorts. We had to buy a new car, and that added a new payment that we had to move our budget around for.
I can also see where the three cards for the check-in came into play in my life, but that gets a little personal and I am not sure I want to share it all here. Just know that if you felt the energy of all those cup cards last month, you are definitely not alone!
This month, we are looking at the month of July!
As a reminder, the collective reading for the month of June has us looking at Seven of Pentacles Reversed.
July 2023: Seven of Pentacles Reversed
With the difficulty of the last few months, July may see you wallowing in self-pity. This isn’t a good place to be, of course, but sometimes we can’t help it. I think this card is the epitome of focusing on the tiny details rather than the big picture. We may get so caught up on the little things that need to be done on a regular basis that we aren’t preparing for the future. We aren’t making plans and seeing our long-term vision come to life. When we can’t plan for that, we can end up feeling unsuccessful, like life is just slowly passing us by. Focusing on the big picture and long-term success this month should prove to be very helpful!
Read more: Seven of Pentacles – Spells8
With this card in mind, I took three deep breaths and pulled three more cards to give us some more guidance on where June is headed. This month, I used Mother Tarot by Wren Brignac.
The above image shows three tarot cards face up on a gray table. The cards are, from left to right: Temperance Reversed, the Queen of Swords - Left, and the Five of Swords - Left.
Temperance Reversed: Even though it is reversed, Temperance is still all about balance. However, it is internal balance and healing. This month, after going through a difficult time in June and dealing with our own self-pity, we need to be on the path to healing ourselves and maintaining internal balance. Rather than having an all-or-nothing approach to our lives, we need to find the middle ground and approach ourselves with empathy instead. That will prove to be difficult, especially for anyone that has been stuck in this cycle of imbalance and scrutiny for a long time. It is worth it, though, as long as we put in the work to correct it and heal ourselves.
Queen of Swords - Left: As a Queen, the Queen of Swords is a master of her intellect and mind. She knows when to let her logic rule, and she knows when to let her heart rule. She also knows when to step back and listen to others. This is an attribute we need to internalize this month. We need to get to the bottom of what’s bothering us and seek the truth, something the Queen of Swords is all about. This truth, though, will come from within. We may not be seeing the full picture, especially if we are letting our emotions cloud our judgment. Once we can clear those away and realize that we have the ability to think clearly, we will find the right path to take.
Five of Swords - Left: Lastly, we have another Sword card. I see this card as a reminder this month to choose our battles wisely. With the card facing left, the conflicts and disagreements this card alludes to are internal. These are things we struggle with inside, and it does no good to focus on them all at once. We need to pick our battles wisely. If we are trying to fight everything at once, trying to tackle every problem at the same time, we will be burning the candle at both ends. It will leave us mentally exhausted, and that is no way to live a life.
Just as a reminder…
The Card of the Year: The Seven of Rods
- conflict, protecting what you’ve worked for, passionate disagreements
Goals of 2023: Justice Reversed
- lack of balance, unfair treatment, honesty with others
Obstacles of 2023: The Sun
- keeping the peace, complacency, people pleasing, avoiding confrontation
Putting it together…
Though I am not the biggest fan of the Seven of Pentacles Reversed, I can see how the three cards I pulled give us some really great advice for overcoming it. One thing that sticks out to me is this phrase in my original reading. “I think this card is the epitome of focusing on the tiny details rather than the big picture.” It’s also telling that each card I pulled for this check-in revolves around focusing internally. We need to look within this month to overcome the challenges we face in the Seven of Pentacles Reversed if we want to achieve the healing that Temperance Reversed is asking us to do.
Both Sword cards are about clearing the clutter and making space. We also have two symbols here that point to the mind and how we use it - the Swords themselves, but also the fact that both cards are facing left, within. There may be a lot of indecision this month as we try to focus on what’s important and leave the rest for another day. If you are anything like me, good luck, because that is a very hard thing to ask of me! I think a lot of journaling and reflection will be good this month.
We will also need to be very honest with ourselves about what we are feeling and where we feel off balance. The healing aspect of Temperance Reversed won’t do any good if we can’t figure out where things are off. The mental clarity and truth-seeking of the Queen of Swords won’t do us any good if we refuse to look at things objectively. And the Five of Swords won’t do us any good if we continue to tackle every problem like it has full priority in our lives.
I’m not as apprehensive about this month as I was with the others, but I can tell you that I am already starting to feel the sense of being off balance. Hopefully, we can all come to terms with those things in our lives that make us feel off. Then we are one step closer on the path of healing!
What do you think?
Do you have any insight to share from the collective reading? And how do you think June is going to go?
If you want to do your own reading for the new month, you can find the current infographic below. I also have a blog post that goes into more detail about each card in the layout. You can find that post by clicking here .
I also have a video that details how I use this spread!
→ Tarot for the New Month || A Simple Four Card Tarot Spread! [CC] - YouTube
so you’re not alone. It’s hard, and I’ve been trying to process it through journaling and stuff. I think I’m finally seeing the bigger picture, but I know getting stuck on tiny details and daily things is the most difficult. Hopefully, we can both come out of July with a better perspective! 
right? I’m getting there & definitely not rushing anything because that never works for me in any type of way. I’m happy to see that July should be pretty manageable for me if I keep going in this direction. 
that we get a lot more positive cards! Just the number 2024 in general seems more positive lol
we need a witchy vacation, for sure! 
And hahaha if it’s any consolation I often sit there with the horoscope reading feeling attacked by my own cards and planets 
You got this!