9.15-9.21.2026: Practicing Emotional Discernment with the King of Cups
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The final week of Virgo season is upon us, as we move into Libra season on September 23rd. Virgo sometimes gets a bad rap for being hyper-critical, but the bright side is that its critical eye makes it really good at discernment. Following Leo’s overflowing cup of creative abundance, the energy of Virgo helps us get focused and organized, to really home in on what needs to be addressed now and what can wait for another time. While Leo is the metaphorical brainstorm session, Virgo is the meaning-making part of the process. It helps us begin to recognize patterns, to categorize, and to prioritize. So yes, it does apply a critical lens, but sometimes that critical eye is exactly what’s needed! And since Virgo is very good at distilling things down to their most crucial elements, I asked the cards:
“Where will it serve us to apply discernment this week?”
But before we get into the response—a little storytime…
I am carrying some sadness around with me today, y’all. It's probably due to some combination of the wistful nature of September, the Moon in Scorpio, where I'm at in my cycle, the general heaviness of the world, and the more acute challenges of my immediate world. But whatever it is has me walking around feeling like an exposed nerve today. Like if I bump into the wrong thing, I might just explode or cry or curl up into a ball like a hedgehog (maybe all three).
A major factor here is that our beloved neighbors of ten years are moving away. As I drove past their house on my way to work this morning, it hit me that it was the last time I’ll see their cars parked in their driveway. It may sound silly, but I'm experiencing a lot of grief around the loss of these neighbors. Not only have we grown fond of one another, but there’s a certain amount of comfort in knowing that really good, kind people are just a stone’s throw away. We knew that if we needed something, we could shoot them a text or drop by their house and they would be there for us in a moment’s notice. Our kids have grown up watching them mow the lawn and snow blow the driveway, marking the seasons with their outdoor decorations, and announcing their arrival as they pulled into the driveway and gave a friendly little honk or wave. We have all come to see them more like family than just neighbors. I think what’s making this moment harder is that for various reasons we weren't able to give them the grand send-off we would have liked to. Their departure has felt like a band-aid being slowly pulled off over the past few months. And although the band-aid is gone now, I think it’s going to sting for a while.
Why am I telling you about this? Because today’s Tarot Teacher is the King of Cups. The court card with the Highest EQ. The emotionally mature King who knows that a true leader doesn’t shove their emotions to the side, but has the wisdom and sensitivity to embrace the full spectrum of human emotions and cope with them in a healthy manner.
Sometimes when we experience big feelings like grief, loss, or regret, those big feelings start to bump up against other unresolved feelings. They begin to compound and build upon one another into something even larger than the original one. We start to pile on and throw ourselves a little pity party. We can even start to take on emotions that expand beyond our own personal sufferings. Our hearts and minds turn to all the people we know who have lost loved ones lately. Then it expands to people we’ve maybe never even met, people in our own communities or across the country or across the world who are experiencing tragedy due to illness, violence, racism, displacement, genocide and any number of unimaginable atrocities.
What started for me today as a personal sadness escalated into my heart breaking for people experiencing losses and tragedies much larger than the ones I'm grieving today. And here I am holding it all and simultaneously falling apart, feeling sorry for myself and everyone else.
Such is the experience of an empath—which I know many of you can relate to. And there's nothing inherently wrong with being a deeply feeling person and empathizing with others’ feelings. It is good and important to continue to see the humanity in others and to be moved to tears by the anguish of our current events, but when you begin to lose sight of where your own suffering stops and another’s begins, it can become problematic. When the weight of the world starts to interfere with your ability to function in your own life, it’s time to pause and assess.
And this is where the question of discernment comes into play.
Because at some point instead of harnessing the wisdom of the King of Cups by allowing ourselves to feel the emotion and to let it move through us or move us to a place where we can take positive action, we begin to dwell on the feelings. We begin to wallow. And in a sick and twisted way, wallowing feels kind of good sometimes, doesn’t it? So then we begin to pile on. We torture ourselves with things that aren’t really ours to carry. Things we have no control over. And sometimes we even tack things on that aren't even a thing. We manufacture or magnify sadnesses for the sake of twisting the knife of grief in further.
Discernment allows us to sift through those emotions and those stories we’re telling ourselves to help us better recognize which feelings are real and relevant, and which ones we are manufacturing or magnifying to feed into our own wallowing. Which ones are ours to carry and which ones are not. Which ones we need to process and which ones we can just let go of all together. Which ones we need to allow to move us to positive action and which ones are better left alone.
The King of Cups advises us to feel the feelings—enormous and numerous as they may be—to let them wash over us and run through us, but to do so without getting swept up in their tide. Easier said than done, I know. But I’m going to give it a try.
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As I mentioned at the beginning of this reading, Virgo season is winding down. And that doesn’t mean it’s our last chance to work with its energy, but it is a good ime to reflect on its themes. That being said, it’s your last chance to get yourself that Virgo Season Vibe Check before the Astrological wheel turns and Libra season begins.
✨The Virgo Season Vibe Check✨
I’ll pull three cards just for you around these three questions:
🎒The Jansport backpack / What have you been carrying around with you?
✏️The pack of #2 pencils / What skills want to be sharpened or what thoughts want to be articulated?
📒The shiny new planner / What plans are taking shape now?
You’ll receive a beautiful video presentation sharing the cards I pulled and how their messages apply to your life. Turn-around time for these video readings is 3-5 days.
If you’re feeling called to dig deeper into the energy of Virgo season, I’d love to pull cards just for you! Simply fill out the form below and leave the rest to me.
