Sister Temperance Tarot

04/17/2026

NEW MOON IN ARIES TAROT: I don’t know about you, but something about having all these planets in Aries has got me…kind of rattled!

Like, I feel the power and possibilities inherent in having the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Neptune, AND Chiron in Aries all at the same time — but it’s a lot of intense energy to reckon with, and between allll that fire and forward motion (and what seems to be a real knock-down drag-out with perimenopause) my sleep has not been great at all lately.

Normally my insomnia really hits around the full moon, and it totally smacked me for that last Full Moon in Libra — in fact, it was the day after that super intense lunation that it hit me that a lot of what I’ve been experiencing physically and emotionally had to be related to the dreaded CHANGE (aka. menopause).

Between that full moon, and this new one, I’ve noticed that a lot of us have been very on edge, with nervous systems activated, and hypervigilance on red alert. If you happen to be dealing with perimenopause (which exacerbates anxiety and insomnia), than you are finding yourself in the same handbasket as me, feeling like these hot flashes and night sweats have plunged us into the depths of hell…

Not only that, but another rage-inducing tax season, in which we’ve been forced to give our hard-earned money to fund corruption, war, and the dismantling of our country by a trans-national crime syndicate. It’s enough to make smoke and lava pour out of my ears, man. Are you feeling all this, too?

Laying awake the other night, unable to settle down (despite doing all the usually helpful things), I found myself ruminating on my latest doom scroll horrors: The Guardian’s reporting on the ocean currents collapsing, and what that will mean for our planet. Then I started thinking about how my dad and aunt are getting soooo old, and worrying about their health, and what my world will look like one day when they are no longer here. I am worrying about my elderly kitty, Sophia Shrimp Scampi, who was recently diagnosed with an aggressive cancer that is deteriorating her little jaw, and how I will know when it’s time to let her go… I kept this going basically all night, my mind running in circles, crossing wide terrain across all the things that I have basically no control over.

I mean, I can act locally (to protect Barton Springs from the MOPAC expansion — please go leave a comment, if you haven’t already), and I can try to spend as much quality time with my beloved elders and elder kitty as possible, and stay tuned into to their needs — but I can’t stop time, I can’t change a terminal diagnosis, and I can’t alter the currents of the ocean. Torturing myself about any of this won’t change it.

I found myself feeling an immense compassion for my own big heart, feeling so heavy with the weight of the world. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how short and uncertain this life is, and all the loved ones I’ve lost recently — and how they would no doubt advise me to live fully into each day, and find the joy wherever I can, even if doom feels imminent.

Up until the moment the doom or death find me, I want to drink deep of every golden afternoon in my garden, to dance and gather my rosebuds while I may, and to take heart and courage in how brave it is to wake up every day and keep watering our plants and making our breakfasts and doing our little tasks, maintaining our businesses or jobs, and tending to ourselves and our relationships — when the world constantly feels like it’s totally falling apart…

The message I’ve been getting is: KEEP DOING ALL THAT! Keep going, keep the home fires burning, don’t let despair win, or let your plants die because it all feels pointless. The hopelessness and despair are what they want, and I refuse to let them have my joy, my appreciation for beauty and goodness, and my staunch determination to continue planting seeds for more of that, on this constantly changing, tumultuous planet.

Be in nature, shake your b***y, be kind and gentle to yourself and others, have courage, plant flowers and vegetables, and never ever ever give up. That’s it. That’s what I hold onto in the dark, in those interminable, sleepless nights when it feels like the walls are crashing down around me, and I can’t stop the inexorable tides of time and destruction…

The more we do this for ourselves, the more we can help others do it — and the more we can do it together, the more good change we can ACTUALLY create, where it matters, and where it will most make a difference.

Please join me to discuss all the ways we can tap into this practice for the new moon in Aries TONIGHT (Friday, 4/17), around 8pm CST IG live for my tarot broadcast! I hope you’ll come and join in that conversation! Until then, please enjoy some Aries New Moon flavored memes and imagery, as a little treat.

p.s. If my writing, readings, or the magic I share here has nourished or helped you, I invite you to support my work in a tangible way. Reciprocity and tips via Venmo (-Polacheck) are always received with deep gratitude.

If finances are tight, you can still give back in a powerful way — share this post, or any others that have resonated with you. That kind of amplification is free, but makes a huge difference.

Supporting your favorite mystics helps us keep bringing the mysteries through — work honed over decades of devotion and study. Your kindness keeps this current flowing, and I’m so thankful for you!

🐏♈️🔥🌑

04/16/2026

I had the intense pleasure of experiencing Elizabeth Chapin /
& Karen Hawkins / artist collab show NECTAR at its opening recently, and am still thinking about the beauty I experienced there.

It felt like shrinking down into the body of a fairy or beetle, and wandering around an enchanted garden. Totally immersive, mysterious, and swoon-inducing, both artist’s sculptures are infused with so much life, you can almost see the paper pupae pulsating, and the poppy petals shivering…

It has been a long time since I’ve seen work that affected me so deeply — and speaks to the animist yearnings to be in profound relationship with the plant-world. In making these seed pods and giant blooms our size, we relate to them differently than as mere flowers we walk by on sidewalks or jam into vases.

The blossoms are speaking to us — with stamen and pistil, pollen-coated whispers from nectared tongues. Will you choose to listen to what they have to say?

I’ve had an extremely busy spring this year, and haven’t been able to spend near as much time as I’d like talking to the plant people in my garden, alas. This show reminded me of what I need to prioritize, and make essential to my life — a deep, ongoing relationship with sunflower and lotus, anthurium and dandelion, chrysanthemum and blue clitoria, and with the potent femme honey of creativity that courses through all of our veins and spirits. That eternal fountain from which we all came from: flora and fauna, bug and human alike.

My photos here in no way do any of it justice — plus I was getting dragged by my phone for needing to clean my lens, which I didn’t really manage to accomplish, hence the gaussian blur, haaa! But in some ways, I think the dreamy haze lends itself to the fantastical spell that this artwork cast on you — and I’d much rather you go see it all in person rather than rely on my faulty documentation, if you’re able to!

The show will now be viewable by appointment only until May 13th, at KAREN HAWKINS STUDIO
900 E 3rd Street. Austin, Texas.

(Continued below...☟)

🌸🌷🌻🪻🌺🪷🌼

04/06/2026

It’s the last few hours to nominate your favorite people, places, and businesses in Austin, and I need your help to get on the ballot this year! Today is the final day to submit your nominations for the 2026 Best of Austin Readers Poll!

You have until midnight TONIGHT — Monday, April 6th, to nominate your favorites, and you can only cast one ballot! Once everyone’s picks have been tallied, they will announce the finalists on May 7 and begin Round 2 of voting!

At our annual Easter picnic yesterday (where this adorable photo of Nettle Ruth and I was taken by our friend Darla Teagarden / ), I was talking with an old friend about The Austin Chronicle’s Best of Austin Awards and they were surprised that I wasn’t sure I’d be in the running this year… And I told them that I never take people’s support for granted, or assume that my place in the running is assured, just because I’ve been up for the award (and won!) so many times!

I am incredibly grateful for the love and loyalty so many folks have shown me over and over, but I would never assume that I don’t need to show up, shine my light, and make the ask — and so this is me asking!

It doesn’t take long to do, and it would thrill my heart to have your nomination again this year! Here’s how:
1. Use the link in this post ( https://vote.austinchronicle.com/services/psychic-tarot ), or go to the link tree in my bio!

2. Enter “Sister Temperance Tarot” in the voting box field

3. You will need to give your email, so they know you’re a real person!

4. Submit your nomination!

It would mean a lot to me to get to compete for the award again this year! Thanks so much in advance — for your nomination, for reading, and for being here! Big love + bright blossoms, from me + Nettle Ruth!

All photos from Darla Teagarden / — check out her work, she’s INCREDIBLE❣️

p.s. While you’re at it, definitely nominate Coco Coquette / (who I hosted this Easter picnic with!) for Shopping &/or Services Wild Card, please? It would be amazing to see Austin’s last standing costume shop get some recognition!

🌷🐺💌💕💐🗳️🐾

04/06/2026

In honor of Aries season, and the beginning of the fresh new astrological new year (and April Fool’s Day, which kicked off this month on the 1st), it feels right to re-share an art piece that has always captivated and intrigued me: CLOWN FAMILY TREE, created in 1998 by L.A. artist Jeffrey Vallance.

I’ve been studying trickster archetypes and myths for a long time, and they’ve been coming up in my recent writing a LOT lately — plus, Aries season and springtime in general always gets me thinking about the playful (yet sometimes dangerous) energy of trickster, clowns, fools, and other mystical pranksters. From circus clowns to poltergeists, fairies to demons, the trickster archetype can be found in many different cultures and traditions.

At the heart of the trickster archetype is the idea of the mischievous and sometimes silly character who challenges authority and subverts the norms of society. Tricksters are often associated with humor, playfulness, and spontaneity, but they can also be dangerous and unpredictable. They are often seen as agents of chaos, and their actions can have upsetting and far-reaching consequences.

They might seem hapless, always getting into trouble, playing practical jokes, getting in and out of scrapes, telling tall tales, and making mischief — but they also hold a place of twisted or confusing wisdom, sharing oblique zen koans, dirty limericks and fart jokes that remind us not to take ourselves so damn seriously all the time!

The journey of the tarot begins with The Fool – the zero, goose egg, the big nada, nothing, zilch! A blank slate, tabula rasa, a child, or an idiot haplessly careening over the cliff’s edge just as they being their quest. This can be the wild leap or holy f**k it that comes with inhabiting beginner’s mind (shoshin), or the wise fool who is open to learning when they can admit that they know nothing.

I particularly appreciate the way the trickster appears in animal archetypes and myths from all over the world – and love exploring that particular branch of this family tree: especially stories about Brother Coyote, and Anansi Spider – though I do notice that monkey / Hanuman isn’t shown here, which I think is a bit of an oversight!

I feel like Eshu / Legba are also notably missing – but I do have to remember that this is an art piece, and not really meant to be a comprehensive occult diagram, though it is fascinating to study.

A few Mardi Gras ago, I had the pleasure of officially visiting CLOWN TOWN, with some of my favorite tricksters! We were inspired by Venetian Commedia Dell’Arte performers, 1980s harlequin bo***ir dolls, and of course, FouFouHa!

Embodying the sacred clown that day brought me so much joy and much needed levity, and we had a ridiculous amount of fun engaging in foolish antics in the streets all day! I did realize halfway through the afternoon that we might be upsetting any people who suffer from coulrophobia! I always see great clowns during Carnival, so maybe it’s not the best for folks who have a clown phobia? I’m sharing some of my favorites here, but beware, if you fear the clown magic!

Also, did you happen to see the April Fool’s Day Coco Co-Clown “announcement” from Coco Coquette / (my bestie’s fabulous wig and sparkle emporium)? It tickled me to know we’ve both had clowns on the brain, and reminded me to go shop for a proper glittery clown nose and some mehron clown white face paint — as well as harlequin print linen garb from Fashion Brand Company, swooon! I need to go back to clown town sooner than later, so I better get prepared!

On some level, I do get the fear of clowns — there’s a sinister side to them, right? An edge of danger that can turn on a dime from funny and silly to savage and scary!

I grew up in the 1980s, a time when clowns were still unintentionally frightening. Ronald McDonald seemed like a good idea for marketing fast food to kids (he ALWAYS gave me the heebie jeebies!)

I’ve always loved Batman, but the Joker freaked me out as a kid! Jack Nicholson’s depiction was so perfect and over the top that I’ve been reluctant to see Joaquin Phoenix’s turn as that character, though I hear it’s excellent.

I also remember watching the finale of Twin Peaks which ended with Leland Palmer laughing maniacally while possessed by the murderous trickster spirit of Bob… Man, that s**t kind of scarred me! I think the wild ungrounded madness of those characters always felt really frightening and intense (which was entirely intentional).

Do you vibe with the harlequins and heyokas? Or would you rather avoid their shenanigans and tomfoolery? Where does the trickster archetype show up in your life, and who are your favorite examples from folktales or popular culture? I’m curious to hear!

And, if you’re an Aries, or have strong Aries placements, I’d love to know if you resonate with any of this trickstery energy, or if the court jester role is firmly not for you!

P.s. Aries birthday babies and people wanting to celebrate astrological new year, it’s time to book your Birthday Reading or New Year Refocus Reading!

One of my longtime clients just asked if it was too late to do a New Year Refocus session, and I responded with an emphatic message that springtime is the PERFECT time! So what are you waiting for?

🤡🤹🏻‍♀️🎪👺🎡🎠👹

04/04/2026

It’s Best of Austin Awards season, y’all! The Austin Chronicle’s / annual Best of Austin awards celebrate the people, places, and businesses that make Austin so very special!

All your favorite small businesses are hoping to get nominated to win an award — mine included! I would love to try to win Psychic/Tarot Reader again this year, but first, I need to get on the ballot!

That’s where you come in, darling — the first round of voting closes on Monday, April 6th at midnight, so please please please sometime between when you’re reading this and then, will you take a moment to help throw my name in the ring?

https://vote.austinchronicle.com/services/psychic-tarot

It’s not tricky to do, and just takes a few minutes to totally make my day! Here’s how:
1. Use the link in this post, or go to the link tree in my bio!
2. Enter “Sister Temperance Tarot” in the voting box field
3. You will need to give your email, so they know you’re a real person!
4. Sumbit your nomination!

You can only nominate me (and all your other favorite businesses, artists, performers, and more once this round, but voting for the WIN will go from May 7-18th, once the finalists have been chosen.

I would be EXTREMELY grateful to be nominated Best Psychic/Tarot Reader in Austin! Being of service to folks in Austin (and beyond!) is one of the greatest joys of my life, so please look for my category under “Services”. You can cast your vote from anywhere!

Small businesses (like mine!) greatly appreciate receiving your nominations and votes for these awards!

It only takes minutes, it’s FREE, and it’s an awesome way to show your love for your favorite local folks that you want to see survive (and thrive!)

Hop on it now (while you’re thinking of it!) It’s super easy & fast to do this one little thing that can make a HUGE difference to small businesses (like mine!)

Do you have a local business or endeavor ready to be nominated? Let me know so I can support you, too! I’m excited to get all my nominations in before Monday!

Thank you SO SO SO much for taking the time to vote, dear ones — I appreciate you so very much! 🙏🏻

04/02/2026

That Pink Libra moon was INTENSE, y’all!
Are you in need of some post-full moon guidance?

I have some space starting at 2pm CST, Friday 3/3!

Is it meant for YOU?

https://SisterTemperanceTarot.as.me/

04/01/2026

Happy April Fool’s Day, and Full Moon in Libra, dear ones! I’m trying to embrace the openness and trusting nature of the holy fool in the tarot right now — taking some big leaps forward into the unknown and striving ahead on my journey of growth and healing, as I help other seekers and wanderers along the way!

Walking this path of service is such a blessing in my life, and I feel so lucky to be able to support so many amazing people in their journeys. I’m very grateful to have been busy with lots of readings for folks, and reading cards for guests at fun spring events — it’s been a busy time, and I’m juggling a lot at the moment (though perhaps not as gracefully as a professional fool/clown/jester could!)

This artwork is The Fool (featuring a butterfly fairy woodwose!) from The Greenwood Tarot, by Chesca Potter. It is sadly long out of print and $$$ on Ebay — I only know one person lucky enough to have this deck, and it is SO beautiful! Anyone here have this one in their collection?

I always associate butterflies with both Libra (and Gemini!) and I love the joyous colors and exuberance of this image. This Libran lunation is all about relationships, connection, and the way honesty and clear communication aids the balance and alignment in those areas, so I’m tapping into that by sharing some more personal stuff here today, and by being real with you about where I’m at right now.

I’m taking this Pink Full Moon to tend to some tasks that need my attention, and try to listen to my body — which has been having a tough time lately. No jokes or pranks here — just some real talk.

I live with a chronic genetic condition called Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (any fellow zebras out there?) and it causes a fascinating (sarcasm) array of issues in the body — but for me, lately it has really been showing up as intense pain in my legs, abdominal migraines (so fun!), and dental issues (I have to go back to Mexico this month to get my new crown put back on, because I grind my teeth so badly).

Interestingly, a really high prevalence of gender-nonconforming, q***r, and trans folks ALSO have EDS (and neurodivergence!) One of the EDS Facebook groups I’m in is currently blowing up with a ton of transphobia and homophobia, and though I’m staying out of the furor and chaos, it’s all been kind of exhausting to have a place where so many of us seek support and community feel unsafe.

There are so many narrow-minded bigots who say they want to “keep politics out” of the group, but refuse to acknowledge that anti-trans bills and persecution affect roughly 15-20% of people with this condition, and that the people destroying our healthcare system and access to insurance are going to affect everyone with EDS, regardless of political orientation (or like, being indoctrinated into a fascist death cult).

All this was happening on Trans Day of Visibility, and while I so loved seeing so many of my friends make beautiful posts, I just wasn’t up to sharing anything myself — or getting all the posts I had lined up ahead of this Full Moon out into the world, or managing to share about the Austin Chronicle’s Best of Austin Reader’s Poll Nominations closing on the 6th! I’m feeling a bit floundery and behind on literally everything, and my AuDHD is really doing its thing, along with this painful flare…

All this is to say — hi, I hope you’re having a really sweet full moon, and thank you so much for bearing with me not sharing more this week, doing my usual moon spread, or going live (though I may do a fun lil check in with y’all tonight, if I have energy after my class!) This is my raw and rambling full moon check in — from my vulnerable and messy little human fool heart to yours.

ICYMI: I am non-binary, and I love it when y’all remember and honor that, even though I look confusingly femme. My gender is super confusing to me, too — but I don’t owe anyone androgyny anymore than I owe the world a performance of femininity (though I do enjoy my high femme drag!)

My body hurts a lot of the time, and that makes it harder to do some really big things behind the scenes that I’m not talking about much (renovating my house, writing a super intense memoir about murder and trauma, and still grieving my dog while caring for a sick elderly kitty!) — not to mention keeping us with all the self-promotion and marketing that goes with keeping a small and unconventional business afloat in a churningly uncertain economy!

Would you do me a solid and help me get on the ballot this year? I’m worrying that I haven’t done any promotion for the Best of Austin awards and that I’ll miss my chance and lose my title if I don’t make this ask — because I truly can’t do it without y’all!

Like, it won’t happen, if people don’t take a minute to nominate not only me, but all your other favorite local Austin businesses that have a shot to win an award this year!

Here’s the link to nominate your fave folks (it’s in my link-tree also!) https://vote.austinchronicle.com/services/psychic-tarot Nominations close on Monday, so please take the time if you love the work I do, and what I share here! I need your help to get on that ballot, babe! 💌🤞🏻Thank you so very much in advance, and fingers crossed I make it in!

🙃⚖️🌸🤹🏻‍♀️🌕🦋🫠

03/30/2026

03/27/2026

I have a surprise opening for Saturday 3/28 at 2pm (or 5pm) CST

It’s time for your vernal refocus reading, beauty!

What are you waiting for? 🥰🌿🌺🌙

https://SisterTemperanceTarot.as.me/

03/22/2026

03/21/2026

Book your session right here! 👉 https://SisterTemperanceTarot.as.me/

03/19/2026

NEW MOON IN PISCES TAROT: This is coming in a wee bit late today, because… All the things! My kitty is not doing too well (she’s got to go to the vet tomorrow, please send her healing energy!), and MAN, am I ever ready for Mercury to station direct, and for this Vernal Equinox!

I’m definitely receiving a lot spiritually from the magic of all the Piscean energy lately, but it’s also felt like moving through glittery molasses at times…

I could use a bit of Aries pepper to punch through the psychic sludge-metal, and I think we all need a dose of enthusiasm and hope to motivate us into action through the heaviness of these times we’re living in.

Our cards for this lunation (pulled yesterday afternoon) are particularly powerful: signifying the true end to Pisces season and the astrological new year — and with it, everything that we’re ready to lay to rest.

10 of Swords brings with it definitive endings to old cycles, and with the 5 of Swords, a real opportunity to examine what just isn’t working anymore.

It’s clear that corruption and late-stage capitalism are destroying communities, our planet, and everything and everyone else in its wake — but how do we combat this massive juggernaut (THE DEVILLLL!!!) trying to take us all to hell in a handbasket?

The cards tell us that the path forward will be carved by the dreamers who can imagine that a better world is possible, and can hold the hope, fire, and joyful spirits strongly enough to charge forward — reborn, renewed, and ready to co-create a world where all children are safe and fed, and where all living beings can thrive! But we’ve got to dream it to be it, y’all!

I’ve been super inspired by Kristianna Smith’s / work and words lately on the whimsy and grief gap, and I feel their recent video on all that really gets into what these cards are talking about! GO WATCH IT! (I’ll post in my stories, too)

We’ll be talking about all the different ways to explore this magic TONIGHT (Thursday, 3/15), around 9:30pm CST (maybe a bit later, depending on when I get home from family dinner!) on IG live for the recent Pisces New Moon tarot broadcast – I hope you’ll come and join in that conversation! Until then, please enjoy some Pisces New Moon flavored memes and imagery, as a little treat.

Oh and! The F**K ICE medallion was made by — all proceeds are donated to the ACLU!

p.s. If my writing, readings, or the magic I share here has nourished or helped you, I invite you to support my work in a tangible way. Reciprocity and tips via Venmo (-Polacheck) are always received with deep gratitude.

If finances are tight, you can still give back in a powerful way — share this post, or any others that have resonated with you. That kind of amplification is free, but makes a huge difference.

Supporting your favorite mystics helps us keep bringing the mysteries through — work honed over decades of devotion and study. Your kindness keeps this current flowing, and I’m so thankful for you!

💥🔥🌺💋❤️‍🔥