Tough Love Tarot: Your Pick-A-Card/Horoscope Reading for August 2024 (2024)

Saviour mentality, much? The King of Cups represents having an abundance of compassion that overflows into the whole kingdom. Compassion just means a passion for the community – it hurts to see others hurting! Having a soft heart (that’s also really big) can often be the source of your woes. Although this King rules with his heart, he still does so wisely. The advice of this card is to practice discernment, to know when your empathy is bleeding into worrying about things beyond your control. Just because you can feel someone else drowning, doesn’t mean you should make their pain yours. While you enjoy pouring into other people’s cups, you can’t be everyone’s emotional life buoy. You can only help those who want to help themselves, Aries… and there’s only space for one on your throne.

Regret got your tongue, Taurus? Sometimes it’s the memory that can be your biggest source of pain. The Six of Swords represents moving on from turbulent times and learning from the past. Perhaps you’ve experienced some friction or a falling out with someone recently… Or perhaps not so recently, and it’s just been floating around in your psyche. As you sail into calmer waters, the advice of this card is to forgive yourself and others to remedy your pain. A mistake only stays a mistake if we don’t turn it into a lesson, and regret can be the fuel that drives us toward a brighter future. As long as you find value in these lessons learned (even if it’s from someone else’s f*ck-ups), you can lay your swords to rest. The most important battle to win is the one in your head, and you deserve your own peace of mind.

Do you smell that, Gemini? Smells like the phantom pains of something that’s long keeled over… The Ten of Swords represents an ending of sorts and an overkill of mental agony. Something has come to a close in your life – be it a relationship, a chapter, a way of doing things – but you have yet to achieve closure. Wondering about what could’ve, should’ve, would’ve been can be prolonging your pain, especially if you’re the only one still left in the equation. The advice of this card is to relieve yourself by giving yourself the closure you so desperately seek. You don’t need anyone else’s swords to give you the answers, for closure comes from within. Perhaps it’s precisely because things end that make them precious while they last. Even if all it left you was a lesson learned, there is much wisdom to be gained from the pain.

So many passions, so little time… Perhaps it’s your very desire to do so many things that is causing you strife. The King of Wands represents leading with passion and instinct – his heart boldly ablaze! The only challenge is his fiery ambitions are often extinguished by real world limitations. You’re full of potential and abundant with ideas, but you only have so many resources to allocate. And with a duty to more than just yourself, you feel like you can’t afford to be selfish. The advice of this card is to share your passions with the people in your realm. Making your desires and cares a shared concern can alleviate the burden you carry. Even a King needs assistance carrying out his vision, Cancer. You can’t blaze this trail alone. Remember the support you have around you that can stoke your lonely flame into the bonfire of your dreams.

Are other people truly the source of your pain? Or is it just you expecting the royal treatment? The Queen of Pentacles represents self-care and indulgence – she tends to her own garden first. Perhaps you’ve been investing in others before yourself and expecting them to do the same. The advice of this card is to lower your expectations of others, but raise your standards for yourself. The love and adoration you seek from external sources is the same care you could be giving to you! Instead of treating others how you wish to be treated, love yourself the way you wish to be loved so they can see how it’s supposed to be done. Only you know how to worship yourself best, Leo… The rest will have to learn to follow. Set the bar high and don’t settle for others doing the limbo on you, especially if you’re gonna complain about it later.

Generosity is a virtue until it trickles into over-giving. And if you don’t mind me saying, you’re looking a little destitute… The Six of Pentacles represents charity and a balance of give and take. Except, you’re not much of a taker, are you? Perhaps you’ve always been an excellent giver but fail to receive what you need in return. You’re not doing anyone any favours, Virgo – especially not yourself. The advice of this card is to stop being so goddamn modest and admit that you have needs. Not asking for what you deserve is actually self-abandonment in disguise as being polite, ouch. Just because you don’t voice your needs out loud, doesn’t make them go away. (Nice try!) Would it kill you to be at the receiving end every now and then? What you give to others has to be replenished somehow… or you’ll risk losing your giving nature altogether.

The truth will set you free, Libra! But first, it might piss you off. The Ace of Swords represents truth and clarity – and sometimes, the truth hurts. Perhaps you’ve recently uncovered the truth about someone or something (or even yourself) and it’s cutting a wound in your psyche… The good news is, now you know. And it’s saving you from a bigger heartbreak down the line. The advice of this card is that the only action you need to take is acceptance, and peace will come by surrendering to the truth. You can’t unsee what has been revealed, but you can adjust your vision for the future. Find relief in the fact that any move you make now will be coming from a place of clarity and not confusion. Take this as your cue to wisen up! You couldn’t wield that sword with wisdom anyway, if you were still blinded by pretty lies.

Logic is a double-edged sword and right now, it’s slicing you up good. The King of Swords represents ruling with mind over matter. As the airiest of all the Kings, he puts being practical above all else. Perhaps you had or have to make some decisions stemming from a place of pragmatism. While this might be for the highest good of all, it doesn’t mean it’s painless. The advice of this card is to still express your feelings somehow, even if you can’t base your decisions on them. Maybe it requires some sacrifice, or putting your personal feelings aside to keep things under control… Either way, you feel the sting of having to be the one to lay down the law. Letting your feelings rule the realm might make you a poor ruler, but feeling your feelings does not. Even the King needs a good cry, Scorpio, or his emotions will sure take a toll on his psyche.

Saggi, what have you done? And has it come back to bite your horse in its ponytail? The Knight of Wands is fire on fire – the fastest moving player in the deck. While he chases every spark with enthusiasm and passion, he can also be quick to explode. Perhaps you’ve said or done something in the heat of the moment that you now regret. What goes around, comes around – and you could be feeling the burn of your past behaviour. The advice of this card is to think about the future you that will inherit current you’s actions, before reacting. The difference between impulse and good instinct is being conscious of the consequences. The next time your passions run rampant, take a breather to direct your flames with the right intention. This Knight is not known for his long-term vision, but the road is indeed long… Best save your fuel to serve you in the journey of becoming the person you would be proud of.

Aww, is someone having trouble saying goodbye? Sometimes “not good enough” is a good enough reason – if you let yourself believe you are worthy of more. The Eight of Cups represents walking away from a situation that is stable, but emotionally dissatisfying. Perhaps something in your life is going “just fine”, but like the stack of cups in the foreground, you can’t ignore the feeling that something is missing. Nothing hurts per se, except for the pain of admitting that you want and deserve more than just “fine”. The advice of this card is to give yourself a chance to be fully fulfilled by taking a chance on the unknown. You could stay with this gaping hole, or you could try to find that missing cup of fulfilment. You’re not a quitter if you’re leaving to pursue your highest potential, Cappy! Settling for mediocre doesn’t do anyone justice. The only person robbing you of your happiness is the you that’s afraid to aim higher.

Fool you once, shame on them. Fool you twice – what’re you still doing in this game of charades? The Seven of Swords represents being strategic, but on the flip side, it also represents deception. Is there a situation in your life at the moment that is lacking in integrity? Perhaps you or someone you’re dealing is concealing some truth in order to preserve the peace. But make no mistake – a peace held together by falsehoods is no peace at all. The advice of this card is to set yourself free by speaking your truth. Maintaining a lie is exhausting work and over time, can corrode us from the inside out. Is lying really the kinder thing to do here? Or is it just avoiding the work of being honest? Either way, deception holds everyone its prisoner, regardless of our intentions. Live in a lie long enough and it can start to corrupt your reality. The truth has its own wings, Aqua. Set it free.

Congratulations on cutting your losses! Although, it may be cutting you up inside… Making a choice to do what’s best for you often means leaving something else behind. The Two of Wands represents a crossroads, and choosing the path of your higher calling. This decision is not one you make lightly, and you may be dealing with the side effects of grief. Instead of lamenting on what you’ve lost, the advice of this card is to look to your future and everything you have to gain. As the traveler leaves one wand in his past, it is both a sacrifice and a dropping of dead weight. There can be no growth without growing pains, Pisces. Whatever had to be let go of was not going to serve you in the journey ahead. Take a moment to mourn the past and thank it for what it taught you… Then, get your sh*t together. Because the new world that awaits deserves a new you.