2026 theme: Magicians Reporting for Duty

Week 2: The Oracle arrives with a dual message for the year

Beautiful Magicians,

My plans for this Notes from the Field have just been completely upended by attending the first gathering in Emma Kupu Mitchell’s Ignite Change: the Astrology of 2026.

It was a rich rich gathering. Emma walked us through some of the intense astrology that is supporting us in this period of radical change. Then, she talked about the powerful numerology of the 1 year. The 1 is the initiation of not just this year, but an entire nine-year cycle.

And then, Emma asked Cathy Stevens Pratt to give us some insight from the Oracle for 2026. Cathy showed two very different cards: the Tower, 16 from the Thoth deck and the Empress, 3 from Leonora Carrington’s major arcana paintings.

Just in case we missed it, Cathy reminded us that 16 + 3 is 19 which reduces to a 10/1, the same 10/1 vibration of 2026.

The Oracle does have a sense of humor and perfection!

Last week, when I introduced our theme, I said today's newsletter would be about a vast array of magician’s tools. But I sense a more powerful and useful thing in this moment would be to share what I learned from the Tarot today and then invite you to use a powerful magician’s tool, deep soul writing, to bring the Oracle’s wisdom alive for yourself.

Cathy began by having us look at the Tower card.

Every deck has a tower card showing chaos, collapse, and destruction. That sure feels like our world right now.

Cathy said:

“Our planet is part of the balanced family of the cosmos. There is an order in the universe, there is also chaos. When do we see chaos, when something new is being created. As above, so below. This is not a comfortable time.”

Then Cathy had us shift our attention to the Empress card.

Empress cards can be very different in different decks. Leonora Carrington, a magnificent surrealist artist, painted a serene pregnant woman sitting calmly in her garden. The Empress radiates calmness and knowing.

If the tower card is our current reality, the Empress seemed to be inviting us to see a different reality, a realm of possibility—the world we could build after the tower’s fall.

Cathy said:

“If you step back with the eyes of the Empress, she knows. And you know. Yes, we are watching things break, being struck down, people and creatures are dying. It is chaos. The dark mother magical empress knows this era well. She sees the big picture and is showing us how to be part of the chaos that evolves into creation.

We can look at the burning Towers with our human eyes and then shift to our Empress eyes. The seer’s eyes, the big picture and long story we are a vital part of.

Every victim deserves a witness. Your heart is big; you are capable and equipped to witness.”

And finally Cathy said,

“The Empress is not busy on the outside, no, her work is happening in her creative center, inside. This is her survival and her baby’s survival. The Empress watches the storm, she witnesses the suffering, but at the same time, she knows she must nurture her creative spark.

As the storm wanes, she retreats to her garden. Always back to her garden. Recharging.”

Emma had asked me to offer some deep soul writing questions. Perhaps these questions might support you in this moment as well.

The first thing I asked everyone to do is jot down the name of the voice to whom you are addressing your writing. This is the first and most essential step in dropping out of journaling in alpha into deep soul writing in theta.

So go ahead and do the same thing. Without thought, jot down a name. Maybe it’s a name you’ve long used, maybe it’s the Oracle, or the Empress or an ancestor. But do write it down.

Dear ___________,

Deep soul writing question #1

As the Tower collapses, we are watching things break, people murdered, civility collapse, rule of law shatter. It feels unbearable. But we can do it because our ancestors did:

• ancient communities watched their sacred groves get cut down and destroyed to prevent any mention or worship of the Goddess
• medieval communities watched witches ripped from families, taken away, executed in public
• 20^th century neighbors watched Jews being carted off in the night
• today, we are watching immigrants being picked off the streets and put into detention camps

It can leave us feeling frozen. But, in a prayer Joan of Arc dictated for my first witch event, she told us what do do, what to pray for:

give me the courage, grant me the grace,
to see what wants to be seen,
to hear who wants to be heard
and to do what must be done.

So, ask: How can I find the courage and grace to bear witness?

Deep soul writing question #2

Shift your attention to the Empress sitting in her garden. In these first days of a new nine-year cycle, the Empress reminds us that we are each pregnant with a holy child, a new life, a new idea, a new way of being. Everything that is needed to build a new way of living.

So ask: What is my growing spark? What is growing in me? How can I nurture this sacred new beginning?

I did my own deep soul writing, four minutes for each question, while the group did. And I was startled with what came through.

I don’t want to share what I learned from my voice, who for this writing was The Empress, because your voice may have very different insights for you. Ask your own questions and lean into your own answers.

Then, do as Joan asks, and take responsibility to bear witness, to hear the cries of the suffering, and commit to do what must be done. It’s not easy. But every spec of cosmic, numerological, and oracular wisdom for this year asks for nothing less. And promises to support us in this holy work.

And, besides, you’re a magician reporting for duty. You can do this!

Life is fragile, handle with reverence, and magic

Janet

PS: Emma Kupu Mitchell has created a radically different, year-long astrology walk for 2026. The first gathering today was recorded. Register now, the very low price of $55 goes up tonight at midnight.

Ignite Change

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