july 2026: seven of cups // head in the clouds

hello, friends. we've made it to july, to the second half of 2026, and i'm really glad you're here.

i've been super busy with some incredible live events here in nyc along with some virtual teach-ins, am hard at work on my third book, we're having a blast in my latest community container, and am also expanding the hermitage membership program to include brand new courses that i'll be rolling out as monthly lectures. i'm really excited to dig into tarot beliefs and philosophies, get deeper with tarot numerology, and continue to support you in expanding your personal tarot practice, so if you're ready to take your tarot readings to the next level, stay tuned for upcoming announcements!

i'm also going to be sorting through my current offers and downloads this month and starting to retire some of my older resources, making room for some new goodies, so check out what i've got at 3amtarot.com right now — more details on this coming this month too.

ICYMI: CYC july forecast | catch up on my 2026 cups essay series | tarot, AI, and the power of process | june 2026 spreads for all | free tarot lectures | i'm making reels on IG again

this month we're continuing our journey through the suit of water and digging into the seven of cups — so shake out your shoulders, stretch out any stiff limbs, and let's get into it.

while writing this essay i was listening to phoebe bridgers' new song lost boys. i even wrote a tarot spread about it. xx

your dreams aren't random.

i don't mean your nighttime dreams, the strange or confusing images that flood your imagination while you're sleeping; your brain trying to make sense of the stories and memories and ideas and fears that it carries. (i hardly sleep, and i hardly dream, so i have very little to say about sleeping dreams. not my journey.)

what i mean by dreams in this context is the things you long for, the things you fantasize about, the things that creep into your imagination when you let your mind go blank. what i mean is the wishes that fill your cup just to visualize. the versions of the future, the yearnings, the "wouldn't that be amazing if" possibilities that lie before you. the fantasies that spin you around and capture your fancy and leave your heart aching for it to be real.

those dreams — those are the ones that can tell us things. those are the dreams that get us emotional, hungry, or anxious. and those are the dreams that i think about when the seven of cups is at hand.

within the story of the suit of cups and water, within this cyclical journey through the chambers of our hearts, the seven of cups is a major moment of deep-diving and authenticity. it's the truth between heartbeats that forces us to reckon with what we are actually dreaming about, what we are actually yearning for, and what we are actually reaching toward when we don't overthink it.

the seven of cups is fantasy, imagination, wishful thinking, illusion. it's things that have not yet come to pass, but that we hope (secretly or not so secretly) eventually will. it can be confusion or getting twisted up in unrealistic desire, but it can also be major decisions that are guided by our deepest wishes.

after a major emotional turning point with the five of cups, after embracing our communities and taking responsibility for what we want with the six of cups, the seven forces us to get much more explicit about what that wanting actually means. why do we want what we want? why do we crave what we crave? why do we fantasize about what we fantasize about? and what does it mean to narrow our desires into one specific path?

this card tends to get associated with a kind of head-in-the-clouds mentality — that we're totally lost in the sauce, completely disconnected from reality, getting swept up into some version of the future that isn't even remotely possible. seeing things that aren't there, wishing for things that won't come true.

do you ever see shapes in the sky, visions in the clouds? do you ever let your eyes lose focus, wander through your environment, look for illusions or faces that only you can see? just like the assorted chalices and goblets that float temptingly in the air in so many tarot illustrations, the seven of cups offers us options — frequently with the caveat that we can only choose one of them.

and listen, sometimes that's truly the annoying simplicity of what this card has to offer us — a gentle tug back down to earth, or a reminder to not lose track of reality entirely, or an urging to get off our ass and make a decision already. this can be a useful thing to hear in moments where we're completely dissociating or are refusing to engage with the truth, when we're stalling or puttering or pretending that we can keep ignoring reality.

but more often, in my own practice, i see this card as an opportunity to really dig into our own desires, and look at what lives underneath what we think we want. what are we truly after, in our heart of hearts? what do we really long for, and what have we perhaps been longing for for a very, very long time? what are we falling in love with, or have we been falling in love with — and more importantly, why?

the question of why is the number seven's obsession. this is interrogation and analysis, constantly seeking deeper understanding, looking at the many layers that live underneath something. it's looking for reason, for purpose, for the bigger desire that is steering us forward and influencing our choices. it's big questing energy. why these dreams, these goals, these ambitions? why are we here, and why are we moving in this particular direction? why does this matter? why are we aching for this thing that we don't even have yet?

some people are afraid of dreams. they're more comfortable with the practical, the tangible, the things that are already in their hands. these people argue that fantasy is bad and yearning is dangerous and we shouldn't wish for things bigger than we can really pursue, that it's not safe or polite or okay to want. and while it's easy to judge, this is the kind of mindset that actually understands how dangerous imagination can be — not because wanting itself is bad, but because when we stop putting limits on what we think is possible, we often dream bigger than we even realize.

it's why conservatives hate stories and fiction, why AI tech bros are coming after artists and creatives, why people who have already given up on revolution constantly argue that change is "unrealistic" — because imagination is dangerous. it gives us space to envision a world that is more equitable, more beautiful, more just. imagination makes room for change to feel not only possible, but worth fighting for. if we can visualize something, it becomes that much easier to take steps toward making it reality.

the first step toward change is the dream itself, and sometimes those dreams can take many different shapes, come in multiple forms.

your fantasies are not the enemy. your imagination is something worth nurturing. your creative spark and your visualizations and your capacity for holding possibility are wildly important. you're allowed to want things, to dream bigger, to wonder what's possible, to strive.

with the seven of cups, i often see people slip into that place of "i shouldn't dream too big" or "i'll pick the option that feels the most productive." it's tempting to go to a place of "fantasies are just fantasies" or "that'll never happen anyway," to judge ourselves for wanting more or wanting different.

this is not a card of discovering something brand new about ourselves, not always. it's instead a card of recognition. it's a card of our hearts cracking open. it's a card of finding our yearning within our imagined future, even if it means that our head will be in the clouds for a little while longer.

have you ever found yourself fantasizing about something that you didn't even realize you wanted? have you ever lost a few minutes thinking about a possibility, an experience, a conversation, an ambition, then snapped out of it and wondered where it came from? sometimes, this is how the seven of cups can feel: like a dream that comes out of seemingly nowhere but still manages to capture our heart for a few minutes. like a desire tapping us on the shoulder and startling us out of our everyday, the seven of cups can surprise us with its intensity or its sharpness.

when you let your mind explore, where does it go? when you stop censoring your desire, what do you realize that you want? when you stop insisting that what you crave is ridiculous, what shape does that craving take?

sometimes the desires that surprise us, that seem to show up out of nowhere, are our most earnest, heartfelt longings. sometimes we're reading a book, or listening to a friend, or playing a game, and it's only in watching something or someone experience something that we realize — wait, i think i want that. sometimes it's straight up jealousy, and it feels icky, and we have to deal with that as its own thing. but sometimes it's information, a clue into something that might unlock another secret or smothered part of our hearts, a little trail of insight to follow and investigate.

(ask me how i know: i didn't realize i was in love with my best friend until our d&d characters fell in love, and now we're married and playing different characters in a different campaign that will probably once again teach us more about ourselves. hearts keep secrets sometimes, yet the cycle continues, the journey never ends, and d&d is great.)

imagination gets to be playful, unexpected, or irrational. you have permission to be weird or silly or bizarre or extra in your own head. that "i'm never growing up" peter pan energy, that sense of reconnecting with childhood desires or dreams from a more innocent time can be a really valuable thing to tap into, especially if you're someone who tends toward control or severity. and in a world that wants to keep us small and afraid to ask for more than the bare minimum, letting our seven of cups wishes feel impossibly, beautifully huge is another way to rebel against the status quo.

other times, the seven of cups isn't about possibility at all. there are times when it can feel like every fantasy we've ever had is fighting for dominance, in our real life: multiple job offers coming in that each seem pretty solid, multiple people being interested in us when we really want one monogamous relationship, multiple school acceptance letters that each offer a different path forward. everything feels amazing and wonderful and within reach, yet it feels like we can only choose one cup rather than having it all. we're unsure where to turn, uncertain of how to choose, afraid that the wrong path will derail our whole future. we might stall out, lock up, panic, or just completely dissociate from reality.

how do we pick one path when they each seem appealing? how do we know which choice is the right one when we want to be able to make them all?

the seven of cups can be a moment of clarity — that moment when we have to be real with ourselves about what we want, why we want it, and what we're willing to do in order to get it. how far will we go? what sacrifices will we make? and when the going gets tough, when obstacles pop up, when we have to fight for what we want, what is the driving desire that keeps us moving forward? what is fueling our fire? what is feeding our passion?

and is it really true that we can only choose one path? is it? or is this actually a chance to get creative, to get weird, to think outside the box? is there a way that we can break a few rules, do something unexpected, and still get what we really want?

do you really have to pick only one cup? or can you figure out why each cup seems so satisfying, and start to chase the real desire that the cups contain?

when we decide a fantasy is impossible, sometimes it then becomes even harder to release it. not because we secretly think it could still happen somehow, but because obsessing over the fantasy is the only way we think we can have it.

just because our mind has said "no" to something doesn't mean our heart will listen. and sometimes we dive deep into that watery pool and refuse to get out, not wanting to let go of the desire itself because it simply feels good to yearn.

have you ever broken up with someone, knowing that you weren't good for each other, but still found yourself idly dreaming about them coming back into your life? have you ever fantasized about getting an apology from someone that you are pretty confident doesn't even think they owe you an apology? have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you'd made different choices, if you'd taken bigger risks, if you hadn't made a particular mistake, if you'd chased after that secret ambition?

you can visit the past, but you can't live there. you can dream of the future, but dreaming isn't doing. you can wish your present was different, but wishes only go so far.

fantasy is healthy, imagination is beautiful — but getting emotionally trapped in the ideal of a perfect present is paralyzing. agonizing over past choices doesn't change what you've moved through. and getting overly attached to an outcome that you're not even trying to achieve in any practical way can derail your real, chosen goals.

all we can really do is learn from the past, sit in the present, and anticipate the future. all we can really do is try to be as honest with ourselves as we can about what we need, what we crave, and what we're willing to strive for. the seven of cups is about looking ahead with joy and clarity and authenticity, about paying attention to why we want, and about being truthful with ourselves about what we'll do to make those dreams happen.

and really, isn't it lovely that we can dream big dreams and then decide if we actually want to chase them? isn't it beautiful that the future isn't fixed, that we can change our minds whenever we want, that we get to make our own way even if we stumble or fall or get lost? isn't it cool that we can always start over, or double down, and that we get to decide when and where and how often that happens?

the seven of cups isn't a call to never dream. it's not a demand to make our dreams smaller. it's definitely not an expectation to give up on our fantasies. it's simply an opportunity to celebrate our capacity for imagination, to clarify our ideals, and to interrogate our hearts. you deserve to actually pursue what you want to pursue, and to know why it matters to you.

so — why the hell are you chasing what you're chasing?

this month, remember that your dreams aren't random. your longings aren't superficial. your fantasy life isn't just there to sabotage you. what do you keep returning to, keep envisioning, keep longing for? which desires keep emerging in new ways, sneaking themselves into your visions for the future?

how do your desires reflect your values, your needs, your hopes, and your fears? what do your desires tell you about who you are and what matters to you right now? why are you going after what you're going after?

where have you internally decided that you can only have one thing, one path, one dream? what would it look like to look underneath the vision, to identify the real desire, and to prioritize the need or desire you're chasing instead of getting caught up in specifics?

and — are you actively pursuing the things that you want, or are you just going through the motions, chasing something you don't even care about anymore? what would it look like to really grapple with what your heart desires, instead of getting frustrated that your head and heart aren't lining up?

sending you the courage to be honest, the passion to pursue what you want, and the support you need to make your biggest, wildest dreams come true. have a safe july, friends (and drink lots of water, the heat this weekend in the northern hemisphere is going to be intense!)