september 2026 spreads for all

hello, friends. this month's tarot spreads are inspired by the overlapping themes of grief and gratitude in two albums i've been listening to a lot: phoebe bridgers' lost weekend and olivia rodrigo's you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. really never beating the sad girl (gender-neutral) allegations over here.

i've been thinking a lot about grief these days, in part because of horrific disasters due to manmade catastrophes, in part because of strange fruit and ongoing violence, and in part because of the major artistic losses we've experienced recently. there's a lot to grieve, and collective grief can be a challenging thing to hold at the best of times — especially if we're also navigating personal grief.

i'm hosting a few different grief spaces this autumn, including a gentle six-day introduction to grief work, a free live journaling event, and a transformative ten-week community space — but i also wanted to offer some tarot spreads for all of us, using some of my favorite songs from these albums as inspiration. music is such a potent way to express and experience emotions, collectively — we might all have different reactions to certain sounds and melodies and lyrics and harmonies and rhythms, might all bring different memories and experiences and insights to the concepts, yet we still feel something when we listen to music together.

what do you feel, when you listen to these songs? what do you experience, when you consider these lyrics? what do you remember, when you reflect on these stories? and what do you discover, when you use these spreads? how can tarot and emotions intersect to connect us with each other, and with ourselves?

how can tarot help us understand our grief, and our gratitude? how can tarot clarify what we're wishing for, and the wishes we non longer carry? how can tarot deepen our relationships with our own emotions?

let's pull some cards and find out.

what's wrong with me: a tarot spread for when you're not feeling like yourself. emotions can be tricky, sticky, and if you're anything like me it can take awhile to figure out what's going on, what you're experiencing, and what you can maybe do to support yourself.

card one / can't describe this feeling: an emotion you're carrying; a sensation you're experiencing; a card to help you put language to your feelings
card two / what's wrong with me: a root or cause for the feeling; something that's going on and impacting you; the way your feelings are showing up in your life
card three / i'll do anything: a potential thing you can do to move through these emotions; something that might help

as above / so below: a tarot spread about past, present, and future. it's so easy to get lost in feelings of overwhelm, exhaustion, or numbness — which is why i love tarot so much. the cards can help us look to the things we actually can do, and through our actions, find hope again.

card one / i can handle it: something that may feel big right now but that you actually have the tools and resources to deal with; something you have already survived or are actively surviving
card two / leave it to me: something that you truly can take care of; something you are navigating in your present that you're equipped to deal with
card three / i'll make it happen: something that you are more than capable of accomplishing; something ahead that is well within your grasp

cigarette smoke: a tarot spread for regrets & resentments. listen, we all do things we wish we hadn't, and it's easy to look back at something and wish we could change it. this spread can help you sit in the painful awareness of an ending or shift, and see a new perspective.

card one / tell me something honest: a real thing that you need to acknowledge; something true that may also be something painful
card two / give me back my time: something you wish you could change or recover; a regret; a thing you feel that you no longer have
card three / better than begging: a way to look forward; something you can do to see the situation differently; how to take care of yourself right now

still standing: a tarot spread for grieving complicated relationships. grief isn't always just about physical death — so often it's about change, transition, or surrendering a dream or hope we carried for a long time. this spread can help you move through the grief and the gratitude, simultaneously.

card one / sometimes i want you back: the grief; the thing we've lost or the thing that has irrevocably changed; the thing we miss or long for
card two / thank you for everything: the gratitude; the thing that we've learned or discovered or felt or been given; the thing that we still have

sending you love, tenderness, and gratitude, friends. you can learn more about all of my upcoming grief offerings right here, and if you have questions feel free to email me at 3am.tarot@gmail.com.

and don't forget! river styx is for tenderhearted badasses who want to believe in the future again. if you want to learn how to transmute your grief for the world into bold action and fierce hope — without drowning in overwhelm, helplessness, or fear — then this is the program for you.

this is a ten-week, self-paced, resilience-oriented community grief container that includes:

• original audio lessons (including transcripts) delivered straight to your inbox each week, based on the tried-and-true ten-step framework developed by good grief network’s laura schmidt and aimee lewis reau
• recommended tarot cards to work with alongside your lessons, along with new spreads and accessible exercises for tarot readers of any level
• journaling prompts for personal reflection, introspection, and discovery
• suggested somatic exercises to stay grounded, stable, and present
• a library of resources for creating your own personal support plan
• a private digital discord community for sharing, encouragement, and ongoing support
• accountability tools for helping you continue to show up to the work
• five live zoom meetups for checking in and practicing community building
• lifetime access to course content and our co-created grief community
• the flexibility to engage with lessons based on your own schedule and timeline, along with gentle reminders to honor your capacity and personal needs

the program costs $666 or three monthly payments of $222. a higher solidarity rate of $888 is available for participants who are in a financial position to support scholarships for marginalized students.

join the waitlist now to be notified when the program opens for enrollment on september 27th — doors close october 3rd, and river styx officially begins with the first email lesson on october 4th, 2026.

want a taste of grief work before diving into the full ten-week program? check out my mini grief container styx & stones, and my free tarot for grief journaling event.

let’s tend our grieving hearts together.