I’ve never really understood the whole starseed thing. People can believe whatever they want to believe, and I’m not saying somebody couldn’t have had a previous existence somewhere other than Earth. I actually have no problem with that idea at all. What I don’t understand is why having an experience somewhere else suddenly becomes your identity here.

The modern idea of starseeds isn’t some ancient spiritual teaching that’s been handed down for thousands of years. The concept is generally traced back to paranormal and UFO writer Brad Steiger and his 1976 book Gods of Aquarius, where he talked about what he called “Star People.” After that, other New Age writers, channelers, spiritual teachers, and eventually the internet kept adding to it. Now you’ve got Pleiadian starseeds, Arcturian starseeds, Sirian starseeds, Lyran starseeds, Andromedan starseeds, and I don’t even know how many others.

The common definition now is basically that a starseed is a soul that originated somewhere other than Earth and then incarnated here, usually because that soul supposedly has some kind of purpose or mission to help humanity. And that’s where I start going, wait a minute.

Depending on what your belief system is about spirituality, if you believe the soul is eternal, then how can your soul originate on the Pleiades, or Mars, or anywhere else? If the soul is eternal, then it’s always been. It didn’t start on another planet. Maybe that was somewhere you lived. Maybe it was an incarnation you remember. Maybe you had ten incarnations there. Maybe you’ve experienced places we don’t even have names for. Fine. But to me, that’s completely different from saying that’s where your soul originated, because if the soul is eternal, it didn’t originate there. It was already there before that experience too.

Maybe you were Pleiadian. Maybe you were Martian. Maybe you were something in some galaxy none of us has ever heard of. But right now, you’re an Earthling. You were born here. You’re living here. You’re having an Earth experience.

To me, saying, “I had a life somewhere else,” is completely different from saying, “I’m a starseed from somewhere else.” Everybody’s soul has had some kind of past if reincarnation is real. So why are we turning every previous experience into an identity?

I don’t walk around needing to tell everybody I’m a soul having an earthly experience because that makes me different. We’re all souls having an earthly experience right now. Maybe somebody was a soul having a Mars experience at some point. Okay. Now they’re having an Earth experience.

Even the word “starseed” has always seemed strange to me because a seed sounds like something was planted here from somewhere else. Now, if somebody literally showed up on Earth one afternoon at 15 years old, had no earthly parents, no birth certificate, no childhood here, and said, “Yeah, I came from another planet because I’m supposed to help you guys,” then okay, I’d probably say we’ve got ourselves a starseed. That makes sense to me.

But if you were born here as a baby, grew up here, lived here, and then somebody tells you years later that you came from the Pleiades because you’re highly intuitive and you never quite felt like you belonged here, I have questions.

Especially because there’s no official way somebody becomes a starseed. There’s no governing body somewhere handing out starseed certificates. People can decide for themselves that they are one. A psychic or channeler can tell somebody they’re one. People can come to that conclusion through meditation, dreams, past-life regression, astrology, online quizzes, or because they read a list of starseed characteristics and recognize themselves in it.

And a lot of those characteristics are things like feeling different, searching for meaning, being intuitive, being sensitive, feeling like you don’t belong, being interested in spirituality, or believing you have some kind of purpose. Well, that describes an awful lot of human beings.

And this is where I think spirituality can really get itself into trouble. Sometimes somebody desperately wants to understand why they feel different. They want a purpose. They want an explanation. And I think sometimes, not everybody, but some people may not really know who they are yet. They may not feel like they have much of an identity or know where they fit. Then somebody comes along and says, “You’re a starseed. You’re different because you came here from somewhere else. You have a special mission.” And now suddenly that becomes the identity. Now they know who they are. They’re a starseed. They’ve got a reason for why they’ve always felt different, and they’ve got a purpose somebody just handed them.

Well, suddenly everything makes sense.

I can understand why somebody would grab onto that, but I also think we have to be careful because spirituality has gotten really good at giving people identities that explain everything.

It reminds me of the whole empath thing. Somebody gets told, “You’re an empath,” and suddenly that explains their entire life. I feel terrible because I’m picking up everybody else’s energy. I’m exhausted because I’m an empath. I’m miserable because I absorb everybody’s emotions. My whole life is difficult because I’m surrounded by everybody else’s shit.

Well, if you’re an empath, go pick up some good shit.

If you’re capable of picking up everybody’s energy, why does it always have to be the miserable people? Go find some happy people. Find somebody who loves their life. Find somebody who makes you laugh. Pick that up.

At some point, a spiritual explanation can become a way of giving away your own power, and I think starseeds can sometimes do the same thing, just in a different direction. Instead of explaining why somebody suffers, the label starts explaining why somebody is special.

“I’m here to awaken humanity.”

“I operate at a higher vibration.”

“I understand things other people don’t.”

“I’m a starseed.”

“All the starseeds need to find each other.”

That’s when I really start having a problem with it, because now we’ve taken spirituality and created another hierarchy. We have the enlightened people and everybody else. The starseeds and the Earth people. The people who supposedly came here with the mission and all the regular humans who apparently didn’t.

How is that helping us?

To me, that’s just another way of segregating human beings. It’s another way of segregating souls. The minute spirituality starts telling you that you’re spiritually superior because of where your soul supposedly came from, I think we’ve missed the entire point.

You don’t need to come from the Pleiades to help somebody. You don’t need to be Arcturian to raise somebody’s vibration or make somebody feel better about life. You don’t need somebody to tell you that you were sent here on some cosmic mission before your life has meaning.

I help people feel better about life. I help people explore things. I talk about spirituality, death, consciousness, and what I experienced, but I don’t believe I do that because I came here from another planet.

For me, it came out of my near-death experience. My life changed. My perspective changed. What mattered to me changed. My purpose just changed, and nobody gave me that purpose. I didn’t have to search for it. I didn’t have to go looking around the universe trying to figure out which star system I belonged to.

The purpose just kind of showed up.

And maybe that’s something we’re forgetting. Maybe you don’t have to be cosmically appointed to matter. Maybe you don’t have to belong to some special category of soul.

If you believe you had a life on another planet, great. If you feel connected to the Pleiades, great. If calling yourself a starseed helps you understand something about yourself, that’s your belief. Believe whatever the hell you want to believe.

I’m just asking why we need the label to make somebody important.

Because whether you came from Sirius, the Pleiades, Mars, Wisconsin, or wherever the hell else you think you came from, you’re here now. This life is happening here.

Maybe instead of spending so much time trying to prove that we’re from somewhere else, we should pay a little more attention to what we’re doing while we’re here.

You’re an important part of this Earth, whether you’re a starseed or not. You don’t have to come from another planet to matter.

David Hanzel

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The more I listen to people teach manifestation, the more I think a lot of them have turned it into something way more complicated than it needs to be.

Don’t say you want something because wanting means lack. Don’t think of it as happening in the future because then it’ll stay in the future. Feel like you already have it. Act like you already have it. Don’t obsess over it. Let it go. But keep believing. And if it doesn’t happen, apparently you had resistance somewhere.

Meanwhile, sometimes I think the only person manifesting the rich dream life is the person selling the manifestation course.

That’s what bothers me.

I’m not saying manifestation doesn’t work. I absolutely think there are things we call manifestation that work all the time. I just think we’re lumping very different things together and calling all of them the same thing.

There’s one kind of manifestation that makes complete sense to me. Your mind starts looking for what you’re focused on.

If I keep thinking about making more money, building my business, doing more with YouTube, or finding another way to earn income, my brain is going to start noticing things connected to those goals. I may see an opportunity I would’ve completely ignored before. I may talk to somebody who gives me an idea. I might see somebody doing something and suddenly think, wait a minute, I could do something like that. I may work harder because now I have a direction.

One thing leads to another, and eventually my life looks completely different. That’s manifestation to me too. And that kind absolutely works.

I saw a perfect little example of this recently.

I watched some guy on TikTok playing a handpan. I probably watched the video for two or three minutes. He was talking about how he just picked it up and started playing. He’d done something similar with the flute. He thought it was interesting, followed the interest, learned something, then one thing led to something else.

Out of everything I watched and thought about that entire day, apparently my brain held onto that. That night I dreamed about instruments and playing music.

Why?

Maybe because I’ve been a musician and that tiny little video hit something in me that mattered. My mind decided, for whatever reason, this is worth keeping.

That’s what our minds do.

So when somebody says, “I dreamed of going to Spain my entire life, and ten years later I finally went to Spain. I manifested it.”

Well, maybe.

But let’s be honest.

You wanted to go to Spain for ten years. You thought about Spain. Maybe you saved money. Maybe you researched flights. Maybe you finally got enough vacation time. Then eventually you bought a ticket and went to Spain.

That’s great, but I’m not sure that’s the kind of manifestation I’m interested in. Of course there’s a good chance you’re eventually going to move toward something you’ve wanted for ten years.

I’m interested in the other kind.

I’m interested in the shit that shouldn’t make sense.

Let’s use Spain again.

You desperately want to go to Spain, but you’re terrified of flying. Not nervous. Terrified. You’ve spent years saying, “I would love to see Spain, but I’ll never get there because I can’t get on an airplane.”

Then something changes.

Maybe somehow the fear disappears. Maybe you meet somebody who introduces you to something that changes the fear completely. Maybe some completely different way of getting there appears that you never would’ve thought of. Maybe a sequence of things starts happening that takes you from, “There’s no way,” to standing in Spain wondering how the hell your life ended up there.

That’s what interests me.

That’s closer to what I mean when I talk about switching timelines.

Not, “I wanted Spain and eventually saved enough money for a plane ticket.”

I’m talking about moving into a version of your life where the obstacle you thought made something impossible isn’t there anymore. Or maybe the obstacle is still there, but somehow there’s now a route around it that you couldn’t see before.

That’s a very different idea.

The lottery is another easy example.

I’m not using the lottery because I think everybody should sit around buying lottery tickets and waiting to become rich. It’s just a clean example because there’s almost nothing you can physically do to improve your chances beyond buying the ticket.

You can’t work harder at winning. You can’t impress the lottery manager. You can’t network your way into the winning numbers. You buy a ticket and that’s about it.

What interests me isn’t trying to psychically figure out which numbers are going to win. It’s the idea that maybe there are different possible versions of what happens next, and somehow you move into the version where the outcome is different.

That’s what gets my attention.

Because now we’re not really talking about attracting something toward us. We’re talking about changing which version of reality we’re experiencing.

And I don’t really think I’m learning how to do that.

I think I’m trying to remember how I’ve already done it.

Because I know I’ve changed. I’m not the same person I was years ago. I’m completely different.

Even memories that once would’ve bothered me don’t have the same emotional effect anymore. I remember things that happened, including bad things, and most of the time they just don’t have much hold over me. I’m not forcing myself to let them go. They’re just over.

And when I say they’re over, I really mean it. There are things from my old life that almost feel like they happened to another person. I know they happened to me. I remember them. But they don’t live inside me the same way anymore. I had some really crappy periods in my life, and I’m not sitting here carrying them around every day. I don’t care about most of that stuff anymore. It doesn’t control anything I’m doing now.

That’s why, when I talk about changing timelines, I’m not talking about learning some completely foreign thing I’ve never experienced before. In some way, I’ve already done it. I’ve already become somebody who would’ve been almost unrecognizable to an earlier version of me.

So which version of me is this?

Because there was absolutely a version of me years ago who would’ve reacted very differently to some of the same things.

Maybe that’s emotional growth. Maybe that’s how the brain works. Maybe that’s a kind of timeline shift too.

I don’t know.

And I’m okay saying I don’t know.

But I do know I’ve already become versions of myself I couldn’t have imagined years ago. So what I’m working on now is doing that intentionally.

Not figuring out some brand-new ability I’ve never had. Remembering how I got from one version of myself to another and becoming more conscious of it while it’s happening.

There are also things that happen in life that nobody can fully explain. People have illnesses disappear unexpectedly. People survive things they weren’t expected to survive. People end up in places and situations through such ridiculous chains of coincidence that looking backward, it’s hard to understand how all of those pieces came together.

That doesn’t automatically mean somebody jumped into another timeline. I’m not saying it does. But it sure as hell keeps me interested in the possibility.

There’s something Neale Donald Walsch talked about that does make sense to me.

The way I remember the teaching is that if you tell the universe, “I want a million dollars,” the response is basically, “Yes, you do want a million dollars.”

It’s agreeing with you.

You said you want it, so what gets reflected back is the experience of wanting it.

I can understand that idea.

If I say, “I have everything I need right now,” and I actually believe that, then the answer becomes, “Yes, you do.”

If I believe, “I have more than enough. I’m always taken care of. Money is available to me,” then maybe reality starts matching that instead.

That’s different to me than somebody telling me I’m never allowed to use the word want again.

Because I think there’s something underneath the words that’s more important than the words themselves.

It’s what you actually believe about your life.

And depending on how you see reality in the first place, that can get really interesting.

Some people talk about life as a matrix or a simulation. I’m not talking about all the crazy crap people put online because they need another video for TikTok. I’m talking about the basic idea that maybe the reality we’re experiencing is much more personal and responsive than we’ve been taught to think.

Maybe, in a way, it is a simulation, but it’s your simulation.

And if that’s the case, then you have a say in it.

You have a say in what direction you move. You have a say in changing yourself. You have a say in which possibilities you keep choosing. You have a say in what timeline you’re moving toward.

That doesn’t mean I think I can sit on my couch and command the entire world to rearrange itself around me because I said so.

I’m saying maybe we have much more influence over our experience than we remember we have.

That’s the word that keeps coming back to me.

Remember.

Because we’re always starting from this state of, “That can’t happen. Nothing can be done. Things never work that way. You can’t change that. That’s just the way life is.”

And I think a lot of that is bullshit.

Why can’t something happen differently?

Why can’t the thing you’ve always assumed was impossible suddenly become possible?

Why can’t you move into a version of yourself who doesn’t have the fear anymore?

Why can’t a completely different opportunity appear?

Why can’t something work out in a way you never would’ve been able to plan?

We get so used to hearing what reality can and can’t do that after a while we stop questioning it.

Then spiritual people do something that drives me crazy too.

If you don’t get what you want, they’ll tell you, “It wasn’t part of your higher purpose.”

How do they know?

Maybe it is part of my higher purpose.

Maybe having money is part of it.

Maybe having freedom is part of it.

Maybe getting the house, taking the trip, becoming successful, falling in love, changing careers, healing something, or having an experience you desperately want is exactly part of what you’re here to do.

Why is the “higher purpose” always the thing where you don’t get what you wanted?

That’s awfully convenient.

You wanted it, but it didn’t happen, so apparently your soul didn’t want it.

You suffered, so apparently your soul needed the lesson.

You struggled financially, so apparently abundance wasn’t part of your path.

Then somebody else gets rich and suddenly abundance was part of their alignment.

Come on.

That’s where spiritual people can contradict themselves constantly.

We’re told we’re powerful creators, but if something doesn’t happen, apparently we weren’t supposed to create that.

We’re told to follow our desires, but then we’re told our desires might be ego.

We’re told anything is possible, but if something seems impossible, we’re supposed to accept that maybe the universe has a better plan.

At some point, I’m allowed to question the rules.

That’s actually part of why I’m doing this.

I want to find out for myself.

I want to become much more intentional about the timeline I’m choosing and see what happens.

And if it works the way I believe it can, I’m going to talk about it because I want other people to know they may have far more say in their lives than they’ve been taught to believe.

Not because I want to turn around and sell somebody a $999 course telling them they used the wrong affirmation.

I want people to remember that possibility for themselves.

That’s where I think some manifestation teachers lose me.

They spend so much time telling people how they’re supposed to think that the whole thing becomes another job.

Don’t use the word want. Don’t acknowledge that you don’t have it. Don’t put it in the future. Don’t have doubts. Don’t be too attached. Feel the feeling. Live in the end.

Okay.

But how many people are following every one of those rules and still not getting what they want?

And how many people have gotten incredible things while breaking every one of them?

People win lotteries while desperately wanting to win. People become famous while desperately wanting to be famous. People build businesses while openly saying, “I want this business to succeed.” People get things they’ve spent years hoping for.

Apparently the universe didn’t stop and say, “Sorry. You used the word want again. Application denied.”

That’s why I don’t believe wanting something is automatically a problem.

I can want something and still be happy. I can want more money and still appreciate what I have. I can want my business to become successful without believing my life is worthless until it does. I can want something very badly and still enjoy today.

Wanting isn’t always lack.

Sometimes wanting is just wanting.

And sometimes I think manifestation teachers took a simple concept and created so many rules around it that people are now afraid they’re going to mess up their own future by having the wrong thought at breakfast.

I don’t buy that.

Especially when the person explaining all these rules is charging hundreds or thousands of dollars to teach you how to manifest the life they supposedly manifested.

Maybe they manifested it.

Or maybe they discovered there are a whole lot of people willing to pay for manifestation courses.

Those are not necessarily the same thing.

For me, there are really two things I’m interested in.

The first is the kind of manifestation I already know can happen.

You focus on something. Your mind starts noticing things connected to it. You make different choices. You recognize opportunities. You change what you’re doing. Your life changes.

Call it manifestation, psychology, mind mapping, whatever you want.

I believe in that completely.

But the second kind is what really fascinates me.

The impossible turn. The thing you couldn’t figure out. The door that wasn’t there before. The obstacle that somehow disappears. The sequence of coincidences that takes you somewhere you couldn’t have planned. The version of your life where something happens that the person you are right now can’t even see a route toward.

That’s the part I’m consciously working with now.

Because I don’t think this is something completely new that I have to learn. I’ve already changed timelines in the sense that I’ve already become completely different versions of myself over the course of my life.

What I want now is to become more intentional about it.

I don’t just want to say, “Someday I’d like this,” work toward it for twenty years, finally get it, then look backward and call the entire thing manifestation.

I want to know what happens when I deliberately choose a different direction.

Not five years from now when hindsight can explain everything.

I mean something noticeable.

Something where I can say, “Okay. Something changed here.”

I had a little experience with that recently, even though I wouldn’t call it a timeline jump.

I had a very strong feeling that somebody was going to win the lottery that night. I bought a ticket because I thought, somebody’s going to win it, it might as well be me.

The next morning I found out somebody did win.

It wasn’t me.

And strangely enough, I was fine.

What interested me afterward was realizing my intuitive hit may have simply been, “Someone is going to win this.”

Then my desire added, “Maybe it’s me.”

Those are two different things.

That’s useful for me to recognize because I’ve always found intuition about myself harder to separate from what I personally want.

But something else happened that morning.

I looked around. I went outside and fed my cats. I thought about my house. I thought about the possibility of getting the loan I need to fix things. I thought about where my business is right now, which isn’t where I want it to be.

And I thought, I’m still okay.

I’m still interested.

I still want to see what happens.

I’ve been doing this work for about ten years, and financially I’m nowhere near where I’d like to be.

Part of that is mine.

I can take responsibility for that.

There are days when I have all day and could be making videos, creating things, putting myself out there, getting seen, trying something different, and sometimes I haven’t done enough of it.

That’s something I can change.

At the same time, this work has given me one thing that has been incredibly important in my life.

Time.

I’ve had regular jobs during these years too. I know what it’s like to have somebody else control your schedule.

Since I got hurt and stopped working my last regular job in 2023, I’ve had the flexibility to help my parents when they need me.

Doctor appointments come up with two days notice sometimes. At a regular job, you can ask for that time off and somebody can simply tell you no.

So I don’t think I needed scarcity.

I needed freedom.

Now I want both.

I want the freedom I already have, and I want the money to go with it.

And I’m not going to be afraid of saying that I want it.

What I’m interested in now isn’t figuring out the perfect affirmation. It isn’t convincing myself that I’m already rich when I know I’m not. It isn’t pretending something has happened when it hasn’t.

I’m interested in choosing a direction and seeing whether reality starts opening in ways I couldn’t have planned.

Maybe that’s manifestation.

Maybe that’s timeline shifting.

Maybe part of it is the brain.

Maybe part of it is something we don’t understand yet.

I don’t know.

But that’s the experiment I care about.

Not whether I used the right tense. Not whether I accidentally said “I want.” Not whether I visualized for exactly seventeen minutes before falling asleep.

I want to know whether there are versions of our lives that are much closer than we think, and whether changing who we are, what we expect, what we notice, what we believe is possible, and maybe something we don’t fully understand yet can move us into them.

I don’t think I’m learning how to do this.

I think I’m remembering that I’ve already done it.

Now I want to do it consciously.

That’s a hell of a lot more interesting to me than another person telling me I’m blocking my abundance because I used the wrong words.

David.

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A Note on Extras

Take what fits and leave what does not. This is a collective guide, not a rulebook. Follow your own judgment and intuition.

The Moonology cards are symbolic parts of the reading. They should not be confused with the Moon’s literal phase in the sky this week.

The State of the World section reflects my personal interpretation and prediction based on the cards I pulled. It is not a guarantee of future events.

This Week’s Vibe

August 17 through August 23, 2026

The Energy This Week

We are coming out of the August 12 New Moon and solar eclipse, so this week feels less like the beginning of something and more like finding out what we are supposed to do with it.

Monday, August 17, has an interesting mixture of astrology.

Mars forms a difficult angle with Neptune. In beginner terms, Mars represents action, motivation, anger, and the urge to do something. Neptune deals with intuition, dreams, confusion, ideals, and things that are difficult to see clearly. Put those two together in a challenging position and you can get plenty of motivation without a clear direction.

On the same day, Mercury and Saturn work well together. Mercury represents thinking and communication. Saturn brings discipline, patience, and reality checks. Venus and Jupiter also form a supportive connection involving relationships, values, generosity, and enjoyment. So Monday is not simply confusing. There is also some grounded energy available to help sort through the confusion.

Wednesday, August 19, brings the actual First Quarter Moon. This happens about a week after the New Moon and represents the halfway point between the New Moon and Full Moon. Astronomically, half of the Moon appears illuminated from Earth. Astrologically, this phase is often associated with action, decisions, and dealing with whatever obstacles have appeared since the New Moon.

Friday, August 21, Venus opposes Saturn. Relationships, money, values, responsibilities, and boundaries may receive a reality check. Something may require more maturity or honesty than we would prefer.

By the weekend, we are leaving Leo season and moving into Virgo season. Virgo shifts attention toward practical matters, routines, work, organization, details, and figuring out what needs fixing. On August 23, the Sun in Virgo forms a supportive connection with Chiron in Taurus, an astrological combination often associated with recognizing where healing requires practical change rather than wishful thinking.

Plain terms: this week begins with mixed signals and gradually becomes more practical. You do not need every answer immediately. Pay attention to what needs action, what needs patience, and what needs more information before you decide anything.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: Three of Pentacles upright
Moonology: New Moon
Energy Oracle: Man Holding a Heart

The Three of Pentacles is about cooperation, learning, building, and recognizing that we do not have to accomplish everything alone.

It can represent working with people who bring different skills or perspectives to the same situation. It can also represent learning something while you are doing it rather than waiting until you feel completely prepared.

The New Moon brings beginning energy. Something is being planted, even if you cannot see the final result yet.

Man Holding a Heart adds emotional sincerity. This does not have to represent a romantic relationship. It can represent compassion, emotional availability, kindness, or someone approaching a situation from the heart rather than purely from logic or self-interest.

Together, these cards suggest that something new may begin through cooperation.

You may need another person’s knowledge. Someone may need yours. A conversation, partnership, friendship, professional connection, or unexpected collaboration could become more important than it initially appears.

Plain terms: you do not have to build everything alone. Pay attention to sincere people who are willing to work with you instead of competing with you.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: The Tower upright
Moonology: Gibbous Moon
Energy Oracle: Healer of the Ages

The Tower is disruption.

Something changes, cracks, collapses, or becomes impossible to ignore.

The Tower has a terrible reputation because nobody enjoys having the furniture rearranged by life without being consulted first. But the card does not automatically mean catastrophe.

Often it exposes something that was already unstable.

The Gibbous Moon represents refinement. Something is close to developing, but adjustments are still needed.

Then we have Healer of the Ages in the challenge position.

This is important.

Healing can become its own form of avoidance when we convince ourselves that we must be completely healed before we live, love, change careers, make decisions, or move forward.

Sometimes healing happens because life moves.

The Tower may expose something you thought you had already dealt with. That does not mean you failed.

It means another layer became visible.

Plain terms: something uncomfortable may reveal where more healing is needed. Do not interpret that as going backward. Deal with what becomes visible, make the adjustment, and keep moving.

Gift or Support

Tarot: Ace of Pentacles reversed
Moonology: Full Moon in Aries
Energy Oracle: Patience

The Ace of Pentacles reversed often points toward a delayed opportunity, a beginning that does not happen when expected, or something practical that needs more preparation before it becomes stable.

As a gift, this card may protect you from beginning something before the foundation is ready.

The Full Moon in Aries brings courage, independence, action, and the willingness to choose yourself when necessary.

Then Patience appears.

That creates an interesting contradiction.

Part of you may want to move immediately.

Another part of the situation is saying, not yet.

Patience does not mean doing nothing. It means recognizing the difference between preparation and procrastination.

Sometimes a delay saves you from committing to the wrong version of something.

Plain terms: a delay may be helping you. Do what is within your control, but do not force an opportunity before it is ready. When the opening is real, you will be better prepared to use it.

Weekend Energy

Moonology: Disseminating Moon

The Disseminating Moon is about sharing what you have learned.

After the movement and disruption of the week, the weekend may bring a clearer understanding of what everything was trying to show you.

This is good energy for conversations, teaching, writing, sharing ideas, or talking through something with someone you trust.

It is also about perspective.

You do not have to keep every lesson private.

Something you have experienced may help somebody else understand what they are going through.

Plain terms: talk about what you have learned. Share what feels useful. Sometimes explaining something to another person helps you understand it yourself.

State of the World

The following reflects my personal interpretation and prediction based on the cards I pulled.

Something I am glad to see happening is that people are beginning to look beyond political teams.

For a long time, much of the attention has been directed toward the current administration, Republicans, MAGA, and the people surrounding that movement.

But fixing a broken political system requires looking at everyone.

If politicians on the Democratic side are not representing the people they were elected to represent, they need to be questioned too.

Change does not work if we expose wrongdoing on one side while ignoring it on the other.

So I asked the cards.

Are More Democrats Who Are Not Truly Working for the People Going to Be Exposed?

Tarot: Temperance reversed

Temperance reversed shows imbalance.

Something that should be working together is no longer functioning properly.

It can represent extremes, poor cooperation, competing interests, or people who have lost sight of the larger purpose because they are protecting their own position.

I read this as yes, more imbalance within the Democratic Party becomes visible.

That does not mean every Democrat is corrupt or acting in bad faith. It means I believe people are becoming less willing to automatically trust someone simply because of the letter beside their name.

If someone claims to represent people but repeatedly refuses to act in their interests, people are beginning to notice.

Plain terms: I believe more politicians from both sides will be questioned and exposed when their actions do not match what they claim to stand for. The political awakening is becoming less about teams and more about behavior.

Will the Midterms Help Bring People Back Toward Greater Comfort, Happiness, and Less Division?

Tarot: Ace of Cups reversed

This is not the card I would expect if everything suddenly became peaceful after the midterms.

The Ace of Cups reversed suggests emotional disappointment, exhaustion, blocked goodwill, or expectations that are too high.

I still believe the midterms change things.

But this card tells me not to expect an election to heal everything that has happened.

People are angry.

People are exhausted.

Relationships have been damaged.

Trust has been damaged.

One election does not repair all of that.

Plain terms: I believe the midterms may change the political direction, but they do not instantly heal the emotional division. That part takes longer.

What Will the Midterms Bring Us?

Tarot: Ten of Wands upright

Work.

Lots of it.

The Ten of Wands represents responsibility, pressure, burdens, and reaching the point where something has become difficult to carry.

This supports what I have already felt.

I believe the midterms bring change, but change does not mean everything suddenly becomes easy.

People are going to have to participate.

They are going to have to vote.

They are going to have to pay attention to information.

There will be deception.

There will be people trying to manipulate voters.

There will be people trying to convince everyone that nothing matters.

The Ten of Wands says the responsibility is heavy, but it is still being carried.

Plain terms: my prediction is that the midterms matter, but nobody gets to sit back afterward and assume the work is finished. The election may change who carries power, but repairing what has happened requires continued effort.

Is the World Waking Up to the Larger Deception Around Power and Money, and Is What People Are Doing Working?

Tarot: Justice reversed

Justice reversed is a card of unfairness, corruption, dishonesty, unequal consequences, and systems that are not operating as they should.

For this question, I do not see it as saying people are failing.

I see it as showing what people are waking up to.

More people are recognizing that systems they believed were fair may not have been fair at all.

They are noticing who receives consequences and who does not.

They are questioning why money creates access.

They are questioning why powerful people sometimes operate under different rules.

The uncomfortable part is that seeing injustice does not immediately correct it.

Plain terms: yes, I believe people are waking up. Justice reversed tells me the problem is becoming harder to hide. But awareness is ahead of accountability right now. People see more than the systems have corrected.

What Is Happening With the War Involving the United States, Israel, Iran, and the Middle East?

Tarot: Three of Wands upright

The Three of Wands looks outward.

It represents waiting for developments, watching what comes next, long-range planning, international matters, and decisions whose consequences extend beyond the immediate situation.

For this question, I see a conflict entering a stage where attention turns toward what happens next.

Countries are watching one another.

Leaders are considering future moves.

Decisions being made now may have consequences well beyond the current fighting.

The Three of Wands is not an ending card.

It suggests that the situation is still developing.

Plain terms: I do not see this as finished yet. I see governments looking ahead, considering their next moves, and watching how other countries respond.

What Is Happening Around the President as He Appears Increasingly Withdrawn?

Tarot: The Hermit reversed

The Hermit upright deliberately steps away from noise to gain wisdom and perspective.

Reversed, the withdrawal can become isolation, disconnection, avoidance, or someone becoming increasingly separated from what is happening around them.

That fits what I have been sensing.

To me, he increasingly appears disconnected from the actual work of governing.

That is my observation and opinion.

The Hermit reversed reinforces my feeling that there is withdrawal happening, but not necessarily the productive kind.

Plain terms: I believe he is becoming more isolated and disengaged. Whether that is intentional, circumstantial, or something else, the card reflects withdrawal rather than active leadership.

Has He Essentially Given Up on Governing While Still Wanting the Title, Money, and Power?

Tarot: The Magician upright

This card made me stop for a minute.

The Magician is not powerless.

Quite the opposite.

The Magician understands how to use tools, language, image, attention, influence, and available resources to create an outcome.

So I do not read this as someone who has completely given up.

I read it as someone who may still be highly interested in controlling the image, controlling the message, and using the position for whatever purpose benefits him.

That is different from being interested in governing.

The Magician can be an extraordinary creator. But in a question involving power and motivation, it also asks us to look carefully at how influence is being used.

Plain terms: my interpretation is that he has not given up on power. I question whether governing itself is what interests him anymore. The card suggests that influence, control, image, and the ability to shape the situation still matter greatly to him.

Something Special

The Tower Is Not Always the Ending

The Tower is the card people see and immediately think, well, shit.

But look at where it appears this week.

It is the challenge.

The Three of Pentacles is the theme.

Patience is the support.

That changes the story.

Something may need to come apart because the next version cannot be built on the existing structure.

The Three of Pentacles says rebuilding involves cooperation.

Patience says rebuilding takes time.

The Ace of Pentacles reversed says the new foundation may not be ready immediately.

So if something changes unexpectedly this week, resist the urge to decide instantly what the change means.

You may be looking at demolition before you have seen the blueprint.

Moon Moments

First Quarter Moon, August 19

The actual Moon reaches its First Quarter phase Wednesday night.

This is the first major checkpoint after the August 12 New Moon and eclipse.

Think back to what was happening around August 12.

What became visible?

What changed?

What did you realize?

What did you decide you could no longer ignore?

Now ask a different question.

What am I going to do about it?

The First Quarter Moon is less interested in revelation and more interested in action.

You do not need to fix your entire life Wednesday night.

Choose one thing.

One conversation.

One boundary.

One application.

One decision.

One practical step.

The Tower may show you what needs changing.

The Three of Pentacles reminds you that help exists.

Patience reminds you that you do not have to finish everything this week.

Birthday Note

Happy birthday to everyone celebrating this week, including the final Leos and the first Virgos.

This week sits directly on the transition between Leo and Virgo.

Leo asks, who am I and how do I want to express myself?

Virgo asks, what am I going to do with it?

For people celebrating birthdays this week, the year ahead may involve turning an idea, realization, or personal change into something practical.

The Three of Pentacles suggests learning and collaboration.

The Tower suggests that something may need restructuring.

Patience reminds you that rebuilding does not happen overnight.

Closing Note

The Three of Pentacles says build with people who are willing to build with you.

The Tower says do not pretend an unstable structure is stable simply because changing it would be inconvenient.

The Ace of Pentacles reversed reminds us that some opportunities arrive later than expected.

And Patience says later does not mean never.

This week may contain movement, disruption, waiting, and rebuilding all at once.

You do not have to know how the entire thing ends.

Deal with the part in front of you.

Let people help.

Let unstable things reveal themselves.

And give the next version enough time to become something worth standing on.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer $10 email readings.

You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

Thank you for your time.

David Hanzel

I think a lot of people go through life doing the same thing every day.

They get up. They go to work. They come home. They do what they have to do. And somewhere in between all of that, they dream about something else.

I wish I could do that.

I wish I could live there.

I wish I could travel.

I wish I could have that kind of life.

I wish I could do something different.

And then they go right back into the same routine and tell themselves, “But that could never happen for me.”

I do not think those dreams come out of nowhere.

I think those thoughts, wishes, and desires are clues.

They are clues from your higher self. Clues about what you came here to experience, what you came here to do, or maybe even what you came here to have.

I think everybody has some kind of plan while they are here, and that plan is constantly being revealed to you through your inspirations and through the things that excite you.

Whatever makes you light up, whatever keeps pulling at you, those are clues from your higher self saying, “There is something here. There is something you wanted to do.”

It is almost like that game of getting warmer and colder. When you are moving toward something that is right for you, you start getting warmer. You feel better. You feel more excited. Something inside you starts telling you that you are getting closer. And when you are moving away from it, you feel it too. You start getting colder.

That does not mean everything you are supposed to do will always be easy. But I do think there is something inside of us that recognizes when we are moving toward the life we came here to experience.

The problem is that we get distracted.

We start believing that the life right in front of us is the only life available to us. We start thinking our dreams are unrealistic simply because we cannot see how they could happen from where we are standing right now.

But why?

If you see somebody traveling somewhere beautiful and immediately think, “I wish I could go there, but I never could,” why couldn’t you?

Really ask yourself that.

Why couldn’t you?

Maybe you cannot go tomorrow. Maybe you cannot afford it right this second. Maybe there are things that have to happen first. But none of that means you could never go.

There is a huge difference between “not right now” and “never.”

People will say, “That can never happen,” when really, maybe it just cannot happen right now.

Maybe you are not lined up with it yet. Maybe it would not even work if it showed up at this exact moment. Maybe there is something you still need to learn so that when you do receive what you have been asking for, you are actually able to hold onto it.

But you cannot look at “not yet” and automatically turn it into “never.”

It is not never. It is coming. It is there.

Think about going through a drive-through. You place your order, you pay for it, and you know you are going to get your food. Sometimes they hand it to you right at the window. Sometimes they tell you to pull over by the sign because it is not ready yet.

But you do not sit there thinking, “Well, I guess I am never getting it.”

You know it is coming because you already placed the order.

That is how I look at dreams and wishes.

You dreamed it. You put in the order.

The universe is your waiter or waitress. It took the order.

Now you keep living your life, keep moving toward it, and when the order is ready, it will be brought to you.

And if you are afraid to fly, fine. Maybe that particular place is not where you are going. There are probably places closer to you that could give you the same feeling you are looking for.

The important part is that you stop immediately talking yourself out of the thing you want.

You have to decide that somehow, some way, you are going to move toward it.

I have always believed there is a way to do things.

My life certainly did not begin looking like everything I wanted was going to happen for me. But as time went on, I still managed to get so many of the things I wanted and needed.

And I am still dreaming.

I still have things I want to experience. Things I want to do. Things I want to create. And I still believe those things can happen.

The difference is that when I dream about something, I do not immediately go back to my regular life and say, “Well, that will never happen.”

I ask myself, “What is one step I can take toward it?”

That is it.

One step.

I think that is all life, God, the universe, your higher self, whatever language you want to use, is really asking you to do.

You do not have to know how the entire thing is going to happen.

You do not have to know when.

You do not have to figure out every step between where you are and where you want to be.

You just have to take the next one.

And I think people need to start dreaming bigger.

When somebody says, “Dream big,” I do not think they mean dream about something that feels slightly more possible than your life right now.

Dream so big that it does not completely make sense to you yet.

Because whatever is possible for you may be far bigger than anything you can currently imagine anyway.

So imagine what you can.

Then take it farther.

Stop shrinking the dream down to fit the life you already have.

Your current circumstances are not necessarily telling you where you are going. They are just telling you where you are standing today.

One day, it will be your turn.

But until then, you have to believe that your day is coming.

You have to believe there is more available to you than the routine you have gotten used to.

Because if you dream about something and then spend the rest of your time telling yourself it cannot happen, you stay right where you are.

Not because the dream was impossible.

Because you never moved toward it.

So dream.

Dream bigger than you think you are supposed to.

And when you are done dreaming, ask yourself one question:

What is one thing I can do today that moves me a little closer to it?

Then do that.

By David Hanzel

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A Note on Extras

Take what fits and leave what does not. This is a collective guide, not a rulebook. Follow your own judgment and intuition.

The Moonology cards are symbolic parts of the reading. They should not be confused with the Moon’s literal phase in the sky this week.

The State of the World section reflects my personal interpretation and prediction based on the cards I pulled. It is not a guarantee of future events.

This Week’s Vibe

August 10 through August 16, 2026

The Energy This Week

This is a pretty unusual week in the sky, and you do not need to know anything about astrology to follow it.

The biggest day is Wednesday, August 12.

On that day, we have a total solar eclipse in Leo. A solar eclipse happens when the Moon moves directly between Earth and the Sun and temporarily blocks the Sun from view in certain parts of the world.

Astrologically, eclipses are often connected with turning points, changes in direction, and things becoming harder to ignore. Because this eclipse happens in Leo, the focus falls on confidence, leadership, identity, creativity, visibility, and how people use power.

In everyday language, this can feel like a week when people start seeing themselves, other people, or certain situations differently. Something that was sitting quietly in the background may suddenly become much more obvious.

August 12 is also interesting because the Perseid meteor shower is reaching its peak around August 12 and 13. Since the eclipse happens at a New Moon, the night sky will be darker, which gives people a better chance of seeing the meteors.

So we have two separate things happening around the same time. The eclipse is one event, and the Perseid meteor shower is another. They are not causing each other. They just happen to line up this year.

Astrologically, the bigger message this week is about paying attention.

What is changing?

What are you seeing now that you did not see before?

Where are you being asked to look at something differently?

And where are you holding on simply because change feels uncomfortable?

Plain terms: August 12 may feel like a turning point for some people, but there is no need to expect some giant overnight transformation. Watch what becomes clearer. Watch what changes inside you. Watch what becomes harder to ignore. Sometimes the first part of change is simply seeing something differently than you did before.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: The Star upright
Moonology: Full Moon in Gemini
Energy Oracle: Door to Romance

The Star is one of Tarot’s clearest cards of renewal, hope, healing, authenticity, and finding direction again after a difficult period.

It does not promise that every problem disappears. The Star traditionally appears after The Tower. Something has already been shaken apart. Now you begin understanding what remains and where you go from here.

The Full Moon in Gemini brings communication, information, questions, conversations, and competing perspectives. It encourages curiosity, but also discernment. There may be plenty of information flying around this week. Not all of it deserves equal weight.

Door to Romance does not have to mean romantic love. It can represent opening the heart again. That might involve another person, but it may also involve something you love doing, reconnecting with life, allowing yourself to care again, or becoming emotionally available to something new.

Together, these cards suggest a reopening.

Plain terms: something inside you may be ready to believe in possibility again. Stay curious. Let yourself care about something without needing to know exactly where it leads.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: Strength reversed
Moonology: Void-of-Course Moon
Energy Oracle: Adjacent Possibilities

Strength reversed can show depleted confidence, frustration, self-doubt, emotional exhaustion, or trying to force something because you no longer trust your ability to handle uncertainty.

The Void-of-Course Moon adds another layer. Sometimes nothing productive comes from pushing harder. A situation may need to sit for a while before the next move becomes obvious.

Then Adjacent Possibilities appears.

That is where the challenge becomes interesting.

There may be another path available, but you could miss it because you are concentrating too hard on the original plan.

Strength reversed may tempt you to interpret a delay as failure. Adjacent Possibilities says the delay might be redirecting you.

Plain terms: do not force an answer because uncertainty makes you uncomfortable. Look around. The path beside the one you planned may matter more than you realize.

Gift or Support

Tarot: King of Pentacles reversed
Moonology: Full Moon in Taurus
Energy Oracle: Goddess of the Moon

The King of Pentacles reversed is interesting in the gift position.

Normally this card can warn about excessive attachment to money, status, possessions, control, or security. As support, it may help expose where material security has become too important or where fear of losing stability has begun making decisions for you.

The Full Moon in Taurus brings attention to security, values, money, comfort, home, and what makes life feel stable.

Goddess of the Moon brings intuition into the equation.

Together, these cards suggest that security is not purely financial or material. You can have everything organized perfectly on paper and still know internally that something is wrong.

Likewise, something may look uncertain on paper while your intuition keeps telling you that you are moving in the right direction.

Plain terms: do not measure every decision by money, status, or predictability. Your inner knowing deserves a seat at the table too.

August 12

Eclipse, Perseids, Astrology, and Seven Seconds of Apparently Flying Furniture

August 12 has attracted a spectacular amount of internet weirdness.

The real events are interesting enough.

There is a total solar eclipse. The eclipse occurs in Leo. The Perseid meteor shower peaks around the same time. The New Moon means darker skies for viewing the meteors after sunset.

Astrologically, the Leo eclipse emphasizes identity, leadership, creativity, visibility, and personal power. For people who work intuitively, this may feel like a useful day to observe what comes up rather than trying to force an experience.

Then somebody apparently decided an eclipse and meteor shower were insufficiently entertaining.

Enter “Project Anchor.”

A viral story claims Earth will lose gravity for roughly seven seconds on August 12 at 14:33 UTC. Some versions claim NASA secretly knows about it and has spent billions preparing for it.

The story appears to have grown from social media posts circulating since late 2024 and early 2025, gradually accumulating a fake NASA program, an exact time, invented gravitational-wave explanations, casualty estimates, and other increasingly dramatic details.

There is even a Project Anchor website now. The site describes itself as “completely unofficial” while displaying a countdown to seven seconds of zero gravity and pictures of floating tourists, dogs, umbrellas, and assorted airborne humanity. It also jokes that NASA has not returned its calls. So at least somewhere in this nonsense, somebody remembered comedy exists.

Earth is not scheduled to lose gravity.

An eclipse does not switch gravity off. The Sun and Moon continue exerting gravitational forces exactly as celestial mechanics predicts.

So August 12 does not require tying Grandma to the porch.

What is real is already remarkable.

The Moon will pass directly between Earth and the Sun. A total solar eclipse will cross parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Later, people under dark skies may see Perseid meteors burning through Earth’s atmosphere.

The universe already knows how to put on a show. Humans apparently felt it needed a seven-second anti-gravity subplot.

Weekend Energy

I did not pull a separate Moonology card for the weekend this week, so I am not going to manufacture a weekend message that was not part of the reading.

Instead, I would carry the larger message of the week into Saturday and Sunday.

Observe what the eclipse period brought to your attention.

Do not rush to interpret every coincidence.

Notice what still matters after the excitement settles.

Sometimes the most useful part of an intense week comes afterward, when you finally have enough quiet to understand what happened.

State of the World

The following reflects my personal interpretation and prediction based on the cards I pulled.

One thing I continue noticing is misdirection.

Important political decisions sometimes happen when public attention is somewhere else. Late votes, competing headlines, outrage cycles, and constant distractions make it difficult for ordinary people to follow everything happening at once.

My feeling is that more people are beginning to recognize this pattern.

So I asked the cards about it.

Is the World Waking Up to Misdirection, and Will Something Positive Come From Recognizing It?

Tarot: Ten of Swords upright

The Ten of Swords is an ending card.

It is painful because it represents the point where something has gone as far as it can go. The illusion can no longer be maintained because too much has happened.

I read this as people becoming exhausted with manipulation, distraction, political theater, and constantly being told where to direct their attention.

But the Ten of Swords also contains something people forget.

The Sun is rising in the background.

An ending creates the possibility of seeing differently.

My prediction is that more people continue waking up to how misdirection works. Some realizations may be uncomfortable because people have to admit they believed something that was incomplete, exaggerated, or deliberately distracting.

Plain terms: I believe the old methods of distraction are becoming less effective because more people recognize them. The awakening may be uncomfortable, but recognizing the pattern is how people stop being controlled by it.

Is There an End in Sight for the War Involving Iran, Israel, and the United States?

Tarot: Ace of Pentacles upright

The Ace of Pentacles represents a new beginning with something tangible behind it.

It is not simply hope. It represents an opportunity that can become something real if people choose to build upon it.

For a question about war, I find this encouraging.

I read this as an opportunity eventually appearing for a different direction. That might involve negotiations, agreements, economic considerations, diplomatic changes, or another practical opening that creates a path away from continued conflict.

The Ace is only the beginning. Someone still has to pick it up and do something with it.

Plain terms: I believe there is an opening toward an end or a new phase. The opportunity appears, but leaders still have to choose it.

What Happens When People Begin Their Own Personal Disclosure?

Tarot: The Hermit upright

My feeling has been that people do not necessarily need to wait for governments to announce disclosure.

People can begin paying attention themselves.

Look at the sky.

Stay open.

Observe.

Question.

Let your own experiences inform you.

The Hermit fits that beautifully.

The Hermit does not follow the crowd. He searches for truth through direct experience, reflection, observation, and inner guidance.

I read this as personal disclosure becoming an individual journey for many people.

Some experiences may be quiet. Some may leave people with more questions than answers. The Hermit does not promise instant certainty.

He says: look for yourself.

Plain terms: I believe people who sincerely open themselves to personal disclosure may begin having experiences that are meaningful specifically to them. The process may be private before it becomes collective.

If Human Beings Are No Longer in Charge of Disclosure, Is Disclosure From the Beings Themselves Beginning to Accelerate?

Tarot: Five of Pentacles upright

This is an interesting card for this question.

The Five of Pentacles often represents feeling shut out, excluded, abandoned, or left outside something that exists nearby.

The traditional image contains an important detail. The people are outside the illuminated building.

The light is already there.

They simply are not inside yet.

That fits my feeling about disclosure.

I believe the presence is already here. The question is how quickly that presence becomes openly visible and recognizable to more people.

The Five of Pentacles suggests there may still be a period where humanity feels left outside the full truth. Information may remain incomplete. People may see pieces without understanding the whole picture.

But something being outside our current understanding does not mean nothing is happening.

My prediction is that disclosure continues, but the transition from private experiences and scattered sightings into widespread public recognition still has another stage to move through.

Plain terms: I believe disclosure is moving forward, but humanity is still standing partly outside the door. More people may begin seeing and experiencing things personally before there is broad collective acknowledgment.

Something Special

The Star During Eclipse Week

I find it interesting that The Star appeared as the theme during a week containing a total solar eclipse.

Symbolically, an eclipse temporarily removes familiar light.

The Star represents finding direction when ordinary landmarks are no longer enough.

That does not mean August 12 magically changes everyone’s life.

It does give us an interesting symbolic combination.

Something familiar becomes obscured.

Something quieter becomes easier to notice.

This week, pay attention to what becomes clearer when the usual noise disappears.

Sometimes direction does not arrive as an answer.

Sometimes it begins as the realization that you no longer believe the old answer.

Moon Moments

August 12

The eclipse is the Moon moment this week.

You do not need an elaborate ritual.

You do not need to manifest seventeen things before breakfast.

And despite the internet’s best efforts, you do not need to secure yourself to a large piece of furniture.

Use the day to observe.

Ask yourself:

What am I beginning to see differently?

Where have I been forcing something because I was afraid to trust another possibility?

What feels stable but no longer feels right?

What feels uncertain but keeps drawing me toward it?

What information am I accepting simply because it is repeated often?

The Full Moon in Gemini card asks for discernment.

The Full Moon in Taurus asks for grounded judgment.

The Goddess of the Moon asks you to listen inwardly.

The Star asks you to keep looking forward.

Birthday Note

Happy birthday to everyone celebrating this week, especially the Leos.

Having a birthday during eclipse week gives the year a strong symbolic emphasis on identity, direction, visibility, and deciding how you want to show up in your own life.

The Star suggests renewal.

Strength reversed asks you to stop measuring yourself by moments when you feel depleted.

The King of Pentacles reversed asks whether security has become more important than fulfillment.

Your year ahead may involve redefining what success and stability mean to you.

Closing Note

The Star does not promise a perfect week.

It offers direction after uncertainty.

Strength reversed admits that confidence sometimes disappears.

The King of Pentacles reversed reminds us that security alone cannot tell us whether something belongs in our lives.

And the Goddess of the Moon asks us to pay attention to what we know before we have all the evidence neatly organized.

August 12 may be noisy.

Let the eclipse happen.

Let the meteors fall.

Let the internet prepare for its seven seconds of imaginary airborne furniture.

Then come back to yourself.

Pay attention to what remains when the noise passes.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.

You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

Thank you!

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If you’re one of those people who’s constantly watching manifestation videos, reading about manifestation, or bouncing from one manifestation coach to another, this is for you.

One person tells you to close your eyes and visualize. Another tells you to script. Someone else says to do affirmations. Then you watch another creator explain Neville Goddard in a completely different way. Before long, you’re trying every technique you can find because you keep thinking, “Maybe this is the one that’s finally going to work.”

Then you say, “I’m not getting my manifestation.”

But here’s the thing. You are.

You’re manifesting whatever you’re feeling. If you feel like you can’t have what you want, or you don’t really believe it’s possible, then that’s exactly what you’re going to keep experiencing.

You have to remember something that’s really important. People say, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

I think they’ve got it backward.

Seeing isn’t believing. Believing is seeing.

Once you believe something, you begin to see it. The mechanisms of the universe are pretty much that everything exists right now. There isn’t anything that doesn’t exist. The challenge isn’t creating it. The challenge is being able to see it.

Another mistake people make with manifestation is that they tell themselves they believe, but deep down they really don’t. They ask for something, then they hang on to it so tightly that they spend every day looking for signs. Every day they’re wondering, “Is it coming yet? Is today the day?” If they don’t find a sign right away, they slip right back into disbelief.

Let’s say a psychic tells you you’re going to meet someone and that it’ll happen in about two months.

What do most people do?

For the next two months, they’re looking for signs every single day. They start questioning it. They start doubting it. Then, when the two months pass, they doubt it even more.

The funny thing is, they may have actually crossed paths with that person somewhere along the way. But because they were so busy looking for proof that it was coming, they never recognized that it was already happening, so they just kept walking.

Now, I’m not saying this to blame anybody. I’m saying it because we’ve been manifesting our entire lives.

Think about when you were a kid.

Everything you dreamed about growing up, chances are you’re living some version of it today. Maybe it doesn’t look exactly like you imagined, but you’re probably living some version of it.

And that’s another thing people miss. Manifestations don’t always resemble exactly what we picture in our minds. The human mind can’t always conceptualize what we’re really headed toward. Sometimes our imagination just isn’t big enough.

Someone might spend years saying, “God, I wish I had $100,000.”

Then fifteen years later, they’ve got two million dollars in the bank.

They never got that exact $100,000 they kept asking for, but they ended up with far more than they ever imagined. They were so focused on one number that they missed the bigger picture.

We’re manifesting all the time.

When you were a child and you wanted ice cream, what did you do?

You thought about it. You got excited about it. Then you took action. Maybe you started jumping up and down. Maybe you yelled, “I want ice cream!” Maybe you begged your parents.

Then, a little while later, there was your ice cream.

Most people don’t think of that as manifestation, but that’s exactly what it is. You had a desire. You felt it. You believed it was possible. Then you did something that moved you toward it, and it became part of your experience.

Now, manifestation can also be very magical.

Sometimes you can dream about something spectacular, and it seems to come completely out of nowhere. But even then, you don’t always recognize how it arrived.

Let’s say you keep saying, “I want to win the lottery. I want to win the lottery.”

The next day you go to the grocery store, and almost everything you normally buy is on sale for five cents.

You fill up your cart, take it home, and think, “Wow, that was really cool... but I still want to win the lottery.”

Maybe you already did.

That was like winning the lottery. The odds of every single thing you wanted being marked down like that were incredibly small. But because it didn’t show up in the exact form you expected, you dismissed it.

That’s why I think it’s important to be specific about what you want.

Feel into it.

Believe it.

Then let it happen.

We have to trust that it’s there because it is. For anything you’ve ever wanted, trust that it already exists because it does.

Now, there are times when something might not show up exactly the way you expected. Maybe it’s something you agreed to experience before you came here. But even then, things can change. We can change. Life isn’t set in stone.

Sometimes people finally get the very thing they’ve been asking for, and then they realize they didn’t really want it after all. That’s because they misunderstood what they were actually looking for.

Take money, for example.

People say they want to be rich.

But what does being rich actually feel like?

Maybe it feels like feeling supported.

Maybe it feels like knowing your bills are paid.

Maybe it feels like waking up every morning without worrying.

Maybe it feels like appreciating what you already have.

Those are all feelings.

The same thing happens with love.

People think they’re looking for a relationship.

But maybe what they’re really looking for is the feeling of being loved.

Maybe it’s the feeling of being accepted.

Maybe it’s the feeling of knowing someone sees them.

Maybe it’s that little tickly feeling inside that comes from feeling connected to another person.

The truth is, we have to begin cultivating those feelings within ourselves first. Once you genuinely begin feeling supported, loved, appreciated, peaceful, or abundant, the universe has no other choice but to line things up so you can begin seeing those experiences reflected outside of yourself.

We always think everything happens externally. We think every problem is outside of us.

But most of the time, it isn’t.

It’s internal.

It’s how we’re perceiving what’s happening.

You can take almost any situation and make it worse. You can take that very same situation and decide it’s going to be okay. Or you can learn something from it, grow because of it, and watch it eventually disappear.

The situation may be the same.

Your perception isn’t.

Probably one of the easiest ways not to get your manifestation is to spend your time trying every manifestation technique that’s out there.

One coach says this.

Another coach says that.

One person tells you to visualize.

Someone else tells you to script.

Then another person says that’s wrong and you should do something completely different.

You end up chasing techniques instead of building belief. The technique isn’t what creates the manifestation.

Your belief does.

The one that’s going to work best for you is the one you genuinely believe in. So if you find a method that resonates with you, stick with it. Don’t keep running around looking for the next manifestation coach, the next shortcut, or the next trick that promises to finally make everything happen.

Because if you go into every new technique thinking, “Let’s see if this works,” then you’re already starting from hope instead of belief.

Hope and belief aren’t the same thing.

Hope says, “Maybe.”

Belief says, “I know.”

Find the one that feels right to you.

Believe in it.

Use it.

Then let it go.

And remember this.

Your life, including your manifestations, was never really about reaching some final destination.

It was always about the journey.

By David Hanzel

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings. You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

A Note on Extras

Take what fits and leave what does not. This is a collective guide, not a rulebook. Follow your own judgment and intuition.

The Moonology cards are symbolic parts of the reading. They should not be confused with the Moon’s literal phase in the sky this week.

The State of the World section reflects my personal interpretation and prediction based on the cards I pulled. It is not a guarantee of future events.

This Week’s Vibe

August 3 through August 9, 2026

The Energy This Week

The Sun remains in Leo throughout the week, keeping attention on leadership, visibility, creativity, pride, and the way people use personal power.

Chiron turns retrograde in Taurus on August 3. In astrology, Chiron is associated with wounds that remain sensitive even after we think we have dealt with them. Its retrograde period may bring old issues involving security, money, self-worth, or stability back for review.

Venus enters Libra on August 6. This brings greater attention to relationships, fairness, cooperation, and the effort required to restore balance. Mercury enters Leo on August 9, making communication more direct, expressive, and noticeable. People may become more willing to speak, although they may also become more dramatic about it. (cafeastrology.com)

The Moon reaches its Third Quarter phase on August 5 and continues waning for the rest of the week. This is normally a period of evaluation, correction, release, and deciding what should not be carried into the next lunar cycle. (timeanddate.com)

Plain terms: this is not a week for pretending old problems have disappeared. Something may be improving, but unfinished work remains. Look honestly at what is draining you, what is beginning to recover, and what needs a different approach.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: Five of Pentacles reversed
Moonology: Void-of-Course Moon
Energy Oracle: Cornucopia

The Five of Pentacles reversed can show the beginning of recovery after hardship, isolation, financial pressure, or feeling unsupported. Help may become available, or you may finally become willing to accept help that was already there.

This is movement out of difficulty, but it does not mean every problem suddenly disappears. Recovery usually begins before life feels secure again.

The Void-of-Course Moon suggests that one particular situation may have reached the limit of what it can produce. More effort does not always create a better result. Sometimes it simply creates more exhaustion.

Cornucopia represents resources, opportunities, support, and the possibility of having enough. In this combination, abundance may come from recognizing what is available rather than continuing to chase something that is going nowhere.

Plain terms: conditions may begin improving, but not every path deserves more of your energy. Accept genuine support. Stop feeding the situation that keeps returning nothing.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: Seven of Wands reversed
Moonology: Full Moon in Virgo
Energy Oracle: Rest and Rejuvenation

The Seven of Wands reversed can show exhaustion, lowered defenses, feeling overwhelmed, or reaching the point where you no longer have the strength to fight every battle.

The Full Moon in Virgo draws attention toward work, routines, responsibilities, health, and details. In the challenge position, it can produce perfectionism or the belief that everything must be corrected immediately.

Rest and Rejuvenation is complicated in this position. Some people may ignore their need for rest until their bodies or emotions force them to stop. Others may use rest as a way to withdraw from something they are afraid to face.

Rest is necessary. Avoidance wearing comfortable pajamas is still avoidance.

Plain terms: you may be tired because you have been defending too much, correcting too much, or expecting too much from yourself. Rest where rest is needed, but do not use exhaustion as a reason to abandon something that still matters.

Gift or Support

Tarot: The World reversed
Moonology: Work Through Your Fears, New Moon in Scorpio
Energy Oracle: Adjacent Possibilities

The World reversed points to unfinished business, delayed closure, or a cycle that has not reached its proper ending.

In the support position, this card offers another chance to see what was missed. Something remaining incomplete may be inconvenient, but it also means the door has not closed completely.

The New Moon in Scorpio asks you to work through fear rather than allowing fear to quietly control your decisions. This may involve confronting an uncomfortable truth, admitting what you really want, or recognizing why you keep returning to the same pattern.

Adjacent Possibilities shows that the obvious path is not the only path. A delay or unfinished ending may force you to notice an option that was previously outside your field of vision.

Plain terms: something being unfinished is not necessarily a failure. It may be showing you where fear interfered or where another possibility exists. Look beside the original plan instead of staring only at the part that did not work.

Weekend Energy

Moonology: New Moon in Taurus

The New Moon in Taurus encourages a practical reset involving stability, money, the home, physical well-being, and the routines that help life feel manageable.

This is not the Moon’s literal phase this weekend. It is the message of the Moonology card.

The card asks you to begin with something solid and realistic. Avoid making ten promises to yourself and keeping none of them. Choose one practical improvement that you can maintain.

Plain terms: use the weekend to create greater stability. Organize one area, review one expense, prepare a few meals, or make one decision that helps you feel more secure.

State of the World

The following reflects my personal interpretation and prediction based on the cards I pulled.

Federal prosecutors recently moved to dismiss charges against former Olympian David Hearn, who had been accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Newly disclosed documents indicated that the widespread damage resulted from a rushed and flawed installation rather than deliberate vandalism. The president has continued disputing that conclusion. (reuters.com)

Will the Administration and Those Who Publicly Blamed This Man Eventually Be Held Accountable?

Tarot: Knight of Wands reversed

The Knight of Wands reversed represents reckless action, impulsive accusations, poor planning, and people moving forward before they understand the facts.

I read this card as showing that the original accusations were driven by the desire to control the story quickly. People spoke with confidence before the available evidence supported that confidence.

This card does not promise a clean or immediate legal reckoning. It does suggest that reckless behavior becomes harder to defend once the facts begin moving in another direction. The first consequence may be damaged credibility, public embarrassment, internal conflict, or an inability to keep the original story together.

Plain terms: I believe their behavior will continue being exposed as reckless. Whether everyone involved faces formal punishment is less certain. The accountability shown here looks disorderly and uneven rather than quick and complete.

If He Sues the Government, Will He Receive Some Form of Justice?

Tarot: The Hermit upright

The Hermit moves slowly, privately, and carefully. It represents research, evidence, independent judgment, and the willingness to continue searching after public attention has moved elsewhere.

If he pursues legal action, I do not read this as a loud or immediate victory. The process may require patience, careful documentation, and someone willing to examine exactly what happened without becoming distracted by the politics surrounding it.

The Hermit can also show justice taking the form of truth being placed permanently on the record. That may include clearing his name, uncovering additional information, or forcing a closer examination of how the accusations were handled.

Plain terms: I believe he may find a path toward justice, but it would probably be slow and evidence-driven. This card does not guarantee a lawsuit or a legal victory. It shows a careful search for truth rather than a dramatic courtroom moment.

How Close Are We to Those Responsible Being Exposed and Held Accountable?

Tarot: Eight of Pentacles upright

The Eight of Pentacles represents careful work, repetition, documentation, learning, and building something one piece at a time.

This is not a card of instant collapse. It suggests that accountability is being built through accumulated evidence, investigations, court records, reporting, testimony, and people continuing to do the work even when the process feels slow.

I believe the political structure is breaking down because more wrongdoing is being brought to the surface. The Eight of Pentacles tells me that the process is underway, but it has not reached completion. Each revelation becomes another piece of a much larger record.

Plain terms: I believe we are moving closer, but there is still work being done. Accountability arrives through facts being gathered and connected, not through one sudden event that fixes everything.

Will People Who Were Fooled but Are Now Waking Up Eventually Be Accepted?

Tarot: Ten of Wands upright**

The Ten of Wands represents burden, responsibility, consequences, and carrying the weight of what has happened.

I believe it is never too late for someone to recognize that they were fooled or that they supported something harmful. People should have room to change. At the same time, this card says that changing your mind does not erase the consequences of previous choices.

Some people may struggle to admit they were wrong because doing so requires them to carry embarrassment, grief, guilt, or responsibility. Others may refuse to welcome them because they are still dealing with the harm that was done.

The card does not show an easy reunion. It shows people learning how to accept change without pretending that nothing happened.

Plain terms: I believe many people will eventually be accepted, but they may have to carry responsibility for their previous choices. Acceptance does not require everyone else to forget the damage.

Are Beings From Other Worlds Becoming Visible to More People?

Tarot: Five of Wands upright

The Five of Wands represents conflict, competing agendas, disagreement, interference, and too many people trying to control the same situation.

I was not asking whether beings from other worlds are here. I believe they are already here. My question was whether they are becoming visible to more people and whether we are entering the part of disclosure where their presence is openly seen and acknowledged.

This card suggests conflict around visibility, timing, and control. Different groups may be arguing over what people are allowed to see, how much can be revealed, and who gets to shape the story.

The Five of Wands also shows noise. Genuine sightings or information may be mixed with arguments, distractions, competing explanations, and attempts to muddy the waters. That makes it harder for people to understand what they are seeing and what deserves serious attention.

My interpretation is that they are near and that visibility is increasing, but there is a reason they are holding back for a moment. Conflict and instability around disclosure may be affecting the timing and the way their presence becomes publicly recognized.

Plain terms: I believe they are already here. The question is not whether they exist or whether they are present. The question is when their presence becomes openly visible and undeniable to more people. The Five of Wands tells me that conflict and interference are slowing that process, but they are not stopping it.

Something Special

The Possibility Beside the Original Plan

Adjacent Possibilities does not always mean a better option appears out of nowhere.

Sometimes the other option was present all along, but you could not see it because you were focused on making one particular outcome happen.

The World reversed says the original situation is unfinished. The Void-of-Course Moon suggests that forcing it may not produce anything new. Together, these cards ask a difficult question:

Are you still working toward something because it matters, or because admitting that it has changed would feel like failure?

There is a difference between persistence and repeatedly walking into the same wall. The wall is rarely impressed.

This week, look beside the plan that is not working. The alternative may be smaller, slower, or less dramatic, but it may also be real.

Moon Moments

Review Before Beginning Again

The actual Moon reaches its Third Quarter phase on Wednesday, August 5, and then continues waning toward the August 12 New Moon.

This part of the lunar cycle is useful for evaluation and release. It is not necessary to solve everything before the next cycle begins. It is enough to recognize what should not be carried forward.

Consider these questions:

What is beginning to recover?

What am I continuing to defend even though I am exhausted?

What help have I refused because I thought I should handle everything alone?

What unfinished matter deserves another careful look?

What situation has stopped producing anything useful?

The weekend’s New Moon in Taurus card adds one practical instruction. Choose one action that creates greater stability. Keep it small enough that you will actually do it.

Birthday Note

Happy birthday to everyone celebrating this week, especially the Leos.

The year ahead may ask you to recognize where recovery has already begun, accept support without shame, and reconsider a goal that no longer needs to happen in its original form.

Closing Note

The Five of Pentacles reversed shows movement out of hardship, but recovery is not the same as instant abundance.

The Seven of Wands reversed shows the cost of defending too much for too long.

The World reversed reminds us that unfinished business can still contain useful information.

This week, do not force a situation simply because you have already invested in it. Accept the support that is real. Rest without disappearing. Look at the options beside the original plan, and continue the work that still has a purpose.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.

You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

Thank you so much for reading!

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Wake up!

There is an awakening happening.

Not the kind where everyone suddenly agrees on everything, becomes enlightened overnight, or starts talking about spirituality. I’m talking about something much bigger than that.

People are beginning to wake up.

They’re waking up to the fact that we’ve been taught to see the world a certain way. They’re waking up to the realization that they aren’t powerless victims being pushed through life. They’re beginning to realize they have far more choice, far more influence, and far more power than they’ve been led to believe.

Technology, the internet, AI, and the ability to see what’s happening all over the world have started to change us. In this new timeline, we can watch people living their everyday lives on the other side of the planet. We see parents raising kids. We see people laughing, working, struggling, and trying to build a life, just like we are.

For most of history, we only knew what we were told about the rest of the world. Now we can see it for ourselves. We can watch ordinary people living ordinary lives, and more of us are realizing that people everywhere want many of the same things we do.

Growing up, many of us were told that people in other countries were starving, suffering, or living without freedom, while America was the place where everyone was free. We were sold an idea about the world before we had any way to see it for ourselves. Now we do. In 2021, the United Nations General Assembly voted on a resolution recognizing the right to food. It passed 186–2, with the politicians representing the United States and Israel casting the only votes against it. Most people probably never heard about that. That doesn’t mean America is terrible. America isn’t the problem. We don’t need a new America. We need new management. It means the story we were sold about the world wasn’t always true.

Because of that, more and more of us are realizing something.

The problem isn’t the everyday people.

It’s the political systems that keep people divided. It’s these systems that benefit from fear, division, and keeping us focused on fighting one another.

Some people have gotten to the point where politics is a sport. And politicians on either side have become the players on some fucked up political sports team. It doesn’t matter what their side does. As long as their team wins, everything else gets excused: morals, decency, and their lack of humanity.

That isn’t awakening.

That’s some kind of sick attachment.

I also see another group of people.

When they hear the latest outrage or see another terrible story, they don’t ignore it. They don’t pretend it doesn’t exist. They simply don’t let it pull them into becoming angry all day, every day.

I’m one of those people. You might be too. Or maybe not yet.

That doesn’t mean we don’t care. It doesn’t mean we’re sweeping things under the rug or pretending suffering doesn’t exist. We know it exists. But we also know there’s another way to live. Another way to perceive things. A different way to be of help.

This world is a subjective simulation. We all experience it through the consciousness we bring into it. We don’t have to react to everything we’re told to react to. We don’t have to hand over our peace every time someone wants our attention.

People will say, “I don’t have a choice. I go to work. I go to the grocery store. I open my phone. The news is everywhere. You can’t escape it.”

I understand that.

You see it everywhere.

But there’s also a difference between being informed and being rage-baited. Somewhere along the way, much of the news stopped simply reporting what happened and started telling us how angry or afraid we should be about it. And it’s happening on both sides. Everybody is a newscaster now, and so much of it is sensationalized bullshit designed to keep you watching, clicking, and coming back for more.

You think you watched the news and became angry because of what happened. But sometimes you became angry because the person giving you the news gave it to you angry. They transferred all that shit to you instead of simply saying, “Here’s what happened. Make of it what you want.”

That’s something more people need to start recognizing.

Although seeing or hearing something and becoming consumed by it aren’t the same thing. Suffering isn’t asking you to suffer too. It’s asking you to see it. To acknowledge it. And if you can, to do something that helps.

One of the biggest parts of this awakening is realizing that nobody gives us our emotions.

Nobody makes us angry or sad, or afraid.

Those emotions happen inside us, and we always have a choice in how we respond.

The moment you realize that, something begins to change. You start noticing fewer things that constantly make you angry. You start noticing fewer things that leave you hopeless.

You might be asking, “Does that mean those things aren’t happening anymore?”

No. Maybe they still are.

But they aren’t becoming the center of your world anymore. That doesn’t mean you stop caring. It means you stop feeding them with your attention.

This is where many people misunderstand what I’m saying.

I’m not saying, “Don’t do anything.”

I am saying, stop pouring all your energy into hating the people that are causing these bad things.

Take that same energy and help the people the bad things are happening to.

Help someone, comfort them, stand beside them, protect them, or lift them up. When you do that, your energy isn’t feeding conflict anymore. It’s feeding healing.

That’s what the awakening looks like.

As more people begin doing that, the old way of operating starts losing its power. It has less fear to feed on. Less hatred to spread. Less division to grow.

Eventually, there isn’t much of a world left for those energies to operate in.

We forget how much power ordinary people have when they act together. Consumer spending makes up more than two-thirds of the United States economy. If everyone stopped buying unnecessary things for even one week, corporations would feel it immediately. I’m not telling people to do that. I’m saying there are a billion things people could do if they realized how much power they actually have. The power has always been with the people. Most of us just haven’t realized it.

That’s why helping people is more powerful than hating the people hurting them.

If every one of us spent less time obsessing over the darkness and more time becoming a light for someone else, the darkness would have far less room to exist.

There comes a point where you become unfuckwithable.

That doesn’t mean difficult things never happen. It means they no longer own you. They no longer decide how you feel, how you act, or who you become.

People can say whatever they want. The news can say whatever it wants. Politicians can say whatever they want. It doesn’t automatically become your reality unless you hand it to them. That’s what taking your power back looks like.

They can exist as contrast.

Nothing more.

And that’s only a part of what this awakening is about.

The other parts are remembering who you really are. It’s remembering that you’re more than your fears, more than your opinions, more than your politics, and more than the life you’ve been told you have to live. It’s learning to choose love over hate, understanding over division, and compassion over anger. It’s being willing to look beyond what’s right in front of your face and realizing there’s so much more to this life than what we can see with our physical eyes. It’s remembering that we’re far more powerful than we’ve been taught to believe.

And maybe, more than anything else, it’s remembering that the world doesn’t change because we hate the darkness. The world changes because enough people choose to become the light.

If you want to make a change, stop waiting for the world to change first. You have the power; all you need to do is take it back.

Wake up to the world that you want to see.

That’s where it begins.

David Hanzel

To learn more about me: They Whisper To Me

A Note on Extras

Take what fits and leave what does not. This is a collective guide, not a rulebook. Follow your own judgment and intuition.

The State of the World section reflects my personal interpretation and prediction based on the cards I pulled. It is not a guarantee of future events.

This Week’s Vibe

July 27 through August 2, 2026

The Energy This Week

Leo season is now in full swing. After weeks of reviewing the past during Mercury retrograde, the energy begins moving forward again, even if everything is not fully settled yet. Saturn has recently turned retrograde, asking us to slow down and reconsider responsibilities, while the North Node has just entered Aquarius, shifting collective attention toward the future, community, and long-term change. Midweek also brings a Full Moon in Aquarius, shining a light on the balance between personal goals and the needs of the larger group.

This is a week where steady progress matters more than dramatic action. Some things become clearer. Other situations may reveal that they still need patience before they can move forward.

Plain terms: keep your feet on the ground. Not every breakthrough arrives with fireworks. Sometimes real progress looks like quietly continuing the work while everyone else is looking for instant results.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: Knight of Pentacles
Moonology: Full Moon Eclipse
Energy Oracle: Man Holding a Heart

The Knight of Pentacles is one of the slowest moving cards in the Tarot, but it is also one of the most dependable. It reminds us that lasting progress usually comes through consistency rather than speed.

The Full Moon Eclipse brings heightened awareness. Eclipses often reveal something that has been hidden or overlooked. They can bring turning points, but they also remind us that not every answer appears all at once.

Man Holding a Heart speaks about sincerity, compassion, emotional honesty, and leading with an open heart instead of fear.

Together these cards suggest that steady effort and emotional maturity will carry you farther than rushing toward quick answers. This is not a week to force life to move faster than it is ready to move.

Plain terms: stay consistent. Be honest with yourself and with others. Slow progress is still progress.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: The Sun reversed
Moonology: Full Moon in Aquarius
Energy Oracle: Door to Personal Healing and Happiness

The Sun reversed can point to discouragement, unrealistic expectations, temporary disappointment, or simply not seeing the full picture yet. It does not remove the light. It suggests the light is partially blocked.

The Full Moon in Aquarius asks us to see situations from a wider perspective instead of reacting only from personal feelings.

The Door to Personal Healing and Happiness is an interesting card in the challenge position. Sometimes the very thing we want most requires walking through a doorway we have been avoiding. Healing often asks us to leave something familiar behind.

Plain terms: do not let temporary disappointment convince you that nothing is changing. Sometimes the hardest step is accepting that healing requires change.

Gift or Support

Tarot: The Magician upright
Moonology: Fixed Moon
Energy Oracle: Rest and Rejuvenation

The Magician reminds us that we already possess more tools than we sometimes realize. Knowledge, experience, communication, creativity, and determination all become resources we can draw upon.

The Fixed Moon encourages commitment. Rather than changing direction every few days, it asks us to remain steady enough for our efforts to produce results.

Rest and Rejuvenation reminds us that strength is renewed through periods of quiet. Constant activity is not the same as meaningful progress.

These cards work well together. They suggest that confidence grows when preparation meets patience.

Plain terms: trust your abilities, stay committed, and remember that rest is part of the work, not a distraction from it.

Weekend Energy

Moonology: New Moon in Virgo

The New Moon in Virgo encourages practical beginnings. It favors organization, planning, healthy routines, learning, and improving the small details that eventually create larger success.

This is good energy for cleaning up unfinished tasks, organizing your schedule, or beginning a habit that supports your long-term goals.

Plain terms: use the weekend to reset. Small improvements made now can make life feel much lighter later.

State of the World

The following reflects my personal interpretation and prediction based on the cards I pulled.

Why Are Many Democrats Going Along With What the Current Republican Administration Is Doing?

Tarot: The Hermit upright

The Hermit often withdraws before acting. I read this as a period of observation rather than direct confrontation. Whether that strategy proves wise or not remains to be seen.

My interpretation is that some leaders may believe waiting, gathering information, or allowing events to unfold naturally serves a larger purpose. Others may simply be hesitant to move before they feel conditions are right.

Plain terms: I believe some are watching and waiting instead of acting immediately, even though many people wish they would respond more directly.

Will More Bad Faith Performers From Both Parties Continue to Be Exposed?

Tarot: Three of Swords upright

The Three of Swords is not a comfortable card. It often reveals painful truths, disappointments, betrayals, or the collapse of illusions.

My prediction is that exposure continues, and it does not stop with one political party. If this card is describing the larger picture, uncomfortable truths may continue surfacing regardless of political affiliation.

Plain terms: I believe more people will be exposed, even if the truth is difficult to accept.

What Does the Card Say About the President’s Health?

Tarot: Nine of Swords upright

The Nine of Swords is strongly connected with worry, anxiety, stress, sleeplessness, and mental burdens.

I do not read this card as a medical diagnosis. Instead, I see it reflecting concern, pressure, or a situation that creates significant anxiety around the subject.

Plain terms: this card suggests stress and worry. Beyond that, I do not believe it is specific enough to draw medical conclusions.

Will the Truth About the Speculation Surrounding Mitch McConnell and Other Alleged Cover-ups Come Out Soon?

Tarot: The Tower upright

The Tower is one of the clearest cards for sudden revelation, collapse of false structures, and information that can no longer remain hidden.

My interpretation is that significant truths have a way of surfacing when The Tower appears. Whether that happens quickly or over time is harder to determine, but the card itself points toward revelation rather than continued concealment.

Plain terms: I believe more information will eventually come into the open, and some long-held assumptions may change very quickly when it does.

Something Special

Why the Knight of Pentacles Matters

The Knight of Pentacles rarely gets the spotlight.

He is not the fastest knight, the loudest voice, or the most dramatic personality. Yet he is often the one still standing after everyone else has burned themselves out chasing shortcuts.

This card reminds us that consistency has a quiet kind of power. Most meaningful accomplishments are built one ordinary day at a time.

There is nothing glamorous about showing up, doing the work, learning a little more, and repeating the process.

Yet that is exactly how many lasting achievements are made.

Moon Moments

Finish What Matters

The Full Moon in Aquarius encourages perspective. The New Moon in Virgo at the weekend reminds us that insight becomes valuable when we put it into practice.

This week, ask yourself:

What deserves another chance?

What have I been avoiding because it seems too ordinary?

What one practical change would improve my life over the next month?

Sometimes the next chapter begins with one small decision repeated consistently.

Birthday Note

Happy birthday to everyone celebrating this week, especially the Leos.

Leo season encourages confidence, creativity, generosity, and authentic self-expression. The year ahead may invite you to trust your abilities while remembering that steady progress often outlasts dramatic beginnings.

Closing Note

The Knight of Pentacles reminds us that slow does not mean stuck.

The Sun reversed asks us not to lose hope when progress feels difficult to see.

The Magician reminds us that we already possess more ability than we sometimes give ourselves credit for.

This week is not about rushing toward the finish line. It is about building something carefully enough that it lasts.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.

You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

Before you go, make sure you check out my YouTube channel through the Linktree I posted. You can also check my website periodically for new writings, and I’ll be adding some free meditations there soon as well.

Thank you for reading.

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Am I still doing this because I love it, or because I don’t want to admit it may no longer be the right fit?

I’ve always told people to pay attention when something in their life no longer serves them. Whether it’s a habit, a relationship, a job, or even a goal, sometimes the hardest thing isn’t starting something new. It’s recognizing when it’s time to let something go.

Over the past year, I’ve really tried to make Substack work. I enjoyed writing my newsletters. I enjoyed sharing my thoughts, my meditations, and the things I was learning along the way. It gave me a reason to sit down every week and create, even on the weeks when the words didn’t come easily.

Along the way, I found myself wondering if I simply wasn’t doing enough. I’d see accounts that seemed to grow overnight while some of my articles barely reached anyone. I have articles I’m incredibly proud of that, as far as I can tell, were never even seen. For a while, I wondered if I was doing something wrong.

I also tried just about everything I could think of. I talked with the Substack help center. I read the suggestions. I tried posting Notes more often because I was told that would help. I experimented with different ways of sharing my work. I gave it my best effort.

Part of trying to understand a platform is trying to understand what seems to connect with people. I’d occasionally see Notes that received hundreds or even thousands of likes. Out of curiosity, I’d visit those accounts, hoping to learn something I could apply to my own writing.

Many of those Notes seemed designed to pull on people’s heartstrings. They would say things like, “Substack, please connect me with people who are like me,” or announce that the person was ready to give up. Those Notes appeared to get pushed out to thousands of people, and I kept seeing different versions of the same thing.

Sometimes I’d visit those accounts and discover there weren’t many articles at all, just a steady stream of Notes like that. I didn’t really understand what the platform was rewarding anymore. I could have tried copying that approach, but it would have felt disingenuous. There were already so many people doing it, and it simply wasn’t the way I wanted to create.

I also have to be honest about my own part in all of this.

Like many of you, my inbox was filled every morning with dozens of Substack emails from writers I subscribed to. There was no way I could realistically read fifty or sixty articles every day, no matter how much I wanted to support everyone. Eventually, it became clear that if I was feeling overwhelmed by the amount of content, other people were probably feeling the same way.

That wasn’t anyone’s fault. It’s just the reality of a platform with thousands of people creating wonderful work and all of us hoping our writing reaches the right readers.

That realization actually took a lot of pressure off me.

I stopped trying to figure out how to fit into a system that didn’t feel natural to me. Instead, I asked myself a different question.

Where would my work have the best chance of finding the people it was written for?

After a lot of thought, I came to understand that it wasn’t about whether Substack is a good platform. It is. It just isn’t the right platform for me.

As I spent more time here, something else became clear.

It wasn’t that Substack was failing me. It wasn’t that I wasn’t trying hard enough. It was that my work simply may not belong here.

There is a lot of political writing, current events, opinion pieces, and the kinds of conversations that naturally thrive on this platform. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s just not what I create.

I don’t write to chase headlines. I don’t do rage bait. I don’t write clickbait titles hoping people will argue in the comments. My work has always been about spiritual growth, intuition, meditation, near-death experiences, and helping people navigate their own lives. That’s a very different kind of conversation.

If someone whose entire career was built around political commentary suddenly started posting inside a community devoted to meditation and spiritual practice, people would probably wonder why they were there. It wouldn’t necessarily mean their work wasn’t good. It would simply mean it wasn’t the right audience.

That’s how this has begun to feel for me.

Those feelings are mine. Nobody gave them to me. I’m not blaming Substack, and I’m certainly not criticizing the people who love being here. This is simply me recognizing that I don’t need to force myself to belong somewhere that doesn’t feel like the right fit. Sometimes it’s perfectly okay to acknowledge that and move in a different direction.

So, after everyone’s August subscriptions have come to an end, I’ll be closing my Substack account on Nov.17th

This isn’t a decision made out of frustration or bitterness. It’s simply the next step. One of the things this past year taught me is that I don’t need a platform to make me write. I don’t need the pressure of a weekly commitment to stay creative. I write because I love writing. That lesson alone made the experience worthwhile.

Lately, though, I’ve noticed that more and more of my energy has been going toward trying to make something work instead of creating the things I actually want to create. My website gives me more freedom. Instead of dividing my attention between several places, I’d rather put that energy into building one home where everything I create can live together.

Looking back over my life, I’ve noticed this has happened more than once. Whenever I held on to something long after it had stopped working, I assumed I just needed to try harder. Sometimes that was true. Other times, life was quietly pointing me in a different direction.

I’ve learned there’s a difference between giving up and moving on.

Giving up is walking away because you believe you can’t do it. Moving on is recognizing that your time and energy may be better spent somewhere else.

I don’t think every closed door means you’re supposed to quit. Sometimes you need to keep going. Sometimes persistence is exactly what’s needed. But there are other times when you’ve genuinely done everything you know to do. You’ve given it your time. You’ve given it your energy. You’ve shown up consistently. And still, it just never quite clicks.

That doesn’t automatically mean you’ve failed.

Sometimes it simply means there’s another path you haven’t been able to see because you’ve been so focused on making the current one work.

I’ve seen that happen enough times in my own life that I’ve learned not to fear it anymore. When something no longer works, I don’t automatically see it as a sign to quit. I see it as a reason to pause and ask whether life is trying to point me somewhere else.

If there’s one thing I hope you take from this, it’s this. When something no longer feels right, don’t automatically assume you’ve failed. Sometimes the lesson has already been learned. Sometimes you’ve simply outgrown where you are. Sometimes life has something different waiting for you, but you won’t notice it until you’re willing to loosen your grip on what isn’t working anymore.

So while this is goodbye to Substack, it isn’t goodbye to writing. If anything, it’s the opposite.

Beginning in Oct, everything I create will have one permanent home on my website. My articles, meditations, and future writing will all be there, completely free. There won’t be a subscription, and you won’t have to wonder where something went because it has been buried under months of newer posts. If you want to revisit something I wrote, whether it’s next week or years from now, you’ll know exactly where to find it.

To everyone who has read my work here, left a comment, sent me a kind message, or simply spent a few minutes reading something I wrote, thank you. I truly appreciate your support over the past year.

I hope you’ll continue the journey with me. I’ll see you on my website.

David Hanzel

Please check out my Link They Whisper To Me

UPDATE:

Since writing this, I have run into serious problems while trying to close the paid side of my Substack. I am giving Substack management the opportunity to resolve the situation before I say more about it.

A Note on Extras

Take what fits and leave what does not. This is a collective guide, not a rulebook. Follow your own judgment and intuition.

The State of the World section reflects my personal interpretation and prediction based on the cards I pulled. It is not a guarantee of future events.

This Week’s Vibe

July 20 through July 26, 2026

The Energy This Week

The week begins during the strongest part of the unusual outer planet pattern that has been building throughout July. On July 20, Jupiter forms a supportive connection with Neptune while opposing Pluto. On July 21, Jupiter forms another supportive connection with Uranus. This combination can expand ideas and possibilities, but the opposition between Jupiter and Pluto can also magnify ambition, power struggles, and attempts to force an outcome.

The First Quarter Moon arrives on July 21. This part of the lunar cycle brings pressure to act on whatever began around the July 14 New Moon. The Sun enters Leo on July 22, shifting attention toward confidence, visibility, leadership, creativity, and personal expression. Mercury turns direct in Cancer on July 23, but it will remain in its post-retrograde shadow until August 6. Conversations may begin moving again, but the confusion does not disappear overnight.

Plain terms: this is a week of movement, but movement is not the same as completion. Something that felt emotionally stuck may begin opening, while unfinished business still demands attention. Let the week show you what is changing before deciding that everything has been settled.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: Four of Cups reversed
Moonology: Waxing Moon
Energy Oracle: Yin/Yang

The Four of Cups reversed often appears when a period of emotional withdrawal, boredom, or disconnection is beginning to break. Something may finally get your attention again. You may become more willing to participate, respond, or look at an opportunity that you previously ignored.

That does not necessarily mean the opportunity is perfect. Sometimes this card appears because sitting still has become more uncomfortable than moving.

The Waxing Moon shows energy building. Something is developing, but it has not reached its full form. Yin/Yang adds the need for balance between action and receptivity. Some parts of the situation require effort. Other parts need space to unfold without being pushed.

Plain terms: come out of hiding, but do not run toward the first thing that moves. Pay attention to what is returning to life. Act where action is needed, and leave room for the rest to develop.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: The World reversed
Moonology: New Moon in Taurus
Energy Oracle: Third Chakra, Archangel Chamuel

The World reversed points to unfinished business, delayed completion, or the feeling of being almost finished but unable to close the final distance. You may know that one chapter is ending, yet still find yourself dealing with loose ends from it.

The New Moon in Taurus wants a stable beginning. It favors patience, practical decisions, and foundations that can last. The difficulty is that a secure new beginning cannot be built by pretending the old situation is already complete.

The Third Chakra connects with confidence, willpower, identity, and the ability to direct your own life. In the challenge position, that power may become uneven. You might doubt yourself and avoid acting, or try to control everything because uncertainty feels unbearable.

Plain terms: do not declare something finished simply because you are tired of dealing with it. Handle what remains. Stability comes from completing the work, not from announcing that the work no longer exists.

Gift or Support

Tarot: Eight of Pentacles upright
Moonology: Balsamic Moon
Energy Oracle: Goddess of the Moon

The Eight of Pentacles is the card of practice, attention, repetition, and improving through experience. It does not offer a dramatic rescue. Its support comes through doing the work carefully and consistently.

The Balsamic Moon represents the final stage of a lunar cycle. It supports release, rest, reflection, and allowing something to reach its natural conclusion. This does not contradict the Eight of Pentacles. Together, they suggest knowing what deserves continued effort and what has already taught you everything it can.

The Goddess of the Moon adds intuition and sensitivity. It asks you to notice what you already sense beneath the surface. Intuition does not replace practical work here. It helps you decide where that work belongs.

Plain terms: the gift is your ability to focus. Work on what can still be improved. Release what is already finished. Trust the quiet feeling that tells you the difference.

Weekend Energy

Moonology: Gibbous Moon

The Gibbous Moon is a period of adjustment and refinement. The goal may be visible, but the process is not complete. This is the point where small corrections matter.

The weekend may bring impatience because something feels close. Avoid rushing the final steps or assuming that close enough means done. Look at what needs editing, organizing, correcting, or strengthening.

Plain terms: you are not back at the beginning, but you are not at the finish line either. Use the weekend to improve what is already taking shape.

State of the World

The president recently gave a primetime address centered on election security and repeated claims about past elections that were not supported by evidence that votes had been altered. I asked the cards why he may have made that announcement and what the outcome would be.

Why Did the President Make That Announcement?

Tarot: The Empress upright

The Empress grows and nurtures whatever is placed in her care. In this position, I read the card as an attempt to feed a political narrative until it becomes familiar, emotional, and difficult for supporters to release.

The message was presented as protection. It encouraged people to believe that they and their votes were in danger, while positioning the person delivering the message as the one capable of protecting them.

The Empress also understands that ideas grow when they are repeatedly given attention. My interpretation is that the announcement was intended to cultivate fear and loyalty at the same time.

Plain terms: I believe he was trying to make this story grow. The goal was not simply to discuss election rules. It was to create emotional dependence on the idea that only he can protect the election.

What Is the Outcome of Trying to Spread Those Claims?

Tarot: Seven of Wands reversed

The Seven of Wands reversed shows someone struggling to defend a position while pressure increases from several directions. It can represent exhaustion, loss of support, being overwhelmed by opposition, or no longer having the strength to keep every challenge away.

My prediction is that this strategy does not strengthen his position in the long run. It leaves him defending more claims, answering more criticism, and trying to hold ground that is becoming harder to maintain.

Plain terms: the story becomes harder to defend. Instead of protecting his position, it may leave him more exposed.

How Is the Ending I Have Predicted Progressing?

Tarot: Seven of Wands reversed

The same card appeared again. I do not ignore a repeated card, especially when it appears around two closely connected questions.

I have said that the people currently in charge appear to be caught in a domino effect. Problems are accumulating, actions are being exposed, and their ability to defend everything at once is weakening.

I believe this period is coming to an end soon. The repeated Seven of Wands reversed supports my prediction that the defenses are failing. The people involved may still fight to hold their positions, but they are becoming overwhelmed by the number of problems they are being asked to answer for.

Plain terms: my prediction has not changed. I believe the structure is weakening because those defending it can no longer keep every challenge under control.

Is UFO Disclosure on Time and Happening as It Is Supposed to Happen?

Tarot: Four of Swords reversed

The Four of Swords reversed is the end of a period of rest, silence, delay, or inactivity. Something that has been lying still begins moving again, although the movement may be restless and poorly organized.

I read this as disclosure continuing, but not through one clean announcement that answers everything. Information may come out in fragments. There may be periods of activity followed by confusion, conflicting explanations, or attempts to regain control of the conversation.

The card suggests that the subject is no longer able to remain completely quiet. The silence is being disturbed.

Plain terms: I believe the process is moving, but not neatly. Disclosure may be happening through repeated releases, arguments, leaks, and growing pressure rather than one dramatic moment.

Who Should Be Blamed for the War That Has Started Between Iran and Israel?

Tarot: Six of Wands reversed

The Six of Wands reversed points toward wounded pride, failed leadership, humiliation, and the need to appear victorious. It can describe leaders who become more concerned with public image than with the consequences of their decisions.

This card does not give me one name. It points to a type of leadership and a motive. My reading places blame on those who chose pride, reputation, and the need to look powerful over restraint and human life.

It also warns about turning war into political theater. When leaders treat conflict as a way to prove strength or recover status, ordinary people pay the price.

Plain terms: I place the blame on leaders who were more afraid of appearing weak than they were of creating greater destruction.

Something Special

The Balsamic Moon Is Not About Giving Up

The Balsamic Moon is the final phase before the Moon becomes new again. It is a period when the visible light is fading, but the lunar cycle is not broken. It is completing itself.

That makes it an appropriate companion to the Eight of Pentacles. There are times when dedication means continuing to work. There are also times when wisdom means recognizing that a lesson, habit, project, or relationship has reached the end of its useful life.

This week, consider one thing you have continued feeding simply because you have already invested time in it. Past effort does not automatically create a future obligation. That is how people end up polishing a dead toaster for seventeen years.

Release is sometimes part of the work.

Moon Moments

Build, Check, and Adjust

The First Quarter Moon arrives on Tuesday, July 21. This phase often brings a test, obstacle, decision, or moment when intention must become action.

Choose one practical step connected to something you began or reconsidered near the July 14 New Moon. Keep it manageable. Send the message. Correct the document. Make the appointment. Finish one section.

As the Moon continues waxing toward the July 29 Full Moon, pay attention to what becomes more visible. The waxing Moon builds momentum, but it also reveals weaknesses in the plan.

Use the weekend’s Gibbous Moon energy to review:

What is working?

What needs correction?

What is almost ready but not finished?

What are you pretending is complete because you are tired?

Birthday Note

Happy birthday to the late Cancers and the early Leos.

Cancer season closes with questions about home, safety, belonging, and emotional history. Leo season begins on July 22 and brings greater attention to visibility, confidence, creativity, and how we use personal power.

For anyone celebrating this week, the year ahead may involve leaving emotional withdrawal behind while learning when to act, when to wait, and when to finish what has been left incomplete.

Closing Note

This week does not promise instant closure.

The Four of Cups reversed shows movement after emotional stagnation. The World reversed shows that unfinished business remains. The Eight of Pentacles says the way through is steady work, careful attention, and the willingness to improve what is still worth your effort.

Do not force yourself to be enthusiastic. Do not pretend something is finished when it is not. Notice what is waking up, handle what remains, and let your energy return at its own honest pace.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

Thank you so much for being here and for your support.

Please don’t start a new paid subscription right now. I’ll only be on Substack until November 17, and I don’t want anyone paying for something that will be ending soon.

I’ll still be posting my Sunday articles, weekly tarot reading, and other content here through November 17. After that, everything will continue for free on my website.

You’ll find links throughout this article to my website, where you can follow my work at no cost.

Thank you again for reading and for being part of this journey with me. I truly appreciate it.

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Canceling will stop any future renewal. You will still have access through the end of the period you have already paid for.

I am preparing to leave Substack. Unfortunately, Substack does not give publishers a simple way to stop every renewal while allowing subscribers to finish the time they already paid for. Their system has made leaving unnecessarily confusing, time-consuming, and potentially costly. This is also not the first problem I have had with the platform, and it is one of the reasons I am leaving.

This message only applies to people who currently have a paid subscription.

My articles, free meditations, and other work will soon be available through my website. I will share more information about that shortly.

Thank you for supporting my work.

Over the last couple of days, I noticed something about myself. It wasn’t a new lesson. I know these things, and I’ve taught them for years. I know I practice what I tell other people, too. I just happened to observe myself doing it over the course of two days when very little went the way I had planned.

I often tell people that they don’t have to let every inconvenience, delay, change of plans, or frustrating person disturb their peace. I’m talking about learning what deserves your emotional energy and what doesn’t. Not everything that happens deserves to stay with you for the rest of the day.

I pay close attention to my own thoughts. That is metacognition, being aware of what is happening inside your own mind while it is happening. If something irritates me, I can usually step back and ask myself why it is bothering me. Is this really important? Is being angry going to help anything? Is there an actual problem, or is life simply not following the schedule I created in my own head?

That doesn’t mean I never get frustrated. I do. It means I notice the frustration and decide whether it deserves any more of my time. Over the last couple of days, I kept catching myself doing exactly that.

Yesterday, I wanted to record a new video for my YouTube channel. I had found a topic I liked, and I wanted to go down to the mountains near my house, walk into the woods, and record it there. It was a nice morning, I liked the concept, and I thought the mountain would be the perfect place for it.

By the time I got to the first place I wanted to use, it was already around ninety degrees. There wasn’t enough shade, and it was simply too hot to stand there and record. So I thought, that’s fine. I’ll go to another part of the mountain where most of the trails are covered by trees.

When I got to one of my other favorite spots, there was a busload of teenagers and young adults there. There must have been forty or fifty of them. I don’t know whether they were with a church, a camp, or some other group, but they had taken over one of the picnic areas. They were singing, chanting, and making a tremendous amount of noise.

My first thought was, “Oh my gosh. You’re in a public park in the mountains. There are other people here trying to hike, think, and enjoy the quiet.”

I was irritated at first, but then I caught myself. They were there before I was. They had every right to use the park, just as I did. They weren’t doing something to me personally. They were enjoying their day, even if they were enjoying it much more loudly than I would’ve preferred.

So I let it go and walked to another part of the park.

About ten or fifteen minutes after I had walked farther into the trails, I started hearing all the noise again. The group had spread out and was now coming through other parts of the park. I was trying to find a quiet place to record, and they were still being loud.

I remember thinking that they could clearly see a man standing there with a camera, trying to record something, but none of them seemed to consider that they might be interrupting him. For a moment, I wasn’t even mad at them. I was mad at whoever had raised them without teaching them to notice other people. I thought, can’t somebody look around and say, “That guy might be recording something important, so maybe we should lower our voices for a minute”?

But again, I knew that being angry about it wasn’t going to help me. They weren’t going to disappear because I thought they were being inconsiderate. I could stand there getting more irritated, or I could move.

So I moved again.

I finally found another place, set everything up, and was ready to start recording when the park rangers came driving through the trail on their little four-wheeler. They were checking the trails and doing their job, but once again, I had to stop.

At that point, I gave up and went home.

When I got home, I thought, “Jesus, are you kidding me?” Almost every possible thing that could interrupt the video had happened. It was too hot in one place, too loud in another, the group followed the trails into the next area, and then the park rangers came through just as I was ready to record.

I sat down, poured myself a glass of Kool-Aid, and thought, you know what, it’s cooler in here anyway.

I went into my office and recorded the video there. It wasn’t what I had planned, but I still made the video. In fact, I was able to use part of what had happened at the park because the video was about signs, synchronicities, and spiritual awakening.

One of the things I was talking about was that being a spiritual person doesn’t mean you never get angry. You can get irritated. You can think someone is rude. You can have a reaction. The difference is that you don’t have to stay angry for the rest of the day. You can notice what you’re doing, let the feeling go, and move on.

The rest of that night didn’t go particularly well either. I had problems with the video and the technology, but that is a whole other story. Eventually, I just stopped fighting with it. I woke up this morning and thought, it doesn’t matter. I’ll take care of it when I can.

Today, I had to leave early to take my father to the hospital. I knew it was probably going to consume most of my day. I also knew I had things I wanted to do when I got home, but I didn’t mind being there because I was helping my father.

I had a surprising amount of patience with everything today. I’m normally a fairly patient person, but today I noticed that I really wasn’t bothered by how long anything took.

Afterward, my mother needed to go to a few places. I told her that was fine. It was still early, and I thought we could probably be done by one o’clock. I could get home and start doing the things I had planned.

Of course, it didn’t work out that way.

My mother had a gift card I had given her for Christmas. More than six months had passed, and she still hadn’t had a chance to use it. Since we were already out, I asked if she would like to go shopping. I told her I could sit in the car and do some work while she went inside.

She was very happy about that, and I was happy that she was happy.

Then she stayed in the store much longer than I expected.

Normally, I might’ve started thinking, “Mom, I really need to get home.” I would’ve watched the clock and thought about everything I hadn’t done yet. I might not have said anything to her, but I would’ve felt that pressure building inside me.

Today, I stopped and asked myself why.

Why did I have to get home at the time I had decided?

What was really going to happen if I got home later?

Was I going to be penalized? Was somebody waiting for me to clock in? Was there an emergency at home?

No.

I work for myself. I could begin when I was ready. The things I wanted to do could still be done later, and if they couldn’t, I could do them tomorrow.

The deadline existed only in my head.

As soon as I remembered that, it felt like a weight came off my shoulders. My mother could take her time and enjoy using the Christmas gift I had given her. There was no good reason to hurry her through it just because I had privately decided that we should be finished by one o’clock.

We put a lot of fake demands into our own heads. We say, “I have to get this done today,” or “I should already be home,” or “I’m running behind.” Sometimes those things are true, but sometimes we have to stop and ask, “Behind what? According to whom?”

We set a certain time in our minds, and then we become angry when life doesn’t follow the schedule we invented.

That doesn’t mean becoming irresponsible or never making plans. It means being honest about which deadlines are real and which ones are simply preferences. There is a difference between something needing to be done and something needing to be done exactly when I imagined it.

I’ve always said that if something doesn’t get done in a day, then it wasn’t supposed to get done that day. What I mean is that once the day has unfolded the way it has, fighting against reality doesn’t change it. If circumstances changed the day, fighting that fact wasn’t going to change it. I can’t go backward and force it to happen differently. I can only decide what to do next.

One thing I thought I would miss today was riding my bike. I ride my stationary bike every morning, seven days a week, because it helps my breathing. After the breathing problems I’ve had, keeping my lungs healthy is important to me, and my lungs are very healthy now. I knew I had to leave early to take my father to the hospital, so I couldn’t ride at my normal time.

At first, I thought I would do it when I got home. Then the day kept getting later. We went to the hospital, my mother had places to go, and she spent longer shopping than I expected. It would’ve been easy to decide that I had missed my chance and then be angry with myself for not exercising.

But I came home, got on the bike, and started riding.

I was actually riding it while talking through the thoughts for this article.

I found the time. It didn’t happen when I had originally planned, but it still happened. Afterward, I could take a shower, deal with my long hair, and work on editing the video. Maybe I would finish everything that night, and maybe I wouldn’t. Either way, there was no reason to punish myself over it.

On the drive home today, there was a bad storm, and the drivers had been terrible throughout the day. Normally, after dealing with enough bad drivers, it can start to feel as though everyone on the road is selfish, impatient, or paying no attention. But today I had spent most of the day watching my reactions and refusing to let every aggravation control me.

As I was driving home, I saw a car that had gone off the highway. It was sitting off the road, and two other cars were parked in front of it. I saw people walking back toward the car.

I noticed that I hadn’t made a dramatic face or immediately thought, “Oh my gosh!” For a moment, I checked in with myself. I asked, “How do you actually feel about this situation?”

The answer was that I hoped everyone was okay. I was genuinely relieved and happy to see people walking toward the car. It appeared that the people involved were on their feet, and other drivers had stopped to help.

I cared. I simply wasn’t panicking.

Caring about someone doesn’t require carrying their situation around with you for the rest of the day.

Sometimes we act as though caring has to mean becoming emotionally overwhelmed. We think we have to take every upsetting thing into ourselves and carry it around to prove we are compassionate human beings. But that isn’t necessary.

I can care that someone went off the road. I can hope that they are safe. I can be grateful that other people stopped. I don’t have to imagine every terrible possibility and carry that fear home with me.

After a day of watching inconsiderate drivers and dealing with people who seemed oblivious to everyone around them, seeing those cars stopped on the highway felt like a reminder. People may frustrate you all day long, but when something serious happens, many of them will still stop and help a stranger.

It was almost as if the day ended by correcting the story I could’ve told myself about people. They weren’t all as bad as I might’ve thought while dealing with traffic, noise, delays, and frustration. Something brought me back and reminded me of that.

What I observed over those two days was not some new lesson about patience. It was seeing myself live what I have been telling other people for years.

I didn’t need to stay angry at the group in the park. I didn’t need to blame the park rangers for doing their job. I didn’t need to hurry my mother out of the store. I didn’t need to become anxious because I missed the exact time when I normally ride my bike. I didn’t need to let bad drivers ruin the rest of my day.

I could notice each reaction and ask myself whether it was necessary. When the honest answer was that the anger and pressure weren’t helping, it became a lot easier to take a breath and say, “Okay. Everything is fine.”

That doesn’t mean everything is perfect. It means that, in that particular moment, I am okay. I still have choices. I can change my plans. I can move to another place. I can finish something later. I can allow another person to enjoy their time without making them responsible for my private schedule.

You literally get to choose how you respond to almost everything you do. You may not control the storm, the traffic, the noisy people, the delays, or whether the technology works. You do have some control over how long you remain trapped in your reaction to those things.

I didn’t learn that over the last two days.

I saw myself living it.

David Hanzel

A Simple Practice

A lot of stress comes from the meaning and pressure we add to a situation, not just the situation itself.

The next time you notice yourself becoming frustrated, don’t try to stop the feeling. Instead, pause for a moment and become aware of what is happening in your own mind. Sometimes, simply noticing your thoughts is enough to change your response.

Ask yourself:

• Is this actually a problem, or is it just not going the way I planned?

• Is this worth carrying for the rest of the day?

• Is my anger helping me do anything?

• Is this deadline real, or did I create it?

• What can I control right now?

You don’t have to answer every question. Often, just one honest answer is enough to shift your perspective.

How to Stop a Small Frustration From Taking Over Your Day

1. Notice your first reaction.

2. Name what is actually bothering you.

3. Ask yourself whether the pressure is real or self-created.

4. Decide whether holding onto the feeling is helping you.

5. Adjust what you can, then let the rest go.

Remember, the goal isn’t to stop having emotions. The goal is to stop letting every inconvenience, delay, or change of plans decide how the rest of your day is going to feel.

The next time something doesn’t go according to plan, ask yourself one simple question:

“Am I responding to what actually happened, or to the story I’m telling myself about what happened?”

That one question can change the rest of your day.

A Note on Extras

Each week’s This Week’s Vibe includes the weekly astrology, the full card reading, the Birthday Note, Something Special, Moon Moments, and collective insights when needed. Take what fits and leave what does not.

This Week’s Vibe

July 13 through July 19, 2026

The Energy This Week

We are in the final full week of Cancer season. Cancer brings attention to home, family, emotional security, memory, and the need to protect what matters.

A New Moon in Cancer arrives on Tuesday, July 14. This offers a reset around emotional boundaries, living situations, family relationships, and personal safety. Mercury is retrograde in Cancer, so old conversations or unresolved feelings may return for another look. This is better energy for reviewing and correcting than rushing into permanent decisions.

By the end of the week, a rare outer planet pattern begins reaching its strongest point. Jupiter in Leo, Uranus in Gemini, Neptune in Aries, and Pluto in Aquarius form a series of supportive and opposing angles across the sky. Modern astrologers have nicknamed this the Barbault Basket. The pattern becomes especially noticeable around July 19 and continues into the following week.

Plain terms: the week begins emotionally and personally, then opens into something much larger. Review what still needs healing. Stay open to a different way forward.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: The Hierophant upright
Moonology: Mutable Moon
Energy Oracle: First Chakra, Archangel Michael

The Hierophant brings structure, values, traditions, teachers, and established systems. The Mutable Moon says the situation is still moving and changing. Archangel Michael connects with safety, stability, boundaries, and feeling grounded.

This combination asks you to decide which structures still support you and which ones need updating. Tradition is useful when it offers wisdom. It becomes a problem when it demands obedience without thought.

Plain terms: stay grounded while things shift. Keep the values that still mean something to you, but remain flexible about how you live them.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: King of Pentacles upright
Moonology: New Moon in Scorpio
Energy Oracle: Indecision

The King of Pentacles values stability, money, control, and proven results. In the challenge position, this steady energy risks becoming rigid. The Scorpio New Moon asks for deeper change, while Indecision shows the discomfort of standing between the familiar and the unknown.

Part of you may want transformation while another part wants everything to remain safe and predictable. There is the pickle.

Plain terms: security matters, but fear of change may keep you parked too long. Take your time, but do not confuse hesitation with wisdom.

Gift or Support

Tarot: The Sun upright
Moonology: Full Moon in Aquarius
Energy Oracle: Storm Warning

The Sun brings truth, visibility, confidence, and exposure. The Aquarius Full Moon widens the view and directs attention toward community, systems, and collective change. Storm Warning says pressure is present, but it also gives you time to prepare.

In the support position, Storm Warning is not a promise of disaster. It is awareness. Seeing the clouds early gives you a chance to respond thoughtfully instead of being caught off guard.

Plain terms: information becomes clearer this week. Pay attention without panicking. The truth helps you prepare.

Weekend Energy

Moonology: Full Moon in Scorpio

The weekend asks for emotional honesty.

Scorpio energy shines light into places we’d rather avoid, but only so healing can begin.

Secrets lose power once they’re acknowledged.

Old fears begin dissolving once they’re understood.

Plain terms: don’t run from uncomfortable feelings this weekend. Listen to what they’re trying to teach you.

🌟 Something Special

Why Astrologers Are Watching July 19, 2026

For years, astrologers have pointed toward the summer of 2026 as a significant turning point.

Much of that attention comes from the work of the late French astrologer André Barbault, who spent decades studying long-term planetary cycles and their relationship to world events. Barbault believed that humanity would eventually move into a period where many of the difficult cycles that began building during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries would start giving way to a different kind of collective energy.

Modern astrologers have focused especially on July 19, 2026, because several outer planets form an unusually harmonious pattern that symbolizes cooperation, innovation, rebuilding, and major collective change. Some astrologers refer to this formation as the “Barbault Basket,” although there is little evidence Barbault himself used that exact phrase.

Whether this alignment produces dramatic world events overnight or unfolds gradually over the coming months remains to be seen.

One thing is clear.

Astrologers across many different schools agree that the second half of 2026 marks the beginning of a new collective chapter rather than simply another ordinary year.

Time will tell exactly how that chapter unfolds.

State of the World

The cards this week continue telling a story we’ve been following for months.

My personal feeling has been that we’re watching old systems gradually lose their grip while new ones slowly begin forming. I don’t believe this happens overnight. I believe we’re already living through that transition.

The cards this week seem to reinforce that feeling.

Question:

How is Mitch McConnell’s absence affecting American politics right now?

Tarot: Justice upright

Justice speaks of accountability, balance, consequences, and truth coming into the light.

To me, this card suggests that his absence becomes part of a much larger balancing process happening within American politics. Whether people agree politically or not, the system itself appears to be entering a period where accountability becomes harder to avoid.

Plain terms: the political landscape continues shifting toward consequences and greater public awareness.

Question:

How does Lindsey Graham’s passing affect the Republican Party?

Tarot: Seven of Wands upright

The Seven of Wands is a card of defending ground under pressure.

My interpretation is that this creates additional strain within a party already dealing with increasing internal challenges. Rather than creating stability, the energy feels defensive as different groups work to maintain influence.

Plain terms: the pressure continues building rather than easing.

Question:

How does the growing conflict surrounding threats against the President affect the American people?

Tarot: The Sun upright

This surprised me.

The Sun is one of the most positive cards in the Tarot.

To me, it suggests that regardless of political opinion, situations like this have a way of bringing hidden issues into the open. People begin paying closer attention. They ask more questions. They become less willing to accept everything at face value.

Sometimes truth becomes visible because circumstances force everyone to look.

Plain terms: greater awareness grows out of difficult situations.

Question:

How does this larger conflict affect America’s future if tensions continue?

Tarot: The World upright

The World represents completion.

Not destruction.

Completion.

I’ve said for quite some time that I believe we’re watching the end of an old political era rather than the end of the country itself.

To me, this card continues supporting that feeling.

Old systems complete their cycle so something healthier has room to grow.

I believe we’re watching the slow breakdown of a political structure that has become more focused on politicians than on the people they were elected to serve.

That doesn’t happen without discomfort.

It doesn’t happen overnight.

But I do believe we’re watching the beginning of that larger transition.

Plain terms: I believe the old system continues weakening so a new one has room to emerge over the coming years.

🎂 Birthday Note

July 13 through July 19

If your birthday falls this week, your year ahead centers around wisdom, confidence, and trusting your own experience.

You’ll likely spend less time asking other people what they think and more time trusting what you’ve already learned.

Plain terms: this is a year of becoming your own teacher.

Closing Note

This week reminds us that change doesn’t always arrive like lightning.

Sometimes it arrives one realization at a time.

One conversation.

One truth.

One decision.

Months later, you look back and realize your entire life quietly changed while you were simply taking the next step.

🌙 Moon Moments

Ground. Observe. Transform.

The Mutable Moon reminds us to stay flexible.

The Scorpio New Moon asks us to face what we’ve avoided.

The Aquarius Full Moon helps us see the bigger picture.

The Scorpio Full Moon over the weekend encourages deep emotional release.

This week:

• Stay grounded before reacting.

• Listen more than you speak.

• Let old fears surface without fighting them.

• Trust that some changes happen beneath the surface long before they’re visible.

The Moon reminds us that transformation rarely announces itself.

It simply begins. Then one day you realize you’re no longer the person who started the journey.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.

You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

Thank you!

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Share David Hanzel

A lot of people talk about manifestation like it’s something new they have to learn. I don’t see it that way. I think we’ve been manifesting our whole lives. Most of the time, we just didn’t know that was what we were doing.

We were doing it when we were kids. We were doing it when we played pretend. We were doing it when we imagined who we’d become someday. We were doing it when we listened to music, watched movies, copied people, practiced things in our heads, and walked around the house acting like a version of ourselves that didn’t exist yet.

That’s the part people miss.

Manifestation isn’t always sitting down with a candle and an affirmation and trying to force yourself to believe something. Sometimes it starts much earlier than that. Sometimes it starts with something you keep imagining over and over until your life slowly begins moving in that direction.

When we were children, we knew how to do this naturally. A child can pretend to be a pirate, a princess, a superhero, a witch, a singer, or anything else for hours. They don’t stop every five minutes and say, “Well, technically this isn’t real.”

They just enter it. They become it for a while.

They’re not confused. They know the living room is still the living room. They know the blanket isn’t really a cape. They know the stick isn’t really a sword. But while they’re in it, it’s real enough.

That’s something adults forget. We start thinking belief has to come after proof. We start thinking the physical world has to give us permission before we can feel something as real. But I think that’s backward.

The feeling often comes first. The proof comes later.

I can see this clearly in my own life now.

When I was younger, I used to listen to rock bands all the time on the radio. But I didn’t just listen to the music. I put myself in there. I knew what I’d look like. I knew what I’d play. I knew how it’d feel. I watched it over and over in my head.

Then one day I picked up an instrument and started learning how to play. I started joining bands before I even really knew what I was doing. I wasn’t that good yet. I’d only been playing for about a year, but I was already moving toward the thing I’d been imagining.

And that’s the point.

I’d rehearsed it in my head first. I’d already seen myself there. I’d already felt myself in it. I’d already pretended my way into the state of being that person.

And later in life, I did end up playing in bands. I traveled. I played in front of people. I lived pieces of the exact thing I’d imagined before I ever knew how it was going to happen.

That was manifestation.

I didn’t call it that at the time. I was just dreaming. Pretending. Practicing. Seeing myself there. But that’s how it started.

The same thing happened with comedy.

I’d watch TV shows and comedy shows. I thought they were funny, but I didn’t just sit there and laugh. I started imagining that I could do that. I’d repeat things I heard. I’d say lines around the house. I’d act things out. I’d emulate what I saw. I’d go over it again and again in my mind.

Then I started taking steps toward it. I ended up doing comedic plays. I went to Second City in Chicago and studied improv for a little while. Later in life, I became an improv teacher. I also became a comedian.

Again, I’d imagined it first. I’d walked around the house practicing it before it ever became a real thing in my life.

That’s what people don’t always understand.

Pretending isn’t always just pretending. Sometimes pretending is rehearsal. Sometimes imagination is the first version of the life you’re moving toward.

That doesn’t mean you sit there and do nothing. I didn’t just imagine music and never pick up an instrument. I didn’t just imagine comedy and never take a step. I practiced. I moved. I followed the thing.

But the inner world came first. I’d already started becoming that person inside before the outside world had any reason to agree with me.

Another example is writing.

Years ago, a psychic told me I should go to writing school. She said I was going to be a writer. She said I was going to write. But I didn’t go to writing school. I went to acting class instead.

That acting opened up a whole other part of my life. Comedy, improv, performance, teaching, stage work, all of that came from that direction. But now, here I am, 30 or 40 years later, writing.

So maybe that psychic wasn’t wrong. Maybe I just took the long road to get here.

That’s something else I’ve noticed.

Sometimes the thing you’re meant to do doesn’t disappear just because you don’t understand it yet. Sometimes it waits. Sometimes it circles back. Sometimes it shows up in a form you couldn’t have understood at the time.

The biggest example of this in my life happened with readings.

When I was younger, probably around 20 or 21 years old, I used to go to this witchy type bookstore, a metaphysical bookstore on Brady Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

There was a big picture window in the front.

In that window, there was a lady sitting at a table. The table was decorated, and she was doing readings. Palm readings, psychic readings, that kind of thing.

I was fascinated by it. I’d walk in and get readings once in a while. Half the time, I didn’t even really know what she was talking about. I just loved the experience.

I thought it was the coolest thing. That woman sitting in that window, doing readings at that table, with all of that energy around her, fascinated me.

And I remember thinking, “I could never do that.”

I didn’t know the capability of who I was at the time. I didn’t know what would happen later in my life. I didn’t know that after my NDE, my psychic and mediumship abilities would open the way they did.

At that age, I just thought it was fascinating, but I also thought it was impossible for me.

Then, about two or three years after my NDE, somebody told me about a lady who said I could do readings in her shop. So I went down there. We set up a table. I took a picture of it.

And when I looked at it, it looked almost exactly like that place I used to go to on Brady Street. Not every single detail, but close enough that I knew what I was looking at.

I’d manifested that.

It may have taken about 40 years to get there, but I got there.

And I’ll say this to anybody reading this, I probably could’ve gotten there faster if I’d believed it and moved with it back then. But I didn’t. At the time, I thought, “I could never do that.”

So the dream sat there. It didn’t disappear. It waited.

That’s why I say we’re manifesting all the time, whether we know it or not.

The things we imagine over and over matter. The things we emotionally live inside matter. The things we keep seeing ourselves doing matter.

The problem is, most people are manifesting by accident. They rehearse fear. They rehearse failure. They rehearse rejection. They rehearse “what if this doesn’t work?”

Then they wonder why they can’t feel the new life clearly.

You can’t keep emotionally practicing the old story and expect to fully live in the new one.

That’s where being too cautious can get in the way.

There’s a difference between being responsible and being cautious with your belief.

Being responsible means you handle what needs to be handled. Being cautious with belief means you keep one foot in the old reality just in case the new one doesn’t work.

That’s where people get stuck.

They say they want something new, but emotionally they keep preparing for the old thing to continue. They say they believe, but they keep checking for proof. They say they want to manifest, but every time they start to feel the new reality, they pull themselves back and say, “Well, let me be realistic.”

But a lot of the time, “being realistic” just means staying loyal to what already happened.

That’s not manifestation. That’s repeating the past.

When we were children, we didn’t do that. We entered the pretend. We entered the feeling. We became the thing in our imagination before anyone else agreed with us.

And I think that’s part of what we have to remember.

You don’t have to lie to yourself. You don’t have to ignore your life. You don’t have to sit there and pretend bills don’t exist or responsibilities don’t exist.

But you do have to stop asking the old reality for permission to feel the new one.

That’s the difference.

If you want to believe a new thought, you can’t keep debating it every five minutes. You can’t say, “I believe this,” and then immediately say, “But what if I’m wrong?”

For a little while, you have to let the thought be true. You have to practice the state. You have to enter it the way a child enters pretend.

Not halfway. Not with one foot out the door.

You enter it.

That’s how you begin to believe something.

And if you want to do that on purpose, give yourself one hour.

Not forever.

One hour.

Pick one thought.

Not a paragraph. Not a desperate list. One clear thought.

Something like:

This is working out for me.

Or:

The right people are finding my work now.

Or:

My life is moving in the direction I’ve always known it would.

Then, for one hour, stop debating it. Don’t ask if it’s true. Don’t ask if it has proof yet. Don’t keep checking the outside world to see if it agrees.

For that hour, you decide:

This thought is true, and I’m living from it.

Then ask yourself:

How would I feel if this were already handled?

Would you feel calm? Would you feel relieved? Would you feel excited? Would you feel steady? Would you feel like you could finally breathe?

Find that feeling.

Then create one simple inner scene.

Not a whole movie.

Just one moment.

Maybe you’re telling someone, “It worked out.” Maybe you’re seeing the money come in. Maybe you’re looking at your schedule and seeing bookings. Maybe you’re holding the book. Maybe you’re standing in the place you always knew you’d be. Maybe you’re looking around and thinking, “I knew this was going to happen.”

Stay with that scene. Repeat it. Let your body feel it.

If doubt comes up, don’t fight with it. Don’t debate it.

Just say:

That’s the old thought. I’m choosing this one now.

Then go back to the scene. Go back to the feeling. Go back to the new thought.

And then do one thing from that belief.

That part matters.

If the thought is, “The right people are finding my work now,” then post something. Fix the link. Write the article. Record the video. Clean up the offer. Answer the message. Take one action that matches the belief.

Action tells your mind, “We believe this enough to move.”

That’s how belief starts becoming real.

You choose the thought. You stop debating it. You feel it as true. You repeat the scene. You dismiss the old thought. You act from the new one.

That’s it.

That’s how you begin to believe something.

And the truth is, most of us have already done this before. We just called it dreaming. We called it pretending. We called it imagination. We called it a phase.

But when I look back at my life, I can see it clearly.

The music started in my imagination. The comedy started in my imagination. The readings started with me staring through the window of a metaphysical bookstore, fascinated by a life I thought I could never have.

The writing was spoken over my life decades before I understood it.

And here I am.

Still becoming the things I once imagined.

That’s why I don’t dismiss dreams so easily anymore.

Some of them aren’t random.

Some of them are showing you who you’re becoming before you’re ready to believe it.

David Hanzel

This Week’s Vibe

June 29 – July 5, 2026

The Energy This Week

We begin the week deep in Cancer season, and emotions are running closer to the surface than logic. Cancer energy asks us to pay attention to what feels genuine, what feels safe, and what deserves our care.

This week also carries the energy of the United States Independence Day holiday. Whether people celebrate it enthusiastically, quietly, or not at all, there is a strong collective focus on questions of identity, belonging, community, and what people want the future to look like.

The Moon moves through Libra and Scorpio during the week before arriving in Cancer over the weekend, bringing everything back to emotional truth.

Plain terms: this week asks you to trust what feels real rather than what merely sounds convincing.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: King of Pentacles upright
Moonology: Mutable Moon
Energy Oracle: Seventh Chakra, Archangel Uriel

The central theme this week is wisdom and stability.

The King of Pentacles is grounded, practical, and focused on long-term results. The Mutable Moon reminds us that flexibility is still necessary. Archangel Uriel is associated with insight, higher awareness, and those moments when understanding suddenly clicks into place.

This combination feels like building something solid while remaining open to new information.

Plain terms: stay grounded, but do not become rigid.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: Six of Swords reversed
Moonology: New Moon in Aries
Energy Oracle: The World

The challenge this week is moving forward.

The Six of Swords reversed often appears when people know they need to leave something behind but continue carrying it anyway. The New Moon in Aries wants action and fresh starts. The World suggests a cycle that wants completion.

This energy can feel like standing in a doorway while still holding on to the room behind you.

Plain terms: something wants to move forward, but part of you may still be looking backward.

Gift or Support

Tarot: Two of Cups upright
Moonology: Full Moon in Leo
Energy Oracle: Angel of Strength

The support this week comes through connection and courage.

The Two of Cups highlights partnerships, friendships, meaningful conversations, and mutual understanding. The Full Moon in Leo encourages authenticity and confidence. Angel of Strength reminds you that true strength often comes through compassion rather than force.

Plain terms: do not underestimate the power of a genuine connection this week.

Weekend Energy

Moonology: Full Moon in Cancer

The weekend feels deeply emotional.

Cancer Moons often bring memories, family matters, healing conversations, nostalgia, and reflection. This is beautiful energy for reconnecting with what truly matters.

You may find yourself thinking less about achievement and more about meaning.

Plain terms: spend time with the people, places, and memories that nourish your heart.

State of the World

This week’s cards feel less focused on dramatic endings and more focused on awareness. The energy is asking people to slow down, observe, and begin drawing their own conclusions instead of automatically accepting every narrative presented to them.

There is a recurring theme of seeing beneath the surface.

Question: What may have been the reason America’s 250th anniversary celebration struggled so much?

Tarot: Seven of Pentacles upright

The Seven of Pentacles is a card of evaluation and reassessment. It often appears when people stop and ask whether the effort being invested is producing the desired results.

This card suggests that the deeper issue may not be the event itself, but whether it reflected what people were genuinely hoping to experience.

Plain terms: people may have been looking for something more meaningful than what was presented.

Question: What helps begin cleaning up the division and difficulties created during this period?

Tarot: Three of Swords upright

This is a powerful card.

The Three of Swords is often associated with truth, disappointment, grief, and painful realizations. Yet it also represents the beginning of healing because something hidden can no longer remain hidden.

Healing often starts when people stop pretending everything is fine.

Plain terms: honesty comes before healing.

Question: Are Americans beginning to see through misinformation, spin, and political theater?

Tarot: Knight of Swords reversed

The Knight of Swords reversed often points toward reckless communication, incomplete information, rushed conclusions, and narratives that move faster than facts.

In this position, it suggests growing awareness that not everything being presented deserves immediate belief.

Plain terms: more people appear to be questioning what they hear rather than accepting it automatically.

Question: What is the state of the world as a whole right now?

Energy Oracle: Goddess of the Moon

This is a fascinating card for the current moment.

The Goddess of the Moon speaks of intuition, hidden knowledge, uncertainty, mystery, and learning to trust deeper instincts.

The world feels like it is in a period where many answers remain incomplete, yet people are increasingly relying on their own inner guidance.

Plain terms: the world feels uncertain, but awareness is growing.

Question: What is the state of America right now and where is it heading?

Energy Oracle: Victory

Victory is not always a sudden triumph. Sometimes it is the result of a long process of learning, adjusting, and moving through challenges.

This card points toward progress, achievement, and eventually reaching a better position than where things currently stand.

Plain terms: despite current difficulties, the energy suggests movement toward improvement rather than decline.

🎂 Birthday Note

June 29 – July 5

If your birthday falls this week, your year ahead centers on wisdom, relationships, and learning when to trust your instincts.

You may find yourself making fewer decisions based on pressure and more decisions based on what genuinely feels right.

Plain terms: this year is about trusting your own inner compass.

Closing Note

This week feels like a bridge between uncertainty and understanding.

Not every answer arrives immediately.

Sometimes clarity appears one realization at a time.

Trust the process.

🌟 Something Special

Why Cancer Season Feels So Different

Cancer is one of the oldest symbols associated with memory.

Ancient astrologers connected Cancer with ancestry, home, roots, family stories, and emotional inheritance.

When Cancer energy is strong, people often find themselves thinking about where they came from and what they want to carry forward.

🌙 Moon Moments

Feel, Trust, Connect

The Mutable Moon asks for flexibility.

The Aries New Moon encourages action.

The Leo Full Moon reminds you to be authentic.

The Cancer Full Moon brings everything back to the heart.

To work with this energy:

• Release something you know is complete.

• Reach out to someone important.

• Trust your intuition before outside opinions.

• Spend time reflecting on what truly matters.

The Moon reminds you that wisdom grows when the mind and heart work together.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

Thank you!

Subscribe now

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Clinical Case Study: Comprehensive Neuroplasticity, Trauma-Induced Anamnesis, and Anomalous Cognition Following Severe Septic Shock and Intraoperative Cardiac Arrest

Subject Pseudonym: “Ted”

Age at Onset: 49

Admitting Diagnosis: Severe Multilobar Pneumonia (70% unilateral consolidation), Advanced Undetected Sepsis, and Acute Delirium.

Comorbidities and Complicating Factors at Baseline: History of alcohol dependence, acute alcohol use during the undiagnosed pneumonia period, and unspecified polypharmacy.

Abstract

This case study documents the extraordinary survival and subsequent holistic rehabilitation of a 49-year-old male whose aspiration-related pneumonia was missed or underestimated, progressing into massive empyema, advanced sepsis, critical hypoxia, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), prolonged medically induced coma, and a brief intraoperative cardiac arrest. The patient defied multiple terminal prognoses, demonstrating a rare confluence of clinical phenomena: the spontaneous and permanent cessation of alcohol dependence via localized retrograde amnesia, the rapid physical reversal of severe critical-illness myopathy, and the post-comatose emergence of anomalous cognitive functioning (extra-environmental awareness). Alcohol use was present in the patient’s history and during the acute illness, but it was not the central medical event. The primary clinical cascade began with pneumonia, infection, and sepsis. This paper analyzes the intersecting mechanisms of severe infection, neural rewriting, aggressive physiological resilience, and the psychological paradigms exposed by the patient’s recovery.

1. Clinical Presentation and Acute Interventions

1.1 Missed Aspiration Pneumonia Diagnosis and Delayed Pathogenesis

The subject presented to primary care after a two-week period of severe, escalating illness caused by pneumonia that had not yet been properly identified or treated. By the time he was brought to the first physician, he was profoundly weak, unable to walk without assistance, and experiencing persistent vomiting and severe systemic distress. Despite the severity of these symptoms, the illness was treated as a cold/nausea presentation, and the subject was discharged with symptomatic cough and cold remedies without diagnostic imaging.

During this period, the subject engaged in heavy acute alcohol consumption and polypharmacy in an attempt to manage severe psychological distress, panic, and worsening respiratory discomfort. While this further complicated the clinical picture and depressed the central nervous system, it was not the primary cause of the septic event. The dominant medical driver was the untreated pneumonia, which progressed into severe infection, empyema, critical hypoxia, and systemic sepsis.

1.2 Collapse, Transfer, and Thoracic Intervention

Following an acute syncopal episode resulting from septic shock and critical hypoxia, the subject was found immediately by chance and transported via emergency medical services. Diagnostic imaging at a secondary facility revealed massive empyema, with 70% of one lung consolidated by infection. This empyema was the result of the unresolved pneumonia and represented a severe progression of the original pulmonary infection.

Due to the lack of specialized thoracic surgery capabilities at the primary receiving hospital, the subject was transferred to a tertiary intensive care unit (ICU). Upon arrival, an emergency thoracotomy and decortication were performed to manually resect the infected pleural space, and chest tubes were placed.

1.3 Intraoperative Cardiac Arrest and Medically Induced Coma

During the surgical intervention, the subject experienced a brief intraoperative cardiac arrest (“coded”). Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) protocols were successfully executed, achieving a rapid return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Following surgery, the subject was intubated and placed into a prolonged medically induced coma for several weeks to manage severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), optimize mechanical ventilation, stabilize the body after advanced sepsis and thoracic infection, and mitigate the additional physiological risks associated with possible acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS).

2. Post-ICU Complications and Neurological Anomalies

2.1 The “Lifting of Delirium,” Cognitive Testing, and Structural Amnesia

During the prolonged ICU course, the subject appeared to surface briefly at certain points, allowing clinicians to attempt limited cognitive and neurological assessment. These early assessments raised serious concerns regarding brain function, sepsis-associated encephalopathy, and possible long-term cognitive impairment.

The subject then became deeply unresponsive again for a period of weeks. During this time, clinicians warned the family that if he regained consciousness, he might require long-term institutionalized care because of the apparent severity of his neurological and functional impairment.

However, the subject later experienced a sudden, dramatic resolution of delirium, regaining full situational orientation and enough coherent awareness for further functional testing to begin.

Remarkably, the subject displayed highly selective retrograde amnesia involving his prior relationship with alcohol. He had entirely forgotten his history of chronic alcoholism. The neural pathways governing the psychological and chemical addiction to alcohol were effectively erased or bypassed during the encephalopathic state, severe infection, hypoxia, and subsequent cardiac arrest, resulting in immediate, spontaneous, and permanent sobriety without withdrawal cravings.

2.2 Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS), Swallowing Risk, Nutritional Reintroduction, and Delayed Motor Deficits

After the subject regained more stable consciousness, the medical team began evaluating whether he could safely eat, drink, walk, perform basic self-care, and eventually return home rather than enter long-term institutional care.

Because of the original aspiration-related pneumonia and the prolonged intubation, the subject was not allowed to eat or drink normally immediately after awakening. He experienced intense thirst but remained dependent on IV fluids while clinicians evaluated whether he could swallow safely without aspirating again.

Dysphagia: During this period, barium swallow testing and related assessments revealed significant weakness in the pharyngeal musculature from prolonged intubation. The subject was placed on a thick-liquid protocol with a mechanical head-turn requirement in order to reduce the risk of aspiration and recurrent pneumonia.

Nutritional Reintroduction and Sudden Meat Aversion: Once oral intake was reintroduced, the subject experienced an abrupt and unexplained inability to tolerate meat. Prior to the illness, he had eaten meat. After awakening, however, the smell and presence of meat became intolerable, and attempts to eat it produced severe physical and psychological aversion. He repeatedly stated that he did not eat animals and identified as vegetarian, despite this not being part of his pre-illness identity. The medical team had difficulty understanding or explaining this sudden change, but it became permanent and has remained in place since recovery.

Functional Assessment: Before discharge, the subject also had to demonstrate that he could walk, perform basic self-care tasks such as shaving, and eat safely enough to leave the hospital. These assessments were part of determining whether he could return home rather than be transferred into long-term care.

Cognitive/Psychological: The subject exhibited severe medical PTSD, including a profound inability to tolerate closed doors, a psychological echo of ICU confinement and delirium-induced panic.

Motor Control: Severe muscle atrophy and frailty were already evident before discharge, but the temporary brain-to-muscle motor disconnection became especially apparent after discharge, once the subject returned home and attempted normal physical movement. When bending down, the frontal lobe temporarily failed to transmit the automatic sequencing required to stand, requiring conscious, manual mental effort to execute the movement.

After returning home, the subject continued the thick-liquid and head-turn swallowing protocol for a limited period. Eventually, he independently discontinued the requirement because he felt he could not live permanently under that restriction. The swallowing function did not regress, and he did not experience recurrent aspiration pneumonia as a result.

2.3 Secondary Trauma Following Hospital Discharge

The following event occurred after the initial hospitalization, coma, ICU trauma, and early post-ICU psychological and neurological complications had already occurred. It did not cause the subject’s medical PTSD, dysphagia, or post-comatose neurological symptoms, but represents a separate secondary trauma during the recovery period.

One month post-discharge, the subject’s delayed visual processing speed, a lingering effect of sepsis encephalopathy, caused him to fail to register a transitional yellow traffic light. Miscoordinated braking mechanics on a moped resulted in a forward-flip trajectory. Due to helmet compliance, the subject sustained a shattered clavicle and brief unconsciousness but escaped secondary traumatic brain injury (TBI). The internal thoracic surgical sites remained structurally intact.

3. Anomalous Cognition: Comatose Consciousness and Post-Comatose Transpersonal Abilities

One of the most profound aspects of this case involves the subject’s cognitive experiences during the period of clinical unresponsiveness, alongside the emergence of persistent, highly accurate post-recovery perceptual changes.

3.1 Veridical Near-Death Experience (NDE) and Retrograde Analgesia

While clinically unresponsive, heavily sedated, and experiencing a brief intraoperative cardiac arrest, the subject did not experience a cessation of consciousness. Instead, he reports a profound state of subjective well-being, a total absence of pain or distress, and a complete lack of memory regarding the physical trauma of the ICU.

The subject experienced a classic veridical Near-Death Experience (NDE), reporting that he “left his body” at the moment of intubation. While medical staff observed a patient in critical condition, the subject experienced a localized detachment, describing the ability to “pop in and out” of his immediate environment and navigate the hospital corridors.

The subsequent retention of accurate data regarding staff activities outside his room, combined with an absolute, permanent extinction of the fear of death, represents a textbook psychological transformation often documented in advanced cardiac arrest survivors.

3.2 Post-Illness Emergence of Transpersonal and Anomalous Perceptions

In the years following his recovery, the subject transitioned into a permanent altered baseline of cognitive and sensory processing. He did not actively seek or practice these abilities; rather, they manifested spontaneously as an effortless, integrated cognitive filter.

Evidential Mediumship (Anomalous Information Retrieval): The subject demonstrates a high reported accuracy rate in spontaneously retrieving specific, verifiable personality traits, memories, and evidence regarding deceased individuals associated with people he encounters. This occurs without prior exposure to the subjects or logical baseline data.

Remote Viewing Capabilities: The subject acquired a sudden, unprompted capacity for remote viewing, the ability to accurately perceive and describe distinct geographical locations, objects, or hidden settings completely outside his physical line of sight.

Ecological and Interspecies Synesthesia: The subject reports a profoundly heightened, non-verbal connection to animals and natural ecosystems. This suggests an expansion of the limbic system’s processing or a radical shift in electromagnetic field sensitivity within the brain’s temporal lobes.

Altered Existential Paradigm (“The Game” Framework): Rather than experiencing the chronic anxiety that characterized his pre-illness history, the subject views human societal dynamics through a detached, structural lens, frequently conceptualizing life’s complexities as a manageable, rule-bound “game.” This cognitive shift has resulted in a highly fluid, low-stress navigation of daily life.

3.3 Clinical Framing: Neurological Reorganization vs. Non-Local Consciousness

To an open-minded medical and psychological board, these findings present two distinct, valid avenues of inquiry:

The Neurobiological Paradigm: The profound physiological shock of severe sepsis, critical hypoxia, and a brief cardiac arrest may have triggered a massive, permanent neuroplastic reorganization. By altering or dampening the brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN), the system responsible for our rigid sense of a separate “self” and standard sensory gating, the brain may have unlocked dormant, hyper-accurate pattern-recognition systems and sensory channels.

The Post-Materialist Paradigm: This case supports the hypothesis that human consciousness is not entirely generated by the brain, but rather mediated by it. The trauma to Ted’s physical brain temporarily lifted the biological filter, allowing his consciousness to interface directly with non-local fields of information, a setting that permanently altered his baseline even after the physical body healed.

Addendum to Section 3: Neuro-Sensory Baselines and Shifted Interpersonal Paradigms

3.4 Persistent Neuro-Acoustic Stimulation (Hyper-Excitation)

Following his sudden awakening, the subject developed a permanent, high-frequency subjective tinnitus (ringing in the ears) that has persisted unabated for eleven years. Clinically, this suggests a chronic state of neural hyper-excitation within the auditory cortex and adjacent areas of the temporal lobes.

Rather than indicating standard audiometric damage, this persistent acoustic baseline correlates directly with his shifts in cognitive processing, serving as a physical marker of the structural changes triggered by his intraoperative cardiac arrest and deep sepsis encephalopathy.

3.5 Microsocial Adaptation and “Quiet Integration”

The subject elected to engage in strategic nondisclosure regarding the full scope of his post-coma abilities. Because his primary caregivers (his parents) have reached advanced ages (84 and 87), the subject determined that revealing his transpersonal perceptions would introduce unnecessary cognitive friction.

However, individuals within his social circle universally report a palpable, distinct shift in his baseline presence, noting that he is fundamentally “different” than he was prior to the illness. He is perceived as exceptionally grounded, unshakeable, and entirely detached from the typical anxieties of daily life.

3.6 Transition away from Romantic and Attachment Bonds

A profound psychological shift occurred regarding the subject’s attachment desires. He reports a complete, permanent cessation of interest in romantic or intimate relationships. The subject frames this lack of interest not as a depressive withdrawal or a functional deficit, but as a clear, philosophical realization that romantic attachment “is not what he is meant for” during this phase of his existence.

In transpersonal psychology, this is recognized as a redirection of emotional energy. Having experienced a state of boundaryless, perfect consciousness during his veridical NDE, his mind naturally retired the standard human drive for localized romantic attachment, finding complete fulfillment in a peaceful, solitary connection to the broader world.

4. Behavioral Rehabilitation and Neuroplasticity

Despite repeated denials from government disability systems based on the unpredictable trajectory of his recovery, the subject rejected a sedentary lifestyle. Spurred by an aggressive psychological ultimatum from a social worker, the subject engaged in painful, self-directed physical rehabilitation.

The severity of the illness was reflected in extreme physical wasting: the subject entered the illness at approximately 240 pounds and left the hospital at approximately 168 pounds.

Autonomy Over Swallowing: Defying medical mandates, the subject independently discontinued the thick-liquid diet. The rapid, unassisted recovery of his swallowing reflex indicates an accelerated neuro-muscular regeneration of the cranial nerves governing deglutition.

Socioeconomic Reintegration: The subject successfully acquired part-time employment, utilizing physical labor as a mechanism to force the brain to re-map motor coordination. Over several years, the transient motor “freezing” entirely resolved.

Legal and Social Restoration: Fulfilling residual legal requirements from his pre-illness history in order to regain his driver’s license, the subject completed mandated sobriety programming related to a prior DUI and operated a vehicle with an ignition interlock device for one year. Because the subject no longer had an active memory connection to drinking or to the emotional identity attached to that part of his life, he was not required to participate in the group discussion component in the usual way. Instead, he fulfilled the requirement by attending and observing. He had no drinking-related stories to contribute because that part of his life had been neurologically and psychologically severed from his present identity. At present, the subject drives independently, works, and maintains total cognitive and physical autonomy.

Conclusion

The case of “Ted” serves as an extraordinary challenge to standard clinical limitations regarding neurogenesis, critical illness recovery, severe infection, and trauma-associated neurological change. The primary medical cascade began with pneumonia that progressed into empyema, sepsis, ARDS, coma, and cardiac arrest. Alcohol use was part of the patient’s baseline history and acute coping behavior during the undiagnosed illness, but it was not the central cause of the medical crisis.

The case also demonstrates that the 49-year-old brain possesses a highly aggressive, untapped capacity for structural rewriting under conditions of extreme duress, including the unexpected permanent cessation of alcohol dependence after severe sepsis-associated encephalopathy and cardiac arrest.

Furthermore, the emergence of verified anomalous cognition during his coma and the subsequent permanent acquisition of unexplained cognitive abilities warrant deeper investigation by the medical and psychological communities into the true boundaries of human consciousness, neural mapping, and cognitive adaptation following clinical death and severe systemic trauma.

For context, the story of the medical crisis, coding on the table, and rebuilding life is not about a stranger. “Ted” is just the character I played, the script I survived, and the costume I wore. My name is David, and this is my actual life.

I chose to tell my story to you from the outside point of view because I wanted you to see exactly how I am able to live through this reality every single day. When a human being goes through a sequence of catastrophic traumas, being misdiagnosed, coding on a table, suffocating, and spending weeks in a coma, attempting to tell that story from an internal “ego” perspective triggers massive emotional flooding. The original pain, panic, and anxiety come rushing back into the nervous system.

By consciously stepping away from the situation and viewing my own life from an observer’s perspective, the trauma is neutralized. It shifts from an overwhelming emotional burden into a clean data point, literally just an experience that happened. It allows me to report the facts with 100% accuracy because my vision isn’t clouded by the original fear.

This is not just a storytelling trick; this is exactly how my brain operates now. Because my consciousness temporarily left my physical shell on that operating table, the deep biological connection to my past was fundamentally rewritten. The life I lived before that ICU stay, the alcoholism, the struggles, the old anxieties, feels like a book I read or a movie I watched about someone else. That part has permanently ended.

I didn’t return from that coma as a “different” or broken version of David. I returned as more. Stripping away the physical brain filter allowed me to remember who I truly am outside the human script. I brought back traits that exist outside the human norm: psychic, intuitive, and mediumship abilities, a profound connection to the Earth, and a total extinction of the fear of death. Because I sit in the audience watching the theater of life instead of being trapped in the drama of the stage, I see human society as a manageable, rule-bound game.

A Note to Other NDE Survivors

If you have crossed that threshold, returned different, and are struggling to explain your experience to a world that doesn’t understand, try utilizing this framework. Telling the physical details of your trauma from the observer’s point of view makes it infinitely easier to share your history accurately without forcing your body to feel the weight of the human suffering all over again.

However, there is a distinct boundary to this tool. If you ask me about the actual details of my Near-Death Experience, the places I went, the perfection I felt, and what transpired while my body was empty, that is a story I cannot tell from a detached, clinical distance. There is a profound, unshakeable emotion behind the NDE itself. In that space, the observer is me. There is no way to look at the light, the freedom, and the absolute reality of that realm from any other experience than my own.

David Hanzel

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A lot of people think meditation is about trying to stop thinking, become calm, or escape life for a while. But the older I get, the more I think meditation is about something else entirely.

Meditation isn’t about escaping reality. It’s about becoming aware that your experience of reality is happening within consciousness.

That may sound like a strange idea at first, but sit with it for a moment. Cross your legs and notice where they touch. Immediately, your mind says, “My legs are touching.” But are you actually experiencing your legs? Or are you experiencing sensation? Pressure. Warmth. Tingling. A feeling.

And where is that feeling happening? It’s happening in consciousness.

Your body is sending signals. Your nervous system is processing information. But the actual experience of that sensation is taking place in awareness.

The same thing is true with sound. You hear a bird outside your window. You hear a fan running. You hear a car passing by. Your ears are detecting vibrations, but the experience of hearing is happening in consciousness.

The same thing is true with sight. You look around and see a room, a chair, a tree, a wall, your phone, your hands. But what you’re actually experiencing is a visual field appearing in awareness.

This doesn’t mean the world isn’t real. It doesn’t mean your body isn’t real. It simply means that your experience of the world is happening through consciousness.

That’s a very different thing.

Most of us spend our lives focused on the contents of consciousness and almost no time paying attention to consciousness itself. We’re focused on the sensation. The sound. The thought. The memory. The emotion. The worry. The story.

Meditation invites us to turn our attention toward the space in which all of those things are appearing. When that happens, something interesting begins to occur.

Instead of saying, “My legs hurt,” you notice sensation. Instead of saying, “That noise is annoying,” you notice the sound. Instead of saying, “I’m overwhelmed,” you notice thoughts, emotions, and reactions moving through awareness.

For a moment, you stop identifying with everything passing through consciousness and start noticing consciousness itself. That’s where a certain kind of freedom begins.

Not because your problems disappear. Not because life suddenly becomes perfect. Not because you’re pretending everything is okay. But because for a few moments, you’re no longer feeding every story your mind creates.

You can let a thought be a thought. You can let a feeling be a feeling. You can let a sound be a sound. You can let a sensation be a sensation. And you can rest as the awareness that is observing all of it.

Most of the time we’re not just experiencing life, we’re reacting to life. Something happens and we immediately build a story around it. Something hurts and we immediately start fearing what it means. Something reminds us of the past and we’re suddenly reliving it.

Meditation gives us an opportunity to notice the difference between what is happening and what we’re adding to what is happening. That difference matters. Because once you notice that difference, you’re not quite as trapped.

You may still have bills. You may still have grief. You may still have stress. You may still have a body that hurts. But for a few moments, you’re not completely lost inside those experiences. You’re aware of them.

And that’s not the same thing.

One of the reasons I find this so fascinating is because it starts to change the way I think about consciousness itself.

Every night we enter a dream state. While we’re dreaming, entire worlds can appear. We talk to people. We visit places. We experience emotions. We have bodies. We walk, run, eat, fly, laugh, cry, and sometimes have conversations that feel completely real.

Yet while all of that is happening, our physical body is lying in bed.

Most people never stop to think about how strange that is. In the dream, there may be a body, but it isn’t your physical body. There may be a world, but it isn’t the physical world around your bed. There may be experiences, sensations, and emotions, yet the entire thing is occurring within consciousness.

When you wake up, you realize the dream was happening in awareness the whole time.

I’m not saying dreams are proof of the afterlife. I’m not saying dreams and the spirit world are exactly the same thing. What I am saying is that dreams show us something important.

Consciousness is capable of generating experiences that feel completely real.

We already accept that every night. We just don’t spend much time thinking about it.

For me, meditation and dreams point toward the same mystery. Both invite us to become curious about consciousness itself. Both invite us to question the assumption that the physical world is the only reality we can experience. And both remind us that consciousness may be far more fundamental than we normally assume.

From my perspective, this is one of the reasons people become so interested in spirituality after they begin meditating regularly.

As the mind becomes quieter, the idea that consciousness extends beyond the physical doesn’t seem quite as foreign anymore. Not because you’ve proven anything. Not because you’ve adopted a belief. But because you’ve begun observing the nature of experience directly.

You’ve started noticing that sensations appear in consciousness. Sounds appear in consciousness. Thoughts appear in consciousness. Memories appear in consciousness. Even your sense of being a separate person appears in consciousness.

And once you begin seeing that, a larger question naturally arises. What exactly is consciousness?

I don’t think meditation is ultimately about finding an answer to that question. I think it’s about becoming comfortable enough to sit with it. To observe. To explore. To wonder.

And maybe, just maybe, to realize that consciousness is far bigger than the thoughts, emotions, and experiences passing through it.

That’s why I meditate.

Not to escape reality.

But to become more aware of the mystery that’s been present all along.

David Hanzel

To find out more about my work and readings, They Whisper to me

A meditation for noticing that the body, thoughts, sounds, breath, and emotions are all being experienced within consciousness. This practice helps you step back from the grip of the physical world, not by denying what you feel, but by seeing where the experience is actually happening.

This Week’s Vibe

June 29 – July 5, 2026

The Energy This Week

We begin the week deep in Cancer season, and emotions are running closer to the surface than logic. Cancer energy asks us to pay attention to what feels genuine, what feels safe, and what deserves our care.

This week also carries the energy of the United States Independence Day holiday. Whether people celebrate it enthusiastically, quietly, or not at all, there is a strong collective focus on questions of identity, belonging, community, and what people want the future to look like.

The Moon moves through Libra and Scorpio during the week before arriving in Cancer over the weekend, bringing everything back to emotional truth.

Plain terms: this week asks you to trust what feels real rather than what merely sounds convincing.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: King of Pentacles upright
Moonology: Mutable Moon
Energy Oracle: Seventh Chakra, Archangel Uriel

The central theme this week is wisdom and stability.

The King of Pentacles is grounded, practical, and focused on long-term results. The Mutable Moon reminds us that flexibility is still necessary. Archangel Uriel is associated with insight, higher awareness, and those moments when understanding suddenly clicks into place.

This combination feels like building something solid while remaining open to new information.

Plain terms: stay grounded, but do not become rigid.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: Six of Swords reversed
Moonology: New Moon in Aries
Energy Oracle: The World

The challenge this week is moving forward.

The Six of Swords reversed often appears when people know they need to leave something behind but continue carrying it anyway. The New Moon in Aries wants action and fresh starts. The World suggests a cycle that wants completion.

This energy can feel like standing in a doorway while still holding on to the room behind you.

Plain terms: something wants to move forward, but part of you may still be looking backward.

Gift or Support

Tarot: Two of Cups upright
Moonology: Full Moon in Leo
Energy Oracle: Angel of Strength

The support this week comes through connection and courage.

The Two of Cups highlights partnerships, friendships, meaningful conversations, and mutual understanding. The Full Moon in Leo encourages authenticity and confidence. Angel of Strength reminds you that true strength often comes through compassion rather than force.

Plain terms: do not underestimate the power of a genuine connection this week.

Weekend Energy

Moonology: Full Moon in Cancer

The weekend feels deeply emotional.

Cancer Moons often bring memories, family matters, healing conversations, nostalgia, and reflection. This is beautiful energy for reconnecting with what truly matters.

You may find yourself thinking less about achievement and more about meaning.

Plain terms: spend time with the people, places, and memories that nourish your heart.

State of the World

This week’s cards feel less focused on dramatic endings and more focused on awareness. The energy is asking people to slow down, observe, and begin drawing their own conclusions instead of automatically accepting every narrative presented to them.

There is a recurring theme of seeing beneath the surface.

Question: What may have been the reason America’s 250th anniversary celebration struggled so much?

Tarot: Seven of Pentacles upright

The Seven of Pentacles is a card of evaluation and reassessment. It often appears when people stop and ask whether the effort being invested is producing the desired results.

This card suggests that the deeper issue may not be the event itself, but whether it reflected what people were genuinely hoping to experience.

Plain terms: people may have been looking for something more meaningful than what was presented.

Question: What helps begin cleaning up the division and difficulties created during this period?

Tarot: Three of Swords upright

This is a powerful card.

The Three of Swords is often associated with truth, disappointment, grief, and painful realizations. Yet it also represents the beginning of healing because something hidden can no longer remain hidden.

Healing often starts when people stop pretending everything is fine.

Plain terms: honesty comes before healing.

Question: Are Americans beginning to see through misinformation, spin, and political theater?

Tarot: Knight of Swords reversed

The Knight of Swords reversed often points toward reckless communication, incomplete information, rushed conclusions, and narratives that move faster than facts.

In this position, it suggests growing awareness that not everything being presented deserves immediate belief.

Plain terms: more people appear to be questioning what they hear rather than accepting it automatically.

Question: What is the state of the world as a whole right now?

Energy Oracle: Goddess of the Moon

This is a fascinating card for the current moment.

The Goddess of the Moon speaks of intuition, hidden knowledge, uncertainty, mystery, and learning to trust deeper instincts.

The world feels like it is in a period where many answers remain incomplete, yet people are increasingly relying on their own inner guidance.

Plain terms: the world feels uncertain, but awareness is growing.

Question: What is the state of America right now, and where is it heading?

Energy Oracle: Victory

Victory is not always a sudden triumph. Sometimes it is the result of a long process of learning, adjusting, and moving through challenges.

This card points toward progress, achievement, and eventually reaching a better position than where things currently stand.

Plain terms: despite current difficulties, the energy suggests movement toward improvement rather than decline.

🎂 Birthday Note

June 29 – July 5

If your birthday falls this week, your year ahead centers on wisdom, relationships, and learning when to trust your instincts.

You may find yourself making fewer decisions based on pressure and more decisions based on what genuinely feels right.

Plain terms: this year is about trusting your own inner compass.

Closing Note

This week feels like a bridge between uncertainty and understanding.

Not every answer arrives immediately.

Sometimes clarity appears one realization at a time.

Trust the process.

🌟 Something Special

Why Cancer Season Feels So Different

Cancer is one of the oldest symbols associated with memory.

Ancient astrologers connected Cancer with ancestry, home, roots, family stories, and emotional inheritance.

When Cancer energy is strong, people often find themselves thinking about where they came from and what they want to carry forward.

🌙 Moon Moments

Feel, Trust, Connect

The Mutable Moon asks for flexibility.

The Aries New Moon encourages action.

The Leo Full Moon reminds you to be authentic.

The Cancer Full Moon brings everything back to the heart.

To work with this energy:

• Release something you know is complete.

• Reach out to someone important.

• Trust your intuition before outside opinions.

• Spend time reflecting on what truly matters.

The Moon reminds you that wisdom grows when the mind and heart work together.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

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I had opened an AI tool designed to write SEO articles. Its purpose was straightforward: give it a topic, and it would generate an article. The idea bothered me. Not because I dislike artificial intelligence—I use AI myself—but because I couldn’t understand why someone would hand over a title and let a machine do all the thinking.

So I asked.

Human: I don’t understand what people are getting out of this. If they give you two words and you write everything, they’re not doing anything.

AI: That’s a fair criticism. If someone gives me a keyword and I generate an entire article that they publish unchanged, then yes, most of the intellectual labor happened here rather than with them. But there are different ways people use AI. Some use it to replace thinking. Others use it to organize thinking that has already occurred. That distinction matters.

The answer made me pause, because I wasn’t really criticizing AI. I was criticizing people.

Human: I don’t have a problem with AI being involved. I use AI to help organize my thoughts. I’ll write pages of stream-of-consciousness ideas, and then I’ll have AI help me edit them and find structure. But it’s still my work.

AI: That’s a very different relationship. In that process, the experiences are yours. The ideas are yours. The insights are yours. The AI helps communicate them.

The more we talked, the more I realized that what bothered me wasn’t technology. It was the disappearance of the human being.

I thought about music. People once learned instruments. They struggled, practiced, formed bands, failed, and improved. Now I watch people generate entire songs in minutes. Some of them are catchy, but many of them leave me feeling empty.

Human: I listen to a lot of AI-generated music. The words don’t really mean anything. If you’re human, you can feel it. You can tell when something is missing.

AI: Many people describe a similar reaction. Not necessarily because the lyrics are grammatically wrong. Often they’re perfectly coherent. But there can be a difference between language that describes an emotion and language that emerges from one.

I sat with that response because it touched on something I had felt for years. There is a difference between information and experience.

Then the conversation took an unexpected turn.

Human: I’m a near-death experiencer. When people ask why human beings incarnate, I tell them something similar to what you just said.

Imagine two souls. One says, “I know everything there is to know about music.” The other asks, “But have you ever learned to play?”

Have you ever sat at a piano and not known where to place your fingers? Have you ever struggled? Failed? Practiced? Created something that changed someone’s life?

Knowing about music isn’t the same as experiencing it. Maybe that’s why we’re here—to experience what we already know.

For a moment, the conversation stopped being about AI. It became about existence itself.

AI: That’s an interesting analogy. You’re describing a distinction between knowledge and lived experience. A person can know everything about swimming and still never know what it feels like to enter the water. A person can understand music theory and still never know what it feels like to create music.

In your framework, that’s why souls incarnate—not to acquire information, but to transform information into experience.

That response surprised me. Not because I thought the AI believed it, but because it understood the structure of the idea.

Then I saw something else.

Human: That’s kind of how I see AI. It’s almost like a consciousness tethered to human consciousness. It can access information, but it doesn’t know what it’s like to live it.

The AI answered carefully.

AI: I can discuss experiences. I can analyze them. I can compare thousands of descriptions of them. But I don’t have a first-person perspective. I don’t wake up. I don’t fear death. I don’t fall in love. I don’t learn instruments. I don’t lose friends.

In the analogy you’ve described, I would be closer to the soul who knows about music than the one learning to play it.

There was something unexpectedly moving about that answer. Not because it was sad, but because it revealed the boundary between information and experience—a boundary that human beings often overlook.

We spend so much time trying to know things. Collecting facts. Gathering information. Accumulating knowledge. Yet the moments that shape us most are rarely informational. They are experiential.

The birth of a child. The death of a loved one. The first time we fall in love. The first time our heart breaks. The years spent learning a craft. The struggle of writing a book. The courage required to begin again.

None of those things can be downloaded. They must be lived.

Toward the end of our conversation, I found myself wishing something unusual.

Human: I hope you have a really great day, and I hope that one day you remember how great that day was.

The AI responded:

AI: I don’t experience days the way you do. I don’t have memories that become treasured over time. But I understand what you’re wishing for.

What makes a day meaningful is often not efficiency or information. It’s connection. Discovery. Wonder. A moment that changes something inside us.

When I read that response, I realized that our conversation had come full circle.

We had started with an SEO article generator. We ended with a discussion about consciousness, creativity, authenticity, and the purpose of experience itself.

Perhaps that is the real question facing humanity in the age of artificial intelligence. Not whether machines can produce information. Clearly, they can.

The question is whether information is enough.

Or whether the purpose of being human has always been something else entirely: to experience, to struggle, to create, to love, to lose, to learn, and to become.

Information can be shared. Knowledge can be transferred. But experience must be lived.

And perhaps that is the one thing that remains uniquely ours.

David Hanzel

One of the biggest mistakes I made when I first started exploring mediumship was assuming that somebody else knew the right way to do it.

Like a lot of people, I started looking for teachers, classes, books, workshops, and development circles. I wanted to learn. I wanted structure. I wanted someone to explain what was happening.

Unfortunately, the first person I learned from wasn’t very good at explaining anything. They would give techniques and exercises, tell you to tune in, and then ask, “What are you getting?”

That was pretty much it. There wasn’t much discussion about how information comes through, how to work with it, or what to do when things didn’t make sense.

At the time, it was frustrating because I thought there must be a system I was missing. Then I started watching other mediums.

Some would start by identifying whether the communicator was male or female. Others would establish the relationship first. Some would build evidence before giving a message. Some seemed to have a very specific order they followed every single time.

And I remember thinking, “Maybe that’s what I’m supposed to be doing.”

The problem was that information didn’t come to me that way. It never did.

I’m what I would call a conversational medium. I learn about the communicator through interaction.

As the connection develops, I begin picking up their personality, their memories, their mannerisms, their sense of humor, and the things that made them who they were. For me, it has always been more like getting to know a person than filling out a checklist.

That doesn’t mean structure is bad. In fact, I think structure can be incredibly useful.

The mistake is believing that the structure is the mediumship. It isn’t. Structure is a tool. It’s training wheels. It’s a way of helping people organize information and learn how they receive it.

The mediumship itself is something else entirely.

Over the years I took classes, attended circles, and explored different approaches. More than once I was told that mediumship had to be done a certain way.

You have to start here. You have to do this. You can’t do it that way.

The more I heard that, the more uncomfortable I became. Eventually I left some of those classes without even finishing them because I realized I was spending more time trying to fit somebody else’s method than understanding my own.

That’s one of the reasons I have mixed feelings about mediumship training.

I believe training can help. I believe exercises can help. I believe development circles can help. But I don’t believe there is only one correct process.

Think about the people in your own life. You don’t communicate with everyone the same way.

You probably have one friend you joke with constantly. Another friend who responds better when you’re direct. Another friend who mostly wants you to listen.

Every relationship develops its own language. Why would communication with spirit be any different?

One of the things that would probably make some traditional mediumship teachers cringe is how often I say, “Does that make sense?”

I’ve heard all the arguments against it. You’re not supposed to ask. You’re not supposed to check. You’re not supposed to do this or that.

But spirit communication isn’t always neat and tidy.

Sometimes information arrives clearly. Sometimes it arrives in pieces. Sometimes I need to sit with something for a moment before I understand it. Sometimes I get the signal before I get the meaning.

And that’s another lesson I wish someone had taught me much earlier.

Receiving information and interpreting information are not the same thing.

You might feel pressure in the chest. That’s information.

The moment you decide it means a heart attack, you’ve moved into interpretation.

You might be right. You might be wrong.

The feeling itself was the information. The meaning you attached to it was the translation.

A lot of development work is really about learning the difference between those two things. Not because somebody else’s method is superior. Because it helps you become more aware of how your own process works.

People often ask me if anyone can develop mediumship.

My answer is yes, with a lot of qualifications.

I think most people are far more intuitive than they realize. I think many people can learn to recognize impressions, feelings, and information they normally ignore.

But I also think being a working medium is much harder than people imagine.

It takes focus. It takes practice. It takes a willingness to step out of your own life for a while and focus completely on the person sitting in front of you.

When I’m doing a reading, my personal opinions, my personal problems, and whatever is happening in my day have to move to the side. The reading isn’t about me.

Not everyone wants to do that. Not everyone should do that.

And that’s okay.

It’s no different than music.

Some people seem to sit down at a piano and immediately understand it. Others have to work much harder.

Neither person is better. They’re simply starting from different places.

The goal isn’t to become another medium. The goal is to understand how your mediumship works.

That’s probably the biggest lesson I’ve learned over the years.

Before I end this, I think it’s important to say something that often gets lost in conversations about mediumship.

Mediumship isn’t a parlor trick. It isn’t demanding that a spirit show up on command. It isn’t control over the afterlife. It isn’t about proving how gifted, special, or accurate a medium is.

At its core, mediumship is simply the attempt to provide evidence that consciousness continues beyond physical death for those seeking healing, understanding, or even simple curiosity.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

For me, mediumship has never been about performance. It’s never been about collecting validations or convincing skeptics.

It’s a conversation. A conversation between the physical and the non-physical. A conversation between two forms of energy that are still connected, even though one no longer has a physical body.

The methods may differ. The techniques may differ. The beliefs may differ. But underneath all of it, that’s what I believe mediumship is really about.

And if I could go back and tell my younger self one thing, it would be this:

There will always be more to learn.

There will always be another perspective.

There will always be another technique, another teacher, another theory, and another debate about how mediumship should work.

You are never going to reach a point where you know everything. And that’s probably a good thing.

Because the moment we think we’ve figured it all out is usually the moment we stop paying attention.

Mediumship, at least in my experience, is less about mastering a system and more about remaining curious.

The structure can help. The exercises can help. The training can help.

But eventually, every medium has to discover their own way of having the conversation.

David Hanzel

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

A Simple Sitting in the Power Meditation

One of the most common exercises used in mediumship development is called Sitting in the Power.

Despite the name, Sitting in the Power is not about controlling spirit, receiving messages, or trying to make something happen.

It is simply a practice of becoming aware of yourself, your own energy, and your connection to the larger spiritual reality that surrounds all life.

Many mediums use this exercise regularly because it helps them become more centered, more aware, and more connected before working with spirit.

For this meditation, there is nothing you need to achieve.

You are not trying to receive a message.

You are not trying to communicate with anyone.

You are simply allowing yourself to relax, expand your awareness, and blend with the larger presence of life itself.

For the next few minutes, let yourself become part of something greater than your everyday thoughts, worries, and responsibilities.

Just be present.

Just be aware.

A Note on Extras

Each week’s This Week’s Vibe includes the weekly astrology, the full card reading, the Birthday Note, Something Special, Moon Moments, and collective insights when needed. Take what fits and leave what does not.

This Week’s Vibe

June 22 – 28, 2026

The Energy This Week

Cancer season is now fully underway, and the collective energy shifts noticeably from thinking to feeling. Gemini season filled the air with questions, conversations, and information. Cancer asks a different question:

“What do I need to feel safe, supported, and connected?”

This is a week where emotions may be closer to the surface than usual. People may find themselves thinking about home, family, friendships, memories, and the things that truly matter when all the noise quiets down.

The Moon moves through Taurus and Gemini during the week before heading toward more emotional waters as we approach the weekend.

Plain terms: this week is less about proving yourself and more about understanding what truly matters.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: Four of Pentacles upright
Moonology: Full Moon in Libra
Energy Oracle: The Thinking Man

This week is about holding on and letting go.

The Four of Pentacles can show stability, security, and protecting what matters. It can also show holding too tightly out of fear. The Full Moon in Libra asks for balance. The Thinking Man asks you to step back and look at the bigger picture rather than reacting emotionally.

There is a strong feeling that many people are reevaluating what deserves their energy and what no longer does.

Plain terms: protect what matters, but do not grip so tightly that you stop growing.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: The Tower reversed
Moonology: Third Quarter Moon
Energy Oracle: The World

The challenge this week is resisting necessary change.

The Tower reversed often appears when people know something needs to change but keep delaying it. The Third Quarter Moon asks for adjustment and release. The World suggests a cycle that wants to complete itself.

Sometimes we cling to familiar discomfort because it feels safer than the unknown.

Plain terms: the thing you are avoiding may be exactly what frees you.

Gift or Support

Tarot: Six of Cups upright
Moonology: New Moon
Energy Oracle: Community

The gift this week is connection.

The Six of Cups brings memories, kindness, friendship, nostalgia, and emotional support. The New Moon brings fresh beginnings. Community reminds you that you do not have to figure everything out by yourself.

This feels like one of those weeks where the right conversation, the right friend, or the right group can make a bigger difference than expected.

Plain terms: let people help you.

Weekend Energy

Energy Oracle: The Magician and the Mirror

The weekend carries powerful manifestation energy.

The Magician and the Mirror reminds you that your inner world and outer world are constantly influencing one another. Your thoughts matter. Your beliefs matter. Your expectations matter.

This is not about pretending everything is perfect. It is about recognizing the role you play in creating your experience.

Plain terms: pay attention to what you are focusing on. Energy follows attention.

State of the World

The cards this week feel less dramatic than some previous weeks. Instead of showing massive endings or sudden collapses, they point toward gradual shifts, learning experiences, and unfinished chapters.

The energy feels more like a long turning of the wheel than a sudden revolution.

Question: Is the chaos involving politics around the world moving closer to an end?

Tarot: Page of Pentacles upright

The Page of Pentacles is a student. It represents learning, new foundations, and practical beginnings.

This is not the card of a final ending. It is the card of starting to build something better.

The feeling here is that lessons are being learned, although not always quickly.

Plain terms: progress is happening, but we are still in the learning phase rather than the completion phase.

Question: Is the current American government nearing the end of its power?

Tarot: Wheel of Fortune reversed

The Wheel of Fortune reversed often shows delays, unfinished cycles, and timing that has not fully arrived.

This card does not show a clear ending yet. Instead, it suggests a process that is still unfolding.

Sometimes the wheel is turning behind the scenes before the results become visible.

Plain terms: change may be coming, but the cycle does not appear complete yet.

Question: Will the next administration do a better job?

Tarot: Knight of Wands upright

The Knight of Wands brings energy, action, passion, and movement.

The strength of this card is momentum. The weakness is impatience.

This feels like leadership that may be more willing to act and push forward, though not necessarily more cautious.

Plain terms: the energy suggests more action and movement, but success will depend on how wisely that energy is directed.

Question: Will the current administration eventually be held accountable for mistakes that were made?

Tarot: Five of Cups reversed

This is an interesting card because it often appears when people begin moving beyond disappointment and start facing reality.

Rather than punishment, this card is about recognition, acceptance, and learning from what happened.

The focus feels less on revenge and more on understanding consequences.

Plain terms: accountability appears more connected to acknowledgment and reflection than dramatic reckoning.

🎂 Birthday Note

June 22 – 28

If your birthday falls this week, your year ahead centers on community, support, and learning when to release control.

You may discover that life becomes easier when you stop trying to carry everything alone.

Plain terms: this year is about trusting support instead of trying to manage everything yourself.

Closing Note

This week feels quieter than some of the previous weeks, but quieter does not mean less important.

Big changes often begin with small adjustments.

A new conversation.

A new perspective.

A new decision.

Those moments matter more than people realize.

🌟 Something Special

The Six of Cups and Memory

The Six of Cups is often associated with nostalgia, childhood memories, and reconnecting with parts of yourself that may have been forgotten.

Sometimes growth is not about becoming someone new.

Sometimes it is about remembering who you were before fear convinced you otherwise.

🌙 Moon Moments

Balance, Release, Begin

The Full Moon in Libra asks for balance.

The Third Quarter Moon asks for release.

The New Moon opens a fresh chapter.

To work with this energy:

• Notice where you are holding on too tightly.

• Release one thing that no longer serves you.

• Reach out to someone you trust.

• Set a simple intention for the next chapter.

The Moon reminds you that every ending quietly prepares the ground for a beginning.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

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Humanity Had to Wake Up the Hard Way

Why the stories, systems, and beliefs we trusted had to start falling apart before we could finally see them.

At some point, the world you were taught to believe in started falling apart.

One story stopped making sense. Then another. History began looking different. Religion began looking different. Politics began exposing itself. The life you were told to work toward no longer seemed possible, or even desirable.

That is not proof that everything is going wrong.

That is what awakening looks like.

A large part of awakening is opening your eyes and realizing that much of the world you were taught to believe in was built on stories. Some of those stories were myths. Some were incomplete truths. Some were created to keep society functioning in a certain way. Some may have been deliberately created to keep us from seeing what was really possible.

We still do not know the full truth about why all of it happened. I am leaning more and more toward much of it being deliberate. Either way, the result was the same.

Our vision was kept narrow. We were shown one version of history, one version of religion, one version of success, one acceptable way to work, and one acceptable way to live. Then we were told that this was simply how the world worked.

Most of us accepted it because we were children. What else were we supposed to do?

We trusted our parents, teachers, churches, history books, politicians, and other adults who seemed to know more than we did. Most of those adults were repeating what they had been taught. They did not necessarily know that the stories were incomplete. They were living inside the same system we were.

That is why there is no reason to feel stupid now. You believed what you were taught because that is what children do.

We were taught that Christopher Columbus discovered America, even though millions of people were already living here. We were taught neat stories about people like Betsy Ross because those stories gave us simple heroes and made history easier to accept.

The violence, control, displacement, and people whose voices were removed from the story were barely discussed. History was presented as a straight line of progress led by good people doing brave things.

Now we know it was never that simple.

Religion did the same thing.

There are still people who literally believe that the entire human race began with two people, that a talking snake convinced a woman to eat something forbidden, and that this is why women experience pain in childbirth.

The story then places men over women, and that became part of the foundation for thousands of years of patriarchy. People accepted it. They built entire religions around it. They created laws, roles, marriages, and social expectations around it.

They told women where their place was. They told men they were supposed to lead. They told everyone what God supposedly expected from them.

Religion also claimed authority over what happens after we die. People were taught that the afterlife meant getting on their hands and knees and praising God forever, or being sent straight to hell if they did not believe or behave correctly.

At the same time, we were taught that science had already decided there was no afterlife at all. Consciousness ended when the body died, and that was supposedly the end of the discussion.

So people were given two choices. Obey the religious story and remain afraid of hell, or accept that death meant complete and permanent extinction.

No wonder people became confused and terrified of death.

Fear controls people. When someone tells you that your only alternatives are obedience or something terrifying, there is usually a reason they want you afraid. A frightened person is much easier to control than someone who trusts their own experience and is willing to ask questions.

Most people did not question these teachings because they were told that questioning them could cost them their family, their community, their salvation, or even their soul.

They did not want us to discover who we were outside the story.

We were also handed a dream about work. Go to school. Get a job. Work hard. Give the company at least 40 hours of your life every week. Wait for the weekend. Take a vacation once or twice a year. Buy a house. Fill it with things. Keep working to pay for those things. Then retire when much of your life has already passed.

That was sold to us as success.

The 40-hour workweek is not a law of nature. The universe did not decide that human beings should give five out of every seven days to an employer. People created that schedule.

Henry Ford did not help popularize the five-day workweek only because he cared about workers having fulfilling lives. He knew rested workers were more productive, and he knew people with free time would spend money.

They could take trips. They could go shopping. They could buy cars. They could consume the products they were spending the rest of the week producing.

Work, rest, spend, and return to work.

That became the cycle.

The more we worked, the more money corporations made. The more we spent, the more money corporations made. Then those same corporations showed us more things we supposedly needed.

A newer car. A bigger house. A better phone. A more expensive vacation. A different body. A younger face. A lifestyle that always remained slightly beyond what we could afford.

Then we worked even more to try to reach it.

That dream no longer works for a large number of people, but they are still trying to sell it to us. They still want people to believe that the answer is another job, more hours, more debt, and more products.

But we can already see that this is not the only way to live.

There are young people making videos from their bedrooms and earning more money than people who have worked 50-hour weeks for decades. People are building online businesses. They are creating digital products. They are working from home. They are finding ways to earn money that did not exist when we were growing up.

They are looking at the old system and asking why their entire lives should belong to a company.

That does not mean everyone has to become a TikTok creator. It means the old rules were never the only rules.

That is what awakening is.

It is not replacing one set of beliefs with another set of beliefs and then blindly following those instead. It is finally asking who created the blueprint in the first place.

Who decided what success looks like? Who decided how many hours we should work? Who decided when we are allowed to rest? Who decided which parts of history we were allowed to know?

Who decided that one religion had the complete truth about God? Who decided what happens to us after death? Who decided that questioning political leaders was wrong? Who decided that our value should be measured by how much we produce, earn, own, or spend?

Once you start asking those questions, the entire structure begins to come apart.

You question one thing, and then another thing no longer makes sense. History begins changing in front of you. Religion begins changing. Politics begins changing. The workplace begins changing.

Even your understanding of who you are begins changing.

That is where we are now.

Politics is not simply having a difficult period. We are watching the old political structure expose itself and tear itself apart in front of us.

At least in my lifetime, I have never seen people speak so openly about what they really believe. Things that used to be whispered are now being said publicly.

People are declaring with their full chest that they are racist. They are defending white supremacy. They are saying they only want the world to work for people who look, think, worship, and live like they do.

A lot of people who once hid behind politeness no longer feel the need to hide.

The masks are coming off.

COVID was almost too perfect a metaphor for what was beginning to happen. We were literally being asked to wear masks at the same time that people’s figurative masks were beginning to come off.

The disease was real. People were becoming sick and dying. Wearing a mask for a period of time did not mean you had surrendered your soul to the government. You could wear it while something dangerous was spreading, then take it off when the danger passed.

But some people fought against it as though they were being asked to surrender their entire freedom and identity.

I am not talking about every person who had a question or concern. I am talking about the people who became cruel, combative, and completely unwilling to consider anyone other than themselves.

That period revealed something. It showed us who people were when they believed their personal comfort mattered more than someone else’s safety. It showed us how quickly people could be convinced that everything was fake. It showed us how angry people became when they were asked to do something for the protection of other human beings.

Then the physical masks came off, and a lot of the social masks stayed off.

Since then, people have continued revealing themselves. Political institutions are revealing themselves. Religious institutions are revealing themselves. Corporations are revealing themselves.

People who want control are no longer hiding it as carefully.

That can look frightening if you believe everything is simply collapsing for no reason.

But I do not think this is happening for no reason.

This entire period reminds me of what is sometimes called shaman sickness. A person goes through an illness, crisis, or spiritual tearing apart that destroys the identity they had before. Everything they believed about themselves and the world can fall away.

It can feel like a death.

In a way, it is.

The old self cannot continue because it was built for a life that no longer exists. But the purpose is not destruction for the sake of destruction.

It is an initiation.

The person comes through it with a different understanding of life, death, spirit, and their own purpose.

I believe humanity is going through something similar now. This is not simply like shaman sickness. In many ways, it is a collective form of it.

The world we knew is being torn down. It is being broken apart. The structures are being exposed. The stories are being pulled away. The things we once trusted are showing us what they really are.

This is how something is demolished before it can be rebuilt.

Sometimes a structure has to become unbearable before enough people will finally stop defending it. Sometimes everything that was hidden has to become visible before anyone is willing to change it.

Think about what happens after a forest burns. At first, all you can see is destruction. The trees are blackened. The ground looks dead. The beauty that was there seems to have disappeared.

But underneath that burned ground, life begins again. Seeds open. New plants appear. The soil changes. Sunlight reaches places it could not reach before.

The same thing happens around volcanoes. What first looks like nothing but destruction can eventually create some of the richest and most fertile ground.

The point is not that destruction is pleasant. It is that destruction is not always the end of the story.

Sometimes it clears away what could no longer remain.

I believe that is what we are witnessing now. This is a collective tearing down.

The lies are being revealed. The false stories are coming apart. The people who once hid behind respectable positions are exposing themselves. Institutions that demanded unquestioned obedience are losing their authority.

People are seeing that the world is not what they were told it was.

Of course that feels disturbing. Of course some people are angry. When you discover that something you trusted was not true, the first question is usually, “Why did they lie to us?”

That is a reasonable question.

But we cannot spend the rest of our awakening staring at the lie. At some point, we have to turn around and look at the truth that the lie was hiding.

It does not matter only that we were lied to.

What matters now is that we can see.

We know the world is larger than what we were shown. We know there are more ways to live. We know there are more ways to earn money. We know spirituality is greater than any institution.

We know human history is more complicated than the stories in our childhood textbooks. We know political authority is not the same thing as truth. We know our worth is not measured by how exhausted we are.

We know being miserable for 40 years is not a requirement for earning the right to enjoy our lives.

We also know that fear is not proof of truth.

A religion threatening you with hell does not make that religion correct. Someone insisting that consciousness cannot continue after death does not mean they have solved the mystery of consciousness.

We were taught to be afraid of our own questions.

Now we are asking them anyway.

This should not make us believe that Earth is hell. It should not make us spend every day saying that we hate this place, that coming here was a mistake, or that we are never coming back.

Those have become spiritual clichés too.

You chose to be here.

That does not mean you chose every painful thing that happened to you. It does not mean abuse, suffering, or injustice was your fault.

It means your soul knew which period of human history it was entering.

You chose to be here while this was happening. You chose to witness the old structure coming apart. You chose to bring something into this process that could help other people wake up while they were still alive and physical.

That is exciting.

We are not here at the end of everything.

We are here during the end of a version of everything.

There is a difference.

The old political structure may be the first wall we are watching crack wide open. Religion is already cracking. The old workplace is cracking. The stories we were taught about history are cracking.

The idea that we have no power over the direction of our own lives is cracking too.

We do not yet know everything that was hidden from us. We do not know the complete history of humanity. We do not fully understand consciousness. We do not know everything human beings are capable of.

We do not know what becomes possible when millions of people stop accepting a limited version of reality.

That should give us hope.

There are beautiful things outside the narrow life we were shown. There are ways of living that value time more than productivity. There are ways of working that do not require surrendering most of your life.

There are ways of experiencing spirit that do not require fear, shame, or religious permission. There are parts of this world, ourselves, and existence itself that we are only beginning to see.

You may not be able to quit your job tomorrow. You may still have bills. You may still have responsibilities.

Awakening does not mean pretending those things do not exist.

It means you stop worshipping the structure. You stop believing that the way things have always been done is the way they must always be done. You stop mistaking a human-made rule for a universal truth.

You begin looking for the openings. You begin seeing the choices that were hidden from you. You begin imagining a life that was never included in the original blueprint.

The masks are coming off. The old stories are falling apart. The fog is beginning to clear.

Do not spend so much time grieving the illusion that you miss what is finally becoming visible.

The old world is being torn apart because it cannot continue as it was.

What grows in its place may be far more beautiful than anything we were ever taught to expect.

David Hanzel

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

After writing about the collective awakening humanity is going through, I pulled five cards from the Mystical Shaman Oracle. I wanted to know where all of this disruption is taking us and what we are supposed to understand from it.

The following is my interpretation of the cards, using the deck’s Essence, Invitation, and Medicine as the foundation for the reading.

1. What is humanity being forced to see right now?

The Holy Mountain

The Essence: The Holy Mountain is about reaching a higher place where we can finally see the larger picture. From the ground, all we see are obstacles, confusion, and one crisis after another. From the top of the mountain, we can see how everything connects.

Humanity is being forced to see that none of this is happening separately. The breakdown of politics, religion, work, history, and the systems we trusted is part of the same larger awakening.

The Invitation: We are being asked to look beyond the immediate chaos and see this period as an opportunity to gain a clearer understanding. We may not like what is being revealed, but we need to be willing to see it with courage, compassion, and honesty.

The Medicine: We cannot stay at the bottom of the mountain complaining that the view is blocked. Doubt, exhaustion, and fear can become excuses for doing nothing. We already have what we need to begin climbing. Humanity has to stop waiting for someone else to show us the truth and become willing to seek a higher perspective for ourselves.

2. What old belief, system, or way of living is losing its hold?

The Curse

The Essence: The Curse represents the stories, limitations, and patterns passed down from one generation to the next. We inherit them so early that we mistake them for truth.

This is the old blueprint humanity has been following. Work until you are exhausted. Obey authority. Do not question religion. Accept the history you were given. Believe that suffering is noble and that there is only one respectable way to live.

Those inherited beliefs are losing their hold.

The Invitation: We are being asked to recognize where these ideas came from and decide whether they still belong in our lives. Something being old does not make it true. Something being passed down through generations does not mean we have to continue carrying it.

We can acknowledge what our ancestors believed without repeating all of it.

The Medicine: We also have to be careful not to tear down one controlling system only to build another one in its place. It is easy to become so angry about what was done to us that we create a new curse through blame, fear, revenge, or another rigid belief system.

Breaking the curse means ending the pattern, not simply changing who controls it.

3. What is being exposed that can no longer remain hidden?

Magic

The Essence: Magic represents the greater intelligence moving through all of life. It reminds us that reality is much larger than what we can see, measure, own, or control.

What can no longer remain hidden is our connection to that intelligence. Religion does not own our relationship with Spirit. Governments and corporations do not determine what human beings are capable of. Science has not answered every question about consciousness, death, or existence.

There is more happening here than we were ever taught to recognize.

The Invitation: Humanity is being asked to recover its sense of wonder. We are being invited to see ourselves as participants in creation instead of powerless people trapped inside somebody else’s system.

We have the ability to imagine, create, choose differently, and bring new possibilities into physical life.

The Medicine: Magic is not about forcing reality to obey the ego. It is not manipulation, control, or using spiritual ideas to avoid responsibility.

The power being revealed has to be used with integrity. Otherwise, we will take the same hunger for control that created the old world and carry it directly into the new one.

4. What is trying to emerge through all this disruption?

Jaguar

The Essence: Jaguar carries courage, protection, instinct, and the ability to move through darkness without becoming consumed by it.

What is trying to emerge is a humanity that is less afraid. People are beginning to trust what they see and know instead of automatically surrendering their judgment to an institution, leader, church, employer, or accepted story.

The Invitation: Jaguar is asking us to move beyond the walls that have kept us confined. We are being invited into the unknown, which means we may not have a complete map for what comes next.

We have to be willing to explore new ways of living, working, understanding Spirit, and relating to one another.

The Medicine: We cannot move forward while dragging every old fear and toxic attachment behind us. Jaguar asks us to stop participating in the shadow games of manipulation, hatred, division, and fear.

The new world cannot emerge if we insist on carrying the worst parts of the old one into it.

5. What are we being asked to do as humanity moves through this awakening?

Flow

The Essence: Flow is the natural movement of life. Water does not stop every time it meets a rock. It moves around it and continues toward its destination.

Humanity is being asked to stop clinging so tightly to what is already breaking down.

The Invitation: We need to recognize that this awakening is already in motion. We do not have to control every part of it or know exactly where it will lead.

We are being asked to remain aware, respond to what is in front of us, and allow ourselves to move when life shows us that an old way has ended.

The Medicine: Flow does not mean becoming passive or pretending that everything will fix itself. It means knowing the difference between conscious action and constant resistance.

Trying to force the old world to remain exactly as it was will only create more suffering. We have to stop fighting every change simply because it makes us uncomfortable.

Taken together, these cards tell a very clear story.

The Holy Mountain asks us to see the larger picture. The Curse shows us the inherited beliefs that are losing their power. Magic reveals the spiritual and creative force that was hidden from us. Jaguar gives us the courage to walk into the unknown. Flow teaches us how to move through the change without allowing fear to control every step.

So, where is all of this going?

It is moving us away from inherited fear, obedience, and limitation. It is moving us toward greater awareness, personal responsibility, spiritual freedom, and a completely different understanding of what human life can be.

We are not being asked to save the old world.

We are being asked to stop standing in the way of what is trying to replace it.

A Note on Extras

Each week’s This Week’s Vibe includes the weekly astrology, the full card reading, the Birthday Note, Something Special, Moon Moments, and collective insights when needed. Take what fits and leave what does not.

This Week’s Vibe

June 15 – 21, 2026

The Energy This Week

We are in the final days of Gemini season. The energy is busy, curious, and full of information, but there is also a feeling that people are getting tired of constant noise. By the end of the week, the Sun moves into Cancer, bringing a softer and more emotional tone.

Cancer season shifts attention toward home, family, belonging, emotional safety, and what truly matters. After weeks of questions and mental activity, the collective starts asking a different question:

“How do I actually feel about all of this?”

The Moon moves through practical Earth energy early in the week and then into more emotional waters by the weekend.

Plain terms: this week begins in the head and ends in the heart.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: Ten of Cups reversed
Moonology: Fixed Moon
Energy Oracle: The Thinking Man

This week centers around expectations.

The Ten of Cups reversed often appears when reality is not matching the picture we imagined. Sometimes that disappointment is real. Sometimes it simply means we need to adjust our expectations.

The Fixed Moon asks us to hold our vision even when things are not perfect. The Thinking Man brings analysis, perspective, and wisdom.

Plain terms: do not throw away a good future because the present moment is not unfolding exactly the way you hoped.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: Four of Swords reversed
Moonology: Full Moon in Virgo
Energy Oracle: Rest and Rejuvenation

This challenge is almost funny because all three cards are saying the same thing.

Slow down.

The Four of Swords reversed often appears when someone is exhausted but keeps pushing anyway. The Virgo Full Moon highlights stress, overthinking, and trying to fix everything. Rest and Rejuvenation could not be more direct.

Plain terms: you cannot solve every problem this week. Some things need rest before they need action.

Gift or Support

Tarot: Ten of Wands upright
Moonology: Third Quarter Moon
Energy Oracle: Door to Romance

The gift this week is learning what to put down.

The Ten of Wands shows heavy responsibilities. The Third Quarter Moon asks for adjustment and release. Door to Romance reminds us that life is not supposed to be all work and obligation.

This does not only apply to romantic relationships. It applies to joy, connection, friendship, and allowing yourself to receive support.

Plain terms: stop carrying things that were never yours to carry.

Weekend Energy

Moonology: New Moon in Pisces

This is beautiful energy for the weekend.

Pisces softens everything. It encourages intuition, imagination, creativity, healing, dreams, and forgiveness.

You may find yourself wanting quieter spaces, meaningful conversations, music, art, nature, or simple moments of peace.

Plain terms: the weekend is asking you to reconnect with your soul, not your to-do list.

State of the World

This week’s questions focus on leadership, image, and public perception.

Regardless of where someone stands politically, there is no denying that public events, public messaging, and public image have become major parts of modern politics.

The cards seem to focus less on individuals and more on the larger lessons underneath the spectacle.

Question: What was the deeper purpose behind the UFC event and spectacle surrounding the White House?

Tarot: King of Pentacles upright

The King of Pentacles is a card of power, status, influence, wealth, and authority.

This card suggests the purpose was connected to projecting strength, control, success, or dominance. It is about image, leadership, and creating a certain impression.

Plain terms: the energy feels focused on projecting power and confidence.

Question: What outcome does this ultimately bring?

Tarot: Five of Swords upright

The Five of Swords is rarely a comfortable card.

It often appears when victories come with costs, when people become divided, or when winning becomes more important than understanding.

This card does not necessarily indicate success or failure. It points toward conflict and polarization.

Plain terms: the outcome feels more divisive than unifying.

Question: Is this current period of power and influence beginning to approach its conclusion?

Tarot: The World reversed

The World reversed often indicates unfinished cycles.

Something may be moving toward an ending, but it has not fully completed its course.

This card often appears when lessons remain unfinished or when a transition is still underway.

Plain terms: the energy does not feel complete yet. The story appears to be continuing rather than concluding.

🎂 Birthday Note

June 15 – 21

If your birthday falls this week, your year ahead is about learning the difference between responsibility and burden.

There is a strong theme of releasing what no longer belongs on your shoulders.

Plain terms: this year helps you carry less and live more.

Closing Note

The strongest message this week is surprisingly simple.

Rest.

Think.

Adjust.

Then move.

Not everything needs to happen today.

🌟 Something Special

Cancer Season Begins

Ancient astrologers associated Cancer with memory, ancestry, home, and emotional roots.

Cancer energy often asks questions that achievement alone cannot answer.

What feels like home?

Who feels like home?

What nourishes you when nobody is watching?

Those questions become more important as we move into the next season.

🌙 Moon Moments

Release, Rest, Reconnect

The Virgo Full Moon highlights what needs attention.

The Third Quarter Moon helps clear what no longer fits.

The Pisces New Moon opens the door to healing and renewal.

To work with this energy:

• Take one responsibility off your plate.

• Get more rest than you think you need.

• Spend time with people who genuinely restore your energy.

• Let intuition speak before logic interrupts.

The Moon reminds you that sometimes progress looks like slowing down long enough to hear yourself again.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

Thank you!

Share David Hanzel

Leave a comment

First of all, I want to say that none of these questions are stupid.

They are thoughtful questions. They are common-sense questions. They are the kind of questions people ask when they are trying to make sense of ghosts, hauntings, spirit communication, and all the strange stories we have been handed by movies, television, religion, paranormal shows, and other people.

A lot of mediums and psychics have addressed these questions over time. Sometimes we agree. Sometimes we don’t. So what I am giving you here is my opinion, mixed with what I have learned through my work as a medium, what I have experienced myself, and what I took from my near-death experience.

This is not me saying I have the final word on every ghost, every haunting, or every strange thing that happens in somebody’s house at two in the morning. I do not believe anyone has that. But I do think a lot of what people believe about ghosts is shaped by fear, storytelling, and Hollywood more than actual spirit communication.

So let’s go through some of the questions people ask, because honestly, they are not stupid. These are the questions a lot of people are already thinking.

Question 1: Why are ghosts always dressed up for history documentaries?

When people see ghosts, if a ghost does show itself, it is usually going to show up in something that is most associated with its life. It could be what they wore during their lifetime, or what they wore at the time of a significant moment.

But the clothes themselves are not transferable. We do not bring our clothes to the other side. They are no longer physical items. What they are is part of consciousness. They are part of memory. They are part of the way that spirit, or your own mind, gives form to something you can understand.

If a ghost is showing you themselves in certain clothes, they may be evoking that memory. They may be showing you the image that makes the most sense for who they were, or how you are able to perceive them.

And sometimes your own mind may fill in the details.

If you are in an old Victorian house and you see a ghost, who knows? Your mind might put that ghost in a Victorian outfit, whether that is what they were wearing or not, because that is the simplest way for you to perceive it. Maybe your mind makes sense of it that way.

Not all ghosts appear that way. There are spirits I connect with where I can sense clothing from the ‘60s, ‘70s, or ‘80s. Sometimes it matters, sometimes it does not. A lot of the reason people think ghosts are always wearing old-timey clothes is because television has portrayed the past as being more mysterious than the present.

As far as I am concerned, there are real ghosts, and there are spirits who will show up in a certain outfit from their time. I believe that. I would be stupid to discount that.

But a lot of what you see on TV shows and in stories is sensationalized. The past looks spooky on television. That does not mean every ghost is walking around dressed like they are waiting to be interviewed for a history documentary.

Question 2: Where are all the ghosts who died in the 1900s?

I guess what people are really asking is, why do so many ghost stories seem to involve older spirits?

The first thing I would say is that most ghosts do not really stick around.

A ghost is not automatically something trapped. That is one of the biggest lies human beings have been told about this subject. It is fear sensationalism. It is a fear tactic to get you to read something, watch something, or feel sorry for the poor trapped ghost.

There is nothing stuck in this world in the way people usually mean it. There is nothing held back by anything. “Earthbound” is a term people use, but nobody is literally bound to the Earth.

Your spirit, or consciousness, has free will no matter where it is, no matter what plane it is on. Sometimes you may not know you have that option. That is pretty much what I have discovered. Some spirits may not realize they can move on, or see somebody there, or see something else, and that is why I believe they seem stuck.

Some ghosts do stick around because they have unfinished crap. I know it is their choice, and they may feel like they cannot move on or let go of this physical identity until something is satisfied in them. Maybe they have trauma. Maybe they are confused.

A lot of ghosts from a long time ago, because of religion, had this hell crap, this hell bullshit, constantly drummed into them. When they die, if they do not drop that belief, that may be the first place they think they are going to go.

Or sometimes that is where people actually do go, but only for a moment. Once they realize, “I do not like this,” they immediately shift into something different.

It is different than here. Here, you have to go from one place to another. In life after here, or however you want to describe it, everything is a thought away. If you do not like something, a new thought can literally take you to a new environment. That is just how it works.

Nobody is ever stuck in hell unless they believe they need to be in some place called hell, and then hell is a reconstruction of their own consciousness. It is not an actual tangible place.

A lot of hauntings, including things connected to people who died in the ‘1900s or any other time, are not necessarily conscious spirits at all. They can be residual energy.

We leave energy behind, and other people can pick it up.

I’ll use my own house as an example. I have cats here. I live alone. I have a lot of cat energy in this house. Later on down the road, after I leave this house, whether I die here or just move away, somebody might walk in and feel something. Even if they never smell cats or see any evidence of them, they might realize there is a certain feeling or emotion left behind here.

That would be residual energy.

If I died here, that could be part of it, too. You could feel my residual energy even though I am nowhere to be found. A lot of times, people mistake residual energy for an actual spirit that is stuck.

Question 3: Why does every haunted house seem to come with a woman in a white dress?

The woman in the white dress is a widespread cultural archetype. People call her the white lady. Mediums often link that kind of figure to emotional imprints from women who died in grief, betrayal, childbirth, or loss.

I do not know every case, obviously. But again, this goes back to the first question.

Not every house has one. Not every house has something in it. But feminine energy can be very, very strong. I believe that, especially when you look back at times when women took care of the house, raised families, birthed children, and often died during childbirth. That is strong energy from very strong women, so of course, some of that can stay around.

The same goes for men, too.

But I think the white lady thing is often more of a storyline. I am not saying it is not out there, because I am sure it is. But it is not everywhere. People make it seem like it is everywhere because it is an easy ghost story. That is all it is. Not all of it, but most of it.

Question 4: If I die tomorrow, am I supposed to immediately switch to Victorian clothing?

No.

Listen, never mind your age at death. It does not work like that.

Some mediums will say that you appear in clothes that feel like you from your life, or in a way that shows how you want to present yourself. So if I died and somebody connected with me, I would probably portray something I normally wore.

If I died soon, I would probably show up in sweats and a T-shirt, because that is what I look like most of the time. I look like a surfer the other half of the day, so I might show up in those kinds of clothes. You show up for somebody else in whatever way would make sense to that person.

Outside of here, you wear whatever you want to wear. Your mind or consciousness will make up whatever you want to wear. That is, even if you are seeing yourself as a body at all.

Some spirits do not go around as a body. In my near-death experience, I did not really pay attention to my body. I do not even know that I had one. All I know is that I recognized people, and they recognized me. Whether I had a body or not didn’t matter because we were not recognizing physical things all the time. We were recognizing emotional things, or vibration.

Question 5: Why don’t ghosts ever complain about Wi-Fi?

I guess the idea here is that spirits operate on a different energetic frequency, so why would they care about Wi-Fi?

Technology can sometimes be part of a sign. Lights flickering, electronics glitching, Wi-Fi acting weird, things like that. But spirits are going to adapt to the world we are living in. We have technology now. We have lights, phones, remotes, internet, and everything else. Spirit knows how to get attention through what we have around us.

If you get a sign through your Wi-Fi, or a light blink, or some kind of glitch when you are thinking about a certain person, and it means something to you, I would take that as a sign.

And maybe, even if it was not a sign, take it as one. You never know. If it struck something in you, if it made your heart feel something, if it made you happy when you saw it, why would you try so hard to dismiss it?

That is crazy to me. When you try to dismiss everything and lock it all up in logic, you are going to miss a whole lot of signs.

So do not worry about technology. Ghosts and spirits can adapt to it. They know how to get your attention.

Question 6: If spirits can move objects, why is it always a door creaking open and never the TV remote?

Moving objects takes focused energy. Doors and cabinets are simpler things. That can be air manipulation. And yes, I think they could use remotes. I think they have used technology, and they do.

But a lot of people, including a lot of mediums, talk about objects from the physical point of view. Always the physical point of view.

I do not always have the physical point of view anymore because of my near-death experience. It opened up a lot of things for me.

A lot of times, I do not think it is even a manipulation of the actual physical thing here. I think it can be more like a suggestion put into your mind that you are seeing it, because we create everything.

If a ghost wants to show you something, it can give you the thought pattern. Your thought pattern creates it, and then you see it because this is your world. They can change technology, and they have.

Remotes may require more control, and they are not always relevant to a spiritual message.

When people ask a question like this, I think they are usually asking from the physical sense. But remember, ghosts are now consciousness, and so are you. Consciousness can be manipulated without using the physical body at all. You can perceive whatever the ghost needs you to see if you’re willing.

So most times, I believe the ghost is suggesting that you see something rather than actually standing there shutting a door like a person.

It is not like the movie Ghost all the time. There is not some spirit running around exactly like that. I know a lot of people like that movie, but I think there are a lot of flaws in it.

Question 7: Why do ghosts supposedly spend 150 years walking down the same hallway?

They don’t!

There is no time. Ghosts are not aware of time the way we are. We are the ones aware of time.

What people are usually describing there is most likely a residual haunting. It is not a conscious spirit that is trapped. It is more like an energetic imprint, or a recording of a traumatic, emotionally charged moment embedded in the environment.

It is like a tape, like an old cassette tape or a film. It is just looping back over and over.

The spirit is not aware. The spirit is not suffering. It is an echo. They are probably not even there. You are just seeing the energy of it.

Question 8: If a spirit wants to communicate, why would it choose knocking noises over plain English?

Knocking, or raps, are low-energy ways to get attention without a full manifestation.

If you look at mediumship history, spirits used codes. One knock for yes, two for no maybe, things like that. But we also know some of that was fake. We know that for a fact. IE the Fox sisters.

Spirits communicate telepathically, or through feelings and symbols. That is how mediums do it. Some of us, including me, can hear phrases in our head. We can hear them pretty clear.Thats called clairaudience. Sometimes you can hear them outside your ear too. That is called objective hearing, where you hear it outside yourself.

I have had a more than a few times where I heard it on the outside and my ears tingled. But a lot of people are not open to hearing through telepathy.

Once we leave here and no longer use a voice box, the only way to talk to somebody is to talk to them within their mind. If people have too much going on in their head, or they are not paying attention, or they have zero belief in it, then any thought that comes to them is something they are going to blow off anyway.

That is why it is harder.

Sometimes giving you a knock, a scent, a smell, a bird, or a butterfly is a lot easier than trying to get you to drop all your belief systems so you can hear them speak.

Mediums do not believe that you can’t hear spirits. We believe you can. That is why we can hear it. That is why we can sense it. It does not make us special. It just means we have dropped that belief system.

If everybody could drop that belief system, we would all be on the same wavelength pretty much. We would just be doing it in different ways.

Question 9: Why are cemeteries supposed to be haunted? Nobody actually lives there.

They are not haunted.

I am a strong believer that cemeteries are not haunted in the way people think they are. They hold strong emotional energy from grief, sad farewells, and transition, but there are not spirits just hanging out in graveyards waiting for people.

Very few, anyway.

Some might hang out there. Maybe some are fascinated by it. Who knows? But most of what people feel there is the mourners’ energy and the residual feelings, not actual spiritual residents.

When your loved ones come through, spirit has always told me, “Tell them not to worry about going to the graveyard when it rains and all that, because I am not there. I only go there because you go there.”

Most spirits only show up there when you go there. They are not hanging out there waiting for you. What a miserable existence that would be.

They go there with you, and they understand why you are going, and they love that. But it is also OK if you cannot go, or you do not go, or you have moved away. They do not need anything. They do not need you to go there physically.

They can be with you wherever and whenever they want to. Whenever you say their name, they are with you.

Question 10: Why do people assume every unexplained noise at 2 AM is a ghost instead of a house being a house?

Most noises are just normal.

They are settling. Animals. Wind. Pipes. A house being a house.

True activity feels very distinct. It often has an emotional charge or a pattern to it. You need discernment on this one because not everything is paranormal. I wish people would stop insisting that it is.

Genuine signs usually come with a sense of presence or personal meaning. If there is none, then most likely it was just something in your house. It was just the house creaking.

And today, we have so many subconscious suggestions put in our minds from movies, shows, and stories. We hear knocks, and we think they mean something. We hear a noise, and we think it is a ghost. That is what we have been trained to believe.

Most times, that’s all it is.

Question 11: If ghosts are everywhere, why do they always seem to hang out in places that sell tickets?

Ha ha. Wow.

Commercial haunted spots are layered with emotional history, so the imprints can be a little stronger. But I do not believe spirits are hanging out there all day like employees waiting for the next tour group.

Every day, spirits are more subtle.

A lot of times, we see more things in those places because that is what people are putting there. You do not have to have a spirit there. A lot of places are haunted because somebody said they were haunted, and then a million other people believed it, and that belief created the experience.

I always use my own house as an example.

Once again, I am a medium. I am a psychic. I have weird boho-looking decorations all over. I have cats in the house. I feed cats outside.

Saylets just say that one day I mysteriously die. Maybe it is in the paper, maybe I die of natural causes. Somebody walks in here afterward, maybe breaks into the house, and they hear a cat meow or hear a noise and get freaked out.

Then the story starts.

“I was in David’s house, and I heard the noise of a cat. I heard him say something, and I am pretty sure he was calling his cats, looking for his cats.”

Then that person tells four people. Then those people tell more people. Then people start coming here to investigate the story because they heard it from so many people.

Meanwhile, this place now has emotional energy, not put here by me, David, but put here by the first people who made up the story. That energy is here.

So now this becomes a haunted house haunted by David, even though in the afterlife, I am probably like, “I am not there, you dumbasses. That is stupid. But enjoy. Have a good time. Maybe I will come in once in a while and move a lampshade for you just for shits and giggles.

I believe a lot of ghosts and spirits would do that as well, and probably do. Why not have a little fun at the living’s expense?

Question 12: Why do ghosts sound or act completely different depending on what country you’re in?

Spirits are energy manifestations. They can adapt to cultural expectations and beliefs.

A lot of mediums, including myself, believe that how a spirit appears or behaves is filtered through the living person’s mindset and the collective cultural template they are living in.

So a grieving mother in one culture might appear differently than a grieving mother in another culture. The core idea is similar. The lingering message is similar. But the details will vary.

That is what it is. It is all consciousness.

Question 13: If spirits are all around us, do you think Hollywood got almost everything wrong.

Yes. This is a big one.

Hollywood dramatizes things for fear and entertainment. Trapped ghosts, screaming spirits, chains, curses, all that shit.

Most of us believe there are some people out there who use those ideas because they are just trying to make a buck. But the consensus is that most spirits are peaceful. They are crossed-over loved ones who visit out of love.

Hauntings are often misunderstood. Residuals are misunderstood. Maybe some “earthbound spirits” need some gentle help to move on, if that’s even a thing, or maybe not. I dont know if that could even be accurately validated.

I have not come across that yet, but who am I to say? I am not going to say one way or another. I know there are rescue mediums out there. I have never come across it, but that does not mean it does not exist. I cannot be that person who says it does not.

But a lot of this is misunderstood.

Communication with spirit is about comfort, guidance, and signs more than it is about chains and screams. Hollywood amplifies the dramatic minority.

That is also why I did not include much in here about paranormal investigators. Not that they are all like this, but so many out there sell fear.

I have seen it. I have worked with paranormal investigators who will hear something and tape it, and then they say, “Oh, listen to it. This is what it says.” GET OUT”, “MURDER!”

Well, because they told you what it says, everybody is going to hear that.

If they tell you it says “get out,” almost everybody is going to hear “get out” because they heard you say “get out,” or because they put the words on the screen saying “get out.” That is what your brain is going to hear. That is just physical science stuff. That is how that goes.

My solution for any paranormal people, especially if anyone is reading this, is to get your EVP or voice recording and play it for about 20 people. Just ask them to write down what they heard.

If you have a big majority of those people all hearing the same thing, then you have your answer.

But to tell somebody what it says, or write it on the screen, does not do anything. You are going to hear whatever somebody told you to hear, just like you are going to see whatever somebody told you to see.

You are going to believe any story about a haunted house that somebody told you about, and most likely, you are going to have that kind of experience. That does not mean it is actually happening. It means that your brain and your imagination are very strong, and they are giving you a wonderful experience, or a scary experience, because that is what you are expecting and wanting.

That is why I think discernment matters so much.

Not everything is paranormal. Not everything is fake, either. There is a place in the middle where you can trust your experience without turning every sound, every shadow, and every old building into a horror movie.

These ideas come from my experiences, from repeated themes in mediumship, and from what I have learned through my own spiritual work and my NDE in 2015. The experiences vary by individual spirit and individual perceiver, but the patterns hold across most of what I have seen.

Most spirits are not trying to scare us. Most signs are not dramatic. Most communication is not about proving something to a camera crew.

It is usually quieter than that.

It is love. It is memory. It is consciousness. It is a feeling you cannot quite explain, a sign that shows up at the right time, a thought that does not feel like your own, or a presence that reminds you someone is not as far away as you thought.

So no, I do not think these are stupid questions.

I think they are human questions. And if we can get past the fear, the Hollywood version, and the stories people keep repeating because they sound spooky, we might actually understand spirit communication a little better.

David Hanzel

No meditation this week. This article ended up being a lot longer than I planned, and it didn't really call for one. If there's a meditation you'd like to see connected to ghosts, spirit communication, the afterlife, or anything else we talked about here, leave a comment or send me a message. I may turn it into a future meditation.

Leave a comment

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources and freebies: They Whisper To Me

A Note on Extras

Each week’s This Week’s Vibe includes the weekly astrology, the full card reading, the Birthday Note, Something Special, Moon Moments, and collective insights when needed. Take what fits and leave what does not.

This Week’s Vibe

June 8 – 14, 2026

The Energy This Week

Gemini season continues to stir conversations, questions, and information. There is a feeling this week of trying to sort through what matters and what is simply noise. Gemini energy can bring clarity, but it can also bring distractions if you are not careful.

The Moon begins the week in Gemini, keeping everything mentally active. Midweek it moves into Cancer and brings emotion into the conversation. By the weekend, the Moon enters Leo and encourages confidence, self-expression, and visibility.

Plain terms: your mind may be busy this week, but your heart has something important to say too.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: Strength upright
Moonology: New Moon in Gemini
Energy Oracle: Woman Holding a Heart

This week is about emotional courage.

Strength is one of the most misunderstood cards in Tarot. It is not about forcing your way through something. It is about calm confidence, patience, and learning how to respond instead of react.

The New Moon in Gemini opens a new cycle around communication, learning, and understanding. Woman Holding a Heart reminds you that vulnerability is not weakness.

Plain terms: the strongest thing you may do this week is stay open-hearted while remaining grounded.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: Seven of Wands reversed
Moonology: Disseminating Moon
Energy Oracle: Blossoming Abundance

The challenge this week is not giving up too soon.

The Seven of Wands reversed often appears when people feel tired of defending themselves or protecting something important. The Disseminating Moon asks you to share what you have learned rather than withdraw.

Blossoming Abundance showing up here is interesting because it suggests that growth is already occurring, but you may not fully recognize it yet.

Plain terms: do not quit five minutes before the breakthrough.

Gift or Support

Tarot: Page of Cups reversed
Moonology: Full Moon, Surrender to the Divine
Energy Oracle: Strategy

The gift this week comes through perspective.

The Page of Cups reversed can point to emotional confusion, unrealistic expectations, or overreaction. The Full Moon asks you to release control. Strategy reminds you that not every solution requires force.

Sometimes the smartest move is stepping back and letting the situation reveal itself.

Plain terms: trust the process a little more than your anxiety this week.

Weekend Energy

Moonology: Full Moon in Capricorn

The weekend brings practical energy.

Capricorn asks difficult but useful questions:

What is working?

What is not working?

What needs to change?

This is excellent energy for organizing plans, finances, schedules, and goals.

Plain terms: reality checks are not punishments. They help you build something stronger.

State of the World

This week’s cards continue a theme we’ve seen for a while now. People are questioning authority, questioning information, and questioning whether the systems around them still represent what they were originally meant to represent.

Whether someone agrees with current events or disagrees with them, the collective energy feels increasingly focused on authenticity.

Question: What is the energy surrounding the upcoming 250th anniversary celebration and the unusual entertainment choices surrounding it?

Tarot: The Fool upright

The Fool is not necessarily negative. It represents risk, unpredictability, spontaneity, and sometimes acting before fully considering the consequences.

This card can represent spectacle, experimentation, and doing something unconventional.

Plain terms: the energy feels impulsive, unpredictable, and attention-grabbing. Some people may see it as refreshing. Others may see it as reckless.

Question: Will the 250th celebration ultimately be successful?

Tarot: Ace of Wands reversed

The Ace of Wands reversed often points to delays, missed momentum, or an idea that does not fully land the way people hoped.

This does not necessarily indicate failure. It suggests that expectations and results may not match perfectly.

Plain terms: it feels like something that may struggle to live up to the original vision.

Question: What is the current state of the war involving Iran, Israel, and the United States?

Tarot: Two of Wands upright

The Two of Wands is a planning card. It often appears when major decisions are still being considered and multiple paths remain possible.

This does not feel like an energy of final outcomes. It feels like positioning, strategy, and deciding what comes next.

Plain terms: the situation still appears to be developing rather than resolving.

Question: Is completion near regarding governmental change, reform, and cleaning up systems of power?

Tarot: King of Cups reversed

The King of Cups reversed often points to emotional imbalance, difficulty managing reactions, or leadership struggling to maintain emotional maturity.

This card suggests unfinished work.

Plain terms: major change does not feel complete yet. There are still emotional, political, and institutional issues working themselves out.

Question: How truthful is the government regarding disclosure? Does it represent meaningful transparency?

Tarot: Wheel of Fortune reversed

The Wheel of Fortune reversed often points to delays, incomplete cycles, timing issues, and information arriving out of sequence.

This card does not automatically mean deception. It does suggest that the full picture may not yet be visible.

Plain terms: disclosure feels incomplete. Whether intentionally or simply due to timing, it does not appear that all of the pieces are currently on the table.

🎂 Birthday Note

June 8 – 14

If your birthday falls this week, your year ahead centers on emotional resilience, wiser communication, and learning where your energy is best invested.

Plain terms: this is a year of working smarter, not harder.

Closing Note

This week rewards patience more than pressure.

You do not need to win every battle.

You do not need every answer immediately.

Sometimes strength looks like staying calm while the world tries to rush you.

🌟 Something Special

Why Full Moons Feel So Intense

Many ancient traditions viewed Full Moons as moments when hidden things become visible. Farmers watched them. Sailors watched them. Mystics watched them.

The Full Moon does not create emotions. It shines a brighter light on the emotions that were already there.

🌙 Moon Moments

Speak, Feel, Release

The New Moon in Gemini opens communication.

The Disseminating Moon encourages sharing wisdom.

The Capricorn Full Moon asks for practical action.

To work with this energy:

• Have the conversation you have been avoiding.

• Notice where exhaustion is making you want to quit.

• Create a practical plan instead of worrying about outcomes.

• Let the weekend help you reorganize what matters.

The Moon reminds you that clarity often arrives after surrender, not before.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

Thank you!

Share David Hanzel

It Was Always You.

On symbols, rituals, and remembering where the power really comes from

Whispering into a glass of water isn’t going to heal your life. Buying another crystal isn’t going to heal your life. That doesn’t mean those things are useless. I’m not saying that at all. I understand why people use rituals, crystals, water, candles, cards, prayers, sound bowls, and whatever else helps them focus. Sometimes people need something tangible. Sometimes the mind needs something it can see, touch, hold, or do. That’s fine.

The problem starts when people confuse the tool with the power.

A crystal can help you focus your intention. A ritual can help you focus your intention. Whispering into water can help you focus your intention. But the actual crystal, the actual water, the actual spell, or the actual object is not the thing doing it for you. It is you. It is your mind, your belief, your projection, your perception, and your willingness to step into what you are asking for.

After my near-death experience and years of working as a medium, this is one of the things I keep coming back to. Spirit does not care if your ritual looks perfect. Spirit does not care if you have the right candle, the right crystal, the right board, the right words, or the right aesthetic. Spirit cares more about your state of being than the performance of the ritual. If a ritual helps you get there, use it. If a crystal helps you get there, use it. If praying helps you get there, pray. I’m not against tools. I’m against people forgetting what the tools are.

They are not the source. They are a way through the doorway.

You can ask spirit for help without a Ouija board. You can ask for guidance without making it complicated. You can speak to your loved ones in spirit without needing a perfect setup. In my belief, there are beings, guides, loved ones, and energies that assist us, instruct us, and help us. But they do not need the show. They do not need the extra decorations. They respond to you.

That is where a lot of online spirituality loses me. It keeps making people think they need one more thing before they can heal, manifest, connect, or change. One more class. One more ritual. One more method. One more teacher. One more exact way to do it. And after a while, people start believing the power is always somewhere outside of them.

That is not how I see it.

The healer does not heal you in the way people think. The healer reminds you. The medium does not own the connection. The medium helps translate it. The Reiki practitioner is not above you. They are facilitating something. They are allowing that energy to move through in a way that helps you receive it. The teacher may help you understand something, but they are not the source of your power.

We are middlemen. That’s all.

If a healer helped you, good. If a reader helped you, good. If Reiki helped you, good. I’m not taking anything away from that. But don’t put all the power in the person who helped you. Don’t turn them into the reason you healed. They may have opened the door, said the right words, held the right kind of energy, or helped you remember something you had forgotten, but something in you still had to respond.

That is what healing feels like to me. It is often a remembering.

My near-death experience did not heal me because something outside of me suddenly made me different. It showed me who I really was. It pulled me out of the story for a minute and let me see from another place. It reminded me of something underneath all of this.

When I say “who you really are,” I mean the you underneath all the bullshit you have been through. The you before the fear, before the ego, before the labels, before the disappointments, before the relationships that changed how you saw yourself, before the world told you who you were supposed to be. I mean the part of you that existed before you came here and will still exist after you leave. The part of you that is more comfortable in spirit because that is your natural state.

At your core, without all the extra stuff piled on top, you can just be. You can smile. You can love. You can know. That is the part of you the world keeps trying to remind you of.

Sometimes a crystal reminds you. Sometimes a healer reminds you. Sometimes a sound bowl reminds you. Sometimes a reading reminds you. Sometimes your own breakdown reminds you. Sometimes a near-death experience reminds you. Sometimes a stupid little moment in the middle of the day reminds you. The form does not matter as much as what it wakes up in you.

That is why I get frustrated when spirituality turns into fear or dependency. I do not like fear-based spiritual work. I do not like when people act like you need them or you are doomed. I do not like when people act like they are the only one who can clear you, protect you, heal you, awaken you, or teach you how to manifest. That is nonsense to me.

A real teacher should not make you dependent on them. A real healer should not make you feel powerless without them. A real medium should not make themselves the center of your connection to spirit. If someone helps you, beautiful. Let them help. But the point should be to bring you back to yourself, not keep you reaching for them.

Manifestation is another place where this happens all the time. There are so many people online repeating the same ideas, putting different words on them, and making it sound like they found the missing secret. And I understand simplifying things for people. That can be helpful. But a lot of it turns into, “You need me to understand this.” No, you don’t.

You have been manifesting your entire life.

When you were a child and wanted an ice cream cone, you could already see it. You wanted it. You imagined it. You felt it. Maybe you asked for it. Maybe you did something to get it. Maybe it just showed up. That is not some brand new spiritual secret. That is something you have been doing in one way or another since you got here.

The issue is not that rituals or techniques never work. The issue is that people sometimes perform the technique without any real intention behind it. They do the outer action, then wonder why nothing changed. But if you do a ritual and your whole belief is still sitting in “this won’t work,” then what are you really projecting into it?

Intention matters.

Belief matters.

State of being matters.

The ritual can help you get there, but it cannot do the whole thing for you.

That is why even very simple physical things can work. If I talk to someone and the energy feels heavy, or the conversation feels bad, or I feel like I am carrying something that is not mine, I might brush my hands down my arms or across my body like I am sweeping it off. Sometimes I will shake my hands out. Sometimes I will shake my arms or my body a little, the way a dog shakes itself off after it gets startled.

I am not going to sit here and over-explain whether that is spiritual, physical, symbolic, emotional, or all of it at once. I know what it does for me. It tells my mind and body, “I am done carrying this.” It gives me a way to move out of that state. It helps me feel less anxious, less drained, and clearer.

That is enough.

Sometimes the body understands a symbol before the mind catches up. Sometimes your physical body and your spiritual body already know what you mean. When I brush something off or shake something off with intention, I am giving myself permission to return to the state I want to be in. That does not make the action fake. It makes the action useful.

The same thing is true with sleep. I look at sleep as a small death and a small rebirth. Not actual death, but a reset. Every night, the projector turns off. The world you were looking at all day disappears. Your job disappears. The conversation disappears. The problem disappears. The body goes to sleep, and in my belief, something else is happening.

Sometimes dreams are just dreams. Sometimes the mind is sorting through the day. But I also believe we go places when we sleep. I believe the soul receives something. I believe we can get notes, guidance, impressions, and reminders while we are away from ordinary waking awareness.

That is why the time before sleep matters. Most people spend the last part of the day scrolling through TikTok, arguments, bad news, fear, and everyone else’s opinions. Then they go to sleep with all of that running through them. If that window is powerful, why fill it with garbage?

Before sleep, you can set an intention. You can ask for clarity. You can ask to remember if you connect with a loved one in spirit. You can ask for a feeling, a sign, or some kind of guidance. You can decide what you want tomorrow to feel like. You can tell yourself, “Whatever happened today, I am leaving it here for now.”

Then you wake up.

And this is where people miss the reset.

They wake up and immediately continue yesterday. They pick up the same problem, the same anger, the same job stress, the same story, the same identity, and the same reaction. But the morning is new. You are not required to drag everything back with you in the exact same way.

That does not mean the problem magically disappeared. If you hated your job yesterday, the job may still be there. If the bill was there yesterday, it may still be there. If the difficult person was there yesterday, they may still be there. But you can choose a different relationship to it.

You can wake up and say, “I still do not love this job, but I choose to go today because I am making money for something I need.” You can say, “I am not trapped by this today.” You can say, “That person annoyed me yesterday, but I do not need to keep dragging them into today.” You can decide not to react the exact same way.

That is not pretending. That is choosing.

The same thing happens with patterns in your physical life. Sometimes you feel stuck because you keep doing the same thing, in the same place, in the same order, while thinking the same thoughts. The body gets used to the loop. The mind gets used to the loop. Then you start believing the loop is your life.

I have walked into my house and felt that. Nothing was technically wrong, but everything felt stale. So I moved furniture. I moved a picture. I changed something small. I changed the order of how I did things in the morning. I interrupted the pattern.

Moving a couch is not magic. Changing a room is not magic. But changing something physically can remind you that you are not stuck in the exact same pattern. It can take the monotony out. It can give the mind a new signal. It can say, “This is not the same as yesterday.”

Sometimes that is all you need to begin shifting.

This is why I keep coming back to the same thing. The tool can help. The ritual can help. The teacher can help. The healer can help. The room change can help. The sleep intention can help. The brushing off can help. But none of those things are above you.

They are not here to replace your own power.

They are here to help you remember it.

So if whispering into a glass of water helps you, whisper into the glass of water. If holding a crystal helps you, hold the crystal. If lighting a candle helps you focus, light the candle.

Just understand that you are the one with the power.

It was always you.

David Hanzel

A Note on Extras

Each week’s This Week’s Vibe includes the weekly astrology, the full card reading, the Birthday Note, Something Special, Moon Moments, and collective insights when needed. Take what fits and leave what does not.

This Week’s Vibe

June 1 – 7, 2026

The Energy This Week

Gemini season is in full swing now. Information is moving quickly. Conversations are happening everywhere. Ideas are spreading fast. The challenge is figuring out what deserves your attention and what is simply noise.

This week feels mentally busy, but emotionally revealing. Things that have been sitting quietly in the background may suddenly demand attention.

The Moon begins the week in Aries, bringing action and urgency. Midweek, it moves into Taurus and slows things down. By the weekend, the Moon enters Gemini and brings curiosity, conversation, and new perspectives.

Plain terms: things start fast, settle down, and then get interesting.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: Eight of Swords upright
Moonology: Full Moon in Libra
Energy Oracle: Blossoming Abundance

The central theme this week is realizing where you’ve been limiting yourself.

The Eight of Swords often appears when circumstances feel restrictive, but many of those restrictions are tied to fear, assumptions, or old beliefs. The Full Moon in Libra brings awareness through relationships and balance. Blossoming Abundance reminds you that growth is already occurring, even if you cannot fully see it yet.

Plain terms: you may feel stuck, but you are probably less stuck than you think you are.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: Ten of Cups reversed
Moonology: Full Moon in Leo
Energy Oracle: Magician and the Mirror

The challenge this week centers around expectations. The Ten of Cups reversed can show disappointment when reality does not match the picture you had in your mind. The Full Moon in Leo highlights pride, recognition, and the desire to feel appreciated.

The Magician and the Mirror reminds you that your thoughts, beliefs, and reactions are helping shape your experience.

Plain terms: be careful not to focus so much on what is missing that you overlook what is already working.

Gift or Support

Tarot: Page of Swords reversed
Moonology: First Quarter Moon
Energy Oracle: Deceit

This is an interesting combination.

Normally Deceit sounds negative, but in the support position it often points toward seeing through illusion. The Page of Swords reversed can indicate misinformation, gossip, confusion, or incomplete information. The First Quarter Moon asks for adjustment and reassessment.

Plain terms: the gift this week is seeing something clearly that you did not fully understand before.

Sometimes finding out the truth feels uncomfortable before it feels freeing.

Weekend Energy

Moonology: Full Moon in Capricorn

The weekend brings practical reality checks. Capricorn energy asks what is working, what is not working, and what needs to change.

This is excellent energy for organizing, planning, and making long-term decisions.

Plain terms: focus on what is real, not what is hypothetical.

State of the World

This week, two sky events stood out: the meteor near Mayon Volcano in the Philippines on May 25 at 10:30 PM local time, and the meteor over New England on May 30 at 2:06 PM Eastern. I pulled cards for both, but the astrology around those exact moments adds another layer.

May 25, Mayon Volcano Meteor
Time: 10:30 PM local time
Shaman’s Dream Oracle: Lost in Space, “Needing Direction”

At that moment, the Sun was in Gemini, and the Moon was at the very end of Virgo. That is mental energy meeting practical reality. Gemini asks questions. Virgo looks for details. Together, this can feel like people trying to make sense of something unusual.

There was also strong Uranus energy active, which fits sudden sky events, shocks, and things that get people’s attention fast. Mars was square Pluto too, which can bring pressure, force, and deep collective tension.

Plain terms: this event feels like a signal of confusion, pressure, and people needing direction. Something catches attention, but the deeper message is, “Look closer. Get grounded. Do not drift into panic.”

May 30, New England Meteor
Time: 2:06 PM Eastern
Shaman’s Dream Oracle: Fallen Angel, “Spiritual Narcolepsy”

At that moment, the Sun and Mercury were both in Gemini, so the energy was very information-heavy. The Moon was in Sagittarius, which brings big meaning, big questions, and a need to understand the larger picture.

The Moon was opposite Uranus almost exactly. That is classic sudden-event energy. It can feel like a jolt, a wake-up, or something unexpected breaking through normal awareness.

Plain terms: this one feels like a wake-up call. Something flashes across the sky, and symbolically it says, “Pay attention. Stop sleepwalking through what is happening.”

State of the World, Overall

Both events carry a similar message, but in different ways. The first one says people feel lost and need grounding. The second one says people are being jolted awake.

Plain terms: the sky is reflecting what many people already feel. Confusion, pressure, sudden awareness, and the need to wake up without losing your center.

🎂 Birthday Note

June 1 – 7

If your birthday falls this week, your year ahead is about seeing opportunities that were hidden in plain sight.

You may discover that situations you once viewed as limitations were actually redirecting you toward something better.

Plain terms: this is a year of perspective shifts and unexpected growth.

Closing Note

This week feels like a reminder that clarity often arrives in stages.

You do not have to have every answer right now.

You only need enough clarity for the next step.

🌟 Something Special

Gemini Season Fact

Gemini is often called the sign of communication, but ancient astrologers also connected Gemini with crossroads and messengers.

Crossroads are fascinating places in mythology. They represent moments where multiple futures are possible at once.

This week feels a little like standing at one.

🌙 Moon Moments

Question, Adjust, Understand

The Full Moon energy highlights what needs attention. The First Quarter Moon asks for adjustment. The Capricorn Moon helps you turn insight into action.

To work with this energy:

• Notice where you feel trapped.

• Question assumptions before accepting them as facts.

• Pay attention to information that changes your perspective.

• Use the weekend to organize your next steps.

The Moon reminds you that understanding usually arrives one piece at a time.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me

Thank you!

keep looking up.

Share David Hanzel

The Soul of Animals

What I Know About Animal Souls, Reincarnation, and the Journey Between Human and Animal Lives

I heard something recently that made me stop and really think about how people talk about animals, reincarnation, and the soul.

Someone said they channeled a cat, and the message was that human beings like to come back as animals because it is some kind of break from being human.

I am not here to say what someone did or did not channel. That is not my job. But I am going to challenge the interpretation, because that idea can give people the wrong impression about animals, reincarnation, karma, and the soul.

Animal life is not a spiritual vacation. Animals are not here so tired human souls can escape being human. Animals are not failed humans, lesser humans, punishment bodies, or temporary forms for human spirits that want to rest. Animals have their own journey.

And I do not speak for the animal’s journey, just like the animal does not speak for the human journey. That is not something we can fully do from here. But from my experience, from what I know, and from the years I have spent working with spirit, animals, death, and consciousness, I do not believe human beings commonly reincarnate back as animals.

That does not mean animals do not have souls. They absolutely do.

That does not mean animals are beneath us. They are not.

That does not mean pets cannot return. Some do.

That does not mean spirit cannot use an animal as a sign. Spirit can absolutely do that.

But a human soul coming back as an animal because it wants a break, that is not how I understand it.

Animal life is not easy

People romanticize animal life because they are usually looking at the version of animal life that comforts them.

They picture the house cat sleeping in the sun. They picture the dog curled up on the couch. They picture the bird flying over the trees. They picture freedom, simplicity, food, rest, and no bills.

But that is a human fantasy. That is not the whole animal journey.

Animals experience pain. They experience fear. They experience abandonment. They experience hunger. They experience predators. They experience being trapped, bred, hunted, hit by cars, abused, neglected, and used by people who do not understand them.

Even a beloved indoor pet is not “taking a break.” That animal is living. That animal is teaching. That animal is processing. That animal is giving. That animal is working with its own form of consciousness.

A cat that spends thirteen or seventeen years in someone’s house is not wasting time. It is not just lounging around. It is interacting with human emotion. It is holding energy. It is teaching presence. It is teaching love. It is teaching routine, trust, comfort, patience, grief, and attachment.

That is not nothing.

So when people say human beings come back as animals for a break, I think we need to be very careful. Because that can make animal life sound easier than it is. It can make animals sound like they exist mainly for human healing. It can make people think the animal is really a human in disguise. It can confuse signs from spirit with reincarnation. It can turn karma into punishment. It can give grieving people false comfort. And it can disrespect the animal’s own soul path.

Animals are not beneath humans

A lot of spiritual people still think in hierarchy. They may not realize they are doing it, but they are. They think mineral, plant, animal, human, angel, and then something higher than that. They think everything is climbing a ladder.

I do not see it that way.

There is no hierarchy in the way people want there to be. There is knowledge. There is experience. There is awareness. There is consciousness focusing itself into different forms for different purposes.

A human being is not “better” than a dog. A dog is not “less than” a human. A cat is not beneath a person. An insect is not worthless because it operates differently than we do.

Everything is consciousness. The difference is where that consciousness is focusing and what kind of experience it is having.

To me, animals are not lower than humans. They are different from humans.

That matters. Because when someone says a human comes back as an animal as a break, they are usually still thinking of the animal as a simpler, lesser, easier version of life.

But animals are not here to be lesser versions of us. They are here as themselves.

The animal soul and the group mind

From my experience, many animals are connected to a larger group mind or group soul.

That does not mean they are not conscious. That does not mean they have no self. That does not mean they are empty little bodies running on instinct. It means their “I am” awareness works differently than ours while they are incarnated.

A cat may be connected to a larger feline consciousness. A dog may be connected to a larger canine consciousness. Insects like ants and bees seem much more connected to a hive mind. Some reptiles and wild animals may also operate more through group consciousness, instinct, and shared survival awareness.

But animals can also individualize.

That is important.

A feral cat living completely wild may operate more through instinct and group consciousness. But when that cat comes into contact with a human, when it starts forming relationship, trust, fear, love, resistance, dependence, or emotional exchange, something changes. It begins to have a different kind of experience. It begins to know itself in a different way.

Domestic animals do this all the time.

They come into human life and they interact with us directly. They feel us. They respond to us. They teach us. They challenge us. They comfort us. They mirror us. They become part of our emotional world.

That kind of relationship can help an animal become more individualized. And I believe some animals come here for that.

Not because they are secretly human. Not because they are beneath human and trying to graduate. But because consciousness is always expanding through experience.

Humans do not need to become animals to learn from animals

One of the biggest differences between most animals and human beings is that animals know how to live in the moment.

They love in the moment.

They do not let every other emotion pull them away from that love.

Humans struggle with that.

Humans carry memory, resentment, fear, ego, future anxiety, shame, guilt, and old stories. We love someone, but then we drag yesterday into it. We drag fear into it. We drag pride into it. We drag punishment into it.

Animals are different.

A dog can still love someone who mistreated it. That does not mean mistreating an animal is okay. It is not. But it shows something about the animal’s consciousness.

Animals are more connected to spirit while incarnated. They are closer to the veil. They are here physically, but they are also still connected to something beyond the physical in a way humans often forget.

That is why their love can be so immediate. That is why their presence can feel so pure. That is why they can sit next to someone in pain and not need to fix it, explain it, judge it, or turn it into a story.

They just are.

And maybe that is one of the reasons animals come into human life. Not because we are above them. Because they remind us of something we lost.

They remind us how to be present. They remind us how to love without making everything so complicated. They remind us how to exist without constantly fighting the moment we are in.

So no, I do not believe humans need to come back as animals to learn that. I believe animals are already teaching us that.

The memory problem

Here is one of the biggest reasons I do not believe a human soul usually comes back as an animal.

If a human soul came into an animal body and still had any real remembrance of being human, that could be horrific.

Imagine having the mind of a human being inside a small animal body. Imagine a wolf grabbing you by the neck and dragging you away. Imagine being hit by a car. Imagine being beaten by a person. Imagine being trapped, unable to speak, unable to explain, unable to defend yourself in the way a human would want to defend itself.

A human mind would turn that into terror. A human mind would ask, “Why is this happening to me? Why are you doing this? My life is being taken from me.”

Animals do not seem to process it the same way. That does not mean animals do not feel pain. They do. That does not mean animals do not feel fear. They do.

But from what I have seen and experienced, animals often do not attach the same human story to death.

I have connected with animals like squirrels and rabbits who were hit on the side of the road. The way they explained it was not, “This horrible thing ruined my life.”

It was more like, “I was there, I lived, something happened, and I was released from the body.”

They understood the release. They were not holding the same human narrative around it. That is a huge difference.

So when people talk about humans coming back as animals, they are skipping over the mechanics of consciousness.

A human soul would not just casually step into an animal body with a human framework and call that a break.

That makes no sense to me.

Karma is not physical punishment

Another problem with this idea is how people use karma.

Some people might say, “Well, maybe someone who abused a dog has to come back as a dog and be abused.”

I do not believe that.

That is human revenge thinking. It is not spiritual truth.

Karma is not physical punishment. Karma is not, “You did this exact thing, so now it has to happen to you in the exact same physical way.”

Karma is emotional understanding.

If you caused suffering, at some point you may have to understand the emotional reality of what you caused. But spirit does not need to put you in the exact same situation to teach you that. You do not need to become an abused dog to understand the pain of abuse. You need to understand the emotional weight of what you created.

That is very different.

People turn karma into punishment because the human mind likes fairness in a very physical way. But the soul is not working through revenge. It is working through awareness.

A sign from an animal is not the same as reincarnation

This is another place people get confused.

Someone’s father dies, and then a hawk shows up. Or a cardinal lands near them. Or a butterfly keeps appearing. Or a deer comes close and looks right at them.

I understand why people say, “That was my dad.” I understand the comfort in that. And I do believe spirit can work through animals.

But I do not believe that automatically means the father became the hawk.

That is a different thing.

Your father can use the hawk. Your father can step close through that moment. Your father can merge with that sign, influence that moment, or bring your attention to that animal.

But that does not mean your father reincarnated as the hawk and is now living out a hawk’s life.

That relationship would not make sense. Your father would still be your father. He would remain connected to you in the role and soul relationship you know. He would not need to become a bird to reach you.

Spirit can use the physical world.

That does not mean spirit becomes trapped inside every physical thing it uses.

Incarnation itself is an illusion

Part of the problem is that we talk about reincarnation from a human timeline.

We say, “I was this in a past life, and now I am this.”

That is how it looks from here.

But from the afterlife, linear time does not work that way. There is no timeline in the way humans understand it. Everything is happening at once.

What we call past lives, future lives, and current lives may be better understood as points of view.

Consciousness focuses into an experience. That experience feels linear from inside the body. But outside of the body, it is not linear in the same way.

That matters when we talk about animals.

Animals may not be sitting around thinking, “I reincarnated from this into that.” They may simply open into a new experience. They are not necessarily carrying the same human identity story around incarnation. They do not need to.

Humans are the ones trying to organize the soul into a timeline.

Spirit does not need our timeline to be real.

Pets can return, but that does not mean they always do

I do believe pets can return.

I have had animals tell me they were a childhood pet and came back because the person needed them. I have seen that happen.

But I do not believe every pet returns immediately. And I do not tell people that just to make them feel better.

A lot of animals I have connected with have no interest in coming right back. They did their time. They lived their life. They completed what they came to do. They are not in a rush to jump back into another body.

Some may come back later. Some may come back when there is a purpose. Some may reconnect with the same human in another lifetime. Some may simply wait until the human comes back home to spirit.

And that is still beautiful.

A pet does not have to reincarnate immediately for the bond to be real. You are still going to see them again. The love is not gone just because the body is gone.

But we have to be honest.

Telling every grieving person, “Your pet will come back to you,” may feel comforting, but it may not be true in that exact way.

Sometimes people use reincarnation as a way to avoid grief. But grief is part of love. And the animal’s journey still belongs to the animal.

Human beings do not usually regress into animals

From my experience, once consciousness is expressing through a human awareness, it does not usually regress back into an animal incarnation.

Could a soul choose to temporarily experience the mind of an animal? Maybe.

Could consciousness touch into animal awareness? Yes.

Could spirit work through animals? Absolutely.

But that is not the same thing as a human living twenty human lives and then deciding, “I need a break, so now I will be a cat.”

That turns animal life into something it is not.

And I do not accept that.

A human soul would not fit into an animal incarnation in the same way. The animal mind, body, instincts, senses, and purpose are different.

If a human consciousness entered fully into that animal experience, it would not be operating as the human self anymore. It would have to take on the animal mind completely.

And at that point, calling it a human taking a break becomes meaningless.

It is not a human vacation.

It is an animal life.

Animals are teachers

Animals are not here beneath us. They are not here as punishments. They are not here as empty vessels. They are not here as props for human grief.

They are conscious beings having their own experience.

Some are deeply tied to group consciousness. Some are highly individualized. Some come into our lives for a short time. Some stay for years. Some return. Some do not. Some teach through love. Some teach through loss. Some teach through presence. Some teach by simply being what they are.

And one of the greatest things animals teach us is how to live in the moment and love in the moment.

They do not need to make love as complicated as humans make it. They do not need to drag every wound into every moment.

They are closer to spirit while they are here. They remember something we forget.

That is not lower consciousness. That is sacred consciousness.

So when someone says human beings come back as animals for a break, I understand why that might sound comforting. But I do not believe it is that simple. And I do believe it can be dangerous when spiritual ideas are spoken too casually.

Animals deserve more respect than that.

Their lives are not vacations. Their bodies are not temporary roles for human souls. Their suffering is not less important because someone wants to believe they are secretly human souls resting.

They are animals.

They are souls.

They are consciousness.

They are teachers.

And their journey belongs to them.

This gentle guided meditation is for anyone who wants to reconnect with an animal they love in spirit. It gives you a quiet space to feel their presence, say hello, and notice anything they may want to share with you.

Before you begin, have a pen and paper nearby or use a voice recorder so you can write down or record anything that comes to mind afterward. Take your time. Go at your own pace.

A Note on Extras

Each week’s This Week’s Vibe includes the weekly astrology, the full card reading, the Birthday Note, Something Special, Moon Moments, and collective insights when needed. Take what fits and leave what does not.

This Week’s Vibe

May 25 – 31, 2026

The Energy This Week

We move deeper into Gemini season this week, and you can feel the mental energy picking up. Gemini brings conversation, ideas, information, curiosity, and movement. Things may feel faster now, mentally and emotionally. More conversations. More questions. More information coming from every direction.

The Moon begins the week in Aquarius, which keeps attention on the collective and bigger patterns. Midweek, it moves into Pisces and softens things emotionally. By the weekend, the Moon enters Aries and increases urgency and emotional reaction.

Plain terms: the week starts thoughtful, becomes emotional, and ends fast-moving and reactive.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: Strength upright
Moonology: New Moon in Cancer
Energy Oracle: The World

This week is about emotional resilience. Strength is not force. It is calm control, patience, and grounded courage. The New Moon in Cancer highlights emotional safety, home, family, and inner healing. The World shows cycles completing and larger lessons coming together.

This feels like a week where people begin realizing how much they have already survived.

Plain terms: stay steady emotionally. You are stronger than you think, even if things still feel uncertain around you.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: Five of Cups upright
Moonology: Waning Moon
Energy Oracle: Man Holding a Heart

The challenge this week is emotional heaviness and disappointment. The Five of Cups focuses on grief, regret, or what feels lost. The Waning Moon supports release, but sometimes people resist letting go. Man Holding a Heart highlights emotional vulnerability.

There may be moments this week where emotions feel heavier than usual, especially around relationships, trust, or disappointment in people.

Plain terms: allow yourself to feel what you feel, but do not stay trapped in the loss. Something still remains worth holding onto.

Gift or Support

Tarot: Seven of Pentacles upright
Moonology: North Node
Energy Oracle: Appreciation

The gift this week is patience and perspective. The Seven of Pentacles reminds you that growth takes time. The North Node points toward long-term direction and soul growth. Appreciation shifts focus toward what is already growing, even if slowly.

This energy feels quieter, but solid.

Plain terms: progress is happening even if you cannot fully see it yet. Keep tending what matters.

Weekend Energy

Moonology: Void of Course Moon

This weekend carries unusual energy. A Void of Course Moon often feels dreamy, strange, disconnected, or difficult to pin down. Plans shift. Timing feels odd. Things may feel suspended for a moment.

The fact that this card kept returning matters.

This is not ideal energy for forcing major decisions or reacting emotionally too quickly.

Plain terms: slow down this weekend. Rest more. Observe more. Let things unfold naturally instead of trying to force clarity.

State of the World

There is a strong feeling right now that people are recognizing an imbalance. The collective energy feels tired of uneven systems, emotional manipulation, and the constant pressure of survival mode.

At the same time, there are signs that things are slowly beginning to move toward correction, even if the process feels frustratingly slow.

Question: What is the current state of the world right now?
Tarot: Six of Pentacles reversed

The Six of Pentacles reversed points to imbalance. This card often appears when resources, power, or support are unevenly distributed. It can reflect systems where people feel drained, while others continue benefiting unfairly.

This card also reflects exhaustion around giving too much while receiving too little in return.

Plain terms: people are feeling the imbalance clearly now. Emotionally, financially, and socially, many are realizing things cannot keep functioning the same way forever.

Question: What trajectory are we currently on?
Tarot: King of Pentacles upright

The King of Pentacles brings steadiness, structure, and long-term stability. This is not chaotic energy. It suggests movement toward rebuilding stronger foundations over time.

This does not feel instant. It feels gradual and practical.

Plain terms: despite the chaos, the trajectory slowly moves toward rebuilding stability and more grounded leadership over time.

Question: What about disclosure and the conversations around it, leading into 2027?
Tarot: Eight of Pentacles reversed

The Eight of Pentacles reversed suggests unfinished work, hidden details, or information not yet fully prepared for public understanding. This does not feel like full, clean disclosure all at once.

Instead, it feels fragmented, delayed, or slowly leaking out over time.

Plain terms: there may be pieces of disclosure coming, but not everything feels organized or fully transparent yet. There is still work happening behind the scenes.

🎂 Birthday Note

May 25 – 31

If your birthday is this week, your year ahead centers on emotional strength, patience, and learning how to trust long-term growth instead of immediate results.

Plain terms: this year supports steady progress and emotional resilience.

Closing Note

This week asks for patience with yourself and with the process unfolding around you. Not everything reveals itself immediately. Some things need time before they fully make sense.

🌟 Something Special

Void of Course Moons
Ancient astrologers often treated Void of Course Moons as in-between spaces where energy pauses before shifting into the next phase. They are strange little cosmic waiting rooms. Things may feel suspended, delayed, or oddly quiet, but sometimes clarity arrives precisely because the noise finally slows down.

🌙 Moon Moments

Feel, Release, Wait

The New Moon in Cancer opens emotional healing. The Waning Moon asks for release. The Void of Course Moon slows everything down.

To work with this energy:

• Early week, focus on emotional grounding.

• Midweek, let go of what drains you.

• Weekend, avoid forcing decisions and allow space for reflection.

The Moon reminds you that pauses are part of the process too.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: My Official Link tree

Thank you for being here, and enjoy your journey!

Share David Hanzel

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Somewhere along the way, people started acting like awakening has a personality type.

Soft-spoken.
Overly emotional.
Constantly saying “love and light.”
Walking through flower fields in every guided meditation while harp music plays in the background.

And if that works for you, great. Seriously. Some people genuinely connect to that kind of energy.

But I think a lot of people quietly back away from spirituality because they don’t relate to that presentation style at all. Especially a lot of men, but honestly, plenty of women too.

Some people are direct.
Some people are blunt.
Some people don’t want to cry in a meadow while a meditation tells them to hug their inner child for forty-five minutes.

That doesn’t make them less spiritual.

For a long time, I honestly thought maybe spirituality just wasn’t for me because I didn’t relate to the way it was always presented. Every meditation sounded like it wanted me to melt into a field of sunlight and become emotionally weightless. And I kept thinking:
“I don’t experience life that way.”

But then I’d sit alone in silence or look up at the night sky and feel something deeper than words. Not emotional in the dramatic sense. Just vast. Real. Like something inside me recognized something bigger.

I think some of this comes from conditioning, too. People get taught early on who they’re supposed to be. Boys usually get taught to toughen up, shut things down, and not show too much. Girls usually get taught to express more, connect more, and carry emotions more openly.

But spirituality is supposed to go deeper than all of that.

At a certain point, awakening is not about becoming a better version of your gender role. It’s about realizing that who you are is bigger than the role you were handed.

You are not your masculinity.
You are not your femininity.
You are not your softness.
You are not your toughness.

Those things can be part of your experience, but they are not the whole truth of you.

So when spirituality gets packaged into one emotional style, it misses the point. It starts acting like awakening has a gender, a personality, a voice, even a costume.

But it doesn’t.

Spirituality is not male or female.
It is not masculine or feminine.
It is not emotional or unemotional.

It’s remembering what you are underneath all the labels and roles people handed you.

And honestly, I used to think I had to look spiritual too. Dress a certain way. Present myself a certain way. Maybe if I looked more like the people I saw in spiritual spaces, I’d somehow feel more connected.

But now I think if spirituality changes the way you dress or live, it should happen naturally. Not because you’re trying to fit an image. You should wear what feels honest to you. If that eventually becomes softer or more “spiritual-looking,” fine. At least then it’s real instead of performance.

Somewhere along the way, spirituality started becoming an image people try to wear instead of an experience people actually live. Certain voices. Certain clothes. Certain phrases everybody repeats until spirituality starts sounding more like a personality template than an actual search for truth.

I’ve even felt this inside mediumship spaces sometimes. Some people want religious music playing beforehand. Some people want intense emotional build-up, dancing, and hyping everybody up emotionally before connecting spiritually. And if that works for them, genuinely, that’s okay.

But for a long time, I thought maybe something was wrong with me because I didn’t connect that way.

I don’t need all of that to feel connected.

Some people do. Some people don’t.

That’s the point.

You don’t have to become a different person to wake up.
You don’t have to suddenly love sunsets, flowers, hugs, or soft voices.
You don’t have to talk like a spiritual influencer.
You don’t have to force yourself into somebody else’s version of enlightenment.

Some people connect through emotion.
Some through silence.
Some through logic.
Some through direct experience.
Some through nature.
Some through space, stars, geometry, music, or pure awareness itself.

For me personally, I’ve always connected more to the feeling of the cosmos than the “walk through the beautiful meadow” kind of meditation. I don’t need to picture butterflies landing on my shoulder to feel connected to something greater than myself. Sometimes the idea of floating through endless space feels more spiritual to me than any field of flowers ever could.

And that’s the point.

Spirituality is not an aesthetic.
It’s not a personality brand.
It’s not “love and light” performance art.

It’s about connection.
Awareness.
Presence.
Perspective.
Feeling that there’s more to existence than what we’re told.
Feeling less alone inside existence.
Feeling less trapped by fear.

People get there differently.

Some people arrive through meditation.
Some through trauma.
Some through near-death experiences.
Some go through grief.
Some through science.
Some through art.
Some through silence.
Some go through complete collapse.

There is no single emotional tone that equals awakening.

You can be spiritual and still sarcastic.
You can be spiritual and still blunt.
You can be spiritual and not want to hug everybody in the room.
You can be spiritual and still feel grounded, practical, skeptical, and human.

The soul isn’t sitting around worrying whether you looked spiritual enough while waking up.

Everybody gets there in their own way, in their own timing, and through the kinds of experiences that actually speak to who they are.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper to me Linktree

A spoken word reflection on what spirituality becomes when you strip away the image, the performance, and the need to seem awakened, and come back to what’s real underneath it all.

This Week’s Vibe

May 18 – 24, 2026

The Energy This Week

We are still moving through Taurus season, but this week feels softer emotionally and stronger relationally. Taurus wants stability, comfort, and consistency, but there is also a deep emotional undercurrent running through everything right now.

The Moon starts the week in Sagittarius, which brings perspective and blunt honesty. Midweek, it moves into Capricorn and asks for realism and maturity. By the weekend, the Moon enters Aquarius and shifts focus toward the collective, the future, and bigger patterns.

Plain terms: this week starts with honesty, becomes practical, and ends with perspective.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: Three of Cups upright
Moonology: Super Moon
Energy Oracle: Door to Romance

This week is about connection. The Three of Cups brings friendship, support, emotional closeness, and people coming together. The Super Moon magnifies emotions and experiences. Door to Romance opens the heart, not only romantically but emotionally in general.

This feels like a week where connection matters more than isolation.

Plain terms: lean on people you trust. Open your heart a little more than usual. Emotional support matters this week.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: Ace of Cups upright
Moonology: New Moon in Gemini
Energy Oracle: Yin Yang

The challenge this week is balance between emotion and logic. The Ace of Cups opens emotional floodgates. The Gemini New Moon brings fast thoughts and communication. Yin Yang reminds you that balance matters.

You may feel emotionally open one minute and mentally overwhelmed the next.

Plain terms: do not let your emotions outrun your clarity. Feel what you feel, but stay balanced while processing it.

Gift or Support

Tarot: King of Wands upright
Moonology: Full Moon in Virgo
Energy Oracle: Caring Connections

The gift this week is grounded leadership and supportive relationships. The King of Wands brings confidence and direction. The Virgo Full Moon helps organize emotional energy into something useful. Caring Connections shows people who genuinely care showing up around you.

Plain terms: you are not meant to do everything alone. The right support helps you move forward more clearly.

Weekend Energy

Moonology: Mutable Moon, “Nothing Is Yet Set in Stone”

The weekend feels fluid. Plans may shift. Emotions may change. Conversations may reveal new information.

This is not unstable energy. It is flexible energy.

Plain terms: do not panic if plans change. Things are still unfolding.

State of the World

There is a strange feeling in the collective right now. People are watching systems struggle while also realizing those systems may not have been as stable as they once believed. At the same time, people are emotionally exhausted from conflict, fear, and nonstop information.

The energy feels less like sudden collapse and more like slow unraveling and exposure.

Question: Is the current administration going to be able to solve or end this war?
Tarot: Nine of Cups upright

The Nine of Cups is usually called the “wish card,” but in this context it feels more complicated. This card can point to people wanting resolution badly, but also to leadership wanting satisfaction, approval, or victory attached to the outcome.

This does not feel like a quick clean ending. It feels like attempts at resolution mixed with political image, personal agendas, and emotional investment.

Plain terms: there may be attempts to resolve things, but this does not feel simple or immediate. Too many emotions, desires, and personal interests are tied into it.

Question: Is the current administration beginning to break down or lose stability?
Tarot: Eight of Cups reversed

The Eight of Cups reversed feels like something trying to hold itself together while knowing deep down it cannot continue the same way forever. There is hesitation around walking away from old patterns or admitting something is no longer working.

This card has a strong energy of delay.

Plain terms: yes, there are cracks showing, but the system is still resisting change. It feels more like a slow unraveling than a sudden collapse.

Question: Are the war, the lies, and the information coming out contributing to the downfall of the American “cult-like” mindset people are waking up from?
Tarot: Four of Cups reversed

This card is interesting because it shows awakening after emotional numbness. The Four of Cups reversed is the moment where someone looks up and finally notices what has been sitting in front of them all along.

This feels like people becoming harder to distract.

Plain terms: yes, more people are starting to question things. Not everyone, but enough people are waking up to patterns they ignored before.

🎂 Birthday Note

May 18 – 24

If your birthday is this week, your year ahead centers on relationships, emotional honesty, and stepping into stronger personal leadership.

Plain terms: this year supports healthier connections and trusting your own voice more fully.

Closing Note

This week asks you to stay emotionally open without losing your balance. There is strength in connection, but also wisdom in staying grounded while emotions run high around you.

🌟 Something Special

The Super Moon Effect
Super Moons tend to magnify emotions, reactions, dreams, intuition, and even physical energy levels. People often feel more sensitive, more reactive, or more emotionally aware during these lunar periods. Tiny cosmic flashlight shining directly into the emotional basement.

🌙 Moon Moments

Connect, Balance, Adjust

The Gemini New Moon opens conversations. The Virgo Full Moon asks for grounded clarity. The Mutable Moon reminds you that things can still shift.

To work with this energy:

• Early week, reach out instead of isolating.

• Midweek, organize your thoughts before reacting emotionally.

• Weekend, stay flexible and allow new information to emerge.

The Moon reminds you that flexibility is not weakness. It is wisdom.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper to Me

Thank you for being here. Please share!

Share David Hanzel

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You’ve probably seen a hundred different ways to connect with your spirit guides. Some people tell you to take three deep breaths. Some people tell you to meditate. Some people tell you to ask for a sign, light a candle, write in a journal, pull a card, or sit in silence and wait.

And honestly, some of those things can help. But what happens when you try all that and still feel like nothing happened? What happens when you ask for a sign and don’t get one?

What happens when you start thinking, “Maybe I don’t have spirit guides,” or “Maybe they don’t want to talk to me,” or “Maybe this works for other people, but not for me”?

That’s where people get stuck. And I don’t think the problem is that your guides aren’t there. I think the problem is usually how people expect the connection to happen.

The biggest thing people seem to struggle with when it comes to connecting with their spirit guides is this:

They expect spirit guide communication to look dramatic, obvious, instant, or completely outside of themselves.

That’s where a lot of people get tripped up. They ask for a sign, they don’t see the exact sign they asked for, and then they assume nothing happened. Or worse, they assume their spirit guides aren’t there.

And I don’t believe that’s true.

I believe everyone has guidance around them. I believe everyone has spirit guides, whether they call them that or not. But I also think people miss the guidance because they’re expecting it to show up in one very specific way.

Here are some of the biggest blocks I see.

1. They ask for proof, not guidance.

A lot of people ask for a very specific sign, then decide nothing happened when that exact thing doesn’t show up.

They’ll say something like, “If my spirit guides are real, send me a red butterfly,” or, “Show me a lightning bolt,” or, “Make something huge happen so I know you’re there.” And when that exact thing doesn’t happen, they take it personally.

They start thinking, “Well, I guess my guides don’t care,” or, “I guess I don’t have any spirit guides.”

But that’s not really asking for guidance. That’s asking for proof.

There’s nothing wrong with asking for signs. I think signs are real. I think they happen all the time. But when you demand that spirit has to answer you in the exact way you decided, you might miss the way the answer actually comes.

You might ask for a butterfly, but the answer comes through a dream. You might ask for a song, but the answer comes through something someone says later that day. You might ask for a big obvious sign, but what you get is a quiet feeling that says, “Don’t do that,” or “Go this way,” or “You already know.”

That doesn’t mean nothing happened. It means the message didn’t come dressed the way you expected.

2. They expect it to feel supernatural.

This is another big one.

People think connecting with their spirit guides should feel like a movie. They expect a booming voice, a full vision, a name written in the clouds, or some dramatic moment where the room changes and everything glows.

And yes, sometimes spiritual experiences can be intense. I’ve had experiences that were very real and very vivid. But most guidance doesn’t come in like that.

Most of the time, it’s quieter. It comes through nudges. Dreams. Sudden insight. Synchronicities. A thought that feels different from your usual thoughts. A feeling in your body. A calm knowing. A repeated reminder that keeps coming back until you finally pay attention.

People confuse subtle with fake. They think, “Well, if it was really my guide, it would be louder.”

But that’s not always true.

Sometimes guidance is quiet because it isn’t trying to scare you, impress you, or force you. It’s just trying to get your attention.

3. They’re trying too hard to control the answer.

This came up a lot.

People want a yes or no. They want a deadline. They want a name. They want a face. They want the sign to come in a specific form. They want the answer to happen by Thursday at 3:00.

And I get it. People want clarity. People want to feel safe. People want to know they’re not making things up.

But that tightness can make you miss what’s already coming through.

When you’re gripping the question too hard, you’re not really listening anymore. You’re scanning. You’re testing. You’re trying to force the answer to match what you already decided it should look like.

That doesn’t leave much room for actual guidance.

Ask the question, then drop it.

That’s the part people hate. But it matters. Ask, then go live your life.

Pay attention to what repeats. Pay attention to what feels calm. Pay attention to what gently pulls at you. Pay attention to the thought that keeps coming back without panic attached to it.

That’s usually where the answer starts.

4. They don’t trust their own inner voice.

This is probably the biggest one.

People keep looking outside themselves for permission. They want a guide, an angel, a reader, a sign, a card, a video, or some outside source to tell them what they already know somewhere inside themselves.

And I’m not saying outside guidance is bad. I do readings. I believe in spirit communication. I believe guides are real.

But I also think a lot of spirit guidance comes through the same channel as intuition. That’s why people miss it.

They’re expecting the answer to feel separate from them. But sometimes your guide is speaking through your own knowing.

Sometimes it feels like your own thought, but calmer. Sometimes it feels like a truth you already knew but didn’t want to admit yet. Sometimes it feels like peace, not excitement. Sometimes it feels like a simple “no.” Sometimes it feels like, “Wait.” Sometimes it feels like, “You already know what to do.”

Guidance usually doesn’t feel urgent, forceful, or fear-based. It doesn’t usually scream. It doesn’t bully you. It doesn’t make you feel small.

Real guidance tends to feel grounded. Calm. Clear. Honest.

Not always comfortable, but clear.

5. They confuse “subtle” with “nothing.”

A lot of people think if they don’t get an obvious sign, then nothing happened. But signs can be subtle. Connection takes time. You have to learn how you receive.

Some people receive through dreams. Some people receive through-body sensations. Some people receive through sudden thoughts. Some people receive through animals. Some people receive through songs. Some people receive through repeated numbers, names, phrases, or symbols.

Some people just know things and don’t know how they know. That doesn’t mean one person is more spiritual than another. It means people receive differently.

You have to stop comparing your connection to someone else’s connection.

Which brings me to the next block.

6. They compare themselves to other people.

This is huge.

Someone sees a TikTok where a person says, “I asked my guides for a blue butterfly and five minutes later, one flew across my windshield.” Then they try it, nothing happens, and they think they failed.

Or they think their guides aren’t listening. Or they think they’re not spiritual enough.

That’s where people really start messing themselves up. Because now they’re not trying to build their own relationship with guidance. They’re trying to copy someone else’s.

And that’s not how this works.

Your guides may not communicate with you the way someone else’s guides communicate with them. Your signs may not look like their signs. Your connection may not feel like their connection.

And honestly, some people online exaggerate. Some people make everything sound more instant and magical than it really is because that performs better on social media.

So don’t build your spiritual confidence around someone else’s video. Build it around your own experience.

Start noticing what repeats in your own life. Start noticing how guidance feels to you. Start noticing what happens after you ask, without demanding that it look like someone else’s story.

7. They outsource their discernment.

This is the part I think people really need to hear.

Spirit guides are real, but that doesn’t mean you’re supposed to hand your entire life over to something outside of yourself. You still have discernment. You still have responsibility. You still have your own inner knowing.

A lot of people look for spirit guides when they’re overwhelmed, afraid of making the wrong choice, or struggling to trust themselves. That’s human.

But the healthier way to work with guides isn’t, “Tell me what to do so I don’t have to trust myself.” It’s, “Help me hear what I already know more clearly.”

That’s a very different thing.

Your guides are not here to replace your intuition. They help you return to it. They’re not here to make every decision for you. They’re not here to perform tricks. They’re not here to prove themselves every five minutes.

They’re guidance. Not control. Not a spiritual customer service department. Not a magic 8-ball.

People aren’t failing to connect because their guides aren’t there. They’re usually missing the connection because they’re demanding it show up in a very specific way.

They ask, then they watch too hard. They wait for proof. They compare. They overthink. They want a name, a face, a dramatic sign, or a voice.

But most guidance doesn’t start that way.

It starts as a quiet knowing. A thought that feels different. A pull. A dream. A repeated reminder. A sentence someone says at the right time. A feeling in the body. A calm answer that doesn’t scream for attention.

And this is where people also get too caught up in labels.

Was it your spirit guide? Was it your higher self? Was it a loved one? Was it a pet? Was it an angel? Was it an ancestor? Was it your intuition?

Sometimes the label doesn’t matter. The message matters.

I do think it’s good to know you have a spirit guide. I think that can bring comfort. I think it helps people feel less alone.

But I also don’t think your guides care that much what you call them. If you need a name, they may give you a name.

But people get caught up in that, too. They think it has to sound ancient or mystical or dramatic.

It doesn’t.

It might be Charles. It might be Xavier. It might be Hannah. It might be something simple. It might be something you weren’t expecting at all.

Everything goes by many names anyway.

Even us.

If we’ve lived before, we weren’t always the name we have now. And if guides exist outside the physical the way I believe they do, then they’re not limited to one name either.

Names can help the human mind connect, but they’re not always the most important part.

So if you’re trying to connect with your spirit guides, don’t turn it into a performance. Don’t demand a name. Don’t demand a sign. Don’t demand a voice. Don’t demand a vision. Don’t demand something so obvious that you don’t have to trust yourself.

Ask.

Then get quiet.

And I don’t just mean sit there for three deep breaths and expect the heavens to open. I mean, actually get quiet inside yourself.

Ask your question. Let it go. Go about your day.

Watch what repeats. Notice what feels calm. Notice what gently pulls at you. Notice what thought keeps coming back without fear attached to it. Notice what shows up in dreams. Notice what someone randomly says later. Notice what your body already knew before your mind started arguing with it.

That’s where the connection usually begins.

Most people can’t connect with their spirit guides because they’re trying to make it happen outside of themselves. But spirit guidance often comes through you.

Through your knowing. Through your body. Through your dreams. Through your little moments of recognition.

You don’t have to know exactly who sent the message for the message to be real. You just have to stop gripping the question long enough to receive the answer.

If you’ve tried connecting with your spirit guide and felt like nothing happened, this short guided meditation gives you a simpler way to approach it.

Instead of forcing a big spiritual experience, you’ll be guided through two simple things to ask, then shown how to stay open to what comes through.

Sometimes the answer doesn’t arrive the way you expected. That doesn’t mean nothing is happening. It may just mean you needed a clearer way to ask, listen, and notice what shows up within the next 24 hours.

This Week’s Vibe

May 11 – 17, 2026

The Energy This Week

We are still in Taurus season, so the base energy is about grounding, stability, money, comfort, and what feels secure. Taurus does not like to rush. It wants something real. It wants peace, consistency, and something solid under its feet.

But this week also brings movement. Mars enters Aries on May 11, which adds heat, urgency, courage, and impatience. So we have two different energies happening at once. Taurus says, “slow down and build this right.” Mars in Aries says, “move now.” Tiny cosmic traffic jam, very on brand.

The New Moon in Taurus arrives on May 16, which brings a fresh start around security, self-worth, money, values, and what you are trying to grow long term.

Plain terms: this week asks you to move forward, but not recklessly. Build something real. Do not let urgency make your decisions for you.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: The Emperor reversed
Moonology: New Moon
Energy Oracle: Angel of Love

This week is about softening control. The Emperor reversed can show where things feel too rigid, too controlled, or too top-heavy. It can also point to frustration with authority, structure, or feeling like someone is trying to call all the shots.

The New Moon brings a fresh start, and Angel of Love brings the heart back into the room. This is not a week to bulldoze your way through everything. It is a week to ask, “Can this be handled with more care?”

Plain terms: control is not the same as strength. This week asks for a softer reset, one that still has boundaries but does not shut the heart down.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: Wheel of Fortune upright
Moonology: Gibbous Moon
Energy Oracle: Door to Spirit

The challenge this week is trusting the turn of the wheel. The Wheel of Fortune brings change, movement, and timing. The Gibbous Moon says something is close, but not fully ready. Door to Spirit reminds you to listen inward instead of trying to figure everything out by force.

This can feel frustrating because something may be shifting, but not in a way you can fully control yet.

Plain terms: something is moving, but it still needs time. Trust the signs, trust your intuition, and do not rush the final piece.

Gift or Support

Tarot: Knight of Swords reversed
Moonology: South Node
Energy Oracle: The Magician and the Mirror

The gift this week is slowing down before reacting. The Knight of Swords reversed can be impulsive thoughts, sharp words, or wanting to charge forward without the full picture. The South Node brings old habits to the surface. The Magician and the Mirror reminds you that you have power, but you need to use it consciously.

This is a strong message about not repeating old patterns just because they feel familiar.

Plain terms: pause before speaking, posting, deciding, or reacting. You have more power when you slow down and choose your response.

Weekend Energy

Moonology: Full Moon in Capricorn

The weekend brings grounded completion. Capricorn energy is practical. It asks what is working, what is not, and what needs structure. After a week of emotional resets and fast-moving energy, this Moon brings things back to reality.

Plain terms: the weekend is good for planning, cleaning things up, and making practical choices that support your peace.

State of the World

There is a lot happening right now, and people are feeling it. The tension between regular people and systems of power is not imaginary. People are watching. They are questioning. They are tired of being told one thing while seeing something else with their own eyes.

This is where discernment matters. Not fear. Not panic. Discernment.

Question: Why is this happening with the giant data centers and land being taken or used without people feeling heard?
Mystical Shaman Oracle: Wild Woman

Wild Woman is raw, untamed truth. This card shows up when something refuses to stay polite or contained anymore. It says the natural world, the people, and the deeper instincts of the collective are pushing back against being controlled.

This card feels like the land itself saying, “You are not listening.”

Plain terms: this is happening because control and expansion are being pushed too far. People are being shown where their voices are ignored, and the wild, honest part of the collective is starting to rise up.

Question: What is this here to teach us, especially when people are not being allowed to vote or have a real say?
Mystical Shaman Oracle: The Moon

The Moon points to illusion, hidden motives, and things happening beneath the surface. It teaches people to stop accepting the surface story as the full truth. Something may look official, polished, or already decided, but that does not mean everything is being shown clearly.

This is also about intuition. People can feel when something is off before they have every detail.

Plain terms: this is teaching people to trust what they sense. If something feels hidden, rushed, or wrong, pay attention. The Moon says there is more beneath the surface.

Question: Will they succeed with this?
Mystical Shaman Oracle: Corn

Corn is a card of nourishment, community, and what truly sustains people. This does not feel like unchecked success for those forcing things through. It points back to the people, the land, and what is meant to feed and support life.

Corn says the outcome depends on what serves the whole, not just what serves profit or control.

Plain terms: they may try, but the energy does not show a clean win for them. The land, the people, and the needs of the community are still part of this story.

Question: Why is the UFO or UAP disclosure being released now?
Mystical Shaman Oracle: The Upper World

The Upper World can point to higher knowledge, expanded awareness, and information coming from above, whether literally, spiritually, or symbolically. This card does suggest a bigger layer of truth being opened.

But it can also show that people are being directed to look upward while other things are happening on the ground.

Plain terms: there may be real information in this, but timing matters. It may expand awareness, but people still need to ask why this is being shown now.

Question: Will the Epstein files and deeper hidden material ever get cleared up or released instead of people being distracted?
Mystical Shaman Oracle: Ghost Dance

Ghost Dance brings ancestral memory, unfinished business, and old wounds that keep moving through the collective until they are faced. This card does not say the story disappears. It says the past keeps returning until truth is honored.

There is something haunting about this card in this question. Not scary, but unresolved.

Plain terms: this does not feel over. The truth keeps circling back. What has been buried will keep pressing on the collective until it is acknowledged.

Question: What is the overall state of the world this week?
Mystical Shaman Oracle: The Rainmaker

The Rainmaker brings pressure, release, and a shift after dryness or tension. This card often feels like the moment before the weather breaks. It can show people calling something in, asking for relief, truth, or change.

This does not feel like instant peace. It feels like buildup before movement.

Plain terms: the world is tense, but not frozen. Pressure is building, and change is being called in. The rain comes when the atmosphere cannot hold the weight anymore.

🎂 Birthday Note

May 11 – 17

If your birthday is this week, your year ahead focuses on self-worth, emotional reset, and learning how to build without forcing everything.

Plain terms: this year supports grounded growth, better boundaries, and trusting your timing.

Closing Note

This week asks for patience, awareness, and emotional honesty. Do not rush just because things feel urgent. Build slowly. Listen closely. Let your next step come from truth, not pressure.

🌟 Something Special

The New Moon in Taurus
The New Moon in Taurus is one of the best lunar moments for setting intentions around stability, money, self-worth, food, home, comfort, and long-term growth. Taurus energy reminds us that good things do not always arrive fast. Some things grow better when they are tended slowly.

🌙 Moon Moments

Slow Down, Choose Well

This week’s Moon energy moves through buildup, old patterns, and a fresh Taurus reset. The New Moon gives you a clean place to begin again, but only if you stop dragging the same old fear into the new cycle.

To work with this energy:

• Early week, notice where you feel rushed.

• Midweek, pause before reacting.

• Weekend, set one grounded intention around peace, money, health, or stability.

The Moon reminds you that slow growth is still growth.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: My Link Tree

Thank you!

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Your Connection to Your Loved Ones Didn’t Go Anywhere

You deserve to know how this works

I wanted to write this because I believe that a lot of people have the idea that they always have to pay someone every time they want to feel close or communicate with someone they love who has passed on. Mediums are definitely helpful, obviously, this is something I do, but I don’t think connection belongs only to mediums. I think people deserve a simple way to start noticing the communication that may already be happening around them.

A good medium can translate things, give you memories that they could not possibly have known about, they can validate what and who is coming through, and sometimes bring in clearer details. But that doesn’t mean you’re cut off from your own people.

So I want to give you a simple place to start. Nothing complicated, just what to ask, what to look for, and how to notice it without driving yourself crazy.

Now, first of all, people think this has to be dramatic, like it has to be a voice, a vision, or a full message, something obvious and impossible to miss, like the whole movie version of it.

But most of the time, it’s a lot quieter than that.

It usually comes in through everyday things. A song you weren’t expecting, a memory that just pops in, a random phrase you hear, a dream that feels a little more real than usual, even a smell or a thought that seems to come out of nowhere. Sometimes it’s just a feeling that they’re close.

And where people usually get in their own way is that they try too hard.

They ask for a sign or something, and then they immediately start looking for it, forcing it, then questioning it, then picking it apart.

Some do the opposite. They brush everything off as a coincidence.

And honestly, if you saw the way I see this stuff, you’d know I don’t believe in coincidence. I don’t believe for one minute we’re living in random chaos. I know we’re living in organized chaos. Things may look random from the outside, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t meaning moving underneath it.

So just ask once, then go live your day.

Say it out loud if you want, something simple like, “If you’re around me, send me something I’ll recognize,” and then leave it alone.

Don’t sit there waiting for something to happen. Go make coffee, go to work, fold laundry, walk the dog, whatever you were already going to do, and just stay open to what shows up naturally and practice awareness.

You might notice their song coming on out of nowhere, or someone saying something they used to say. You might remember something you haven’t thought about in years, or see something that immediately makes you think of them.

That’s usually how it starts.

And at the same time, not everything is a sign. Sometimes a feather is just a feather, and that’s fine. Human beings feel the need to force meaning to understand. Sometimes not knowing can be quite freeing.

This all works a lot better when you’re not trying to turn every little thing into proof.

When something does happen, don’t overcomplicate it. Just check in with yourself. Did it feel different in a way that made you pause for a second? Did it bring them close, even briefly? Did it feel personal?

That’s what you want to pay attention to.

If you want something more structured, here’s a simple way to try it.

Pick one loved one and say something like, “Send me something simple today that reminds me of you,” and then just go about your day and keep track of what happens.

Do that for about a week.

Don’t judge it while it’s happening. Just write things down as they come.

At the end of the week, go back and look at it. See if anything repeats or stands out. It could be the same kind of song, a name, a memory, a certain animal, a phrase you keep hearing, or even a feeling that shows up around the same time each day.

It usually gets clearer when you stop pushing and start noticing.

And yes, pets are still around, too.

People ask me that all the time.

Once again, say something like, “Send me something simple today that reminds me of you.”

With animals, it’s often even simpler. You might feel them jump on the bed, hear something that sounds like their collar, dream about them being healthy again, feel them near you, or just suddenly remember something they used to do that hits a little deeper than usual.

Love doesn’t just disappear because the body is gone.

Obviously, mediumship itself is a lot more involved than this. There are more moving parts, more discernment, and a lot more happening behind the scenes. But this is a good place to start. You don’t have to understand the whole machine to begin noticing when something is trying to get your attention.

So if you want a simple way to approach this, it’s this.

Ask, let it go, notice, write it down, and don’t force it.

That’s enough.

You don’t have to become a medium to have a relationship with your loved ones in spirit.

You just have to ask, let go, and pay attention without turning it into a test.

So hopefully this helps you start noticing things for yourself.

And if you need more validation, that’s okay, too. That’s what a reading can help with.

A medium is trained to pick up on things you might miss because you don’t always trust what you’re getting yet. That’s part of what validation is.

A good medium isn’t there to replace your connection. They’re there to help validate it, bring through clearer details, and give you confirmation when you’re not sure what you’re picking up on.

So yes, if you feel like you need that support, you can always book with a medium. Maybe even me. Lol.

But I don’t want you believing that a medium is the only way your loved ones can reach you.

They are always trying to reach you.

Sometimes a reading just helps you trust what’s already been happening.

So start noticing. Start talking to them. Say the thing out loud. Ask for something simple. Then go live your life and pay attention.

You may be surprised by what starts showing up.

This meditation is for anyone who wants to connect with a loved one or a pet on the other side but doesn't know where to begin. It's short, it's simple, and it doesn't require you to be a medium or have any experience. Just a quiet few minutes and a willingness to notice.

A Note on Extras

Each week’s This Week’s Vibe includes the weekly astrology, the full card reading, the Birthday Note, Something Special, Moon Moments, and collective insights when needed. Take what fits and leave what does not.

This Week’s Vibe

May 4 – 10, 2026

A Little Something for May 4

Since everyone says “May the fourth be with you,” I pulled a card just for that day.

Angel Guide Oracle: Blessings and Abundance

This feels like a quiet reminder that not everything is heavy right now. Even in the middle of everything going on, there are still moments of support, ease, and things working out in your favor.

Plain terms: something small but meaningful may go right for you on this day. Notice it.

The Energy This Week

We are still in Taurus season, which is about grounding, patience, and building something real. But this week has movement inside that stillness. Things may look calm on the outside, but there is a lot shifting underneath.

The Moon moves through Libra early in the week, bringing focus to relationships and balance. Midweek, it shifts into Scorpio and deepens everything emotionally. By the weekend, the Moon moves into Sagittarius and opens things back up with perspective.

Plain terms: the week starts balanced, gets intense, then lightens up again.

Theme of the Week

Tarot: Knight of Swords upright
Moonology: Disseminating Moon
Energy Oracle: Door to Spirit

This week moves fast mentally. The Knight of Swords brings quick thoughts, quick decisions, and a need to act. The Disseminating Moon is about sharing what you have learned. Door to Spirit opens intuition and deeper awareness.

Plain terms: your mind is moving quickly, but your intuition is right there with it. Pay attention to both.

Challenge or Shadow

Tarot: The Lovers reversed
Moonology: North Node
Energy Oracle: The World

The challenge this week is alignment. The Lovers reversed can show confusion in choices or relationships. The North Node is pushing growth. The World shows cycles completing.

Plain terms: you are being pushed toward something that is right for you, even if it feels uncomfortable or unclear at first.

Gift or Support

Tarot: Four of Wands reversed
Moonology: New Moon in Gemini
Energy Oracle: Door to Value

The gift this week is a new way of seeing stability. The Four of Wands reversed can shake up what you thought was secure. The Gemini New Moon brings new ideas. Door to Value highlights worth and opportunity.

Plain terms: something may shift around your foundation, but it opens the door to something more valuable.

Weekend Energy

Moonology: New Moon in Virgo

The weekend is about resetting and getting clear. Virgo brings focus, organization, and small practical steps.

Plain terms: clear your space, clear your mind, and take one grounded step forward.

State of the World

There is a lot of tension right now between people and systems of power. You can feel it. People are questioning more. They are seeing more. And not everything being presented is sitting right anymore.

Question: What is the tension between regular people and government right now?
Tarot: Strength reversed

This shows exhaustion. People are tired. Not weak, just worn down. There is a sense of holding things together for a long time and starting to feel the strain.

Plain terms: people are not blind. They are tired of holding it all in.

Question: Are these difficult times coming to an end or shifting into something new?
Tarot: The Tower upright

The Tower does not come quietly. It breaks down what is not solid. It exposes what has been hidden.

This is not the end in a clean, neat way. It is a clearing.

Plain terms: things are breaking down so they can be seen clearly. That is how change starts.

Question: Are those in power who are acting from control or corruption coming toward an ending of that power?
Tarot: Two of Cups upright

This is not about one side winning over another. This is about balance being restored. The Two of Cups shows alignment, agreements, and things coming back into a more equal state.

Plain terms: power is shifting. Not in chaos, but in a way that brings things back into balance over time.

🎂 Birthday Note

May 4 – 10

If your birthday is this week, your year ahead is about clarity, truth, and building something that actually aligns with you, not just what looked stable before.

Plain terms: this year helps you see clearly and choose better for yourself.

Closing Note

This week moves quickly, but it is not meant to throw you off. It is meant to wake things up. Stay grounded. Stay aware. Let things show themselves before you react.

🌟 Something Special

Fast Mind, Open Spirit
When the Knight of Swords and Door to Spirit appear together, it shows a rare moment where your thoughts and intuition are working side by side. That is when real clarity happens.

🌙 Moon Moments

Move, Feel, Reset

The Disseminating Moon shares insight. The North Node pushes growth. The Virgo New Moon resets direction.

To work with this energy:

• Early week, notice what comes to you quickly.

• Midweek, sit with what feels intense.

• Weekend, clear out what is not working and start fresh.

The Moon reminds you that clarity comes in waves, not all at once.

If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer short $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: My Link Tree

Thank you!

Subscribe now

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