Morning Ritual: Moonchild, Fir, and a Spread About Fairness, Solitude, and a Turning Point (Jan 28, 2026)

Hello and welcome back to Standing on the Ledge.

Morning ritual time: coffee, meds, a quiet check-in, and then my daily horoscope + tarot reading tied into the work I’m doing right now.

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Today’s Horoscope (Cancer / “Moonchild”)

My horoscope for today (Wednesday, January 28th) hit a nerve: I may be unusually gifted in one or more areas, but I’m not getting the recognition I deserve. Not necessarily because I lack talent—because I’m quiet about it. Too humble. Too reserved. The warning was blunt: an opportunity is coming, and it will require a bit of “boasting,” because I don’t want to get eclipsed by someone louder with less substance.

I’m noting this because it’s the exact kind of thing I struggle with: I can work hard in silence and still resent the outcome when silence produces invisibility.

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Fir Energy (Celtic Tree Lens)

I’m tying that into my Fir sign: hardworking, talented, dignified, original—often capable of carrying the load, and sometimes a little too comfortable doing it alone.¹

So the question becomes: how do I keep Fir-strength without sliding into Fir-isolation?

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Deck Note: Rider–Waite–Smith (and a Contract Lesson)

I’m still using the classic Rider–Waite deck. I’ve looked at other decks, but this one feels right—clean symbolism, straightforward language.

And yes, there’s a real history lesson sitting inside this deck. The artwork was created by Pamela Colman Smith, but for decades the deck was widely referred to as “Rider–Waite,” and she was paid a small flat fee without royalties (one of those old-world creative arrangements that aged badly).²³

That story lands hard for me because it’s basically a reminder in tarot form: contracts matter, credit matters, and silence doesn’t protect you.

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The Spread (Past / Present / Future / Querent)

• Past: Justice (reversed)
• Present: The Hermit
• Future: Judgement
• Me (Querent): Four of Wands

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Interpretation

Past — Justice (Reversed)

Justice reversed is the scales out of balance: unfairness, lack of accountability, and the feeling that something isn’t being handled straight.⁴⁵

In my current life, this reads as: “yes, I’m still living inside a fairness problem.” It’s the kind of energy that can drag me into courtroom-mind—endless drafting, endless rehearsing, endless re-litigating.

Message: don’t let the injustice turn me into someone I don’t respect. Handle it clean. Handle it factual. Keep receipts. Don’t bleed all over the page.

Present — The Hermit

The Hermit is deliberate withdrawal for clarity: stepping back from noise, listening for the inner signal, and letting the next right step emerge without performance.⁶⁷

This is exactly where I’ve been: rebuilding quietly, working out my tools, trying to stabilize the system from the inside out.

But the Hermit also carries a warning: solitude can be wisdom… or it can become a habit that looks like wisdom. The line between “reflection” and “hiding” is thin. And Fir-energy makes that line thinner.

Future — Judgement

Judgement is the call: an evaluation, a reckoning, a decision point—often paired with a “second chance” theme.⁸

In plain language: the future is asking me to answer.

Not to spiral. Not to rehearse. Not to perfect. To respond—cleanly, decisively, with a clearer story about who I am and what I can do.

If the horoscope says “don’t be eclipsed,” Judgement says: “then step forward and be counted.”

Me — Four of Wands

The Four of Wands is foundation, stability, milestone, homecoming—celebrating a threshold crossed and taking a breath in a place that’s secure enough to stand in.⁹¹⁰

This card as “me” is important. It doesn’t say I’m chaos. It says I’m trying to rebuild a base: a home base, a work base, a routine base, a life that holds.

And it also answers the horoscope directly: recognition doesn’t require arrogance. Sometimes it requires a threshold act—naming what I can do, showing the work, and letting the right people see it.

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Psychological Lens: Humility, Impostor Feelings, and the Fear of Visibility

That horoscope line—“boast a little”—is uncomfortable because it scrapes right across something real: the fear of visibility.

There’s a known pattern in psychology called the impostor phenomenon: difficulty internalizing competence, fear of being “found out,” and discomfort receiving recognition, even when the work is real.¹¹

So the psychological question today is:

Am I being humble… or am I avoiding the risk that comes with being seen?

Hermit energy can be healthy. But if I’m using it to dodge the vulnerability of self-advocacy, then it’s not wisdom. It’s a shield.

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Sociological Lens: “Impression Management” and the Cost of Staying Quiet

On the sociology side, this is also about roles and presentation. Goffman’s work on self-presentation describes how people manage impressions in social life—how we perform competence, credibility, and legitimacy in front of others.¹²

If I don’t present my competence, the world will fill in the blank. Often with the wrong story.

So the social reality is: being the best person in the room doesn’t automatically win. Being the best person who can be recognized wins.

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What This Reading Is Asking Me To Do Today (Actionable, Not Mystical)

• Justice (rev): keep it clean. Facts, receipts, boundaries. Don’t write reactive messages.
• Hermit: one quiet step that moves the rebuild forward (not ten research steps that feel productive).
• Judgement: answer the call: one act of visibility that I usually avoid.
• Four of Wands: mark a small milestone on purpose—because stability is built by acknowledging what’s working.

Today’s “boast” (small and contained): I’m going to write one clear sentence about what I do well, and I’m going to place it where it belongs (a cover letter, a profile, a bid, a portfolio caption). One sentence. No apology.

That’s the reading for today. Godspeed.

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Footnotes

1. Astro-Seek, “Fir Tree Celtic Zodiac Sign.” Source. ↩
2. GCN, “Meet Pamela Colman Smith, the forgotten designer of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck” (notes flat fee / no royalties). Source. ↩
3. Dark Cornwall, “Pamela Colman Smith” (notes flat fee / no royalties; historic crediting). Source. ↩
4. Biddy Tarot, “Justice” (reversed: unfairness, lack of accountability, dishonesty). Source. ↩
5. Labyrinthos, “Justice Meaning” (reversed: denial, avoiding consequences/accountability; financial caution). Source. ↩
6. Biddy Tarot, “The Hermit” (introspection; inner guidance). Source. ↩
7. Labyrinthos, “The Hermit Meaning.” Source. ↩
8. Biddy Tarot, “Judgement” (awakening; self-evaluation; answering a call). Source. ↩
9. Biddy Tarot, “Four of Wands” (milestone; celebration; homecoming; stability). Source. ↩
10. Labyrinthos, “Four of Wands Meaning” (foundations; harmonious home; stability). Source. ↩
11. P. R. Clance & S. A. Imes (1978), “The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women” (original paper; concept overview). Source (PDF). ↩
12. Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1956/1959) — dramaturgical analysis and impression management overview. Source. ↩