June 2026

Written By Miriam Jacobs

Memorializing on Memorial Day: A Tarot Reflection on Remembering and Letting Go

Traditionally, Memorial Day is a U.S. holiday dedicated to honoring and mourning military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

This year, I’d like to widen the lens of what it means to memorialize.

What if Memorial Day also became a time to honor and consciously release something — or someone? What we continue to carry may be preventing healing, movement, or renewal.

To memorialize means to honor a person, event, or idea so it will be remembered.

But remembrance is not always about holding on.

Sometimes remembrance asks us to acknowledge what has shaped us, thank it for what it taught us, grieve what was lost, and finally allow it to loosen its grip.

TWO CARD TAROT READING

Page of Air (Swords) Who or what needs letting go of?

For this particular query, you may need to release an immature relationship, an undeveloped idea, an outdated mental pattern, or even an earlier version of yourself.

The Page of Air encourages clear communication and honest reflection. Speak your truth with precision and compassion. Remember the child you once were — curious, vulnerable, perceptive — and notice what still needs acknowledgment or freedom.

  • Movement quality:Slow or still

  • Chakra focus:Heart/Air

  • Physical focus: Shoulders, kidneys, ankles

  • Astrologic influence:Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

  • Creative form:Dance

  • Intention:Communicate your new idea

  • Suggested Practice:

    Pretend to text while simultaneously speaking your thoughts out loud.

Breath Meditation

  • Sit comfortably.

  • Follow your breath. Clear your mind and soften your heart.

  • With your right index finger, gently close your left nostril.

  • Breathe in through the right nostril for five counts. Allow your abdomen to expand and hold for five counts.

  • Release and exhale slowly through both nostrils while gently contracting the abdomen.

  • Repeat seven times.

    switch sides

  • With your left index finger, gently close your right nostril.

  • Breathe in through the left nostril for five counts. Allow your abdomen to expand and hold for five counts.

  • Release and exhale slowly through both nostrils while gently contracting the abdomen.

    Notice what thoughts, memories, or emotions begin to surface.

Emperor IV How do we approach letting go in order to heal?

The Emperor reminds us that healing also requires structure, steadiness, and inner authority.

You already possess the strength needed for this process, even if grief, uncertainty, or old emotions arise along the way. The task here is not to suppress emotion, (like an Emperor would) but to create enough inner stability to move through it consciously.

  • Movement quality:Strong, grounded, direct

  • Elements: Ether with Fire

  • Chakra focus:Throat/Ether

  • Physical focus: Forehead

  • Astrologic influence:Aries

  • Creative form: Music

  • Intention:Take action in the world

  • Suggested Practice:

    Carry a symbolic staff or ruler. Wear a crown. Cross your arms. Stand firmly in Mountain Pose.

Candle Meditation

  • Sit comfortably in an undisturbed place with a lit candle in front of you.

  • With softly focused eyes, gaze into the flame.

  • Set the intention to reclaim your inner authority and release what no longer needs to define you.

  • What do you notice as you look into the light?

  • Imagine light entering through the Crown Chakra and slowly moving down the spine through each Chakra with the breath.

  • As you exhale, allow heavy thoughts, old stories, and emotional residue to move outward through the solar plexus and dissolve into the candlelight.

Remember that movement creates change. Whether through dance, breath, art, writing, or ritual, allow the wisdom of the cards to move through the body — not just the mind.

What are you ready to honor… and what are you finally ready to release?

Miriam Jacobs
Next

May 2026