Show Notes
In this illuminating return episode, host Cyndera Quackenbush welcomes back acclaimed astrologer and oracle creator Vicki Iskandar, author of the Chinese Five Elements Oracle, for a powerful deep dive into the 2026 Lunar New Year: the Year of the Fire Horse. Building on the subtle, behind-the-scenes revelations of the Wood Snake year, Vicki explains why 2026 marks a dramatic energetic shift—from hidden negotiations and inner reinvention to bold visibility, truth-telling, and action. The Fire Horse, she reveals, is the most yang and most active of all 60 pillars in Chinese astrology, bringing intensity, momentum, and undeniable clarity. There is nowhere to hide—and that’s the point. Together, Cyndera and Vicki explore:
Why the Fire Horse acts like the sun, illuminating everything at once
How suppressed truths, passions, and ambitions finally demand expression
What this high-energy year means for introverts, creatives, and spiritual seekers
How to balance overwhelming yang energy with grounding, rest, and strategy
The significance of 2026 as a Peach Blossom Year, amplifying love, attraction, and visibility
Which zodiac signs feel the year most strongly—including the challenges and milestones of an opposing year
Protective remedies, secret friends, and practical tools for navigating intensity with grace
Vicki also shares insights from her Five Elements framework, celebrity archetypes, and her newly released Chinese astrology daily calendar, offering listeners concrete ways to work with the energy instead of being burned by it. If you’re sensing that 2026 is a turning point—personally, collectively, or creatively—this conversation will help you understand why, and how to meet the Fire Horse year with courage, consciousness, and purpose. Right now on Vicki’s featured Facebook post you can read a forecast for each animal sign: https://www.facebook.com/5elementsoracle/
More from The Archetypal Tarot Podcast
What if death could teach you how to live more fully? What if the tiger on your card today is nudging you to stop accepting less than you’re worth? This week on the Archetypal Tarot podcast, host Cyndera Quackenbush welcomes back the brilliant Cat Pierce, creator of The Wandering Star Tarot, to unveil her brand-new deck, The Omen Oracle. Cat reveals why an “omen” isn’t something to fear, but a gentle nudge from the universe, and what it was like to leave the structure of tarot behind and chart her own path. Step inside the deck’s four enchanting realms:
In this episode of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast, Cyndera interviews Cherry Parra, author of The Left Hand Path of Tarot, for a provocative and soulful conversation about tarot as a tool of radical self-knowledge, creative defiance, and spiritual sovereignty. Cherry reclaims the “left-hand path” from cliché and controversy, redefining it not as rebellion for rebellion’s sake, but as the path of the outsider, the adversary, the visionary. Moving beyond traditional witchcraft and pagan frameworks, she shares how her solitary, closed practice centers empowerment, personal experience, and the courage to explore what lies beyond sanctioned spirituality. Together, Cyndera and Cherry explore:
On this spellbinding episode of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast, host Cyndera Quackenbush sits down with author and professor Enid Baxter Ryce for a mesmerizing journey through the hidden history of magic, language, and humanity itself. Together, they explore Enid’s captivating new book, Ancient Spells and Incantations: Echoes of Magic Through the Ages and Across Cultures, a collection of ancient blessings, curses, healing charms, and spoken rituals gathered from manuscripts spanning centuries and civilizations. From Roman curse tablets to sacred healing prayers, from incantation bowls used to trap spirits to the secret preservation of indigenous magical practices by the very people who sought to erase them, this conversation reveals how deeply human our longing for protection, love, healing, and transformation has always been. Enid and Cyndera dive into the magical power of words themselves: why poetry, prayer, storytelling, and even cursive writing have long been intertwined with spellcraft. They discuss the emotional resonance of ancient incantations, the art of translation across time and culture, and the enduring mystery of words like “abracadabra,” whose origins may point toward the profound idea that we create reality through speech. The episode also touches on tarot, visual symbolism, herbal wisdom, mysticism, language, and the strange beauty of discovering that people thousands of years ago struggled with the same heartbreaks, envies, hopes, and desires we do today. Thought provoking, poetic, and deeply enchanting, this interview is an invitation to remember that magic has always lived in the stories we tell, the words we speak, and the meanings we weave into the world.
Host Cyndera Quackenbush welcomes author and tarot scholar Mariana Louis for a profound exploration of tarot, Jungian psychology, archetypes, synchronicity, and the lifelong journey of self-discovery. Centered around Mariana’s book, Tarot and the Psychology of the Soul: Exploring the Archetypal Mirrors of the Psyche, the conversation dives into the ways tarot can function not simply as divination but as a mirror to encounter the deepest layers of the self. Mariana shares her unexpected path from aspiring musical theater performer to scholar of Western intellectual traditions after discovering Carl Jung’s The Undiscovered Self in her grandfather’s attic. Soon after, a transformative tarot reading revealed to her the uncanny overlap between Jungian archetypes and the symbolic language of tarot, setting her on a years-long quest to understand how these systems intersect and how they can be used as tools for personal transformation. Together, Cyndera and Mariana explore some of the most fascinating ideas in Jungian thought, including individuation, synchronicity, the collective unconscious, projection, the shadow, anima and animus, and the mysterious “psychoid” realm where psyche and matter appear to meaningfully intertwine. Rather than treating tarot as a rigid fortune-telling device, Mariana presents it as an invitation into dialogue with the unconscious. Warm, thoughtful, and deeply inspiring, this episode is a celebration of tarot as a tool for soul-making. Whether you are new to Jungian concepts or a longtime tarot practitioner seeking greater depth, this conversation bridges intellect and intuition, mystery and meaning, psychology and spirit.
In this deeply affirming episode of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast, two Geminis (Alethea Crimmins and Cyndera Quackenbush) have a conversation that begins with a simple correction of pronunciation and unfolds into a profound exploration of boundaries, self-worth, identity, and healing. Alethea shares the heart behind her wildly uplifting affirmation deck, Have a Good Day on Purpose, a collection of bold, humorous, and emotionally resonant cards designed not just to inspire, but to help people truly receive kindness and encouragement for themselves. Together, Cyndera and Alethea explore the tension between humility and self-love, the struggles of people-pleasing, mom guilt, chronic overthinking, and the lifelong challenge of choosing oneself without shame. Alethea opens up candidly about living with depression, bipolar disorder, and ADHD, revealing how the deck was born from her own need for compassion and support during difficult times. Rather than waiting for someone else to become her cheerleader, she became that voice for herself and then for thousands of others. The conversation dives into why affirmations often fail to “stick,” and how Alethea’s unique format (pairing empowering declarations with deeply personal, conversational pep talks) creates a bridge between the mind and the heart. Filled with laughter, emotional honesty, and unforgettable one-liners, this episode is both a soul-level conversation and a reminder that self-worth is not something granted by others, but something we learn to claim for ourselves.