Weekly Forecast: January 8-14

As a general practice, I like to cut right to the chase when more apocalyptic-looking tarot cards make an appearance in a reading. For this week we have the stabby Three of Swords and the cataclysmic Tower. Not doing a whole lot to lighten things up, the Ten of Wands concludes our array for the week.

It's rough stuff at first glance, but you'd be surprised that I breathed a sigh of relief when I turned over these cards.. There's a deep layer of meaning here that I'm glad to see, and an overarching theme of movement in an area of our lives that has long been characterized by stagnation.

We've been holding something close to our hearts that's no longer doing us any good. The Three of Swords speaks to the immediacy of our pain. Umistakably, this card shows us that when we're wounded we suffer. This experience serves to protect us (in feeling pain we can learn to avoid it in the future) as well as to summon our energy so we can begin to heal. Our body and mind are drawn to the source and, with our attention focused, we can see what's causing the wound, remove the source, and allow our bodies to do their work.

Without this experience we wouldn't have as rich an understanding of the world and of ourselves; pain and suffering help direct us towards our own path. There's a great deal of wisdom there when we peel back the layers. (And, yes, it's still painful - there's no denying that).

Interestingly, we also can remove some power from the hurt through experiencing and exploring it. Think of a toddler falling and scraping their knee. The shock of the fall and the pain makes them wail in the way only toddlers can: with wild abandon and piercing volume. Once calmed down, they find it's just a small scrape and, after a bandaid is slapped on, they scamper off on another adventure.

But what happens when we don't allow ourselves to process our pain in real time? Detatching from ourselves and holding onto the initial shock of an experience can cause it to become overpowering. What started as a scrape if we had only looked down and treated it becomes seen as a lethal wound. We may hide our pain, try to ignore it, or become afraid. All this effort is exhausting.

There's a tender side to the Three of Swords. In its simplicity, it can represent the vulnerability of our childhood selves and our original wounds from this formative stage. There's something bubbling up from our past experiences - a Three of Swords moment - that needs to be evaluated. This can be a tired, limiting family role or a feeling of powerlessness. Examining the deeper root of our unpleasant feelings this week will be illuminating.

And here's the good news: As adults, we can now reach down and comfort our distressed selves, put a bandage on our knee. Now is a time to direct healing energy and understanding towards our inner child, soothing some of the pain around an early hurt that's showing through in our daily lives and providing room to move forward.

When there's a big buildup of repressed emotion around an experience it often leads to an erruption. And that's what brings us to The Tower. In this situation, The Tower reprsents an inevitable and ultimately healing moment of catharsis. An experience this week will send us tumbling back to our younger selves and the suffering we experienced at that time. Rather than avoid this moment, we can lean into it, knowing that some old feelings need to be discharged and that kindness towards ourselves is key for both comfort and growth.

This is not easy stuff, yet there's a sense that this is it's time and we're ready to rise to the challenge. The Ten of Wands shows us reaching the end of a journey of self-care. Reconciling our current selves with past suffering - learning how to love, soothe, and ten to our inner child - is the final piece of the puzzle. While we may feel exhausted at times, we can trust that this is part of our journey. What's more, we're now armed with a wealth of knowledge about how we need to care for ourselves.

It's a winding road of practice and patience; knowing ourselves the way we do, however, gives us the strength to see and experience the Three of Swords and The Tower not as threats, but as essential parts of life that allow us to grow our roots even deeper and emerge as our own best advocate, friend, and healer.  

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Yearly Forecast: 2018!

The new year is a heady and exciting time. We don't have many opportunities for a clear "before and after" and this is the big moment where we can say "that's all said and done, now it's time for something new."

And lordy could we use something new right now. It's no surprise that two of our three cards are in the suit of pentacles, rules of all things earthy and solid and stabilizing. If there's been any theme to the past year it's been one of upheaval and... well, I don't want to sound dramatic and say calamity, but... you know what I'm talking about.

And at the same time the surprising and destabilizing events of 2017 have offered a helpful and deeply contrasted backdrop to all the sweetness and beauty showing up in our lives. There's a gift in being able to see all the goodness with such intense clarity; however, it's too dramatic to sustain in the long run. 

2018 is going to be a year when we work to recalibrate this imbalance, directing ourselves towards the concrete, nitty gritty aspects of life. Think our ability to truly cultivate, nurture, and change our surroundings. 

Beautifully, we have the Nine of Pentacles giving us a vision of peace and plenty. We have much more than we were able to see amid the wildness of the past year. Now our gifts are emerging and we can see and enjoy the places, people, and practices that enrich our lives.

What's more we've developed an extremely useful skill. Our passion and sense of justice is now reigned inso that it can channel its powerful ability to effect change. Consider the falcon held by the sumptuously dressed figure in the Nine of Pentacles. Once swirling through the clouds, hunting and screeching (I'm thinking about all the time I've spent bemoaning and complaining about political events), it's now been trained to harness its skills, guided by a higher power so that it can achieve important objectives with precision. 

What part of ourselves, now that it's had the time to vent its animal needs and frustrations, has returned to us and is ready to help us on our journey? 

The Nine of Pentacles directs us to appreciate and tend to our gardens. What do we need to do to make our lives blossom? Having a life that offers both protection and expansion is key. 2018 will be giving us plenty of opportunities to grow ourselves a lush life. Now is not a time to turn away from joy and satisfaction - it's deeper in meaning than we might initially think. This year is a time to plumb the depths of happiness and explore the bravery that comes from caring for oneself.

There's a public role in all this, too. The Four of Pentacles shows us feeling empowered and stable in our lives. While we might not know it, our actions are inspiring others and the way we choose to live our lives is providing new and exciting blueprints for others to follow. 

We have just enough to care for our basic needs and a sense of satisfaction for having earned it. At the same time, we may be using this accomplishment to limit ourselves out of fear. While we can all enjoy our state of being content, it's also important to think big. Staying safe limits our contact with the rest of the world and cuts us off from sustaining relationships and our own potential. 

We're emerging into a better awareness of our skills and resources. Interestingly, there's a part of us that hasn't come onto our radars, a hidden talent or gift, if you will. What's more, this part of ourselves is clearly visible to those around us. Maybe we just haven't found a name for it yet and maybe we're afraid fo express an integral part of ourselves. Is there something we haven't dared acknowledge yet, a dream, skill, or trait we're somehow convinced we can't embody? 

This exciting new aspect will shine through no matter what we do to hide it. Look to friends and family to illuminate this hidden talent. It will be key in our expansion this year and seriously change our self-perception and abilities for the better.

All these pentacles shows us how important feeling stable is right now. Yet this energy can be stodgy and limting on its own. Luckily we have the Seven of Swords to lighten the mood, directing us towards adopting a sense of play and trickery  to balance out our earthy selves in 2018. 

Pentacles are often motivated by the desire to be safe. Sometimes, however, in erecting boundaries and limits we block out things that can help us grow and that enlarge our worlds helpfully. The Seven of Swords reminds us not to take our desire for safety too seriously. We don't know everything and embracing an intellectual openmindedness along with a somewhat naughty sense of play will jazz up our lives and keep us from becoming too ponderous and conservative in our actions.

 This card also ushers in an exciting air of experimentation. Maybe some things can be simpler than they seem and maybe we don't need as many structures and trappings of power as we may think. Shaking up our own established routines and views will bring the verve and energy necessary to push boundaries and expand into places we can't even envision. 

So relax, spread out and enjoy your riches, let your light shine outwards so others can see you, and don't take it all too seriously. Expanding into this year will be joyous, profound, and revolutionary. We're replacing reaction with mindfully channeled power, want with fulfilled wishes, and old ideas with playful innovation. 

I can't wait to travel this path with all of you - Happy New Years!

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Exploring the Minor Arcana: The Fives

In this series we'll be diving into the world of the Minor Arcana. Each segment will group the cards by number where we can engage in their themes and differences. For all the posts in the installment, click here.

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Just looking at these fives gives us a sense of the tension they hold. Scenes of loss and struggle jump out immediately - there's not much subtlety to these scenarios and we can easily infer their meanings with just one glance. The fives are indeed all about conflict; the moments when we're first put to the test and are forced to struggle with what's before us.

Interestingly, these cards also mark a middle place. As the halfway point of the numbered cards in the Minor Arcana they show us how challenge is unavoidable and perhaps even necessary to propel us onto the next stage of our journey. With this being said there's a lot of trial and error happening in the fives. Our first attempts aren't always the best or most graceful. In fact, as we can see clearly here, they're often heavy-handed and foolish. Yet we can't learn without making our mistakes, and nowhere is the sense of actively grappling with a challenge more present than in these cards.

Explore In-Depth Minor Arcana Meanings

The  Five of Wands shows an almost endearing scene of chaos. Five people struggle with five wands. It's unclear what they're trying to accomplish. Are they attempting to create a structure together or is each person simply trying to stand their wand upright? This card illustrates the confusion that comes with mindless action and ambition, especially when it's motivated by self-interest. Instead of communicating or collaborating, the figures in this card are flailing. 

For the Five of Swords represens situations where someone has gotten carried away with their ego. Using their words and actions to further their own needs with disregard for others has left a wake of hurt feelings and confusion in their wake. This card can be seen as a Pyrrhic victory. Though the person in the foreground may not realize it yet, their actions, although they may seem justified or even celebratory in the moment, have hurt and alienated them more than helped their cause. 

The Five of Cups is a deep card that almost invites us to come to a full stop. A loss has been suffered and is being felt acutely in the present moment. We see a grieving figure in a dark cloak looking downcast at three spilled cups. The emotion from this loss is consuming and unavoidable. Feeling through it, however, will ultimately clear the way to a new path forward, and two full cups wait to help them along on their journey. 

Finally, the Five of Pentacles brings us to the realm of material suffering. Here two beggars walk through the snow outside what appears to be a church. Without shelter or adequate clothing they're forced to focus on the immediate moment, pushing through the storm motivated only by their connection to each other and hope for something more. This card deals with issues of financial insecurity, fear of suffering, and lack of stability. 

While not a sunny bunch of cards, the fives invite us to look at our challenges as turning points. These are moments where we must prove our mettle and earn our wisdom. Though not simple to do, the lessons that come from these cards add meaning and weight to our accomplishments and life itself. What are your thoughts on the fives? Share in the comments below!

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Weekly Forecast: December 18-24

There's something wild in all of us that can be easy to forget at times. Daily life requires that we step away from our snarling wolf sides. After all, it's not practical if we're rampaging through our homes, tearing at our sofas with our sharp fangs. (Though sometimes it's tempting).

Usually these uncharted and untamed parts of our personalities pop up in destructive ways. Like an animal cornered we lash out or crouch defensively with our ears back and teeth bared. 

There's another way, however, that involves quite a bit of bravery and willingness to look past our sense of familiarity and safety. It's deep inner-work that can only be approached in the long-term. Impatience doesn't work when the path is windy and overgrown. Yet if we choose to walk through it we're rewarded with a kind of deep, irreplaceable self-knowledge, because in our personal woods we get to meet our untamed selves and, most powerfully, we get to know them.

That's how we arrive on the scene this week. Our rough and winding journey has reconnected us with our animal strength. The risk of moving forward when what we have on the surface is "enough" was high. It's easy to label someone as foolhardy or overly-ambitious when they strike out in this way, heeding a call only they can hear. We can see the Eight of Cups as a brave decision to move away from the expected, domestic, and safe "enough" of our lives and to seek something deeper, following a deep-seated instinct within us. 

I love Ricardo Cavolo's illustration of this card. Instead of the solitary figure journeying into moonlit mountains with his row of eight upturned cups behind him we have a lush explosion of green. The upturned cups have sprouted strong vines that are bursting forth to tear down a pillar and expose a bright and burning flame. 

I see this as the result of the journey we've undertaken in the Eight of Cups. We've heeded the call to follow our wild natures and doing so has unleashed a great and sustaining creative energy. And a big change - we've had to tear down a pillar supporting our lives, trusting our wild selves when they tell us that doing so will free us.

 All the wonderful things that have sustained us in our life - our eight upturned cups - have become the home from which we can cultivate our true nature. The result? Given time, they bud and grow, reaching out to tear down what no longer works in our lives, exposing a powerful source of energy and inspiration.

With all this deep working going on (and exposed flames!) now is an excellent time to acknowledge and appreciate all the stages of our journeys so far. What has sustained us and supported us, allowing for our complicated, wild selves to flourish? These are the relationships and connections that don't hold us back or box us in, and as such they are immensely valuable and precious. 

Now we're being propelled into the joyful clarity of The Sun and it's glorious to behold. All the doubut and risk-taking of the Eight of Cups has revealed something precious and fiery within us. Now that single flame has transformed into The Sun and it's shining down to illuminate our next phase. We're bravely creating a world that can hold our entires selves, wildness and all, and it's warm, energetic, and full of possibility.

Enjoy this period of emerging and basking in your personal glow. It hasn't been easy getting to this place and it may have felt too risky or too challenging at times, so take some time to look around and enjoy the clarity. Our creative channels are clear and open now; cavort, jump, experiment, and celebrate your newfound personal freedom.

This freedom has us ready to jump into creating something tangible for ourselves. Most importantly, we'll be asking our wild selves to come along for the ride as our trusted advisors. All that strength and complexity is too precious to send back to the woods, and as we work at manifesting our visions we'll be calling on its wisdom to help guide us. The Six of Pentacles points us to the future, reminding us to follow the weird, deep, and unmistakable call of our untamed selves. As we decide what to sustain and focus on, this sense of intuition and self-knowledge will help guide us. If it doesn't ignite a mysterious sense of interst and instinct, it's not our path to take. 

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Exploring the Minor Arcana: The Fours

In this series we'll be diving into the world of the Minor Arcana. Each segment will group the cards by number where we can engage in their themes and differences. For all the posts in the installment, click here.

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The fours in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck are all about stability and structure. From the creative dynamism of the threes we now need context and constraints to orient ourselves. Think of the four cardinal directions or the four walls of a home. The fours represent the forces, places, and mindsets that make up our world, asking us how and where we contain different aspects of our lives.

So how do each of the suits reflect these themes? Some, like the wands, embrace them wholeheartedly and without conflict. The action of the wands, with its boundless optimism and confidence, responds well to an open and airy type of structure. Others, like the four of cups, grow listless and bored by the constraint. Being a suit ruled by water, cups require fluid and flowing boundaries. 

Let's look at each of the fours in more detail below:

Explore In-Depth Minor Arcana Meanings

The  Four of Wands shows how creativity flourishes when channeled into an open structure.  It can't reach its full potential when floating around in the air as plans and dreams. Instead, it needs to be enacted and put to work, and doing so brings great harmony and satisfaction, not to mention room for growth. We see a happy pair or people standing before a walled city, raising boquets before a beautiful arbor of four wands. Moving away from the predictability and structure of the city and towards a life based around their ideas and actions has brought them joy and freedom. Quite lovely stuff, indeed!

For the Four of Swords, structure is a welcome balm.  All the careening thoughts of the swords suite need to come to rest. Here we see a figure reclining within a peaceful stone structure. All their swords are hung in place around him, unable to cause any harm. This shows us how putting down our thoughts and allowing our minds to rest is healing and leaves room for growth. What's more, the glow from the stained glass window represents the unexpected messages that can come to us when our minds are clear and receptive. 

The Four of Cups is interestingly restless. Cups, in all their watery glory, need to flow and bend around obtacles. Being contained is against their nature and can result in stagnation. Here the figure in the card appears bored and listless, focused on his three cups and unable to see the fourth being offered to them. The fourth cup, however, shows how water always finds away around blockage. Emotion and connection are always around the corner (and boredom is impossible to keep for long).

Finally, the Four of Pentacles shows both the pleasant safety and ultimate limitation of material security and comforts. Hanging onto what we have is all well and good, but it prevents us from reaching out for more or receiving new gifts. The body language of the figure in this card is closed off and fearful. Ultimately, they must choose to relinquish the illusion of safety and control if they wish to go somewhere different in life. 

In the fours we see how structure and boundaries can be welcome respites, helpful homes, or stagnant stops along our journeys of life. How do you view the fours in your tarot readings? Share in the comments below and stay tuned for our next installation on the mischievous and pivotal fives!

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Weekly Forecast: December 11-17

Perfectionism has its perks, but it can also be the enemy of action, especially when we're starting out on something new. Sure, our visions are grand, but they're just visions until we put in the actual work and get our hands dirty. This week sees us grappling with our idea of how we want something to be and the reality of making it happen.

I'm not the first to admit that I love planning and lists. Thinking through and writing out my vision (preferably in an aesthetically pleasing, organized way) gives me a sense of preparedness and satisfaction. It's wonderful to have a roadmap when starting out on a journey. Our roadmaps, however, can quickly turn into stifling instructions.

If I'm not careful, my to-do list or plan, once to pretty and helpful in my notebook, can turn into a source of stress and furstration. As the list of things to do grows longer I become more tempted to tweak and adjust, falling deeper into my thought process and lost in the details. I haven't done anything concrete just yet, but I'm already feeling pressured. How can I live up to my plans? Instead of guidance I've created a situation where anything less than what I've envisioned is "wrong."

The Page of Swords reflects this mental enthusiasm gone awry. We're jumping into our endeavor with the passion and fixation of a page, but it's one-sided. We need other energies to propel us forward. The Two of Pentacles shows up next, guiding us towards balance.

And what does this card tell us? It's time to balance our thoughts with action. When we're in a swordsy mindset this can be challenging. Everything is nice, neat, and controllable in our minds or on paper. Enacting our plans in real time invites in the change and complications that make our controlling sides squirm. But they're just what we need. 

The Two of Pentacles illustrates the joy of motion. We have to be on our toes when we make things happen. It may be awkward at first, but once we find our rhythm we can take pleasure in the feeling of moving through the world and enacting our plans. It's the energy of experimentation, flexibility, and interaction. 

It's also far from any idea of perfect, so it's a good time to make room for any resistance from our Page of Swords sides. A little kickback is natural, and that voice telling us to play it safe (or not play at all), that we need to do more brainstorming and planning, is trying to help. Now is just not the time to get lost in thought, however, and breaking through towards action will be more than worth it.

Is there anything else behind our squrimy desire to stay in the very beginning stages, far away from action? Perhaps the thing we're approaching is a little frightening, maybe even something we see as risky? 

We have Justice as our final card and its message can indeed be powerful and intimidating. We're being asked to engage with our sense of right and wrong in the world, particularly through our boundaries. This kind of work can be intense.

In advocating for ourselves - deciding what we will and will not tolerate and where the lines are drawn - we must step out fully. That means we see ourselves as people worthy of respect and willing to advocate for our needs clearly. We can't hide behind excuses or self-deprecation. This is a time to practice taking up space and embodying the true extent of our power. 

So the Page of Swords makes sense here. We want to plan, plan, plan. Perhaps we're nervous about asking for something or about voicing a complaint. Maybe it's time to speak out against a behavior that's no longer (or never was) beneficial to us. However each of us are grappling with Justice this week, small actions will be much more helpful than big plans. Like the Two of Pentacles, we're not looking for perfection, just practice. In doing small things to value ourselves we can cultivate a sense of comfort in being seen and in taking ourselves seriously. And we get to decide; our imperfect actions and admirable and more than enough. They're also bringing us towards a deeper sense of alignment and power - a journey that's well worth the effort. 

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Weekly Forecast: December 4-10

How do we look at the world and our part in it?

This week gives us a fascinating opportunity to reassesss our outlook. We're entering into things feeling a bit prickly and restless. The landscape stretching out before us seems rough around the edges and we're approaching it with trepidation and distrust. Perhaps something in the past is making us feel wary today; a memory of a hurtful situation that's reminiscent of our current surroundings. 

But things aren't what they seem. It's quite the opposite, in fact. Armed with our discerning minds we're attempting to stave off vulerability because, in our heart of hearts, we know something new and exciting is happening. Rather than lean into it, our first instinct is to protect and withdraw. Look at the windswept wariness of the Five of Swords. Surveying a cloudy beach, the central figure holds three swords, having just vanquished two figures turning away mournfully to the ocean.

We're starting off with the distrustful energy of the Five of Swords and yet the other two cards in our reading, The Seven of Pentacles and The Sun, paint an entirely differnt pictue. Instead of desolate, grey beaches we have light and bright skies. Instead of smirking at a temporary victory, we have calm satisfaction and effervescent joy. 

In a sense, we're seeing the world through some very dark sunglasses, an idea or worldview that we've inherited instead of earned or created for ourselves. We might think they make us look cool and mysterious, but they actually darken our view of things, limiting our ability to see situations as the are.

Our first instinct is to see our situation as dire - we need to use our minds, thoughts, and actions to defend our turf from others. In reality, however, we're more like the content farmer in the Seven of Pentacles. There's no one circling us, hoping to make off with our bounty. Instead, we're given the opportunity to relax and take in the fruits of our labors. Why would we choose anything else?

The Five of Swords and the Seven of Pentacles ask us to engage with our tendencies to see the world as an inherently competitive place. What do we gain from this? Is it a sense of urgency and importance? The ability to hide our pride in our hard work behind struggle and drama?

This cards for this week ask us to be brave and let our skills and accomplishments just be: just be worthy of our pride, worthy of acknowledgment from others, and worthy of celebration. Doing so allows us to blossom into clearer and more joyful people, ready to enter into all aspects of life as full expressions of ourselves, uninhibited by self-doubt and negative thinking. 

Yes, this can be scary. We don't have the excuse of busying ourselves in protective battles agaisnt nefarious assailants. Instead, we're just in a blossoming garden of our own making. And we can see ourselves as The Sun whose light allows all our ideas, plans, and visions to grow and flourish. 

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Dealing with Difficult Tarot Cards: 7 Tips for Reading for Others

At our last Tarot Club meeting we had a nice chat about how to handle the tougher cards when reading for others. Is putting a positive spin on them simply sugar-coating the message? What about when someone is already nervous about tarot? How do you explain The Devil in a "something to look forward to" position in a spread?

These are all rich and meaty questions that each deserve their own post. For today, I'll be diving into the issue of using positive interpretations for these darker cards.

Before we jump on in, a moment to clarify. When I say "darker cards" I'm referring to the heavy hitters in tarot, the cards most likely to pop up on a massively stereotypical fortuneteller's table in a horror movie: Death, The Devil, The Tower, and the Three of Swords. I mean, just take a gander at these beauties!

Right off the bat we can see similarities. A predilection for ominous black or flat grey, intense imagery you could easily imagine on the cover of a death metal album, and visual themes of suffering. No wonder those new to tarot get squeamish around these cards!

And yet would you be surprised if I told you that these are some of my favorite cards in the deck? Without the darker tarot cards the system itself would lack nuance and depth. Tarot is a beautiful illustration of all the facets of life, good and bad. And I say "good and bad" as a jumping off point - tarot is much more subtle than a simple binary; though it uses them to illustrate certain points it also invites us to shade in all the tones of grey that make up most of our human experiences. Sugarcoating them strips away their beautiful complexity and power to reflect our lives in their entirety. 

And yet it's a fine line to walk: how do we breach the complex messages of these cards when reading for friends, acquantances, or people new to tarot? 

Tips for Interpreting "Negative" Tarot Cards

1. Acknowledge Change

No one card shows a static situation. Life is constantly changing, and we are constantly changing, so no one is going to get stuck experiencing the stabby heartbreak of the Three of Swords forever (that would take some serious willpower!) I think a lot of the fear around tarot is that the cards will show you something bad that you're powerless to change. On the contrary, tarot shows us what energy and happenings are circulating in our lives. It's a map we can look at, interpret, and then choose how to navigate. 

2. Cut to the Chase

So you're at a party and have decided to read cards for a few friends. You flip them all over and the second to last card is Death. Instead of going in order while your friend is nervously fixated on a tarot card that literally says "death" on it, wondering if it means she's going to die, jump stright to it with a quick explanation. "You've probably noticed this scary looking skeleton on horseback that says "Death" underneath. Don't worry, tarot is a rich symbolic system and this card doesn't mean you're going to die tomorrow! It can actually be quite beautiful - we'll get to it soon, but in the meantime do you have any questions about it?" (Note: you can use much more elegant language that I do here!)This method takes some of the anxiety out of the situation and diffuses tension so that the querent can be present during their reading. 

3. Explain the Context

All tarot cards have their positive and negative sides and their strengths and weaknesses. The large part of a tarot reading lies in each card's relationships to the others in the spread. Context is key. So Death with the Three of Swords could represent a painful but necessary breakup, or The Tower followed by the Six of Wands could show an unexpected, drastic change clearing way for a creative breakthrough. Tying the more challenging cards to others in the spread is a wonderful way to acquaint your querent with the situation and allow them to see their more detailed meanings unfold.

4. Let the Querent Lead

I see tarot as a collaborative process, so the experience and interpretation of whomever you're reading for is an essential. Give your querent an opportunity to share their response and connections with the difficult card after you've given a brief explanation of meaning and context. Does it resonate for them? Let them lead the interpretation here and listen actively. This is a key step for those kind souls who might be tempted to sugarcoat too much in an effort to shield their querent from difficult emotions or situations. Many people actually find it relieving and healing to see tougher situations in their readings. They feel seen and empowered to survey the land and decide how they want to proceed. Giving them the space to decide whether they want to dive deeper into a card or not will both give them the reading they need in the moment and allow you to respond accordingly.

5. Focus on Choice

As I mentioned above, a tarot reading isn't an indictment on your future. It shows the energy active in the current situation and the likely outcome if we proceed as we are right now. If anything, tarot readings give us insight into the many paths we can take. Each card has guidance to offer (yes, even The Tower) and it all rests on how we choose to work with its energy. This is exciting news! Sharing the power of choice and the different avenues available with your querent is a beautiful way to bring the reading home. Returning to the issue of sugar-coating, this is an excellent way to balance the painful aspects of a card with ways to heal. For example, say The Tower appears in a past position, representing an unexpected layoff. It's important here to acknowledge the trauma of this experience. The Tower isn't a walk in the park, that's for sure. Again, let the querent guide you. Additionally, The Tower depicts a situation where structure has crumbled due to an outside force. The querent had no control over the sitution; the only thing they can control is how they emerge from the aftermath. Do they want to rebuild the tower? Build something else? Or pursue another path that's less structured? Leaving the querent with these options is both validating and empowering.

6. Relinquish Control

When we read tarot for others we're equal parts interpreter and conduit. Worrying about how others will interpret things is an expression of our egos. Are we worried we'll offend someone? Look stupid? Refocusing on the cards and their message helps alleviate these anxieties. What is the message of The Devil if we strip away our own nervousness? Let the cards guide the reading and reenvision yourself as a true tarot reader. 

7. Focus on Respect

 It's essential to center our readings around the mission of offering insight and empowerment. Furthermore, tarot readings should be done with respect for the autonomy and competence of the querent. There's nothing in a tarot reading that could completely undo the querent unless we're reading unethically or phrasing our reading like a proclamation. Trust that the message in the cards will resonate as it needs to with whomever you're reading for. And trust that they are competent people able to care for themselves. We've all weathered heartbreak and misfortune. It may hurt, but it makes us stronger and more experienced. What better way to engage with these sticky subjects than with a trusted friend or tarot reader, looking over an array of insightful cards?

How about you? How have you worked with these darker cards in readings for others? Share your comments below...

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Exploring the Minor Arcana: The Threes

In this series we'll be diving into the world of the Minor Arcana. Each segment will group the cards by number where we can engage in their themes and differences. For the insallment on the aces click here or the twos here. 

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Things get really interesting with the threes, a number that's all about creation: the act of making something from the union of two. The most obvious and oft-cited metaphor for this is birth - a child created from two partners. We can also look beyond this example (some find it limiting and rather heteronormative) and apply this "rule of three" to any combination of two separate parts that results in something new. For example, an idea and action joining together to create a new business. 

By nature the threes deal with creativity and growth. Like all tarot cards, this can go in different directions. Take the celebratory three of cups, for example, and contrast it with the dire and dramatic three of swords; some combinations are more constructive than others.

Threes also indicate a turning point, moments that unfold after the director calls "action!" They're active and dynamic unlike the more stationary twos. Because of this threes show times when change is afoot and the querent can harness the energy presented to them as they see fit.

Explore In-Depth Minor Arcana Meanings

The  Three of Wands is an excellent example of the process of moving into a phase of action. Though visually similar to the Two of Wands this card represents the act of committing to a plan and putting your feet on the ground. The decision has been made and now it's time to put it into action. We can think of this card as action springing from an idea and commitment. 

The Three of Swords is a striking and intense card that shows us the pain and intensity of suffering. Sometimes when two things come together they produce hurt and sadness. This is part of life, too, though we might not welcome it with open arms. Interestingly, this three is rich with energy and begs the question "what do we make from our heartbreak?"

The Three of Cups is radically different. This card seems to be shouting "yay!" and is welcome in any spread with its clear message of celebration and happiness. A true friendship card, the Three of Cups shows us the beauty and joy that springs from connection with others. Additionally, it illustrates the importance of cultivating and caring for our relationships. Sharing good times and being open with our love can energize us and invite in more bounty to our lives. 

Finally, the Three of Pentacles brings things down to earth with a depiction of collaboration and hard work. This is a card that represents the physical act of creation: making something out of nothing with the help of a community with diverse skills. This three grounds creativity in the act of doing, anchored by hard work and the power of delegation. The Three of Pentacles is welcome news in any business matter or practical undertaking. 

Overall, threes show pivotal moments where energy is being released to either expand or dissipate. How have threes showed up in your tarot readings? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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