Weekly Forecast: May 21-27
Oh my! We have some intense energy afoot this week. A crow-pleasing card of victory, the Six of Wands, is making way for two of the tarot cards most likely to win "Worst First Impression" - Death and the Three of Swords. I think this tells us a very interesting story, but it also is giving us some complicated experiences to work through.
Oh my! We have some intense energy afoot this week. A crow-pleasing card of victory, the Six of Wands, is making way for two of the tarot cards most likely to win "Worst First Impression" - Death and the Three of Swords. I think this tells us a very interesting story, but it also is giving us some complicated experiences to work through.
So what does it mean when success brings on the energies of Death and the Three of Swords? Death is a harbinger of profound transitions. It's almost comical how the gung-ho enthusiasm of the Six of Wands (you can think of this card as the go-getter of tarot, someone used to seeing results from their actions) crashes into Death. This week we're getting more than we bargained for and our inner development is coming to the forefront through seemingly innocuous actions.
In other words, we might find ourselves thinking, "Things are going so wonderfully! ... Why do I feel so bad?"
I like to think of Death as a card representing moments where we ascend to another level. When Death arrives on the scene we're often unprepared and this is driven home by the ix of Wands. Wands are action-packed, self-motivated, and ever-moving. We think we're on a normal jaunt. It's pleasant, energizing, and going just where we want it to go. Before we know it, however, we come face-to-face with a big moment and some big feelings.
We've been changing all along and now is a time to recognize the weight and importance of that change.
Something we've been undertaking in our professional and creative lives is ushering in a new understanding of who we are. We've reached a sense of harmony and balance. There have been struggles, yes, but they've all taught us to trust our skills and abilities. We can do things! We can make things happen!
I'm feeling this energy as an unexpected and initially unwanted promotion. We know we've been doing a good job, but we weren't anticipating it to be noticed and "rewarded" with a weighty promotion. We have to step up, mid-celebration. Can't we just hang out in this period of plenty? Why do we have to move forward, adding on layers?
It's because we're ready, that's why. Death has a profound inevitability attached to it. Fighting these transitions is unwise. It'd be like trying to prevent Winter from happening or protesting the night. Most of the fear surrounding this card is a fear of the unknown. Death strips us of our usual blueprints and roles and tells us to walk forward with trust, knowing we're evolving into something different. The new blueprint is just around the corner. We need to have faith.
Sound heavy enough for you? It doesn't have to be that way and a key part of this involves scale. Taking baby steps instead of leaping ahead (or throwing a temper tantrum and sitting on the ground) honors the magic behind Death. We can see the character of Death holding a chrysalis dangling from a twig. Like the creature trapped inside, we have to wiggle here and there, testing our new wings and slowly weakening what was once our cozy home.
Eventually, we'll have to burst out, but not quite yet. Taking time to commemorate the big change we're finding ourselves in will help acclimate us to both our new selves and the new world we'll be finding ourselves in.
And this brings us to the Three of Swords. This process is uncomfortable and it's important to acknowledge it. The Death transition at work this week is bringing up old and painful wounds. These need to be tended and seen before we complete our transformation. Again, tenderness is key. I see this card as part of the chrysalis we need to shed. What old stories do we need to let go? What has brought us pain in the past that we can choose to remove from our lives?
This highlights an empowering side to Death. When we embrace its changes we can embrace a more authentic, supportive, and enlightening role for ourselves. Where we once could only crawl we can now fly freely. All we need is a little time and care to free ourselves and stretch our wings.
How to Shuffle Tarot Cards
It's where all readings start: with a nice shuffle. But how do you do it? This part of reading is so fundamental it often goes unmentioned. And add some tricky elements unique to tarot like the fear of doing it wrong or difficulty maneuvering the larger-than-normal deck and you have a topic that definitely deserves some more attention!
It's where all readings start: with a nice shuffle. But how do you do it? This part of reading is so fundamental it often goes unmentioned. And add some tricky elements unique to tarot like the fear of doing it wrong or difficulty maneuvering the larger-than-normal deck and you have a topic that definitely deserves some more attention!
Below I'll go into some techniques for shuffling your deck, but before I do I'd like to focus on the "why" behind shuffling the cards. At its most simple, shuffling is an act that bonds you to the deck and infuses your energy into the reading. By handling the cards we step into their space, allowing the conversation between the tarot cards and the tarot reader to begin.
Shuffling is a special time to contemplate your question or topic, interact physically, emotionally, and spiritually (if that's part of your beliefs) with the cards. I like to use this moment to officially begin my readings, being mindful as I shift from everyday life into the world of tarot through this simple and powerful ritual.
With that being said, let's get to the mechanics! There are many ways to shuffle the cards and, in my opinion, no wrong way to shuffle the deck. We all have our own techniques and methods. I've seen many styles from reading at events (I like to have my clients handle the deck themselves) ranging from gentle rearranging to vigorous pile-making. One client at an event called "Goth Prom" was very forceful, slamming each pile down with a bang after they shuffled. (Unsurprisingly, this was not a favorite approach of mine!)
Experiment with these approaches or invent your own. You'll know what feels best to you. And a quick note: it's completely normal to be slightly awkward at first. Most tarot decks are larger than a standard deck of playing cards. It takes practice to wield them gracefully.
As for disrespecting the cards? We all forge our own special relationships with tarot. It all comes down to intent. Reading tarot with a cavalier, rude attitude? That's disrespectful. Approaching it as a helpful and special tool? You're fine, even if you manage to drop your deck all over the floor, as I've done many times throughout my time as a reader. If your intentions are good, you're golden.
And now for all you need to know about shuffling your tarot cards...
4 Ways to Shuffle Tarot Cards
- The Classic: You know this one. It's the ye-olde shuffle where you divide the deck in two and flick the piles downward so they interweave. You can get fancy and do a complete bridge shuffle here if you'd like. It can take a while to get a hang with this method when using tarot decks, but it's a lovely go-to for quickly integrating the cards.
- Spreading and Regrouping: This method looks nice and evocative. Fan out your cards on the table any way you like. I sometimes do an "S" pattern purely for aesthetics. Why not be fancy about it? Gather up your pile again, making sure to recombine in a different pattern.
- Pile-Style: Divide your deck into a series of small piles. Have fun putting them back together in a different order, either as they are or by shuffling pairs together until the whole deck is integrated.
- Handheld Shuffle: This method is as simple as dividing out segments of the cards in your hands and placing them back in the deck at a different spot. You can really get in the zone while doing this and it's a comforting technique to use when you'd like to meditatively handle the cards before your readings.
I hope this post has been helpful for your tarot-shuffling needs. Remember, finding your own style is an integral part of your tarot journey. Play with these methods and allow yourself to settled into what feels natural. And don't forget to share your method, too!
What about you? What techniques do you use in your practice? What else would you like to know about shuffling the cards? Share in the comments below.
Taking a Break from Tarot
Like everything in life, practicing tarot is cyclical. Sometimes you're fascinated with the cards: feeling drawn to pull on every morning, doing reading for anyone and everyone, or spending nights alone interpreting intricate personal readings.
And sometimes the cards just aren't calling to you.
Like everything in life, practicing tarot is cyclical. Sometimes you're fascinated with the cards: feeling drawn to pull on every morning, doing reading for anyone and everyone, or spending nights alone interpreting intricate personal readings.
And sometimes the cards just aren't calling to you.
When I was in college I had a strange way of writing papers. I'd start out in a frenzy of research, stockpiling books and pouring over articles. It was an exhilarating hunt (and full of reading - lots and lots of reading). And then I'd just stop. Walking around campus, daydreaming as I rode the bus back to my apartment, I'd put all the piles of books to the side and turn off the computer. I needed to get out in the world, read a book about something fascinating and decidedly un-academic. Hell, I'd even take baths and pour over wrinkled copies of UsWeekly, a habit I still have today.
And yet I had a deep feeling that while I stepped away from the process of creating and studying, another process was unfolding. It was as if the paper was slowly forming in my subconscious. When I finally sat down to write, the words came out quickly and with clarity I couldn't muster in the days before.
I think the same process is at work in tarot. Spending too much time engrossed in the cards detaches us from the world around us. I can tell when I need to go out and collect some magic, or simply let my tarot experiences rest and percolate. Give yourself the freedom to follow your own tarot cycles and trust that the cards will call to you when you're ready to come back.
Weekly Forecast: May 14-20
Can life be as magical as we'd like it to be? Oftentimes we're told that a feeling of enchantment doesn't fit into modern life, especially modern adult life. We hear about "adulting" encompassing taxes, doctor's appointments, and budgeting, but never vacationing, creativity, or letting loose. This false distinction leaves a lot of be desired. And sometimes it call us with its siren song: act busy and bedraggled and you'll seem more responsible. It's just how it is. We don't have a choice.
Can life be as magical as we'd like it to be? Oftentimes we're told that a feeling of enchantment doesn't fit into modern life, especially modern adult life. We hear about "adulting" encompassing taxes, doctor's appointments, and budgeting, but never vacationing, creativity, or letting loose. This false distinction leaves a lot of be desired. And sometimes it call us with its siren song: act busy and bedraggled and you'll seem more responsible. It's just how it is. We don't have a choice.
These cards tell a different story. It's one we're all experiencing, even though we may not see it that way. Because life is strange and surprising. No matter how set our schedules are or how many responsibilities we have, a little bit of magic finds it way in. In fact, as these cards suggest, it may be hiding in plain sight.
Because we're taught to underplay our successes and joys, these parts of our life often get glossed over. They're simple, they're fun, and they're also fleeting. Or are they? The Nine of Cups shows us at a special time in our life. All our relationships and creative inspirations stand behind us, happily tended to and ready to offer us support. The array is so simple we might even forget it's there. What's more, the work we've done to cultivate them may not have even felt like work. And yet it's paid off splendidly.
This card is telling us to be proud of the beauty we bring to our lives. Instead of skipping over it, looking for conflict and struggle, now is a time to look deeper. What can we learn from what comes to us with ease? What message can be found in joy? It may also be a time to re-consecrate these beautiful parts of our life. The magic, in other words, is right here, in our relationships, in the work we do channeling our creativity into something real, and in the good feelings we experience when we're working to create a beautiful life.
The Page of Swords represents invigorating intellectual curiosity. Cups are all about feeling, sensing, and intuition. While their energy flows through our lives constantly, it can easily go unexamined. Luckily, we have the mental acuity of the swords to bring some clarity. This Page is all about open-minded examination. Traipsing into the subject of our creative and emotional successes with a clear-head and light heart will bring us some fascinating insights.
Inspecting what's working and trying to uncover ways to encourage and foster our good instincts is leading us into uncharted territory. The Moon is a card that shows us how strange and mysterious we are at our core. No amount of conditioning, responsibility, and control can overcome the fact that, at our most basic, we are creatures too. In The Moon we see how powerful our instincts and intuition is.
Feeling at ease and enjoying life is allowing us the space to explore this side of ourself in The Moon and see how our lives are infused with magic. It just requires a shift in perspective. The Page of Swords is able to explore The Moon's influence on our life while remaining agile. It's easy to get lost in the loopy world of The Moon. Luckily we have this Page to help us navigate and keep us on our path.
In the days to come we'll be seeing more mystery at work in our lives. Excitement in the everyday, meaning in the mundane, and an extra shimmer in the things that bring us joy. Just looking a little closer will enhance this even more and allow us to see how we can be both stable and fulfilled while being visionary and open to the unknown.
What to Do When a Card Just Doesn't Make Sense
We've all been there before. You've laid out a big, beautiful reading and things are flowing along smoothly. All the cards seem to be telling a wonderful and cohesive story, connecting easily to each other and forming illuminating patterns. And then it happens.
One card just. doesn't. make. sense. The ease and rhythm of your reading is completely thrown off. Where the words once came easily now there's... nothing. What do you do?
This scenario fills a lot of us with fear. Why isn't this card behaving? What can't we see? Why aren't we able to pull on our knowledge to make things clear?
We've all been there before. You've laid out a big, beautiful reading and things are flowing along smoothly. All the cards seem to be telling a wonderful and cohesive story, connecting easily to each other and forming illuminating patterns. And then it happens.
One card just. doesn't. make. sense. The ease and rhythm of your reading is completely thrown off. Where the words once came easily now there's... nothing. What do you do?
This scenario fills a lot of us with fear. Why isn't this card behaving? What can't we see? Why aren't we able to pull on our knowledge to make things clear?
These hiccups happen to the best of us, no matter how much memorizing and practicing we do. But before you despair, I'd like to invite you to reframe the situation a little bit.
What if the card throwing you off is trying to tell you something important, something different? What if it's being tricky for a reason?
In my personal practice, I've found that these cards are a quick check on our ego as well as a gateway into a deeper facet of a situation. Their meaning isn't instantly clear because it requires some more work and finesse to get to the core message. As with most things, the hard work is usually worth it.
But back to that flustering, out-of-sync moment. I don't want to gloss over how unnerving it can be to find yourself at a loss for words, especially when you're reading for another person. (Sometimes, drawing a blank on a tarot card can also be as simple as a matter of stage fright.) Below I've compiled some tips for how to move beyond this moment, whether it's a matter of forgetting, nervousness, or simply being at a loss for how the card connects to the larger reading.
I hope these are helpful as you navigate similar situations. And above all, remember to breathe, be kind to yourself, and take these moments as invitations to dive deeper into the cards.
How to Deal with Confusing Tarot Cards
Take a Moment to Center - Before you move into a state of panic, take a quick breath or two to reconnect with yourself and the present moment. Remember, the stakes aren't high, and a tarot reading is as much an exploration as it is a message. Being in-control and certain 100% doesn't make for nuanced, illuminating, and intuitive readings!
Ask the Card What it Means - Look deeper into the card without consulting the rest of the reading to delve into its nuances. Let the rest of the cards fall to the wayside and imagine that you're doing a reading on the same question with just one card and voila! you've drawn your problem card. What message does it portray when viewed alone? Let your intuition lead the way and reintroduce the rest of the cards when you feel confident.
Start by Describing the Card - This technique is an oldie and a goodie and is especially helpful when reading for another person. Begin by describing the card out loud. For example, with the Four of Cups you might say, "A person is sitting beneath a tree with their arms crossed, gazing at three cups. They look bored and detached..." This exercise helps bring up any meanings and associations you may have forgotten in the heat of the moment and brings you back into the flow of the reading.
Explore Why it's Different - Take a closer look at the card. Is it making you draw a blank because it doesn't fit in with the rest of the reading? If so, look at how it differs from the rest. Could it be a warning? A new direction to move towards? A helpful attitude to embrace? In this case, the card's difficulty can point towards its meaning.
Check-In with Biases, Fears, and Resistances - Is there something about this card that puts you on edge? It could simply be a card you don't resonate with naturally or one that brings up bad memories and incompatible concepts. (I'm thinking authoritarian cards like The Emperor or cataclysmic ones like The Tower) Bring all these associations into your mind and then let them go. Swipe them to the side! Say goodbye! See what the card says to you without all this baggage. Is there a new message or meaning that's now visible?
Draw a Clarifying Card - I like to use this as a last resort, since it's easy to go overboard. This technique is helpful in situations where the tricky card seems to be missing information or only telling part of a story. Limit yourself to one card and place it next to the card that's giving you trouble. It's meaning is solely to illuminate more about the first card. Let the two form a dialogue and fill in any gaps of your understanding.
Accept the Unknown - If, after you've tried the steps above, the card is still being resistant, give it some time. I've found that in these cases the card needs extra time and space to reveal its meaning. Usually it unfolds in quite a memorable way, so be patient and see what arises as you go about your normal life. This is just another part of tarot's mysterious nature. Similarly, you can now look to this card for inspiration in your future actions. How might you act to better understand the perspective or message of the card you drew?
I hope these techniques help you when you find yourself with a card that just doesn't make sense. Above all, don't worry too much - this happens to the best of us, so welcome to the club! If anything, these cards are reminders that there's always something new to experience with the cards.
How about you? What has your experience been with tricky cards? Do you have any techniques that help you through these moments? Please share in the comments below!
Weekly Forecast: May 7-13
It feels so good to put a plan into action. After spending lots of time in our heads creating strategies, imagining outcomes, and weighing options, this week we're putting our feet on the ground and committing to making things real.
The Three of Wands is a card full of excitement, expectation, and anticipation. Our ideas are still tender and new, untested by the world, and yet we've tapped into something special within ourselves. It's the intoxicating feeling of choice. We can choose to do things. We can make things happen.
It feels so good to put a plan into action. After spending lots of time in our heads creating strategies, imagining outcomes, and weighing options, this week we're putting our feet on the ground and committing to making things real.
The Three of Wands is a card full of excitement, expectation, and anticipation. Our ideas are still tender and new, untested by the world, and yet we've tapped into something special within ourselves. It's the intoxicating feeling of choice. We can choose to do things. We can make things happen.
This card is big and visionary, and I love its bravery. It's one thing to imagine possibilities, getting lost in the world of lists and brainstorming. Making moves to bring these ideas into reality is a whole other ballgame, and this week we're walking onto the field, a little jittery, but mostly raring and ready to go.
And what do we run into? Why it's The Tower! Everybody's favorite card!
Of course I'm being sarcastic here. The Tower, with its themes of destruction and chaos, is usually met with groans or outright fear. Yet in this reading it has a very important message that gives us a helpful choice to navigate all the potential shown in the Three of Wands.
The Tower shows us the downside of structure, particularly what happens when the structures we have at work in our lives can't contain us, our energy, or our hopes and dreams. Left unheeded, this pressure can lead to destruction. Yet we always have the choice to look at The Tower and make changes, using it as a catalyst to take the change into our own hands and not let the pressure build to an inevitable, surprising explosion.
Action-movie level talk of explosions aside, The Tower this week is showing us how the buzz and action coming into our lives in the Three of Wands is tempting us to fall into old patterns. I love how the artist and creator of this deck, Jonasa Jaus, uses an insect as the protagonist of the Three. Is there a better metaphor for the early, exciting stages of creativity than pollination? And what a fascinating contrast between the vibrant, happy wildflowers in the Three and the epic titan arum in The Tower!
If we're the buzzing insect here, busy traveling from flower to flower, the gigantic titan arum represents a nearly-irresistible temptation. We're feeling a pull to go to The Tower despite the fact that it's not the flower we need to be pursuing at all. In fact, it's quite toxic.
What I love most about the Three of Wands is that is captures both the tenderness and bravery of setting off on any path. When we do this we have to be mindful of our energy. When something's new and budding it needs care, attention, and gentleness. Not to mention focus. In the early stages of a new project, creation, or endeavor we have to remain focused, humble, and in the moment.
In this reading, The Tower shows us a temptation to force our newly budding plans into repressive and overbearing structure. This can show up in a desire to overwhelm ourselves with expectations, judging each and every action and burying ourselves in a pile of "shoulds." Our plans should unfold this way. We should be feeling like that. It should look like this.
Clearly, some form of self-sabotage is at work. Why are we moving from the new growth of the Three of Wands to the cataclysm of The Tower? The Six of Cups appears as our final card to add some insight. This card speaks to nostalgia and early patterns of relating to the world. Taking a risk and committing to a plan in the Three of Wands is bringing up a lot of fear and pressure stemming from how we were taught to look at the world as children.
Interestingly, this card is also showing us a way through The Tower, one that has us bypassing its destructive intensity. Embracing The Tower wholeheartedly (or doing nothing to process the issues it brings up) is leading us towards emotional overwhelm and a desire to control and force our newly burgeoning plans into stale old frameworks. Hardly a goal any of us is consciously working towards! Instead, we can ask ourselves some loving and probing questions. Just what about our new plans and creative ideas is making us feel fearful? Why are we feeling the urge to snuff our our enthusiasm with heavy expectations and judgment?
If we can meet ourselves in this place, lovingly addressing our fears and traveling back to the conditions that they came from, we can enter into the healing space of the Six of Cups. Here, we have the ability to look back at the source of these pressures with all the wisdom we've accrued as adults. It doesn't have to be a big, frightening Tower moment. It can be a gentle moment of reconnection and an act of recommitting to taking our creativity and energy seriously. That means giving it all the space, lightheartedness, action, and bravery it needs to grow.
Tarot Reflections: The Seven of Swords
The Seven of Swords gets a bad rap. Just look at its traditional meanings: deceit, deception, betrayal. You know, all the light stuff. Sounds like fun, right? Yet despite its negative reputation, I've always had a soft spot for this card, and I've found that it also has a softer meaning, too.
I remember reading for myself years ago. I was fresh out of a committed relationship and just dipping my toes into the dating pool. Tinder was new on the scene and I was swiping with wild abandon, finding myself across tables and bars from lovely people who were looking for something serious. And I just... wasn't. It was a heady time.
The Seven of Swords gets a bad rap. Just look at its traditional meanings: deceit, deception, betrayal. You know, all the light stuff. Sounds like fun, right? Yet despite its negative reputation, I've always had a soft spot for this card, and I've found that it also has a softer meaning, too.
I remember reading for myself years ago. I was fresh out of a committed relationship and just dipping my toes into the dating pool. Tinder was new on the scene and I was swiping with wild abandon, finding myself across tables and bars from lovely people who were looking for something serious. And I just... wasn't. It was a heady time.
When the Seven of Swords appeared, I couldn't help but chuckle. Here was this upstanding looking, wholesome person, easily wooing people on their first dates when all they wanted to do was have a good, decadent, and spicy time. In this case, the Seven of Swords represented a delightfully naughty departure from the conventional structures of relationships. I was running away from the encampment, swords in arms, because I didn't want to settle down.
In this case, the deception at work was self-deception. I was unintentionally advertising myself as more stable and desiring of committed romance when internally, I just wanted to kick back and have a good time, no strings attached. I was ignoring the naughtier impulses at work below the surface.
Explore Tarot Card Meanings and More
When we look at the Seven of Swords in this way, the intensity of words like deception, deceit, and betrayal lessens. I find that the more "negative" cards could use a little de-escalation, especially during our initial tarot interpretations. Otherwise The Tower is instant catastrophe or, in this case, the Seven of Swords is a heart-wrenching betrayal.
In this time of my life I was simply feeling much more zesty than I was able to admit to myself. Freeing this impulse from the shadows allowed me to appear as I was: newly single and ready to mingle.
That's why I love this card. It shows us the moments when our thoughts are going one way and our actions another. Just look at the body language: Our protagonist is running in one direction (or maybe even skipping? gallivanting? frolicking?) while looking over their shoulder in the opposite direction. Mind is separated from body, actions from intentions.
And what about those fabulous red boots? Red is the color of passion and its place on the Seven of Swords' shows us that it's the motivating force behind the actions at work. We can look at this card as describing moments where our passion is directing our actions without our complete awareness. This can be energizing, disruptive, and, ultimately unsustainable.
It also shows us how we like to shake things up. We get mischievous and crafty when something's not feeling right. Acting out and seeking newness can feel good, especially when we're able to recognize these behaviors as signs that we need to change something in our lives. And then make those changes, proceeding in-sync and full of vigor.
Weekly Forecast: April 30 - May 6
In tarot, the Pages embody the eager seekers within us. When we're younger we inhabit the Pages' energies almost constantly. The world is new along with everything in it. Because of this association, it's easy to look at the positivity and fascination of this group of cards with a hint of benevolent condescension. "Look, how cute! We're being energized by something new!"
In tarot, the Pages embody the eager seekers within us. When we're younger we inhabit the Pages' energies almost constantly. The world is new along with everything in it. Because of this association, it's easy to look at the positivity and fascination of this group of cards with a hint of benevolent condescension. "Look, how cute! We're being energized by something new!"
And yet we all know that the wonder of childhood came with a lot of mystery and intense feelings. This week, the Page of Wands isn't just showing us an influx of curiosity and a new direction. It's also showing us that following those sparks of interest can lead us much farther than we imagined, into powerful and meaningful territory.
If the Page of Wands is arriving on the scene to show us enamored with a new action, path, or practice, the Six of Swords is showing us that following that pull is leading us towards an important new phase. In other words, we've been doing some challenging and worthwhile work around our childhood. It's what's allowing us to embrace the Page of Wands and to feel unafraid about showing our enthusiasm and heeding our inner voice. This is leading to a powerful combination of feelings: joyful focus and deep processing. This week a quieter inward journey is finally able to break through into our everyday expression.
We can see this so beautifully and boldly in The Sun. This card is a radiant beacon of the self that shows just how triumphant the process of healing and integration can be. The journey to The Sun through the preceding cards of the Major Arcana is a long one. This tells us that the open-armed happiness shown here is far from silly or naive. The Sun has done the hard work of getting to know itself - the good, the bad, and the ugly (or the easy, the challenging, and the impossible) - and is choosing to find strength in vulnerability and to let its full self ride into the spotlight.
So it's not just all sunshine and daisies (or, in this case, sunflowers). It's all that and the rain that makes the flowers grow, the clouds that make the sun seem brighter, and the stormy weather that tests our abilities and motivates us to find our strength.
The cards for this week are asking us to acknowledge the hard work that we've done to step into the lessons of The Sun, and the big changes that we're undergoing as we choose to shine brighter. The Six of Swords highlights this bittersweet journey because, when we choose a brighter path that's true to ourselves, we also leave behind old ideas of who we are, relationships that no longer serve our best interests, and old dreams we once held. Even though these things aren't what we want, we're familiar with them and they hold a certain level of comfort.
The Six of Swords shows us the difficulty of this transition. We're on a journey towards a better, brighter shore. And we're carrying with us all the experiences and lessons that have made us who we are. As we look back at what we're leaving behind we can't help but feel a twinge of sadness as that familiar place grows smaller and smaller. There's something beautiful about this moment and it's giving us a crucial opportunity to acknowledge what we're leaving behind us, to recognize and feel our sense of loss, and process before we emerge into the brightness of The Sun. Reminiscing like this is only giving us a deeper understanding of how far we've come and where we're going. As well as clarity around what's really important.
So the energy of The Page of Wands is far from frivolous. It's a beautiful offshoot of the growth we've been doing. We can replace shame with action and excitement, knowing that we're giving ourselves an important and hard-won gift. We might be surprised to see how far these seemingly small steps will take us in the days to come.
Feeling Tender around Spiritual Topics
I was sitting at a cafe the other day and found myself observing an unintentional social experiment. Across from me was a shelf of free books that people could take and read while at the shop. Amongst the books, many of which were by John Gresham, was a happy-looking, yellow volume on Astrology. As people stood by the counter waiting for their coffee they'd pick up one of the books for a quick browse. By far, the most popular was the book on astrology.
I was sitting at a cafe the other day and found myself observing an unintentional social experiment. Across from me was a shelf of free books that people could take and read while at the shop. Amongst the books, many of which were by John Gresham, was a happy-looking, yellow volume on Astrology. As people stood by the counter waiting for their coffee they'd pick up one of the books for a quick browse. By far, the most popular was the book on astrology.
Each time I looked up I saw a different man pick up the book. One even brought it to the table to give it a quick perusal. All of them had a sheepish, furtive look to them, as if they were loathe to be seen in public appearing interested in astrology. As soon as they saw me looking, they put it away.
I see a similar phenomenon when I read tarot at larger public events. People will walk by my table, looking over at me shyly. A lot of people feel nervous when approaching anything that could be percieved as "woo woo" or esoteric. It's understandable and I've been there before. We're swimming in a society that values the rational above all else. Expressing interest in something that's not 100% cut-and-dry makes us feel open to ridicule.
And yet we're still interested. We feel drawn to pick up a book even if we'll put it down quickly if someone notices. Or to read our horoscopes, even seek out a tarot reading. I can't tell you how many times I've been offering readings in public to have someone sit down before me and immediately proclaim, "I don't believe in this." I always have to laugh to myself (internally and subtly, of course) because despite this loud proclamation of disbelieve, there they are, sitting across from a tarot reader, cash in hand.
All this makes me think of the poster behind Agent Mulder's desk in the X-Files that reads, "I Want to Believe." As we can all vouch for, life is a strange, delightful, and confusing experience. We all have personal knowledge of its mysterious nature, things that tell us not all meaning lives on the surface of our lives. There's things we don't know, dreams and mysteries to explore.
Unfortunately, there aren't as many avenues to express the joyous and confounding mysteries of life. And I think we miss it. We miss ways to tap into what we don't know, to engage with our love of symbols, stories, and signs. So I can't begrudge anyone their nervousness and justificaitons around esoteric practices like tarot and astrology. I've been there myself - despite being a deeply spiritual person in practice and belief, I found myself broadcasting a hyper-rational and intellectual persona because I felt vulnerable appearing spiritual.
Sometimes the word "spiritual" can feel so general it's overwhelming. "If I read tarot does that mean I believe in spirit guides/reincarnation/ghosts etc.?" Again, I think that because we've neglected this important part of humanity in our current society, all these beliefs have been unfortunately lumped under one big, broad term. To answer clearly, no. Reading tarot doesn't require any adherence to a school of thought, religion, or dogma. That's why I love it so much. Sure, it combines well with all of the above, but at it's purest, tarot is simply a tool with which we can explore what's not immediately visible to us.
So I have a great deal of empathy for anyone feeling anxious about dipping their toes into the "woo pool." No, getting a tarot reader doesn't make you anything other than a person curious about examining their life creatively and, if you're comfortable with the term, spiritually. I welcome anyone to my tarot table, wherever they're at in their journey. Tenderness and all.