What has allowed this stress in my life to take root and grow? Ace of Wands Reversed. Confusion, miscommunications and arguments. Well…yeah… that’s stressful. lol
What is the core stressor in my life at this time that is under my control to change? Ace of cups: my emotions? Creativity, spirituality and intuition. I can control how I feel and react to things, I can control empathetic gazes and looking at things with new eyes.
What can I do right now to help ease my stress and anxiety related to this issue? 8 of pentacles reversed- chill out. Don’t worry about all the little details- broad strokes will take away some of the stress and worry. At the same time, I need to get to it and just do it and get it done.
Here’s the spread for this week. Notice how we’re looking here for similarity and patterns, which is a good way to start to read a spread- not just card by card and trying to slam them together. This is something I struggle with sometimes- I’ve seen some really great readers who connect these amazingly well!
So, no question in particular in mind, here’s my spread.
Cards: The Moon, Two of Swords, Two of Cups
Hmm ok let’s look at the similarities and patterns we can see:
I’m always drawn to colour, so what stands out to me here is the blue and the yellow. We’ve got blue mountains and a blue body of water in the moon, with a bright yellow moon in the sky. There’s a large blue background in the 2 of Swords, with bright yellow sleeves on our blindfolded figure. And the last flash of blue of a sleeve on one of our drinkers (both of which are holding yellow cups).
There’s no direct eye contact in any of these cards with the reader or the querent. In fact vision is deliberately disconnected with a blindfold.
There’s also a hell of a lot of symmetry in these cards- the 2 of swords could be cut down the middle and both sides are almost entirely even. The moon, too, has two towers, two dogs and a lobster with outstretched claws. The two of cups has two folks linked together on their side- looking rather intensely at each other.
We’ve also got two moons- a small sliver of a moon in the 2 of swords- the kind of daytime moon you see sometimes. Love it.
There’s a kind of intensity in this spread- like an intense aversion- a refusal to see something, and a layer of deception from the first card in this spread. What should I be paying attention to? What should I be looking at?
There’s some kind of difficult choice I need to make and I can’t make it/it’s difficult to make because there’s something in the way- something that I’m refusing to look at or something that I simply haven’t been able to see yet because it’s been hidden from me. This decision could be about a partnership of some kind, or there could be someone close to me who could help me see what I can’t.
What do you think? What similarities can you see? How would you read this?
Here we go folks! Another spread from the amazing Twist the Leaf/Tarotholics discord:
OK I’m not sure if my dumbass will suffer from information overload with two cards for each for extra credit, but we’re gonna give it a hook. I encourage you to give me feedback if you’re reading this- tell me if you see something I don’t! 😀
Here’s my spread:
What positive qualities do I have that others admire?
Cards: Four of Pentacles (rx) and Queen of Wands (rx): I’m generous with my emotions or at least I’ve got the spirit but I’m a little confused when it comes to action and putting plans into place- I’m generous with my time and emotions, but I can get stuck within certain pursuits and carry things forward in an intense way.
What positive qualities do I wish I had that I admire in others?
Cards: The Moon (rx) and The Devil: I wish I could get lost in excess and not regret it, that I could convince myself of some positive misconceptions that would make my life easier. I admire the way others can fully trust and empower themselves through their intuition.
What step(s) can I take now to work toward developing that quality in myself?
Cards: Ace of Pentacles and The Chariot: I should use material elements in life (maybe physical self-care, the earth) to push myself forward into tapping into my intuition. Or I should spend more money on new indulgences to obtain the excess of the Devil’s vibe? I mean, usually, this deck tells me not to do that, so I think it might be getting more in touch with new jobs/work/nature/growing opportunities that are coming up soon.
What step(s) can I take to make the positive qualities I already have shine brightly?
Cards: Eight of Swords (rx) and Nine of Swords: Surrender to what is coming and understand that the anxiety I’m bound to face in thinking I’m not good enough or I can’t provide for others or I’m not doing a good job; this is counterproductive but unavoidable. Feel it, and let it go. I am the only one who will put myself through it and also the only one who will stop myself from going through it.
I used the This Might Hurt tarot deck, which is available for purchase in a new limited edition now, I believe. It’s a fabulous deck 🙂
I liked this challenge! Let me know if you do it and what you get out of it!
One card that freaks most people out in a reading, no matter which way you read it, it usually spells disaster. Reversed or upright, it’s usually seen as a pretty negative card and most of the time, the imagery is pretty dark. Traditionally, there is a tower that is on fire, struck by lightning and people are falling out of the tower to their death. It’s a dark one.
Consider for a moment though that everyone has moments of destruction. It’s something that everyone can relate to. It’s also something that we all need to learn how to cope with, and rebuild from in some aspect of life. Some ‘tower moments’ are ones that stay with us forever- some we can empathize with, but maybe never truly know the pain of. Others maybe we can slowly pick away at over time, or maybe it’s something that we need help working through.
Each deck has its own way of expressing this card- and the imagery varies from deck to deck. Check out a selection of mine here:
Creatures Tarot: Interestingly there are two options for the tower for this deck (I only have the one major set though 🙂 ) There is a similar sense of loss and a sort of turning your back on destruction, as often when a tree breaks or dies, it is left to rot, kind of forgotten. With the other half of the tree still standing, I feel like this card holds a bit more hope and I would read it as losing what is dead, or what doesn’t serve you any more.
The Hidden Light Tarot: A sailboat in a lightning storm spells disaster, but it seems as if it hasn’t hit yet- there is a feeling that destruction is imminent, but you have some time to collect yourself and prepare for it to hit. The fire hasn’t started yet- it’s coming though.
Tarot Ultra Violet.te: The roots here seem to demonstrate that the problem or the destruction may run deep. The mouths in the background could show that people may be speaking poorly of you behind your back, or that others’ opinions may be the thing that brings you down (This deck is awesome, by an awesome Montreal-based Canadian creator- incredibly open, LGBTQIA+ positive and inclusive. I want to do a whole deck run through with it in a later post. I love it).
Cosma Visions: This is a companion card, called The Shore- it has more of a starting-from-the-bottom vibe- almost as if the tower moment has hit so…now what do you do? Watch out, more dangers may rain down on you, but you can work to find your own footing. This reads a bit more positive to me. The fire is over.
Transient Light Tarot: The tower is on an island here- and the stairway is circular, almost as if it never ends. There’s a much stronger feeling of isolation here for me- you feel completely alone and it’s like your spiralling into darkness in the wake of the stuff that has happened. Similar feelings of being alone and left to fend for yourself, but perhaps less fire, less ultimate destruction.
All amazing decks- what does your Tower card look like? Tell me in the comments! Convince me to buy YET ANOTHER DECK. haha
Card: King of cups reversed. LMAO, yeah it ain’t looking good folks. Mankind is pushing forward coldly and selfishly, using emotions for force and manipulation, not in a controlled and helpful way. There is not emotive mastery here. The karens are winning. It isn’t geat.
I’m using a little travelling deck I got, It’s the Morgan Greer Tarot in a tin (so it’s slightly longer than a deck of playing cards, but it fits about the same in your hands). It wasn’t very expensive, and I bought it on Amazon, but I would think you can find it in any esoteric shop. It’s mass-produced. The images are nice- they connect well with the traditional RWS images, so it’s good for a beginner as well as someone more advanced. It’s borderless and doesn’t include the name for the suit, though it does include the number, which is helpful if, like me, it takes you ages to count the pentacles you see haha. I mainly purchased it because I had seen the images and liked them, and it came in a tin. I’m going abroad for the summer, and I wanted to take a deck with me- I didn’t want to take one of the decks I really love and lose it/ruin it/get it wet/have something happen to it. A little tin will protect this deck, it wasn’t so expensive that I’ll be sad if it’s lost or forgotten (though I don’t want to lose it or have anything happen to it, of course).
I’m not sure if you guys are aware, but there’s an awesome Masterclass being held online from Hay House at the moment, and tomorrow Ari Wisner will be speaking- I love his deck the Transient Light Tarot (I’ve read with it on here before), so I’m super excited to hear him speak. I highly suggest you check it out if you’re interested- it’s free (you can pay for an advanced pass sort of thing if you want to), and you can watch the videos for a full 24 hours I believe before they disappear. 🙂 I’m watching a video from Mary Greer at the moment, and she focuses on how tarot can deepen your sense of understanding of yourself and how you can help others understand themselves through the tarot, which is quite interesting.
Dandelion/Healing/Perseverance: How can I use my inner strength to help me in healing old wounds?
Card: King of Cups: I can weild my emotions and my sense of emotional strength- I think of this as the boundaries I’ve learned to create and hold- I can use these to help me heal the parts of me that still hurt.
Bees/Community/Hard Work: Where could I put in more effort to help my community?
Card: Ace of Cups Reversed: I can help to ease arguments, create a middle ground or a go between for people who need it. I can provide a safe spce for those who feel sadness.
Garnet/Self Empowerment: What do I need in order to foster a greater sense of self empowerment?
Card:Page of Rods: New fire, new energy, new actions that are maybe not always completely thought out, but the passion is there- maybe a bonk on the head too.
Swallow/Love/Loyalty: Where do I need to more openly display my love and loyalty to others?
Card: Queen of Pentacles Reversed: I can show my family that I care about them by taking care of my side of the chores and ground myself in my home- this is something that’s lacking, and something I can do in my parents home and in my own, moving forwards.
Malachite/Abundance: How can I better use intention to bolster the abundance in my life moving forward?
Card: 10 of Pentacles: I can be happy with what I’ve achieved and look back on my thoughts and intentions with thanks and gratitude. If I am thankful for what I have already, more will come my way. I can learn to be grateful.
Goat/Overcoming Obstacles: How can I best overcome obstacles before me at this time?
Card: The Magician: I can do it myself! The way to overcome them is within myself 🙂 Nice.
Primrose/Young Love: How can I add more of the exuberance of young love into my life?
Card: Queen of Cups: I can bring that emotion, or rather the emotionally matured sense of love, nuring, and good hearted kindness to myself and to others wherever I can.
So, I’ve shied away from these challenges in the past, because I’ve felt like they’re too challenging, but I also think that they have the potential to push me further in my practice. I’ve decided this month to take on the Tarotholics May 2023 Tarot Challenge, with the caveat that I might miss a few days here and there, but I’ll try my best.
This challenge comes from the Tarotholic’s discord server, which I would recommend joining if you’re interested in learning more about tarot. This comes from TwisttheLeaf, who has a great Instagram account and website that you should definitely check out.
Here’s the monthly challenge
Follow along, and tell me your thoughts on my interpretations!
Madame Starbeam's Tarot Journey 