Category: Card breakdown

Card Breakdown: The Moon

On By HeatherIn Card breakdownLeave a comment

The wonderful Tarotholics Discord prompt exploring the Moon card. This is a card I like and hate- I usually think of the negative side- illusions, distrust, things are not always what they seem. To me, this card is often a warning. Have a look at some of the Moon cards I have, and my interpretation of this one from The Modern Love Tarot.

The Moon from the Modern Love Tarot: I get a strong sense of anxiety, subconsciousness and fear of the unknown with this card- the figure on the ground seems to be either anxious or deeply in meditation, not focused on the moon, but taking in the moment of darkness. The wolf howling in the background reminds me of a lot of moon cards I’ve seen, but it doesn’t seem dangerous as it’s so far away. When I think of the Moon, I often think of things not always as they appear/deception and illusion, but I don’t get a strong feeling of that with this card. Instead, I’d read this card as taking time to see things how they really are, taking a moment to look and clarify what’s actually happening- bringing the moon into focus more.

Mundane Magick tarot: The poem on this card reads: Dark and quiet/or is it?/a pile of dirty clothing/casts suspicious. shadows/ a symphony of nocturnal/squeaks/ordinarily drowned/under the noise of the day/resist the urge/ to turn on the light/there’s much to be learned/in the dark/ you don’t need to see/feel.
I get the same sense of uncertainty and anxiety as in the Modern Love card, but it seems a bit more scary here- the subconscious aspect too- letting your mind run in circles of fear from the unknown. Both seem to have a feeling of embracing the darkness, though this one also makes me think of questioning what you’re really afraid of, which I don’t get from the Modern Love card. I would read this one as an embrace your fear, question what’s really true or false, and don’t feel like you need to find all the answers.

The Literary Tarot: We can see Alice walking down the steps into Wonderland here, she seems aware and frightened, uncertain of what she’s really seeing or where the light is coming from. I get more of the feeling of illusions from this card- because the moon isn’t casting the light, as it should. The picture seems to blur at the edges too, so we have that feeling of uncertainty, things not always being what they seem. I’d read this one as ‘tread carefully,’ don’t only trust what your eyes seem but follow your inner guidance here. Like the Modern Love, I get a sense of anxiety, but more of a feeling of pushing on and carrying on a possibly dangerous path.

Tarot Violet.te: Here we have the wolves, like in the Modern Love card, but more traditionally we have two of them. There’s a similar feeling to the RWS imagery here with the multiple sets of eyes, all open (except for our figure- they’re downcast or closed) and all looking in a different direction. Our main figure seems to be staring into the reflection of the moon in the water beneath her- I get a stronger feeling of illusion with this one- what are you actually looking at/what are you ignoring in place of something else? What is it reflecting back to you? I would read this card with more of a feeling like you need to think of what you’re putting time and thought into- what’s troubling you? What seems to be real and fake around you in your life?

Happy Readings! 💛💛💛

-Madame Starbeam

The Chariot: A Card Study

On By HeatherIn Card breakdownLeave a comment

Here we have another great practice exercise from the Tarotholics discord. Check out my take on the Chariot.

Modern Love: determination comes through strong in this, especially with the little disabled pupperino with the wheels, walking confidently and keeping up the pace with the woman in the centre and the bigger dog on the other side. In most chariot cards we have a black and white steed of some kind, so it’s cool that that is echoed here, too. I would read this card as carry on your path confidently. Don’t worry about the things that might get in your way, because there are always ways to overcome your obstacles. We can see the seasons changing with the leaves in the trees, so this might also indicate a period of change, maybe a rapid one, but one that you can get through with the confidence of the lady walking her dogs.

It was hard to find some less traditional chariots from my decks, but here we go:

Transient Light Tarot: We have the black and white binaries here too in the road that seems to lead to the open mouth at the centre. It looks almost like the mouth is either swallowing or spitting out the moon or the ball in the centre. This card reads a bit more for me like the world is yours to swallow or to spit out- your voice will be the bringer of change, you have the ability to get through and travel on whatever path is best suited for you. I don’t see as much adversity in this card, but I do feel speed- like it’s coming at you fast, so be ready!

Tarot Violet.te: This one took me time to unpack and I’m still not sure I’ve managed all of it. The wheeled figure holds the world in her arms- her hair and shoulders show us symbols of the universe- neither good nor bad necessarily. On either side we have the steeds pushing the figure- one dressed as a horse or donkey (stubborn, maybe) the other a crab or a lobster (the unknown? the darker side of the coin?). Both are looking at you but you can’t see their eyes- a sort of caution maybe against moving too fast, or not looking where you’re going. Inside the box we have a pendulum suspended in rain clouds. This seems to say- pull through! Keep going! Push onwards. In terms of reading, I read this whole deck a bit more esoterically, because some of the imagery is so complex and intense. I see this card as less friendly than the Modern Love card- much more IT’S COMING AT YOU BE READY GO DO IT. It feels a bit like you need to open yourself up and decide why you really came here and where you’re coming from.

Everyday Enchantment Tarot: Love this deck, hate the size of the cards, but I knew it would have some cool alternative imagery for us. Confidence and taking a leap, believing in yourself, and doing what you want to do feels like it radiates from this card. The skater kid is sliding through the city, as he pleases, nothing can slow him down! The pigeons in his way are no match for him, and we can see a sense of getting away from conformity with the figures in the back, dressed in suits on their way to work. I get this same ‘nonconformity’ from the Modern Love with the little dog and big dog, and the lady wearing a beautiful blue dress in sharp contrast to the golden orange trees around her. We have dandelions at the fore of this card, weeds we would normally see as a nuisance or something that we would want rid of- the bee and the ladybug showing how these ‘roadblocks’ can also be useful, and the dandelion fluff in the breeze makes me think of making a wish. I read this card as having a similar positivity to the Modern Love, and a similar ‘set your own path, go your own way’ feeling. I feel a bit of the speed from the Tarot Violet.te, too.

Happy Readings! 💛💛💛

-Madame Starbeam

-Madame Starbeam

The Devil: Breakdown

On By HeatherIn Card breakdownLeave a comment

This activity is from the ever amazing Tarot Learning Discord Server: Tarotholics. Definitely join in- the community is warm, welcoming, diverse and super helpful! The below image, card meaning breakdown and description come from Twisttheleaf.

Here’s my contribution:

The sexuality and temptation imagery comes through very clearly with the modern love tarot and the sense of control being outside of the asker. The dominatrix pictured seems to wait to take full control of whatever you need/want, but whether it’s for your good or not, remains to be seen.

Tarot Ultraviolet.te echos the sexuality in the modern love with the strap-on and breasts staring lustfully at the reader. The two creatures on the devil’s shoulder seem to say that there are two sides to choose from, and it’s up to you. The string reminds you that it’s easy to get caught up and tangled in the mess that focusing only on desires can bring.

Mundane Magic focuses much more on the shadow self and self-hatred that can come from previous hurts. There’s a sense of taking control for yourself- the positive side of giving in to your temptations- only you decide what limits you have and what limits exist. There’s none of the sexuality that comes from the Modern Love tarot, though there is a sense of growth, which we could see in the flowering plant.

Happy Readings! 💛💛💛

-Madame Starbeam

-Madame Starbeam

Card Breakdown: The Tower!

On By HeatherIn Card breakdownLeave a comment

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

Happy Readings 💛💛

-Madame Starbeam

The Hanged Man/One: A look at a few different decks

On By HeatherIn Card breakdown, Special SpreadsLeave a comment

This comes from a creativity prompt on the discord server I’ve mentioned before (a great resource! All are welcome!). The Hanged Man is represented in a variety of different ways, depending on what or how the deck creator wants it to look like. Each version gives different insights into the meaning of the card and the ways you could choose to read them.

Have a look at some of my Hanged Man cards.

My more traditional Rider Waite Smith connected decks look like this:

RWS Versions:
Tarot for all ages (purple one, called Surrender): Birds carry this person away over the sea, where they seem to have no troubles, worries or fears. I read this (and many of my others) quite positively- it’s a call to let yourself be free (maybe connect to inner peace, like the white birds carrying the person away from their ‘sea of troubles’), and let whatever happen.

This Might Hurt: Here we have a lot of nature/woodsy imagery: two trees combine to hold up the hanged man, a bird rests on his leg akimbo, flowers and a sun hitting the horizon shine behind his head. This card seems almost more meditative, stop and let everything go, connect to nature, connect within yourself- I read this as a bit pushier- encouraging the reader to stop and reflect within themselves- the precision of the limbs, the plaid lumberjack vibe and this person in the forest makes me feel like he’s working at letting things go.

The Hidden Light Tarot: A monk suspended in prayer, there is tight control here.

It feels as though the monk has put himself in this position for a purpose. He is putting himself through this physical test to help himself. I would read this card as inspirational- what can you do to find this sense of control and peace? To what lengths can you push yourself to let go? You have to do the work here.

One of my decks that strays from the RWS images is the Transient Light Tarot:
The anchor hangs upside down- an impossible feat- if your anchor isn’t working, then surely you must feel lighter- releasing what is holding you down, or at the very least, turning it upside down to get a new perspective on it. It’s resting in your hands as well, making me read it as if it is entirely within your grasp to see things from the other side- to see things in a different way, or even to let the weight of life lift off your shoulders. I read this as more of you know what you need to do, and it’s easier than you think. You can let it go- it’s all in your hands.

What does the Hanged Man look like in your deck? How do you read it?

Happy Readings! 💛💛

-MadameStarbeam