Tarot School No. 1
Putting cards into context
Welcome to our very first Tarot School! I’m very glad that you are here with me, and I hope that you’ll jump right into the comments!
Today I’ll start out with some boring stuff, because we have to get it out of the way. Sorry about that, but I promise less dullness in the future!
We’ll perfect the format as we go, seeing what works and what doesn’t work, and with a bit of time and improvement, I think that this can turn into a superb resource. Please pass along any suggestions.
With that, on with our reading!
Our querent is a woman in her early to mid 30’s, asking a question about her chances of finding a romantic relationship.1
The card we will be exploring today in the context of this spread is Death.2
I’m using the Celtic Cross spread because I believe that most people are familiar with it, but perhaps with my own twist. Very specific information about the spread and how I use it can be found here.
I’m also using a version of the Tarot designed by A.E. Waite and created by Pamela Smith. It is long out of copyright, and a deck that I believe most should be quite familiar with.
Death. In a question about finding a romantic relationship, in the position of ‘Her House’ or as I read it, ‘How Others See Her.’
This is, I think, certainly an interesting spread given the question asked by our imaginary querent, and clearly one that could be viewed as being quite negative. But, let’s dive into it, focusing on that Death card illustrating how her potential suitors are seeing her.
Some questions come to mind:
What does Death mean in this context?
There are only two Major Arcana cards in this spread, the second is The Wheel Of Fortune. These cards are next to each other, in the part of the spread depicting active energies. How are they playing together here? How does Death relate to The Wheel here?
There is no particular suit or number overwhelming or dominating the spread. Does that indicate a balance? Or even a part of whatever the problem she is having finding someone might be?
The Wheel of Fortune is sitting in a place that may sometimes indicate the querrent’s hopes and fears, or may be read as advice to the querent. What might it mean in this place in this spread, given the question asked?
Position 7, the Page Of Swords indicates how she sees herself. Quite a contrast with Death, how others see her. What can this contrast tell us? Does it give her something to work on?
Positions 1 and 2 combine to illustrate the Heart of the Matter and seem to indicate a lot of energy. But how does all that generative energy, apparently being used, fit in with Death? Is death a negation of energy, or a transformation of it?
What else can we see in this spread, as it relates in its entirety to the image of Death standing for how others perceive our querent?
What can our querrent learn from all of this? If we are reading for her, what advice can we give her?
Let’s discuss all of this in the comments below!
I’ll jump in with my own thoughts about these questions as the discussion progresses. This should be fun, and an excellent way for us to learn from each other!
Please do remember that Tarot is an intensely personal art, there are no universally right or wrong answers, only right or wrong answers for ourselves.
Let’s chat…
Gender and age of the querent is randomly generated, using a weighted formula based on actual querents in the real world. Likewise, the question is randomly selected, via a weighted formula.
The specific card selected as or focus is randomly selected, using a non-weighted formula.
I will try to start us out here by giving a quick interpretation of the spread. In parts.
The 8 of Wands is in a position symbolizing the querent's current situation. I read the 8 of Wands a little differently from most, to me it has always symbolized energy being expended rapidly, not in a good way, things headed in a negative direction.
The 8 of Wands is crossed by the Knight of Wands. This position I see as having an important impact on the situation illustrated by the first card. Interestingly, placed together like this, I see these cards as extremely complimentary to each other. I'm reading the Knight of Wands as symbolizing that same use of energy. This not in a negative or a positive way, just the use of energy, will perhaps. The querent utilizing lots and lots of energy, mental, physical, emotional, or all three.
These two cards taken together are the heart of the matter. They show our querent expending a lot of energy and effort, I'd say worry, about her question, which is, will she find the relationship she is seeking?
Card three, the King of Cups crowns the heart of the matter as illustrated by the previous two cards. These are the querent's conscious thoughts about the situation. It makes sense. The King of Cups symbolizes an emotional and loving man. She's thinking about what she is expending energy to find.
Card four, the Eight of Cups symbolizes our querent's unrecognized, subconscious thoughts. The Eight of Cups is a card standing for loss. A walking away from a situation, specifically from an emotional situation, perhaps a past relationship, or perhaps illustrating a fear of having to leave a future relationship in which much was invested, but it didn't work out anyway. This card, in this location, given this question and the rest of the spread is to me a card illustrative of the querent's fears, unrecognized though they may be.
We now have a vertical line of cards, moving down from the King of Cups to the 8 of Wands, crossed by the Knight of Wands, ending with the Eight of Cups. We can view these cards as her conscious desire for a loving, romantic relationship, along with her unrecognized or unconscious fears about that relationship breaking up if it was found, with these two opposing thought patterns resulting in a lot of thinking about finding a relationship, and effort to find a relationship, but perhaps in a poor or misguided way because of unconscious fears holding her back, or causing her to act in a manner contrary to finding that which she is seeking. She may well be sabotaging herself.
Card 5 is the position of that which has just passed away, or is passing away at this time. The position is occupied by the 6 of Cups. A card symbolizing joy, and perhaps an innocent or naive love. It seems from this card that our querent had found what she believed to be the relationship she wants, but that it has very recently ended or is still in the process of ending. She knows that it is over. And that very likely is contributing to the fear she is feeling as symbolized by 8 of Cups examined earlier. That fear is beginning to make sense.
Position 6 illustrates what is to come very soon. Perhaps in days or a couple of weeks. No longer. It is filled in this spread by the 5 of Pentacles. A card symbolizing want and poverty, needs going unmet. It shows that our querent will not be finding that which she is seeking, or even feel hope about finding that which she desires anytime soon. She will continue to feel as if the situation is hopeless, at least over the short term.
Taken together these cards can be seen to symbolize the Past - Present - Future. In this case, a budding relationship or at least the hope of such, illustrated by the 6 of Cups has been lost. Much thought, worry, and energy is going into reliving that loss, and the search for the next relationship at this time. But, in the short term, all of that will prove fruitless.
This completes the 'cross' half of our Celtic Cross. This represents the generative energies surrounding our querent and her actions in her search. These are passive energies that will, when combined with active energies, work to create our querent's reality.
Tomorrow I will post my interpretation of the second half of this spread here, including the card we are focusing on, Death.
But, in the meantime, does this break any thoughts loose for you? Anything you agree or disagree with? Anything you find that you can expand upon?
Does it offer any insight to you?
Let's chat about it...