Finding The Pattern: The Major Arcana & the Tarot Court

The tarot is a fascinating tool of communication and clarity, where we build trust in our own stories through the mythic archetypes presented to and invented by us in the cards.

When I held my first tarot deck and saw all the patterns spread out before me in the images of the cards, I was completely enchanted and continue to be enchanted by the cards all these decades later. While there is plenty of esoteric mystery to explore with the cards, the tarot, at its roots, is simply pointing out patterns of common experiences. From the pain of a broken heart, the pride of a skill well-developed, the boredom we all experience from time to time, the way grief changes us, and how we feel open and brave we can feel when we are able to be who we really are in the world - all these stories and so many more are told in the tarot. Storytelling is one of the ways we develop empathy and curiosity about ourselves and others, and the tarot is a storytelling tool.

One of the structures of story found in the tarot is the delineation between the Major Arcana, which are cards signifying major life events and patterns, and the Minor Arcana or cards that represent day-to-day experiences. Within the Minor Arcana is the tarot Court which are a set of sixteen characters that have an interesting relationship to the Major Arcana, helping us to find big patterns in small moments.

Knowing that the tarot court cards are ones that readers struggling with again and again (myself included!), from their hierarchical structure to sparse traditional meanings and more, I wanted to share the ways that I have come to understand the tarot court in a way that brings meaning to my own, and hopefully your, healing practice. I started earlier this year by exploring the often difficult to decipher tarot Court through the lens of healing ritual (check out part one and part two).

Now, I want to explore the tarot court in a way that's a bit more experimental and intuitive.

One of the fascinating aspects of the tarot Court cards are the way that they act like a more subtle expression of the energy and archetypes of the Major Arcana cards. Major Arcana cards often represent big energy and patterns in our life that are showing up over an extended period of time, whereas the Minor Arcana, including the Court, represent smaller energetic patterns and day-to-day insights. Yet, the deep patterns of the Major Arcana are reflected in the everyday experiences of the Minor Arcana, especially in the Court.

The Neutral Vibes Tarot

When I see the Page of Swords show up in a reading, for example, I am reminded of the energy of the Magician. While the Page of Swords has achieved some level of skill and self-control, they are are still developing their confidence and knowledge. Their body, however, has already begun to mimic that of he Magician, directing them to the wisdom of “As Above, So Below.” For me, the Page of Swords hints at the energy of the Magician, but in a more subdued and developing way. We are not meant to be gazing at the mysteries with intensity everyday (the Magician), but we are still living in a world of those mysteries (Page of Swords). In other words, the mysteries as profound are represented by the Magician while the mysteries as profane are represented by the Page of Swords.

While not every day is a profoundly meaningful sort of Major Arcana day, the energy of the Major Arcana and profundity is always at play. Through the Court cards we are a way to spot some of those deep currents of mystery represented by the Major Arcana. One of the ways these correspondences work in readings is by helping us understand our relationships with other folks in the grander scheme of our personal Major Arcana journey.

Let’s say that you pull the Page of Pentacles for a card representing a new significant other in your life. I connect the gentle energy of the Page of Pentacles with the Strength card, which would tell me that this new significant other in your life may illuminate the dynamic of Strength in your life, whether by testing it, affirming it or in some other way connect with how you embody and connect to Strength in your life. The Court cards are not meant to identify a deep valley or high peak of a pattern of energy - that’s the work of the Major Arcana - but help us to notice where that pattern is occurring in a more diffused way in our everyday life.

The Natural Ink Tarot

If you're intrigued by this idea of the Major Arcana’s connection with the Court, I’ve gone ahead and listed my very loose correspondences between the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. For my personal correspondences, there are a few Major Arcana cards that don’t have direct links to the Court: the Fool, the Lovers, the Wheel of Fortune, the Star, the Moon, and the Sun. The lack of correspondence for these Major Arcana cards are for the following reasons: 

• The Fool always represents who is being read for so doesn’t need a corresponding Court card

• With The Lovers, no Court card seemed to represent that particular energy to me but instead any Court card could represent oneself or others in a Lovers relationship (which is a traditional meaning for the Court card, the current, past or prospective romantic partner).

• The Wheel of Fortune is an abstracted, impersonal energy and does not easily correspond to any of the inherently personal Court cards.

• The celestial cards (The Star, The Moon, and The Sun) are similar to the current of the Fool, being deeply personal to those being read for. 

I created my Major Arcana and Court card correspondences when working with my Smith Waite Tarot and the imagery of this particular deck of cards definitely contributed to my correspondence choices. Keep that in mind if you’re interested in creating your own correspondences for your favorite deck (which I hope you do!). There are more traditional ways of connecting one card to another, mostly through astrological correspondences, but that was not my focus for my own list. I hope you feel inspired by tradition but not burdened or beholden to it whenever you read the cards, create correspondences, and use tarot as a tool of healing.

The Weiser Tarot

The Major Arcana & Court Card Correspondences

• 0. The Fool: See Note Above

• I. The Magician: Page of Swords

• II. The High Priestess: Page of Cups

• III. The Empress: Queen of Wands

• IV. The Emperor: King of Wands

• V. The Hierophant: King of Cups

• VI. The Lovers: See Note Above

• VII. The Chariot: Knight of Pentacles

• VIII. Strength: Page of Pentacles

• IX. The Hermit: Queen of Pentacles

• X. Wheel of Fortune: See Note Above

• XI. Justice: King of Swords

• XII. The Hanged Man: Knight of Cups

• XIII. Death: Page of Wands

• XIV. Temperance: Queen of Cups

• XV. The Devil: King of Pentacles

• XVI. The Tower: Knight of Wands

• XVII. The Star: See Note Above

• XVIII. The Moon: See Note Above

• XIX. The Sun: See Note Above

• XX. Judgement: Knight of Swords

• XXI. The World: Queen of Swords

Finding the Pattern Tarot Spread

If you are trying to better understand how the pattern of a Major Arcana card is playing out in your personal relationships and development of your own identity in these relationships, the following spread is meant to help.

Begin by choosing the Major Arcana card whose energy you want to explore, setting that at the top of your spread. Next, separate out the Court cards from your deck - you'll be pulling only from the Court cards for this spread.

Card 1. How I am Manifesting the Pattern

This card represents how you currently understand and are manifesting the energy of the pattern of the Major Arcana card you are exploring. For our example, let's say you are exploring the energetic patterns of the Hierophant in your life and you pull the King of Cups to represent you. The King of Cups shows that you are deeply engaged in the work of examining the hierarchical structures, restrictions, and allegiance to authority in your life, that this is a front and center focus for you. If you are seeking more clarity, you can pull two more cards from the Minor Arcana to represent how you can ease the strain of this pattern in your life (i.e. the Hierophant energy can be very serious, here are some ways to lighten up) as well as support your explorations (i.e. talk about what you're exploring with friends instead of trying to untangle it all on your own).

Card 2. The Person Helping My Understanding of the Pattern

This card, as the position title suggests, helps you identify a person in your life who is beneficially assisting your ability to explore and understand the energy of the Major Arcana card you are working with. Everything from personal and familial relationships, social and work relationships, as well as para-social relationships can show up here. For our example let's say that you pull the Queen of Pentacles who represents the energy of your high school English teacher who encouraged all of their students to read banned books, helping you to understand how the energy of the Hierophant often seeks to restrict the flow of information. 

Card 3. The Person Hindering My Understanding of the Pattern

This card helps you to identify a person in your life who is challenging your ability to understand the energy of the Major Arcana card you're exploring. For our example, you might pull the Knight of Swords, who represents an online video essayist on popular culture who you used to love for their what you thought was incisive commentary, but are coming to realize are shallow in their opinions and driven more by gossip than insight. 

Card 4. The Person to Connect With

This card represents someone who may or may not be currently connected with in your life (whether they are someone you haven't connected with recently, to someone you haven't met yet) that you would benefit from knowing as you explore the energy of the Major Arcana card you've chosen. Let's say you pull the Queen of Wands - this card might represent someone who brings a fiery, creative energy to your explorations of the often cold and reserved Hierophant, helping you find playfulness and bravery on your journey.

⭐️

Explore the rest of my tarot Court series with a look at the Pages and the Knights (including an overview of the Court structure and non-hierarchical alternatives to the royalty theme) followed by the Queens and Kings. If you’re looking for more tarot spreads, I have a whole collection to inspire your practice, too. For those ready for deepening your knowledge of how herbalism intersects with tarot, come this way.

Whether or not you work with tarot, I hope that this post has inspired you to take a look at the big patterns showing up in little ways (especially in your relationships) in your life. May you be freed from those relationships that seek to keep you stuck and small. May you be drawn towards the people and places where you feel seen, where you are able to connect through collaboration and compassion. May we find each other again and again through our healing work.

This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎

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Tarot Decks Shown

The Neutral Vibes Tarot
The Weiser Tarot
The Natural Ink Tarot

The Three Most Common Mistakes Made By Tarot Readers

Tarot is an incredible tool of magick, self-reflection, and divination. With a pack of 78 cards we can travel through time, learn to flow with the seasons, deepen our relationships with others, and be better prepared for what lies ahead.

It can be frustrating when your experience with tarot feels less than fruitful. If you’re feeling stuck in a rut with your cards or like they are being snarky with you (a sure sign that there is a block happening), then you might be making one of the following mistakes.

It’s often said, but it’s very true - the great thing about mistakes is that they are opportunities for learning and growth. And believe me, I have made all of the following mistakes! I’ve learned from each of them and my tarot practice has become that much more clear and strong.

Truthfully, I’ve yet to meet any tarot reader who has not done at least one of the following mistakes.

Why? Because these are all very humxn mistakes. As you’ll see they all stem from a deeper yearning for certainty, self-knowledge, and a connection with something magickal - which is why many of us pick up the Tarot to begin with. I’ve not only written about the three most common mistakes made when reading tarot but how to avoid them in the future in a way that will hopefully make you a better tarot reader.

So without further ado here are the three most common mistakes I see tarot readers make.

The World Spirit Tarot

1. Doing too many readings in too short of time.

I see this all the time. The first spread seemed unclear so you cast another right after it. Or you didn’t like what the cards said so you want to see if you can cast another option. Maybe you weren’t really grounded and centered when shuffling and casting the cards so the first three spreads didn’t count and the fourth one will be “right.”

Casting multiple readings on the same topic within a limited space of time (as in hours or days) is not going to lead to further clarity or a better outcome. It’ll just muddy the waters and tangle the energetic knot of whatever it is you’re trying to discover. Often when folks are casting too many readings on the same topic it is because they don’t really want to know the answer - because deep down inside they already know it (more on this later). In fact, casting multiple readings in short succession only reflects what is going on inside you. Check-in with yourself before casting again - Where is the tension in your body? What are you feeling? Anxious? Fearful? Stressed? What do you really want to know? What, in fact, do you already know but don't want to acknowledge?

Sometimes when we cast cards too many time on one subject we are seeking the one thing that what we think we’ll be reassured by. Casting too many readings at a time often comes from a place of uncertainty and through tarot we’re trying to find something certain to hold onto. BUT, we’re often looking for a certainty that we’ve already defined strict parameters for (whether or not we realize it).

If I just knew that my crush loved me back, I’ll be ok. 

If I knew that I’m definitely going to get (what I think) my most perfect job, I can relax.

If only I had the obvious “do this” step then I won’t feel so anxious anymore.

Uncertainty isn’t a fun place to be in - especially when the stakes feel high. However, uncertainty is the gateway to mystery. What is mystery if not the ultimate expander of possibility? Uncertainty puts us in a place of unknowing. Mystery is the great unknown and we're called in our magickal work to know ourselves. We are, in short, called to mystery. And so we must engage mystery to become known. Since we don’t know what mystery holds, we’re actually left with the wondrous gift of possibility. Yes, we might not know everything right in this moment, but there is possibility which means we might know more about ourselves and the situation at hand in a way that reveals options we've not even been able to imagine yet.

Getting stuck casting readings over and over again about the same topic closes the gate to possibility. So what can you do instead when you’re feeling uncertain and looking for peace and reassurance?

The Greenwood Tarot by Chesca Potter

Instead of casting another reading, step away from your deck and try any of the following:

Take some soft belly breaths. Just as it sounds, spend some time telling your nervous system that you are safe by breathing gently into the soft space of your belly. 

Write it down. Take some time to journal and write down what's bothering you. Journaling can be a powerful act of clearing the fog from your brain and creating more space for hope to reside within you.

Go for a walk. Or if walking isn’t an option choose to move your body in another way. Nothing complex (unless that’s what you desire) but creating physical movement in order to generate spiritual movement. Uncertainty is an emotion of stagnation, so inviting movement into your life can help to unstuck your crossed situation.

Drink some tea. Or water. Or fresh juice. Something that feels wholesome and healing to you. Make a simple ritual of its preparation. Here’s my absolute favorite tea for stress and anxiety.

When is it appropriate to do a second reading on a situation? There’s no definitive guideline, but I typically suggest waiting for either a few weeks to pass or to do a reading when there has been a significant change that has happened regarding the situation in question. Listen to your voice within - if you feel like you might be doing too many readings in too short a time, you are. It’s that simple.

The Spirit Speaks Tarot

2. Expecting the cards to tell you what to do.

Wouldn’t it be nice if that every time you performed a tarot reading you were given straight forward answers with clear instructions on what steps you should be taking next? That would be incredible and everyone would read tarot. Heck, it could even bring about world peace. 

Yet that’s not how the cards work. Yes, of course, we can get really clear insight about a situation or ourselves from the cards. But it’s important to remember that such insight and knowledge can be read in the cards because we already possess it within us. We won’t see answers we don’t already have within the cards. 

Now, that’s not to say we won’t gain insight that we weren’t previously aware of. As one of my favorite magicians Lon Milo DuQuette says, “It's all in your head... you just have no idea how big your head is.”

I think the tarot can be many things to us all at once. It’s a collection of 78 pieces of paper with pictures on them that folks find aesthetically pleasing. It’s 78 pathways of magick and self-knowing. It’s a divinatory tool which helps us gaze into the past, present, and future. It’s the home of the spirits and guides of tarot which have their own personalities and wisdom. But all of this is simply (and most complexly) a mirror. 

As above, so below. As within, so without. 

The cards aren’t going to tell you what to do. You’re going to realize what needs to be done. And sometimes that takes a while because are perception is too limited or we’re afraid. Sometimes we’re just stubbornly resistant to necessary change. 

If you find yourself relying on the cards to “tell” you what to do and what choices to make, believing that they possess knowledge that you don’t, you’re giving your power away. Your power is much to sacred to give it away to bits of paper. 

To move away from the mindset that it's the cards that possess the answers and you’re just a passive reader, I suggest the following meditative practice and spoken charm.

Before you perform a reading, be still and take a deep breath in. Let your gaze grow soft as you gently close your eyes and focus on the point between your brows. At the place of your third eye feel and see a light begin to grow. It grows brighter and stronger until it extends beyond and around you completely. 

Within the brightness of your wisdom, recite the following charm:

Blessed be the mirroring of the cards before me
Let what needs to be perceived be seen
Let what needs to be understood be experienced
Let what needs to be known be revealed
I already possess the answer
May I now re-member it
Blessed be.

You are now ready to cast your cards!

The Greenwood Tarot by Chesca Potter

3. Buying all the decks but not working consistently with only one.

I have to say that this is a relatively modern problem. We are experiencing an incredible renaissance in tarot right now. New independent decks are appearing every week and there has been an increase in the variety of mass market decks available. The fear-of-missing-out and the magpie-mind is all too often tempted into purchasing a new deck - whether or not you really need one. 

When your professional life involves tarot decks it’s very easy to always have an excuse to purchase a new one (especially when you’re supporting rad indie artists). Still, I'm so grateful that I when I started to learn tarot I began with one deck and it was my only deck for years. Working with one deck for an extended period of time (such as a year or more) shaped my tarot reading skills for the better. I am not saying that there's no place for using multiple decks at once (either in the same reading or switching up decks on your reading table with greater frequency), but the benefit of working with one deck intimately and extensively cannot be denied. 

Tarot is a magickal language. If you want to learn a new language the best approach is not to try and learn three new languages at once. Or to abandon one language before you’re conversational in it to try another one. I encourage you to connect with one deck for the long haul and work with it until you know it as a friend and familiar. Until you are fluent between each other. Because that is when we can engage more readily with the mysteries that may be revealed within us through tarot. 

Choosing not to buy all the decks and instead working with one is, in part, a practice in self-discipline - a great skill for magickal work in general. It’s also an act of rewiring our beliefs so that we're no longer attempting to find our spiritual intuition and power “out there” and “in that thing” (whether that thing is a new tarot deck, a beautiful crystal or the latest superfood elixir wonder pudding), but to recenter our search within ourselves.

The Elemental Tarot

“For if that which you seek you find not within yourself you shall never find it without…”

- The Charge of the Goddess -

I find the asking my students to work with one deck for at least a year to typically be the hardest task I suggest. It is less hard for those beginners who already feel wary of getting overwhelmed by the imagery of tarot, so sticking with one deck feels comfortable for them. It is often much more difficult for those folks who already have a sizable deck collection and/or are caught up in the non-stop social media driven #mysticore culture. Here’s what I have found though - once folks give themselves permission to working with one deck and one deck only there is not only relief (they no longer feel like they have to keep up with it all), but they find that their practice becomes more profound and enlightening. 

Reading with only one deck of cards for a while one of the quickest ways to get your magick back that I know of if you’re feeling uninspired by your tarot practice.

So what deck should you work with? That’s entirely up to you. It can be a deck that you’ve owned for years or one that you’ve recently acquired. If you’re an absolute beginner I recommend purchasing a deck that is based off of the imagery of Pamela Coleman Smith's deck (marketing as the Rider Waite or Rider Waite Smith Tarot). Smith's deck is the framework for most of our modern decks and learning to read a deck based off of her design will allow you to have a great foundation for understanding most other decks they come across. This was my first deck and it continues to be my most beloved. I particularly love the centennial edition of her deck which brings the art back to her original renderings.

Pamela Colman Smith Centennial Edition Tarot

There they are - the three most common mistakes I see folks (myself included!) make when reading the tarot. May your practice benefit from tuning into what it is you're really seeking and overcome the distractions that pull us from the pleasure of our spiritual path.

What are the common mistakes you see when it comes to reading tarot cards? Let me know in the comments!

I have a whole other post in the works regarding untruths about reading the tarot - sign-up for Magick Mail to be notified when it gets published. If you're needing more tarot in your life asap, check out the rest of my posts on tarot. And to all of you tarot readers and oracle diviners, happy card castings!

3 New Ways to Read Tarot

Tarot was born of experimentation.

A court card game became a divinatory tool become a path to the cosmos became a path to the self became a tool of revolutionary change. Such experimentation is what makes tarot so exciting and a living book of mysticism. 

Let's continue to write the story of tarot by finding new ways to read with these old cards. Have fun exploring the following three new ways to read your favorite deck (or two!) of cards.

Collective Tarot + Amethyst

Face-Up

Let’s start with the most obvious and often opposite way of reading tarot cards - pulling cards face-up. Traditionally, tarot cards are chosen face-down and at random which allows for a great deal of mystery to reside in a card casting. When we choose our cards by casting them face-up we enter into a new relationship with ourselves and our decks. The reading becomes less about fate, the guidance of the spiritual beings or randomness (depending on your tarot philosophy) and more about you and your ability to know yourself clearly. 

Begin by choosing your question and shuffling your deck in your typical way. Let’s say you want to gain better insight into a recent conflict between you and your best friend. First, choose one card that represents you in general and one card that represents you within the conflict. Do the same for your friend. Place your cards side by side so that the cards that represent you are beside the cards that represent your friend. Be honest but kind in your choice of cards. Pulling cards face-up is a practice of integrity (a skill that is essential to insight). Choose another card that represents your relationship with your friend in general and beyond the moment of this conflict. Take time to reflect on the gifts of this card. Next, pull a card that represents your current conflict and place it between the cards that represent you and your friend during this moment. Notice the interplay of all cards on the table. What insights can be gleaned when you look at them from a bird's eye view? Pull one final card that represents your ability to move from the state of conflict to the place of contentment with your friend. What are the tools that you have to repair the situation?

Another way of working with the face-up method is as a meditative ritual practice to help you move from one state of being to another. Pull a card that represents you in the current moment and then choose a card that represents where you would like to be. Perhaps you want to find inner peace and sanctuary and so you choose the Star card. The card that you chose to represent you at the moment, however, is the 10 of Wands because you feel so overburdened by what seems like endless stress. What would be the path between these two cards? Choose one to three cards and line them up between the card that represents you now and the card that represents where you want to be. Perhaps you choose the Page of Cups to help you get in touch with your inner intuition and stillness and the Four of Swords to help you quiet your busy thoughts and find more time to rest. These cards can become magickal steps that you make to attain your Star-like state of being. The Page of Wands can be a simple everyday water ritual where you anoint your brow, heart, and belly with sacred water to remind you to remain connected to your intuitive wisdom. The Four of Swords might turn into you going to bed a little earlier every night. 

The face-up method is a lot of fun in addition to being a great way of learning tarot card meanings and offers us an opportunity to be more proactive in our tarot reading. 

Spirit Speak Tarot + Topanga Canyon quartz crystal

By the Elements

Casting cards by the elements is a great way to do a quick weather report on your state of being or the energetics of a particular reading. To begin you need to sort your deck by the elements. Put aside the Major Arcana cards for the moment and sort the rest of your deck into the four suits of Swords, Wands, Cups, and Pentacles. Shuffle each suit individually and then pull a card from each stack. Your Sword card will give you insight into your current mental state as well as highlighting current messages and communicative focuses. The Wands cards looks at your passion and desire as well as your current levels of inner fire or burnout. The Cups card is a snapshot of your emotional temperament as well as a peak into dreams and visions bubbling to the surface. The Pentacles card looks at your physical state including not only the home of your body but your overall home environment.

Another variation involves the Major Arcana cards. You can either pull a Major Arcana card at random or choose one purposefully. Let’s say that you choose the Empress card because you’re starting a new business and want some elemental insight into next steps you should be taking. Lay the Empress card out and then pull one card from each one of the suits. Each card from each suit will offer elemental insight into your business path. The Swords card might speak to your need for a new way of communicating with your client base while the Cups card offers some clarity around certain feelings that you've been having about your business lately. The Pentacles card might suggest where you need to be putting your investment of time and effort at the moment, while the Wands card is a check in on your creative fire.

I love elemental spreads for their simplicity and ease of reading. Reading by the elements is a great technique if you are a beginner as it helps you to learn the basics of the Minor Arcana in a personal and insightful way.

Pamela Colman Smith Centennial Tarot + Jolanda Den Tredjes Tarot or Swedish Witch Tarot

Tarot Mapping

The subject of Tarot Mapping deserves a much longer post which is what I’m working on. In the meantime, I’ve written an introduction to the technique focusing one aspect of Tarot Mapping. Tarot Mapping requires at least two decks. The first is the mapping deck and the second is a reading deck. Pull out the Major Arcana of your mapping deck and place the Fool card at the top of your reading table. Then place the remaining cards in order in three rows of seven. 

This is your map. And now you get to play! Perhaps you have a question of what needs to change in order for you to find balance. Cast a card from your reading deck straddling Death and Temperance. Looking for advice on how to catch that lucky break you know you deserve to move your business forward? Cast a card on the four corners of the Empress, Emperor, Wheel of Fortune, and Justice cards. 

Maybe you’re interested in an epic snapshot of your Major Arcana journey. Pick out only the Minor Arcana cards from your reading deck and shuffle them so that some cards will come up inverted and others upright. Cast one card on each of the Major Arcana cards. If a card is inverted, remove it. You’re only focusing on upright cards which will help you to hone in on the current big issues of your life. Then read the upright Minor Arcana cards in context of the Major Arcana cards that they have been cast on. 

As you can imagine, there is a lot of possibility with Tarot Mapping! How will you use it?

Looking for more creative ways to read tarot?

Happy card casting!

House of the Heart Tarot Spread

Last month, I wrote about 5 magickal ways to engage plants everyday and one of those ways that I mentioned was through casting cards. I've also recently created three new tea blends (you can get the recipes for free as a member of Magick Mail) and one was a heart-opening brew that sparked the idea for the following tarot spread. So it only seemed right to create a spread working with the plants in one of my new favorite teas.

The House of the Heart tarot spread serves the same purpose as the brew: to blossom the heart, induce wonder, and assist us in opening up to the possibility that there is a sacred home for each one of us. For this spread, I worked with each plant ally to come up with a sacred question to be asked. I recommend giving yourself plenty of time to allow this spread to unfold. Let emotions arise. Sing your songs. Eat good food. Take a healing bath. Call to the plants and thank the spirits of the cards for their guidance. Hold your hand over your heart and say YES.

background image by Alex Blăjan

The House of the Heart Tarot Spread

Before casting your cards, I invite you to hold your hands and deck over your heart and say:

Listen, heart, I know you're there
I feel you, I know you
Listen, Heart, I know you're there
I say yes to all your wisdom
Listen, Heart, I know you're there
Yes, yes, yes!

1. Hawthorn Berry (Crataegus monogyna) asks, "What do you need to feel safe to open your heart?"

2. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) asks, "What do you need to move freely in love?"

3. Damiana (Turnera diffusa) asks, "What is your pleasure?"

4. Elder Flower (Sambucus nigra) asks, "What is the magick of your love?"

5. Rose (Rosa damascena) asks, "What is the house of your heart made of?"

I would love to hear about your experiences with the spread in the comments below! Or share your stories with the hashtag #HouseoftheHeart on instagram. 

My heart journey is carrying me on a wild pursuit of wisdom with plant kindred and tarot spirits as I create my newest ecourse - The Tarot Apothecary! Keep track of the journey, including more plant-infused card-castings, by joining my free and fun Magick Mail.

I wish you love on all your heart journeys!

The Triangulation Tarot Spread

When I read tarot cards, whether in-person or for my awesome Tarot Stella or Solstice Star clients, I often feel like I am not so much interpreting the cards as I am eavesdropping on their conversation between one another. For me, the tarot deck is a living book of wisdom that is constantly moving and shifting parts, telling new stories, and uncovering old paths. Some cards are more talkative than others, but when they are cast in a spread they begin to talk amongst themselves about the question presented to them. 

"The pain of this heartbreak is real and cannot be ignored any longer, no matter how many times we are told to 'get over it,'" says the Three of Swords.

"I know," nods the Eight of Swords, "it has led to us to being trapped by our own thoughts and ensorcelled by our feelings. Everything feels darkened now, hopeless and unsteady."

"But the fire of love is not gone," the Three of Wands gestures to a vast landscape of possibility. "It has simply moved. Elsewhere and unseen at the moment, but not truly lost."

In my class on card casting and creating custom spreads, we talk about the importance of the question. The question helps to set up the space for the conversation that the cards can have. Sometimes when we get confusing cards in our spread that seem to make little sense given our question, it's not that the cards are wrong or our ability to interpret them is lacking (though, sometimes the cards are cleverer than us and it is important to continue to cultivate a student's mind throughout your work with divination), but that the question did not allow for the answer to come through. 

There is also the actual structure of the spread to consider when seeking information and insight. If you imagine, for example, each card in your spread to be a chair at the dinner table, what cards do you want to be close enough to each other so that they are able to talk without yelling from one end of the table to the other? In other words, what are the conversations you wish you could be having in order to gain further insight and how can you bring this to play in your spread.

It was in the spirit of experimentation and trying to recreate the complexity of conversations between multiple parties (whether the inquiry is along the lines of a she said / they said question or a question from our conscious mind to our subconscious mind or having a chat with our future self), I came up with the idea of a spread of moving pieces or The Triangulation Spread. While I very much enjoy simple spreads, there is plenty of space in my practice for stretching my divinatory muscles with a more complex piece of casting that I'm about to describe with the Triangulation Spread. Yet, what is fun about the spread is that it can be as simple or complex as you like and you can decide that as you go along as opposed to ahead of time giving the reader greater flexibility in gleaning knowledge from the cards.

The basic structure of the Triangulation Spread is three triangles of three cards each, with each triangle representing one segment or aspect of the inquiry. For the following sample reading, the querent is seeking insight into how to turn their interests - which are many and varied - into a career. The question is:

How can I focus my creative passion into a sustainable career?

All cards shown in this post are from the World Spirit Tarot.

Since our querent has many passions, the first triangle is one of self with a focus on the querent's strengths in order to help them figure out what passions may be best turned into a career path. The first triangle is the foundation stone of the spread - these cards will not move but will still interact with the other cards pulled which will be explained as we go along. For their triangle of self, the querent pulled the the Sibyl (or Queen) of Swords, the Two of Wands, and the Ten of Wands (inverted).  I've given some brief interpretations as a full interpretation of this spread would be a long post indeed! The Sibyl of Swords crowns the triangle and speaks to the querent's underlying theme of storytelling in all that they do as well as a maturity to their craft . The Two of Wands both represents the querent's ability to help others find hope and possibility through telling their stories and re-membering (literally, putting back together) who they are as well the possibilities ahead of the querent in regards to turning their passion into a career. The inverted Ten of Wands recognizes the querent's overwhelm at having so many interests, which has left them feeling stuck and burdened, but since it is inverted the energy is diluted and there is a recognition that the querent is focusing their creative fire (as represented by the wands) as opposed to being completely overrun by it. The Ten of Wands is a reminder for the querent to continue to understand their own story and to own it as part of their work of discovering the path ahead of them.

The next three cards make up the triangle of chrysalis which gives specific insight to help the querent begin to transform their passion into a career. The three cards of the triangle of chrysalis are the Seven of Pentacles, the Five of Pentacles, and the Hanged Man which overlay the last three cards of the triangle of self.  First, we look at the conversations happening between the Sibyl of Swords and the Seven of Pentacles (it's time to actually harvest what you've grown with all of the hard work you've already put in - you're not starting from ground zero even if it feels like it at the moment), the Two of Wands and the Five of Pentacles (it is difficult to help others find possibility and hope if the querent has a limited vision of possibilities about their own success and feel that they are in a permanent state of scarcity), and the Ten of Wands and the Hanged Man (the Hanged Man recommends that the querent transforms the feeling of stagnant stuckness to focused stillness in order to understand that they have all the tools they need for the task ahead even though it requires them to sacrifice self-limiting beliefs and practices).

Once the initial conversations have been listened to, move the cards clockwise the next position. So the Hanged Man sits with the Sibyl of Swords, the Seven of Pentacles states talking with the Two of Wands, and the Five of Pentacles strikes up a conversation with the Ten of Wands. Further insights can be gleaned now with the same cards in different positions. The Five of Pentacles, for example, reveals that part of the overwhelm experienced through the Ten of Wands is trying to figure out what passion will be most profitable which feels limiting and confusing to the querent. The cards are moved one final time to complete the circuit and have their third conversation, and then they are moved back to their original position before the final three cards of the last triangle is cast. 

The third triangle is one of action, recommending next steps for the querent to take on to create a sustainable career from their storytelling passion. The three cards pulled were the Seer (or Page) of Pentacles, the Three of Wands, and the Six of Wands. The Seer of Pentacles, especially in this deck, has a powerful air energy moving through it (see the creatures flying out of the tree above the head of the sitting person) and speaks to the Sibyl of Swords' ability to help guide folks through their reflective journey to finding their own stories and becoming grounded in their truth. The Seer of Pentacles serves as an affirmation that the path of the storyteller will not only be a prosperous and sustainable one for the querent (since Pentacles are a suit of security, abundance, and long-term planning), but the card also illustrates the type of work environment that the querent can create in order to be successful. The Seer of Pentacles is also speaking with the Seven of Pentacles and, in fact, represents the harvest illustrated in the Seven of Pentacles. The Three of Wands is a great continuation of the conversation started by the Two of Wands and continued with the Five of Pentacles - it shows what the cultivation of hope and the exploration of the querent's money and success story can do when it comes to expanding their prospects. The Six of Wands shows the transformation of the figure in the Ten of Wands into the Hanged Man and finally returning home again to community that wants and needs their skills and insights. The Six of Wands reminds the querent that they have a vast support network that they need to tap into when it comes to promoting themselves and developing their business. Again, as with the triangle of chrysalis, these last three cards move around the spread conversing with new cards, gleaning more insight into steps to take for the path ahead. You can move the cards in the triangle of chrysalis again, too, if you like. Imagine the conversation that could be had between the Sibyl of Swords, the Five of Pentacles, and the Six of Wands about clearing out a scarcity complex as part of the work of bringing together community.

What I like about the moving parts of the Triangulation Spread is the fact that it reflects the complexity of the shifting parts of our lives. Moving the cards around can be helpful when a querent feels stuck in one place and has no clue how they're supposed to get to a hopeful card that has shown up later in the spread. The act of physically moving these cards together (which is a play on traditional spellwork in which components of the spell are moved closer and closer together to attract a certain outcome) can be such a simple act but still provide a surprising amount of revelation. As you can imagine, there are many ways to ask questions and shift cards within the context of a Triangulation Spread - I hope you have fun experimenting and share your experiences in the comments below or by using the hashtag #TriangulationSpread in your various feeds (I'm on instagram most often if you're looking to chat). Need more tarot in your life? Come this way!

Have fun triangulating!

All cards shown in this post are from the World Spirit Tarot.