Yesterday I described the Five of Cups as being about heart-break and the Three of Swords as being about heart-ache. I want to explore today what I meant by that. Let’s have a look at them shall we?
Heartache vs Heartbreak
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Category Archives: Life Lessons Tarot (Major Arcana)
The Moon: Revealing Hidden Depths
This is by far my favourite Tarot card. Because it’s the one which represents an opportunity to change your life. Through losing those rotten old habits that have been holding you back from being who you truly want to be. And for me that’s what Tarot is all about. It shows me how to be a more functional more beautiful human being. (I know, you’re surprised, right. You thought it was the devil’s tool, lol.)
However The Moon is not an easy card to understand. Just take a look at it would you.
This Versus That
To understand Tarot it helps to compare cards with one another. We’ve met the cards below in previous posts. They both signify that it’s time to have a break in some way. Let’s explore their similarities and differences shall we?
The Four of Swords is Continue reading
Details Smetails
It’s the little details that are most telling in Tarot. That add nuances to the meanings of each card. Let’s check some examples starting with the card we looked at yesterday, the Four Of Pentacles.
Four is a Continue reading
Don’t Look A (Tarot) Gift Horse In The Mouth!
You know, you can overdose on Tarot. Do so many readings that they all become meaningless. It’s a bit addictive. Like having a hotline to The Source Of All Things that you can’t stop pumping for information.
I am particularly susceptible to this danger after a relationship break-up and always know I have crossed the line when The Devil card keeps popping up. The Devil is for losers. For those who want someone (i.e. Tarot) to fix their problems rather than doing it themselves. For those who don’t want to face reality. (Despite this, I’m quite fond of The Devil card, grateful even, but I’ll leave the explanation as to why for another post.)
In my experience the best way to use Tarot is to do readings only when you feel a real need. You’ll know when. And if you are doing readings everyday, which is good practice when you start out, just don’t expect them to be deeply significant ones.
Have you ever looked a Tarot Gift Horse in the mouth like me?
Two Heads (Cards) Are Better Than One, Don’t You Think?
The more Tarot cards you pull out of the pack the more refined the advice will become. But warning warning danger danger don’t pull so many that the message gets lost altogether. Start slowly. Try two to begin with.
Why The Star is Underrated!
I’ve always had a problem with the definitions ascribed to The Star: calm, peace of mind, feeling hopeful. They sound kind of lame. But let’s face it, a card that comes after The Tower and before The Moon in the Tarot deck is going be anything but lame.
This card doesn’t signify a peaceful calm time in your life. Bollocks to that. Look at the picture. Continue reading
Hanging around with The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man doesn’t look comfortable does he? And yet even though he is twisted up in knots he doesn’t seem too bothered by the strange position he finds himself in. There is no struggle, more like resignation. If anything, he looks like he is away with the pixies, meditating maybe. (Might be all that blood rushing to his head!)
There is a myth associated with The Hanged Man. Continue reading
Requiem for The Devil
I think the following T.S. Eliot poem ‘The Hollow Men’ brilliantly encapsulates the card of The Devil:
The Holy Book – Volume 1
The Major Arcana cards read like a book that follows the journey of a human soul through life.
The first volume covers childhood:
The Fool – The soul waiting to be born
The Magician – The newborn who seems perfect in every way and has so much potential.
The High Priestess – The baby living off instinct during the first months and years.
The Empress – The child at play
The Emperor – The child being disciplined
The Hierophant – The school child forming ideas about the world
The Lovers – The teenager beginning to make choices about what they want and who they want to be with.
The Chariot – The young adult striving for success.
That’s one way of looking at it anyway. There are many more. That’s the beautiful confusing thing about Tarot. It’s like a diamond. Every time you turn it in your hand you see another side.
What about you? What’s your take on the first 8 cards of the Holy Book of Tarot?
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