Maybe a goal you’ve chosen this year involves this…
Knight of Cups: An act of love
You might feel this…
Judgement: A call to serve others
In which case you’re this…
King of Wands: My hero
My resolution this year was this…
Three of Cups: Start up a dinner club with friends to experience the amazing food we have here in Melbourne.
However, this happened…
The Tower: Omicron
And my friends…
Eight of Cups Reversed: Don’t want to go anywhere outside their comfort zone
So I joined a bushwalking club instead…
The Empress: Enjoying nature
This week my youngest daughter said she would join my dinner club. We went to this high-energy Japanese eating house in the city, Yakimono, where I enjoyed the most wonderful smoked paprika raw tuna steak AND spent precious time with a child who is always super busy…
Nine of Cups: Feeling sated
So I get to participate in two new hobbies this year #win
World leaders at the G7 summit in England this week added fuel to the flames of the most pressing conspiracy theory of our times: Did Covid-19 escape from a Chinese lab?
Let’s explore the Tarot of this a little, shall we?
The origins of the current world-wide coronavirus epidemic are currently unknown…
The Moon: Hidden depths
But from the start, various media commentators have speculated that the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology…
Page of Swords: Developing A Theory
The most compelling evidence for this is probably…
Death: The fact that Wuhan was the epicentre for the first large-scale outbreak
Meanwhile, scientists around the world have continued to insist this virus spread from animals…
Eight of Pentacles Reversed: It’s not man-made
Although that doesn’t rule out the lab completely, as the Wuhan Institute stores samples of the closest-known relative to Covid-19…
Seven of Swords Reversed: Acting suspicious
These samples were collected in 2012 when some miners fell sick with a mysterious illness…
Temperance Reversed: Feeling unwell
The Chinese virologist whose work is at the centre of these allegations insisted in a recent interview that the claims are baseless…
Knight of Swords Reversed: Feeling slandered
However, China’s ongoing refusal to allow an independent investigation into the lab makes this hard to believe…
The Moon Reversed: Muddying the waters
The High Priestess Reversed: Feeling unsure
If certain leaders didn’t seem hell-bent on blaming the Chinese for this epidemic, they might be more willing to co-operate.
The death of Prince Phillip, consort to Queen Elizabeth, has made news around the world this week. Let’s dive into the Tarot of this a little bit, shall we?
With his passing, Britain has been plunged into this…
Five of Cups: Mourning
The British press has been united in lauding him…
Knight of Cups: The knight in shining armour
Even though they spent years doing this…
Five of Swords: Sticking in the knives
Prince Phillip was definitely…
The Emperor Reversed: A fallible man (aren’t we all?)
However, he was also…
King of Wands: A man of great achievements
I currently run a Duke of Edinburgh club at the school where I teach. Prince Phillip created this award scheme to encourage personal growth in young people. It has been incredibly successful in this endeavour for many decades, and I am proud to be a part of it.
But perhaps his greatest achievement was this…
The Lovers + Queen of Pentacles: Supporting his wife and queen
It wasn’t easy for him to always walk two steps behind the queen, but he did.
Judgement: Serving a higher good
He had to give up this completely…
The Fool: Freedom to do what he wanted when he wanted
His experience must have felt a lot like this at times…
On Easter Sunday we remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to Christian lore, his emergence from the tomb 2000 years ago proved he was the son of God. For Christians, this event signifies the new life we can experience when we embrace the Word of God.
Judgement: Being called to serve
But before Easter was a Christian celebration, it was a pagan one.
Three of Pentacles: Building on strong foundations
According to St. Bede The Venerable, the word ‘Easter’ was derived from ‘Eostre’, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility. This is also where we get the word ‘oestrogen’ from (Makes sense that a female hormone would be named after a female being). Many of the traditions and symbols that play a key role in Easter observations have their roots in Her celebrations.
The Empress: Fertility & growth In Tarot, first comes The Empress, THEN The Emperor
The very date of Easter betrays its pagan origins. It is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Nothing related to the date of Jesus’s death at all. However, full moons and equinoxes were highly significant for our European ancestors.
The Moon: Hidden depths
The period of fasting that precedes Easter is a reminder of the dire food reserves our ancestors were left with at the end of winter. Rations needed to be used sparingly. Much of the good stuff was gone. We suffer as they did.
Five of Pentacles: Feeling poor
The eggs that birds produce as daylight starts to increase would have been one of the first fresh foods our ancestors could lay their hands on. Same same for rabbits. Their breeding season begins mid-February. These were the first signs of new life. Thus their significance to the ancient Vernal Equinox celebrations: A festival of gratitude that the darkness was receding and the natural world was springing back to life.
Seven of Pentacles: Reflecting on the new shoots sprouting
Egg rolling and egg decorating customs were created to acknowledge the life-saving role of eggs at this critical time of year.
Ten of Pentacles: Family traditions
At its core, the Easter story has always been a reminder that no matter how bleak the world may seem, things can get better.
The Wheel of Fortune: The ups and downs of life
Whichever version of the story you prefer, Easter is a time of hope.
On Good Friday, we remember the story of Jesus’ death. He was crucified on a cross. Nailed by his hands and feet to the wood. Struggled to draw breath for hours on end. Until eventually he passed away.
It is said that he suffered on that cross so all of us may live. That God loved us so much, he sent his only son to suffer public humiliation and death. This belief is at the very heart of Christianity.
Which seems like a strange notion, when you think about it! Why did Jesus have to die to heal our broken relationship with the divine? Wouldn’t a lifetime of preaching and miracles have been equally as affective?
Traditionally, Good Friday is celebrated by Christians as this…
Five of Cups: A day of mourning
The death on the cross always reminds me of this Tarot card…
The Hanged Man: Waiting for something to shift
Which doesn’t seem a really good fit for the story of Good Friday on the surface. Although it does proceed this card…
Death: Major change
And Jesus’ death did precipitate a major change in world history: It spawned a whole new religion!
But for me, this event feels more like this card…
Judgement: Being called to serve others
The Son of Man himself did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).
Sacrifice was an important notion in the ancient world. A central creed. By the prehistorical era, it had been twisted into acts of animal, and even, human sacrifice. Jesus’ death was the ultimate example of this. But before we lost our memory of the origins of human civilisation, back when we lived in the forest and worshipped in the cave, it wasn’t an obligation imposed by our gods. It was an act of appreciation. A nod of recognition to the plants and animals that gave their lives in our food, so that we may live.
This was the original meaning of reconciliation.
Our ancestors wrestled with the knowledge that our lives came at the cost of others. To resolve that conflict they maintained an attitude of gratitude towards every creature that provided support and nourishment for humanity. Created customs to formalise that acknowledgement. Life is a great gift. And when we lived in nature, we were much more cognisant of that fact.
Which puts me in mind of this card…
The Magician: Having attitude
When we appreciate the magic of our very existence in this universe, when we treat every being on this planet, beit animal, plant or mineral, with respect, we will find ourselves on a richer and more fulfilling path.
Despite terrible reviews, I’m a big fan of the apocalyptic Netflix show, ‘The Rain’. In the penultimate episode of the entire series, my favourite character, Martin, bit the dust.
He reminded me a lot of my last boyfriend.
Six of Cups: Remembering happy times
Only better!
Knight of Cups: The ideal man
However, my mini-breakdown wasn’t about the character on tv, or even the old boyfriend.
It was about this..
The Fool + Two of Cups: The possibility of relationship
I was distressed that his partner lost the chance to grow old with him.
Which was a reflection of my distress at not having a life partner like him myself.
This is a classic example of this card…
Three of Swords: Opening old wounds
For no good reason, I felt consumed by grief.
Five of Cups: Crying over what you’ve lost, despite the good things in your life
The Three of Swords comes up when you’re reminded of a loss.
Even though you’ve done this…
Eight of Cups: Well and truly moved on
In fact, you feel like this…
Nine of Pentacles: Very content with your life
We all carry wounds in our hearts.
The longer we’ve lived, the more knives to the chest we’ve experienced.
People we’ve loved and lost.
Times when we were hurt deeply.
The important thing is not to be over-whelmed by these injuries.
Not to do this…
King of Cups Reversed: Drown your sorrows
Or this…
Six of Cups Reversed: Lose yourself in nostalgia or fantasy
Or even this…
The Moon Reversed: Succumb to a drug fuelled haze.
Thanks to the coronavirus, commencement speeches have been forced online this year.
Whilst it obviously isn’t the same as having a real-life graduation, it’s been wonderful to see so many prominent members of our community take time to remember the Class of 2020.
But what lessons would Tarot wish to convey to graduates?
I believe we find the answer in the last line of the Major Arcana. Or as I like to call it, the Life Lessons section of the Tarot deck. Let’s take a look, shall we?
But right now, non-whites are incarcerated and killed by law enforcement at higher rates than whites. So that’s where the focus needs to be. Including in my own country of Australia.
I’ve written before about how Tarot contains a holy book that charts the journey of a human soul through all the stages and experiences of life. I call these cards Life Lessons Tarot. But they’re better known as the Major Arcana.
These lessons are divided into three parts. We’ve already looked at the first two parts this year: Childhood & Adulthood. The third volume represents maturity.
This is the scary part. These cards will shake, rattle and roll your world. The last seven cards of Tarot’s Holy Book are the most intense to live through. But if you can manage these energies in a positive way you get to hit the jackpot. You get The World!
The Tarot Teaclub 