Are There Specific Tarot Cards That Indicate Orientation?

One topic that sometimes comes up in our many conversations about how we interpret tarot is how sexual orientation shows up in the cards. I’ve written and spoken about this a few times, maybe most notably in my Answers to Your Questions About Tarot series.

Recently I taught a class on YouTube about the Suit of Cups. It was interesting that a few of the Cups cards garnered comments and questions around the possibility of signifying homosexuality.

I have always resisted the idea that there might be specific cards that speak about gay people or gay issues. Any of the seventy-eight cards might speak of gay people, just as any of the seventy-eight cards might speak of straight people.

Since the suit of Cups, related to Water, is all about feelings, relationships, romance, and emotion, it makes sense that any discussion of this suit would encompass relationships. Yet, never have I been in a tarot class where someone says that a particular card will always be interpreted as a heterosexual person. I am not sure why we would consider that there would or could be such a card to indicate a member of the LBGTQI community.

Is traditional tarot heteronormative? It certainly could be considered that way, since many cards show heterosexual couples, and because the societies of which tarot was borne were themselves heteronormative. There are now many tarot decks that depict same-sex couples as a remedy to this. Yet, we could easily use a deck with same-sex depictions to read for heterosexual people, just as we can use a deck with opposite-sex couples to read for gay people.

When I first became a professional tarot reader my colleagues and I had a strong unfortunate incentive to be able to see in a reading when someone was gay. Back then, the expected life trajectory of a gay person was different than that of a straight person. If the Ten of Cups came up for someone’s unmarried son, suggesting that the son would one day be married with children could send a client into peals of sarcastic laughter. “My son is gay, so that will never happen. You aren’t a very good psychic, are you?”  

A reminder that love is love and love makes a family was usually enough to win back the reading. Yet, the 2015 Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges opened the path for anyone’s kids to one day be married and be parents. This made a real difference in the language we could comfortably use at the tarot table. It also made it less important to try to use the cards, or intuition, to understand the sexuality of a client or their family members.

Tarot readers often end up helping people explore their identity or orientation and helping family members find a way to accept or support that exploration. However, none of those sorts of tasks require a specific card to reveal the things that people must always figure out for themselves.

One card that came up in conversation during my Cups class was the Knight of Cups. Several students authoritatively stated that this card could represent a gay man. Of course, it can. And so can any other card in the deck. The Knight of Cups can be a man who is in touch with his feelings. But, suggesting that a male in touch with his feelings is likely to be gay buys into a misandrist culture of toxic masculinity that is best left without oxygen.

There are any number of opportunities to discuss sexuality, gender, identity and relationships at the tarot table. If we understand the nuances of all the cards, and are intuitive in our approach, we can do a good job for any client in any situation. And, we can do this without trying to force an individual card to inform us of a person’s orientation.

And, to whichever ill-informed tarot teacher is spreading the rumor that there are specific cards that indicate sexual orientation, last century called. You know what they said? Even they want you to update your practices to reflect reality rather than you own outdated views. Tarot helps us evolve.

Answers to Your Questions about Tarot: Why wouldn’t you want to do a reading?

This question is from Katie, who wondered why she was reticent to perform a specific tarot spread about a new child in her life.

The spread was called “A Child is Born”, and had a very predictive tone to it.

I believe there are times when all things are possible, and predictions just aren’t helpful. The energy wrapped up in a brand new baby is like that – why try to limit the possibilities with predictions?

At these sorts of times, it might be best to ask different questions of the cards, such has, “How can I help this new person?” or “What do I need to know about this new person?”

Often, when we are reticent to go to the cards, it’s really the questions we are asking, or the spread we are using, that create the problem.

Enjoy the video!
 

Answers to Your Questions about Tarot: Tarot as a Tool for Mediumship

This question comes from Christina, who would like to know if it is possible to use tarot as a tool for mediumship.

This is a great question.

I first discovered this important use of tarot quite by accident. Early in my career, a client asked me a question about a recently deceased loved one. I had no idea what would happen, but I thought about the person and pulled a couple of cards.

My interpretation of those cards made sense to my client, as a specific message from their loved one.

Encouraged by this, I worked out some protocols for doing this work with tarot. Over time, I found that, when asked to communicate with someone in spirit, I could get information from the cards, and at the same time, I might be given specific words or images to share with my client. These words and images just began popping into my mind as I was doing the reading. That, along with the messages from the cards, gave very authentic and helpful communication from the spirit world.

On other occasions, I would notice that certain spirits would want to be included in the reading, even if the client did not mention them. Sometimes a certain card would indicate a person in spirit. For instance, the Empress might indicate a message from a client’s mother or grandmother in spirit.

Sometimes, while reading, I would feel the insistent presence of a loved one, which would open the opportunity to facilitate communication with that entity, often using the tarot cards to do so.

I will share the technique I’ve developed for reading tarot for those in spirit. Perhaps it will also work for you.

The first thing, and this is true for all psychic work, is to not be afraid to say what you see, feel or hear. At the same time, you must phrase those things in ways that will be helpful, rather than hurtful.

Recognize that when we ask for Spirit to communicate with us, spirit usually complies. When we ask while using a tool that easily connects us with our psychic ability, our higher self and the spirit world, we are doubly empowered to receive communication.

The protocol I use can change from reading to reading, depending on the circumstances. However, if a client comes to me because they want information about a loved one in spirit, what follows is my basic technique.

First, I ask, “Who was this person in life?” I shuffle, and pull a few cards. I look at the cards I’ve pulled and let either a story emerge, or perhaps a list or adjectives, or some other way the cards describe the person in life, and how they related to the querent.

This serves to help me know what the person feels like energetically, and make a connection to them in spirit. It also helps the querent by revealing some significant aspects of their loved one’s life.

Then, I look at the energy around the actual death. Often, we aren’t told how someone has died, but the manner of death may be very significant to the querent, and therefore, to the reading.

So, I shuffle, ask about the death, and pull a few cards. These cards may reveal what actually happened, the feeling around what happened, or even the way the departed experienced their death.

Next, I want to know about the transition. What immediately happened upon arriving in the new world? Again, I shuffle and pull a few cards. Very often Court cards will appear to indicate the specific loved ones in spirit who greeted the departed first.

Then, I might ask a question like, “What is Dad doing now?” I pull a few cards to describe the loved one’s concerns and activities.

My final question is usually “Is there a message?” The cards that I pull will usually translate into a very specific and pertinent message for the client. Added to that, I might ask how my client can better communicate directly with their loved one. What signs should they look for, or where should they be?

This process is often augmented by thoughts, words, pictures and sounds that come to me while I am reading in this way. I believe that even people who have never explored their mediumistic tendencies can have profound experiences when they open themselves to the spirit world with this powerful tool.

Christina, thanks for a great question. Enjoy the video!

Answers to Your Questions about Tarot: The Devil, and Presenting the Darker Cards

I am so excited to share this question and answer with you. It’s a follow-up to an earlier video on Tarot and Christianity. Here’s the letter from Michele in its entirety. I had to share it because of her awesome “Airplane” reference.

Dear Christiana,

Hi! Your video on Christianity and the Tarot was really enlightening. Here are two related questions.

I know of a tarot reader who lost a friend because that person thought that tarot was a "tool of the devil". It's a tough sell to explain that it's not when that card is actually in the deck. Personally, I've come to appreciate the card's symbolism. It's even had positive meanings in some spreads like "look out for your own best interests".  How do you explain the Devil card to someone?

 In a newer deck some of the cards that can seem frightening were renamed. To give two examples: The Tower became Life Experience and Death became Release. Again, I can embrace the symbolic meaning of the cards. Yet, I don't always enjoy the images either. When I see The Tower for instance, my first reaction is, "Surely this can't be good." How do you feel about renaming the cards? (And I'll stop calling you Shirley!)

Many Thanks,

Michele

P.S. Thank you so much for your Video posts. I've really learned so much and gained new perspective on the Tarot because of them. They're much appreciated!

Michele, thanks so much for your support, and for some great questions.

When I explain the Devil to someone, I remind them that tarot comes out of Roman Catholic Italy, and includes many symbols familiar to Christians, including a “devil” image.

We need to remember that within Christianity, there are many denominations, each with significant doctrinal differences. Not all Christian denominations are fundamentalists, or biblical literalists. Not all Christian denominations believe in Satan, or “the Devil,” as an actual entity.

Many Christians see the biblical references to Satan as symbolic and allegorical. What does the symbol of Satan represent? Perhaps Satan represents the things we attach ourselves to that don’t serve us. Satan represents temptation, materialism and unhealthy behavior.

Now, let’s look at the Devil card in the Major Arcana of tarot. What does it represent? To many people, it represents unhealthy attachments, temptation and materialism! So we can see that, coming out of a culture of Christianity, the Devil is an appropriate symbol to describe our need to really look within and acknowledge and release our unhealthy attachments.

Now, when I am speaking with folks who acknowledge the Devil as a spiritual and corporeal entity, I can present the Devil card in a way that really speaks to them. I like to show them the Waite image, and show how the human captives are free to walk away at any time, but choose not to.

I ask them to consider the ways in which they are not “walking away from the Devil.”

Many of my Christian clients are able to understand and change their unhealthy behavior by using this process.

I also explain the Devil as the gatekeeper on the path to spiritual enlightenment. As card 15, the Devil is the first card of the last seven. I see these last seven cards as describing our path to enlightenment. We must confront the Devil on our way to that enlightenment.

I think whether we see the Devil as literal or symbolic, most of us can understand the process of confronting the Devil. I will sometimes talk about Jesus’ temptation in the desert in this context. With what does the Devil tempt you? How do you grow from that understanding? How do you heal from this temptation?

There are many ways tarot can lend itself to the practice of Christian devotion.

I appreciate your concept that the Devil can have positive interpretations. I’ve seen the Devil come up to indicate the difficult things we chose to do to help the people we love; caring for the sick and dying, for instance.

Now, all of that being said, there are still people who will find tarot inappropriate, and who will insist that the cards are evil. And some of those people believe the Earth is 5000 years old and Jesus rode on dinosaurs. There will always be superstitious people in the world, and there will always bigots. It is not our job to change every mind and every heart. Losing a friend who proves themselves to be ignorant and closed-minded isn’t really a tragedy.

Now, for the second question. The deck you are referencing is Doreen Virtue’s Angel Tarot. One of my problems with this deck is the way Hay House marketed it, suggesting that Doreen was with first to adjust some of the Major Arcana names to make them less disturbing.

Long before Doreen Virtue’s Angel Tarot were Connolly Tarot and Celtic Dragon Tarot, just to name a couple. Both of these decks, and many others, rename some of the Majors for the same reason. How do I feel about this practice? Personally, I don’t love it, but I appreciate that it makes tarot accessible to some folks who otherwise might not embrace it.

I think if you choose to use such a deck your understanding of the cards will be improved if you learn their traditional names and interpretations, as well as the slant given by the particular deck. I don’t think that such a deck will perform and better or worse than any other deck, if you like it, it is the perfect deck for you.

I also think that, if you are reading for the public, you recognize that some decks may make people more comfortable than others. As a rule, a deck which has softened the impact of card names will do the same with images, making the deck a bit more public-friendly, if you care about that sort of thing.

Now, finally, to your very valid point about how we react to the cards, regardless of our intellectual understanding of them. “Surely this can’t be good.”

Yes, we have all been there. What if this natural reaction is part of the healing nature of tarot?

Consider this scenario. In a reading, you see something that you react to in a negative way. As you process the reading, you come to accept that some things may go differently than you had hoped.

You make some plans and preparations in case your understanding of the cards’ message is accurate, and you figuratively buckle your seat belt.

When the Tower comes in real life, you’re ready. You are able to navigate it easily, because you have already had a chance to react to it, in advance.

In retrospect, that the situation was predicted is often a comfort. What is foreseen resonates as something that is meant to be, or something that may serve a greater purpose.

Sometimes, too, the dark cards are comforting. When they appear to show us that the Universe registers our pain, we feel validated. Sometimes looking at a picture of how much something sucks helps us to get a handle on it.

The question is, would the renamed cards and gentler images have the same effect in these two circumstances? Maybe yes, Maybe no.

I think tarot reflects life, and life has a lot of horrible stuff in it, as well as a lot of beauty. I think, as a society, our desire to pretend the horrible stuff doesn’t exist hasn’t helped us, but that’s just my opinion.

The most important thing is that each person has to use the deck(s) that works for them. It's good that there are so many different decks from which to choose.

Thanks for a great question! Enjoy the video. If you have a quesiton about tarot, send me an email!

Christiana Answers Questions about the Devil, Christianity, and the Darker Cards

Video of Christiana Answers Questions about the Devil, Christianity, and the Darker Cards