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.

Considering the Emperor in 2020

2020 is the year of the Emperor. This is so because the Emperor is card Four in the Major Arcana, and the numerals of 2020 add up to four.

At the end of December and beginning of January, tarotists were speculating how the energy of the Emperor might be expressed over the next twelve months. Now, as we begin month eight of the oddest year of our lives, we might all have some new insights into the Emperor.

The Emperor is a card that often receives more negative press than I feel it should. 2020 is not going to help its reputation, I’m afraid.

It seems that many tarotists limit their understanding of the Emperor to power-hungry male authority. They see the Emperor as an overlord, a stern father, or a negative expression of the patriarchy. Certainly, these energies can be aspects of the Emperor. Yet, I believe there is so much more to be found in card Four.

What are positive aspects of the Emperor? I think the spiritual lesson of the Emperor is about responsibility. The Emperor is a community leader. He might be a politician, with the power to declare war. Yet, he might also be a loving father, or a caring community steward.

The number four generally speaks of stability. In the Emperor’s stability there could be rigidity, but there could also be dependability and loyalty.

How does the energy of the Emperor show up in the year 2020? Certainly, in the United States, we are preparing for an election which will determine who our leaders will be. Worldwide, during the pandemic, we have looked to our leaders for answers, and often have felt that our leaders weren’t doing enough, or weren’t doing the right things.

The death of George Floyd put the ongoing questions of how policing should be done in the front of everyone’s mind. Everything from the concept of centuries of systemic racism to the concept of police reformation can be seen in the Emperor.

The Emperor asks who will govern us, and in what way.

The Emperor is uncomfortable with moving away from the status quo, whether in an effort to stop the spread of a virus, or in an effort to change unjust societal norms.

As we look at the events that have unfolded over the past eight months, we can see the Emperor present in all of them.

As we move forward, we can learn from the Emperor as well. We can hold ourselves accountable for our behaviors. We can keep our word. We can nurture our communities. We can govern our own affairs with responsibility to ourselves, and to our families and our communities.

Mystery and the Moon

Of all the seventy-eight tarot cards, the Moon is one of the most confusing to understand and interpret. I think there are a few reasons this is so.

First, perhaps more than chariots, hermits and magicians, for example, the moon in the sky has so many cultural attachments. We all experience the moon in one way or another.

We associate the moon with lunacy, werewolves and menstrual cycles. The moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie to signal that you are in love. To the moon is where Ralph wanted to send Alice, back in the time when everyone seemed to think that spousal abuse was funny. When we ask for the moon, we are asking for the impossible. When we love beyond reason, it’s to the moon and back. When we are super-duper happy, we are over the moon.

In Ashtanga yoga, devotees refrain from their yoga practice during the new and full moon.

Wiccans and Pagans celebrate the moon cycles with specific sacred ceremonies.

In Judaism, Passover begins on a full moon.

In Christianity, Easter is held on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.

In the Lenormand oracle, the Moon is card 32. While the tarot Moon can indicate secrecy and things that are hidden, the Lenormand Moon can speak of fame and recognition. The Moon shines brightly in the dark sky. In the Lenormand system, that bright light may be shining on you. The Lenormand Moon can also indicate romance, and reference activities that happen in the evening.

In astrology, the Moon represents emotions, comfort, your maternal side, feelings and vulnerability.

Does any of that help us understand Major Arcana 18, the Moon in tarot? For me, perhaps the most illustrative thing here is that the moon in the sky is something we all see, and something with which we all have some sort of relationship. The fact that the moon means so many things to so many people may help explain why the tarot Moon can be so confusing.

Very often in tarot the way we react to a card can be a clue to its meaning. So, if we feel confused by the Moon when it appears, we might interpret that to say that we are experiencing confusion in the situation for which we have consulted the cards.

Yet, the Moon can mean so much more.

If you read an older tarot book, you might see that keywords for the Moon include lunacy and treachery. The Moon may serve as a warning against hidden enemies and secret plots.

If you read a newer tarot book, you might see the Moon interpreted as an invitation to explore dreams, intuition and magic.

I have a theory about why this dichotomy might exist.

The moon in the sky has long been associated with feminine mysteries. The patriarchy of centuries past feared witchcraft, which was and is associated with feminine power and intuition, along with the cycles of the moon.

When meanings for the tarot cards were coming into being, the Moon might have been seen as a warning again witchcraft.

Today, more people understand the beauty and strength associated with the practice of witchcraft and magic. Many in the tarot community honor the traditions of the divine feminine.

That means that when the tarot Moon appears in a reading, we might see it as a call to honor your intuition, and to remember your own magical power.

We can square these two divergent meanings this way.

The path to spiritual understanding and clarity is fraught with dangers. Things are harder to see by moonlight than by sunlight. There are those who would trick us, like charlatans and false prophets. There are those who would ensnare us, like fundamentalists and cultists.

When we journey toward enlightenment, we must step carefully, and use our intuition to make sure our path is correct.

In a reading, the Moon can tell us to pay attention to the wisdom of our dreams. It can also speak to us of our spiritual faith, and of deepening our relationship to the divine.

When the Moon appears in a reading to speak of mundane matters, the allegory of the spiritual journey translates into the dangers of the pursuit of any goal. We must step carefully, we must cultivate clarity within, especially when the situation at hand lacks clarity.

In answer to a more mundane question, the Moon asks us to vet our associates and our plans carefully.

In any circumstance, the Moon may tell us to look for what is hidden. All is not how it seems.

When the Moon appears, there is a mystery to be solved, whether mundane or magical.

Tarot: When the Answer is a Question

We usually think about using tarot cards to answers questions, right?

Sometimes, the most useful thing a card can do is ask a question.

This often confuses newer readers, who are surprised by the idea that the answer provided by the tarot reading isn’t an answer at all; it’s a question!

Of course, it is always possible to pull a few cards to answer the question posed by the cards. However, sometimes a great reading offers the client thought homework for their own contemplation.

“The thing you need to contemplate, or meditate on, is this” can be a helpful directive for focus. Empowering clients to look within for their answers may seem counterintuitive to building a good tarot business. The truth is, helping our clients to know their questions and seek their answers is exactly what great tarot readers do.

If you are not used to finding the questions within the cards, try going through your deck and looking at each card. Ask yourself what question that card might be asking.

Of course, in divination, very specific and unique interpretations can come up for any of the cards. Being open to the idea that a question can be a legitimate interpretation gives you another dimension with which to work.

Two cards that very often show up to ask questions in my professional readings are the Four of Cups and the Five of Wands.

The question the Four of Cups asks is this.

Is it better to take the least undesirable option now, or is it better to wait for a more desirable option?

Sometimes further fortune-telling divination can help answer this question. You might want to know the likelihood of new options appearing, for instance, or what would happen if an option were immediately chosen. You might even need to look at the individual options to discover which is the lesser evil.

The Five of Wands poses an inherent question for me. What are those people doing? Are they fighting, are they building, or are they playing?

When I am conduct a reading where the client can see the cards (so, like, not a phone reading) I will often ask the client to look at the (Waite Smith) Five of Wands. Without any other introduction, I will simply ask the client, “What are the people in this picture doing?”

So far, clients have always chosen either building, playing or fighting, even though I do not give those possible choices. Whichever a client sees is the energy they are currently dealing with, or the energy they are advised to bring to the situation the reading is discussing.

Should they be playful, collaborative, or prepared for a fight? That’s the question the Five of Wands asks. Often, the answer is provided organically by the way the card impacts the client in the moment.

In the process of divination, tarot cards give us valuable answers. They also ask us important questions. Sometimes those questions beg more divination. Other times, those questions provide the springboard for the exploration that leads to growth.

If you are a pro reader, or want to be, check out my book, Fortune Stellar!

Exploring The Crossing Card

The Celtic Cross. In all its variations, is a very well-loved tarot spread. One of the reasons for its popularity, I think, is that it is comprehensive, addressing most areas of life.

My modified 11-card Celtic Cross is my favorite spread, and my go-to spread for virtually all professional readings I do. You can find this spread in both my books, Tarot Tour Guide and Fortune Stellar.

Recently, I did an in-depth exploration of my Celtic Cross for a class in Tarot Town. Tarot Town members can view it in archive.

Preparing for that class got me thinking that many of the positions in the Celtic Cross are interesting and insightful enough to do a presentation on a specific position.

For me, no card position is more interesting, nor more telling, than the crossing card.

First, its very name, with its archaic charm, is both descriptive and mysterious.

In certain magickal cultures, the term “cross” refers to a hex or a curse. This is certainly in line with the crossing position in the Celtic Cross, which represents a challenge, obstacle or problem.

While some positions of the Celtic Cross may vary in their interpretation from reader to reader, virtually all readers will agree that the crossing card is read as a problem, challenge, issue, block or obstacle.

The crossing card is actually dealt across the center card, and is always read upright, because its very position allows for a lot of wiggle-room as we ascertain the dignity of the card.

Many readers interpret the crossing card as a direct obstacle regarding the card it crosses. Other readers will see the crossing card as representing the biggest challenger of all, which will not necessarily be what concerns the client most, nor particularly connected to the card it physically crosses.

The card that is crossed by the crossing card is generally interpreted as the current atmosphere, where you are right now, the present, or the situation.

Although I tend to interpret the crossing card as the biggest over-arching problem faced by the client, I do see great value in looking at the crossing card and the specific card it crosses, and finding the story within those two cards.

Often in readings I find that these two cards do indeed tell a poignant story.

Within that story, the crossing card can take on a number of roles beyond illustrating the challenge.

Sometimes the crossing card can indicate not only the problem, but also the cause of the problem, or, perhaps, a solution to the problem.

Sometimes the crossing card simply states the problem, and begs another question and more cards to indicate a solution.

It is also possible to perform a simple-yet-insightful 2-card reading based on this aspect of the Celtic Cross.

Let the first card represent the atmosphere, and let the second card cross the first, indicating the biggest challenge. You could also let the first card indicate a goal, and the crossing card indicate what it will take to reach that goal.

As a healing art, a tarot reading must get to the heart of a problem, and offer solutions. The crossing card is often an efficient tool in helping us do that.

Look through the presentation below to see some examples of crossing cards that have appeared for me in readings, and what they represented.

As a tarot exercise, try playing with this two card spread, and find the stories you can see in just two cards.

For further study, and evidence that great minds think alike, check out The Tarot Lady, Theresa Reed’s take on what she brilliantly calls “The Mini Cross.”

Please be patient - we are working to fix the link to the Celtic Cross interactive display!

Exploring the Crossing Card—Christiana GaudetDocs.com

Operational Tarot: Majors and Minors without Limits

Tarotists all learn that the Major Arcana cards contain the “Greater Secrets” of the Universe, and the Minor Arcana contain the “Lesser Secrets”.

When we learn tarot, and teach tarot, we discuss the Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana as a journey toward spiritual enlightenment and attainment. We typically discuss the Minor Arcana from a more basic perspective.

The seeker may get the idea that, within a reading, Major Arcana cards speak only to larger, more spiritual issues. They may believe that the only function of the Major cards is to remind us of our spiritual nature, or to instruct or correct us in our thinking and attitudes.

Likewise, they may see the Minors as the only cards that can provide detailed information about practical happenings.

Many tarotists (even experienced readers) come to the cards with a very didactic sense that the Majors can only mean a certain type of thing, and Minors can only mean a certain other type of thing.

Often, you will hear and read statements like the two following.

Major Arcana cards indicate situations of fate which you can’t change; Minor Arcana cards indicate areas in life where you have control.

Major Arcana cards indicate spiritual matters; Minor Arcana cards indicate mundane matters.

It’s true that, when we learn the lessons of the cards and understand their archetypes, the Major Arcana cards offer deep and universal spiritual lessons. However, so do the Minor Arcana cards, if you look deeply enough.

Tarot is a book of spiritual wisdom to be studied and embraced. Tarot is also a tool of divination. Our relationship to the cards as messengers of wisdom may be radically different than our use of the cards in divination.

Everyone’s tarot practice is unique to them. There is no one correct way to read tarot, and no one correct way to interpret any particular card.

However, I’ve recently noticed that many tarotists seems to artificially limit what information they can receive from their cards by strictly defining the function of the Major and Minor Arcana.

In my experience, all seventy-eight cards are able to perform multiply duties, depending on what is needed. All cards, both Major and Minor, are capable of giving practical information about daily life and great spiritual wisdom, sometimes in the same reading.

If a reader can look beyond a dogmatic understanding of each card and be open to the context of the reading, the reader will notice that sometimes the Major cards will speak of mundane, practical things, and sometimes the Minor cards will reveal grand spiritual insight.

A similar thing can happen within the suits of the Minor Arcana.  A reader may believe that Pentacles can only speak about money, or that Cups can only speak about love, or that Swords are always unwelcome.

The reality is, any card might appear to comment on any aspect of life. As readers, we need to be able to interpret any card in any situation.

Sometimes it’s helpful in a reading to forget the rules of tarot structure, and simply read the cards.

For example, the Magician may remind you of your power, and instruct you to take an accounting of your personal tools. The Magician may also speak to attending a school.

The Hierophant may counsel you to seek higher spiritual knowledge. The Hierophant may also tell you to seek a medical doctor and begin a standard course of treatment. 

The Ten of Pentacles may predict that you will be buying or selling a house. The Ten of Pentacles may also instruct you to connect with your ancestors in spirit.

The Page of Cups may indicate your daughter. The Page of Cups may also be a directive to speak from a place of love, and to be a channel for the high vibration of unconditional love.

Learning about tarot structure helps us incorporate the wisdom of tarot into our lives. Sometimes, though, in a reading, it is best just let the cards speak without the limitations of structure.

Tarot only has seventy-eight images with which to describe every possibility of human existence. The less we limit what each card can and cannot do, the more information we can derive.

The Four of Pentacles: Some Truths about Tarot Interpretation

There is no one right way to read tarot. Each tarot reader brings to the cards their own skills, processes, intuition and experiences.

Recently I saw an interaction about a particular card, the Four of Pentacles, which drove home for me some clear truths this card, and about tarot interpretation in general.

Traditionally, the Four of Pentacles is “The Miser’s Card.” The Four of Pentacles can describe selfishness. Some modern tarotists may see the Four of Pentacles as a “lack mentality.”

It is also true that the Four of Pentacles can be a directive for self-care. The Four of Pentacles can tell you to be protective of yourself and your resources.

The Four of Pentacles can suggest insecurity or possessiveness.

The Four of Pentacles can advise frugality, and a conservation of resources.

How to best interpret the Four of Pentacles depends on the context of the question.
If the question is: What is the personality of the person I just met? The Four of Pentacles might say that he is selfish, or cheap.

If the question is: What should I do to make sure my property is safe? The Four of Pentacles might advise you to take steps to protect it, but make sure you are not over-estimating the threat.

If the question is: Should I buy this house? The Four of Pentacles urges you to make sure the price fits the budget.

If the question is: How’s my health? The Four of Pentacles urges you to make self-care a priority.

If the question is : How does my boyfriend feel about me? The Four of Pentacles might suggest he is possessive, and insecure in the relationship.

Try this process with any tarot card to find everything a card might need to say to you. Remember that no tarot card says the same thing all the time. Card interpretations change based on context.

The more you are able to interpret a card in context, the better your reading will be.

How Tarot Prepares us for New Things

I just saw a post in a social media tarot group that asked a fascinating question; one I had thought about but had never put into words.

The question was essentially this. There are many tarot cards that predict and describe new things – the Aces, the Fool, The Magician, the Wheel of Fortune and Judgment, to name only a few. What these cards have in common is their reference to something new. But, the poster wanted to know, how are they different one from another?

Here are some of my thoughts about tarot cards that speak of new things.

The Fool: The Fool encourages us to leap into something new, even if we don’t have a clear picture of what the outcome will be. With the Fool we follow our instincts and our curiosity.

The Magician: The Magician advises a planned initiation into a particular art or science. The Magician shows the way to learning a new field and discovering one’s specific skill and talents.

The Empress: The Empress is pregnant. This card speaks of giving birth to something. The energy here is one of fertility and anticipation.

The Wheel of Fortune: The Wheel of Fortune can speak to the end of a cycle, and therefore the beginning of a new cycle. With the Wheel of Fortune there is uncertainty involved, much is left to chance and luck.

Death: Death speaks of a clear end of one thing, and therefore a transition to something new. This is the butterfly emerging from the cocoon, or the end of youth that comes when we assume adult responsibilities.

The Tower: In an intense and dramatic flash that which is built on a faulty foundation is rendered useless so something new can be built it its place.

Judgment: Judgment requires full and total closure to the (sometimes painful) past. Only then can we be open to something new.

Ace of Wands: The Ace of Wands is the birth, or essence, of Air. It is a new passion, a new inspiration, a new project. It could even be a new anger. The Ace of Wands is something new burning within us.

Eight of Wands: The Eight of Wands can sometimes indicate an unknown change or new information that is coming swiftly.

Ace of Swords: The Ace of Swords is the birth, or essence, of Air. It is a new breath, a new idea, a new discovery, a new communication or a new truth learned.

Six of Swords: Traditionally, the Six of Swords is “sailing toward smoother waters,” so there can be a feeling of a new journey and new hope. The Six of Swords can also refer to a new tactic of problem-solving – honoring logic over emotion.

Ace of Pentacles: The Ace of Pentacles is the birth, or essence, of Earth. It can indicate new money, a new job, a new baby or a new home. With this card the new thing is generally something tangible or material.

Ace of Cups: The Ace of Cups is the birth, or essence, of Water. Archetypically it is the Holy Grail – a much-sought-after spiritual truth. The Ace of Cup is the open heart chakra. It can symbolize a new love or a new emotion. It can also symbolize the fullness of unconditional love.

Eight of Cups: The Eight of Cups can symbolize an abandonment. As we relinquish emotions that no longer serve us we are able to walk away from something, and therefore walk toward something else.

Depending on the context of the reading there are other cards that can bring in a new energy. The Pages may represent new communication or new learning, for instance. The Sun may discuss a new happiness. The World may indicate a completion of something, with the opportunity to begin something new.

That so many tarot cards indicate change and new beginnings is in itself a bit of wisdom from the cards. We must always be prepared to venture into new territory and welcome new things into our lives.

The constant renewal of life is the one thing that never changes.