Three Tarot Cards that Help us Look to the Past

I was speaking with someone recently who told me that he never looks back, because Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. To him, that means when we look to our past we are in danger of becoming bitter.

I was refreshed to find someone quoting the Bible who understands metaphors and doesn’t believe that it is literally possible for a person to turn into an actual pillar of salt. However, I have to say I disagree with my friend’s sentiment about looking to the past.

I think it is important to look to the past, to honor the past and to learn from the past. Certainly we can’t dwell in the past, nor long for the past. But if we forget the past, we are doomed to repeat it. If we forget the past, we forget who we are.

There is a lot in tarot, and in the process of tarot reading, that involves looking at the past. We look to the past to learn about ourselves, and why we do the things we do. We look to the past to find our identity.

In a reading, many tarot spreads have a “past” position, and sometimes a “foundation” position. A reader looks to these positions to see what has set the stage for the current situation.

Here are three tarot cards that often speak specifically of the past, and our ways of dealing with what has come before.

1. The Six of Cups

   The Six of Cups is the card of nostalgia and childhood memories. The Six of Cups may predict or encourage reunions with family members and childhood friends. The Six of Cups reminds us of our history, and the way we honor our history. The Six of Cups expresses a feeling of familiarity that comes when we feel comfortable with someone.

2. The Ten of Pentacles

   The Ten of Pentacles is the “Castle” card, and can often refer to real estate, and family matters. The Ten of Pentacles is the card of ancestry and legacy. With the Ten of Pentacles, we consider what we have inherited and learned from the prior generation.

3. Judgement

   Judgement is the card of the Christian Judgement Day. Judgement speaks of something coming to final closure. With Judgement, we evaluate the past, learn from it and release it, in order to be reborn to something new.

Dancing with the Queen of Pentacles

PREVIOUS BLOG | MASTER LIST | NEXT BLOG

For this Tarot Blog Hop, our wrangler, Joanna Ash of Sun Goddess Tarot, has asked us to answer this question.

“How do you Channel your Inner Queen of Pentacles?”

The Queen of Pentacles is the Earth Queen, much like the Empress.

The Queen of Pentacles is about hearth and home, or work and money.

I see her through a larger lens, too.

So often the suit of Pentacles in tarot gets short shrift. We think of it only as “the money.” But the element of Earth is about so much more than money. The element of Earth is about resources, and groundedness and stability.

I honor the Queen of Pentacles as a representation of Gaia, our Mother Earth, who supports and sustains us.

So often in life we don’t feel supported or sustained. Instead, we feel anxious and insecure.

I place my trust in the abundance of our Mother Earth. I surrender to the cycles of the seasons, and to the cycles of life.

My inner Queen of Pentacles is that spark of divinity within me that connects me to the Earth and sustains me.

My inner Queen of Pentacles is that in which I place my trust.

I don’t work a “normal” job. (I’m a full-time tarot professional.)

I don’t live in a “normal” home. (I live full-time in a resort.)

For most people, the Queen of Pentacles is about keeping home and making money. I do those things, but not the way most people do.

I dance through life, and the Queen of Pentacles dances with me, making sure I have exactly what I need.

PREVIOUS BLOG | MASTER LIST | NEXT BLOG

Gendering Tarot

There’s a lot of gender in the world that has nothing to do with sex. For instance, many languages have masculine and feminine words.

In tarot, the same thing is true.

Each tarot card is associated with one of the Four Elements. The elements have gender. Air and Fire are masculine, Water and Earth are feminine.

Understanding the “yang” attributes of Air and Fire, and the “yin” attributes of Water and Earth, helps us understand the elements, and how they can influence a tarot interpretation.

The Court cards are also traditionally gender-specific. Traditionally, Kings and Knights are male, Queens and Pages are female.

Since often Court cards come up to signify specific people, most tarot books and teachers suggest that we can determine the gender of an individual based on the card that comes up to represent them.

This is particularly important in identifying major players in a person’s reading, as well as in predicting the gender of a new baby.

Some readers are uncomfortable with the concept of “third-party readings,” that is, giving information to the client about the people in their lives. To whatever extent we are comfortable discussing other people’s lives, there is no doubt that clients will have questions about the people they care about.  There is no doubt that friends, family and coworkers will show up in a person’s cards, regardless of the nature of the question.

One of the primary functions of Court cards is to denote the characters in our lives. Sometimes other cards, both trumps and pips, also indicate specific significant people. Often the psychic connection is so clear that we see our client’s situations in ways that extend beyond making a simple comparison between a family member and a Court card.  

The thing that has proven true in my own tarot practice is that the traditional gender associations for Court cards do not always reliably show gender. There are times a Page will refer to a boy, or a King will refer to a woman.

For this reason, my process for “gendering tarot” is by necessity psychic. When I see a Court card, or another card that seems to represent an individual, I need to take a moment and psychically reach for the person the card represents. In that moment of reaching I get a more accurate sense of gender identity than I often do with the traditional card interpretations.

To me, this is a prime example of the way that interpretive and intuitive tarot skills work hand-in-hand to give us the full picture.

Sometimes gender references give us important clues that don’t refer to our sex. Cards such as the High Priestess and the Empress can remind us to nurture our more feminine, receptive sides. The Kings can remind us to be more “yang,” more assertive and more oriented toward leadership. This will be true regardless of the gender of the client.

Worldwide, gender is a defining factor for power distribution. In tarot, gender seems to me to be more a fluid concept than a concept that divides us one from another.

At a time when even the Supreme Court of the United States votes along gender lines, it interests me that my own tarot experience reveals no inherent limitations or roles based solely on gender.

The Four Agreements for Tarot Readers

One of my favorite books of spiritual wisdom is “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom” by Don Miguel Ruiz. The core of this wisdom includes four simple things that we agree to practice in our daily lives.

Deceptively simple, theses Four Agreements are a complete philosophy and way of life.

In conversations with clients I often see ways that keeping these agreements with ourselves can rid us of anxiety and upset in life.

During readings, different tarot cards sometimes remind me of these agreements.

I can see ways the Four Agreements help me in my work as a tarot reader. Maybe they will work that way for you, too.

Be Impeccable with your Word.

So often, we psychics and healers gain the reputation of being “flighty.”  We show up late or not at all, and blame a capricious astrology chart for our lack of professionalism.

The minute you hang your shingle as a professional, it’s not a hobby anymore. You can’t just do it when the mood strikes. As a professional you must be true to your word, and show up when you agree to.

 Don’t Take Anything Personally.

From skeptical clients to superstitious neighbors to inconsiderate party hostesses, if you are a professional reader you will have plenty of opportunities to get your feelings hurt.  Your best interest is served when you choose not to take anything personally.

Don’t Make Assumptions.

Don’t make assumptions about anything.  Our job is to read the cards and give our psychic impressions. If we give credence to impressions formed by assumption, we do a disservice to our clients and ourselves. Never make an assumption about your client’s situation based on your mundane observations.

Always Do Your Best.

If each of us really lived up to this agreement we would never again deal with unpleasantness with our competitors.  We would all be busy striving to be our best, rather than striving to beat each other.

Doing our best, each day, every day, is the easiest way to avoid anxiety and regret.

Here’s a fun exercise. Draw one tarot card for each of the Four Agreements, asking this question. “How am I honoring this agreement in my tarot practice?”

A Joyful Summer Solstice

PREVIOUS BLOG | MASTER LIST | NEXT BLOG

Welcome to the Litha Tarot Blog Hop. Perhaps you are joining me from Tierney Sandler's blog. When you finish here, continue on to the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI). If you find a break in the chain, here's the Master List.

For this Tarot Blog Hop commemorating the Summer Solstice, our wrangler, Olivia Destrades, has asked us to write about “joy.”

Today is the longest day of the year. Tomorrow, the night will begin to eat away at the day, little by little.

Today, we celebrate the sun at the height of its power.

Tomorrow, that power begins to wane.

The summer solstice has always felt ironic to me. We celebrate it as the first day of summer, but it  heralds the return of the darkness.

Maybe in this unalterable reality is the root of what it is to me to be joyful.

I find joy in the simple moment when I do not fear what comes next, or what I might lose. I find joy when I release attachment to what has come before and what will come next, and simply live in the light of the moment.

There is a state of spiritual grace that comes from that place of acceptance, non-attachment and gratitude. To me, that is the essence of joy.

But what tarot cards might convey that joyful lesson? What cards might teach us to release our unjoyful attachments?

For me, the cards that most clearly teach that lesson are exactly the cards we don’t usually associate with joy.

The Devil teaches us to acknowledge and release our attachments.

Death reminds us that change is inevitable. We can’t ever guarantee tomorrow.

As I embrace the lessons of these two dark cards, I find a light within that is not subject to season or time.

In that light, there is joy.

A few years ago, I wrote a chant for the sumer solstice. In reading the words over and getting ready to use it for my festivities this weekend, I realize it expresses this same idea of finding joy in the fleeting moment. Here it is.

Litha Fire Chant

The wheel turns
The fire burns
The dark night will soon return.
The shortest night
The longest day
Gather flowers while we may
While it’s ours we’ll seize the day.

Now it's time to continue on the Litha Tarot Blog Hop. If you are working backwards, visit Tierney Sandler's blog next, or continue forward to the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI). If you find a break in the chain, here's the Master List.

PREVIOUS BLOG | MASTER LIST | NEXT BLOG