Tarot Card Meanings and How they Can Help You Every Day!

With the first crocuses out in the garden, it’s a little odd to find my thoughts centering on death - and the tarot Death card. The latter is often depicted as a skeleton wielding a scythe and cutting down King and commoner alike. Given that the first tarot decks appeared shortly after the Black Death raged through Europe, this view of Death is not surprising. Today, however, most tarot readers would read the card not as death, but as change and transformation.

From the point of view of an artist ‘painting the bones’ [which I paraphrased from The Llewellyn Journal 'Writing Down the Bones' of February 16th 2009 by Corrine Kenner], I take a slightly different view. For me the Death card in the Intuitive Tarot is an initiatory figure, challenging me to strip my thoughts to the bone, to discover what I am really about, and to rid myself of all the dross in my life. After the Hanged Man’s lessons, where we’ve had to reverse all our set views - everything we’ve been taught - we are ready for a more profound rethink. Thus we arrive at the Death card, Major Arcana number XIII.

When I painted this image I wanted it to be quite confrontational. So Death is fearful indeed, an imposing black figure with red eyes burning in its white skull. Behind this figure is a wall of fire - which I saw as cold, not hot. To complete the image, I softened its impact with the opened cocoon, the diamond, and butterfly to indicate rebirth. Later I discovered that in shamanic lore, the initiators are often experienced as putting the dismembered body of the initiate into fire (after which the successful trainee is re-membered, emerging as a fully-fledged shaman). This gives yet another dimension to the card, which, at least for the layman, is probably the most feared of all tarot cards.

For me, then, the image of Death, and thus Death itself, is the next step towards a greater life. For those who have moved into his realm, I salute you, and honour your advance along the path. As the crocuses open their delicate petals after what seems like a very long winter, I acknowledge Death as a necessary part of that rebirth.

People often find reversals - when the card is drawn upside down - offputting in the extreme. Indeed, many tarot readers don’t use them at all, preferring to interpret both negative and positive sides of the card at the same time. However, reversals can be very useful - particularly when the majority of cards have appeared reversed. One way of working with them is to see a reversal as an indicator that there is a blockage or lack of confidence involved: so for example, if someone has drawn the Nine of Rods (Wands) reversed, the interpretation could be that although they appear to be strong and in control, inside they are feeling defensive and not at all sure how long they wish to continue holding people at bay.

Reversals of the darker cards often display a more optimistic aspect of the card. The Nine and Ten of Swords reversed all indicate that the darkest time has already passed (useful, as they are such dark cards!), and the Five shows the fearful, cowering person at the bottom of the card beginning to take power into her hands and face her fears.

One of the most interesting of reversals is the Tower. The meaning of the card is the lightning strike of God, the cosmic illumination that shatters all existing structures - and although the card isn’t always *that* negative, it certainly can indicate disastrous events (like 9/11, for example). So how to read the Tower reversed?

Nowadays I usually see this as dismantling important aspects of your life, which can be deciding to downsize, for example. Separation, divorce, or giving in your notice after a shock could also be The Tower reversed. But one of the best examples I’ve encountered happened recently in a reading for a woman who was 7 months pregnant. She blenched a bit to get the Tower reversed and I explained what I’ve just said above: that it wasn’t necessarily negative at all, but she’d have to rethink her life and get rid of all sorts of unwanted stuff. Three days later she texted me to say her baby had been born - 2 months early, but he was fine. She wanted to know what the Tower reversed meant! I replied that although she had expected the birth, she’d thought she had plenty of time. Now, however, both she and her partner would have to make some radical changes to their lifestyle - dismantling the old structures and setting up new.

This was sent to me by Gary Oppenhuis on Facebook, and it is so apposite I thought I would share it with you…

‘I periodically perform Tarot readings for my self, as a meditative interaction, a time of spiritual play and reverance, delighting in the random coincidences.  Often I choose a word or phrase as the focal point for these tarot interactions.  

‘For a recent reading, I chose the word “Progress“.   Progress as a verb, as in “going forward”.  I want/need to Progress in many areas of my life.  For this reading, I used the Intuitive Tarot, by Cilla Conway.

‘The card I pulled was: the 2 of Rods.  Traditionally, the 2 of Rods (or Wands) is often associated with initiative, boldness, originality, commanding attention. Certainly appropriate themes to foster Progress!

‘And then I looked more closely at the specific imagery on this card.  And then I smiled, and glowed, and realized what day it was (Jan. 19, 2009, MLK Jr. day), and the momentous event that was about to take place the next day (Jan. 20, 2009):  the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States!

‘The card depicts a tall, lean, dark, regal figure standing atop a hill (Capitol Hill?), holding an orb in his outstretched hand, reflecting on the state of the world. In the background there appears to be a vast multitude of faces, of many colors.  A larger orb glows at the top of the card, like a spotlight or Sun.

‘The scene is like a leader or actor on a great stage, pondering and expressing a vision of progress. The 2 parallel rods or bars crossing the orb could represent the 2 great leaders (Martin Luther King and Obama), and the ladder they have helped to build in the climb towards unity.  The 2 bars crossing the “O” is somewhat reminiscent of the Obama campaign logo.

‘I normally do not relate personal readings to public events, but the symbolic impact of this card, and of this moment, gave me a tremendous lift and feeling of positive transformation as we all work towards Progress, for our selves, for each other, and for the world.’

So we have drawn or chosen our card and allowed it, as best we can, to speak to us.

But what if we get a card that we are not happy with – one that produces a decidedly negative reaction?

A negative reaction to a card is an indication that the image is activating some repressed part of yourself, or is a call to look at a particular problem.  The more reluctance you feel to working with the card, the more important it is to continue! 

In this case, get a friend to sit with you, to witness the messages you get from the card – you’ll have to work out loud in that case if possible. They are more likely to notice if you miss important clues – and it’s surprising how easy it is to ignore something that is really important! Encourage your friend to be objective and to say anything they think might be useful, even if you may not like what they say!

If you haven’t got a friend who will help close at hand, record all the intuitive links, however disturbing they may seem, and come back to them a few days later.  You will probably find a strange recognition dawning – congratulations! Just stay with it, and the message will become clearer with time. 

If you find at any point that your imaginary stories or identification with the figures in the cards are bringing up particularly painful memories, or feelings of fear or anger, use your own intuitive guidance to decide whether you should stay with them or turn away.  Although you are perfectly at liberty to turn away, most of the time it is best to stay with the emotions if you can, feeling them as fully as possible. 

Accept that they are part of you, and that by acknowledging them you are recovering a precious part of yourself (it is not feeling itself that is dangerous, it is repressed feeling).  However, if you find it impossible to stay with these emotions, or decide intuitively that it is not a good idea, trust this intuition. You are your own wisest guide, and this may be your psyche’s way of protecting you.

If nothing at all appears in your awareness, you may be tired, or trying too hard, or missing the messages through inexperience.  Indicate your willingness to your subconscious and higher consciousness that you wish to remain open to any flashes that may come through other people, books, films, or dreams, in the days ahead, and ensure you have a notebook to hand!

Last time we talked about identifying with a card, chosen either at random or by visual selection and being open to any sub conscious messages that card might suggest to you.

I talked about how it might be if I drew the Three of Rods and concentrated on what the design is saying to me. I began with the ideas – suggested by the design - of: concentration, energy, beautiful colours, velvet smoothness, peace. Excitement at holding this beautiful egg-shape.

But what if I drew the Three of Rods and it was upside down i.e. reversed?

If the card is reversed (appears upside down) the intuitive message you need to take from it is modified. In the case of the Three of Rods, I would still have access to the creativity or beautiful secret, but I need to be aware that there may be some blockage.

At this stage, I need to stay in the reverie, letting my mind flow freely around any further images that came.

I might get the sense I am trying too hard to control an outcome, or that there is some outstanding task to be completed. If no guidance comes, I will pass the issue over to my higher and unconscious selves, and forget it for the time being, waiting for synchronicities or dream messages to help clarify the situation later.

Intuition is a gift we all have. We are all capable of slipping into a reverie or dreamlike, meditative state; and it is in this state that we make connections with the tarot card meanings as represented by their images.

Some of us access our intuition easily and for some it takes practice.

In self-development work, using the Tarot, you consciously identify with a particular card or cards, chosen at random or by visual selection. If you go with visual selection, choose a card that you feel particularly drawn to – or even one you particularly dislike!

Study the card for a while, letting your mind go into neutral. This can take practice, so take your time, relax and breathe slowly – close your eyes if you wish. Be open to anything, however illogical or tentative, that comes into your head: images, sounds, sensations, colours, words, feelings, anything.

You may find it helpful to record your reactions in a notebook, to refer to later, as these intuitive messages will almost certainly have some relevance to you even if the meaning is not obvious to begin with.

Example: Let’s say I’ve drawn the Three of Rods from The Intuitive Tarot. I might begin: ‘Concentration, energy, beautiful colours, velvet smoothness. Peace. Excitement at holding this beautiful egg.’ I might then ask the figure in the card what its story is, or describe myself as if I am the figure in this particular card (this is called ‘dialoguing’ with the card.

I am staring intently at a beautiful egg-shaped object. A double helix of energy is rising from it. Have I made it? I get the sense that it is humming. It is alive! This is some miraculous, alchemic secret.

My subconscious has informed me directly that I have access to a wonderful, living secret. It is my message; another person would probably ‘see’ something quite different. I don’t have to work out intellectually what this amazing secret could be, although I know it has something to do with the feeling of connection to my soul; all I need to do is to fully experience the wonder of it, and thank the universe for having granted it.