Troubling Tarot Cards

By Joan Bunting

Glance through most tarot decks and you will see certain cards that are a little unnerving: The Devil, the Tower, the Three of Swords. No one likes to see these cards show up in a reading because they remind us that life has challenges. Plans go astray and problems develop – even when we’re prepared. What’s the best way you approach such troubling cards?

First, recognize that no card is good or bad in itself. Each on simply represents an energy or influence that can affect your life. You can decide whether that influence is helpful or not.

Sometimes what seems to be unpleasant may actually turn out to be positive. You could draw the Five of Cups in a reading about a job prospect and think, “How discouraging!” Two weeks later, an even better job offer comes your way. The “lost” opportunity left you free to accept this new one.

In a similar way, positive cards can sometimes be unfavorable. Once the Star appeared in a reading about an unsavory incident. This card was the only bright spot in the reading and seemed out of place. In fact, it represented a false, “sweetness and light” that was being used to mask the nastiness. You can’t always take a card at face value!

Troubling cards often serve as warnings. When driving, we’re glad to see a pothole ahead of time so we can swerve to avoid it. Unpleasant cards can tell us when something is less than ideal so we can take action to change it. The Devil for example, can help you recognize when you are letting yourself be controlled or manipulated. The Five of Pentacles can signal a brief spell of hard times so you can prepare.

In fact, a troubling card can be welcome for this very reason. Usually we know when something is wrong in a situation. We sense a problem is brewing, even is we can’t put our finger on it. If you think you’re being betrayed and draw the three of swords, the problem is literally out on the table. You can see exactly what you’re dealing with.

What steps should you take when you see a disappointing card? First, check your assumptions. Ask yourself what you truly want. Does this card capture something you’ve been feeling, but didn’t know you felt? Does it point out a possibility you hadn’t considered? Use this card to help you evaluate you situation. You mat decide to make changes, or just keep going as you are. In either case, you will gain clarity and understanding.

Remind yourself that a discouraging card doesn’t mean your situation is hopeless. A pothole won’t keep you from getting to your destination. You may just have to take a different route.

Look to the other cards in the reading for insight. No trouble exists in isolation. The other cards will give you clues about what to do. You may recognize someone who can help in an unexpected court card. The Tower may suggest your environment is unstable, but the other cards show your inner reserve of love and strength.

The position of a card is important. An unsettling card in the past certainly has a different meaning than one in the future. In one position, the Nine of Swords may reflect your own feelings of sadness, in another position those of someone else – a different matter all-together!

Troubling cards are most difficult to accept as the outcome. They seem to imply that s situation will turn out badly no matter what, but thus us not the case. Your future us never fixed. The cards show only the most likely outcome given that all the influences in and around you continue as they are. Simply doing a reading creates change!

You always have the power to alter your circumstances if you choose. A tarot reading gives you the guidance you need to become more aware of your life and its direction. All the cards in a tarot deck have something meaningful to say. These beautiful symbols of energy – positive and negative – help us make choices that enrich our lives.

Life Lesson Spread

This spread highlights a problem, suggests a solution, and describes the life and karmic lessons to be learned.

(See graphic at the end of the newsletter for the spread layout example)

Spiritual aspect of the problem
Emotional aspect of the problem
Intellectual aspect of the problem
Physical aspect of the problem
Spiritual aspect of the solution
Emotional aspect of the solution
Intellectual aspect of the solution
Physical aspect of the solution
**Life Lesson to be learned
**Karmic Lesson to be learned

Goal of the Reader –Take Action

One of your goals as a reader should be to leave querents feeling better at the end of the reading than when it started. Does this mean you should never give “bad” news?

No, but you should be very careful how you discuss difficult issues and challenges with your clients. The best thing to do is not to dwell on the trouble but to discover things that the querents can actually do about their situations.

One of the best ways to achieve this is to end each spread with an “Action Card” this card will suggest a concrete action that querents can take to help their situations. It may involve others or it may simply be a way that they can nurture themselves until their difficulties end.

Not every situation can be changed, but sometimes just having something constructive to do in the meantime can be a great anxiety reliever.

Astrological Correspondences

~Major Arcana~

Aries (L) – The Emperor

Taurus (M) – The Hierophant

Gemini (N) – The Lovers

Cancer (O) – The Chariot

Leo (P) – Strength

Virgo (Q) – The Hermit

Libra (Y) – Justice

Scorpio (Z) – Death

Sagittarius ([) – Temperance

Capricorn (a) – The Devil

Aquarius (b) – The Star

Pisces (\) – The Moon

Sun (◉) – The Sun

Moon (`) – The High Priestess

Mercury (D) – The Magician

Venus (E) – The Empress

Mars (G) – The Tower

Jupiter (H) – The Wheel of Fortune

Saturn (V) – The World

Neptune (X) – The Hanged Man

Uranus (♅) – The Fool

Pluto (♇) – Judgment

~Minor Arcana~

Aries, Leo, Sagittarius – Wands (Fire)

Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces – Cups (Water)

Gemini, Libra, Aquarius – Swords (Air)

Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn – Pentacles (Earth)

The American Tarot Association

Code of Ethics

v I recommend you seek competent medical or psychological assistance from a health care professional if you have any disease, illness, or disorder.

v I recommend you seek competent financial assistance from a banker, broker, or financial consultant before you make any financial transactions.

v I recommend you seek competent legal assistance from a qualified attorney at law if you have any legal problems.

v I recommend that every person act according to his or her own conscience for the greater good of all concerned.

v I will strive at all times to give you the very best advice of which I am capable.

v Tarot cards are not fortune cards and they are not used for fortune telling.

v Tarot cards are neither good nor bad, though they can be used to encourage, give hope, and identify options for future behavior.

v You alone are responsible for your own behavior.

*********************************

Tarot Ethics: Six Tips Hollywood Forgot to Mention

By Thea Bloom

*********************************

1. Go Easy on the Judgment and Projection

2. Fill Your Own Well

3. Rein in Your Inner Approval Junkie

4. Refer, Refer, Refer

5. Keep It Confidential

6. Try Not to Play God

Numerology Keywords

ZERO – genesis, primordial cause, circles

ONE – originality, thesis, unity, beginning, origin, consciousness, idea, pioneer, male, active, columns, independence, leadership.

TWO – antithesis, duality, choice, cooperation, attraction, opposition, division, pairs, partnerships, heaven and earth, male and female, active and passive, conscious and unconscious, day and night, female, receptive.

THREE – synthesis, creation, expansion, manifestation, body mind and spirit, birth life and death, past present and future, holy trinities, Adam Eve and child, triangles, pyramids.

FOUR – completion, stability, security, structure, earth, logic, law and order, four suits of the Minor Arcana, four elements, four cardinal points, four seasons, four ages of man, four fixed signs of the zodiac, squares, crosses.

FIVE – change, adaptability, freedom, adventure, mediation, competition, conflict the five senses, the five appendages of man, pentacles, pentagrams.

SIX – balance, artistry, reconciliation, reciprocation, harmony, hexagrams, on the sixth day God created humans.

SEVEN – rest, limitation, self-reflection, philosophy, seven heavens, seven planets, seven musical notes, seven charkas, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, seven stages of initiation, seven days of creation, seven deadly sins.

EIGHT – expansion, strength, will, effort, infinity, lemniscates, octagons.

NINE – completion, integration, selflessness, compassion, universality, humanitarianism, spirituality.

TEN – culmination, consolidation, regeneration.

ELEVEN – master number, amplifies the powers of one.

TWELVE – twelve months, twelve signs of the zodiac, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve apostles.

THIRTEEN – death, regeneration, thirteen lunar months.

TWENTY –TWO – master number, amplifies the power of two, the Major Arcana, letters in the Hebrew alphabet

THIRTY-THREE – master number, amplifies the power of three

FOURTY-FOUR – master number, amplifies the power of four.

************************************

Tarot Web Site of the Month:

American Tarot Association

P.O. Box 102

Stoneham, CO 80754

(970)-228-4104

www.ata-tarot.com

*******************************

Meaning - The Page contemplates the pentacle he holds in his hands. He is strong and confident about himself and where he stands in life. A good-looking and charming young man or woman has just accomplished his or her first major success and is very pleased. Filled with the joy of this accomplishment, he or she comes to you with good news and the possibility of shared fun. The person is artistic and/or scholarly, with a definite propensity to enjoy the material and sensual pleasures of life. He or she may ask that you provide the financial circumstances through which such sharing may be possible.

In the reading – This may represent someone who is not the most practical of people – someone in need of learning the more pragmatic aspects of life. Perhaps you give him or her this opportunity and have a good time in the process! If the page does not indicate a person in the querent’s life, this card signifies that a message is on the way that should bring some positive, often financial, circumstances to light.

Do You have articles and information that you would like to share with others on tarot? newsletters. Please forward all submissions and inquiries to Athena at

Life Lesson Spread

Goal of the Reader –Take Action

~Minor Arcana~

Code of Ethics

The Enchanted Grove