Tarot optimism: Reverse your cards and reverse your fortunes

I am going to paraphrase a commercial: Change your tarot cards and change your life. Tarot cards do not (as I have said before) predict what WILL happen, things can and do change. But when you get a lot of negative cards in a reading, you can look at the cards and see what you want to change. A basic reading for reversed (upside down) cards is “not” whatever the meaning of the upright card is. If you get a reading with a lot of swords (worries) in there, consider reversing that card and reversing that energy.

Sad Cards

10 of Swords? Things are so bad that you are pinned to the ground with worry and misery. Turn it upside down and say, it could be much worse. The swords are falling out and life will get better. Did you get 3 of swords (which is miserable, yes, but mostly negative thinking)? Turn it around and say, the clouds are breaking, and the sun will come out soon. Things will get better.

Happy Cards

The exception card is 4 of wands, harmony and happiness, which is just too happy to ever be sad. But we also must point out that a happy card can be sad if it is reversed. Ace of cups is great wellsprings of love and happiness, but reversed it means you are pouring a lot of energy out and not getting a return. I get this card many times when people (usually women!) are in a bad relationship and waiting for the other person in their life to change and be more loving and less demanding. In this context, I have to tell them that things are not likely to change until they change partners, since you cannot make someone else change.

Too much of a good thing

Other cards can be too much of something when reversed. The Fool is child-like and enthusiastic, reversed, reckless and unthinking. The Sun is enjoyment and happiness, reversed can mean hedonism and not caring how others are dealing with things. The Hanged Man reversed is being a martyr, giving up what you want to keep the peace or because you want something back. They all become negative by being reversed. A lot depends on the context: the surrounding cards or the question being asked.

Do not assume that the way the cards are when you do the reading is the way the future must work out. We are not locked into our lives by Fate or Destiny. We can work on changing what we do not like in our life and make it better. We just have to put our energy to work on it. Cards point the way, but they do not lead us to the goal.

Finding your Tarot community

Do you do Meetup.com? I love it. It is a great place for me to find people who are interested in the same things I am. Most are free or very inexpensive to join. There are a variety of Tarot meetups to join. I love meeting with people on Zoom and talking tarot, but there… Continue Reading

Ending the old Year

My first inclination was writing a blog entry about starting new things. An aces entry. But I think this year we need to start with what we are done with in the old year before we begin again. So instead of Aces, I will discuss 10s. 10s in Tarot are endings. Some are happy, 10… Continue Reading

It WILL be a wonderful life!

I doubt if there is a person in America who has not seen the movie It’s a Wonderful Life at least once. Just in case you have been living under a rock for 70 years, I will refresh your memory for a moment. A man named George is having a terrible Christmas Eve. He is… Continue Reading

Boundaries and the Seven of Wands

I was surfing the internet and found an article about “hard to swallow truths your therapist had told you.” The only one I really looked at was: “I am tired of being the bigger person.” “Then stop hanging out with such little people.” Brilliant! It is so easy to say, I will be the bigger… Continue Reading

The Moon

Beginning of this month was a full moon and lunar eclipse. I do not do astrology so I am not sure what the significance of that is, except that it can be pretty to look at. The Full Moon was beautiful. The Moon in tarot is about dreams and visions. What you want to become… Continue Reading

Getting over a heartbreak

Healing from the past I hear often from women who have had their hearts broken in a relationship. I tell them the best way forward is to forgive themselves first. They cannot forgive the partner that hurt them until they forgive themselves for the trouble they saw and chose to ignore because they were in… Continue Reading

Actions speak louder than words

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. — Maya Angelou A person’s actions will tell you everything you need to know about them, pay attention.” –Joe Mehl Actions speak, words mumble I have talked to a lot of people over the years about their men and romance. I have learned… Continue Reading