So in the (relatively) short time since my last post, I have launched my tarot readings website! It is called Tarot Sparrow. Feel free to visit ;)
In the interest of informing potential querents of my reading technique and style, I’ve gained permission to display two recent in-person readings I’ve given to two friends (since most of the content here is personal). I will not use names to describe them, but rather alphanumeric characters–because it works, it’s easy, and yeah, it’s kind of funny. In each of these readings, I expanded upon the simple past, present, future spread to include a total of seven positions in a spread. That is, the future position was expanded into 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year positions, to follow up on past and present. In addition, a position was created for advice (‘A’ below). I used the Hudes Tarot for both readings.
….P…..P…..1m…
………………………A
…3m…6m…1y…
The first reading was for Mr. X. X has not seen his wife in a number of months, as she has been residing in her home state across the country while X attends school. There have been obstacles and choices blocking her return (the details of which I am not privy to), and X wanted to know what turns his relationship would take within the next year.
Past – 5 of Wands
This card indicated there was a lot of squabbling going on, and perhaps this was part of the reason for the delay. This doesn’t necessarily mean big things, either – arguments about little things and misunderstandings are likely. The querent certainly agreed with me here.
Present – Tower
The Tower is always a scary-looking card. Given that the present situation seemed a little less traumatic from what I was told, however, I took this card to mean that X and his wife were going through more of an upheaval of the past and transitional stage than a large collapse. The Tower here indicated a breaking down of old structures and a rebuilding of the relationship.
1 Month – 4 of Pentacles
This card indicated a few things to me. One, I saw X trying to hold the relationship together within the next month. Two, I saw his wife possibly holding onto something else, something that was keeping her from returning (as has been the case for some time). It seemed likely that she was holding onto her life there and current circumstances, as opposed to making the effort to return and starting over, after having been gone so long. The person in this card looks fearful – fearful of change, fearful of losing their grip.
3 Months – The Moon / 5 of Swords
When the Moon came up in the 3-Month position, I was a bit puzzled. The Moon can be vague and mysterious (that is its nature), and in a future position it was just that. The clarifying card I drew was the 5 of Swords, which indicated a one-sided quarrel, being influenced by the mystery of the Moon. To me, this indicated secretive behaviour, and I advised X to beware of keeping or being the victim of secrets or distant behaviour in the next few months, lest they cause more problems in the relationship.
6 Months – 10 of Pentacles
After all that trouble, it was nice to see things looking up within the next 6 months with the 10 of Pentacles. This card indicates a union of sorts, a completion and coming together of love and family. of home. It is important that the querent understand the meaning of “home” in this situation. This came up again later.
1 Year – 9 of Wands
I have trouble with this card from time to time, because it too has always seemed a little vague to me; but I took this to mean that X would be nearing completion of a goal by the end of the year – a successful rebuilding of structure in the relationship.
Advice – 4 of Wands
Here is where home comes back into the picture. We see two people between a structure of sorts, a garland hanging above them. This is a card of structure, family, home and marriage. My advice to the querent was twofold: first, re-envision the living situation, as this may make a difference in her decision to return. Second, stay focused on what matters: the marriage that has already been built. Don’t lose sight of the love and the life and the home two people have built together – keep it intact, and things will fall into place.
It was a nice message to end the reading, and X seemed to be satisfied with the whole of it.
The second reading was for Mr. Y (yeah, I know). Y was seeking a different kind of information – financial information – and wanted to know more about his money situation in the coming months. I used the same spread for Y as I did for X.
Past – 3 of Wands
This card showed that in the past, Y had been working hard and focusing on bringing in an income. I thought perhaps it also indicated savings, but it’s also likely that there was a lot of waiting going on, and the profit was waning as fast as it was gaining (sorry for the bad rhyme).
Present – 8 of Cups
This card shows someone walking away from something…in this case, a person who has left an old job behind and is currently searching for or beginning a new one. Y confirmed that he would be starting a new job in the coming weeks, which (from the money perspective) would cause an increase in finances.
1 Month – 2 of Wands / 4 of Wands
In the next month or so, I saw Y having to make a decision – one that might affect his finances somewhat. The 2 of Wands alone, however, seemed a little vague here, and as a clarifier I drew the 4 of Wands. Harkening back to X’s reading, I thought once more of home; but since Y was too young to be purchasing a home, I asked, “Are you thinking of moving in the next month or so?” Y admitted that he was thinking about moving to a new apartment. This decision would certainly have an impact on his finances, if he chose to do it.
3 Months – The Hermit / Strength
I felt a little puzzled when I saw the Hermit in this position, and thought of someone who was leaving their job to do business for themselves – which seemed soon, but something a summer job would certainly allow for in the fall. Y said he had done this once before. I was unsure, so I drew a clarifier – Strength. I began to think it was certainly a possibility, as Strength indicates someone in charge of their own well-being. I also thought this could also indicate Y living alone in a 3-month period and taking on extra financial responsibility.
6 Months – 5 of Cups
The 5 of Cups is a card of loss – or, as I also told Y, one that indicates “spilt milk.” It seems at this time the querent may experience a financial loss from which he will have to recuperate. But it is likely to be a temporary loss, and one that should not be dwelt upon for very long. It is better for someone to focus on what they can do with what they have, than to contemplate their loss.
1 Year – 6 of Wands
This card is a happy card – or, perhaps not happy so much as successful. The figure in this card is very serious, and someone who is being celebrated or rewarded. It is likely that within a year’s time Y will find a promising job opportunity, or receive a raise in pay.
Advice – Knight of Wands / The Devil
This was the first court card I had drawn that day, oddly. The Knight of Wands could indicate a person, or simply the qualities exhibited by such a person. In this case, I saw the knight as the querent, and someone who should bring their new creative and work endeavors to fruition without delay. The knights indicate motion, and act decisively. To further understand this card, I drew the Devil, and explained that it can mean indulgence. I explained to Y that this may be a time of splurging and personal enjoyment, but that it would be wise to keep heavy spending in check – at least until those endeavors have come to fruition.
Further Future – 2 of Pentacles
At Y’s request, I drew an extra card for the further future – for the next big change in his situation (keeping in mind, of course, that the future is very mutable). This card has always been something of a “juggling” card to me, and I explained to Y that further in the future he would be taking on extra responsibilities which could be fruitful – but also that he should be careful to maintain balance, so that he (and his finances) would not suffer a blow.
Overall, the readings went great, and both parties seemed to respond quite well. I very much mean to be a shameless promoter when I say, please feel free to visit my website!
I’ve been reevaluating myself lately. Moving puts a lot of things into perspective – among those things, tarot cards. I’ve been more drawn to ‘reading’ decks than ‘art’ decks lately, wanting to get back into it and know the difference. So I’ve been all about the Rider-Waite-Smith clones and the like, seeking tradition and easily recognizable images to get myself back in the fold. It is nice to be reading again. But I soon realized that I had to strike a balance between aesthetics and functionality – because as good as the RWS and its variants are for reading (the original, the Connolly and perhaps the Morgan Greer, to name a few I’ve used lately), they all feel the same to me after a while, and I long for something…unique. Enter the rest of my tarot collection. It’s been somewhat of an art choosing decks that I find artistically beautiful and worthy of serious study, in terms of reading or otherwise.
