It's All In The Cards

After my night of insomnia earlier this week, when I woke and felt my life was in flux and wondered where the heck I should go next, my friend Reya over at The Gold Puppy asked if I would like her to do a Tarot reading for me.

I said “Sure!” I mean, why not? There was always the chance that something unsavory would arise -- back when I was in tenth grade, a kid in gym class did my Tarot reading and said, “The more I look at these cards, the more I think there’s gonna be a war” -- but Reya has far more skill and intuition than my tenth-grade chum.

So anyway, here’s what Reya had to say. (I asked her if I could blog this, and she said it would be fine.)

“Your reading seems perfect, to my eye anyway. I used a 7-card spread that looks like a big "V". The cards descending down on the left side are past, present and future. At the base of the V is the card that is the key to resolving the situation. Traveling up the right side of the spread, the card placement is environment, hopes/fears, taking the next step.

“The big picture of the reading shows me how hard you have worked to achieve balance and stability. In the past you were master of keeping the dark and the light separate. Now you've achieved a harmonious balance of body-mind-spirit. The card in the place of "present" is often called "Virtue" by tarot people. It's the 3 of wands, and also represents the ability to visualize, quite clearly, what you want.

“I think you know in your heart of hearts that the change that's coming is going to require a huge investment of energy on your part. For awhile you won't have all those wonderful Saturdays and Sundays to wander and take pics. There is both a hope and a fear about how much chaos your life's renovation is going to bring into your normally peaceful, clean and simple existence. It looks like it's going to be quite complicated - it will require a lot of reflection on where you've been, and some real hard thinking, some real introspection to help you get clear about what it is you actually want going forward.


“Really interesting that the key to resolving this reluctance to move forward is the 2 of cups, which ordinarily represents romantic love! After I looked at the reading for awhile it came to me that falling in love brings up a lot of energy. I think you'll find resources you didn't know you had should you fall in love. Also the initial stages of falling in love are so blissful that the chaos that attends any big life change won't throw you quite so much.

“The next step card is the Emperor - that's about taking the reins of your life, being your own authority. This flies in the face of your go-with-the-flow philosophy, I know. No wonder you are reluctant!

“The wisdom card is Strength, a beautiful image of a woman taming a lion. It is also called Lust in some decks. It's all about bringing out some of the wild side of nature, and then working with that wild side to come into a more powerful balance.

“So my dear this is what I see in the cards. Much love to you - and excitement - about your upcoming adventure!”

Pretty interesting! If you’d like to see visually the cards Reya is talking about, she was wonderful enough to make a slideshow of the spread. Check it out!

A million thanks to Reya for her time and expertise.

(It’s certainly better than a war.)

(Photos: Superior Sewing Equipment, W. 25th Street, March 2009)