the Hierophant

The Hierophant is a card that’s really layered with meaning and has lots of potential interpretations. And this makes sense, because a hierophant is someone who, in history, was a translator of the sacred, or of the mysteries. In more old school Tarot approaches, the Hierophant often represents institutional religion or a spiritual teacher of some sort, as well as tradition and the morals/values of our culture. This can certainly still be true, but in the more modern approach of looking at each card as a way to deepen our personal development, the Hierophant asks us to trust in our own innate ability to find meaning in what we encounter, to develop our own internal moral compass, and to trust that the difficult experiences of our lives will lead us towards wisdom. I say that because the Hierophant is card 5 of the Major Arcana, and if we look at each Minor Arcana 5 we find hardship and struggle. Suffering is what has given birth to spirituality, in so many ways; suffering is what inspires us to ask Why, and through our own difficult experiences we must develop our own Why. We so often want to outsource this kind of meaning; we want some outside authority to tell us why. We want the Void to answer back. But in the Hierophant we learn that, ultimately, this existential Why can only be answered from within. 

On a more practical level, this card can come along when we’re examining what we’ve been taught; this has particular significance if we have children and are questioning if what we’ve learned from our parents is what we want to pass down. Also, the Hierophant can call us into a teaching capacity. 

King of Pentacles

In some approaches to the Tarot, the suits are ordered such that Pentacles is the final suit of the minors, and thus the King of Pentacles represents a sort of pinnacle experience, or an arrival. It is someone who has ‘made it’. It’s easy, within our capitalist system, to interpret this King as one who is successful in their career and/or makes a lot of money, and has such material abundance that they can afford to be generous (I would argue here that if you can ‘afford’ generosity, is it virtuous?). And while I agree that this King does represent a pinnacle, it’s not of achievement necessarily, but of integration. I see the suits as follows: the suit of Wands relates to our gut center, Cups to heart center, and Swords to our head center. This is informed by my understanding of the Enneagram (if you’re unfamiliar with this system, please visit conciousenneagram.com. Also visit if you’re familiar! Abi does tremendous work), which describes these centers as “centers of intelligence”. The Pentacles suit, from my perspective, shows us working towards a balanced embodiment of these 3 centers. In many ways, I think it shows our path towards wholeness and it’s where we put spiritual principles into practice. The Pentacles are about the life we build as we discover who we are through the other suits. So the King of Pentacles has reached an extreme level of ease and comfort with themselves through continued and intentional practice. They have found integrity in what they believe and how they live, and have found harmony and balance in their thoughts, feelings, and actions. And I think that, because of this kind of spiritual maturity, they truly understand their role in the ‘circle of life’ (and in fact, I think Mufasa from the Lion King is a perfect example of King of Pentacles). 

6 of Swords

6 of Swords is a card of transition. It usually indicates that we have left behind a troubling situation, or something that wasn’t right for us in some way, and we are now moving towards something that’s more in alignment for us. But we haven’t reached that shore just yet; our boats are still at sea, though 6 of Swords does assure us we are oriented in the right direction. However, typically when this card comes up, we do need help in some way. Note that in the RWS version, there are passengers huddled in the front of the boat, their vision obscured by swords, while a ferryman stands and navigates, looking out over the swords. This indicates a need for a different perspective, from someone who isn’t as close to the situation. Think going to therapy, or talking to a friend who can look ahead for you, towards the horizon, and give you reassurance that you’re doing the right thing, even if you seem to be sailing totally unfamiliar waters. 

This card can also come up to represent literal travel or change of direction, and sometimes suggests a physical change in location in order to get that shift of perspective that’s required. I sometimes think of the passenger who can’t see past their swords as a person who is stuck behind their screen (for swords being the suit of communication also represent our relationship to computers, technology, and social media). So 6 of Swords can tell us that we need to stand up, get out, and look beyond the screen and into the broader world, where often things don’t look quite as dire as they do when we’re stuck in the scroll.  

for more on 6 of Swords see my YouTube video

Page of Wands

I think of Page of Wands very simply as “permission to hope”. This card often shows up when we have ended something or completed a phase of our lives that was difficult and heavy. We find that reflected in the 10 of Wands, which precedes the Page: an experience of burden or labor (often emotional labor, but sometimes literal labor as in too much damn work) that has drained us of optimism and joy. In the 10 we find a saturation point, but in the Page, something has shifted enough to allow us to see ourselves and our circumstances with a renewed sense of possibility. We find ourselves here with a stirring of long-dormant ambition and a hunger for new experiences. Page of Wands relishes in anticipation and teaches us to savor the beginnings of things. It tells us to go ahead and believe that things could be *good*. 

the Empress

The Empress is a card, in so many ways, of love: sometimes it’s about how we show it to others, but more often it’s about how we show it to ourselves, and how we allow ourselves to receive it from others. The Empress asks us to wrestle with our ideas of worth, and whether we fundamentally believe that love is something that we have to earn or if we are worthy of love simply for existing, for being here, as we are. I like to teach cards 1-7 of the Major Arcana as an act of reparenting the self, and when we reach the Empress this is essentially what I say: If you had just had a baby—a baby that you wanted and anticipated and longed for, you would love that baby from the moment it was born. It wouldn’t have to DO anything to win your love or earn your affection. This baby doesn’t have to prove itself. You love it simply because it has arrived, and its existence is a kind of miracle. You love it because love is what makes babies grow and thrive. The Empress has many connections with creativity, with what we nurture, with fertility, and with motherhood (though keep in mind that no card in the Tarot is truly gendered). Often when it comes up in our readings it’s asking us love ourselves as we would this child, to remember that just as we’re intuitively aware that children require love and acceptance in order to blossom, so do we. We can’t wait to love ourselves *until*……until we meet some entirely arbitrary standard or metric that, let’s be honest, will always be a moving target. We must love ourselves now, because we are worthy of love right now. Right now. 

4 of Wands

4 of Wands is sometimes considered a card of marriage: note that in the RWS version, a couple is running towards what looks like a wedding chuppah, and the astrological correspondence for this card is Venus in Aries. Venus rules the Empress, and Aries is the sign for the Emperor, and these 2 archetypes are often seen as a pair. So while 4 of Wands can certainly reflect a marriage or romantic partnership in our readings, to find a broader interpretation, it can symbolize any rite of passage—think graduations and anniversaries. And while the energy here is often more celebratory, it can also acknowledge deaths and divorces (this is where you often see the reversal of this card). It is the completion of some stage of our life that is often best processed through rite and ritual. That is, in our culture, typically marked with a party or gathering, which is why many interpretations of this card point in that direction. So while 4 of Wands can absolutely be a simple call for celebration, that usually comes hand in hand with a transition of some sort; a threshold that has been crossed. Intentionally marking these passages is how we step into and claim the next iteration of our identity, another hallmark of all 4s in the Tarot (correlating to the Emperor-the Major 4-whos key phrase is ‘I Am’). 

2 of Cups

2 of Cups is a card of intimacy, first and foremost, but it does not always mean intimacy with another. When this card does come along to reflect a relationship, it is a nurturing and equitable one, and though it’s not always romantic, it very often is. However, I find it most often shows up when there is a part of ourselves—usually one long held in judgment or looked upon with shame—that we are working to heal our relationship with. For example, I have seen this card in readings to indicate recovery from disordered eating. 2 of cups is really about a willingness to look at our deepest wounds and vulnerabilities and welcome a compassionate dialogue with them. We are working towards self forgiveness in this energy, and we are likely learning that, since our relationship with ourselves is one we can never escape, it is the wisest course to become the best partner to ourselves that we can be. 

Ace of Wands

This is the first Ace I’ve written about in a card-of-the-day post here on the blog, so I want to talk about Aces generally first. They can be overwhelming cards, and because the energy is so large and holds so much possibility, it’s often difficult to pin down what they’re really telling us within the context of a reading. The main thing to know is that they are very positive omens: they offer us tons of potential energy, and are often seen as ‘gifts from God’ (note that each Ace in the RWS deck is held out by a hand emerging from the heavens). So, when they come up for us they are not a guarantee (we do, after all, have to take the gift that’s being offered here), but they do show that if we choose to work with this element we will likely find success and fulfillment. So the element of the suit of Wands is fire, and there are a lot of qualities we can work with here. Ambition, creativity, desire, sex, anger, hope, optimism, grit, determination—these are all found in the suit of Wands, and they are seeded within this Ace. It’s BIG energy. To narrow it down a bit, what I have found to be most true is that the Ace of Wands appears when we are asked to have faith. Not necessarily in a religious sense (though that can also be true) but in ourselves. The suit of Wands relates to our ‘gut center’ (think ‘digestive fire’), and that is where we find both our Will and our appetite for life. When we’re “on fire” we TRUST ourselves, and we are unstoppable. When we’re “on fire” we can both attract what we desire, and we can also keep away predators. This Ace asks us not to be afraid, but to shine brightly. 

To read further on the Ace of Wands as the “kernel of the erotic”, inspired by Audre Lorde, you can become a Patron here and have access to long-form weekly posts which include a spread for every card. 

8 of Cups

8 of Cups is a card that often indicates a sorrowful parting. It can reflect that you have left behind a relationship, a business/career path, a place you once called home, and that this leaving was bittersweet. We often poured a lot of ourselves into whatever is indicated here, and it may have made us happy for a long time…..and yet. We must leave, on a path we may not see clearly yet, but that we know will lead us somewhere necessary. The Golden Dawn (an esoteric order whose members  Arthur Waite, Pamela Coleman Smith, and Alistair Crowley-who created the Thoth deck—gave us the 2 most popular decks in modern Tarot) called 8 of Cups the Lord of Abandoned Success. And yet, if you are someone who pulls cards as a daily practice, this interpretation of 8 of Cups needs some broadening, as we are not ‘abandoning success’ all that often. I think that within a more everyday context, 8 of Cups asks us to break from emotional patterns that no longer serve us. 8s in the Tarot are about transformation and finding alignment, and relate to the Strength card, which is healthy confrontation with ourselves. When 8 of Cups comes up, you may be in a situation that is bringing up a lot emotionally and you are being offered the opportunity to choose something different. Can you respond consciously instead of react unconsciously? It can ask us to cut ties from our “old self” and choose a path of emotional maturity. 

I will also say that this card sometimes comes along very strongly to recommend sobriety, particularly from alcohol. 

Page of Pentacles

I sometimes like to think of Pages as “re-inventors”. Looking at each suit in its entirety, laid out in a narrative, Pages come after the minor 10s, where we’ve experienced a culmination of some sort. In the 10, we’ve done something ‘all the way’, and when we reach the Page, we are offered an opportunity to begin anew. The beginner’s mind of the Page infuses us with a sense of possibility. The suit of Pentacles is about our resources, our work, our ability to manifest, and our relationship with the Earth and our own bodies. It is, in very significant ways, about building a life of integrity. When we’re in Page of Pentacles energy, we are often in deep contemplation about where and how we’d like to invest our energy. This card often shows up for people, for instance, who are considering taking their careers in a new direction. But it isn’t a heavy energy at all: it is curiosity mingled with excitement, and a hopeful sense that we are starting out on our next great adventure. Page of Pentacles might be drawn any time we are beginning to question how we’d like to live our lives more in alignment with our values. What does it look like to live out our spiritual principles practically? How would that change the way we engage with work, with our own bodies? How would we spend money differently, or interact with nature? Page of Pentacles asks all of these questions and more: they are open-heartedly questioning what it means to be human and to have an energetic impact on the world, and they hold the possibility that it can be done wisely and well.

3 of Swords

3 of Swords is a card of suffering and heartbreak. It’s one of the most viscerally affecting of the cards, in my opinion; you don’t have to know a thing about the Tarot to understand instantly that 3 of Swords is painful. It’s interesting that a card that is so deeply emotional is in the suit of air, which is about communication—the way we talk to ourselves and to other people, what information we encounter in the world, what stories we subscribe to—and not in the suit of Cups/water, which is where we find issues of the heart. Visually, 3 of Swords has a lot of resonance with the 2 of Swords (referring here in particular to the ‘classic’ illustration in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck). In the 2 of Swords there is something we don’t want to see (the figure is blindfolded), or feel (the swords are crossed over the heart space). 3 of Swords still shows those 2 crossed swords, yet there is a third sword coming in to pierce that stalemate, bringing in new information that forces a confrontation, forces us to see and to feel. It is a painful but necessary revelation and reckoning. So, yes, we are feeling pain in this card, but we are also *finding out*. The only way out of the energy of this card is through. And because of its correspondence to the Empress (the Major 3, and a card of unconditional love and acceptance), I think that in many ways, 3 of Swords shows us the pain inherent in loving, and that it is through suffering that we grow our capacity for empathy.

2 of Wands

I feel like all 2s in the Tarot can hold a sort of ambivalence about them. If you’re anything like me, you might have been under the impression that ‘ambivalence’ is synonymous with apathy, but it really means ‘holding contradictory feelings’. 2s, being related to the High Priestess, all carry this energy of contradiction. We may be looking for answers and direction in 2 energy, but it often comes with a lot of tension—anticipation mixed with apprehension, excitement mixed with fear. When 2 of Wands comes up, we are at the starting gate of a new venture. This is very often related to work/business or creative pursuits, but it can also be about our relationship to spirituality, activism, or sex. The suit of Wands is related to fire, so in 2 of Wands, we desire to take the spark of the Ace and grow it into a viable flame. This card shows that the conditions are right, but that we’ll need to commit. There can be a tendency, when we’re in this energy, to kind of paw at the starting line and experience the longing to move forward, and even to talk a big game about what we’re going to do, but not lace up our boots, so to speak, and begin the journey. Because fire needs consistent feeding and tending we can experience anxiety around our abilities to manage this energy, and stop ourselves before we even get started. 2 of Wands tells us to grow faith in our abilities by utilizing them: it says get going, and do the thing. 

the Moon

The Moon is a complicated card. Very often it shows up in readings to represent a state of depression or melancholy, or just a sense of confusion: often we don’t know *how* to feel when we’re in Moon energy, but something feels off. The beautiful book ‘Meditations on the Tarot’ calls the Moon an “emotional retrograde”, and I can personally attest to that. We can find ourselves revisited by old longings in the Moon, and often old behaviors that we thought we’d overcome. A feeling of listlessness can sometimes descend on us here; I liken it to the Swamp of Sadness from the movie ‘The NeverEnding Story’, where Atreyu and his horse, Artax have to trudge through this foggy, gloomy swamp that threatens them with despair: if they give in to those feelings, they will be sucked into the mud and drown. So it’s tricky energy, the Moon. On the one hand, we can find treasures here. The ‘emotional retrograde’ can return precious jewels from our past, and we can rediscover parts of ourselves that we didn’t even know we’d been missing. On the other hand, we can fall into old patterns that keep us from progressing on our journey. It can be a simple statement from the Tarot that we don’t text our ex, for example, or a suggestion that we dive into dreamwork and excavations of the subconscious. There is a lot to be found in the Moon, and it is always worth a closer look. AND YET, we should not attach firmly to what we find here. That is the key to traversing both the Swamp of Sadness and the Moon. We examine things without identifying with them, here. The Moon, of course, moves in phases. Things are ever changing. And whatever is reflected for us in the Moon will also change, like tides going in and out, carving strange languages in the shifting sands of our hearts. 

The High Priestess

The High Priestess is a card that carries a lot of weight and significance in the Tarot community. Being a card that in many ways represents access to our intuitive self, its energy is often joyfully welcomed in readings. High Priestess is considered a passive or reflective card, and while we embody this energy in our turn inward to hear the whisper of our own innate wisdom, it is not often a place where we actively make decisions. We may desire answers very much, but in the silent, interior space of the High Priestess, we are simply in a time of consideration and contemplation. This card is ruled by the Moon, as so it can remind us of the wisdom of cycles, and that everything comes in phases. What is illuminated at one point in time will be shadowed in another, and vice versa, so the High Priestess patiently watches the unfolding revelation of the truth. 

for more on the High Priestess see my YouTube video

Knight of Cups

Knight of Cups is one of the cards in “old school Tarot” that would represent a suitor; think love poems and mix tapes. I stay mostly within the camp that believes that court cards do not represent other people, but only aspects of ourselves (and I say mostly because of course there are exceptions, and Tarot could never be pinned down with “always” or “never”). Knights often reflect how we’re presenting in the world, or advise us on how we should. How should you approach this situation? How are you coming across? What are you single-mindedly in pursuit of?  These are questions the Knights can answer for us. Knight of Cups, being in the suit of emotion, wears their* heart on their sleeve. They show us what it’s like to be vulnerable and emotionally available with total confidence, trusting that it’s the most courageous thing to do. Knight of Cups prioritizes connection, leads with their intuition, and also moves with a lot of grace and balance. Think of how difficult it would be to ride a horse while holding a goblet full of your own feelings! You need to be really mindful so you don’t spill them everywhere. That’s why I don’t agree with interpretations of this Knight as melodramatic (although in reverse we might veer into that territory); you need to show a lot of restraint and maturity to move through the world and keep an open heart full. 

*again, court cards are beyond gender 

9 of Wands

This card shows up in readings when we are engaged in some effort that requires *fortitude*, and often reflects that we are growing a bit weary. 9 of Wands can act as a cheerleader in many ways (perhaps an unlikely one! Characters in 9 of Wands typically have a bit of a trepidatious or determined countenance, but not usually a peppy one), letting us know that we have the reserves within us to achieve our goal. It can sometimes indicate that we’ve taken a bit of ‘time off’ and are returning to the battlefield so to speak; for instance, I’ve seen this card show up both for writer’s returning to their manuscripts after months of writer’s block, and for people getting back into the dating world after a period of being intentionally single. That’s where the trepidation can often come in; in Pamela Coleman Smith’s illustration, the figure’s head is bandaged. This can show that whatever effort this is has cost us in the past, and so we are wary. But it also indicates that we are invested in this pursuit, and are willing to see it through. I think this card says both that you are can *and* that you should, and it also suggests a measured and unhurried approach, as 9s relate to the Hermit, and so can often be about moving very deliberately. 

For more on 9 of Wands see my YouTube video. 

5 of Pentacles

Fives in the Minor Arcana are all difficult. Each one shows us dealing with hardship or conflict in some way. In 5 of Pentacles, we see a real energetic depletion and disconnection. Now, because the suit of Pentacles has associations with the body, resources, and work, this card can show that we’re in a struggle with our health or money, with our job or our housing. But often this card is more subtle, and simply asks that we bring our attention to any way we might be contributing to our own sense of scarcity. For example, are you always exhausted at the same time every afternoon, and yet there’s some part of you that refuses to alter your sleep schedule to help mitigate that? Do you continually watch shows about fancy real estate despite the fact that they always leave you feeling dissatisfied with your own space? Do you keep yourself on a totally arbitrary diet because the only way you know how to relate to your body is through deprivation? Does social media make you feel like everyone has it so much better than you and yet you keep scrolling? These are the types of questions it’s important to ask yourself when 5 of Pentacles comes up and is *not* reflecting your “actual” circumstances of the moment. But if it *is* indicating an “IRL” crisis or hardship, then I think the medicine here is to allow yourself to acknowledge the shittiness of it. Not in a pity-party way, but just an honest and hard look at the difficulty you’re in. That way, when circumstances shift for the better, you have inoculated yourself, in some sense, against ingratitude

For more on 5 of Pentacles, watch my YouTube Video

The Star

The most important thing to remember about the Star is that it follows the Tower in the narrative arc of the Major Arcana. The Tower, of course, is a card that depicts a huge upheaval. The imagery of the Star stands in such stark contrast to the Tower’s drama and destruction; it shows a naked figure calmly pouring water by a still pool, and you can almost feel the whisper of a cool breeze. It seems so welcoming and lovely, and *sometimes* that’s true. Sometimes this card can indicate that we’re feeling refreshed and reinspired, nourishing ourselves spiritually, emotionally, and creatively, and that generally life is sweet. HOWEVER, oftentimes we pull this card when we’re feeling, frankly, pretty shitty, and that can be a little confounding. And so it’s good to be reminded of the contrasting energies of the Tower and the Star, and how disorienting it is to move from the chaotic and painful falling-apart of card 16 to the open landscape of card 17. From being thrown from the walls of the Tower you’d always known to being completely defenseless. It is sudden exposure. It is a deep acknowledgment of vulnerability. The Tower, at its core, is an experience that teaches us humility—and the Star is where we must learn to operate without the delusion that we are in control. That is a beautiful and critical part of our growth, but it’s also a huge learning curve. This energy can feel very much like one-step-forward, two-steps-back, and *that’s ok*. Healing is not linear, and accepting our own vulnerability is scary. We are *tender* in this energy: that can mean compassionate and soft-hearted, and that can mean tender like a bruise.  

4 of Swords

“Sleep on it.” 

The entire suit of swords shows us wrestling with ideas and belief systems, struggling with our inner critic and mental health, and learning how to communicate. 4 of Swords stands in contrast to many of the other swords cards in that it shows stillness and repose. We often pull this card when we need a mental break. 4s in the Tarot are largely about rest and self-care, and if we take their advice, we can often avoid the depletion or breakdown of our energy that we see come in the 5s. So if you draw 4 of Swords, this is a call to disengage from whatever problem you’ve been trying to solve, or project you’ve been trying to finish, and just relax. Sometimes our best ideas come to us when we allow ourselves to rest, to nap, to daydream, and 4 of Swords is a reminder that taking a break isn’t throwing in the towel. Likewise, this card can ask that we surrender, which doesn’t have to mean “give up”, but can mean handing our struggles over to a higher power. And because 4s relate to the Emperor (the Major Arcana 4), there can be an element of discipline and practice to all 4s, and in the Swords we could interpret that as a suggestion to develop a meditation (or some sort of mindfulness) practice. 

7 of Pentacles

7 of Pentacles is a card of waiting. It is often a card we pull when we are impatient for something to come to fruition that just needs more time. That it’s depicted in the RWS* deck and so many others as a person contemplating their garden is very resonate: you can’t hurry along a harvest. It comes when it comes, and is influenced by so many factors along the way. There is only so much effort you can put into a plant to help determine its yield; the rest is out of your hands. In all Tarot 7s I think we are *hungry* for something. I’ve often used the word ‘longing’ for the 7s of the Minor Arcana. We are seeking fulfillment in this energy, and so being told to “just be patient” can be very frustrating! When this card comes up in a reading, it has the potential to increase our agitation for that “thing” we’re waiting for, but it can also be very soothing. It tells us that we’ve done what we can do, and now we should simply step back and trust that the growth process is underway.

*Rider-Waite-Smith, the deck pictured here and the illustrations of which most modern decks base theirs upon