Monthly Tarot Musing - July 2023
Welcome to Monthly Tarot Musings!
As a licensed marriage and family therapist, I work with overachieving women going through heartbreak. I love using tarot in sessions.
Not as a divination tool. I am not a witch. I do not have a crystal ball. I don't know the future. I wish I did. ...But I don't.
Instead, I like to use the layers of storytelling in tarot to help my clients harness their intuition. And give their smart pants brains a break! Let them check in with what their bodies are telling them and what their emotions are telling them.
Monthly Tarot Musings is an opportunity for women who love self discovery, story telling, and journaling to go deeper. If you're one my clients- hey girl hey! This is an opportunity for you to do some extra work between sessions.
Monthly Tarot Musings is NOT in any way a replacement for actual therapy, or one-on-one work of any kind.
Tarot is like a croissant - rich, beautifully layered, and a little mysterious. Plus they both hail from Europe. Just like there are thousands of delicate layers of pastry in a croissant, there are a million beautiful layers to Tarot.
I am not a Tarot expert, and so please don’t be Paul Hollywood and judge my lamination too harshly. Let’s just enjoy what scrumptious bites we have this month!
July’s Tarot Musings
In the Two of Pentacles, you see a man juggling two pentacles (fancy word for coins), with an infinity loop around them. But it's reversed.
And then in the Two of Swords we have someone who is trapped by two equally balanced swords and blindfolded.
In the Two of Cups you have two people offering each other a cup.
And then in the Six of Wands we have a victory parade.
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these cards. I'll go into the different thoughts and feelings that come up for me.
But before that - I want you to sit with your own.
Tarot Mindfulness Activity
Take 15 seconds and sit with each of these cards.
The only thing I want you to do is see how your body reacts with each card.
If you've got a notebook nearby you can scribble in that. Or you can just be with yourself in this moment.
Now, for my musings...
there is so much richness here! Perfect balance of each suit represented. The numerology resonance is carazy. Plus we have THREE stage cards. Let’s get into it.
Let’s Get Down to Numbers…
There are three twos, and then the bottom card is SIX. Dude.
Numerology is another layer of tarot storytelling metaphor. A quick example of numerology - if you're a person who makes a wish at 11:11, then you get numerology. Numbers can hold extra messages from the divine in the world. That’s the very quick and dirty version.
So the fact that we have three twos and the bottom is a six is really fun for me. Look at the perfect fractions! 2+2+2/6 equals one. 2x3=6. It’s incredible.
I like to think about Two’s almost like the legs of a basic chair. If you’ve got two legs under a stool, the stool will have balance and stability. The story of twos throughout the tarot are like that. Balance, unity, harmony, two becoming one.
And then with Sixes you have harmony is restored after a time of victory. Fives in the Tarot usually represent conflict. The Five of Wands literally means conflict. So then the Six of Wands is about harmony and celebration. Unity is restored after a time of difficulty.
All The World’s A Stage…
These are the Pamela Coleman's illustrations from the Rider Wait-Smith Deck. If that means nothing to you, then don't worry about it.
Pamela Coleman Smith was an illustrator in the early 20th century. She also worked in theaters and made sets. Every once in a while in the 78 cards of the tarot that she illustrated, there will be a stage cards. You'll see double lines in the middle of the picture. As if the people are on a stage with a backdrop behind them. And then every single one of this top line is a stage card!
So usually when I'm looking at a stage card, I'm thinking about the idea of a theater stage. What about this card is a performance? Does the story of this card seem like something you are viewing, or something you are an actor in? If you’re the actor on stage, who is in the audience?
Which leads us directly to the Two of Pentacles Reversed.
Two of Pentacles Reversed
The concept of performance really resonates for me when I look at the Two of Pentacles. When the card is standing upright, you have this juggler. You have these two priorities in this infinite harmony loop… but also there's this element of performance. People juggle for an audience. So the question I ask my super achieving clients is - who are you performing for?
Why did you pick up an extra responsibility? And a side hustle? Like, who's that for and how does this make you happy at the end of the day?
When the Two of Pentacles is reversed, my mind goes to the fun is gone. Sometimes the pentacles have fallen out of their hands. It's like there's chaos, like we're no longer in balance. We're no longer able to juggle everything. Either because there's too little or there's too much. And potentially there's just not fun anymore.
Two of Swords
Swords represent thoughts, communication, and conflict. They also are associated with the element of air. And so the water in this card is so interesting to me. Water usually means emotion in Tarot, and the entire stage backdrop is the ocean. But it's not touchable, this water. So there is a lot of emotion, but you can't get to it. There's literally a dividing line between her and her feelings.
She is blindfolded and her arms are crossed with perfectly balanced opposing ideas. And so there is some stability. Look at this amazing solid chair. She is solid and totally stuck. Usually when I look at the Two of Swords, I think analysis paralysis.
We have the moon up here in the background, typically representing intuition and inner wisdom. But she can't see it because she's blindfolded. She is stuck underneath two different options that are perfectly balanced. Weighing her down to the point where she has to sit. Blindfolded, and so can’t see any other information.
There is so much pressure on her chest. This is all the info she’s got. And she can’t connect to her emotions and intuition.
The Two of Pentacles reversed and the two of Swords paired makes a lot of sense to me. You’re not happy, things are out of balance. Nothing’s been going well. But also you don’t know what to do about it. So you're stuck between Option A and Option B.
Two of Cups
The Two of cups is a really beautiful card. Typically the Two of Cups in a divination sense is about true love and perfect unity. Marriage and business partnership. Two becoming one. It's all about love and unity and harmony of emotion.
The body language of these two people fascinate me. One person holds their cup with both hands. The other holds their own cup with one hand, while gesturing out to touch the other person's hands. It's like they're saying "I got you." This is such a positive card generally speaking. So I know this body language isn't negative, like "I'm going to take your cup." It’s someone saying, “I’ve got your back.”
I really like thinking about the Two of Cups as two different parts of ourselves coming together. Instead of judgmentalness, where you go “oh, I hate this part of myself. I’m so emotional. I’m too sensitive. I’m being so stupid right now, bah bah bah.” Instead you set the judgment aside. Instead you say “Oh hey, I see you. Let me help. Need a hand? Need a cup?” Instead of trying to exile the more tender and difficult parts of yourself, you offer yourself inner harmony.
The Top Line
And when I'm thinking about these three in a line, the story that they tell all together…
There was harmony, there was fun, there was a lot of juggling, there was a lot going on. But now you can't keep all the plates spinning. Leaving you in analysis paralysis about how to solve the problem. You feel the weight of all that in your chest. Yet your gut is just not talking to you. Your mind just keeps flip flopping between two different ideas.
The only way to transition from these first two difficult cards into the Six of Wands is assistance. You have someone coming in to be like, hey I've got your back. I hope that you have people in your life you've got your back. I also hope you've got your own back.
And so through this support, through this unity, then we get to…
The Six of Wands
Victory Parade, baby! It's literally someone on a horse, with a wreath. Riding through town square, being like, I did it, yo.When I pull the Six of Wands, normally my therapy self goes to the concept of external validation.
Where part of the celebration of your accomplishment is that everybody else is celebrating here too. Again, something my clients struggle with a lot. Sometimes I'll adapt the old joke “if a tree falls in the woods…”. Like, “If you succeed, but no one’s there to say ‘Good Job’... did your success even happen?”
Public celebration can make self confidence more difficult. Victory parades can later amplify a Two of Swords stuckness. Usually one of the swords is a new idea. And the other sword is “what will people think?”
Having a victory parade is really lovely. It's very exciting. But it can trip you up in the end.
I usually encourage my clients to find a way to appreciate the validation - because it's nice, right? Like, we're human beings! We're supposed to care what other people think. So when other people are like, girl you did it!, that’s great.
Find a way to absorb that but not let it define you. When the only time you really know you were successful is when other's celebrate you… you get in a dangerous place.
July Tarot Journal Prompts
Take some time with whatever question stands out most to you. (I mean if you really wanna do them all, go for it. But I’m sure you’re kinda busy too). Set a five minute timer and don’t let the pen come off the paper. It’s okay if this journal turns into a grocery list. Just give yourself five minutes to brain dump about this particular idea. You might be surprised by what you find…
-If all the world's a stage, and the men and women merely players... what play are you in? What part are you playing out? How would you like to rewrite it?
- What about analysis paralysis feels comforting, balanced, and safe for you? (If your immediate answer is "it sucks and I hate it", I hear ya...but answer the question anyways)
- Who's got your back in your life? How do you have your own back? (Even basic things like feeding and watering yourself counts!)
- How can you enjoy external validation without being defined by it?
Are you a journal prompt kinda gal? Check out this blog post where I share the 3 life changing journal prompts I give clients!
Conclusion
I hope this was fun and helpful! If you’re a client of mine and want to shoot me your journal prompt - do it girl!
If you are not a client of mine, you live in South Carolina, and you kinda want to be a client of mine... book a consult! If you don't live in SC and thought this was cool, and have a question, shoot me an email at emilea@sparrowtherapy.net or book some time with me here.
