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78 Tarot Cards: The Hanged Man

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“To gain everything by letting go.”

To sacrifice is to release. Be it money, goods, actions, or connections, to sacrifice is to remove something that was in your life so that the only remnant you have of it is its absence. To tithe is to sacrifice money. To offer knitted hats to a shelter is to sacrifice goods. To work at a homeless shelter is to sacrifice action. To remove yourself from social activities and dedicate that time to one’s beliefs is a sacrifice of connection.

The Hanged Man tarot card is that moment of dedication. Even though it is often portrayed as a paused moment, as the space between breaths, it is the transitory moment when the sacrifice is final and what was of the Querent is now out of their control no matter how much time it takes for that unmaking to complete.

But it is also that last final expression of doubt before action takes over. “Are you sure you want to do this?” The Querent has one last chance to take back what they had offered, or to recover what was taken from them. This is not a decision to make lightly, for just as there are consequences to completing the sacrifice, so there are consequences to walking away. All possibilities must be considered before making that choice and following through. But not making a choice is a choice in itself and the Querent must also consider this before they wait too long, and the choice is made for them.

In a Yes/No reading, the Hanged Man answers “No”. It will decline every possibility placed before it and require the Querent to think through what they are asking for and why. If the Querent is in a rush, the card advises to slow down. But if the Querent is wanting to start an endeavor with care, the card will warn that the environment isn’t going to wait for them to get settled before the next stage begins.

When the Hanged Man card is ill-dignified, the voluntary sacrifice of the martyr becomes the required sacrifice of the traitor. Note that the difference between a traitor and a martyr is perspective. The same actions that are seen as an affront against all that is right and proper in the world can also be seen as a necessary and justified response to assaults and indignities. Whether or not those actions benefited those judging the situation determines if the person held accountable was acting wrongly or rightly.

An ill-dignified Hanged Man can express itself as the Querent needing to pay unjustifiable “fees and service charges” to get access or goods that cannot be gained via alternative means. It is usurious interest on a loan from a friend. It is forced overtime work that is not always paid as such. It is the demand from elderly relatives that the Querent publicly perform to certain expectations or be disowned and discarded.

But the ill-dignified Hanged Man can also speak to wrongdoings by the Querent. The landlord that adds a morally unjustified fee on their tenants, thus extracting an undue sacrifice, is one example. The card could also be describing the Querent as a literal traitor to a cause or commitment they had made. A scab or union-buster is a traitor to their peers. Any immediate gain they may make by betraying their peers is at risk of being undone when they lose connections in their industry. Any person that has power over another and uses it to take more than is their moral right to take is present in this card. Whether the card speaks to the Querent as taking the sacrifice or making the sacrifice can be found in the context of the question.

The Hanged Man is not a card of indecision as a choice will be made, often sooner than the Querent is prepared to accept. It is a card of action by stillness, of applying force by releasing control, of facing the truth that was always known and the beginning of the consequences of that action. The Querent’s perspective and judgement of this will not always agree with those watching the Querent’s life work itself out. But the card does not ask if the Querent is willing to live with other people’s opinions.

The Hanged Man is asking if the Querent is willing to live with their own.

Next Card: XI – Justice

Noxporium’s Tarot Card Masterpost: 78 Tarot Cards

Previous Card: XiII – Death – “All things come to an end, and from that new beginnings arise.”

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78 Tarot Cards: Death

“All things come to an end, and from that new beginnings arise.”

Death, as the inevitable consequence of living, is something that polite western societies do not talk about. There, death is something that happens to other people because they did something that undermined their right to live. Death, to the western thought, is a judgement and a punishment, because good people deserve to live forever, and bad people deserve to be forgotten.

Death, as a tarot card, is another waypoint in the Major Arcana’s tale of living. While it can represent the stark reality of its namesake in a divination, it can also represent the cessation of that which is detrimental to living, and the transformation of that which is no longer useful or available into that which can extend and embellish the present state of being.

A neutral card that does not require the Querent to have a moral stance on the matter, its presence forces the Querent to make such a judgement on the subject of their query. What are they willing to lose? What loss are they facing regardless of their answer? If given the chance, what are they willing to release so they can keep what the card is referring to? What if the matter has already been settled and the Querent’s attempt at bargaining is really the beginning expressions of grief. Much of the Death card’s unwelcome reputation grows from those unwilling to accept an unchangeable outcome as final.

That the Death card is in the middle of the accepted sequence of the Major Arcana is a symbol of the transformation that this card often heralds. It may signal the ending or “death” of one matter, but by doing so it signals the beginning or “birth” of another within the larger context of the Querent’s life. In the same way that a caterpillar must die for a butterfly to emerge, so too does the circumstance or way of life of the Querent cease so that they may continue working out their life in a different way.

In a one-card reading, the Death card answers “Stop” for queries about continuing and “Go” for queries about halting. It is not contrarian in nature, however. Rather it encourages the Querent to reconsider what they want to do and to be prepared to do something entirely different instead. In regard to timing, it says “No more”, “Not now”, and yet also “Immediately”. In regard to relationships, it speaks of solitude and isolation.

Well-dignified and/or upright, the action described by the Death card is swift and clean. (How the Querent responds to that action is up to them.) Ill-dignified and/or reversed, the ending of the matter is unnaturally or improperly extended. Here is the failing business owner that maxes out their credit cards to keep the shop going “a few more weeks” instead of selling off the assets to quickly pay off any debts. Here is the soured friendship that falls into toxic codependency because keeping up appearances is more important than personal health and independence. Here is the fruit that was kept on the tree for too long and either rotted in place or was half-eaten by animals, rendering the produce unsafe for human consumption.

If drawn as a descriptor of the Querent, it will be to the delight of the Querent if they are goth in nature and/or dress. Otherwise, most Querents will be horrified to find this card as their reflection. Such persons (goth or not) are quiet and reserved at the moment, giving themselves to great thought about what part of their life are they about to let go and what should be buried so they can continue. They may be grieving about a matter, openly or not. The appearance of this card should not be used as an excuse to deliberately cause anxiety in the Querent. It is not a declaration of some moral failing on their part nor is it the herald of a disaster about to befall them or their family. It is a call for the Querent to sit still and reflect on their life up to this point, and to not take anything for granted. It is a call for them to be good to themselves, if only for this very moment, because the time will come for them to move on into the rest of their life.

Next Card: XII – The Hanged Man – “To gain everything by letting go.”

Noxporium’s Tarot Card Masterpost: 78 Tarot Cards

Previous Card: XiV – Temperance – “Whatever you need to be, to be yourself.”

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78 Tarot Cards: Temperance

“Whatever you need to be, to be yourself.”

In modern reckoning, the call for temperance is regarded as a call for moderation, restriction, and/or reduction. It is a clarion call for people of all ages to temper their expectations, their enthusiasm, and their efforts in life because to be a proper adult is to be unoffensive in desires and actions. While this outlook makes for easy-to-write blog posts and easy-to-market coaching services, it makes for poor advice for living.

The Temperance tarot card is not a call to find the middle lane of life and remain there without ever experiencing anything else, even though doing just that can be a necessary action for a time. It is a call for the Querent to find balance within themselves, for however that balance can be achieved and maintained in the current moment. It does not require that the Querent force themselves into a moderate ideal that must remain as is and unwavering. It does require that the Querent examine themselves to determine what is needed at the current moment to achieve stability, and then to reexamine themselves later to determine if this state continues to be useful, or what to change to better fit in the changed environment.

The balance that the Temperance card calls for may be seen as an extreme state by others who see only the exterior of the Querent’s circumstances. They may see the Querent choosing to remain angry about a situation and say that calmness is needed more than wrath, but they don’t see how the Querent’s anger is helping them focus on doing the work necessary to secure their safety after the immediate threat eases. They may also see the Querent’s silence in sorrow as withdrawing too far, but they don’t see how the Querent is using the solitude to work through the process of grieving in a pace that is not self-destructive.

In a one-card reading, the Temperance card does not say, “Yes” or “No”, it asks, “Why?” and “What?”. Why is the Querent asking this question. What does the Querent need to enable them to take action or to face the problem with open awareness. If the answer is not immediately apparent in the question, further cards can be drawn to guide the Querent’s attention. If the question is regarding timing, the Temperance card answers, “Not Now” or “Wait”. But if the Querent asks if keeping their anger in check would help the situation and is answered by the reversed Temperance card, the answer then becomes, “Don’t hold back. Go off.”

When the Temperance card is ill-aspected or reversed in a multi-card reading, care must be given to the context of the question. If the Querent wants to wait for clarity, the ill-aspected card warns that it is better to move immediately and seek balance later. If the ill-aspected card is drawn as the necessary action of the Querent, it informs them to use whatever power is available even if it goes against “common sense”, lest they yield their agency to those willing to use them as tools to be discarded.

However, if drawn as a descriptor of the Querent, it warns that they have already gone too far in their actions and their refusal to regard their actions in the context of their circumstances is leading them to damaging consequences. Regardless of the position or orientation of the card, whether the card speaks to expansion or compression will be found in the context of the question.

The Temperance card describes a state of being and the process by which that state is realized. Depending on the Querent’s world view, that state of being could be unity with the cosmos, unity with the divine, unity with their ideal of themselves, and/or unity with their present state. None of these ideals are contradictory within the Temperance card, as it asks the Querent to consider not only what do they need to be at the present moment, but what actions the Querent can take to achieve that state. Tomorrow, the Querent may want to be someone else, something else, and this too is a state of balance.

Next Card: XIII – Death – “All things come to an end, and from that new beginnings arise.”

Noxporium’s Tarot Card Masterpost: 78 Tarot Cards

Previous Card: XV – The Devil – “You always had a choice. You just chose not to choose.”

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78 Tarot Cards: The Devil

“You always had a choice. You just chose not to choose.”

To some, this card may embody the idea of an easy excuse, a weak personality, an overwhelming force, or an obvious trap. To others, this card may embody the idea of a fully lived life, of rich and intense experiences, of indulgence to the point of illness, and the defiance of rigid codes unfairly applied. Irresistible temptation and unavoidable tests of character.

Like the Tower, the Devil is a card that challenges the Querent to action while also speaking about the Querent’s state of being. As a challenge, it dares the Querent to do, or not to do, something related to their inquiry. As a description, it draws attention to how the Querent is taking something, or refraining from taking something, to an extreme. Regardless of what it is portraying, the Devil card is a warning to the Querent to reconsider their choices, be it action or placement.

When the Querent is stating that they can’t do a thing, the Devil card asks, “Why not?”. When the Querent is stating that they have no other choice but to do the thing, the Devil card retorts, “None at all?’. What excuses is the Querent resting on as justification for their inability to do anything other than the decision they have already made. While there is a foundation of truth to that answer, the Devil card declares that the Querent has taken that to an unjustifiable extreme.

These extreme actions become extreme states. Unlike the Four of Cups where too much of a good thing sours the enjoyment of the thing, with the Devil too much of a good thing leads to overindulgence to the point of harm. A collector, having reached the limit of what can be collected comfortably, may choose to spend so much money pursuing the thing, that they struggle to pay their bills and have no space left in their rooms for themselves.

As a one-card answer, the Devil answers, “Are you sure?” and “Why stop now?”. It inverses the query and reflects it back to the Querent for an accounting of their assumptions. “You already know the answer to the question, you are just choosing not to accept it.”

When the Devil card is ill-aspected in the reading, it still announces an extreme action, but instead of reaching for everything and beyond, it constricts and compresses itself to be as small as possible. Instead of the fanatical collector trying to get every possible version of their desire, this is the person who has thrown away all possession as if they are an ascetic. But this ascetic is not acting in pursuit of refinement or improvement of the self, but to loudly declare their superiority over those who still have attachment to the types of things they have thrown away.

This is the advanced student who has made pursuit of the degree their entire personality to the point of deriding their former friends for doing anything other than study. This is the online commenter whose internal thoughts and responses to social media makes them uncomfortable and thus attempts to restrict what other people can post lest they be confronted with what they don’t like about themselves again. This is the person who pushes everyone away because no one can live up to their expectations, not even themselves.

The Devil’s influence on other cards challenges the Querent to examine what those cards represent in their life and how they are interacting with those topics. How is the Querent trying to justify doing or not doing the thing. What part of themselves has the Querent given up on trying to improve because they feel there’s no other way they could be?

The Devil tarot card is a mirror that reveals those parts of the Querent that they want to keep hidden. Whether or not the Querent looks at themselves and takes action based on what they see is entirely in their power to decide.

Next Card: XIV – Temperance – “Whatever you need to be, to be yourself.”

Noxporium’s Tarot Card Masterpost: 78 Tarot Cards

Previous Card: XVI – The Tower – “Coming through will hurt, but coming through is how you survive.”

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78 Tarot Cards: The Tower

“Coming through will hurt, but coming through is how you survive.”

A tower is a symbol of safety and security, of unconquerable strength and fiercely guarded resources. Such fortifications are recognized from afar as places of power and mastery. However, in the tarot, the Tower card is a dire warning to the Querent about placing their faith, trust, and belief too deeply in such edifices lest the consequences of their hubris break more than what the Querent is prepared to surrender. This is a much-feared card because of that implied destruction. It is often portrayed as a symbol of complete devastation inflicted upon those least able to cope.

The action of the Tower card cannot be relied upon as a scavenger of truth because of the messy and interconnected nature of the world. Collateral damage and unintended consequences have destroyed many things that were right and proper at the time because of how the wrong and improper construction failed. When the Tower card is applied against a physical concern, consider it to be an indiscriminate lightning bolt and an unrelenting earthquake. Everything is put to the test.

When applied against the Querent’s character or interior life, the work of the Tower card is pointed and direct. How the Querent responds to the revelation of their actions and the resulting reckoning will determine how their exterior life, to include their friendships and work relationships, are affected. This examination is often a surprise to the Querent and can be expressed as a surprise agency audit, a legal challenge from one’s peers, the revelation of a personal secret to one’s family, or even the consequences of a dear friend’s betrayal. The Querent is shaken to their very core and forced to act with little foresight.

To the Querent that has lived their life with integrity and compassion, the action of the Tower card is not a threat, but a confirmation. To the Querent that has not, that action is both judgement and punishment.

As a destination, the Tower card represents the aftermath of that reckoning. The Querent will find themselves amidst physical and/or emotional wreckage. It is in this place that they should examine themselves thoroughly and begin the search for those items that survived the matter. It is here that those matters that were placed rightly before might be found shattered and beyond recovery. But it is also here that the Querent can find matters that came through without mark or injury, and so provide to the Querent symbols and bundles of hope for recovery and the building of a new life to continue.

However, when the Tower card is ill-aspected, be it by reading with reversals or by poorly fitting other cards in a spread, the feared indiscriminate threat arises. The Tower card is neutral in that by itself, it does not take a moral stance, and so its actions are felt by all. In the physical world, this can manifest as the hundred-year flood or an earthquake in an area that never prepared for such. But for interpersonal connections, it can be an audit conducted by a person who holds a personal belief that everyone in the Querent’s office is guilty of malfeasance and is willing to do anything to prove it or that former friend that wants nothing more than to destroy the Querent’s personal sphere and prevent them from moving on from the perceived insult.

As a single-card answer, the Tower card says, “Wait”, “Likely Not”, “Not Easily”, and “Are You Sure?”. In a multi-card spread, it modifies the answer of connected cards. The World modified by the Tower can warn of a pending setback that will require the Querent to redo some if not all of the work. The Tower modified by the Sun can warn the audit will be completed in plain view and all secrets will be revealed. The Tower card has the greatest effect on those most sure of their personal stability and their inability to be affected by other people’s problems. It strikes the foundation of the edifice and the identity with equal force. To come through, the Querent should be willing to let everything go, adapt to the new environment, and start over.

Next Card: XV – The Devil – “You always had a choice. You just chose not to choose.”

Noxporium’s Tarot Card Masterpost: 78 Tarot Cards

Previous Card: XVII – The Star – “Certain truths, like certain stars, require stillness and clarity to perceive.”

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78 Tarot Cards: The Star

“Certain truths, like certain stars, require stillness and clarity to perceive.”

For as many stars as the human eye can see in the night sky, there are multitudes more that can only be seen with special equipment, and multitudes of magnitudes more that potentially exist but can never be acknowledged. Which star then, does the Star tarot card refer to? All of them. The Present and the Potential. The Seen and the Imagined. The star so close that it has its own special name and the star so distant that it is an irreconcilable myth.

When taken at face value, the Star represents a source of information, wisdom, or inspiration that exists outside of the Querent’s conscious self and immediate reach. Where and how the spark of understanding is struck is not as important as what the Querent does with this nascent light. A subtle meaning of the card can be, “Trust, but verify,” as what is bestowed by that flash of insight might not be accurate to the present concern, but the act of investigating the possibilities can reveal a more concrete truth or more stable path for the Querent to accept.

Studying the stars in the terrestrial night sky requires patience and stillness. Even those stars that can be easily seen by the naked eye force the observer to stand still and to look with determination just to confirm where they are and what other stars are with them. Seeking the wisdom offered by the Star card calls for the same effort, especially when the Querent is seeking that wisdom from within themselves. It calls for the Querent to stop rushing for validation or other people’s opinions, to listen to their feelings and gut reactions that contradict what their well-educated reasoning is leading them to do. To listen to the circumstances that surround them.

In a one-card reading, the Star is a call to introspection and quiet observation and answers with “Wait,” and to take comfort in that patience. This is not the time to be rushing back and forth, but to hold still and see what is moving around and within the Querent. If the Querent is seeking spiritual advice, the card can signify that the Querent should turn to their familial, community, and/or ancestral connections as the guide they are seeking requires a more personal means of interaction. Often the Querent knows the answer to their query, but they need some time to sit with that answer and to accept that understanding.

In a multi-card reading, the Star can point to the cards following it as discrete advice, separate from the overall theme of the reading. It can also point to an obligation or commitment that the Querent needs to complete, such as a private vigil or personal offering of duty or goods. It is like the Hermit in that it calls for the Querent to step away from complications, but it is unlike the Hermit in that it does not require the Querent to isolate themselves to reach understanding. After all, it is in the sharing of the study of the night sky that new stars are revealed, and a deeper understanding of the cosmos is obtained.

If the tarot deck is read with reversals or the card is ill aspected, the Star becomes an ignis fatuus that leads travelers astray. Any advice it refers to should be carefully inspected before acting upon it, and the source of that advice also investigated to reveal if they are speaking maliciously towards the Querent. This is the false hope that Pandora trapped in her jar, the mirage on the horizon that can never be reached no matter how much effort is expended in the attempt, and the fervent belief that defies immediate action with the announcement that regardless how bad the dam is cracked and leaking, that everyone will be okay without any work or repair.

The Star is a card representing petitions and responses, be they heart deep prayers or penitent actions. It is the solitude of the crowd and the expansion of being. But also, the folly of thinking that these are the only things that matter. It is a call to review oneself and one’s actions by taking the time to prove them true.

Next Card: XVI – The Tower – ““Coming through will hurt, but coming through is how you survive.”

Noxporium’s Tarot Card Masterpost: 78 Tarot Cards

Previous Card: XVIII – The Moon – “It is only inconstant when you aren’t getting what you want.”

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78 Tarot Cards: The Moon

“It is only inconstant when you aren’t getting what you want.”

As a physical object that orbits the earth we live upon, the Moon is constant in its behavior and path. However, how we perceive that behavior varies from day to day, and in certain circumstances, minute by minute. This apparent inconstancy frames how the Moon card is perceived in a tarot reading and is a prism that changes how the question gives context to the answer.

At the briefest of reviews, the Moon card represents the darkness and obscurity of night, while also being a light that rules over and gives body to the shadows that inhabit that night. It is the opposite of the Sun card while also being a complement that provides what the Sun card cannot. The Sun’s light is trustworthy, but the Moon’s light is deceiving. Under the Sun, all actions are laid bare, but under the Moon, everything is obscured. The Sun requires everyone’s full attention and awareness, but the Moon gives space to dreams and dreamers alike. And where the presence or absence of the Sun determines if one is in day or night and sets the timing of the day, the Moon wanders through all hours without regard to dawn or dusk and instead sets the timing of monthly cycles.

This waxing and waning of the physical Moon is a signal to the reader that the Moon card can be both taken at face value on the table while also pointing to a deeper understanding that may take Reader and Querent time to uncover. Because of its ability to complete the sentence while contradicting the theme, the context and wording of the question is the most important part of the answer. The Sun card answers directly. The Moon card answers obliquely.

In a one-card reading, the Moon card intones, “Maybe”. What is asked of might happen, or it might not. It challenges the Querent to be honest about their intentions and their works. Are they seeking the answer they want versus the answer they need? Are they being forthright with their question in the first place. What are they avoiding that would reveal the fallacy they are trying to hold on to? And yet, what do they need to do in privacy to preserve their dream from those who would destroy it on sight?

When the query requires a direct answer, the Moon card says, “Not Yet”. When the query asks for direction and guidance, the Moon card says, “What strikes your fancy?”. In addition to all the common associations with night activities and events, the Moon card will also challenge direct action by answering, “Are you sure?”.

In a multi-card spread, the Moon can modify adjacent cards by either giving light to an otherwise obscure card, or by eclipsing an otherwise clear card. As the light in the darkness, it can reveal an overlooked aspect or action. As a usurper of attention, it can force an otherwise overwhelming meaning to give place to an interpretation that would normally not be considered otherwise.

If the deck is read with inversions, or if the framing of the questions or adjacent cards makes the appearance of the Moon card unwelcoming, the card then challenges the Querent more directly. The idea that the Querent has planned is based on self-deception and has no sound foundation to fall back upon. It is the seed of nightmares and the mark of advice given in bad faith. It is the grip of unwarranted doubt and the bitterness of fear in the back of your throat. It is a mark of bad timing, and the evidence that the Querent is over their head and should walk their endeavor back until more stable light can reveal the problem. But for all the ways that the Moon card can appear in a spread, mutable and modulating to the point that the very position it falls to can change how the interpretation is revealed, it remains like the entity it is named for: Unyielding. When the Moon card appears, it is the Querent who has to adjust to the revealed environment, and it is the Querent who decides if to continue through obscurity or to stop and wait for clarity.

Next Card: XVII – The Star– “Certain truths, like certain stars, require stillness and clarity to perceive.”

Noxporium’s Tarot Card Masterpost: 78 Tarot Cards

Previous Card: XIX – The Sun – “Regardless of what is happening here, the Sun is always there.”

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78 Tarot Cards: The Sun

“Regardless of what is happening here, the Sun is always there.”

The Sun at the center of our planetary system is a massive ball of superheated plasma that does what it does without thought, without emotion, without consciousness, without planning. This does not stop people from ascribing to it personal characteristics based on how the Sun’s light and heat are affecting them as they go about their work and play. As such, the Sun of the tarot can be impersonal and disconnected from the Querent while also being a personal adversary and/or support in their life and endeavors.

In a reading, the Sun card can represent the physical star if the query provides context for such an answer. Readings for outside activities such as farming, picnics, gatherings, maintenance of building exteriors, and even travel can provide for this card to be interpreted as the literal Sun having some influence on the matter. The other cards in the reading will provide modifiers to tell if the Sun’s influence is overbearing or clouded, and if needful or baneful. The painter that needs a clear sky to complete their work will view the Sun differently than a farmer that needs the rains to come in season.

As an abstraction, the Sun’s physical qualities become adjectives and modifiers to the Querent’s situation. It is known that the light of the noon sun is the brightest and it is said that sunlight is a disinfectant. Thus, in a reading, the appearance of the Sun card can herald a revealing and inspection of the Querent’s concern to the point that deficiencies are revealed and dealt with in a proper manner. To a person who has been in a metaphorical darkness, the Sun card can signify the beginning of resolution and a harbinger of joy to come.

When the context for interpretation is positive, the Sun card can be as supportive to the Querent as a warm hug from a friend. It can be encouraging as the dawn after a long night. It can vindicate the Querent and reveal potential problems that the Querent can avoid rather than suffer through. But when the context is negative, or against the Querent, that same noon light can become a heated environment requiring protection to endure. It can be the withdrawal of light as if at sunset or during a solar eclipse, and now the Querent must move carefully through their concern lest an unseen obstacle turn an unpleasant journey into a hardship. It can signify an unfair trial by their enemies and the deliberate shadowing of their works and achievements.

In a one-card reading, the Sun card often indicates “Yes, Go”, “Agreement”, “Success”, or “Joy”. As a response to a query about timing, it can mean “Now”, “Noon”, “Daytime”, or “Summer”. While the card can indicate the presence of children, I have found that this is dependent on the deck used for the reading. However, the card does often indicate a child-like joy, regardless of the age of the Querent.

The context of the question may reverse the meaning if the presence of the Sun card is not desired. As such, or with decks that are read with upside-down or reversed cards, the one-card answer can become “No, Don’t”, “Irreconcilable Differences”, “Incomplete Success or Critical Failure”, or “Self-Deception”. The response to timing can become “Too Soon”, “Delayed”, or “Worst Timing for the Endeavor”.

The Sun card can refer to the inner life of the Querent. It can represent the lantern of their thoughts and the process by which they reason their way through life. Along with a child-like joy, the Sun can represent their resolve and commitment to a thing, and the fire of their passion to see reach that goal. If they allow their passion to rule their actions, is that not like summer arriving too early and withering the crop in the field? But if they don’t acknowledge their inner life, or if they deny their desires and wants, then the Querent has occulted themselves and this internal eclipse of their personality can prevent them from growing as a person. The steadfast nature of the physical Sun is such that we always have to modify what we do to either take advantage of its nature or to ameliorate its effects. It cannot be reasoned with or influenced. It is to the Querent’s benefit to treat the Sun card as the same. Take delight or take warning, but take it as is.

Next Card: XVIII – The Moon – “It is only inconstant when you aren’t getting what you want.”

Noxporium’s Tarot Card Masterpost: 78 Tarot Cards

Previous Card: XX – Judgement – “It’s not about being proven right, it’s about being proven.”

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78 Tarot Cards: Judgement

“It’s not about being proven right, it’s about being proven.”

It can be said that we are our own worst critic, and in that sense how we judge ourselves is never fair nor impartial. But it is nigh impossible for us to escape our internal critiques just the same. The Judgement card is an announcement that a reckoning is about to begin, so prepare to be examined and compared to the standard. Whose standard? Here the individual card holds silence so that the other cards may speak.

Even when surrounding cards offer beneficial and encouraging context, the Judgement card still lays a cold shroud. It demands that the Querent bring their full attention to the matter and examine not only the circumstances of their query, but their personal actions that led up to the query and how they might proceed after.

Judgement is usually a neutral card, laying no opinions or direction on the table. Like the Hanged Man, it asks “Are you sure?”, but it does so without implying that it is better for the Querent to stop or reverse their progress. It is a gate that if the Querent decides to move through, they won’t be able to walk back their progress beyond this point. It will challenge assumptions without grading them, forcing the Querent to grade themselves.

If the Querent has come to the reading table for help to make up their mind, then the Judgement card is welcoming and will likely be the seed for subsequent readings. In a linear or unguided reading, the cards that are placed on the table after the Judgement card will point to where the Querent should focus their review.

If the Judgement card is ill-dignified in the reading, or the context of the question makes this card an unwelcome answer, it loses neutrality and impartiality and becomes an active influence in the answer. How open the Querent is to self-examination will determine if the influence is positive or negative to the Querent’s endeavors.

In matters where the Querent has already made up their mind, this card will appear hostile when revealed. If the Querent had completed their due diligence and based their decision on verified facts and sound work, then the card would be a minor checkpoint that would irritate them for causing them to stand still for no good reason. But if the Querent had rushed past warnings and disregarded signs of weakness and stress, then this card would be an alarm that they are likely to rush past with equal vigor to their downfall.

When the Querent wants to be told what to do to obtain their goal, this card then becomes an obstacle that forces them to examine their motives, justifications, and morals. It demands the Querent to question if the ends truly justify the means. If the Querent chooses not to do so or has already examined themselves and decides to proceed as planned regardless, the card becomes damning in their wake and the Querent can expect those around them to be informed of their actions with a full examination by others to follow.

When completely bereft of neutrality, the Judgement card becomes a tool wielded by others against the Querent. It can warn that the advice the Querent had received about a matter was corrupted and untrustworthy. It can indicate dogmatism or discrimination, usually against the Querent. If speaking of the Querent, it can indicate they already have all the information they need but are actively refusing to examine it because being Right™ is more important than being Fair™.

How receptive the Querent is to being called to account for themselves will ultimately determine how much the Judgement card will speak to and for them. The harder they try to avoid this examination; the greater will be the consequences upon them.

Next Card: XIX – The Sun – “Regardless of what is happening here, the Sun is always there.”

Noxporium’s Tarot Card Masterpost: 78 Tarot Cards

Previous Card: XXI – The Fool – “Emerging Revelation and Recalcitrant Ignorance.”

Tarot

78 Tarot Cards: The Fool

“Emerging Revelation and Recalcitrant Ignorance.”

At its simplest, the Fool is a simple card. Usually regarded as the first card of the Major Arcana, it can represent naïveté and nativity. See the child taking their first steps. See the neophyte pledging themselves to the cause. See the person who is beginning a new thing, a new cycle, and has become a new person in the process with a mind as clean as a new slate and just as empty.

In this assumption that the Fool is as deep as spilled wine, these interpretations can reveal the assumed puddle to be a surface entry into a sinkhole. The child is taking their first steps, but is this card showing the moment before their first stumble? Will there be anyone present to help them work through the shock, surprise, and pain of the unexpected outcome? Are they expected to learn everything the hard way, with no feedback or instruction? Or will there be someone available to guide them through these first steps and to hold their hand so when they do stumble, they do not fall into harm.

When a neophyte enters into a new commitment, they often do so with a fervor so intense, that they are held back lest they harm themselves by overexertion. The cause they have committed to fills their sight and mind so thoroughly that they have no regard to consequences or how their actions will affect the people already involved in their life. They have made themselves a vessel for what they have pledged themselves to, to the point of erasing who they were before. With such a person there is a risk that they are so ignorant of the negative effects that they bring harm to themselves and those around them. Regardless of age, such Fools are to be held carefully because it might not be immediately apparent to them why they are being restricted.

What then of the Fool that is already mature and deeply aware of who they are and what they are getting into? In mundane matters, this card can signify the start of a process, be it a production, a review, or even a vacation. It can be the reception of the raw materials into the factory. It can be the auditors entering the building. It can be the road trip away from the regular and well-known that allows you to recharge and renew yourself. Any step that leads into the transformation of what was into what could be, can be represented by this card. It often indicates a step that cannot be walked back.

And what happens then, of the Fool that knows all these things but refuses to move on from where they are? This is the person that has taken what was supposed to be a waypoint and turned it into a destination. This Fool, ill-dignified when reviewed in context of the question and/or other cards, has a deep-seated belief that they have all the understanding necessary to take care of the matter and will refuse to be corrected. Or worse, already knows better yet refuses to do better, because they feel the benefits they have in this contrary position is better for them regardless of the consequences to themselves or to others.

In this way, the Fool card is a mirror. It can be held straight and true if the Querent is being honest with themselves and seeks the truth no matter how it irritates their pride. It can be warped and misleading if the Querent is seeking to be justified for what they have already committed themselves to. In a one-card reading, the Fool can represent starting over and/or personal ignorance. It will give no new information but will fill the space framed by the query.

When read in conjunction with other cards, the Fool can represent timing as the start of a new thing, the risk of relying on assumed information, the need to explore the possible consequences of a decision, a refusal to do such a thing, and the folly of relying on untested matters.

It is not bad to be a Fool. Everyone has to start somewhere. What you decide to do once you begin, there is the tale that you will write into your life.

Next Card: XX – Judgement – “It’s not about being proven right, it’s about being proven.”

Noxporium’s Tarot Card Masterpost: 78 Tarot Cards

Previous Card: XXI – The World – “The Epilogue and the Introduction.”