Should We Even Try to Predict a New Year? Of Course, We Should!
In difficult times, tarot helps us find a way forward.
Read MoreTarot Grandmaster
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Tarot is a book of spiritual wisdom in picture form that tells the story of all human experience.
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In difficult times, tarot helps us find a way forward.
Read MoreWhether reading for yourself or others, you don't need a question to have a great reading.
Read MoreThere is nothing unsafe about tarot.
Read MoreAre there times a tarot reader should put away their cards? Here are some frank thoughts about helpful self-reading practices.
Read MoreThe Seven of Swords is traditionally known as the “Thieves’ Card.” The Seven of Swords is likely to show up when there is cheating or lying going on.
The Seven of Swords can be tricky to interpret. Sometimes it’s obvious who is lying, who is cheating, and who can’t be trusted. But if those things aren’t immediately apparent, you can’t really ask, “Is someone lying to you?” You also don’t want to make an assumption that might create undue anxiety, or cause problems in an otherwise healthy relationship.
Sometimes, when I see the Seven of Swords, its energy seems to permeate the whole reading. It’s easy to simply say something like this. “I see a situation where you are having some trust issues. Is there someone behaving in an untrustworthy manner, or a situation or person who lacks integrity?”
The thing is, the Seven of Swords, like the thief it represents, is slippery. The client might not be suspicious of dishonesty around her, and therefore make no connection with the card. In this case it is up to the reader to look further. You may need to pull more cards or interpret your spread to include specific information to discover the area of life the Seven of Swords is referencing.
I think many readers would agree that sometimes there are cards in a reading to which you don’t pay much attention. Perhaps you only have a few minutes to give the reading and there is a more pressing issue.
There are some cards, however, that should never be ignored, regardless of the focus or limitations of the reading. I think the Seven of Swords is such a card. When you see it, you need to be able to explain with some certainty its presence in the reading. You need to be able to do this without falsely accusing someone of something heinous, or causing or feeding paranoia.
We are all familiar with the Seven of Swords* indicating the “fox in the chicken coop.” This is the employee with his hand in the till, the addict who swears he’ll never touch the stuff again, the kid who didn’t do his homework and the cheating spouse.
The Seven of Swords can also indicate a general lack of integrity in an organization; that is, corruption, unfair policies and the like.
The Seven of Swords can suggest that the querent himself is keeping a secret, or in a position of feeling the need to lie.
The Seven of Swords can indicate the feeling of not knowing what to trust in general, or with regard to a specific issue.
The Seven of Swords can remind us to be creative in problem solving. Sometimes we have to be crafty, maybe even sneaky, to solve a problem.
Those are all relatively common interpretations for the Seven of Swords. Here are two more you might not have considered.
On a very few but memorable occasions I have seen the Seven of Swords indicate cancer. It makes sense if you think about it; cancer often comes like a silent thief. Obviously, be careful about how you present the possibility of a health issue. Give a referral to a competent medical professional.
I have also seen the Seven of Swords indicate a lack of confidence. Sometimes we feel like we aren’t up to the task at hand. The Seven of Swords may say the querent isn’t trusting herself or her abilities.
No matter the context, it seems two key concepts for the Seven of Swords are “lack of trust” and “something hidden.”
Given the delicate nature of the Seven of Swords, it’s very important to give this card careful consideration when it appears in a reading.
* Typo corrected 7/22/2015 Thanks to Donnaleigh de la Rose for finding that I had inadvertently typed "Wands" instead of "Swords".
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I love teaching tarot. I love sharing tarot with brand new beginners, life-long enthusiasts and professionals. My book, “Fortune Stellar” is designed to help tarot professionals and aspiring professionals, so I was particularly happy to receive a question from Linda, a professional tarot reader.
Linda is about to do her first couples reading, and wanted to know if I had any advice for her.
My basic technique for reading couples will also work for any relationship reading, including boss and employee, sibling, parent and child or best friends.
The thing to remember is that couples readings can deal with some intense issues – remember to recommend couples counseling or marriage therapy if you think it’s needed.
When I read for a couple, I think of it as a reading for three people. There are two partners, and there is the third entity of the couple itself.
I usually start by doing a general spread for each individual. I pay attention to how they show up in each other’s spreads, and how the relationship shows up. I also take the time to give information about things of interest to each individual, questions of career and extended family, for instance.
It is interesting to see if the same cards show up in each partner’s spread. If they do, I will spend some time talking about those cards.
Once I have done a quick spread for each partner I will have a sense of the questions the couple has. We may need to talk about children, the home, money, sex, communication, extended family or other issues.
I will form a question for each issue, and answer each question by pulling a few cards, in dialogue with the tarot.
Then I like to do a relationship spread. I have the couple divide the deck into three piles. One person cuts to the left and the other to the right, leaving a pile in the middle.
The middle card will describe the relationship. Each partner is described by the outside cards.
Watch the video and see how this simple spread can reveal a great deal of information!
Good luck, Linda, and thanks for a great question!
If you have a question about tarot, please email me!
Video of Christiana Answers a Question about Couples Readings
Our question comes from Ben.
Hi Christiana,
I've just discovered your YouTube channel and I'm finding the answers to questions videos really helpful so thank you!
I am VERY new to tarot, I purchased by Rider-Waite deck 6 months ago and am loving it.
I was wondering whether you could do a video about whether you take into account reversed cards in readings. I know some people don't. From the off I've read cards reversed if they come up but I do have to say it is incredibly challenging sometimes to decifer what the cards mean (especially court cards)! From reading books and seeing what other people say online it's clear that everyone has their own opinion.
What do you think? Do you take into account reversed cards? And if so do you have any tips on how to decipher the meaning? I particularly find the Page of Swords a little elusive...
Hope you are well and thank you so much again for your videos!
Thanks for a great question, Ben. I hope you enjoy the video!
Not everyone honors reversals, but everyone honors dignities.
I do encourage my students who use a deck in the RWS (Rider-Waite- Smith) tradition to consider working with reversals. I think reversals give us more detail, more nuance and more ability to give a really specific reading.
I almost always honor reversals in my personal and professonal readings.
Each card has a spectrum, or continuum of possible energies and meanings. The reversal can give a clear sense of where on the continuum the card best fits the situation.
A reversal changes the energy of the card; perhaps introducing a resistance, a delay or an opposite.
My system for dealing with reversed Court Cards, when I think they represent people, is simple.
Upright Court Cards’ personalities are determined by their element and rank. All upright Court Cards are well-intentioned and basically good people.
Reversed Court Cards are people with problems. They may not be well-intentioned, or may be dealing with issues.
Please watch the video, which includes my take on the Page of Swords, both upright and reversed.
If you have a question about tarot, please email me.
Video of Answers to you Questions about Tarot: Reversals and Court Cards
Everyone once in a while it seems that tarot “goes awry.” The card may clearly indicate one thing and something else may happen. Or eight cards in a nine-card spread all point to one thing, but the ninth card says something different and incongruous.
We all know the old adage, the cards never lie. But once in a while they sure do seem to misbehave.
Here are some things to think about when tarot misbehaves.
If you are using tarot predictively, it’s important to remember that nothing is ever set in stone. Things can change, even radically. Our readings are so constantly accurate that when a reading goes rogue we are surprised. Maybe that’s the point, to keep us on our toes and remind us that nobody can ever know the future all the time.
Tarot is like a conversation between three people who all speak different languages. Sometimes things get lost in the translation. At the same time, the knowledge that is communicated is always valuable.
Sometimes the cards answer questions other than what is being asked. A client may come with a question about career, but their family may be predominant in the cards. Sometimes it seems the cards try to direct us to what is most important.
The energy we put into a reading is the energy we get out of a reading. The more focused we are, the more meditative we are, the more information we are able to get. It’s fine to do readings in the spirit of fun, but those readings may not be as deep, meaningful or accurate as those done with a more serious attitude.
Sometimes many possibilities are at play at the same time. The rogue card may be a “minority report.” Sometimes the least likely possibility is the one that happens.
Each card has many possible interpretations. Sometimes the interpretation you know and use is less appropriate than another traditional interpretation.
Perhaps the reading itself changes possibilities. I’m not a physicist, but I understand that in quantum theory something is changed when it is observed. When I perform a tarot reading for someone I often hope that it will be change-making in their lives.
What if the very act of reading on a topic opens up new possibilities?
Tarot is an art, not a science. Divination has a margin of error. While we always need to be aware of this, it doesn’t change the incredible overall value of tarot and divination.
Very little on the planet functions perfectly one hundred percent of the time. When something usually functions very well it surprises us on rare occasions when it doesn’t function as expected.
When the cards go rogue it may be an indicator of something larger at play, something that will be revealed at a later date. The wise reader knows that sometimes when more of the story emerges the card will make more sense.
Tarot seems to go rogue more often if we are focused on future predictions and yes/no answers. Tarot functions most reliably when we ask questions that seek to empower us to create our own future.
No one knows why tarot works; why the cards so often speak such truth. Neither do we know, on the rare occasions when the cards seem to not make sense, if there is not some greater meaning trying to present itself.
In a reading, it is sometimes difficult to say “This is likely to happen, but it is also possible that this other thing could happen instead.” People like definitive answers.
But here is the sweet, sweet truth in all of this. In many situations, more than one outcome is possible. This gives each of us a great deal of power to create wonderful things in our lives. Many times fate and destiny are not as important as clear goals, a vision, and direction. It is in working to build that vision and make a plan of action that tarot is a most effective tool.