The six center cards are (left to rich, top to bottom) Energy, Challenge, Advice, Know, Remember, Consider. The leftmost card is the Context, and the rightmost card is the Deeper Lesson Offered.
I pulled these cards for my personal morning reading. I’m still figuring out how to post personal readings on my public blog in a way that doesn’t delve into the details of my life while still giving helpful messages for anyone who might come across them. Bear with me.
Today, I’m going to interpret the cards by column instead of by row, like I normally do. In the first, we have the Energy of the day being represented by the Four of Cups, and what I’m guided to Know being represented by The Magician. These cards feel like they’re in conflict to me. The Four of Cups indicates apathy and withdrawal or focusing on the things that bother you. In a more neutral vein, it can indicate taking time for yourself in order to recharge emotionally. But the fourth cup that isn’t being focused on typically holds a gift that’s waiting to be accepted. So, I think the cosmic energy today isn’t in the best place for me personally, but The Magician is a gentle reminder that I don’t have to be unduly influenced by it. The Magician is the one who works with the energy available and bends it to her will.
The second column shows the Challenge (or Opportunity) of the day being found in the Four of Pentacles and The World being what I’m asked to Remember. Together, I feel like these cards are saying expansion and confidence don’t come from fear or a “there’s not enough” mindset. I need to remember to pause and take time to reflect on all the amazing things I’ve accomplished in the past year or so. I designed and launched this website all by myself. I started reading tarot professionally. I’m growing my YouTube channel with a minimum of five weekly video uploads. I learned a ton about art theory and digital art and started creating my own tarot deck, called That Afro Drip Tarot! I’m only eight cards in as of this writing, but the amount of love and encouragement I’ve received in response to what I’ve shared is truly overwhelming… It does make me uncomfortable, but I’m learning that there’s really nothing wrong with celebrating yourself. Sticking to unremarkable norms out of fear of what might go wrong is just self-defeat.
Now, for the final column… The Three of Pentacles makes me think I’ll be creating (or joining) a team of some sort soon, probably to start a project or achieve some goal in the tarot/creative/spiritual space. And it makes sense that the Challenge is one of fear of change. I’m a huge introvert and really enjoy solitude and solitary work. But, I also recognize that no person is an island and success is never created in a vacuum. The Queen of Wands is very independent, filled with passion, and tends to inspire people to cultivate more passion in their own lives. So, perhaps there are some folks that I’ve already come in contact with who have strengths and goals that compliment my own who I’ll be collaborating with in the near future. Who knows? I think the main takeaway here is that teamwork is a good thing and when it’s needed, you’ll get a lot further with it than without.
The last two cards threw me a little bit. Reason being, I don’t think the Context card is a reflection of my current state. I don’t feel sad or like I’m in mourning, which are typical meanings of the Five of Cups. But the tarot doesn’t have to be a reflection of the present. It simply guides. And I decided this card is pointing out that everything I wrote above comes back to choosing what emotional states you allow to persist and the perspective you choose to look at things from. The Five of Cups can indicate an opportunity to heal and get something positive from difficult situations. The only constant is change, so even though I don’t feel low in this moment, it’s a certainty that I will at some point in the future. And the Ten of Swords shows that incorporating the guidance from today’s reading will help me to calmly let go of the parts of my mind that would only hurt me if carried into the next phase of my personal journey/evolution. Your mind can harm you. If you let it. But, something interesting I thought about when looking at this card is that it carries the same numeric and elemental energy as The Magician. They are both 1’s of Air (because 1+0=1). But they manifest very differently. So, it’s really up to the individual if the mind becomes a weapon used for self-harm, or a tool for creation and manifestation of the life you want to live.