Ten of CupsTo be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition,the end to which every enterprise and labor tends… — Samuel Johnson Two deeply happy cards in a row, last week’s on a metalevel, and this one, profoundly personal. The Cups, of course, are the suit of the emotions, and ten is … Read more
Five of PentaclesThe storm is threateningMy very life today.If I don’t get some shelterOh yeah, I’m gonna fade away.— Mick Jagger/Keith Richards We seem to be getting more than our fair share of fives, don’t we? Certainly not the happiest card in the Tarot, sometimes this card is called “the dark night of the soul.” … Read more
Seven of SwordsAll the world’s a stage,And all the men and women merely players;They have their exits and their entrances,And one man in his time plays many parts,His acts being seven ages.— from As You Like It, by William Shakespeare This is a first for us, since I started my Card of the Week in … Read more
The Eight of Wands Great things are not done by impulse,but by a series of small things brought together. — Vincent Van Gogh One of the simplest images that Pixie Smith created for the Waite deck, the Eight of Wands has no people, animals, or celestial bodies. We only see eight staves flying through the … Read more
The Hanged Man The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender. — William Booth This week, we are graced for only the second time by this powerful Major Arcana image. The Hanged Man is one of the most misunderstood cards by novices to the Tarot. In a recent class I taught, … Read more
Six of CupsBy words, by voices, a lost way —And here above the chimney stackThe unknown constellations sway —And by what way shall I go back? — Archibald MacLeish This is an enigmatic card, to say the least. In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, we see two figures that, at first glance, appear to be children. Many … Read more
Seven of PentaclesPatience is necessary, and one cannot reap immediately where one has sown. — SØren Kierkegaard We receive another seven this week, but it is not as conflicted as last week’s Seven of Swords. Seven is a number of magic, spirituality and initiation into a deeper level of Mystery. An earlier discussion of this … Read more
DeathBecause I could not stop for Death —He kindly stopped for me —The Carriage held but just Ourselves —And Immortality.— Emily Dickinson This week’s card has such a powerful feeling of inevitability about it, I am having difficulty knowing where to begin. Tomorrow, the Sun enters the sign of Scorpio which, according to most Western … Read more
Nine of WandsHe who lives by fighting with an enemy has an interest in the preservation of the enemy’s life.— Friedrich Nietzsche In the Tarot, the Nines traditionally show how the conflicts inherent in the nature of the suit may be resolved through compromise. In the Wands, the suit of Fire, action, and power, we … Read more
The Ten of PentaclesAnd the end of all our exploringWill be to arrive where we startedAnd know the place for the first time. — T.S. Eliot Not since June of 2005 has this been my website’s Card of the Week. Rachel Pollack notes that this is one of the “Gateway” cards, which would be appropriate … Read more