#and can’t stop until the Justice and Judgement cards of life’s tarot deck are done punting me back and forth like a racquetball

[phemonoi]

tarot cards as foster the people lyrics 🌿✨

*based on the waite tarot deck

I've wanted to do this to better understand the relation of the cards with one another and I thought it'd be a good idea to post it here!

i. aces, the magician & justice

—houdini

“rise above, gonna start the war!” / “well, and eye for an eye, and an ‘f’ for a fight” / “well, you got what you want and what you never knew, perfect gift from me to you” / “focus on your ability, then they can’t get what they want to steal”

the aces have an aura of beginning, the spark of an idea, oportunity, birth. however, the magician is the “trigger” of that change, he controls it, activates it. he’s the architect and alchemist that has the ability to make use of each suit as he pleases. with justice, as we see, this power comes with a responsability. you get back what you give. and because the magician is also an illusionist, a liar and a thief, justice needs to be there as a reminder of what happens when you abuse magic. 

ii. twos, high priestess & the hanged man

—shc

“you’re a secret, that’s worth keeping, and now i’m keeping my mouth shut” / “well, i’ve been sleeping waiting for something, but to feel nothing at all, avoid the call” / “when i’m alone, there’s a ghost the keeps talking, and i know there’s gotta be more, for sure”

the twos are a symbol of alchemy, and this can be clearly seen in the cups with the caduceus of hermes on the background. the high priestess is the master of occult knowledge, she channels cosmic knowledge through intuition, thus creating a bond, an exchange of energy within her and the universe. the hanged man needs meditation and contemplation in order to decide what’s next, what’s real from what’s an illusion. he urges stillness in order to recover, much like the two of swords.

iii. threes, the empress & death

—fire escape

“my spine is made of iron, my heart pumps out old red paint” / “I see the seasons change, all the young faces come and replace the dying ones” / “i’ve watched the dreamers find their legs, and i’ve seen the ones that come get reduced to bones and rags”

this procesion of cards illustrates the importance of cycles. the threes combine pain, sorrow (swords) with recovery, harmony (cups), planning (pentacles) with action (wands), conveying the message that one simply can’t exist without the other, for the presence of the other is what gives one its importance, its core definition. they’re light and shadow, much like birth (empress) and death. 

iv. fours, the emperor & temperance

—coming of age

“you know i try to live without regrets, i’m always moving forward and not looking back, but i tend to leave a trail of dead while moving ahead” / “just like an animal, i protect my pride, when i’m too bruised to fight, and even when i’m wrong i tend to think i’m right. well, i’m bored of the game, and too tired to rage”

the emperor is the giver of stability, as we can see in four of pentacles and four of wands. he provides a stable foundation to build a home, he’s a father. meanwhile, the four of cups and four of swords portray temperance; they’re about patience, balance, and meditation. the emperor, as a leader, needs to balance the responsability of his power out with temperance, or else he will become a tyrant, ruled by fire.

v. fives, the hierophant & the devil 

—pay the man

“say what you love, it’s alright don’t be afraid to find your light, embrace the day, at night we’re here to fight, we all go wild again” / “climbing up my own tree, hoping it can hold all the things i’ve seen but i’ve chosen to ignore. well, i said, well i believe i’ve been well fed but the wolf’s not dead” / “lift up your name, seasons change, you know that it'll never be the same, we'll see the sun again, and before it fades, i just wanna say that i love you”

this procesion is very deep. it speaks of the spirit on a level that no other procesion of cards does in the entire deck. because the hierophant is combined with the devil, i feel like it unites opposite religious concepts: heaven with hell, purity with dirt, wisdom with madness. this alchemy of the soul is pretty much a product of dionysos, and that’s why he’s often identified with both major arcanas. the fives, now, are the middle point of each suit; they mark a transcendental point in the path of the fool. they speak of poverty, sadness, confusion and conflict. this is the event that leads to the tower; the failure, the longing for illumination, the unmasking of the lies and illusions that have ruled one’s life until now. the unity of darkness and light, the highest power, thrice-born and divine, with the lowest impulses of nature, the satyrs and maenads that lure you into their orgy. the devil here demands to be payed back, he wants retribuition, while the hierophant presents himself as the saviour, the guide, that happens to also be incredibly biased. i think it’s very useful to view this procesion as a representation of dionysos, he who initiates us into the journey of self-discovery through mysteries and shadows. 

vi. sixes, the lovers & the tower 

—the truth

“well i’ve been trying to relearn my name, it feels like a thousand years that i’ve been out of frame and i surrender, the truth is what it’s what i’ve needed from you, cause i’ve been floating within your walls of opinion, and i’m tired. i only want the truth” / “a blinding call to prayer has touched my feet, like the call of the prophets, a purpose is needed before you know that you know, to never wonder what you are, and not forget where you’ve come from” / “is it really love you’ve been speaking of?”

the lovers and the tower have a closer relation than what i thought at first, and the verses of this song really show it. the lovers is, finally, the resolution of the devil and the hierophant: it is the unification of duality, the yin and yang, and its lust is still present in the devil; the impetus and dichotomy of human emotion. but the tower and the hierophant are both events of immense spiritual enlightment. they represent freedom. the sixes are about charity, change, escape, and victory. 

vii. sevens, the chariot & the star 

—doing it for the money

“just close your eyes, we’re gonna run this blind, we live our lives, we’re not wasting time, maybe we lost our minds, we’re gonna get what we can” / “i said it doesn’t matter where i go, i am calling all the poets into battle, i am shouting to the world let them know that we won’t be afraid to step into the fight when we can’t see the light” / “there’s no retreat and no escape if we keep dreaming while we’re wide awake”

dreams, hope, courage and art. this is a creative procesion of cards. after the breakdown of the sixth procesion, the seventh brings bravery forthward. there’s no time to waste and we’re now purified, convinced of our worth and what we need to do in order to achieve what is needed. we’ve accepted the situation, the nature of our uncontrolling emotions and the will of fate. the sevens take action, a bit impulsively, but still they trigger a necessary change after the depression seen with the lovers and the tower. 

viii. eights, strength & the moon

—a beginner’s guide to destroying the moon

“and now i’m staring at the moon wondering why the bottom fell out, been searching for answers and there’s questions i’ve found” / “we’ve been crying for a leader to speak like the old prophets, the blood of the forgotten wasn’t spilled without a purpose, or was it?” / “you’ll never be whole until you lose control, and think freely to smash the wall of apathy, stop your self-importance and lift the weight off somebody else”

there’s a very pretty picture on the eight of cups in the ethereal visions illuminated tarot deck, because the moon is full, shining enormously over a deep blue landscape, and that perfectly illustrates the relation of this card to the major arcana of the moon. this procesion for me is about confidence. change is never easy, even when we’ve finally surrendered to the fate of circumstances, even when we were the ones to trigger it. eight of swords and eight of cups are not easy cards to gaze at, but we must remember that the moon is a mother, it is nurturing, it reminds us of the quality of nature to be cyclical, that things are always moving and flowing, and emotions don’t last forever. it’s also a card of illusions; it yells at us to remove the blindfold from our eyes and rediscover our worth. strength is about taming the beast, keeping on working, effort and struggle. so this tells me; no matter how much it hurts, keep going, be a leader, be the lion, make the blood you shed worth it. 

xix. nines, the hermit & the sun

—pseudologia fantastica

“don’t be afraid of the knife, sometimes you gotta cut the limb to survive” / “you got to love the madness of the feeling, don’t have to rush the freshness of beginning, you got to get back up and face your demons, don’t ever be afraid of starting over”

the nines follow the archetype of the hermit and continue their path through the sun. when we’ve worked hard enough, when we’ve compromised to facing our shadow self, when we’ve retired to truly know ourselves, admiting what we’ve done, what we’re worth, and retreated into silence, then there’s a comeback filled with joy, music, light. the nine of swords is a necessary dark night of the soul leading to a definitive awakening. 

xx. the tens, wheel of fortune & judgement 

—iii

“and i wont be afraid, it’s true we’ll never know, when the night will come and take us home, and people change, we fade from youth, and evolve into eternal life” / “wake the sleeping from their dreaming, we all want more, we all want more saints will sing and hearts are beating, saying we all want more, we all want more”

there’s still much to learn in the ten of swords already, but because life is an ouroboros and our purpose is to return to having full control of all the suits and making use of that power faithfully and wisely, it doesn’t matter. in the tens, we admit that we can affect certain situations but there’s always something that escapes our sight; fortune acts alone. wheels turn again, endlessly, for eternity. we want more; the ten of cups portrays a couple with kids new life, new paths, a new story that is, again, yet to be unfold. ten of pentacles passes down its knowledge and experience to the youth; ten of wands continues with its struggle, in the conviction that the nine will come back. ten of swords, however, looks defeated. it ain’t. it’s finally the death of the past self. ten of swords is, actually, the scene of the moment the knight defeated his adversaries. it is a card of victory; but the knight is yet to become a king. 

[croneboulder]

I would love a reading, if you're still doing them!

Of course hon!!

I’ll be posting a… really weird playlist right after this bc my brain DEMANDED MUSIC to do this reading to. Enjoy that I guess?

Also like. This is basically Call-Out-Post, the Deck, so strap in.

The Present/The Self: Six of Cups

Nostalgia, a want for what once was. You’re looking at a time that was simpler and wishing you were there instead of where you’re at. Dissatisfaction despite positive things and possibilities around you. You may even be in a good position right now, one in which you should be looking ahead, but you’re not.

The Problem: Eight of Cups

Lack of confidence. Dissatisfaction again, but this time towards yourself. Something feels empty and wanting about your life right now, about the track that you’re on. In conjunction with the six, you’re not where you imagined you’d be when you were little. The future isn’t what it appeared to be, or what you felt it could have been. You’re floating, coasting a bit with indecision.

The Past: The Hanged Woman

You were recently between jobs, or between passions, or between… something, I don’t have a clear read on what. Limbo used to be a good thing. Kept you flexible, taught you what you needed and didn’t in your life. It’s where you needed to be at the time, learning what you actually wanted. You weren’t in a situation that allowed for forward movement at the time, anyway. Take stock of what you learned in this time and remember it going forwards.

The Future: The Sun

So since you’re familiar with the tarot I’d like to point something out- no child in this Sun, like in RWS and lots of other decks!! There’s a figure with long hair that implies age and wisdom to me. There’s a bright future and positive emotions here but they aren’t related to something childlike, and it isn’t undirected elation. It’s an earned happiness, a peace after hard work. The future is very bright but its not because you got back to what you had or what you thought you wanted, it will happen when you move past that.

Conscious: Nine of Wands

Mmmmmm, interesting. You’re perhaps hyper-aware of all the work it took to get here. There’s some exhaustion, some bitterness about your journey, but you’re aware that you’ve made strides. You’re looking at a final hurdle with confidence that you can overcome it. I don’t see this as where you’re actually at right now- see the two cups cards for where your brain is at- but where you need to place your mind going forward. Acknowledge past obstacles and all your hard work, but also work to get past the anger about having to deal with all that shit in the first place.

Unconscious: Queen of Swords

You’re not looking at your situation with compassion, but with cold logic. This may be part of the internalized dissatisfaction I mentioned earlier- you’re viewing yourself and your faults with that cold logic and your self-judgement is like ice daggers into the squishy bits. Continue to work to better yourself but make the conscious choice to also handle yourself with patience and compassion, don’t let that unconscious self-doubt be the only voice speaking.

Your Influence: Seven of Cups

Placing illusions on yourself. This is the callout card of this reading I think. Lack of confidence, self-doubt, misplaced focus on the past are blocking you from the truth of your situation, on the opportunities that are actually there. Look at all of your options for what they could be, not what they are at first glance- you won’t make further movement until you can clear your head and do so.

External Influence: Justice

Fairness and culmination of… for lack of a better term, karma? You’ve done hard work and the positive effects are coming around. Those around you are recognizing what you are doing, and you’ll be receiving your just desserts soon. The earth in its orbit is doing its thing, change is happening like it always does and you gotta keep up- the turning of seasons and the natural order of things is in your favor right now.

Hopes and Fears: Four of Cups

You fear all that is available to you is a disappointing status quo. This is blocking your view of possibilities available. You’re hoping for something better and more fulfilling, hoping for a next step that you don’t see yet. I’m getting a really strong hopefulness from this, a focus on better things that isn’t present in the rest of the reading. I think a lot of the cards so far have been tapping into your fears, while this one is saying hey, keep with that hope and focus on it and it’ll go places.

Outcome: Four of Swords

Rest….. or burnout. Your focus is misplaced right now, and getting it back on track will allow you to get places, at which point you can stop moving for a second and breathe. If I’m reading the cards right and you’ve really got that much self-doubt going on, that shit weighs heavy on you after a while!!  Getting out of that place will let you relax. On the other side, keep going the way you are and you’ll just melt from the pressure of what you want, or burn up in the atmosphere of something you can’t handle.

[avillageofcards]

Tarot Workout

If you're anything like me, you like to shove tarot into parts of life where it really doesn't belong. So with that, why not let your deck design your morning/evening workout? Get that blood pumping a little differently every day.

I'd recommend starting with no fewer than three cards per day, but that's up to your current preferences and abilities. Pull your cards, check what they mean, and make sure all of your Majors have been accounted for. Then go for it! After a week, add another card, and then another the next week. Replace exercises that you absolutely hate or can't do, of course! (Disclaimer-- this is aimed at people who are like semi-active. If you run marathons, this will probably feel like baby stuff. It's just meant to be a fun bit of motivation, and not to replace medical advice).

Without further ado:

Pentacles (legs)

Pips- do the corresponding number of lunges for each leg

Page- jump from a squatting position five times (point those toes!)

Knight- do ten squats

Queen- raise yourself onto your toes ten times

King- hold a wall-sit for ten seconds

Cups (arms)

Pips- do the corresponding number of push-ups (modified if necessary!)

Page- while holding a plank position, tap each of your shoulders with the opposite hand five times

Knight- do ten tricep dips

Queen- circle both arms ten times (slow and controlled movements)

King- lie in a superman position (on your belly with your arms and legs outstretched and slightly raised) and squeeze your shoulders together ten times

Swords (core)

Pips- do the corresponding number of crunches

Page- hold a plank for ten seconds

Knight- do ten Russian twists on each side

Queen- in a plank position, bring each knee toward the opposite shoulder ten times

King- ten leg raises (like a reverse crunch)

Wands (cardio)

Pips- do the corresponding number of jumping jacks

Page- run with high knees, stepping with each foot ten times

Knight- jump and tuck your knees to your chest ten times

Queen- do ten burpees

King- kick your butt ten times with each foot

Major Arcana

The Fool- Take the plunge, and pull an extra card (just for today)

The Magician- Add ten reps of any exercise you know you're good at

The High Priestess- hold the goddess pose and feel your inner strength

The Empress- play some nature sounds or calm music and dance reallllyyy slowly for a minute (but never stop moving!)

The Emperor- shadow box for a minute

The Hierophant- add ten reps of an exercise you still want to get better at

The Lovers- double the exercises from the card you liked best today

The Chariot- run in place as fast as you can until your tempo starts dropping

Strength- do ten squats or crunches (you can pick) holding something heavy-- a book will do in a pinch!

The Hermit- hold child's pose at the end of your routine, considering how your whole body feels

The Wheel- do the whole routine a second time

Justice- if you pulled any pip cards 4 or below, pull one more card for your routine

The Hanged Man- hold the tree pose because-- well, you know

Death- discard the card you think will do you the least good, and pull another to replace it

Temperance- hold a plank as long as you can on one side, then mirror the same time on your other side

The Devil- go ahead, discard whichever card you want from your routine

The Tower- pull two more cards

The Star- spend a minute deep breathing

The Moon- when you're all done your routine for today, leave one of the cards out for you to do again tomorrow

The Sun- dance as hard as you can for the length of a song of your choosing (preferably upbeat)

Judgement- after you've completed all of your cards once, repeat the card that gave you the most trouble

The World- if you'd like, this card can override the whole routine for the day, and you can take a day off. If you'd rather keep it up, do all the other cards you pulled and just know that your deck is really proud of you (and I am too)

Enjoy! (Also apologies if this has been done before, I've just never seen it myself)

[loganscove]

I am adding all of the prompts to this under the cut. Someone asked me to do so because they are going to be offline most of the month. I am happy to oblige.

What is the beginning of the journey? Pick a card and decide if your story starts with a bang, or starts soft and sweet.

Choose a card with an animal on it. Figure out a way to incorporate the meaning of the card and the animal into your story.

Choose a card and google it; find a long passage and take the third and fifth sentences. Use every word - bonus points if you manage to use them in order!

Choose a card. You must use the meaning, but you have some caveats! If it is a Major Arcana you must do a word sprint equivalent to the number on the card (ex. If you pull strength, you do either eight minutes or eleven minutes depending on which deck you own.) If you pull a sword, you must do the number times fifty words before you can stop; a wand meant times one-hundred; a pentacle means times one-hundred-fifty; and a cup means times two-hundred. Good luck!

Find the card you think has the most terrible meaning in the entire deck. Study the card and come up with a way to incorporate it in a way that is good for the character.

Pull two cards at random. Choose one to be a character to put into your novel.

Take one of the court cards and decide how this person could be your character’s mother or father.

Choose three cards and take a quick glance at them for symbols. Choose the first three you see and incorporate them into your writing.

Choose a character of yours and have them write a journal entry based on two cards you pull.

Take two cards that seem to conflict and use them to drive the scene forward.

Find a song that either mentions tarot or has a tarot card name and write to that songs and whatever songs come up as “suggested” from it.

Draw a card and see what time of day it is. Use that in your next scene.

Your main character has a revelation; draw a card and use your first thought!

Draw a card and use the inverted meaning to bring your plot forward.

Today you need to take a break, draw your favourite card and use it in your scene somehow. Afterwords, take a long break for you.

Go back in time, let’s learn about your character’s nth birthday. Choose a card and write a scene using the number from the card and the meaning.

Draw the seventh card and use the meaning to give your character some good luck!

It’s time to make some friends. Draw a card and using only the image, make a character for your main character to make friends with!

Choose three cards. Pick adjectives from the cards and use them in the order you drew!

Draw a card. Use the weirdest symbol in your scene!

Find a card with a fire. Use the meaning to help tell you why there is a fire in this scene.

Draw a card and write a joke off of the meaning of the card. Draw more cards if you can’t figure out the punch line!

Draw three cards, these three become wise sages who give advice. Are they any good at it.

Look through your deck until you find food, and have a snack - you or the characters.

Look through your deck until you find a cup card. The person, or the scene is involved with your character getting coffee or tea. You should grab a cup too!

Choose three cards. Start a fight, with two characters arguing card one and two, the third card is the real truth!

Look up a word-of-the-day. Go through your deck until you find a card that makes you think of that word. Use both in today’s scene.

You’re almost done. Choose five cards and write word sprints in minutes correlated to the numbers. (Ace of Wands? One minute! Lovers? Six minutes!)

Choose five cards and decide on verbs for those cards. Use them in the order that you drew the cards.

Finish writing. At midnight, draw two cards. The first is you, the other is your novel. Figure out how you feel.

22 major arcana optional prompts

The Fool - A dog appears to lead your MC into the next adventure.

The Magician - A children’s birthday party goes awry.

High Priestess - A religious scandal happens.

The Empress - Someone is pregnant.

The Emperor - A High class or important person appears in the next chapter!

Heirophant - A religious scandal happens.

The Lovers - Two choices, either two friends of the opposite sex are having trouble getting people to believe they’re just friends - or two characters are having trouble convincing people they’re actually in love.

The Chariot - a high speed chase happens. Story doesn’t have cars? Get creative! High Speed dragon chase! Literal Chariots! A foot race!

Strength - A character gets trapped under something and another character gets mom-strength to save them.

The Hermit - a character who has been missing for several chapters finally comes back, OR shelf a character for 5 chapters minimum.

Wheel of Fortune - A gameshow is on a tv in the background OR your characters end up on a game show.

Justice - The police show up. If they bring justice is up to you.

The Hanged Man - a conversation is brought to a sudden halt, as if they are hung up on.

Death - someone is brought back to life.

Temperance - the sweetest character in the whole novel loses their cool.

The Devil - draw 13 cards and use them to write your next chapter.

The Tower - someone trips and has a terrible fall.

The Star - A famous person is brought to their knees.

The Moon - cheese is a key component in this chapter.

The Sun - The weather takes a sudden turn.

Judgement - Take a moment to write about your MC from their worst enemy’s POV

The World - A person on the street calls out about the end of the world!