what-about-zaladane

[what-about-zaladane]

Tarot Spread Masterlist

An index of all of the tarot spreads I post on here.

A Tarot Spread for Interview Prep and Soothing Nerves

When You Lay Down Card 10 and Say “Wait, What?”: A Clarifying Spread for the Outcome of the Celtic Cross

✶ Court Card Clarifiers – A Spread for the King of Pentacles ✶

A Midnight Spread for Tired Clarity

A Random Tarot Card Enters, Pursued by Bear (A simple clarifying spread so you don't freak out)

The Heroine’s Journey Tarot Spread, Variant B

The Heroine's Journey

[what-about-zaladane]

A Tarot Spread for Interview Prep and Soothing Nerves

(This spread can also be adapted to other stressful events and trials in your life: exams, auditions, public speaking, client pitches, etc.)

I've been interviewing a lot lately, trying to find a new job in my field. I've been doing this for almost a decade and I still struggle so much just to get myself in the room -- both in terms of opportunity and emotion.

In the past, my anxiety has sometimes been so bad that I've cancelled interviews outright. It's something to do with my deep fear of public failure (and my Virgo Chiron in the 6th house, I'm sure -- lots of wounds around perfectionism and not being enough).

Lately I've been reading for myself a day or two before an interview (or sometimes the morning of, if I'm extra nervous). It's not a panacea but it helps to calm my mind before I spiral due to the sheer unknown factor of the interview experience. And if nothing else, shuffling and drawing the cards is meditative for me.

If you've got something coming up, try this spread out! I've included deeper explanations and extra questions for each position in the post below, as well as an example reading and card-by-card interpretation.

Positions

Card 1: First impression

What energy do I naturally radiate to interviewers? What will they notice first about me when I enter the room (consciously or unconsciously)? What part of me enters the room before my words do? What story does my body language tell?

Card 2: Your Strength

What quality or skill is my biggest asset during this interview process? What parts of me shine under pressure? What do I already have that they need? Where does my confidence lie?

Card 3: Your Challenge

What internal or external hurdle could trip me up during this interview? What fear, bad habit or self-inflicted blind spot could be a problem for me? What sensitive point within myself do I need to hold with care -- not force?

Card 4: Best Strategy

What approach, strategy or way or preparation with maximize my chances for a good outcome and serve me best? Where should I lean in? What tool or tone will help me the most?

Card 5: Hidden Factor

What unseen influence could shape the outcome of this interview? Is there something subtle and quiet I should watch for? What am I not being told? What is happening under the surface? Is there an invisible wild card I should know about?

Card 6: Outcome and Key Takeaway

What is the likely outcome here -- and the lesson, regardless of the result? If I zoom out after this is done, what can I take away from this experience?

Card 7: (Optional) How to calm your nerves

What small practice, anchor or mindset will help soothe and ground me? Where does peace already exist in me? What steadiness can I bring with me into the room?

Tips

If you have the time, consider pulling an extra clarifier for Cards 3 and 5 -- these are the "shadow" cards in the spread, and they might be sharp.

Consider choosing a Significator Card and placing it above Card 1 to symbolize and embody yourself, walking into this process. Good candidates are: The Fool (0), Strength, the Queen of Pentacles, the Queen of Swords, the King of Swords, and the Page of Pentacles (if you're early in your career).

Example Reading

Card 1 (First Impression): The High Priestess (II). You come across as thoughtful and observant -- and maybe a little mysterious. You seem like someone who notices a lot but only speaks when you have something to say. You might be intriguing to your interviewers -- someone with a hidden depth beyond just your resume.

Card 2 (Your Strength): Three of Pentacles. You excel at teamwork and collaboration. You love to build alongside others and you get along well with your team. You look the best when you're working as part of a larger team or vision, not when isolated. Focus on interview examples where you worked as part of a team and created something bigger than yourself.

Card 3 (Your Challenge): Five of Wands. This card indicates conflict -- internal or external. External competition or internal self-sabotage might trip you up. There might be a lot of candidates jockeying for this position -- or you might be getting in your own way and being your own worst enemy.

Card 4 (Best Strategy): King of Swords. Stay calm, clear and strategic. Lead with mental clarity and keep your communication structured. The interviewer prefers someone who seems on top of either stuff and who is clear and measured. You might be interviewing for a more senior or managerial role. Speak with authority but not bravado. Be honest.

Card 5 (Hidden Factor): Six of Cups (Rx). You may have negative past experiences (childhood, education, or at a toxic past workplace) that are influencing your emotional and mental state. Watch out for emotional triggers that cause you to regress or pull inwards. You might have felt unappreciated or unworthy in the past. That's not you anymore -- you need to keep reminding yourself of that. You are worthy. You are accomplished. You are not an impostor. They have you in this room because you have things they want.

Card 6 (Outcome and Key Takeaway): The Star. Whatever happens, this interview is a turning point -- away from chaos and disappointment, and towards hope, visibility and recalibration. It might be a success, or it might be a re-alignment of your own expectations and emotions toward a more positive direction. Either way, you can expect the interviewer(s) to be a positive interpersonal experience. This is a strong positive indicator.

Card 7 (Calming Nerves): Four of Swords. Rest is key and paramount. Do not overstimulate yourself or cram before this interview. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare your answers to common questions or practice common technical patterns. Give yourself a calm pocket of time before the interview to simply be. Drink some water. Take a walk around your home. Be silent. Meditate. Even 10 minutes of a little stretching can help center you. Don't rush yourself. Inner peace (I know, I know -- but still) is key.

Synthesis

This spread is about quiet power and calm communication (King of Swords, High Priestess, Four of Swords). You have a natural groundedness and likability and gift for collaboration (Three of Pentacles), and you can use that to your advantage -- as long as you don't get caught up in inner conflict or outer competition.

Preparation matters (King of Swords, 4 of Swords) -- don't shortchange yourself in the time leading up to the interview. The past may try to rear its ugly head and make you doubt yourself, but this interview is already about looking forward and moving into a brighter future -- regardless of the actual outcome of this meeting.

[what-about-zaladane]

Ask Me Anything: My Inbox is Open!

Please feel free to ask me anything you like about tarot or astrology! (Or math, data science or machine learning if that's what you're into.) I love weird and/or specific questions if you've got 'em.

My Style

I read tarot symbolically, narratively, and psychologically. I focus a lot of court dynamics, tarot archetypes, and internal dialogue between the cards. I have a strong focus on structured spreads and readings.

I approach astrology with a blend of traditional methods (rulerships, aspects, decans, houses != signs) and modern mythic/psychological insights. I look at the chart as a story or a cosmic song (the music of the spheres, if you will), and each of the planets is a player.

No question is too specific or too general -- and there are no "stupid questions." Astrology and tarot are just stories that we all tell to each other -- I'm happy to help you write some new ones.

You can check out my blog if you want to see my style, focus, musings and mini-essays.

Hit me up and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

Introduction

Hi. I’m Nova (not my real name). I’m a data scientist, a tarot reader and an astrologer. I exist between logic and intuition. This is a space for both.

I’m a Capricorn stellium trying to make meaning out of everything. I’ve spent years building models, studying math, and writing code...but somewhere along the way, I realized I was also tracing patterns in stars and cards. This space is where I let both sides of me speak. Tarot and astrology filtered through the mind of someone who was told to think logically but never stopped feeling symbolically.

Ask Me Anything:

Please feel free to ask me anything you like about tarot or astrology! (Or math, data science or machine learning if that's what you're into.) I love weird and/or specific questions if you've got 'em.

My inbox is open! I'll try to get back to you in a timely manner.

Masterlists:

Reddit r/AskAstrologers Reponse Masterlist: Sometimes I write a response on that sub and overshoot my word count. This is a mini-series bringing in-depth analysis of real people's charts over here to Tumblr.

[what-about-zaladane]

Mars in Cancer in the 8th house: A Quiet Storm (Reddit Analysis)

Reddit r/AskAstrologers Reply Masterlist

Yet another astrology question on Reddit that I overshot my word count on.

In today's entry in the series, we're looking at the significance of Mars in Cancer, Mars in the 8th House, and Mars aspecting Pluto.

The Question:

What is the significance of my Mars in Cancer birth chart placement?

The Chart:

My Answer

Mars in Cancer

Mars in Cancer is "in fall." That means it operates in a very atypically Martian way -- it's not exactly playing to its stereotypical strengths. What does this mean? Pure Mars energy (think an Aries Mars) is quick-trigger, directly aggressive, and gets up in your face, and it doesn't necessarily need much emotional reasoning to do any of that. A Cancer Mars means a person is more passive-aggressive, protective of them and theirs, conflict-avoidant (until they explode and finally let the Mars fireworks out), and deeply loyal. Their rage boils deep inside until it reaches a point of no return. They also get triggered into their anger through emotion -- no quick-flash conflicts. Anything that sets them off is because it touched something deep, deep inside.

Another part of Mars being "in fall" is that you can feel constrained and limited by your mode of (passive) aggression - like you can't confront people. You have problems healthily expressing anger without bottling it up and blowing your top. You also struggle to decisively act and make fast decisions -- all signs of Mars energy being without its normal tools.

Cancer Mars people need emotional buy-in to act on...just about anything too. It has to resonate or it doesn't feel earned or true. About protection: typically Cancer Mars people protect via withdrawing, silence and providing care to people (or taking care of situations). That's the Cancerian "flavor" that is imparted on Mars, the planet of action.

Mars in 8th House

In the 8th house -- that means all that energy is located in areas of the life that are intense and psychologically *loaded.* Mars represents drive and action, so 8th house Mars is tangled up in deep emotions and trust issues, power dynamics, loyalty and, importantly, loss. You move like a deep, dark tide. 8th house is also the house of "other people's resources" -- so there might be some of that Cancer Mars behaviour and experience wrapped up in inheritance or death (but this is more on the predictive side of things).

Mars Trine Pluto (exactly)

A big thing that you didn't necessarily ask for but I wanted to mention -- you've got a zero-degree, *exact* trine with 12th house Pluto in Scorpio. So you have some crazy, soul-deep stamina and resilience. You transform yourself during (and via) emotional hardship, and you've likely got a great radar for emotional and social undercurrents, secrets, suppressed stuff. But you probably find it hard to pinpoint why, and sometimes disbelieve your own abilities to clock that kind of stuff (that's super 12th house -- hard to see the parts of yourself that live in that house.)

Some Additional Notes, For Tumblr:

Mars Rules 5th and 12th Houses

Mars also rules the 5th house (Aries) and 12th House (Scorpio, by traditional rulership). Because of this, your creative expression might be fueled by emotional intensity and the internal storm raging, not just the simple joy of creation. Your art and creativity serves to express your underworld. Romance and children can also serve as opportunities for you to protect things -- partners and loved ones.

Ruling the 12th house, Mars has a strong tendency toward the secret, the hidden, the subliminal -- you probably need or excel at shadow-work. In this chart, Mars rules the things that no-one sees...and combined with the 8th house, that's a whole storm of intense, personal secret actions and obsessions.

Mars Trine Mercury (loosely)

With Mars loosely trining Mercury in Scorpio, 12th house (the house it also rules) -- Mars just increases the sharp, probing nature of this Mercury placement. Your inner voice is sharp, clear and instinctually decisive, and it tracks things a lot of other people miss. Your mind orbits emotion, not impulse. However, you're the opposite of a public speaker -- your best communication and thinking is done behind the scenes. You observe things quietly and then make your decisions. Your thought processes are deeply subconscious, almost to the point of self-opacity.

Mars Square Midheaven / MC (moderately)

I mentioned that you're not a "public" kind of person -- and this is underlined by the loose square of your Mars to your Libra Midheaven (MC). You might have some frustrations and friction when it comes the visibility of your actions -- either you're seen as "too much" or entirely overlooked. You feel like what moves you internally doesn't match up with what other people see in you. You *hate* having your inner processes and emotions exposed, especially before you're ready.

Mars Opposite Neptune (loosely)

Your Mars is loosely opposite your Neptune (Capricorn, 2nd house). There's a deep but subtle well of spiritual tension here -- and you probably don't even notice it, because Neptune tends to obscure its own movements and aspects. Here, Mars wants to act and Neptune wants to dissolve. You tend to have problems knowing when to act or what to act on, and you have a deep well of self-doubt around the validity of your inner voice and instincts. (This is only worsened by your Mercury being stuck in the 12th house, where we often find occupants hidden from our self-perception).

Since Neptune is in the 2nd house, you might have confusion around self-worth vis a vis material value or the amount of effort you put in. You might feel like other people take advantage of your generosity, and then you may resent them -- because at the root, you don't know what you really want out of your own resources.

[what-about-zaladane]

When You Lay Down Card 10 and Say "Wait, What?": A Clarifying Spread for the Outcome of the Celtic Cross

You've just finished a Celtic Cross reading. You lay down the final card and you just...stare at it. Instead of clarity, you get confusion. Or dread. Or a card that just doesn't make sense for the rest of the spread.

That's the situation this clarifying spread is for.

When the Five of Swords or The Tower hits the table and everything in you clenches up. What fresh hell awaits me?, you think.

When The High Priestess shows up in a reading about finding your keys. Well, that's spectacularly unhelpful.

When the Eight of Wands is the end cap on a emotional reading full of Cups and Majors. Okay, why all the hubbub all of a sudden? What happened to my deep spiritual reading? Are the cards telling me to run a lap so my head will clear? This reading feels unfinished.

That's what this spread is meant to deal with. It's a more structured version of pulling a clarifying card (or, three, or five) so that you have clear questions and answers. It's a compass through your temporary fog of uncertainty.

You're free to move around the card positions or switch up the order you draw them, though I find this setup works best for me. This is a spread directly from my own personal notebook, and I've used it fairly frequently over the years when the Celtic Cross completes itself and rides away into the sunset -- and I'm left here blinking and befuddled. "But what does that mean?" I want to chase after it and yell. Well, this is me getting it to finally yell back.

It's more of a structured investigation. The idea is to put the card in context and ask the right questions to illuminate it.

Setup

You've pulled a full Celtic Cross spread. You can either

A) slide Card 10 (Outcome) away from the main spread and layer this one over it, or

B) grab that card again later and set up this spread separately (maybe after you've had a day to think about it and realized that no, that stupid card makes no sense and the tarot god(s) have forsaken you.)

Explanation of the Positions -- Diving Deeper

The spread graphic should function self-contained without having to read this post, but I also wanted to dive a little deeper into each card position in case you have questions about one of the blurbs.

Card 1: What is the nature of this card or situation?

This is the "what the hell am I looking at?" card. It gives a new voice to the Outcome Card. It says -- what does this card embody? What is its essence, its internal logic. It paints a new portrait -- not a prediction.

Lay it directly on top of the original Outcome Card like a veil -- or an x-ray.

Card 2: What is the root of this card?

Where does this card come from? What fertile soil -- emotional, psychological, or situational -- is it springing out of? This card is a little like the "Below" card in the Celtic Cross. It can reflect the deeper cause, the underlying energy, the internal narrative, or the external circumstance that led to the current trajectory (and Card 10).

Card 3: How does this card affect the original situation?

This card is about impact. How does Card 10 change or impact the entire Celtic Cross that came before it? What ripples does it send out backwards across the spread? What does it say to help reframe the entire conversation you just had with the cards?

Card 4: What happens if I ignore it?

What's the consequence or result of simply...ignoring this card? Pretending you didn't draw it or it doesn't matter? Or of resisting, bypassing or circumventing it? It shows the potential cost (or benefit -- but mostly cost) of avoidance. What happens if you stick your head in the sand or turn your face away?

Card 5: What is the best way to navigate this card?

The wrap-up and advice-type card. It's not the "Outcome of the Outcome" -- it's the "How do I deal with my Trajectory" card. We're looking forward now. How can you engage with this Outcome consciously and mindfully? What's your own role in either integrating it or moving around it?

This card says: If you do nothing else...do this.

Final Thoughts

This spread isn't necessarily meant to tell you what the future holds -- the Outcome card already did that. It's meant to tell you how to meet that future with preparation and clarity, properly framed and contextualized.

Post Credits scene: The High Priestess smirks and throws your keys onto the table like poker chips. The answer was never lost -- just withheld until "your consciousness" was ready. Okay, ma'am.

[what-about-zaladane]

Thinking About Tarot Court Cards As The Evolution of A Question

The Court Cards aren’t people. They’re questions-in-progress. Here’s how I think about their evolution.

The Court cards are a little opaque for most people (don't worry, they confound me too sometimes). What helps me is to think of them as people on a search of a particular piece of knowledge -- and their relationship to that topic is the attitude of the court card.

The Courts are roles in a symbolic cycle. They don't show status -- they show steps and signposts along the road to answering a question. Each one is a stage in how we engage with a question, an idea, a topic or a part of ourselves.

The Court Catchphrases: The Evolution of a Question

Page: "Oooh, what's that? What happens if I poke it?" They're the spark of curiosity, the beginning of attention.

Knight: "Let's find out the answer! At the exact speed I want, weee!" They are the pursuit, the action/reaction, the motion.

Queen: "Oh I get it now. The answer clicks -- that's really satisfying. Do you want to know the answer, too?" They're the understanding -- the moment of resonance and integration. The Queens are the feeling of knowing.

King: "I know the answer definitively. I'm going to wield it -- and my accumulated knowledge -- with confidence." They are the wielded synthesis, the directed action, the expression of "I've mastered this topic."

The Focus, Style, and Terrain of the Suits

The other aspect of each court card is the suit. It tells you what kind of question they're asking and how they'll inquire, chase, understand or wield the answer.

Wands (Fire): Story, creation, and desire. The court is curious about inspiration and driven by impact. They want to know what lights them up, what inspires them.

Cups (Water): Emotion, intuition, and connection. The court is curious about feeling and driven by intimacy. They want to know what moves them, what makes them feel, what heals them and others.

Swords (Air): Thought, speech and truth. The court is curious about logic and driven by clarity. They want to know what's right, what cuts through the fog.

Pentacles (Earth): Labor, time and value. The court is curious about process and driven by concrete results and longevity. They want to know what's real, what will last.

Layering them Together: The 16-Role Court System

Now we layer these perpendicular lines of the tarot on top of each other and we get the grid of the Court Cards.

Court of Wands

Page of Wands: "Oooh, what's that spark?" The Page of Wands wants to touch the fire -- it doesn't know yet if it's hot. It wants inspiration, novelty and a quest to start out on. It wants to see what something can become. They're the most impetuous of the Pages. They're a lit match.

Knight of Wands: "Let's chase this spark. Let's get some momentum going. Let's GO." They want to run while the story is still being written. It's curiosity that spurs them to get on their horse and fly like the wind -- fast. They're the fastest of the Knights (maybe tied with the Knight of Swords) but they're going off in every direction. They're a Roman Candle. They are yang fire -- but unbalanced.

Queen of Wands: "I understand this spark. I feel it inside. It makes me radiant. Do you want to feel it too?" The Queen understands and owns her fire. It makes her a beacon. She's a bonfire, warm and ready to share themselves. They radiate their knowledge like the sun. They are balanced yin fire.

King of Wands: "This flame is mine to lead with. I can shape the world in its image -- or inspire you to do the same." (Be careful you don't burn it down.) He leads via inspiration and turns passion into direction. He directs the myth of the flame and commands its narrative. He's a wielded torch. They are balanced yang fire.

Court of Cups

Page of Cups: "Oooh, what's this feeling? It it love? Is it magic? Is it sadness shaped like a fish?" They're the kid with their first crush, the first rush of emotion and tenderness. They are innocent, dreamy and porous -- very few emotional boundaries because they haven't learned their necessity yet. They sigh, look out the window, and draw hearts in their notebook. They're the first burble of a spring coming out of the ground, the first drops of a cup poured gently.

Knight of Cups: "Let's follow the longing and desire. Let's find the answer in beauty." They know the direction to go -- but it's up to them the loops they'll take to get there. They follow every beautiful interest and romanticize the entire process. They sigh and look over their shoulder at someone new. When they are centered, they are deeply set on their pilgrimage toward love and beauty. They are romantic, devotional and deeply escapist. They hold emotion up like a banner standard as they chase (tail). He's a dolphin, squirting water at you.

Queen of Cups: "I’ve held this feeling. I know how it moves. Would you like to feel safe with it?" She is the emotional vessel, and the wisdom of being with. She holds the feeling and understands it deeply, and she invites you into her calm, deep pool. She is a wading pond found in a moonlit clearing in the forest. Come join her.

King of Cups: "I know what this feeling requires. I know what love needs. I can lead with compassion." He's a lake with waves deep under the surface. He looks calm on the outside but "still waters run deep" -- he can turn into a tide pool, too. He's mastered himself in order to hold the needs and emotions of others.

Court of Swords

Page of Swords: "Oooh, what's that idea? I'm going to watch it, listen, and ask questions." They are smart and just a touch skeptical. They're "the smart kid" with boundless intellectual curiosity. They tend to watch from the sidelines -- they're used to living in the world of the mind. They are the first, rising breeze that begins to ruffle your papers.

Knight of Swords: "Let's go find the truth and wrestle it into submission. Let's fight to find the answer. Right now." They act fast, speak fast and sometimes think mid-motion. They are urgency personified -- just as fast as the Knight of Wands, but directed -- pointedly so. They are a jetstream, knocking you over. They speed-read everything and toss the book aside.

Queen of Swords: "I know what's true, even if it hurts. I'll speak it and clearly. I see the truth now, and I see its structure." Her voice is even-toned and rings out across a room, even if she speaks quietly. Her words don't necessarily hurt, even if the truth does. She is wisdom with precision, and her empathy is earned from her. She is a room with completely still air, where you could hear a pin drop. She is the angel of illumination in the devil's details.

King of Swords: "I will wield this truth and I will decide what matters. Truth is a tool and I know how to use it." He is logic as authority. His belief is hardened into a worldview -- for better or for worse. He is a gale-force wind, flattening everything in his path. You will submit. There will be no questions.

Court of Pentacles

Page of Pentacles: "Oooh, what's this seed doing here? I wonder what will happen if I plant it and tend it? Can I make it last?" They are curious about systems, cycles and craft. They want to make something real. They're the kid who plays in the dirt and turns it into joyful gardening. They want to create. They are the kid in the FFA (Future Farmers of America) with dirt always under their nails. They probably major in mycology later. They are a well-tended first sprout.

Knight of Pentacles: "Let's do the work. Let's walk the slow road. No shortcuts. We will get to the answer precisely when we are meant to." He's loyal, methodical, and sometimes stubborn. He’ll finish the hard work even if no one’s watching. He's the odd one out among his brother Knights, but he's the one you can trust to pack out in the morning, and set up the cookpot at night. He is the process of dotting your i's and crossing your t's in notes no one but you will ever see. If the Eight of Pentacles is the action, the Knight of Pentacles is the one who does it. He's a well-plowed field (as opposed to the Knight of Cups, who just leaves you well-plowed.)

Queen of Pentacles: "I understand this process and the rhythm of the soil. I know its worth. It has value. I will tend it with both hands." She is quiet power embodied as nourishment. She's the keeper of the garden -- be it edible or ornamental, though she prefers the former. She makes abundance sustainable. She is the Empress refracted into the courts. She's a soup-pot always simmering on the back of the stove. She feeds the entire village. She flourishes through hard work and careful loving tending. She's the hug that pulls you up by your bootstraps. She's not soft because she's weak -- she's soft because she's strong enough to care.

King of Pentacles: "I've built this from nothing into something, and I'll protect it. I will ensure it lasts." He is authority through provision -- he makes sure the village stays standing, sheltered, fed, and protected. He is the legacy-bearer -- he is the fortress. His walls aren't flashy like the King of Wands. They tell a story only through the fingerprints of those who built them. He guards what matters (and hopefully doesn't hoard it). He may, in his worst moments, veer into territory-guarding and over-protection, but he always means the very best. He is walls of mud and brick, and a figure standing sentinel in front of them. He is foundation.

Some Final Thoughts -- and a Question

The Court Cards don't have to be people -- they can be processes. They can show us how we move through questions on the way to the answer, and what we do with the answer once we have it.

You don't have to "identify" with one court card. You can become each of them in turn, changing from one moment to another, depending on the question you are pursuing. Today you are the King, tomorrow you are the Page. You can become any of them -- It all depends on where you are in a cycle.

What are you curious about right now? What do you already know? And who are you becoming as you follow that question?

[what-about-zaladane]

Mars (aka Aries) ruling the 4th house:

“And then I punched my childhood in the face.”

[what-about-zaladane]

Chiron in Aries ≠ Chiron in 1st House ≠ Chiron in Aspect to Mars: Three Ways Your Pain Speaks

Or: why Chiron in a sign, Chiron in a house, and Chiron aspecting a planet are very different, and why that matters. (tl;dr: We unintentionally flatten something incredibly tender and important into a single broad stroke, and that can hurt.)

I want to talk little about something I see a lot in astrology conversations and content: combining interpretations for a placement in a sign, a house and with an aspect. Specifically I want to talk about Chiron, because it is such a loaded -- and yet often overlooked -- placement.

These three things -- sign, house, aspect -- are three very different and crucially distinct flavors of pain. By collapsing them into one category you ask people to synthesize and integrate pain that might not be theirs.

Let's walk through each type of placement and talk about what they have to say about your Chiron and your wounds.

Chiron's Sign: The Story You Tell Yourself About Why It Hurts

This is the archetypal tone of your wound. It's the myth it wears in your mind. The character it portrays. The style of your ache.

Chiron in Aries might say: "I should be braver. I don't act. I'm too much."

Chiron in Virgo might whisper: "I'm not good enough to fix what I break. And I break everything."

This is what you believe the wound means, whether or not that belief holds true.

Chiron's House: Where It Shows Up In Your Life

This is the arena of lived experience where your wound tends to play out. It's not a psychological placement -- it's situational.

Chiron in the 1st House is an identity wound, an ache of being seen.

Chiron in the 4th House is a family wound, a private ache.

Chiron in the 10th house is a public wound, an ache of legacy.

Chiron in the 7th house is an intimacy wound, an ache in relationships and vulnerability.

The sign is the flavor; the house is the location.

Chiron's Aspects: What It Triggers In You

And yes, I mean "trigger" here in both the pop-culture sense and the clinical psychology sense. Aspects show what parts of you are entangled in this wound. Aspects to Chiron aren't where it lives, they're what it talks to.

The type of aspect is also important here. Conjuncts blend your wound in with an important function. Hard aspects (square, opposition) spread the pain to that planet. Soft aspects (trine, sextile) show where the wound might be beneficial in some way.

Chiron conjunct Mars: The wound tries to act or not act -- and it hurts.

Chiron conjunct Mercury: The wound tries to speak -- or it never could.

Chiron square Venus: Love is sharp, withheld, or clung to too hard.

Chiron trine Saturn: The wound became a tool. You're able to hold pain in a structured way and utilize it.

Aspects show circuitry: how pain moves through a chart, what it activates, what holds it, what resists it.

Why All of This Matters

Chiron is already a tender point in a chart and a person. It's already holding some elements of the 12th house -- it's murky, it's hard to name out loud, it's often erased. When we smash together sign + house + aspect into one interpretation, it over-generalizes the pain a person holds. We do a disservice to the specificity of the wound that Chiron holds.

Chiron deserves to be read with care and precision. It deserves to be witnessed in all its gory detail, because that's how you're forced to live it.

How to Read Your Chiron With Care

Sign: What narrative have I formed around my pain?

House: Where in my life does this pain keep reappearing?

Aspects: What other parts of me are affected and brought up when my pain rears its head?

Chiron doesn't ask for a quick fix, but it does ask to be understood and held with care.

Chiron doesn't ask for a solution. It asks to be seen.

[what-about-zaladane]

When The Knights Are Just Grown Men with Poor Impulse Control

Knight of Wands: He has three unfinished screenplays, a plan to run a 10k next week, and a motorcycle he can’t pay for. He texts "u up?" at 3am then forgets to reply.

Knight of Cups: He shows up with a mixtape, a long sigh, and a vague apology. A single handsome tear is shed. Because You’re so beautiful when you’re mad, baby.

Knight of Swords: He argued with his boss, started a podcast, forgot to eat, and picked a fight on a default subreddit. Then he speed-read four books and rolled his eyes at the contents. You recommended one of them.

Knight of Pentacles: He means so well. He's still doing the dishes from March. He won’t text back until he’s sure he can commit to a semicolon or an em dash.

Tag yourself. I’m Knight of Swords with Knight of Cups rising.

[what-about-zaladane]

Something to note: unless you are very firm and explicit with an AI about defining a deck and doing a random shuffle, the cards they “draw” are not random. They are deterministically selected by the LLM in order to generate the “most likely” or “most appropriate” card (by meaning) for this specific situation.

Most AI “readings” aren’t using true card selections like real readers do — they are the model telling you a story based on the situational context you give them. This isn't malicious or fake — it's just what LLMs do.

If you’ve ever played around with AI and found their “tarot readings” are oddly on the nose…that’s why. (Very important) ethics aside, there’s an inherent problem with AI readings if you’re looking for tarot’s characteristic “meaning from entropy” magic.

ALWAYS ASK TAROT READERS TO SEND A PIC OF CARDS THAT FELL OUT FOR YOU , SO YOU KNOW THAT THEY HAVE CARDS ,AND AINT FOOLIN AROUND WITH CHATGPT.

[what-about-zaladane]

Trying to interpret a tarot spread with no positions is like trying to figure out a chess match halfway through when all the pieces are the same color.

I can give generalities, but I can only vaguely guess at what’s really going on.

[what-about-zaladane]

✶ Court Card Clarifiers – A Spread for the King of Pentacles ✶

A small clarifying spread for when the King of Pentacles shows up in a spread and won't explain what he wants or means. This is the spread I use to ask him to explain himself.

For when you're not sure if the card is a person, a pattern, or a part of yourself.

(I've got more of these for the court cards, so let me know if you want to see them.)

Feel free to re-arrange the order of the cards if you like.

[what-about-zaladane]

What if you don't relate to your Rising Sign? Meet your Chart Ruler

A lot of people don't identify with their ascendant. That's okay. And it might be because their Chart Ruler is steering their chart in a different direction.

The chart ruler is the planet that rules your rising sign (or ascendant). It tells you the moves you make in the world, underneath the style of your Rising.

Aries: Mars

Taurus: Venus

Gemini: Mercury

Cancer: Moon

Leo: Sun

Virgo: Mercury

Libra: Venus

Scorpio: Mars (and kinda Pluto)

Sagittarius: Jupiter

Capricorn: Saturn

Aquarius: Saturn (and kinda Uranus)

Pisces: Jupiter (and kinda Neptune)

(There's a lot of back-and-forth about traditional vs. modern rulerships, but that matters less for this post. We're going to go with mostly traditional, with modern rulers added on for a little flavor.)

Important Distinction

The Ascendant is the filter, the style, interface. It's how you move.

The Chart Ruler is the driver, the body, the animating part. It's the moves you make.

If your Ascendant is your "mask", the Chart Ruler is the person who picked it out.

The Ascendant might describe how you initiate your approach, but the Chart Ruler describes what you're actually trying to do.

Some Examples

You're a Taurus Rising but you feel restless, sharp and intense -- not slow, methodical and grounded? Check out where your Venus is in your chart -- it might be in Aries. If so, your moves might be careful, but the actions they take are a lot more intense than your Taurus Rising gives you credit for.

If you're a Aries Rising but you feel quiet, structured and methodical in your heart instead of brash and confrontational, check out your Mars placement. It might be in Capricorn. (In which case, congratulations, your Mars is exhalted.) You have a lot more stamina, forethought and resilience than your Aries Rising says you do.

If you're a Scorpio Rising but you're charming, bubbly and maybe a little bit scattered, maybe your Mars is in Gemini. That will change how your Scorpio tone plays out in lived reality. (Psst - check out what your Pluto is doing too. It'll show you how your Scorpio depth and intensity is directed and how it plays out. Maybe it's in Libra and you're the world's most amiable Gen-X Scorpio.)

The Ascendant is the hypothetical approach -- all else equal, how do you approach life compared to a different Sign on the horizon? The Chart Ruler is the actual reality -- how does your energetic approach actually show up in day to day life?

Conclusion

If you feel disconnected to your Rising Sign -- you're not wrong, and neither is astrology. You just need to look elsewhere on your chart for deeper answers. There's more to the story. Your chart ruler is you walking that story in your own way. Your Chart Ruler shows you how the Character in your Rising lives, moves and makes decisions.

If the Rising Sign is the Archetype, the Chart Ruler is how you play your position.

[what-about-zaladane]

Knight of cups will show up with a mixtape crying softly like an emo Say Anything.

Asked my tarot cards if I have a chance with the guy I like and I got the knight of cups how cooked am I

[what-about-zaladane]

The "Big Four": Why Mercury Deserves a Spot Next to Your Sun, Moon and Rising

The three pillars of modern astrology, after you get past Sun sign astrology, are your Sun, Moon and Rising sign (which I have complicated thoughts about -- but more on that later).

Sun: Your core self, ego and identity

Moon: Your emotional landscape, habits, and inner needs

Rising (Ascendant): How you interact with the rest of the world. How others first see you.

But to me, these "Big 3" leave out a very important part of the human experience: cognition and mental processing. Without it, I believe we can't capture the full complexity of who a person is at their most fundamental, and why they make the decisions that they make.

Why Mercury?

Mercury rules how we think, process, and communicate. It is the superego to the Moon's id and the Sun's ego. (I don't have a clean Freudian metaphor for the Rising, sorry.) It translates our internal motions and worlds (Sun and Moon) to the external (Ascendant). Without considering Mercury we risk ignoring that very crucial bridge between our motivations and our actions. No other planet has this level of foundational role in our psyche -- other than the Big 3.

Mercury helps you process and articulate your emotional needs (Moon)

Mercury helps you understand your own core motivations and desires (Sun)

Mercury impacts how the Rising sign is actually translated to the world -- after all, thinking (or lack thereof) is fundamental to making decisions on how and where to act.

How Mercury Fits In the Big 4

Imagine a two-dimensional axis:

If we consider Mercury (thinking) and the Moon (feeling) as opposites on one axis, and the Sun (internal drives) and the Ascendant (external actions) as opposites on the other, we start to see a workable framework for balancing the respective powers of the "Big 4" in a chart. As I like to call them:

Sun: How you want (motivation)

Moon: How you feel (emotion)

Rising: How you move (embodied expression)

Mercury: How you think (cognition)

For example, we might consider how dignified or debilitated a given planet is, and then we can see where along each axis a native might fall.

That's all mostly incidental though -- what I really care about is incorporating Mercury into the core reading of the chart as a balancing agent between the other three.

With Mercury, we have a richer, more nuanced framework. We can see how the energies and motions of the other chart objects are integrated and expressed via the processing of Mercury -- the integration of inner and outer worlds.

A note on sect doctrine and traditional importance:

A fair point to raise is that traditionally (hellenistically?) the Sun and Moon are considered important due to their centrality in sect doctrine, while the ascendant is critical due to setting the planetary rulers for each house. I'd argue that Mercury also has a soft signal of importance -- it is the only sect-neutral planet that can be a native of either. I'd argue that this points to its utility and function as a "bridging" energy between two diametrically opposed halves (the day and night sect; the inner and outer psychological words)

A Quick Example: Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn has:

Gemini Sun: Restless, observant and clever. Motivated to gather data and make sense of the world. Performs intelligence as allure.

Aquarius Moon: Emotional glass walls -- she watches, analyzes and retreats. Needs emotional freedom but fears it. A coolness to this placement.

Leo Rising: A sparkling icon, a force of expansive personality, a walking light source. Projects warmth, sensuality and confidence to everyone around her.

But the addition of her Gemini Mercury shows how she takes her Big 3 personality (charismatic, emotionally complex, and deeply creative) and filters it through her deep intellectual curiosity, wit, and remarkable communication and negotiation skills. Without Mercury, we don't have a clear window into how emotion and personality are translated into words and actions.

Mercury is how her Sun learned to articulate itself.

It's how her Moon kept intellectual distance from the pain.

It's how her Rising crafted a language of seduction and softness.

Mercury-Moon-Sun-Rising: An Active Feedback Loop

I'm borrowing here from my limited knowledge of psychological systems theory, so forgive me if I mis-step.

With Mercury in place, we can model identity as an adaptive feedback system rather than a static map.

Moon triggers feelings -> interpreted by Mercury

Mercury builds narrative -> energizes or inhibits Sun motivation

Sun expresses intention -> channeled through Rising action

Rising behavior leads to experience -> which re-informs and triggers Moon

Loop complete. When you're well-integrated, the cycle hums along. When you're fractured or "unhealed" one part hijacks the loops or shuts down the others. That is the client story every chart is showing.

Try It Out Yourself!

Try reading your chart with Mercury as part of your core system. You can ask yourself some questions:

How do you process what you feel? (Moon)

How do you think about and negotiate your desires? (Sun)

What story do you consciously tell when you step out into the world? (Rising)

That's Mercury. That's cognition as a bridge.

A Quick Note on Rising Sign

I disagree with the idea that your rising sign is solely "your mask" or affects only your 1st house. In fact, your rising sign is the key to the rest of the chart -- how sign rulership over every house clicks into place (especially in the Whole Sign System). I'm currently writing up a post about my problems with the Rising Sign and my suggestion that we expand our view into a Rising Archetype, divorced from a single sign and instead incorporating all 12. More later! :D

[what-about-zaladane]

Reddit Astrology Response Masterlist

Astrology: r/AskAstrologers

I've got a short series where I reply to Reddit questions that are too old for me to reasonably comment on, or my writeup got a little long, or I just feel like reposting my response to tumblr as a mini-essay.

Mars in Cancer in the 8th House: A Quiet Storm (also includes Mars aspects to Pluto, Mercury, MC, and Neptune)

Why Your Mail Keeps Disappearing: A Natal Chart-Based Look at Logistics and Karma

Why Do I Give off A Negative First Impression? Mars, Venus-Pluto Squares, and the Armor of Intensity

Reddit Chart Analysis: Joy, the Fifth House, and Fallen Jupiter

[what-about-zaladane]

Why Your Mail Keeps Disappearing: A Natal Chart-Based Look at Logistics and Karma

Reddit Response Masterlist

tldr: Things that live in your 3rd House: your sibling, your Uber driver, your missing package, your Jupiter-square-everything chaos.

Somebody on Reddit posted a really compelling question: Why do all their packages go missing, or get broken, or show up two years late? Taking a look at their chart, you can pinpoint it to two main things: their Mercury (in fall in Pisces in the 6th house) and their 3rd/6th house ruler (Jupiter, square a bunch of stuff -- including the nodes -- even though it's in domicile.) Here's their original comment, their chart, and my response (formatted a little bit for Tumblr).

Astrology is everywhere -- even in your Amazon packages!

The Post:

Title: Why do I always face issues with packages/delivery?

I always, ALWAYS have issues with online shopping. Whenever I order something,the package never shows up, gets damaged, or arrives 2 years after if I do get it (not exaggerating, I ordered something in 2021 to get it in 2023 from USPS granted I live halfway across the world).

Anything from Amazon to USPS to local post offices, EVERYTHING FAILS like straight up doesn't work. Any reason why??

[P.S whenever someone else orders for me it usually works out well but whenever I AM the one ordering it,it never works out or if it does it's extremely delayed]

My Answer

Mercury in Pisces and the Nodes

Like everybody else is saying, I think Mercury is a big culprit here but there’s also a couple more pieces. Mercury is in fall in Pisces — its worst possible position, it’s running around here devoid of its normal tools. It’s also in the 6th house of everyday things and routines (packages, etc). So that’s a planet that’s prone to crossed wires and misdirection in a key house of mundane normal stuff.

Then it’s conjunct both Uranus (glitchy tech, service disruption) — and it’s conjunct the North Node. So there’s a karmic life task for you of holding your own patterns through chaos. Then opposite your Moon in Virgo/south node means there’s an emotional component. Probably old wounds around being too messy (both literal and metaphorical ) and never “doing it right.”

Jupiter -- Ruler of the 3rd and 6th, and Square *Everything*

You’ve also got Mercury square Jupiter which is a whole other thing— Jupiter is in the 3rd house in Sagittarius. Jupiter in the 3rd (short term travel, mail, communication) would normally be great…but it’s the ruler of that house too and it’s square everything — moon, Mercury, Uranus and stuck in the middle/square both of the Nodes. (Aka in the bends). It’s also the ruler of that 6th house that is giving you so much trouble.

This feels like constant crossed signals, drop offs being missed, “delivery notice “ when you were already home…and it’s a lifelong thing due to being in the bends of the lunar nodes. Do you feel like your regular communication tends to get snarled and tangled up or misdirected/misunderstood? Possibly problems with siblings (if you have any) or sibling-like relatives? Those are ruled by the 3rd house too.

Scorpio 2nd house and your material possessions

Then your material possessions house (2nd) is in Scorpio, ruled by Pluto, which is with Jupiter in your Sagittarius 3rd house. So your material possessions and relationship to them tends to be intense, guarded and prone to control issues or anxiety over loss. Maybe a little paranoia over “where’s my stuff”?

Chiron and wounds around the home

As a last piece you also have Chiron in the 4th house, so there are wounds around safety and security (generally at home, sometimes material, sometimes emotional) and problems/concerns with things arriving to your home intact.

Wrap-up and encouragement

Essentially, you’re not cursed or doing anything wrong, but logistics and receiving stuff are part of a bigger emotional and life pattern for you. Give yourself a little grace when it happens, don’t assume you’ve necessarily screwed anything up, and keep on showing yourself compassion and holding your own personal patterns and routines steady. It’ll feel a lot less like a life disruption and more like a tenacious but understandable pattern. And if you’ve got a good friend, maybe have them keep doing the ordering for you 😅.

~

(No upvotes but I stand by it :P )

Hey Reader...

If you’ve ever felt your daily life feel...off...in weirdly specific ways and wondered if it’s written in the stars, feel free to reach out. I love reading for patterns like this.