Welcome back to Part 2 of this week’s Lenormand and Tarot tag-team, and we’re picking things up right where we left off in Part 1.
After having the Lenormand start things off, we’re now turning our attention to the Tarot.
The deck being used for this part of the reading is the Infinite Visions Tarot by Gloria Jean, and we’re asking for Tarot’s take on what the Lenormand had to say.
The video below reveals the cards in the reading:
If you prefer to read the post, here it is:
If you read that last post, then you’ll recall our Lenormand cards this week are Scythe, Bouquet, and Dog. The playing cards associated with these cards are: Jack of Diamonds (Scythe), Queen of Spades (Bouquet), and 10 of Hearts (Dog).
Scythe, Bouquet, and Dog, from the Unforgettable Lenormand.
The Tarot cards that I see as correspondences to these playing cards are: Knight of Pentacles (Jack of Diamonds), Queen of Swords (Queen of Spades), and 10 of Cups (10 of Hearts).
Knight of Pentacles, Queen of Swords, and 10 of Cups, from the Infinite Visions Tarot by Gloria Jean.
We’re going to be starting things off with the center card, the Queen of Swords, just as we did with the Lenormand part of the reading.
When the Queen of Swords glances your way, her message is to check the words you are speaking. She builds bridges with words and ideas, helping you to communicate more effectively.
This week, consider the words you are speaking. Are you talking positively–or negatively–about your life experiences? She will tell you this truth: The words you use are connected to the thoughts and beliefs you have about yourself and Life itself.
And she would know: in more traditional circles, this Queen is known as the Queen of Sorrows; she can represent a person who has been divorced, widowed, or separated. If this Queen were a parent, she would be the one who is estranged from her children.
As a result of having such negative life experiences, she can come across as being very difficult (you know, that word that starts with a “b” and rhymes with witch).
This approach (Court cards in Tarot–the Kings, Queens, Knights, and Pages–can also be considered “approach cards,” and as such, ask us to consider how we approach the people and situations in our lives) stemmed from her belief that Life–and the people in it–were out to hurt her and bring her nothing but pain; and she, in turn, would do the same thing to others (Swords in Tarot are double-edged, which means we can be “cut” in direct proportion to how we “cut” others; and we can just as easily harm another with a “sharp” tongue).
But this Queen has learned from these experiences and changed her ways. She knows the power to change her life is in her hands (symbolized by the swords she holds, one in each hand).
And this is her urging for you. In order to transform your life, you first must transform your thinking and speaking. There is a spiritual saying that the power of life and death is in the tongue. I will add this to that thought: It is also in the mind.
Another thought about this Queen is that she is about getting to the heart–or the truth–of situations and experiences. In this process of truth-seeking, she cuts away everything that is not true for her.
This week, consider these two questions:
- What is no longer true for you?
- Are you willing to cut it out of your life today?
Be mindful.
The card to the left of the Queen is the Knight of Pentacles.
When the Knight of Pentacles stops by, he can be letting you know that you are making gradual progress. This is a time when being “slow and steady wins the race.” (If you are familiar with the story of the tortoise and the hare, this Knight is the tortoise—who won the race.)
Being another Court Card, the Knight can represent either a person or a situation.
As a person, this card is asking us to consider how we approach things this week.
This is a card of being dependable, reliable, stable and secure. He is where he says he’s going to be–when he says he’ll be there. This Knight you can set your watch by. He is dutiful; he is the watcher, the observer, the protector. He can also represent the “hands-on” laborer and service provider.
As a situation, this card can suggest that money may change hands.
However you choose to move about (approach) your week (Knights being about movement), the Knight of Pentacles asks you to consider going about things methodically, and with active observation. Representing patience, he is suggesting you take your time, and thoughtfully move forward with any challenges Life brings your way this week.
Our card on the other side of the Queen is the 10 of Cups.
If your life were a story (and I have a little secret for you: it is!), the 10 of Cups would be that last sentence written in most fairy tales: “And they lived happily ever after.”
When the 10 of Cups blesses you with its presence, your happy ending may be on the horizon.
The 10 of Cups centers on life’s emotional rewards. This is known as “the marriage and family card,” and, as such, is more about the people in our lives, those that we have chosen to form bonds and create relationships with. Some we are born into—but most we choose.
This card is also about community. Being a card that indicates spiritual growth, this could be a nod to your spiritual community, the people who have played either an active or passive role in your spiritual development.
If you are the esoteric or metaphysical type, this card is known as the “soul family” card. From this perspective, you understand that there is a bond—a sort of contract–you have agreed upon with your birth family to learn certain lessons designed for your own soul’s growth.
Looking at things in this way, what lessons have you learned from the members of your family of origin? My own growth came from looking at the challenging relationship with my mother from this perspective, and played a major part in my spiritual growth and direction.
So, this week, the 10 of Cups ask you to look beyond the material things you have—or think you need to have to make your life better. The 10 of Cups, instead, asks you to look at the ways life makes you feel satisfaction and a sense of peace.
To round out this reading, I’ll add together the numbers from the Tarot cards, and take their sum as the means of deriving the card that will serve as the major lesson of the reading.
Here we have 12 (Knight of Pentacles), 13 (Queen of Spades), and 10 (10 of Hearts). So, taking 12 + 13 + 10, we arrive at a sum of 35.
There are 22 cards in the Major Arcana of the Tarot, so a sum over 22 is reduced by adding the digits together; in this case, 35 becomes 3 + 5, which equals 8.
The 8th card in the Major Arcana is Strength.
When Strength appears, we are being encouraged to consider our self-esteem and self-confidence. Strength urges us to be bold and stand in our personal power.
As we see in the image of the card, our maiden has tamed the beasts around her, which is a demonstration of how we, at times, need to curb our own natural, instinctual tendencies.
In order to do this, our maiden is indeed using strength, but not the brute force typically associated with physical strength; instead, she is using the gentle—yet extremely powerful—ability to love unconditionally.
In most (if not all) spiritual teachings, unconditional love is said to be the most powerful force there is. And, just as those teachings encourage us to love others unconditionally, we must also love ourselves in the same manner—especially in those moments when we let our wild and untamed side come and roar its head.
There may be experiences where our self-control will be tested. We are being encouraged to identify our problematic habits and unhealthy tendencies (Strength is also a health card) and to weigh their overall impact on our lives.
It will be in those moments that we will choose to be confident in our power to be strong and capable—and show ourselves that we are up to the test.
And with that, Tarot finishes its turn, wrapping up another weekly reading!
Hoping you have a Tarot-tastic week…
life of HIMM 