Emerald

What comes across in the spread is that there is a balancing act, externally and internally, which is sapping your energy. You may be focused on giving your energy to others (or certain activities) in an attempt to be balanced with your time. Then there seems to be a very active process of emotional regulation happening with regard to all these external responsibilities (or assumed responsibilities), which also takes up a lot of energy. In the spread, there is also a sense that financial concerns may play a big role in what’s sapping your energy and attention away from what you prefer to be focused on. So, there is no place to really rest, and it’s difficult to be motivated when you’re actively trying to keep everything (and potentially everyone) afloat.

All reversals. So this could mean lot’s of friction or resistance. The first card seems to reflect that your forward moving energy is held back. So, there is no clear path that your mind is invested enough in to go the distance yet. And this is perhaps because there is no clear sense of joy to be had in the future. You may not know what you ACTUALLY want... because you’ve never felt the feeling before of enjoyment in the present moment. And there is a sense that this lack of self-knowledge and knowledge of your own preferences halts your path moving forward... including your ability to find people who are cut from the same cloth as you that you can have a deep connection with. This would also get in the way of creating a family, if that’s part of your vision. So, the main takeaway is to learn your boundaries, preferences, and motivations. Let them be the river that pulls you downstream to what you really want... not just what your mind thinks you want.

The cards seem to reflect that there is a sense of being torn between two choices (which is likely why you’re asking). And there are parts of you that say it’s good and parts of you that say it isn’t good. But there is perhaps an underlying sense of dissatisfaction, like wishing there were something more. And this may be leading you to consider how many paths you won’t be able to go down, depending on which option you choose. And there may be a fear of missing out in either fork of the road you choose. Ultimately, the fear is about dissatisfaction. So, it must be addressed directly. No matter if you decide to stay or leave the relationship, there will always be regret or dissatisfaction... until you face those feelings head-on.

The cards reflect that there may be issues with intimacy and vulnerability. Perhaps you feel a sense of difficulty with going out into the world and making new friends... which may be influenced by a fear of loss. So, there is perhaps a guardedness that gives way to isolation... because it’s hard to risk losing people. And if you have few people to lose, you can shield yourself from acute grief. But this resistance to “death” of relationships leads to an aridity in life. So, if the cards are reflective of your situation, the advice here is to make peace with the many deaths in life. Once you open your arms wide to death’s embrace, you will start to live and love again.

I think it was this one. Sorry about that.

It’s a mixture of things. Officially, I started doing Tarot a little less than a year ago where I learned all the card meanings and all the systems of the deck. But I also, learned to critique art in college in a very thorough way that I try not to take the ‘obvious’ details for granted. I graduated with two bachelor’s in the arts and an art history minor. So, there is definitely crossover skills between art criticism and Tarot reading. I really treated critique in a very similar way to how I currently approach Tarot. Also, I got really into Jungian psychology for a while. So, I learned a lot about archetypes and esoteric symbols. I have also done a lot of self-exploration and I’ve worked with well over 100 clients to help facilitate theirs... through Life-coaching, Dreamwork, and Tarot Reading. So, all of these things influence my reads.

I think of Tarot a bit like an inverted Rorschach test. The archetypal images on the cards will always be relevant on some level, because (like myth) they are always happening within the human experience. There are universally human truisms that can be expressed narratively through the images. That’s why I have simply used the cards to mine insights that each card story can reflect. That way, people can use them for their own contemplation. It’s really no different than what anyone providing non-Tarot-based advice does.

You’re welcome! ?

Intense spread you go here. ? I get the sense that there are some “towers” that need to be knocked down in your life that are making major parts of you feel out in the cold. So, there may be an unconscious or semi-conscious internal battle between holding onto the tower and knocking the tower down. So, that feeling of being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Notice how in the 2nd card they are up in a tower? They are deliberating on whether or not to go... but they are afraid of the uncertainty because they project negative outcomes onto uncertainty. So, that might be going on internally in terms of feeling stagnation for fear of letting go of certain attachments in life. Perhaps that fear of loss. But this stagnation puts aspects of you, out into the cold... they get repressed with no outlet for expression. But inevitably, the tower must fall. Some towers are supposed to fall. Towers falling is not always a bad thing.

You’re welcome. I’m glad (but also not so glad) to hear it’s relevant. But I see a lot of potential for growth, so there is some positive in it even though it can feel harrowing.

You’re welcome! ?

Thank you! I’ll keep my eyes open for 26-related synchronicities, My daughter’s birthday is a 26 too... July.

Lot’s of reversals. So, I see it as a reflection of perhaps not taking responsibility for what each card represents. The first is socialization and tending to friendships The second is related to setting clear boundaries about what you do and don’t want in your life. Basically choosing what you’re willing/unwilling to fill your life up with. The third is taking ownership of your own personal strengths. So, these are the things that need the most ownership over.

My birthday is April 26th ? So there’s that. And the numbers on the cards add up to 8, which can be written as 2+6... though it actually shows itself as 5+3+0 So, if I’m reading this as a non-cosmic insight, I see it as a person who has lost something and can’t let go. They stand there staring at spilled cups and don’t notice the cups behind them. They carry this unresolved heartbreak with them, which jades them to life. It keeps them from being exuberant and taking big leaps of faith like they once did before the cups got spilled. In terms of cosmic truths, you could say this is nearly everyone’s fall from grace as happy child to jaded and cynical adult. So, it is fundamental for helpers to recognize this.

So in terms of letting go... I get a lot of “going back and forth” in your mind and trying to get to smoother waters... emotionally speaking. There is a sense of emotional disregulation that you’re trying to ‘fix’. The water in the reading tends to represent emotions. So, you’re blindfolded facing away from it in the first card. Then internally trying to regulate it in the second. Then you’re trying to run from the rougher waters in the third. So, surrender to the emotions is needed. There are emotions trying to process. And even if it’s hard, it’s best to welcome them with open arms. Resistance makes them more intense,

Mind you, I’m not psychic but this is what the cards reflect... There currently is a sense of stuckness in certain painful patterns of thought and belief. And these thoughts/beliefs make it hard to listen to your heart and follow your intuition. You are blindfolded and fixed in place... which attracts the kind of partner that amplifies and mirrors this “stuck” feeling. And there’s lots of potential for pain... with all the swords. The remedy seems to be to some deep contemplation on life, death, and love to get more perspective in terms of the role you want your love-life to play within the greater context of your life. And then, to develop your own masculine side more as well. And one such way would be to create your own business or live more in alignment with your purpose. This will create greater integration internally... which tends to translate to more integrated relationships externally as well.

Yes. I’m still in the mood. ?

My impression from this reading is that you can best help people dealing with hard and soft addiction. And then to help them develop work ethic and gain clarity and direction toward their path forward in life.

@wavydude Oops forgot at first to add the picture of the cards. It’s on there now.

What I’m turning up is that there may be an unconscious tendency to follow certain personal or collective dogmas without realizing it. Perhaps you consciously feel okay with being solitary and marching to your own drum. But there may be a part of you that wants to belong to a community, which resists against you carving your own path. This could present itself as not being able to shake the desire to be approved of. If this is reflective of your circumstances, I recommend trying to become more aware of the part that desires connection and how to reconcile that part with the more individualistic part of yourself.

The cards suggests there is an indecision about direction... and perhaps some black and white thinking in regard to what you SHOULD or SHOULDN’T do. And there may be money concerns clouding you awareness of your life-path too. So, the cards seem to suggest that you do some death meditation. That way, you can consider what decisions are the ones you REALLY want to make going forward. When you’re aware that you only have a limited amount of time, how is that time best spent? This will naturally create more clarity.

There is and will be a lot of loss. But if there is one wildcard here is that things will never be the same again. The status quo has been upset. This makes room for both regeneration and degeneration. We will likely see both. So, our best bet is to see the hidden positivity and play to that end.

In the first card, there is a reflection of using the Animus to go from rougher to smoother waters... bringing more vulnerable parts of yourself with it. This could be purely an emotional journey or could have to do with literal travel. But in the boat there are lots of swords (thoughts, beliefs, mindsets) that can sink the boat. So, there is perhaps a feeling like emotional safety is hanging on by a thread. A potential for sinking to the emotional waters you (and especially the Animus) wants to avoid. And because of that, there is a lack of emotional regulation and fear of heartbreak... new heartbreak that might reflect the old heartbreaks, which is what the Animus is trying to protect you from in the first place. My suggestion, though not fun, is to attempt to learn through the chaos. Sometimes chaos is needed to crack us open to deal with emotional realities we’d much rather avoid. And now, is certainly a time of stasis and turning inward.

The 5 of Pentacles reversed tends to be about resisting against or fearing being “out in the cold”. So, fear of loss and poverty is relevant with that card. The 8 of Swords reverses tends to have to do with the mind creating the illusion that you’re trapped or stuck. But because it’s reversed it suggests that this assumption of stickiness comes from unconscious patterns.

If you don’t mind my asking, what sort of sacrifice did you anticipate needing to make?