Sometimes tarot cards in a spread can tell a story, if you give them a moment. Today’s spread did just that for me. In fact, it contained the oldest story plot formula in use: the hero’s journey. Okay, I don’t know if that’s actually the oldest plot formula in use, but lets pretend it is, since that plays well with this blog post.
In the Hero’s journey you have the hero/heroine of the story. Often there is a situation/feeling/want that initiates the journey and everything progresses from there. A lifetime can be filled with many of these journeys and by the time a person reaches their life’s end, they could probably fill a bookcase (or two) with different versions of the many Hero’s Journeys they encountered in their life.
In Tarot it is said that the Major Arcana represents the Hero’s Journey, with The Fool jumping off and getting the whole journey started, and the journey ending with The World card. Of course, the Major Arcana is a 21 card adventure and I actually only pulled 3 cards, 4 if you count the bottom card, which I usually always look at for signifying the theme of my reading.
My 3 cards:
Five of Cups
High Priestess
Knight of Swords
3 of Wands
Bottom of the deck: The Fool
Here’s where the fun part starts… I used “The Tarot of Curious Creatures” Deck. Why does that matter? Well, because different decks can really alter how a spread is read, EVEN if that deck is one based off of the Rider Waite. This is because of the illustrations contained in the deck. Though an artist might try and stay true to the traditional deck, it always gives off its own vibe. And this is why I can’t stop collecting decks. I love viewing the different styles artists come up with and I love feeling the different vibes.
I will explain why this particular deck tweaked the interpretation of what I drew in a moment, but before I get to that, let me quickly sum up the cards I drew.
On the bottom of the deck, a card I sometimes use to symbolize the theme of my spread, was The Fool. The Fool is the first card of the Major Arcana. Though it is the first card in the deck, it is actually numbered as zero. This is the start of the Hero’s Journey, the theme of my read. The first card I pulled to put into my spread was the Five of Cups. In the Rider-Waite, when looking at the Five of Cups, you see a cloaked person looking at three spilled cups, with two upright cups behind them. This represents loss, usually a huge loss. How often in life is it a loss that pushes for change? It makes sense that in this story, loss is what catapults us forward. Next I pulled the High Priestess, a highly intuitive card. This is a card of looking inward and trusting our own guidance, rather than looking outward. This card is perfect as the next card in this journey, because it’s when we go inside of ourselves that we can start formulating a plan. Next in the lineup, Knight of Swords. This card is about charging forward into battle, defending what you believe in. There’s a lot of passionate energy with this card, something that is needed at the beginning of a plan set into action. The Three of Wand was the final in my trio, a card that indicates growth. Though early into the journey, with this card it’s where things are going really well, and you can take a moment to appreciate that you’re off to a great start. This is where you can take a deep breath and release…. This is happening, we’re going to be okay…. Great even.
Obviously, the Hero’s Journey isn’t finished, but it’s off to a very hopeful start.
And now I want to rewind a bit…. Back to the Five of Cups.
I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again, tarot ALWAYs gives me something to meditate on. This spread was no different. What snagged my attention was that in this particular deck, The Tarot of Curious Creatures, the Five of Cups was actually different in some pretty symbolic ways. In the traditional deck there is a cloaked figure looking down at three spilled cups, with two upright cups behind them. However, in this deck…. There is a fish holding onto part of a fisherman’s net and in that net there are TWO cups turned over and THREE cups that are standing upright. The fish isn’t looking at the cups at all, but staring ahead.
Here I’m going to take a pause and remind anyone reading this that interpretation can be a matter of opinion, that’s the great thing about having a deck…. It’s my deck, it can mean what I wanna, mean what I wanna….. What I’m about to say is my interpretation and not set in stone.
When I looked at this card and realized that the art was different, it made me think of the phrases “think positive” or “look on the bright side”. There is a whole way of thinking that tries to train people not to dwell on the negative and strive to “stay positive!”. Normally this card shows three spilled cups and two standing upright. The three spilled cups indicate a loss. However, in this card… it’s all turned around. Water symbolizes emotion…. And here this fish is, out of water. Perhaps this fish was trying to focus on those two positive cups, instead of mourning the loss of the other three? And now suddenly, this fish is out of water. These two positive cups have brought it out of authentic emotions…. And this positivity is trapped in a net.
Emotions are part of our human experience and because of that, there are no “bad” emotions. Without sorrow, there would be no joy. Just as there is no up without a down, and no dark without light. It’s all intertwined and part of each other.
When I look at this deck’s Five of Cups, I see it as a reminder to not get clogged, because of not letting emotions flow. This fish needs to be back in water, back in emotions.
In tarot, five can mean imbalance, as well as upset. While toxic positivity isn’t healthy, a person also needs to remember that imbalance can go both ways. Honor feelings, but also when the time is right, release them too. Hanging onto past hurts can prevent the next story in a life from happening. Which means this card can also be used to meditate on what past hurt might be preventing you from moving forward. This particular card, from this particular deck, offers up the opportunity to meditate on the balance between honoring and letting go of great loss.
ANYway, if you’ve not checked out The Tarot of Curious Creatures, check it out! It’s such a lovely deck!!
Sandy's Short Story Long- This is where I write. 
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