I find Aces to be as significant as Major Arcana cards. If you look at the Tarot from a numerology standpoint, Aces are associated with The Magician (1), the Wheel of Fortune (10), and the Sun (19). This 1 energy is associated with beginnings, and each Ace is a seed card, the planting of a new direction.
Aces are powerful! Here are the directions:
Ace of Cups: As Cups are associated with the element of Water and Feeling energy, the Ace or 1 is all about a new feeling taking you in a new direction.
Ace of Pentacles: As Pentacles are associated with the element of Earth, it’s all about how to be on the planet: A new job, something new with your home environment, or even Being a different way.
Ace of Wands: These are Fire energy, passion, cleansing, the Phoenix energy. This is swift movement with passion in a new direction.
Ace of Swords: The thinking energy. Consider that the Crown symbolically represents a divine thought coming through the seventh chakra; this has huge significance. Thoughts become things, and this is powerful energy and can completely change your life’s trajectory.
In the Smith-Waite deck, an other-worldly hand bestows these elements to you. This could be seen as Source energy offering you a new direction in life. Would you turn down “All-That-Is” telling you to do something in a new way?
Another aspect of the Aces is that Beginnings, that 1 numerology energy, always come after an ending. Is there something that you have let go of recently, something that has ended, an aspect of your life that isn’t working for you? Receiving an Ace is a clear message that it’s time to try something new.
Since Aces have such impact, they really do seem as powerful as the Major Arcana cards that inform our lives. The Tarot has been called The Book of Life for a reason. Life is all about Beginnings.
What are your thoughts on Aces? What have you experienced when working with them?
The Autumnal Equinox is upon us, and the Tarot indicates: Going within and connecting to Source enables us to shine our light more brightly.
How can you connect to this powerful energy?
Each year, September as the 9th month is the time of the Hermit, the ninth card in the Major Arcana. It truly fits in with the finish of summer activity in the Northern Hemisphere, and a more contemplative time. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is a time to consider the lessons and goals derived from the Winter months as you move into Spring.
From a numerology standpoint, we add the year and month, September 2021, and the specific card for September is The Hierophant. Not only is September the Hierophant card, but 2021 is the Year of the Hierophant.
The Hierophant is about transformation and change, and we have been given a double dose to implement what we wanted for ourselves in January of this year. Continue reading →
The Tarot numerology for 2021 is fascinating! The year 2021 creates 5 cards:
20: Judgement
21: The World
2: The High Priestess
1: The Magician
5: The Hierophant – (2 + 0 + 2 + 1 = 5)
What this means:
20 – Judgement
This year, we are calling up the best version of ourselves, the vision that we dreamed of, and we’re turning that vision into goals. Just what is your best self? How are you doing with feeling alive, motivated? How is your community, your health, your finances? This is a great year to really make any area of your life shine. Judgement comes with dredging up emotions and past events that have held us back in the past; we can no longer operate with old wounds holding us back, or you can expect more of the same. Be prepared and put on your big pants and grow!
On a global level: What is true for the micro (individuals) is also true for the macro (community, city, state, nation, world). We as a world need to focus on a common mission to be the best we can be as a species. The next card in the numerology of this year is The World. This year, it’s possible to advance in such a degree that we can really feel a difference. This comes from letting go of societal addictions to the way we were pre-2020.
21 – The World
It has been 100 years since we had a “21” in the Year, 1921 being the last. Think how much the world changed then: You had Flappers & Prohibition, people who wanted to change and people who enforced business as usual. Sound familiar? It’s really interesting to have Judgement and The World in the same year as the World often indicates breakthrough in a beautiful way, and in a way that is always seen more clearly in hindsight.
On a personal level, The World can mean your own breakthrough, a way of seeing beyond even the vision you have for yourself, and moving toward a higher vision.
On a global level, we have the opportunity to change a lot about what has been wrong in our society for the last 100 years and work toward making it right.
2 – The High Priestess
The High Priestess allows us to see more clearly; just as we have the opportunity with Judgement to create a higher vision of ourselves, the High Priestess allows us to see that vision in the first place! It is a time to get quiet, reflect, and see how you can connect with that quiet inner voice to receive your vision.
The global level – wow. We have the first female Vice President, along with cabinet appointees that represent the vision of the Divine Feminine: Diversity. Diversity is inherent in nature – anywhere you see a mono-culture (think pests in a corn crop) you see failure. Where you have diversity (old growth forests) Nature flourishes. Our new High Priestess energy began with the year 2000, and this year it gets a wonderful boost from last year’s double High Priestess.
1 – The Magician
This is your chance to begin a new Journey. The Magician (you) have all the tools on the table to begin. You already have what you need this year to make 2021 your playground. Use this energy to your advantaged. The Magician is “doing” energy. Go within, using the High Priestess energy, find your vision, and then: Step Out and Do It!
On a global level, we have a fascinating, open, King of Cups as president elect, whose numerology gives him the High Priestess card. This is a person who has heart and the ability see what needs to be done, and the vision to do it.
5 – The Hierophant
The numerology for 2021 is 5; the Hierophant. (2 + 0 + 2 + 1 = 5) The cards in the image above are from the Light Seers Tarot, and I love, love, love the Hierophant in this deck. The Hierophant is all about teaching and learning, change, and spirituality. On a personal level, learn what you need to do to CHANGE AND GROW in a beautiful and meaningful way – you can go far in this year. See who the trail blazers were who have already walked the path you’re on; you can learn from them.
On a global level, the Hierophant is about a shift, looking to others for experience and expertise – and that is exactly what seems to be happening. It is my hope that the world, the country will learn to become interdependent, learn and grow from joy – not competition. The Hierophant can bring beautiful learning and growth to the world. There can also be the trap of dogma fighting the New Way, however supported by the other elements, this can be a truly big year with global breakthroughs.
I’ll be doing a special Tarot Reading Room based on these cards on January 7th at 6pm PST. I hope to see you there!
Wishing you a beautiful 2021! Share this post with friends, draw cards to see what you can take away from this for yourself, and leave a comment below!
Tarot is a language, and when you are truly reading the Tarot, which means you yourself are doing the interpretation and not gleaning from books or other resources, you are using the same parts of the brain that are used for language skills and interpretation.
I think it’s really a good idea to learn with the Rider Waite, and even use it alongside a deck you may have fallen in love with. When we learn a new language, we often hear our Mother Language before interpreting. So, if I am learning French, and want to ask your name, I will hear, “What is your name?” in my mind in English first, and then translate it.
The same is true of Tarot. Whichever deck you learn first becomes your Mother Language for Tarot. When you know that deck well, you will see it first when looking at other cards. This becomes important as the newer created decks sometimes lack the symbolism and richness of more scholarly decks. Art aside, the Rider Waite deck is scholarly and rich with symbolism. (Note: Smith Waite is becoming preferred name of the deck as Smith was the Artist.)
If you are new to Tarot, learning with the Smith Waite alongside any other deck is also a great way to go so that you have the richness of any deck you choose.
A good way to check into decks you like is to think about what interests you most. Many are based on the Rider Waite system, some are better than others for their attention to symbology. Some imagery is very soulful and elicit much emotion, and that can make it a good deck. I love a very Pagan deck called “Robin Wood” and used it for my readings for many years. There are decks that honor plants, cats, religions, and cultures.
If you begin and learn with a scholarly deck, and then look at the artful or fanciful decks, you will see in your mind’s eye the important symbology that may be missing. It will enrich your readings and understanding.
So! Choose a deck that speaks to you, and learn the Mother Language.
Much of my work and teachings with regard to the Tarot is based on styles similar to Jungian dream analysis. I found a wonderful bit of information (quoted below) in a blog by Maria Taveras, a psychotherapist and Jungian Analyst in NYC. Substitute “Tarot card” for “dream”. It perfectly describes our attitudes and potential regarding the shadow cards Hanged Man, Death, Devil, Tower… and some of the difficult Minor Arcana cards.
Here is a bit from her blog:
“A dream offers potentially valuable alternatives to the attitude of our ego. These alternatives appear in the dream as images, which emerge spontaneously and autonomously from the unconscious. Because our ego has a maladaptive attitude, it has difficulty appreciating the potential value of these images. All too often, our ego experiences these images as a threat, and it reacts defensively. If, however, our ego can respond receptively to these images and engage them appropriately, the dream can transform our consciousness.”
I call “responding receptively to these images” coming to neutral with them. I would add that you could come to neutral with the “fun cards” too – The World, The Sun, The Star. When we see difficult cards, we freeze! When we see happy cards, we see only the joy – our own relief at a good card can impede the full spectrum of meaning it has for us.
When we can look at the cards — good or bad — with neutrality, we become more open to their messages.
Find a card you feel absolutely neutral about – it’s not good or bad. Sometimes we even see these as ‘difficult to read!’ When you can also see the shadow cards and happy cards with this level of neutrality, you will begin to have true inquiry! This inquiry can indeed, “transform our consciousness.”Side note: I love that Dr. Taveras states that dreams emerge “spontaneously and autonomously from the unconscious.” Drawing a Tarot card is spontaneous and autonomous too!
Work with “coming to neutral” with your cards. How do you feel about the idea that anything other than neutral impedes our ability to fully understand them? Post your thoughts below!
When we look to the Tarot, we often ask deep questions and want a quick answer. We all do it. “How do I know that I’m on the right path,” is an often-asked Tarot question that takes many different forms; “How do I know this job is right for me?” “Is this the right lover for me?” Then we flip a card over, see an Ace of Pentacles and maybe we even see the path within it, and we figure we’re on the right path.
And then the doubt ensues.
We pull another card.
The truth is, “How do I know that I’m on the right path,” is a lot like asking, “What is the meaning of life?”
The Tarot is meant for deeper reflection, and that deeper reflection requires Continue reading →
I often talk about how important it is to use your own interpretations and intuition when reading the Tarot. Looking to outside resources such as books and websites thwarts the growth of your intuition and your ability to trust yourself.
There are two sides to this idea, especially when beginning with the Tarot. On one hand, outside info is extremely useful! On the on the other hand, you are far less likely to trust your own intuition if you keep looking to those outside resources, and you can develop a dependency on other people’s interpretations.
The Tarot is a system of archetypes and symbols open for interpretation, and was in use before written language was mainstream. People were accustomed to looking at pictures for meaning. With the Tarot, we have the collective idea about a symbol or an archetype within a card, and we have Continue reading →
The Tarot is full of secrets – and they’re hiding in plain sight!
It is wonderful to get to know your Tarot deck, and the daily insights from pulling a card a day can open your mind to new directions.
To pull a card a day, you can either pull with no question, or have questions in mind such as, “What do I need to know today?” or “What is the best way to deal with my current issue?”
But looking at the little book that comes with the cards can really offer only surface meaning; truly looking at the cards for the story they’re giving to you offers in-depth insight.
In honor of the Aces at Springtime, Let’s talk about New Growth. Tucked beneath the soil. Spring.
When we look at the Aces, we see potential, but often that potential is filled with a sense of dread.
Sometimes when we’re about to embark on something new and pull an Ace, there is excitement followed by hesitation. Is it more safe where we are? We don’t know what’s on the other side of change.
From the point of view of a sunflower, it’s possible that a sunflower seed feels the same. It’s tucked away in rich, beautiful Earth – blanketed, secure. How does it know that something is happening, that change is happening? How does it know to break free of the hard kernel, and send roots into the Earth? That, at least is a comfort. It knows Earth. The soil is alive. But what lies above?
The Sunflower pokes its first tentative, green scout above the soil, a tiny, vulnerable barely-leaf, and feels the blessed sunlight, not even knowing that the Sun is its namesake and navigator. And with that first warmth, begins to realize that it yearns to strive toward that light with all its power, all its force, growing and growing. Continue reading →
Happy September!
