Cristini P's Tarot Journal

So there's a thing in tarot called the First Operation. This is where the practitioner selects a card to represent the questioner, which I initially felt resistant to for three reasons. First, it felt really judgmental and presumptuous to just say, like, "OK you're the Fool," or whatever. Secondly, there's 78 cards and honestly I can't be bothered to root through them all to find the one I want; which is also assuming I know them all by heart, which I don't. Thirdly, it's removing a card from rotation, and what if it would have been the perfect card for a certain position in the layout?  Misgivings aside, I'm warming up to the idea. I recently learned a shortcut for interpreting the "face" cards as passive/active and experienced/inexperienced. Combining that with basics about what the suits represent, I made this handy grid to more easily pick out a First Operation card. First Operation is not limited to the face cards, but they're fr...

As a tarot learner, I find the greatest challenge is intuiting the story and relationship between the cards. As part of a learning exercise to improve this skill, I pulled the following two-card spread. The assignment was to ask a choice-centered, active question. Summer is gone and I've been feeling a bit of dread about the months ahead, so today's question was, "What can I do to keep going through the pandemic, social unrest, and election chaos?" The first step of reading was to just look at each picture and try to decipher the symbolism of each, and then how they relate to each other. At first I thought, shit, I better switch decks because my pictures have nothing to do with the Rider-Waite imagery. But then I remembered I bought this deck because the art made me feel something, and surely has its own symbolic  value. So I stuck with it and I jotted down the following impressions: King of Cups: The cup is at the top of the page, so emotion rules. The swan is glidin...

Basically: Life isn't fair You're doing a good job taking care of everyone Let go a little and enjoy the simple things in life   

Feeling stifled and unmotivated, I pulled Biddy Tarot's Energy Shifting Tarot Spread  to see what shakes loose. This spread is read clockwise from the 3 o'clock position. Card 1: Page of Pentacles - Pages generally represent an inexperienced and receptive personality. With the financial nature of pentacles, it can mean a new financial venture. A startup, if you will. Manifesting creative energy into new pursuits, learning new skills, setting the ground work for success. A perfect starting point for the two new hobbies I want to learn and eventually draw income from!  Card 2: King of Swords, Reversed - Kings are normally experienced and active personality types, but notice it's in reverse, which means it's all internal wisdom, power, and authority. It shows my unwavering belief in myself - very encouraging! Alas, it also indicates a lack of clarity about what to do next, and spending too much energy worrying about making the wrong decision. Yep, yep, yep. We've seen ...

Lately, I haven't had any particular questions I want answered and I'm just open to general guidance. I thought about reading this spread upright, but decided against it because reverse cards usually represent internalized energy, and I have an abundance of that these days. I'm glad I left them all in reverse because this result was fantastically accurate. Past: Ace of Pentacles, Reversed - Lost opportunity, lack of planning and foresight. Hesitation about moving forward. Um, YES . We were thinking of selling this house last summer, but there was just too much to do with the house, not enough funds, I was in the middle of a job change, and Pat was working full time in the hot sun. We weren't making any progress, so I pulled the plug. Now I'm kicking myself, what with a global pandemic and economic insecurity happening now. However, this card is also reassuring me not to take action until I'm ready, and to do my due diligence. We got a HELOC, and got some work do...

The intention set here is to bring balance, patience, and moderation into my life. This is not  my forte. But the energy behind Temperance is reassuring me that I can practice patience when things get stressful. I don't need to stir controversy on social media. I don't need to be super opinionated and always get my way. I can stay in the middle of the road, and I can even cooperate.  Major arcana represent forces in your life that you don't have control over. And if I have to surrender to the forces that be, I'm glad it's a force for equilibrium.

Today’s intention card is Two of Rods (Wands) reversed. The way I’m reading it, it’s like an expansion on the idea of Two of Pentacles from the other day. Twos represent choices and decisions. The Two of Wands is telling me my choice is between sticking with what I know or taking a risk. But the Two of Pentacles is reassuring me that I can actually do both. IF I prioritize (pents) and PLAN (wands). So today’s intention is to make a plan if I want to meet my goals. My experience in corporate culture is actually helpful here; I know how to set SMART goals (an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound).  First, I need to do some introspection to evaluate what I really want. Then I have to figure out what's stopping me. Why am I hesitating? What is the root of my fear of success? 

Giving, receiving, sharing. I couldn't really relate to this card as I'm not typically the philanthropic type, and I'm also not on the other end of the balance needing charity. Looking at the Biddy Tarot definition, the author pulls out an application for relationships that is a perfect fit: "...If you are in a relationship, the Six of Pentacles can suggest that one partner is dependent on the other to provide most of the money, love or energy for the relationship to keep going... The relationship is, therefore, unequal; however, both partners have mutually agreed to this arrangement to ensure stability." My husband was already laid off for a couple weeks when the COVID-19 pandemic began. There were no jobs all winter or spring, but he had unemployment, and the CARES Act provided enough supplemental income to keep going as normal as possible. I pulled this card the the last week of hubbin's unemployment benefits, and as of yet, we don't know if he is eligi...

Taking a lesson from other tarot learners and practitioners, I wanted to pull a card of the day to set my intention. What does that mean? According to several Google search result summaries, it is the act of stating what you intend to accomplish through your actions. Mostly I accomplish scrolling through Instagram, daydreaming, chasing the dog away from the front window, drinking coffee - oh - and doing the work I'm being paid for. I don't intend  to be distracted all day, but my actions are distracted so I thought setting intention might help. As I shuffled I visualized my daydream come to life: new house on a chunk of property beyond the burbs; start up a home business that will eventually become more profitable than my day job; have enough to live on in retirement. Then I cut the deck to reveal Two of Pentacles. This tells me I'm successfully juggling multiple priorities... for now. I'm also getting caught up in day-to-day demands but losing sight of the big p...

I did a Waite Celtic Cross reading for my young cousin Hannah on Xmas Eve/Winter Solstice. I don't know what the winter holidays are like in your family, but mine can get pretty wild, so I'm not sure how much she absorbed... *ahem*... So aNYwhO, on to the reading 😜 Situation - Four of Swords Recouping after a recent trauma, conflict, or a fight. This downtime is crucial for complete recovery. Afterward, the discovery of a secret weapon that was within grasp all along! Gauging from the rest of the cards, it could be deeper intuition, a strong network of friends and family, or something else entirely. Challenges/Obstacles - Four of Wands Peaceful domesticity, successful teamwork, harmonious community. Work-life balance, harmony between internal and external spheres of life. In the challenge/obstacle position, I see this as something Hannah wants but doesn't yet know how to achieve. Right now this looks like an out-of-reach ideal. Foundation/Root Cause - The Magic...

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, my sister and I thought it would be fun to try doing an over-the-phone tarot reading about her ghost. She's been having weird experiences since she first moved into her house, which she bought after the prior owner, Ron, passed away. Lights blinking, water turning on, hearing someone talking, and once the vacuum turned on in the middle of the night. I suppose we have an unusual sense of "fun," but whatever. Tarot, however, had other plans! By the second card my sister says, "This isn't about Ron, this is me !" Situation - Nine of Pentacles, Reversed  Dissatisfaction, depression, longing. Having financial security, but not appreciating it due to feeling isolated, and isolation causing depression. We've been under lockdown orders for about a month, which is hard even for us introverts. Keep the focus on gratitude that at least there isn't financial hardship on top of everything else. Challenges/Obstacles - Five of ...

Tarot cards represent well known symbols and archetypes that help illustrate a story. The intuition bit comes in traversing the connections between the known landmarks. I pulled the following spread (Dec 2019) with an open mind, no particular question or intent, just aiming to practice connecting the dots. Five of Cups, Reversed  Interestingly, the reversed five of cups has a couple different meanings that are interdependent of the other cards in the reading - perfect for this exercise! When accompanied by other dark cards, it suggests a loss that feels insurmountable, and deep emotional wounds left behind. However, this card accompanies two mega powerful Major Arcana cards, so I'll apply the other interpretation, which is that my previous shitty situation has turned the corner. The situation is on the mend, and I am in the process of moving on. Note: Minor Arcana show where where the seeker has the power of influence. Major Arcana shows where the universe is in char...

After resolutely deciding not to up-and-quit my job last summer, I spent a few weeks furiously applying for jobs online. I applied for everything from shoot-for-the-moon to low-hanging-fruit. One particular job description fit my job skills to a T, but I'd never heard of the company, and it was an industry I knew nothing about. Of course I applied. A short time later, they contacted me and wanted to schedule an interview! (Quick! Research everything about the company - haha!) The pre-screen with HR and the initial phone interview went well, so they invited me to an on-site interview with the hiring manager, and her boss. At this point, I had a good feeling about it because they were flying me out to their corporate HQ, expenses paid!  I pulled the following reading to help me get ready (please excuse the loud bedspread). Current Situation - Seven of Pentacles  Hesitation to reap the benefits of one's hard work. There is more to life than work and financi...

Around this time last year I was stuck in a job with a narcissistic boss and her neurotic tattle-tale stepdaughter (three cheers for nepotism!). There were SO so so may things going wrong on my team and every problem was rooted in behaviors expressed by one or the other of the Toxic Two. I was so unhappy but I wasn't sure if I should start job searching again so soon; I had only been there 10 months at that point. I stuck with my prior job over 11 years and it was much the same, so I couldn't figure out why I was 90% more miserable here. I pulled the layout pictured here, and boy did it illustrate the situation! Recent Past - Two of Swords, Reversed  Ending a stalemate with a movement in the wrong direction, regrets, and second-guessing. These reverse attributes of Two of Swords in the past position correlate with the job situation I had left behind for the current job. I was there over 11 years and desperate to leave. I was in the last of a hundred phases of ...