Position One - What Covers You: Placed over the significator, if you use one (I don’t). This is the current energies surrounding you and your situation.
Position Two - What Crosses You: Placed sideways (if desired. I usually just place it on top) over the first card, forming the center cross. This is the opposing energies or “obstacles,” and may be working with or against card one.
Position Three - What Grounds You: Placed beneath the center cross. This is the foundation or root cause of the situation.
Position Four - What Crowns You: Placed above the center cross. Your ideal outcome, what you’re working towards, your best-case scenario.
Position Five - What Lies Behind You: Placed to the left of the center cross. This is your recent past, and the influences that are receding.
Position Six - What Lies Before You: Placed to the right of the center cross. This is the near future, what’s coming up, or the influences that will be entering the situation.
Position Seven - Yourself: Placed at the base of the staff, to the right of the cross. This is you as you see yourself, and the internal influence that has on the situation.
Position Eight - Your Environment: Placed above card seven. This is how others see you; their attitudes and expectations, and the external influence that has on the situation.
Position Nine - Hopes and Fears: Placed above card eight. This is your greatest hope and/or deepest fear about the situation.
Position Ten - Outcome: Placed at the top of the staff. This is where things are headed; the outcome as things currently stand.
I'm reading Gail Fairfield's Choice-Centered Tarot again. It was one of the first tarot books I read and if I'm being honest I kind of skimmed it, copied card meanings down and put it up. (I know the advice for beginners is to do, well, exactly not that. I was just certain I was different and would be able to learn differently 😅)
Anyway I came back to it because I'm currently making my way through Choice-Centered Relating and the Tarot (also by Gail Fairfield and seriously you should read it. Even if you aren't into tarot, read it. I'm only halfway through it and the way she talks about relationships has probably saved my marriage 😅 Really though it's full of great relationship advice, romantic or otherwise, and I mean I doubt the second half of the book will be worse than the fantastic first half so, at least for now, I really recommend. Anyway) and the way she talked about the cards (it's gone over briefly in the beginning) made me want to reread her other book and yeah, I couldn't have made a better decision.
The book has made me completely reevaluate the way I think about the cards, and yet I'm so much more comfortable and confident in my understanding of them now. It's become quite literally my understanding. Not this book, this person, this whatever said x, y or z. But an understanding that clicks with me. I mean it still holds to numerology & traditional meanings but in a way where I understand so much better why I think this about this card or this suit or this number. I think thats such an important question to be able to answer, with something aside from "cuz the LWB says so."
Tldr; check out Gail Fairfield, her books have been helpful to me. 😊
I've been remarkably not busy, but it feels like none of my free time was able to be devoted to tarot.
That's not quite accurate. None of it was being devoted to tarot or spirituality or meditation because I'm a lazy asshole I'd been putting those things off. After a few (read: several) readings calling me out about it, I'm finally kicking my butt into gear! I hope to get back in the habit both with my own spiritual practice and updating things here. To start; an official introduction!
I'm April. I'm 24, a married mother of two, and a tarot reader! I created this blog to be sort of like a digital tarot journal, as my understanding of the cards develops. Here, you'll find readings, spreads, interpretations, and other tarot resources - a combination of OC and reblogged content.
I've been reading tarot for one year (well, two weeks shy of a year as of the writing of this post ~maybe I'll do something for my tarotversary🤷🏽♀️). My approach and understanding of the tarot has changed drastically since I first picked it up, and continues to evolve. I read both intuitively and by-the-book. Artists depictions, numerology, and traditional meanings all play a part when I'm interpreting cards, but ultimately I go with my gut.
I believe that we are are all divine and so the tarot is a tool we can use to tap into that divinity. The messages come from our Higher Selves and can provide insight or help us to understand a perspective we may have been missing. I do use tarot to see potential outcomes, but we make decisions every moment that shape those outcomes. I use tarot as a tool for personal growth, and so I don't do 3rd party readings, or read on medical/legal matters. Leave the professional issues to the professionals, y'all!
If after taking all that into consideration you still want a reading from me, I do offer free and paid readings! Check here for guidelines.
For short, one question readings feel free to send an ask, anon or not, and it will be answered as soon as I'm able. (I do work full time, and sometimes I'm busier than others so while it will often be within 24 hours, it will also sometimes not be). For paid readings, DM me or reach out at [email protected]
A while back I posted a spread adapted from one in Josephine Ellershaw’s Easy Tarot Handbook, and I wanted to share with you what a reading using it would look like.
Basically, I read the Anchor first, and then each section in conjunction with the corresponding part of the Anchor. So we’d start with section 1 of the Life spread read with card 2 of the Anchor. Once I’ve made sense of that, I move on to the next one and read each group together, and repeat until I’ve gone through each one (section 2 with card 3, section 4 with card 4, section 5 with card 5, and section 3 with card 6). Finally, the key is read as advice from Spirit, your Higher Self, or the Divine, depending on your beliefs. This is what can help you achieve the goals in card 7, or get to (or avoid) the outcome in card 8 of the Anchor.
I’ll be using a reading I did for myself as my example here, (edited slightly to remove some more personal notes, haha). You can see the reading in its entirety here. Continue reading below for the breakdown.
So obviously to start, you’re going to shuffle and cut the cards however you do. Then lay them all out. For me, I like to go through the entire thing, making note of my initial interpretation of each card (just a brief note that may or may not end up being how I interpret the entire thing). So for the anchor, that looks like this:
Base - Hierophant: Religious undertones, the focus is on spirituality
Spiritual - Death, reversed: transformation, am I avoiding it?
Relationships- Justice: have I been wronged? What is the “right” thing?
Home - The Empress: motherhood
Career - The Chariot: moving in a new direction
Central Position - The Moon: Confusion, mixed messages
Wishes - The World, reversed: wanting to go back, do things differently
What’s to come - The Sun: Things are looking up, despite how fucking weird they seem
Then for the life spread, like this:
SPIRITUALITY
2 of Cups: good pairing, emotional connection
2 of Wands: 2 potential routes in front of me, a choice to be made
The Hierophant, reversed: stuck in my ways, cant break free of restrictive ideals
RELATIONSHIPS
10 of Wands: carrying a heavy load
Ace of Wands: New, passionate beginnings
Death: an ending
HOME
Ace of Cups: an eye-opening new beginning, new perspective
10 of Pentacles: prosperity, abundance
8 of Wands, reversed: things aren’t going as planned
CAREER
4 of Swords: take a breather
Judgment: reflect, take inventory. What are you doing?
5 of Pentacles: scary card, money trouble
CENTRAL THEME
Empress: nurturing, motherhood
9 of Wands: taking a moment to rest after a struggle
5 of Cups, Reversed: not accepting the loss, not moving on in a healthy way
KEY - Knight of Cups: trust yourself, go after what you want!
So now that that’s out of the way, I’m going to go back and look for patterns, or Majors that show up in both the Anchor and the Life spread. For this one, I’ve got death twice (once reversed), the Hierophant twice (once reversed), and the Empress twice, so those themes are all ones I’m going to pay extra attention to this reading.
Other things I’m looking out for are my stalker cards. The Moon and The Empress have been following me around of late, which holds some relevance for me (on a more personal note, not for Tumblr eyes :) )
Now the fun part, putting it all together! There aren’t specific positions for the life spread, so we’re just reading the story we get from the groups. So for example, the career group. The Chariot in the Anchor, and then 4 of Swords, Judgment, and the 5 of Pentacles. I know everyone has different ways of interpreting things so I can’t exactly give a how-to for this part, but here’s the reading I got from this group: “ With my career, I’ve got one foot out the door here, but before I jump to any rash decisions that could have me in a really bad spot financially, I need to stop and listen. Reevaluate what it is that I want and the best way to move forward.”
If you’re interested in the reading in its entirety, to see the way the other groups fit together, you can see that here.
I hope this helped a bit, I know it’s a big spread and can seem daunting. Just take your time (often, a lot of time) and go through it piece by piece.
Hiii!! Could i get a reading on what’s been holding me back with regards to my career? Thank youu!! -V♉️
Hi there V, you sure can!
It looks like it's your own sense of security that's holding you back. There may be a change you're resisting, either from fear or just plain contentment with the way things are now. Either way, in order to advance you'll have to step out of your comfort zone and embrace that change
I'll keep this pretty brief since most of it's covered already.
Please don't ask:
For a third party reading (How does X feel about such and such?) I use tarot to interpret messages from your higher self, and can't gauge someone else's feelings from a reading meant for you.
For a reading on legal or medical matters. I'm not a doctor or a lawyer, any questions best suited for them should go to them.
For a reading on past lives or communicating with spirits. These aren't things I'm versed in, but plenty of other readers are!
Yes or no questions, or for future predictions: Will this thing happen? Does she like me? Should I do this? I don't use tarot for these type of questions.
Now I know you're thinking but April, what's even the point of a reading, then?
So, here's some suggestions:
What's the biggest obstacle in this situation? What's keeping me from moving forward in regards to X?
What are my greatest strengths in this situation? What are my best resources in dealing with X?
How can I advance.... (this relationship, my career, etc)
How can I make the most of this situation?
What should I be focusing on right now?
How can I better communicate... (with this person, how I feel, etc)
I know these are really general and broad, but that's kind of the point! Use these as an example, consider the situation you want a reading on and what open-ended question would provide the answers you're seeking. I'm happy to work with you to make sure the reading is what you're looking for, just shoot me a message!
For short, one question readings feel free to send an ask, anon or not, and it will be answered as soon as I'm able. (I do work full time, and sometimes I'm busier than others so while it will often be within 24 hours, it will also sometimes not be). For paid readings, DM me or reach out at [email protected]
Hi Blossoms! I really hope this isn't a dumb question and if it is, please let me know and I'll never ask it again. If you're able, could I please ask what Hogwarts House I'm meant to be in via your cards? AK
Hi AK, thanks so much for the ask! Free readings are actually closed right now, but I loved this question so much I had to give it a try 😊
So I drew three cards for you which were the 4 & 5 of Wands, followed by the King of Pentacles. So here’s what I got from this reading:
The 4 of Wands, at least in this deck, suggest insecurity and discomfort at home-- or, in this case, in your Hogwarts House. The 5 of Wands tells me there are some interpersonal issues, disputes and arguing with those around you (perhaps re what house you’re supposed to be in?)
So the final card, the King of Pentacles, was a firm “Ravenclaw.” He’s a thinker, but in more a grounded way than the cunning King of Swords (Slytherin). Down to earth, logical, practical. The cards say Ravenclaw, all the way. 😊
