okay wait I find the TRC graphic novel major arcana tarot assignments are so interesting and I am assuming that MStief had a say in this, so let me share some quotes from her book about tarot for the individual card meanings. Tarot has all different meanings with similar themes, but I thought it'd be interesting to look at what stief thinks about these cards herself.
All quotes are from Illuminating the Prophecy by Maggie Stiefvater. I highly recommend the book if you're interest in tarot or just are obsessed with the series.
BLUE - JUSTICE
"When you see the Justive card, it reminds you that you may have fudged the rules a little and got away with it, or you may have persuaded others that your dubious choice was a correct one, but the universe believes in an absolute right or wrong, and you will get what you deserve based upon that. This card is also a reminder that your reward or punishment is often unseen. A bad turn performed on someone else will haunt you years later, and likewise, an unnoticed kind event will create its own reward inside you. At the end of it, you will become the product of these actions: you are the Justice. There's an intense comfort to knowing that you have this control, especially if you feel your good intentions are being taken poorly." - pg. 41-42
ADAM - THE MAGICIAN
"Regardless of who or what you believe in, the Magician is an extraordinary master of all trades, and he is resilient because no matter what the world throws at him, no matter how much he loses, he will always have the most powerful tool at his command: himself." pg. 21-22
GANSEY - THE CHARIOT
"The duality that the Lovers card mutters about becomes a proper problem by the time the Chariot shows up in a reading. There are two sides to you, seemingly opposite, and you keep being thrown from one to the other. In many decks, this card depicts two beasts of different color pulling a chariot; when they agree on a direction, the chariot moves forward swiftly. When they disagree, the chariot grinds to a halt. You've ground to a halt...
"The chariot's not moving because you can't figure out how to get yourself in line. You can't figure out which you you want to be. The Chariot isn't really about choice, though. It's about balance. You aren't cutting one of the beasts free so that you can move on without it. The chariot will move with only pone of them, but not as fast as if you found a way to make them both move in the same direction. The Chariot tells you that there is a way to satisfy the warring parts of you. Find your self-control, embrace your dark and light sides, and enjoy the ride." pg. 33-34
RONAN - THE LOVERS
"This card can represent actual lov ers, and when it does, the love pictured is epic - the pairing pof two souls so complementary that it seems obvious that some greater power has designed them for each other. But it can also represent a duality inside you, and the complementary pairing it refers to is your inner self and your outer self. Just like in a great love affair, everything is perfect when both sides of you are working in harmony. And just like in a great love affair, the world crumbles when you war with yourself. The card speaks to the power of wholeness and knowing yourself." - pg. 31-32
NOAH - THE HANGED MAN
"The Hanged Man is all about sacrifice - not a martyr's sacrifice, but a scholar's sacrifice. He goes not only willingly, but pleasantly toward his hanging, certain that the time spent in agony will be worth it... When this card shows up in your reading, it's a sign that whatever answer you seek is not going to simply be handed to you. You need to level up in some way, and it's going to require a genuine effort on your part. It doesn't mean that it requires hard work or a huge sum of money... It requires you to literally prostrate yourself on the altar of wisdom, holding yourself vulnerable, looking deep inside yourself for answers. You've got to let go and be willing to let knowledge and transformation take you." - pg. 43-44
I've been learning the tarot for a while and I'm definitely not an expert, but I thought this would be fun! Here's what I think a classic Celtic cross spread would look like for Adam- obviously the cards change based on your circumstances, so we'll set this at the end of the raven king, sort of in that space between last chapter & epilogue. Obviously this is just my opinion, and lots of tarot readers do things differently- for example, I use consciousness/unconsciousness instead of above/below in the Celtic cross spread, and I don't use reversed cards. Anyway pls feel free to yap about this in the comments if you have experience :))
Some general notes on this reading: you see a few pentacles pop up, because I wanted to emphasize Adam's work ethic and focus on his finances; he's very grounded in the physical world. However, he's also discovering the emotional world and the creative and intuitive (spiritual) one, which is represented by the cups. there's a couple swords, too, showing how he works through things with logic. There's less major arcana because he's dealing with more low-stakes stuff now that the sacrifice and demon issues are behind him a little- the minor arcana (suits) are for more everyday things in this way.
I did a whole aesthetic thing and laid it out nicely:
but i'll put the explanation under a cut because it got LONG.
heres a more practical visual guide with what number the card is in the spread:
Card 1 (centre) is the present. in my opinion it can represent either the self or the situation in the present moment. Here it's the Magician, the Adam Parrish card ever. It represents his connection to Cabeswater, his ability & control over himself. he uses his resources at hand (the four suits) in a unique and innovative way. It's a very inspirational card, and I like how it reflects Adam's drive and intuition.
Card 2 (the one covering card 1) is the 'crossing', the challenge, or the problem that one might be facing. I chose the ace of wands, which represents an opportunity to act. Adam has the potential to change and grow and learn at college - I'm not sure if Adam's been accepted into Harvard by this point but nevertheless he's definitely freaking out about college applications and scholarships and ivy leagues. Probably to the degree that it's 'crossing' his ability to use his resources, he's overthinking, he's getting in his own way. this opportunity is overwhelming him and he's finding himself at risk of making a bad decision.
Card 3 (left) is past. I like the Devil for this, representing how trapped Adam felt by Cabeswater's deal, his parents, Gansey's attempts at help; also how he made decisions that ended badly for himself and the people around him. I also think of this card as self-repression- how Adam represses his desires. He's overcome this by the end of the raven king, but its influences still affect him, as during the epilogue he visits his parents and asserts his independence and self-worth. In a more straightforward way, you could also say the devil is the demon is his father, but that's sort of superficial.
I think you could also use ten of wands for this- someone always trying to balance a burden, whereas now he's reached a point of stability- that fanart by kidnova earlier is still in my brain <3
Card 4 (right) is future. This one I think is the two of swords, which is a bit mean- it represents a crossroads, or a difficult decision, often said to be between heart and mind- in the Opal short story we see Adam struggling between Harvard and Ronan with the appearance of the nightwash (his education/mind and his lover/heart). The blindfold also represents that his vision might be a bit impaired- i.e. he can't see straight (hah) when it comes to Ronan. It means that there's an upcoming problem for him, which we see later in canon.
Card 5 (above) is consciousness. Here I see Adam as a big four of pentacles guy, someone 'saving'- pentacles represent money a lot, so here it's his typical money-saving, constant juggling of expenses and hours at work and school/college that comes from his poverty. It's exhausting for him and holds him back a lot, but it helps him survive. This card can also mean security, in the pentacles under the figure's feet, a steady foundation: this can represent Ronan and his comparative richness. Also, the city in the background shows distance, Adam Parrish army of one, et cetera, links to using resources, links to the Magician card. Adam Parrish is a four of pentacles if I ever saw one.
Card 6 (below) is unconsciousness. This one is a bit more uplifting; I see this as the star, a major arcana: Cabeswater has played a major part in Adam's life and with it gone, he's finding a new balance with the ley line (the theme of balance can be seen in the pouring pitchers). Water links to the suit of cups links to emotions and intuition, which is Adam leaning into his emotional side more. This card is a big symbol of hope and rejuvenation, especially spiritually, so I think this subtly happening for Adam positively influences him in the back of his mind.
Card 7 (first in column) is one's own influence- it sounds a bit weird, but I think of it as how your own perspective, thoughts, feeling can affect and change a situation. I like the knight of pentacles for this, which is someone (Adam) who acts thinking in a way that's connected to the physical or fiscal realm. Even though Adam's learned to let in his intuition, he's still always weighing up the practicalities of a situation- especially in relation to college, he's thinking about the money, he's thinking about the consequences. The knight of pentacles is very hard-working and strategic, like Adam is. also connects to the four of pentacles.
Card 8 (second in column) is external influence, or the people/environment around you. I can very easily see this being the two of cups- while some people might think of the lovers, which is about making a positive choice and is connected to love, the two of cups is about a unification and reciprocation which Adam is discovering in Ronan. The cups are also connected to healing and emotions, which is something they're facing together. this union and understanding affects his decision-making (linking back to the two of swords).
Idealistically, I like the three of cups for this but I don't think it really works- it's about friendship, collaboration, and celebration, i.e. the gangsey post-cabeswater's repurposing. I think the two of cups has more impact on Adam's thinking, whereas the three of cups is more like something that's happening in the background.
However, I do think the knight of cups could also work- this is a Ronan card to me, in the way it's someone who acts emotionally, creatively, sometimes without thinking things through logically. Also the two knights put Adam/Ronan as partners, working together, which I like. But ultimately this reading is about how things affect Adam, and the union of both their emotions to me feels better than solely Ronan's emotionally driven decision-making.
Card 9 (third in column) is hopes and fears. This one is very interpretive, it might be something you want but are scared of- think of the way Adam can be so resentful of his own desires. I love the high priestess here!! This is a major arcana, big deal, and represents knowledge gained through experience. It can also mean a trial, but here I interpret it more as Adam's college hopes and fears- he wants to go, get away from Henrietta, he knows he needs the degree to prove he has the knowledge, so he has to go through this experience- but he has to go through this kind of terrifying thing and leave Ronan, who he's just gotten and later suffers from nightwash, so he's also worried about going. I think Adam definitely also had a period of 'they made a mistake' after getting accepted to ivy leagues, because he's just not used to getting what he wants - "he wants it too much". The high priestess holds a lot of potential, like the Magician, like the ace of wands.
Card 10 (fourth in column) is the result, the outcome of everything. I think at this stage in the books it would be the six of swords. It shows people helping each other leave/move on from a difficult situation into metaphorically calmer waters, but they still bring their problems with them, shown as the swords in the boat. Adam and Ronan are trying to help each other live and flourish but they still have serious problems and parental issues that linger (Adam later making peace with this in the epilogue). Also Adam leaving for Harvard and the whole shitshow of td3 shows that it's not over, that there's still a journey ahead of them.
so that's it! i hope you liked it! i worked really hard on this and it was really fun so maybe i'll do this or talk about tarot thoughts for other trc characters :)
anyways. just thinking about how all the threes in the tarot deck are sooooo sarchengsey.
like i always joke that the 3 of cups is the threesome card but it’s also like, support and friendship and three sets of hands holding each other up. it seems the most obvious for them — look at them all celebrating together :) look at them filling up one another’s cups and then cheers-ing :)
the three of swords doesn’t seem like them at first but they are all navigating how to survive after loss and grief and great hardship and they’re doing it together. it’s three sets of hands pulling the knives out of each other’s hearts and healing together after the fact.
the three of pentacles is the other card i make threesome jokes about (tell me it doesn’t look have “me and my boyfriend saw you across the bar and we really like your energy” vibes) but this is, again, about a stable and prosperous partnership. teamwork and progress and three sets of hands building something together.
and finally, the three of wands is about travel and adventure and bringing the important things along with you while you do so, taking what you’ve learned forward on your next path, three sets of hands tugging at a map. three pillars holding you up and leading you forward.
i just love them all soooo dearly and i think they deserve everything always
To direct your will outward one must be able to understand one’s internal world. The high priestess is the guardian of the unconscious and beckons the traveler to the world within.
About time I did something tarot-ish for TRC! The Chariot is a card of willpower, determination and strength, and I read it can even mean a road trip if you interpret it literally, so it seemed more than fitting for the Pig (and its driver).
This card heralds a happy surprise of some kind. It is a signal that one’s unconscious is attempting to make contact, though sometimes one does not understand what is meant to be said.
A woman of immense complexity, sometimes considered cold hearted, but also sharp of mind and wit, independent and possessing great powers of organization and analysis.
