Find it everywhere it’s available at this link. (It’s also available in print: just search ISBN 9798201381684)
Arcana: Numerology, Tarot, and the Tree of Life by Sarah Wallin-Huff
Within these pages, a Kabbalistic and Numerological interpretation of the tarot deck is explored. An understanding of the symbolism within the Tree of Life enhances the interpretation of each card within a spread, and this book is meant to be a helpful, in-depth resource for ascertaining a multi-layered approach to the cards of the tarot deck. The cards can be invaluable as a "mirror for the subconscious"—a way to better understand ourselves and inner tendencies. As we explore the deck, may our relationship with ourselves become richer.
Here’s a New Year Tarot Spread I did for myself; it was really interesting and gives me a lot to think about!
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If you want to read the transcript instead of watching the video, here's that below:
Happy 2026 everyone!
So yesterday on New Year's Day I did a quick tarot spread for myself.
A New Year tarot spread by Emerald Lotus Divination and it was very revealing.
At first it was a little bit disturbing as you can see right here in this full spread of five cards.
I have not only two reversed cards but I also end on the three of swords, which if you know what that means, typically is referred to as sorrow.
The first card, the seven of swords, can be disturbing to some.
It's nicknamed futility, but that is actually my destiny card, one of my birth tarot cards.
So that one actually really felt good for me.
And so the first card, that seven of swords, is to ask how can I celebrate the start of the New Year.
And again, as I said, that's my destiny card.
Futility means to remind yourself that thought upon thought upon thought doesn't lead to anything without action.
And that is something that I continually have to remind myself because my mind continually thinks and adds thought upon thought.
So it's a nice reminder.
But that also set the stage for this whole reading.
We are going to be talking about thought overwhelming my brain.
As you can see in the next card, the queen of pentacles.
Queen is water, emotional, emotion nurturing, mother archetype, queen of pentacles.
So she nurtures the earth.
She nurtures and grows the earthly things, the earthly matters of life.
So that could be health, wealth, job, that sort of thing.
And when upright, the queen is at peace with a peace like the stillness of a lake resting in the earthen bowl of a valley.
But what's interesting is this card represents what to leave behind in the New Year.
So I need to leave behind this search for peace and comfort by way of my efforts transforming the world.
So I need to remind myself that changing the world is not up to me.
I can only change myself.
And so sometimes I need to release the need to have to change things around me to nurture and mature the worldly situations around me.
Because if the world doesn't want to change, I can't make it change.
Certainly not by myself.
So that's a reminder of something to leave behind.
Now number three, I have the reverse three of pentacles.
Three is all about intelligence and using intelligence to build something depending on the suit.
In this case, pentacles, it's called work.
And again, pentacles is the earthly realm.
So using intelligence and knowledge to work toward building something in the earthly realm.
So that could be career, that could be health, again that could be wealth, that sort of thing.
But again, it's reversed.
And this is the card of what to look forward to.
So you can see why I was getting a little confused looking at this, looking at this spread.
Looking forward to something blocking my work efforts.
And it's like, what does that mean?
So I went ahead and pulled a clarification card.
And guess what I got?
Another three.
And another reverse three is the reverse three of wands.
That is nicknamed virtue.
And just like with the three pentacles, I am using intelligence to develop and build my hierarchy of virtues in my own personal life.
Like building the why behind what I do things, my intentions, my creativity, that kind of thing.
So what to look forward to?
Something blocking my work efforts, something blocking my worldly progress, and also looking forward to something blocking my ideals.
So I took that to mean that it's okay if things get in my way this year.
I'm not gonna freak out about it.
I remember the queen of pentacles that to leave that behind, to leave her behind, that it's not up to me.
And look, focus inward to look at myself.
So card number four.
I got the reversed page of pentacles.
Another pentacle.
Now pages are earth and pentacles are earth.
So typically when upright, the page, this page is very happy, very settled, very secure.
She's in her element.
But this is reversed.
And this card represents the biggest lesson coming this year.
And from my from my book, Arcana, I love this quote about the reversed page of pentacles.
She is that without a committed sense of direction, this page may find themselves lacking in ambition or discipline, remaining content to just sit where they are.
So the biggest lesson for me from that card alone was to be cautious of being swept to and fro due to others conflicting opinions.
I need to follow my innate sense of direction.
And I got that because I also pulled a clarification card, as you can see for this page.
This clarification card was the five of wands.
Wands is again energy, intention, creativity, drive, ambition, and five is a destruction of that.
And it typically represents that there are multiple conflicting opinions and ideas competing to be heard.
So again, combining that with the reverse page of pentacles and the biggest lesson coming this year for me is to not be swept around because of others conflicting opinions around me.
There are lots of ideas, lots of people who who want to help or think they can help.
And it may not align with what I think is right.
And so again, that is looking forward to someone blocking my work efforts, someone blocking my progress, someone blocking my sense of virtue, and I need to release that.
Number five, how will I grow this year?
And I got the three of swords, sorrow.
And again, I very much was like I need clarification on that.
But in general, three of swords, sorrow, is that the mind can easily become overwhelmed with a torrent of ideas and therefore take our emotions for a distraught ride.
I am always obsessed with this connection between thought and emotion.
I find this in my life that my thoughts will tend to drive my emotions and drive them off a cliff sometimes.
So I need to, again, my destiny card is the seven of swords.
I need to watch out about an influence of overwhelming ideas and remember that they need to be coupled with action to actually be worth anything.
So of course I clarified this card.
So I actually first drew the fool as my first clarification card, a reversed fool.
And this is a hesitancy to move forward with faith in the unknown.
So again, I was confused and I'm like, okay, so the biggest lesson is watching out for being overwhelmed with torrents of ideas that can take my emotions on a distraught ride.
And then the clarification is I will encounter a hesitancy to move forward with faith in the unknown.
So I asked the cards, well should I restrain myself or should I let my fool fly freely?
And that's when I drew another clarification card, the world.
And with the world, I mean that's the ultimate card.
That is like nirvana.
That is you've reached apotheosis basically.
Because of all the lessons you've learned throughout the tree of life moving forward in life, you can trust that you know what the next step is.
And so that was encouraging.
So sometimes I may need to restrain myself or sometimes I can allow the fool in me to run forward with excitement and faith.
But the world card encourages that I will know what the right course of action is.
Now when I was maneuvering these clarification cards, I had discovered there was a surprise card.
There was a surprise card behind the fool.
And this card was the reversed queen of swords.
Again, here we go.
Thought and emotion.
Queen is water, swords is air.
Emotion in the realm of air and thought.
And she was behind the fool.
And so reversed queen of swords indicates that if thought stirs her emotions into a sea of dangerous waves, she might reveal herself to be bitter and critical of herself or others, perhaps believing the worst of a person or situation.
And so again, those four cards in this biggest lesson position of this spread really enlightened me and encouraged me.
The whole lesson of all these cards, the five original cards and the clarifying cards for me was to this year, beware of unrestrained thought, beware of becoming bitter toward myself and others, because it will only lead to sorrow of heart.
And it will and it might cause me to freeze in my journey instead of moving forward with freedom and curiosity.
So and I have already known this about me, being careful of overwhelming thought.
As I said, seven of swords is my one of my birth tarot cards, my tarot scope.
So I hope this was enlightening for you.
I love using tarot to guide my own thoughts and give myself some direction moving forward.
And this was very enlightening for me for this coming year.
I will definitely take this to heart and see where it leads me.
I hope your new year brings joy and peace and success in all the most meaningful ways for you.
It’s been a loooong time since I’ve shared a tarot reading…. I recently received a beautiful new deck from a friend and finally had a chance to try it out. :)
Gotta have my wand… :)
Per usual, the cards had inspiration to share with me tonight, so I thought I’d share my reading with you!
The New Moon Spread
TLDR:
Right now, my thoughts are trapping me in a whirlwind of feeling like I need to act, like I need to DO something to change my Reality. But I am in a position to resist and find my inner calm. I need to release this energy, this desire to move and make things happen; that energy is not needed right now.
To help me, I conjure the intention of simply Being, of watching things happen around me without reaching out to fight it or change it. The knowledge I seek, to bolster me, is that of the steady Earth: the wind may blow around me, but like a tender grass I simply bend in its gusts. I seek to nurture the outside world with love and kindness. The positive energy emerging around me now is the hope of the Star card: that understanding the divine nature of Creation and the vastness of the universe keeps me still and at peace.
The Full Reading:
1. R8🍃 (Where I am now):
• “In spite of the relentlessness of our thoughts, we dig deep to find the energy to fight against our prison”
2. MOON (What needs to be released):
• “de-escalation of activity; creativity-to-equilibrium”
• An impulsivity to take the anarchy around me and make something happen in the material realm.
3. DEVIL (Intention needed for growth):
• “escalation of activity; equilibrium-to-entropy”
• “transmutes the nonmaterial force of personal inner harmony of 6 into the material form of conscious adjustment via intellect in 8”
• “This thing is something that we ethically feel (or have felt in the past) harmonious about. We have willingly let this energy into our framework of values, and it is driving our actions—which are actions of non-interference and submission to obstacles. We are content to let nature run its course.”
4. R🌱🍃 (knowledge to seek):
• “If thoughts get the better of them, this page will be tossed about by the wind. They may become rude, insulting, and defensive, while trying to hide their discomfort in the howling torrent of thought.”
• Clarifying card: 🌊🌱
◦ “This queen is as at peace, with a peace like the stillness of a lake resting in the earthen bowl of a valley. She nurtures the material realm with love and kindness. She is clear-headed (and clear-hearted), patient, caring, and generous.”
• Note that Earth is the linking element between them...
• Seek the knowledge that comes from stillness and balance... (Look to the stars to help find that: see Star card below...)
5. STAR (emerging positive energy):
• From the Divine (inspiration) to our heart (our generator of Force); “de-escalation of energy; creativity-to-equilibrium”
• “transmutes subconscious, cosmic power into the force of unconscious harmony”--at rest; no need to stir the heart in any direction
• The divine “splitting of the atoms” of Creation leads our heart to Balance and Peace. I see the Natural mimicry of universal elements (remember I am the same stardust as the stars I see above) and that brings me Peace and Stillness--I am NOT inspired to stir myself to action.
A friend once told me that when they are struggling with getting laundry done, she pretends it is her sworn duty to smuggle the young prince out of the castle to safety, disguised in a laundry hamper.
Now, when I am struggling with hygiene, I pretend I am part of a village with an annual festival, and I get one day a year to spend luxuriously at a bathhouse in preparation.
What my friend imparted on me was the skill of turning mundane tasks into fantastical adventures to make them more compelling and bearable.
So next time you need to go on a mental health walk, maybe consider doing reconnaissance for a secret underground organisation.
Next time cooking is too much of a chore, consider you ability to turn space station rations into a feast to the delight of your crewmates.
Sometimes I wonder why normal things that are hard for me are a breeze when I'm camping, and I think this is part of it.
Like, the most luxurious "bath" I've ever had was in the woods with a pot of boiled lake water. So much effort went into that! It was a whole big process! I had to fetch the water up the hill, boil it over the fire, and hang up a bedsheet for a little privacy. Used a mug to transfer water into a pan to cool a little before pouring it over myself while the rest stayed hot in the big pot. But the near-boiling water steaming off my skin into the cooler air felt glorious and the whole process was wildly satisfying. I was a fucking forest nymph.
so now sometimes when the executive dysfunction is getting to me and I don't want to shower, I have to just be a forest nymph for a little while. If it's stupid but it works...
This is so interesting—I think it’s why lately making mental health breaks into fantastical rituals has been extremely invigorating for me. I use my tarot cards, light candle, select the appropriate crystals, and pretend I’m a witch on a mission to speak to my Inner Self and comfort or guide Her using arcane knowledge tucked deep inside of me. :)
Omg I looked at the site for some of the other cards and LOVE the artwork and vibe!!! I’ve been looking for a new deck recently and this one is just exactly the one that spoke to me!!! I preordered it and can’t wait to receive it! 🥰
The Witchy Magic Tarot deck is a full 78-cards Tarot Deck, including both Major and Minor Arcana. As an excellent tool for spiritual guidanc
I had a really impactful reading today, in conjunction with a new system of Ritual I've been working with lately.
So the Theme (far left card) of the whole message had to do with my recent overthinking storm--just so many things going on in my head the past few days! The message of the Reversed 7 of Swords (🍃) that fit for me was how all of our own strategizing and overthinking can lead to our own self-deception.
The three Details (as depicted in the center column), from top to bottom, were:
Head: Reversed 9 of Disks (🌱) -- Any material success I think I have right now is largely superficial or overblown.
Heart: Reversed 10 of Cups (🌊) -- My emotional sense of "arrival" is dysfunctional and not stable.
Feet: Reversed Wheel of Fortune (4-7 on the Tree of Life) -- in this particular case, my own ethical consolidation is not stable, so when change comes (as it will), it may be a rocky transition for me.
The Advice Card (on the far right) was a welcome one: The Sun. Basically, the answer to my current state of chaos in my mind has to do with bringing my efforts out into the sunlight. I've been doing a lot of Shadow- and Dream-Work lately, so I took that to heart, and the first thing I did was a Shadow exercise where I mindfully acknowledge, in my conscious mind, the traits of someone I despise and start the work of integrating those traits (which do exist in me, though they are hidden) into my Inner Collective Whole.
So basically, the Sunshine of Consciousness can often be a balm to us when our spiritual work gets chaotic. :)
For more insight into how I read tarot using the Cabalistic Tree of Life, check out my book, "Arcana"!
Revised artwork — Futility & Karma …representing the 7 of swords (Futility) and the Major Arcana Judgment (Karma, here portrayed as the wings of Ma’at ). These are my Destiny Card and Birth Card respectively.
Queen of Pentacles. Art by Viv Tanner and Eli Baum, from Sefirot.
“Life’s but a bout, an inconstant stay,
Where wasteful Time debateth with decay
And all in war with Time for love of you, They take from you,
while I engraft you new.”
this is excellent proof of how cops train each other to think. merely wearing protection against possible cop violence IS an escalation in their view. like how dare you prepare for me to become unhinged, now my repeated violations of the geneva convention are your fault >:(
Ok so I can’t help but look at the collection of various tarot cards within this one card…
From top to bottom we have:
Devil (“…something is taking over our actions or physical reality... This thing is something that we ethically feel (or have felt in the past) harmonious about. We have willingly let this energy into our framework of values, and it is driving our actions—which are actions of non-interference and submission to obstacles. We are content to let nature run its course.”)
9 swords (“We have been unable to fight the self-imposed prison of our mind in eight, and our thoughts clutter even our dreams at night, stealing any hope of sleep from us. Perhaps our never-ending guilt or worry is what plagues our mind day in and day out.”)
The Tower (in the center of it all): “…a necessary destruction (of preconceived notions, of established habits, etc) befalling us due to outside forces, in order to bring us to a place of submissive observation where we can reevaluate our situation.”
3 swords with two of the traditional 7 cups to the right of it (3🍃—“…the mind can easily become overwhelmed with a torrent of ideas and take our emotions for a distraught ride”; 7🌊—“Life becomes illusory, tempting us to chase after material things that will not fulfill us emotionally.”)
Death is on the lower left (“…we are moving from a place of unconscious harmony to a new place where we must consciously endure with patience and fortitude as the winds of change toss us about”)
10 of swords on the lower right (“If our whirlwind of thoughts has remained unchecked and unacknowledged up to this point, we will be overwhelmed and collapse under the cruel sting of their cutting energy.”)
The lower center is the 5 of cups, with the dog and wolf from The Moon just below it (5🌊—“When we are faced with emotional chaos or change, our hearts will seek an outlet where they can flow freely again”; Moon—“…a calming release in letting go, of not struggling to keep our Shadow selves or subconscious impulses ‘in check’. May our dreams guide us and our fantasies roam free.”)
Basically, even in the midst of emotional turmoil and a universe being turned upside-down, there is always hope, a brighter dawn ahead, and a peace in letting go or letting our Shadow Selves free.
All quotations from “Arcana: Numerology, Tarot, and the Tree of Life”.
I had a fantastic revelation in my therapy session today, and I thought there may be other creatives out there who could benefit from this…
For as long as I can remember, I have tempered my enthusiasm—the innate joy I feel while making my art—in the name of “being realistic” or “being humble”. At first it was clearly because my dad forbade me from pursuing these creative exploits at all professionally (he said he was trying to “protect me” from getting hurt), and so I always felt “wrong” for making music or writing stories, even though those activities brought me so much joy. I‘ve always told myself it’s wrong to be confident in my work, or that it’s wrong to be so hopeful and joyful in what I do.
Decades later, making music (and teaching about music) is my full-time career. My therapist helped me realize that it’s ok to acknowledge that I’m good at it. It’s ok to acknowledge and respect the absolute Joy I feel when I am being creative. The way she put it was, my eyes light up and my face animates with so much joy when talking about creating music—then there’s always a “But”…
This “But…” is the part of me that still places an emotional “lid” on all my creative activities. It comes out whenever I say things like:
“I want to win a Grammy someday… But it’s wrong for me to think that.”
“I want more people to enjoy my art… But I’m only one of millions of artists out there.”
Basically, I was reminded that there is nothing wrong with wishing and hoping and wanting great things for myself. I don’t have to shut myself down for being hopeful and excited—for knowing I’m good at what I do and loving what I do.
What would happen if I lifted the emotional lid of caution off of my creativity? What would happen if I truly embraced all that I know that I am? What might have I been “protecting” myself from by tempering my innate joy and creativity in the name of being “realistic”?
Here is the mantra I wrote out for myself today, in response:
Henceforth I will lift the Lid off of my Joy, and allow my True Self to shine ever-so brightly.
Here’s to all of us being willing to shine brightly and no longer restrict who we are, to ourselves or others!
