Every once in awhile I come across this sentiment on the internet that suggests Pamela Colman Smith has just been discovered as the artist behind the RWS - like there has been some concerted effort to conceal her name and scrub her of any involvement with the tarot. Granted, there was a period where the RWS was traditionally referred to as the Rider-Waite tarot, which does eliminate Smith’s name from the equation. However, this has mostly been corrected among tarot enthusiasts and the community at large.

If The Fool were a symbol for absolute freedom and unbounded possibility, then the 8 of Swords must be its energetic antagonist. All you would need to do is observe the body language, posture and predicament to realize these two figures were occupying opposite ends of their particular polarity - liberation vs. confinement.

When I pull the 8 of Swords in a reading, yes it’s annoying, but it’s rarely a surprise. Usually, I'm able to identify right away that's how I've been feeling - frustrated, unsure, bound. I could equate it to a really bad case of writers block (though not limited to the act of writing). It’s actually one of the cards in the deck, in my opinion, that does a really good job of visually depicting the feeling it represents.

The suit of Swords is known for being connected to the element air, which in turn associates it with things such as thoughts, ideas, intellect, concepts and communication. But there is something curious happening within this particular grouping of cards, which connects it strongly back to the element of water.

If you observe the landscape of the Swords, you might notice something that we also noticed - something that stands out and takes up a lot of space! For such an airy element, there sure is a of a lot of water visible in these cards! In fact, there is almost as much visible water in the Swords as there is in the Cups. And, if you don’t count the court cards, there is actually more. On top of that, 4 of the Swords cards not only depict water, but large bodies of it! Like, HUGE amounts of water! What’s going on here?

Whether you’re brand new to tarot, an advanced student or looking for niche topics on the periphery of this tool, we created this guide as a way to easily navigate our website to find the right resources for you.

Locate the heading that most accurately describes what you’re looking for, settle in and begin your exploration!

In 2016, I hosted a very successful online challenge all about connecting with Spirit Guides. If you’re wondering how I grew my social media following, this played a huge role. For some reason, it super resonated with people at the time and just took off. I repeated the adventure in 2019 and while it didn’t have the same participation as the first round, it was a joy for me to revisit with those who were interested.

Now, I’m not hosting another challenge - I don’t have time for that. But, I’ve been meaning to update those original prompts for awhile because I know there are folks out there looking for ways to bridge this connection, and I know how much this exercise served those who worked with it in the past.

Before Pisces season engulfs me entirely, I figured I should try to make at least one blog post before the month is up. This should be pretty easy to do, because all of the content was essentially already written. You see, I kind of forgot I started writing some kind of “book” back in 2018. It was supposed to be a resource to help you work intentionally/ritualistically with all 78 tarot cards. Looks like I got 60K words deep and then the whole thing was put on the backburner when my mom got sick. After that, it was Tower after Tower after Tower and well, it’s been collecting digital dust every since.

Tomorrow, January 25th, is the Full Moon in Leo. We’re also nearly complete the first month in our Collective Year 8. Both of these things share something in common and that’s their association to Strength in tarot (Justice in some decks, but we’ll get to that). Given the heavy influence this card will have on us for 2024, we thought it would be helpful to dig beyond the keywords and the basic correspondences to get to the root of what it really has to offer.

We think in this case, it all boils down to energy (just like everything else, we suppose!). But, how does that apply practically? Well, it applies because as unlimited as energy actually is, we all (at least at times) struggle to tap into it, maintain it and use it effectively. If that weren’t true, we'd be powerful beyond measure and this article would be a moot point!

We know it’s getting down to the wire here, but in case you’re looking for a little last minute tarot/oracle spread to usher in the New Year, we have you covered!

This spread looks back at the previous year, while embracing the energy on the horizon. It’s equal parts insight and advice, with a focus on not just what the year has for you, but what you have for it. We hope you find it fruitful and that it serves you well.

We just released our Personal Year Guides for 2024, but what about the collective? While each of us moves into our new respective year, so too does the collective shift in tandem. With this, we find ourselves universally in a Year 8 in 2024, which we arrive at by simply adding all those digits together - 2+0+2+4=8.

What does that mean? Well, the number 8 speaks to energy, movement, momentum and reward (among other things). It corresponds to Strength (Justice in some decks) and The Star in tarot. The number 8 also makes us think of that powerful Lion’s Gate portal, the concept of infinity and the myth of Ishtar, whose symbol is the lion (Strength) and the 8-pointed star (found on The Star)…curious.

It’s going to be 2024 before we know it, so we wanted to get ahead of the game and release our Personal Year Number information a bit early this year!

For those who have been visiting us for awhile, you’ll know it’s tradition around here to offer these free, comprehensive guides each and every year. We do this because this system has become something of a special interest for us. Ever since I (Julia) started paying attention to it in 2015, I’ve really been able to see how the themes of each year manifest themselves, which helps me to prepare and respond accordingly. It’s kind of like working with the cycles of the moon or the seasons. Once you begin to acclimate to its rhythm, you can begin to see how your own life mimics that flow, and how you can get the most out of the current you’re in.

Tarot is, if nothing else, a book of symbols. Not only is it steeped in history and archetypes and myth, it also contains visual details that help tell a bigger story - something beyond what the initial imagery may suggest. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and when it comes to tarot, I think it’s actually more.

In this post, we’ll be providing you a run down of the common symbols you will find in tarot along with some basic key words. Please note, there is far more to each symbol than what we’ve captured below. You may see some of these details differently and that’s ok. This is simply where our work has taken us, but it is not the final or only world. As well, each symbol may carry a slightly different meaning in the context of the card you can find itself on, the way it interacts, its colour, its size etc.

We’ve also included some of the cards where you can find each symbol. That part is also not conclusive in all cases. As well, if there is a symbol you’re interested in that we haven’t included, reach out and let us know!

I have a really old tarot quiz on this site, kicking around from maybe 2016 or so. I’ve never updated it in all that time, but I keep meaning to come back to it or maybe add another. Then, the other day I posted a tarot brain teaser on Instagram and I thought, let me make a quiz with more of that! But, alas, the platform I used to make that initial quiz, only allows you to make 1. After that, it’s $30 a month - no thanks!

So, we’re just gonna go ahead and make that quiz but do it as a fun, interactive little blog post! Want to play along?

I had a couple lucid dreams the other night. This isn’t a super uncommon experience for me - I’ve written a number of times about dreaming and the strange things I experience in this space. For some reason though, I’ve been more fascinated than usual about the most recent episodes, I think because I intuit they have much to teach us about not just dreams, but the nature of reality as a whole.

So, what is it about lucid dreams? For anyone whose had one, you will recognize that remarkable feeling when reality clicks and then shifts - that moment you realize you’re in a dream. It’s as if some great epiphany has been bestowed upon you and now, you’re in this elevated, illuminated and liberated state. And for the most part, the dream usually looks the same even once this realization is achieved, but the feeling you have while in it is what’s been altered. It’s exciting - the prospect of no longer being bound to the rules of the world! You can do as you please, at least for as long as you can remain in the dream.

If ever there was a “bummer” card in the tarot - this would be it. Anyone who works with tarot can probably relate to the deeply unsatisfying feeling that comes with drawing this one. I know I often describe cards in our “Challenging” series by the physical gestures or vocal expressions I make upon pulling them - but seriously, this is eye rolls and “ughs” every single time.

You’d think it would be difficult to write a full piece about this card because it’s just so damn uninspiring! The main character sits under a tree - seemingly over it, bored and full of indifference. Their arms and legs are crossed, indicating they are likely rejecting or ignoring the offering in front of them. Woe is them!

I don’t know anyone who goes into a tarot reading hoping to turn over the 5 of Pentacles. It’s one of the most miserable cards in tarot and rarely does it find itself a good spin. Of course, readers will often point out the light emanating from the window as a source of hope or something of a safe haven. But, when you’re confronted with the prospect of whatever’s happening in the 5, this barely lifts the tone.

So then, what else might we be able to glean from this sorry (on the surface) scene? We’ll get to that, but first, let’s get clear on everything that’s terrible about this card.

The shadow is a tricky thing. It lives in a language-less land and so it can’t just come out and say, with words, what’s on its mind (generally speaking). Instead, it feeds us in symbols, feelings, sensations, intuitions and other such urgings that can seem vague and elusive.

I can’t say for sure, but I wonder if part of the reason it works in this way is that it simultaneously wants to be discovered while wanting to evade detection. The part of it that desires discovery, is probably the part of it that is seeking expression and ultimately acceptance. But on the other hand, it doesn’t want us to be totally aware of its schemes because then it runs the risk of eradication or further suppression. Let’s face it, we haven’t been exactly welcoming of our shadow parts - I can totally understand why it would be as afraid of us as we are of it!

The 5 elements permeate the cards in an almost unavoidable way. Each Major Arcana is associated with either a planet or a sign that carries with it an elemental nature. The Majors as a whole depict Spirit, the 5th element. Then we have the minors. Each set governs an entire element, Pentacles are Earth, Wands are Fire, Cups are Water and Swords are Air. We can take it even further. Among the suit cards you’ll find 4 court characters - Pages, Knights, Queens and Kings. Each “type” of court also has its associated element. The Pages are associated with Earth, the Knights Air, the Queens Water and the Kings Fire. So while the Page of Cups is a “Water” card by its suit, the element of Earth would also apply and add an extra layer of information about the workings of that character.

I’ve been thinking recently about the relevance of asking bigger, more impersonal questions of the tarot. I think for many of us, we have adopted this perspective that the specificity of the question dictates the quality of the response, and some questions are better left alone. But, are there any questions truly off the table? Sure, perhaps queries that contradict a personal set of ethics may be out of bounds, but assuming the question passes the “morality test”, why can’t we go there?

With that in mind, we turned to tarot and asked one of those big questions, curious to see what the response might be. That question went a little something like this - “Why do we come here? What is the purpose of incarnation here?” (stay with us ‘til the end because we’ll be answering a second big question to interesting results)

After a longer than expected hiatus, we’re back with our 16th meditation, this one designed to capture the essence and energy of The Tower. You might be asking yourself, why would anyone want to purposely step into this landscape? Well, we hope to clarify that below - so keep reading!

After a longer than expected hiatus, we’re back with our 16th meditation, this one designed in the essence and energy of The Tower. You might be asking yourself, why would anyone want to purposely step into this landscape? Well, we hope to clarify that below - so keep reading!

For a long time, I associated the High Priestess with intuition - just, a broad sweeping faculty that spoke to one's ability to access something out of the ordinary.

The more I sit with this archetype though, the more nuanced my understanding of intuition has become. I have discovered, and probably you have as well, that intuition isn't intuition isn't intuition. There are levels, degrees and types - and we think this may be why many of us have a hard time discerning between the voices in our head.