Following The Light In Tarot

About 4 weeks ago I stopped drinking my daily brew. And it’s not just coffees and lattes I gave up, but all types of caffeine in all of its forms. I have been drinking coffee solidly for close to 20 years, so to give up my daily cup is kind of a big deal…for me.

I did this for a few reasons mostly related to health and overall wellbeing. For starters, a lot of coffee gives me heartburn. Oddly enough, a Starbucks triple latte goes down super smooth, but it’s painful for my wallet. On top of digestive reasons, I also started to become super aware of the ups and downs that come from it and how sensitive I am to those fluctuations. Leading up to this decision, and on the back of it, I’ve also had a lot of insight come to me around energy and more specifically, where I get mine from and how I use it. And with this insight, I’ve been taking steps to eliminate unhealthy forms of energy acquisition, while focusing on getting it in more sustainable ways.

And this all got me thinking about light! Light can be thought of as a symbol for that primal life force - another way to imply energy or power or inspiration. Across tarot, light is utilized in all kinds of interesting ways, and we think that paying attention to how it shows up can tell us a whole lot more about that given card’s meaning.

So with all that in mind, I felt a deep-dive on following the light in tarot was in order. To broach this subject, I thought it would make the most sense to explore the various expressions of light across the deck, discuss some of the cards that demonstrate that expression, and then talk a bit about what that all might mean. First off…the sun!

The Sun

As seen in The Sun, The Fool, Death, Temperance and The Lovers

If it were not for the sun, not only would we not be where we are, we wouldn’t be at all. The Sun gives light but it also gives life, and those two things, in this particular form, are one and the same. In tarot, we see the sun depicted on a number of cards (and implied in many others). Cards where we explicitly see the sun include The Sun (obviously), The Fool, Death, Temperance and The Lovers. To see the sun specifically adds a layer of hope, life, enthusiasm, joy, and vitality to the card’s meaning. I think this is especially interesting in the case of Death. We often think of Death in gloomier terms, but that rising sun on the horizon, albeit a small detail, adds a lot. Maybe, something to look forward to? Promise of another day in another form? The inseparability of life and death? 

The Moon

As seen in The Moon, the 8 of Cups, The High Priestess and the 2 of Swords

And then we have the sun’s nighttime counterpart, The Moon. The Moon of course does not have a light force of its own, but rather reflects the sun. In this way, the moon symbolizes archetypes such as the mirror, the shadow, and elements such as receptivity and the feminine principle. Because it meets us at night, we also often equate it to dreaming, illusions and the subconscious. The moon, and symbols for it, can be seen in many cards across the deck. Where you’ll specifically find it is in the following: The Moon, the 8 of Cups, The High Priestess (though not in the sky) and the 2 of Swords. 

Lightning

As seen in The Tower

Lightning shows up just once in the RWS and that’s in The Tower. That makes it a pretty unique feature and may add to the feature’s significance. Lightning is electric light, and if you think about how it expresses itself, it may make a lot of sense as to why we find it in this scene. Just as The Tower falls to the ground unexpectedly ripping the carpet out from under us, lightning shocks! It is something that comes on quick, strong and is impossible to ignore. It also brings with it a flash, and this flash is said to be the illumination we require to understand the hidden mechanisms at play. Think of it like, something that wasn’t understood or known becoming visible for just a split second, but that second is enough to change everything. In Paul Foster Case’ 7 Stages of Spiritual Unfoldment, The Tower is labeled “Awakening”. When lightning strikes, we often have no choice but to wake the hell up! Deception (a la The Devil) is a “luxury” we can no longer afford.

Fire

As seen in The Tower, The Devil and The Lovers

Fire is an interesting form of light because it takes the idea of illumination and adds heat! For this reason, fire is often considered a really powerful and primal force. We can use it to warm our homes and light the way, but too much and we run the risk of destruction! We see the element of fire described in terms of desire, passion, sexuality, creativity and so on. Its use in the three cards mentioned above may suggest that fire in its purest form has no intention, but how it’s used is up to us. In The Tower, we see fire as something helping to bring that structure down. In the eyes of some, that may be a really bad thing or it may be a really positive thing. In The Devil and The Lovers we see fire in the devil’s hand and near the male figure in both scenes. This could be a nod to the human desire impulse. Our desires, as we know, can be utilized for our good or used against us. For example, in The Lovers we see fire attached to the tree of life whereas in The Devil, it’s the devil that controls that force and uses it to light the tail of the man. If we hone in on our desire, understand it and allow it to fuel us positively and passionately forward - that’s wonderful. If however, we allow others to take our desires and twist them in an effort to sell us more or tempt us into harmful behaviors, that’s obviously not helpful. Here, awareness and proper decision making is key.

Stars

As seen in The Star and The Hermit

Stars are suns, but they only really give as much light as the moon and so I see them as being something in between the two. In tarot, we see 8 stars in The Star as well as a single star in The Hermit. Stars are often a symbol of hope, purpose, spirituality and inner knowing. When we say “she always follows her north star” it is to say that someone knows their path and is guided on it, maybe even protected spiritually as  they traverse. Stars don’t provide full light like the sun, for example, so they’re more of a guidepost - an inspiration and source of motivation to keep going.

Emanations

As seen in the 4 Aces, the 10 of Cups, The Hanged Man and Temperance

There are a variety of cards that feature a kind of glow, implying a source of light may be at the heart of that emanation. We see this in the 4 Aces coming off of the hands holding the various elements, as well as around the heads on Temperance and The Hanged Man. An emanation in this way may indicate a divine or godly presence, similar to a halo that we might envision around an angel. These emanations, while not lighting up the scene, may be pointing to a specific feature as having “divine” qualities.

Bonus Light Feature!

There is one more feature that I thought worthy to note that takes on a much different appearance than the ones we’ve so far discussed. This you’ll find in the 5 of Pentacles, an otherwise dark and dreary scene. But, if you look above the two tired travelers what you see is a stained glass window that appears to be giving off light. This is an important feature of this card and one that attempts to draw our gaze toward the thing the travelers may be missing - there is hope and help closer than they think! 

And this, maybe above all else, might be the takeaway of these sources in all their many forms. What they speak of, though described in different ways, is life. Maybe that life is expressing itself as desire and passion, perhaps it is taking the form of illumination or maybe it’s just a spark or star guiding us along. Whether we are motivated through impulse or inspiration, light moves us, and when we see it (or rather, it allows us to see), we know there is still hope and possibility; something to both propel us forward, and look forward to.

As a bonus way to work with the cards in this way, you could always use the light in tarot as a bit of a “manifestation” technique. For example, ask yourself - what kind of light or energy do I need to tap into today? If you’re looking for some spiritual light, maybe you should meditate with The Star. If you’re looking for that vital light, perhaps The Sun would be a great ally. Or, perhaps, you need something a bit more reflective and introspective. If that’s the case, The Moon may be your card of choice.

However you mind the light in tarot, we think just becoming aware of where it is and in which form it takes can add a lot to the card’s meaning. And of course, with light comes dark and how dark is used can lend another important layer but, perhaps that’s a post for another day!

Until then,
Julia