September 2019 – Maenad Tarot

Let the Right One (Slip) In: The Turning Point of the Cups

I often match up individual tarot cards with music, but rarely do I find a song that encompasses a journey across multiple cards as elegantly as Morrissey’s “Let the Right One Slip In.” This simple, joyful song rests on the turning point of the Eight of Cups, pointing back to the Seven of Cups and forward to the Nine of Cups. The first three lines alone map out the path:

Let the right one in
Let the old dreams die
Let the wrong ones go

Minor Arcana: The Journey of Swords

When studying tarot, we often learn about the Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana, in which the cards form a story. The cards of the Minor Arcana form stories too, and seeing how each card builds on the last can help us understand the cyclical nature of the suits. In this four part series (find Cups, Pentacles, and Wands here), I’ll share the journey of each suit as I have told it to myself. These narratives are heavily based on the Rider Waite Smith imagery. Other decks may tell different stories! Today we examine the suit of Swords, associated with Air, thought, communication, and reason.

Tarot and the Underbelly of Positive Thinking

I don’t use tarot to predict the future. Rather, I often use tarot as a tool for introspection, in order to get clarity on a situation and spark some ideas about what to do about it. This style of tarot reading is meant to feel empowering, and can take on a self-help vibe. It makes me feel like I’m in control of my own destiny. And isn’t that what we want?

But this inspirational style of tarot reading can have its own pitfalls. Once I was giving a reading for someone, and the Five of Pentacles came up. The card usually signifies hardship and scarcity, but often comes bundled with an implication that there is a way out, someone who might help, a resource you could tap into. I’ve seen interpretations of the card where the seeker is framed as possibly too proud to ask for help. And indeed, it feels more empowering to think that overcoming scarcity is a matter of will. But in this particular reading, I paused. I knew this person feared material scarcity because they had experienced material scarcity in their own life. Their worry made sense. It was entirely logical. Suddenly “you can find help if you are willing to ask for it” sounded less like empowerment and more like a dismissal of the seeker’s personal history and reality. Would that message be helpful, or condescending?