Astrology Boutique Blog

This week, let’s take a look at Strength and Temperance. Unlike previous posts, these cards aren’t exactly opposites. The overall symbolism and message of the cards are similar. However, having one or both of these in your tarot card reading can mean different things. 

The Strength card and the Temperance card are both about balance. Of course, as we’ve discussed, many cards in the tarot deck refer to finding balance in our lives. What’s interesting about these cards is they are about our ability to balance some of the most basic areas of our life. 

The Strength Card 

Looking at the Strength card, you will most often see a young woman in a white dress with a lion. Looking closely, you will notice she is overpowering the lion. She is, in essence, taming the lion. So, a literal interpretation of this card is that you are strong or need to find your strength. 

However, as we’ve learned, when it comes to the tarot card decks, nothing is what it seems. Most interpretations look at the card like this: the lion is our inner desires, those things we want most that sometimes, we shouldn’t want. The woman represents or strength to control these desires. The Strength card reminds us we have the power to control our urges. 

If you see the Strength card in your tarot card reading, it’s time to take stock. Are you facing great difficulties right now? Time to call upon your strength to help you through it. Wants and wishes out of control? Find that inner strength we all have and find the restraint you need. 

The Temperance Card 

This card is also about balance, but unlike Strength, Temperance is quieter, more controlled. While Strength is about force and action, Temperance is about reflection and observation. 

If you see the Temperance card in your tarot card reading, it’s time to take a step back and assess your situation. Perhaps you’ve been a person of action of a long time, taking whatever steps necessary to achieve your goals. The Temperance card is telling you to take the time to examine what you’ve done and how you are doing it. Have you accomplished your goals? More importantly, are you finding ease in achieving your goals? Or, do you feel like you’re running around from task to task, putting out fires as they occur? If it’s taking you a lot of time or you’re spending a lot of energy on accomplishing your goals, look around and see what you can balance in your life to make these goals easier to achieve.

It’s been a while since the last post, but let’s pick up with our examination of the tarot card deck. 

Justice 

Our modern symbol of justice is a woman (sometimes referred to as “lady justice”), blindfolded (so she’s fair) holding the scales of justice. Tip one way, guilty. Tip the other way, not guilty. This is similar to the typical depiction of the justice card in a tarot card deck. A female sits, or kneels, holding the scales of justice. She is not blindfolded in this case, and also holds a sword. 

When you see the justice card in your tarot card reading, she is reminding you that you are responsible for all your actions (and inactions) and the consequences that result. The justice card in your tarot card reading tells you to stop and look at your past actions and the outcomes. Have your wronged someone lately? Did you take something without their permission? Indulge in too much dessert lately? 

It doesn’t matter what you have done, it just matters that you acknowledge it. This is the justice card, not the judgment card. The tarot cards do not care what you have done. The justice card is not concerned with how big or how small your misstep is. Seeing the justice card tells you to figure out what is was and to remind you that you probably need to right your wrong. Do you need to apologize? Return or replace something? Hit the gym a little more? 

The Hanged Man 

Sometimes known as the traitor, the hanged man card tends to strike fear in those who see it in their tarot card reading. Much like the death card, it is a misunderstood card. While the card is a picture of a man hanging upside down from the gallows, the card is not about punishment or death. 

In a literal translation of the card, the hanged man in a tarot card reading tells you that you are, well, hung-up. You are stuck in place usually preoccupied by your thoughts. While you are trying to figure something out, you’re making a mess of it by not picking a course of action or over analyzing the situation. Take a minute, figure out what’s holding you up and move forward. 

Other translations of the hanged man include surrender. This is not a literal interpretation. By surrendering the things in our life that are not being good to us – thoughts, actions, people, things – we are better able to shed our negative energy and move forward in a positive and healthy direction. Only by letting go of these things can you balance your life.

Today we will continue our examination of the tarot card deck by talking about The Empress and The Emperor. 

The Empress 

When The Empress appears in your tarot card reading, you should understand she represents a mother figure. This should not be interpreted literally as your mother. The Empress in a tarot card spread is often interpreted as the beginning of something. In many decks, The Empress is drawn as a pregnant female, reminding us that we all came forth from our mothers. In a less literal sense, seeing The Empress is reminding us that all plans have to start somewhere, and that perhaps it is our turn to formulate a new idea. 

In your tarot card reading, seeing the Empress usually means that things are about to begin for you, or that the ideas are about to start sprouting. This could mean you are thinking about starting a new business or taking a vacation. But it may not necessarily represent a major life change. It could be something simple as formulating a plan for getting a little more organized in life. Because we are looking at a mother figure, it can, in some cases, represent fertility or an upcoming pregnancy or birth. 

The Emperor 

Much like The Empress is a mother figure, The Emperor is a father figure. If you examine many Emperor cards in a tarot deck, you will notice that The Emperor is usually sitting on a throne, holding or wearing battle gear and a crown, and has a very authoritative glint in his eye. Immediately, you are drawn to his power and confidence. You realize and may even defer to his expertise in all areas. The Emperor is knowledge and power. 

Seeing The Emperor in a tarot card reading is a reminder for us to stop for a minute and think. This card is very grounded and very real unlike the rest of the deck and their flowing, nature-oriented symbols. The Emperor is reminding you to stop and look at everything – to evaluate you current position and your relationships. As much as The Emperor is logic and reasoning, it also represents action. This card may be telling you it is time to stop weighing your options. It is time to pick a course of action and go for it!

Continuing our examination of the tarot deck, let’s look at three more cards: the sun, the moon, and the star tarot cards. Each of these things seems related based on their obvious symbols on the card. A look underneath shows us not only how different these cards are, but they have a similar theme running through them.

The Sun

Bright and happy, the sun card during a tarot reading usually means good things are ahead for you. It’s often considered the best card of the tarot deck because it means whatever you have been struggling with, physical or mental health, your marriage, or anything difficult, is soon over. If you haven’t already, you will soon be over this bad period in your life and will have moved on to better things. You have, or will soon, grow and find the things you’ve been lacking in your life: clarity, purpose or self-confidence.

The Moon

Just as the sun influences life here, so does the moon. The moon card during your tarot card reading is reminding you that many things can and will influence you on your journey. The question you must ask yourself is what is influencing you and is it a positive or negative influence? The moon on the card represents imagination but can also represent deceit. The card is telling you trust you instincts and to let them guide you. The moon also has power, reminding you that if you focus on harnessing that power (what is inside you) you will be able to find the clarity you need.

The Star

If the star card appears during you tarot reading, it is time for you to stop and take stock for a moment. While it is likely you are in a difficult period in your life, the star card is reminding us to stop for a moment and recall that there is always hope and you will be able to get through this difficult time. The card is also telling you that you may need to let go for a minute and reflect on what is happening. Only then might you find the solution to your problem.

Now that we know what a deck of tarot cards is and where it came from, let’s start looking at some of the symbolism of the cards and try to figure out what they might be trying to tell us. 

The Death Card 

Many people assume that if this card turns up in their tarot card reading, it means death. Literally. They think they are destined to die soon. It is a scary looking card, usually with a skeleton and a bunch of dead bodies on it, and it almost always has the number 13 on it. 

Yeah, it’s scary. 

However, it doesn’t mean your physical death. The death card is often symbolic of the end of something major in your life. It might be the end of a relationship or a job. It may indicate that something is coming to a close and you are going to begin a period of transition in your life. It may even symbolize a transition to a time of renewal and rebirth in your life. The other cards that are dealt during your tarot card reading may help you determine what is changing in your life and allow you to prepare for it.

The Lovers 

One of the more straightforward cards of the tarot deck, the lovers usually symbolizes love, relationships or sex. However, the card reminds us that relationships of this nature – whether they are serious or casual – require balance and compromise to maintain them and keep them healthy. When reading the tarot card spread, issues of faith, promise, and honesty often turn-up. Are you considering starting a new relationship, ending it or straying? 

Much like real life, seeing the lovers card seems plain and simple on the surface, but there are many things going on underneath that need to be explored. However, knowing this is an issue in your life will help you deal with it and make good choices for your present or future relationship.

In the last post we talked about a standard tarot card deck. To recap, it has 78 cards with a major arcana (22 cards) and a minor arcana (4 suits of 14 cards). Each card has a different picture on it. We also learned that the tarot deck was originally designed for a game similar to modern day bridge. 

Let’s start with the cards of the major arcana. (An interesting side note: the cards of the major arcana were trump cards in the game.) These cards represent the journey we take in life. Sometimes it is called the fool’s journey and sometimes the hero’s journey. During the journey, we learn lessons along the way and the tarot cards in the major arcana are representative of the different lessons or can represent some aspect of ourselves. 

Each card has a number and a picture on it (though early versions did not). The card pictures are as follows: 

• Fool
• Magician
• Priestess
• Empress
• Emperor
• Hierophant
• Lovers
• Chariot
• Strength
• Hermit
• Wheel
• Justice
• Hanged Man
• Death
• Temperance
• Devil
• Tower
• Star
• Moon
• Sun
• Judgment
• World

These cards are usually numbered in order from 1-22 or sometimes 0-21, all though not all decks are ordered the same. The numbers on the cards are not nearly as important as the pictures. 

Let’s look at the symbolism of the fool card. 

Usually the fool card has the number zero on it. This is representative of the fool himself (as the fool on the card is usually male): innocent of knowledge and empty of experience. Most times there is a dog on the fool card. The dog represents reality or real life. While the fool is happy and carefree, the dog is always there, yapping away to remind the fool that life is close at his heels and he better take note. 

Usually when the fool turns up in a tarot reading, it means a new journey is beginning. This could be a physical journey of the body or a spiritual one of the mind and soul. The rest of the tarot cards that turn up in the reading help fill in the blanks and, of course, a skilled tarot card reader can help you figure out what the fool is trying to tell you. 

Next time we will look at some of the symbolism of other cards of interest like the lovers and the death cards.

A common and familiar method of looking into the future is through tarot card reading. Many people are probably somewhat familiar with the deck of funky looking cards, and some people might even know what some of the symbols mean. However, many people don’t know where tarot cards came from or why people consult psychics to read their tarot cards. 

What follows is a brief review of the history of the tarot card deck. You should keep in mind that no one is exactly sure how tarot cards came to be or how tarot card readings came to be associated with psychics and astrology and the like. But this is the best explanation based on the information we have. 

You may be surprised to learn that tarot cards were not originally used for fortune telling. The tarot card deck was originally meant for a card game! The game was kind of like bridge only different from the modern day bridge game you’re probably familiar with. A standard tarot card deck consisted of 78 cards. There are 22 cards that make up the major arcana and 14 cards for each of the four suits that make up the minor arcana (more on that later). Each card has its own design, usually an intricate looking artistic drawing. 

The game was very popular and spread throughout Europe during the 14th century (give or take). No one is exactly sure when, but a couple hundred years later, fortune tellers and the like became intrigued by the designs on the cards, and thought they saw symbolism and meaning in them. They began using the tarot cards as a way of seeing into the future. 

So, now you know the basic history of tarot cards and how they came to be used in psychic readings. Not what you thought it would be is it? Next time, we’ll start looking at the major and minor suits and talking about how to interpret tarot card readings.

You’ve finished the cup of tea and you’re looking at a clump of tea leaves in the bottom of your cup. What does it all mean? What are they trying to tell you? 

Believe it or not, even an experienced tea leaf reader might have some trouble figuring out what the tea leaves are trying to say – at first. An experienced tea leaf reader knows it is important to study the cup from as many angles as possible, turning the cup this way and that, to fully understand the meaning of the leaves. 

The reader will look at where on the cup the symbols occur. Generally, a cup represents a month in time (though this is not always the case). Symbols at the bottom of the cup are further away in time than tea leaves found closer to the top of the cup. So, a symbol found at the bottom of the cup indicates that the event will likely not happen for three to four weeks. Something found at the top of the cup will likely happen very soon. 

If the tea leaf symbol disappears almost immediately after viewing, it may mean that whatever the symbol was indicating is no longer important – the issue is fading away. Symbols that are larger and clearer indicate that this is an important issue in your life right now. The thicker the symbol, the larger the impact it may have on you.

Two symbols next to each other means that they are linked somehow. The farther apart they are, the less they are related. If they somehow connect to each other, they are closely related to each other. 

By now you’re probably wondering what each symbol means! Well, that’s something we’re not going to cover right now. There are tons of symbol directories out there both online and in the library you could use to check out what they mean. If you do that, though, you should keep in mind that every symbol could be interpreted both positively and negatively. That’s why it’s probably best to see an experienced tea leaf reader. They generally have more practice figuring out which symbols are good omens and which are not.

Since we just finished our examination of dream analysis, let’s look at another form of symbol analysis: tea leaf readings. These next few posts will explore the ancient art of reading tea leave and help us understand how it works. 

Tea leaf reading is the ability to look at the unique patterns left behind at the bottom of a tea cup and interpret what they are trying to say. These patterns are symbolic and each means something. While it is possible for you to perhaps see one of the symbols, it is best to leave the reading of the tea leaf to an experienced reader. Why? 

Interpreting what the tea leaves are saying can be difficult. Where are the tea leaves in the cup? Top, middle or bottom? Each has a specific meaning. Is there more than one symbol in the cup? What are they and how close are they together? What is that symbol, exactly? Are you sure it’s a 6 and not a 9? Maybe it’s a 4… Someone who is experience in reading tea leaves will be better able to figure this stuff out and give the interpretation of the tea leaf symbols real meaning. 

How does a tea leaf reading work? It starts by drinking tea from a cup. While this sounds obvious, it’s not that simple. For starters, it’s best to use a white or light colored cup. This doesn’t mean anything particular and it doesn’t change what the tea leaves say, it’s just easier to read the symbols left behind since most tea leaves are dark. Against a white or light colored cup, it becomes easy to read the tea leaf symbols. 

The cup of tea isn’t some random tea bag from the store that’s plunked in hot water and microwaved for three minutes either. While the type of tea isn’t particularly important, to do a tea leaf reading, the cup of tea should be brewed with loose tea leaves. If they’re in a bag, they won’t get left behind and there will be nothing to read! 

Once your tea is prepared, it’s time to drink up. While it’s easy to drink the tea at first, as you get closer to the bottom of the cup, make sure not to drink the tea leaves. Again, this seems obvious, but it can be kind of tough to do. Swallowing a few isn’t a big deal, just make sure not to drink all of them. 

Once you’ve completed the cup of tea, the tea leaf reader will now set out to interpret what the symbols in your cup mean. And, that’s where we will begin our discussion next time.