minor arcana – Just the Tarot

What Should You Do When a Tarot Reading Makes No Sense?

What do you do when a Tarot reading makes absolutely no sense? Before assuming the cards have failed, consider what they may be reflecting. Mental confusion, rapid life changes, hidden information, or simple denial can all produce a seemingly muddled reading. Learn how to recognize underlying patterns, step back from confusing cards, and trust that sometimes the best answer is simply: more will be revealed.

There are times, especially when you’re new to reading Tarot cards, when you lay out a reading and it makes absolutely no sense. Not only does it seem to have nothing to do with what’s happening in your life, but the cards don’t even seem to connect with each other.

So what do you do when that happens?

I’ve found that a good first step is to step back, look at the cards, scratch your head, and say: “What in the HELL does that mean?”

It doesn’t solve the reading, but it clears the air.

There are, however, some questions we can ask that may help.

HOW’S YOUR HEAD?

I’ve found that I’m most likely to get muddled readings when I’M muddled.

In other words, it’s not the cards’ energy. It’s my energy.

After all, when we lay out a Tarot reading, it’s a snapshot of what’s happening in our lives at that particular moment. It may tell us something about what’s happened in the immediate past, what’s going on right now, and what’s likely to happen in the immediate future.

If I’ve got a head full of fuzz because I haven’t been taking care of myself energetically, that’s exactly what’s going to show up in the reading. If I’m anxious or a bit hyper, if my thoughts are bouncing all over the place like a pinball, the reading may bounce all over the place, too.

It isn’t that the cards AREN’T working—it’s that they are. They’re mirroring back to me exactly what my current reality looks like. If my thoughts don’t make any sense, neither will the reading.

ARE THINGS CHANGING IN YOUR LIFE?

There are times in everyone’s life when things change very rapidly.

We can be plodding along, getting up in the morning, going to work, doing our jobs. Life is perfectly normal.

Then suddenly we feel as if we’ve been thrown into a blender.

Perhaps we come home from work and discover that our partner has moved out. Perhaps we’re suddenly transferred to a new office and have to move. Perhaps we wake up one morning and think, “Man, none of this makes any sense. I’m starting over.”

When our lives are in flux, our readings may be in flux, too.

If things are changing so rapidly that we can’t keep up with them, the cards may simply be reflecting that reality. When things begin to settle down, the readings often will, too.

IS THERE A LOT OF RATIONALIZATION OR DENIAL GOING ON?

This can apply when we’re doing readings for ourselves, but it can be particularly important when we’re reading for other people.

It’s perfectly natural for all of us to try to present ourselves in the most positive light. Sometimes, however, we take that to the extreme of completely denying what’s really going on in our lives.

You may sit down to do a reading for someone who appears to have it all together. They’re well dressed. They’ve got a good job, a loving partner, and 2.5 beautiful children.

That’s what they’re projecting to the world—and perhaps to themselves. But underneath the image of the perfect life, they’re a mess. Their partner is emotionally abusive, their children are having trouble in school, their credit cards are maxed out, and they’re behind on their house payments.

So you lay out the cards. The reading reflects all of that.

And they look at you and say, “That’s not right. Everything in my life is wonderful.”

The cards may be telling the truth, but the questioner isn’t.

SO WHAT DO WE DO?

The solutions to all of these scenarios are fairly straightforward.

1. Wait and do the reading again later. If you’re extremely upset, physically exhausted, very anxious, or mentally scattered, you’re probably not going to get a clear reading.

Get some rest. Meditate. Do some EFT tapping. Clear your energy.

When you’re clearer, your reading may be clearer, too.

2. Accept the chaos until it settles down.

If everything in your life is upside down and sideways, you’re probably not going to get a nice, orderly reading.

If you don’t know what the hell is going on in your life, why should the cards pretend otherwise?

Once things begin to settle, your readings may begin to make more sense.

3. Remember that the cards may actually be one hundred percent accurate—but there are factors you aren’t aware of.

If the questioner is lying to you, withholding information, or simply unable to see what’s happening in their own life, a reading may LOOK as if it doesn’t make sense when it actually does. And if we’re lying to ourselves, we may genuinely be unable to see the patterns in our lives, even when they’re laid out in front of us.

The missing ingredient may simply be information.

LOOK FOR UNDERLYING PATTERNS

Another thing we can do with a muddled reading is stop trying to interpret every individual card and look at the reading as a whole.

Are nearly all of the cards reversed? That may indicate that much of what’s happening is internal, blocked, delayed, or being experienced subjectively rather than expressed openly in the world.

Is one suit predominating?

If you get a reading that’s almost entirely Cups, emotion and relationships may be overwhelming everything else.

If Swords dominate, there may be too much thinking, worrying, conflict, analysis, or mental agitation.

Too many Wands may indicate that you’re pushing too hard, trying to do too much, or running on nervous energy and sheer willpower.

And if Pentacles dominate, you may be overly focused on money, work, security, possessions, or the practical realities of life.

You don’t necessarily have to understand every card to understand what the reading is telling you.

WHAT ABOUT THE MAJOR ARCANA?

Are there a lot of Major Arcana cards?

This can be an especially important clue when your life has gone topsy-turvy. Any card from the Major Arcana can act like a bright, flashing light saying:

“Pay attention. This is important.”

If you have several Major Arcana cards in a single reading, you may be dealing with something larger than the ordinary events of the day. Major forces may be at work in your life. An old pattern may be ending. A new phase may be beginning. Something fundamental may be shifting.

And if that shift is still underway, it may be impossible to see exactly where it’s taking you.

BE PATIENT

There’s a saying in 12-Step groups: More will be revealed.

And that’s often true with the Tarot.

If a reading doesn’t seem to make any sense, wait a few days and look at it again. If it still doesn’t make sense, set it aside and come back to it later.

Very often you’ll discover that the cards were astonishingly accurate. There was simply a piece of the puzzle you didn’t have yet. As a little time goes by, the missing pieces emerge—and suddenly the reading makes sense.

If you’re a beginner, I’d actually encourage you to keep a Tarot journal.

Write down your readings—especially the ones that make no sense—and then go back and check them after a few days or a few weeks.

I think you’ll be surprised at what you find.

How Do I Know Which Tarot Meaning is the Right One?

Which Tarot card meanings should you believe when different books and websites give you different answers? Learn why the images in the Waite-Smith Tarot are one of the best guides to understanding what the cards actually mean—and why sometimes the simplest approach to reading Tarot is simply to look at the pictures.

WHICH TAROT CARD MEANING SHOULD YOU BELIEVE?

One of the questions a lot of beginning Tarot readers have is, “Which definition should I believe?”

If I find two different definitions of the same card that seem to say completely different things, which one should I use?

Actually, that’s not as much of a problem as many new readers might think. You can skim through the various Tarot sites on the internet and discover that most of the definitions are remarkably homogeneous. If anything, there’s sometimes a troubling lack of imagination in them.

Still, there are differences, and those differences can affect your ability to read the cards.

One book might stress that The Emperor brings order and structure, while another views him as rigid and controlling. One site might describe The Hierophant as organized religion, while another sees him as a teacher, mentor or guru figure.

So how do you decide?

THE PAMELA COLMAN SMITH COLORING BOOK

A good starting point for any reader is simply to LOOK at the cards. What are they actually saying?

And I don’t mean, “What vibe am I picking up from this card?” I mean literally look at what the image portrays.

The best place to learn how to do that is the Waite-Smith Tarot deck. The artist behind that deck, Pamela Colman Smith—also known as Pixie—did a phenomenal job of portraying the essence of each card. In a very real sense, the images ARE the definitions.

Each one is a little visual story that tells you what the card is about.

The Three of Swords shows a heart pierced by three swords. It means heartache.

The Five of Wands shows five guys wailing away at each other with sticks. It means conflict, competition or vigorous engagement.

The Eight of Pentacles shows a man sitting at his workbench carving pentacles. It means work, practice and developing skill.

The Three of Cups shows three people raising their goblets and dancing together. It means celebration, friendship and having a good time.

Not too hard, right?

If you’re a beginning reader, start with those pictures and those stories. Think of the Waite-Smith deck almost as a coloring book in which every picture tells a story. Your first job is simply to learn how to read the pictures.

WHEN THE DEFINITIONS ARE WRONG

There ARE times when standard Tarot definitions have drifted away from the images on the cards. When that happens, you can use the artwork itself to double-check the definition.

Let me give you an example.

Take a look at the Nine of Cups. What do you actually see?

When I was learning the Tarot many, many years ago, a common interpretation of this card was an individual who is doing well materially but has a certain air of smugness and self-satisfaction about him.

And that’s pretty much what Colman Smith portrayed. He isn’t smiling so much as smirking. His body language—crossed arms and widely planted legs—practically screams that this is somebody who is very pleased with himself.

It wasn’t necessarily a BAD card. It simply wasn’t a particularly elevated one.

Fast-forward to today, and the Nine of Cups is frequently called “the wish card.” Whatever you want, you can have. Your wishes are coming true.

Really?

Is that what you see in this picture? Rainbows and unicorns?

Obviously not.

That doesn’t mean every modern interpretation of the Nine of Cups is useless. But it does mean we should occasionally stop repeating definitions we’ve inherited and ask a very simple question: Does this interpretation actually fit the card?

The Waite-Smith deck gives us a remarkably useful visual reality check. If a definition bears little resemblance to the picture, it’s worth questioning the definition.

IS THIS A SHALLOW APPROACH?

There are plenty of self-professed experts who will tell you that the Tarot is incredibly complicated and deep.

And they’re right.

Tarot symbolism can be profound and extremely complex. You can spend years studying these cards and continue finding new layers of meaning in them.

But if you’re a beginning reader, you don’t need to worry about all of that right now.

As time goes by, you may want to take a much deeper dive into the cards. You may want to explore numerology, astrology, Kabbalah, alchemy and the various occult traditions that influenced the Tarot.

That can come later. Fortunately, A. E. Waite and Pamela Colman Smith did much of that work for you, and they embedded an enormous amount of it in the deck.

For now, you can do something much simpler.

Pick up the cards. Lay out a reading. Look at the pictures.

What story are they telling you?

That’s where Tarot reading begins.

I also offer a free beginner’s Tarot course here on the website, so if you’re just getting started, you may want to give that a quick read.

But above all, keep it simple.

And keep it fun.

Doing Inner Child Work With the Tarot

Can Tarot help us understand the childhood we’ve forgotten? This Inner Child Tarot spread uses ten cards to explore the emotional world of your younger self—your home, caregivers, fears, needs, coping strategies, and the beliefs you carried into adulthood. Most importantly, it asks not only what your Inner Child needs from you, but what gifts your Inner Child may still be waiting to give you.

I like to think of the Six of Cups as the Inner Child card. It evokes nostalgia, childhood joy, innocence and the memory of a safe, comforting place.

But what if our childhood wasn’t safe and sweet?

One of the most interesting things about the Tarot is that we can use it to read the past as well as the future. That may sound a little paradoxical. After all, we KNOW our past already, don’t we? We lived it, so surely we ought to remember it.

Frequently, though, we don’t.

Doing Inner Child work can be frustrating because there may be whole stretches of childhood that we remember only vaguely—or seemingly not at all. Sometimes difficult or traumatic experiences leave memories that are fragmented, confused or difficult to access. A child may also have been too young to understand what was happening or to put it into words.

And sometimes we’re dealing with experiences that occurred before we had the language or conceptual ability to make sense of them. The child experienced the fear, loneliness, confusion or joy, but couldn’t create the coherent story that the adult mind expects to find later.

So our past can sometimes seem almost as blank and mysterious as our future.

And that’s where the Tarot can become interesting. Rather than using the cards to establish exactly what happened, we can use their symbolic language to explore the emotional landscape of the child we once were.

THE INNER CHILD READING

This simple ten-card reading can be used to explore a period of childhood that feels distant, unclear or emotionally significant. For this example, let’s imagine that we’re trying to understand ourselves at the age of eight.

1. The Child

Who was I at eight? Begin with the child herself, before considering everything that was happening around her. Don’t assume that the eight-year-old you was simply a smaller version of the person you are today. The intervening years may have made you remarkably strong, while the eight-year-old was frightened and vulnerable.

Or perhaps the opposite is true. Maybe the eight-year-old was a fearless little artist, explorer or dreamer whose creativity was gradually pushed underground.

Who was that child before the world finished teaching her who she was supposed to be?

2. The Home

What was the emotional atmosphere of my home? Was home a refuge or a place of anxiety? Was it warm and affectionate, emotionally distant, chaotic or unpredictable?

Did you feel free to relax and simply be a child, or did you need to remain alert to the moods and reactions of the people around you?

3. The Parents or Caregivers

How did I experience the adults responsible for me?

Notice that the question isn’t whether your caregivers were objectively “good” or “bad.” We’re interested in how the child experienced them.

You may have had genuinely loving parents who were nevertheless exhausted, overwhelmed or stretched too thin. Their intentions may have been loving while the child still experienced loneliness or neglect.

The Tarot card describes the child’s world.

4. School and the Outside World

How did I experience teachers, classmates, rules, achievement and the larger social world?

Was school exciting or frightening? Were you accepted by other children, or did you feel different from them? Were you encouraged by teachers, bullied by classmates, praised for achievement or made to feel that you could never quite measure up?

For many children, school is the first sustained encounter with a world beyond the family. What did that world teach you about yourself?

5. What I Needed

What emotional or psychological need was strongest at that age?

Perhaps you needed recognition, affection, protection or encouragement. Maybe you needed someone to listen to you. Or perhaps what you desperately needed was simply peace and quiet.

Try not to judge the need. Ask instead whether the child received enough of it.

6. What I Feared

What made the eight-year-old feel unsafe, ashamed, rejected, powerless or uncertain?

Did you feel secure at home? Were the adults around you supportive or critical? Did you fear failure, punishment, abandonment or humiliation? Sometimes childhood fears seem trivial to the adult mind. They weren’t trivial to the child experiencing them.

7. How I Adapted

What strategy did I develop to navigate that world?

This may be one of the most revealing cards in the reading. Perhaps you learned to become invisible. Maybe you became the good child, the funny child, the successful child, the rebellious child or the child who took care of everybody else.

Perhaps you escaped into books, art, fantasy or imagination.

What did the “little you” learn to do in order to function in the world?

8. What I Believed About Myself

What conclusion did the child draw from all of this?

This may be the heart of the reading.

Children naturally try to make sense of their experiences, but they don’t have an adult’s perspective. A child who isn’t receiving enough attention may not conclude, “My mother is exhausted and overwhelmed.” The child may conclude, “I’m not important.”

Those childhood conclusions can quietly become the beliefs through which we interpret our adult lives.

9. What I Carried Forward

What belief, behavior or emotional pattern formed then that the adult still carries?

Perhaps you learned to please everyone else while putting your own needs last. Maybe you learned never to ask for help, never to appear vulnerable or always to prove your worth through achievement.

The important question is whether the strategy that helped the child is still serving the adult.

10. What the Child Still Has to Give Me

What survived intact?

This card isn’t about what needs fixing. It’s about imagination, courage, sensitivity, humor, curiosity, independence, creativity, playfulness and wonder.

That’s another side of the Six of Cups that we sometimes overlook. Your Inner Child isn’t merely carrying wounds. Your Inner Child is carrying gifts.

What did that child possess that you need to reclaim?

TAROT IS NOT A MEMORY-RECOVERY DEVICE

There’s an important caution to all of this.

Tarot speaks through symbols, associations, emotions and intuition. A card may unexpectedly trigger an image, feeling or apparent memory, but that doesn’t establish that the event literally happened in the way we imagine it.

We’re exploring our experience of the past, not conducting a historical investigation.

Memory itself is reconstructive and imperfect, and attempts to recover supposedly hidden memories can sometimes produce sincere but inaccurate conclusions. That’s particularly important when a reading seems to suggest abuse or another serious event that you don’t independently remember.

The feeling may be real and worth exploring. The interpretation of its cause may or may not be.

If you’re dealing with a particularly traumatic childhood or powerful memories begin emerging during this kind of work, consider exploring them with a qualified mental-health professional rather than relying upon the Tarot to determine what happened.

And don’t be shy about it. Take your Tarot cards to your next therapy session.

RECEIVING THE GIFT FROM YOUR INNER CHILD

Too often, Inner Child work focuses entirely on what went wrong.

Sometimes that’s necessary. If we were mistreated, frightened, ignored or neglected as children, understanding those experiences can help us stop interpreting their consequences as evidence that something was inherently wrong with us.

But eventually another question becomes possible.

Instead of asking only: What went wrong? We can begin asking: What can I understand now that I couldn’t understand then?

And finally: What does that child still have to give me?

Perhaps that’s the deeper message of the Six of Cups. The child we once were isn’t simply waiting somewhere in the past to be rescued. She may also be waiting there with something we left behind.

What Are Tarot Archetypes (And Why They Matter)?

The influence of Tarot archetypes in our lives.

The Empress Abundance Poster – available on Etsy

In any serious discussion of the Tarot, you’ll hear people referring to the Major Arcana as “archetypes.”

Which sounds very impressive… but also raises a perfectly reasonable question:

What, exactly, is an archetype?

The idea goes all the way back to Plato, but in modern usage it’s most often associated with the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung.

Jung defined archetypes as:

Universal, inherited patterns of thought or imagery that exist in the collective unconscious of all human beings.

Which is a fine scholarly definition… but for most of us, it lands somewhere around:

“Huh?”

So instead of trying to define archetypes academically, let’s talk about how they actually show up in real life—especially through the Tarot.

The Major Arcana

If you’re reading a Tarot blog, you probably already know the basics. The Tarot is divided into two parts, the Minor Arcana and the Major Arcana.

• The Minor Arcana (Wands, Cups, Pentacles, Swords) deal with everyday life.

• The Major Arcana (22 cards) deal with something deeper.

The images of the Major Arcana are the ancient core of the Tarot, dating back to the 15th century (and possibly earlier). The Minor Arcana didn’t even get illustrated scenes until the Waite-Smith deck in 1909.

So when we talk about archetypes in Tarot, we’re really talking about the Major Arcana.

They’re Not Personal

Here’s the first—and most important—thing to understand:

Archetypes are not personal.

Now, I know that sounds strange, because they feel very personal.

If you pull Death or The Tower in a reading, it doesn’t feel abstract. It feels like the universe just singled you out and dropped a piano on your head.

But here’s the shift:

• Minor Arcana = things you’re generating and can influence

• Major Arcana = larger forces moving through your life

For example:

• Two of Cups → You’re falling in love. Those are personal dynamics, like the type of person you find attractive, are you feeling lonely, do you want a partner?

• The Lovers → Love as an energy is active in your life (archetypal force.). The energy isn’t something you’re creating and it’s not attached to any one person. It’s just moving through your life.

In other words:

You don’t create archetypes—you experience them.

Sometimes They’re Collective

Archetypes don’t just affect individuals—they can sweep through entire cultures.

Jung noticed this before World War II when many of his German patients reported eerily similar dreams of White men riding black horses through the night—images that seemed to foreshadow the rise of Nazism. He interpreted this as a collective archetype emerging.

And honestly, you don’t have to look far to see this kind of thing in today’s politics.

We’ve all watched people we’ve known for years suddenly shift—sometimes dramatically—in beliefs, behavior, or identity. It can feel almost like they’ve been “taken over.”

From an archetypal perspective, that’s not entirely wrong.

These are psychic weather systems—and sometimes whole populations get caught in them.

The important takeaway?

Just because an energy is present doesn’t mean you have to identify with it.

Shelter in Place

Obviously, not all archetypes are pleasant.

• The Tower → destruction

• The Moon → confusion, illusion, emotional instability

• The Devil → addiction, entrapment, shadow patterns

So what do you do when one of these shows up?

You’ve got two main options.

1. Shelter in Place

Sometimes the best strategy is simple:

Ride it out.

Think of a tornado. You don’t go out and negotiate with it. You don’t try to “manifest” it away.

You get into the storm shelter and wait.

Life sometimes does this:

• Relationship ends

• Job disappears

• Everything falls apart at once

That’s Tower energy.

And sometimes the wisest response is:

“Okay… this is happening. Let’s survive it.” Hunker down and wait for it to go away.

2. Rise Above It

The Kybalion talks about this strategy quite a bit.

Even if you can’t control the event, you can control your response.

You can:

• shift your perspective

• regulate your emotions

• choose your interpretation

For instance, with The Tower, you can respond to it in one of two ways.

• “This is a disaster. I lost my job, my partner divorced me, I’m out of money. My life is ruined.”

• “This is a reset. I get to rebuild from scratch. My old life is gone, so I get to build my new life exactly as I want it.”

The external event is the same.

The internal vibration is not.

And that makes all the difference. We haven’t, “cured,” what happened to us, but we’ve vastly diminished it effects on us.

Invoking the Positive Archetypes

Here’s where things get interesting.

Even though archetypes aren’t created by us…

We can align with them.

Think of it less as control and more as tuning in.

Examples:

• Feeling stuck financially? → work with The Empress (abundance, growth)

• Struggling with confidence? → invoke The Emperor (authority, structure)

• Feeling lonely? → connect with The Lovers (connection, union)

• Burned out? → step into The Hermit (withdrawal, restoration)

This can be done through:

• meditation

• visualization

• journaling

• even just keeping the image nearby

You’re not creating the energy.

You’re opening yourself to it and inviting it’s power into your life.

Conclusion

So what is an archetype, really?

It’s not just a symbol.

It’s not just a psychological idea.

It’s more like a living pattern of energy that moves through human experience.

Sometimes it lifts us.

Sometimes it breaks us open.

Sometimes it sweeps through entire cultures like a storm.

But here’s the key:

You are not powerless in the face of archetypes.

You may not control when they appear,

but you do have a say in how you meet them.

You can:

• recognize them

• name them

• step back from them

• align with the ones that serve you

And over time, something interesting happens:

Instead of being tossed around by these forces…

You start to navigate them.

And that’s really what Tarot is for.

“Just the Tarot,” by Dan Adair – Available on Amazon

The Top Ten Tarot Cards That Indicate You’re Stuck

A concise, Tarot-based guide to the ten cards that most often indicate feeling stuck, stalled, or unable to move forward — and what each one reveals about the deeper source of that stuckness.

Being “stuck” in Tarot rarely means something is broken or hopeless. It usually means energy is stalled, attention is misdirected, or a transition is incomplete. These cards point to places where movement is paused — and where a shift is quietly waiting to happen.

Here are the ten cards that most often signal that kind of stuckness.

1. The Hanged Man

Stuck because of suspension or waiting.

This card indicates a pause imposed by timing, perspective, or the need for surrender. Progress isn’t possible yet because something deeper is still rearranging.

2. Eight of Swords

Stuck because of limiting beliefs or mental loops.

You feel trapped, restricted, or powerless — but the restriction is largely internal. The situation may not be as closed as it feels.

3. Two of Swords

Stuck because of indecision or avoidance.

Movement is blocked by a refusal to choose, usually because neither option feels safe or pleasant.

4. Four of Cups

Stuck because of emotional disengagement.

Nothing feels interesting or meaningful enough to respond to. Opportunities may exist, but the heart isn’t open to them yet.

5. Ten of Wands

Stuck because of overload or exhaustion.

You’re carrying too much. Forward motion is technically possible, but not sustainable in the current state.

6. Five of Cups

Stuck because of grief or fixation on loss.

Attention is anchored in what’s gone wrong, making it hard to see what remains or what could still grow.

7. Judgment (Reversed)

Stuck because of self-doubt or fear of stepping into a new identity.

The call to change is present, but something inside is resisting answering it.

8. Wheel of Fortune (Reversed)

Stuck because of repeating patterns or feeling caught in cycles.

Life feels like it’s looping instead of evolving. This often points to unconscious habits or unresolved lessons.

9. Nine of Swords

Stuck because of anxiety, rumination, or worry.

The mind is so busy anticipating problems that it can’t access solutions or rest.

10. Five of Pentacles

Stuck because of a mindset of lack or survival.

Fear around resources, support, or worthiness makes it difficult to imagine improvement or receive help.

A Note on “Stuckness” in Tarot

In Tarot, being stuck is rarely a punishment or a failure. It’s usually a sign that:

• something internal needs to shift before something external can move,

• a lesson is still integrating,

• or attention needs to be redirected.

These cards don’t say “nothing will ever change.”

They say: this is the part of the story where motion pauses and meaning is being formed.

That’s often where the most important change begins.

And if you’re wondering when you’re going to get unstuck, then check out my other post: The Top Ten Tarot Cards Indicating Something is About to Change.

Running It By the Numbers: The Numerology Behind the Tarot Suits

Running It By the Numbers explores the numerological structure behind the Tarot suits from Ace through Ten.

When we look at the Tarot, it’s easy to get lost in the images, stories, and archetypes of each card. But underneath the pictures, symbols, and personalities lies a beautifully simple structure: number.

In each suit — Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles — the cards numbered One through Ten follow a consistent energetic progression. The suit shows where the energy is playing out (creativity, emotion, thought, or material life), and the number shows how that energy is unfolding.

So let’s run it by the numbers.

Below you’ll find the numerological meaning of the cards from Ace (One) through Ten, and how that meaning expresses itself across all four suits.

One (Ace): Beginnings, Seeds, Potential

Ones represent the spark.

They are beginnings, raw potential, the moment when something new is offered into your life.

Numerologically, One is unity, origin, and creative impulse — the first expression of energy.

In Tarot:

• Aces show opportunities.

• They don’t guarantee outcomes — they offer possibility.

Each Ace says: “Here is a seed. Will you plant it?”

Two: Balance, Choice, Polarity

Twos represent the moment when the One becomes aware of an “other.”

Numerologically, Two is duality, relationship, contrast, and choice.

In Tarot:

• Twos often show balance, tension, or decision.

• They ask you to relate — to a person, a feeling, a path, or a truth.

Twos say: “Now that something exists, how will you engage with it?”

Three: Growth, Expansion, Expression

Threes are the first moment of outward growth.

Numerologically, Three is creativity, expression, and development.

In Tarot:

• Threes show movement, growth, collaboration, and early results.

• Something is starting to take form.

Threes say: “This is beginning to live and move in the world.”

Four: Structure, Stability, Foundation

Fours bring form, boundaries, and stability.

Numerologically, Four is structure, order, and grounding.

In Tarot:

• Fours stabilize the energy of the suit.

• They create something solid enough to rest on — or sometimes something rigid enough to get stuck in.

Fours say: “Let’s make this real and sustainable.”

Five: Disruption, Challenge, Change

Fives introduce instability.

Numerologically, Five is movement, friction, and necessary disruption.

In Tarot:

• Fives often show conflict, loss, challenge, or tension.

• They shake what has become too fixed.

Fives say: “Something needs to change — even if it’s uncomfortable.”

Six: Harmony, Integration, Adjustment

Sixes restore balance after the disruption of Five.

Numerologically, Six is harmony, healing, and realignment.

In Tarot:

• Sixes often show cooperation, support, generosity, or healing.

• They smooth what was roughened.

Sixes say: “Let’s bring this back into balance.”

Seven: Assessment, Testing, Inner Work

Sevens are a pause for evaluation.

Numerologically, Seven is reflection, inner work, and spiritual testing.

In Tarot:

• Sevens often show challenges that are internal, subtle, or strategic.

• They ask you to examine your approach.

Sevens say: “Is this truly aligned — and is this worth continuing?”

Eight: Power, Mastery, Momentum

Eights represent focused energy and effective action.

Numerologically, Eight is power, movement, and manifestation.

In Tarot:

• Eights show work, effort, discipline, and progress.

• Things move quickly here, for better or worse.

Eights say: “Apply yourself. This can be accomplished.”

Nine: Fulfillment, Culmination, Near Completion

Nines bring things close to completion.

Numerologically, Nine is culmination, wisdom, and harvest.

In Tarot:

• Nines often show satisfaction, insight, or emotional/spiritual fullness.

• They can also show isolation, depending on the suit.

Nines say: “This cycle is almost complete — what have you learned?”

Ten: Completion, Overflow, Transition

Tens complete the cycle — and often overwhelm it.

Numerologically, Ten is completion that tips over into excess, leading back toward a new beginning.

In Tarot:

• Tens show endings, fulfillment, or overload.

• They signal that a cycle has run its course.

Tens say: “This is complete. It’s time to release and begin again.”

In Summary

Across every suit, the numbers tell a story:

1. Seed

2. Choice

3. Growth

4. Structure

5. Disruption

6. Harmony

7. Assessment

8. Effort

9. Fulfillment

10. Completion

When you read Tarot “by the numbers,” you gain a deeper sense of where you are in a process — not just what’s happening, but what stage it’s in.

And that can be incredibly clarifying.

Because sometimes the most important message isn’t what is happening…

…but where you are in the journey.

“Just the Tarot,” by Dan Adair – available on Amazon

The Art of Receiving: A Holiday Lesson from the Ace of Pentacles

Are you great at giving but secretly uncomfortable receiving? This holiday-inspired reflection on the Ace of Pentacles explores why receiving is the true key to abundance — and how learning to allow support, blessings, and prosperity can transform your life.

We hear it every year: “It’s the season of giving.”

And while generosity is beautiful, here’s a question we rarely ask:

How good are you at receiving?

Most of us are excellent givers.

We’ll show up for others, offer help, carry the emotional load, and give until we’re exhausted…

Yet when something is offered to us — kindness, support, a compliment, an opportunity, or even abundance — we freeze. We deflect. We downplay. We say, “Oh, you shouldn’t have…”

But in manifestation, and in the symbolic language of the Tarot, receiving is not an afterthought — it’s the core skill.

And the Ace of Pentacles, with its golden hand offering a gift from the sky, is the perfect reminder that abundance can’t enter your life until you’re willing to let it in.

Ace of Pentacles Affirmation Poster by Dan Adair – Available on Etsy.

Why Receiving Is the Real Skill in Manifestation

Genevieve Davis puts it beautifully in her book, “Doing Magic: A Course in Manifesting an Exceptional Life.”

“As soon as you have asked for anything, your next immediate job is to get out of the way. You need to get out of asking and into the receiving state as soon as you possibly can.”

Most people stay stuck in:

• asking

• wishing

• visualizing

• striving

• trying harder

But manifestation isn’t powered by effort.

It’s powered by allowing.

During the holidays we pour energy outward — buying gifts, doing favors, meeting expectations — but the universe doesn’t respond only to what we give. It responds to what we’re willing to accept.

Receiving Requires Softening, Not Effort

In, “Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires” Abraham/Hicks calls this the Art of Allowing:

“Unless you are in the receiving mode, your desires will not be fulfilled.”

Receiving isn’t about deserving more or working harder.

It’s the opposite — a gentle softening.

Receiving happens when you:

• relax your shoulders

• loosen your defenses

• stop arguing with your blessings

• stop explaining your worth

• allow yourself to be supported

Winter energy itself teaches this.

The natural world slows, quiets, and becomes receptive.

There is no pushing — only opening.

The Holiday Block: Feeling Unworthy of Good Things

Here’s the core wound for many people — especially during the holidays:

We don’t believe we deserve good things.

Old stories rise up:

• “Other people need it more.”

• “I haven’t earned that.”

• “I don’t want to be a burden.”

• “I’m not enough.”

Many of us learned as children to receive less so others could have more.

So now, when life tries to hand us something beautiful, we reject it without even realizing we’re doing it.

But the Ace of Pentacles offers a different truth:

You are worthy of abundance.

You are worthy of support.

You are worthy of receiving joy, money, kindness, opportunity — just as you are.

The Ace of Pentacles: A Gift You Are Meant to Receive

TheAce of Pentacles captures this moment perfectly:

• the hand offering a golden coin

• the floral archway

• the path leading into a new beginning

• the vibrant, fertile landscape

This is the universe extending a gift — potential, prosperity, a fresh start.

The affirmation, “Receive Abundance,” is not a command.

It’s an invitation.

A permission slip.

This holiday season, abundance may appear in quiet ways:

• someone offering help

• an unexpected opportunity

• a compliment

• money flowing in

• a door opening you didn’t expect

Your job?

Let yourself say yes.

A Simple Holiday Receiving Ritual (2 Minutes)

Try this before bed or during a quiet moment in the day:

1. Place your hand over your heart.

2. Take a slow breath.

3. Say gently:

“It is safe for me to receive.”

4. Picture the golden hand of the Ace of Pentacles offering you a gift.

5. Say:

“I allow good things to enter my life.”

Small practice, big shift.

This Season, Let Receiving Be Part of the Celebration

Giving is beautiful.

Generosity is sacred.

But so is allowing yourself to be blessed.

Let this be the season you stop deflecting your good.

Stop stepping aside.

Stop shrinking back.

Let this be the season you say, without apology:

“I am ready to receive abundance.”

Because the universe can only deliver what you’re willing to accept.

Seven Lessons the Tarot Can Teach About Surviving the Holidays

Feeling overwhelmed by the holiday season? The Tarot has a surprising amount of wisdom — and humor — to offer.From The Fool’s fresh start to The World’s end-of-year perspective, these cards remind us that the holidays don’t have to be perfect to be meaningful.

A little humor, a little magic, and just enough perspective will get you through the Holiday Haze.

1. The Fool — You’re Allowed to Start Fresh

Every holiday season is a reset button.

Don’t carry last year’s stress into this year’s festivities.

Don’t walk off of emotional cliffs at family dinners.

Leap lightly… but maybe look down for gift-wrapping paper on the floor.

2. The Magician — Use the Tools You Actually Have

Trying to make a perfect holiday with imperfect resources?

The Magician whispers: Use what’s already on the table.

Don’t overspend now and stress later.

Aim for gifts that are magical, not expensive.

3. The Lovers — Choose Peace, Not Drama

The holidays tend to bring opinions.

And relatives.

And opinions from relatives.

The Lovers reminds you: choose connection, not combat… or at least choose silence and pie.

If one of your loved ones says something absolutely outrageous, remember that you can just put a piece of pie in your mouth and smile. Add whipped cream to make it an extra sweet conversation.

4. The Seven of Cups — Beware of Overcommitment

Shopping! Baking! Parties! Rituals! Volunteering! Travel!

The Seven of Cups says: You cannot say yes to all seven.

Pick the cup with the least glitter and the most sanity.

You don’t have to be all things to all people – just be the you that people love.

5. The Nine of Swords — Anxiety Lies

That nagging feeling that everything will go wrong?

It’s just the Nine of Swords doing its nightly stand-up routine.

Thank it for its service… and then ignore it.

Don’t just make it a holiday – make it a vacation from worry.

6. The King of Pentacles — Treat Yourself Like a Honored Guest

Warm food, soft blankets, comfortable socks —

This is not indulgence, this is holiday self-care strategy.

Just look at all the things you’ve done for other people! Don’t you deserve a little pampering, too?

The King of Pentacles approves.

7. The World — You Made It Through Another Year

Pause. Breathe. Celebrate the cycle completing.

On the Winter Solstice, the solar year will end. Take the time to reflect, to congratulate yourself for another trip around the sun.

Give yourself credit for all the chapters you survived this year — and all of the growth that went along with that.

Bonus Holiday survival secret:

Lower expectations. Raise kindness. Wear stretchy pants.

The Top Ten Tarot Cards That Indicate Healing

Discover the top ten Tarot cards that symbolize healing, recovery, and renewal. From The Star to The Hermit, explore how the cards reveal your path toward balance, peace, and wholeness.

When you’re working with the Tarot, certain cards appear as gentle messengers of recovery, renewal, and wholeness. Whether it’s physical, emotional, or spiritual healing, these ten cards remind us that balance and well-being are always within reach.

1. The Star

The ultimate card of healing and hope. It promises renewal after hardship and invites you to open your heart to divine light and self-trust.

2. Temperance

Balance, integration, and moderation — the alchemy of opposites. Healing flows when extremes are softened and peace returns.

3. The Sun

The warmth of vitality and joy. The Sun restores the life force, illuminating health, positivity, and the return of childlike energy.

4. The Four of Swords

The body and mind’s call for rest. Recovery through stillness, meditation, and withdrawal from stress.

5. The Six of Swords

Moving away from turbulence toward calm waters. Healing through distance, clarity, and emotional peace.

6. The Ace of Cups

Renewal of the heart. Healing through love, forgiveness, and self-compassion; a cleansing flow of feeling.

7. The Queen of Pentacles

Earthy nurturing energy. Healing through care, nourishment, and connection to the body and natural rhythms.

8. The Three of Cups

Healing through friendship and community. Emotional recovery by rejoining the circle of support and joy.

9. The Ten of Pentacles

Long-term stability and health. Healing in the sense of “wholeness” — when life feels safe, abundant, and grounded again.

10. The Hermit

Healing through introspection and solitude. Finding the inner light that guides you back to your own wisdom.

Using the Cards for Healing

When these cards appear in a spread, ask yourself: What part of me is ready to recover?

Healing doesn’t always mean fixing something broken — sometimes it means remembering you were whole all along.

“Just the Tarot,” by Dan Adair – a complete set of definitions for all of the cards, including layouts and instructions, available on Amazon.

The Karma Cards of the Tarot: Lessons, Consequences, and Course Corrections

Some Tarot cards seem to carry more spiritual gravity than others — the ones that reveal how actions return, lessons repeat, and growth becomes inevitable. These are the “karma cards,” reflecting the Kybalion’s Principle of Cause and Effect. Each shows us where the soul confronts the consequences of its choices — and how to rise into a new level of awareness.

What We Mean by “Karma”

Karma isn’t punishment or reward — it’s simply the universal law of cause and effect. Every thought, every word, every choice sends ripples into the field of consciousness, and those ripples eventually return to their source. When we see a “karma card” in a reading, it doesn’t mean the universe is judging us. It means the universe is teaching us.

In The Kybalion, this is expressed as “Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its Cause.”

In the Tarot, that principle unfolds symbolically through specific archetypes that reveal how energy cycles back around, how old patterns resolve, and how the soul grows through awareness.

The Major Arcana Karma Cards

Justice (XI) — Karma in its purest form

Justice is the balancing of the scales — the moment when truth emerges and consequences unfold. It represents the return of equilibrium after imbalance, reminding us that integrity, fairness, and honesty always realign the cosmic order. When Justice appears, something in your life is finding its balance again.

Judgment (XX) — The higher reckoning

This is karma’s spiritual octave — the point of awakening. Judgment calls us to review the past with clarity and compassion, to rise from the old self, and to claim renewal. It shows that karmic patterns are completing because understanding has dawned.

The Wheel of Fortune (X) — The turning of cycles

The Wheel reveals how karma is always in motion. Life rises and falls, fortunes shift, and every chapter becomes another turn in the spiral of growth. This card reminds us that luck isn’t random — it’s the natural consequence of the energy we’ve set in motion.

The Hanged Man (XII) — Seeing karma differently

When we find ourselves “stuck,” suspended between worlds, it’s often because the universe is asking us to pause and see things from another perspective. The Hanged Man teaches surrender, acceptance, and the wisdom that comes only when we release control. Sometimes, karma simply says: Wait. See. Understand.

Death (XIII) — Karmic transformation

Death ends what has outlived its purpose. It’s the natural completion of a karmic story — the moment when the past dissolves so new life can begin. In karmic terms, Death is liberation, not loss.

The Devil (XV) — Karma we create ourselves

The Devil shows entanglement — the cycles of desire, addiction, and illusion that keep us bound. It’s the reminder that we forge our own chains, and the key to freedom lies within. Whenever this card appears, it invites us to stop creating new karma and start unbinding the old.

The Tower (XVI) — Karma as course correction

When we resist growth, the universe sometimes intervenes dramatically. The Tower represents those moments of sudden change that dismantle illusion and force renewal. It’s not cosmic punishment — it’s divine intervention, clearing away what can no longer stand.

The World (XXI) — Karma fulfilled

Here, the cycle completes. The lessons have been learned, the soul has integrated its experiences, and balance has been restored. The World is the joy of completion — the karmic graduation that makes space for a new beginning.

Karmic Echoes in the Minor Arcana

While the Major Arcana show the grand architecture of karmic movement, echoes of those same lessons appear in the Minor cards.

• Ten of Swords — the final reckoning of a mental or verbal pattern.

• Ten of Wands — karmic burdens carried too long.

• Six of Pentacles — the law of giving and receiving, the return of generosity.

• Eight of Cups — walking away from a karmic cycle that has served its purpose.

Each of these cards shows a microcosm of cause and effect — personal moments of realization that mirror the larger soul journey.

The Deeper Message

The Tarot doesn’t show karma as destiny written in stone — it shows movement, opportunity, and awareness. Every card offers a chance to respond consciously, to change course, to balance energy, and to evolve.

When we recognize a “karma card,” we’re not seeing a sentence. We’re seeing a mirror.

And in that mirror, we find both the story of what has been — and the power to write what comes next.

Please feel free to leave questions in the comments section and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.