Thoughts on Tarot
by Natalie | Queen of Arcana
Tarot Doesn't Give You Answers. It Helps You Find Them.
We often come to the tarot when we’re seeking answers. We’re lacking clarity, certainty or direction. We don’t know what to do or which way to go. We don’t know if the path we’re on is right for us. And so we consult the cards.
As you can see, there’s a sense of discomfort behind these intentions. A sense that, even if we don’t know where we’re going, we can’t stay here.
And that, my friends, is Hermit energy. The wise old man on his slow journey through the dark, with nothing but the glow of his lantern to guide his way. His movement is inspired by a deep-seated discomfort, even if he hasn’t pinpointed exactly why yet.
This isn’t the same sort of movement as that of The Chariot or the Knights - quick, intense and/or intentional movement, where we’re either bouncing off the walls or nothing can stop us. Rather, instead, this is a slow, deliberate, sometimes melancholy, exploration and excavation of the self, often resulting in outward changes.
This, in my opinion, is much closer to what a tarot reading actually is, than what most people believe it to be.
Monthly Reflection: Justice & Wheel of Fortune
Last month, we pulled the Two of Swords - and there could not be a better card to close out that month with than Justice. I guess you could say, we’ve ended the month with an evolved version of the card we entered into the month with, and we like to see evolution and growth around here! Interestingly, our card for June is the Wheel of Fortune. Not only is it our Card of The Year for 2026 (you can read the blog post about that here), it’s also the subject of next week’s podcast episode, Wheel of Fortune & Finding Stability in The Face of Uncertainty.
So, what does this all mean?
May Reflection - Justice
At the start of May, the Two of Swords asked us to be wary of analysis paralysis, while still being mindful of the decisions in front of us.
To quote past me,
“That doesn’t mean to say you shouldn’t weigh up the choice, or choices, in front of you. Rather, it’s about making sure we take them in the right spirit. Some decisions are bigger than others. Not all decisions need to be considered with the same weight.”
Yes, I was really talking about ‘weighing up’ at the start of the month, and here we Justice. If any card signals ‘weighing up’, it’s the Justice card. I mean, one of its key symbols is a set of scales for a reason! …
What Gender Really Means in Tarot
This is a topic that isn’t discussed nearly enough, and yet, is perhaps one of the most important. Of course, we can’t escape the fact that a lot of the tarot cards are gendered. Kings, Queens, Knights & Pages, even when modernised to the Mothers, Fathers, Sons & Daughters, have distinct gender attachments. Likewise, Major Arcana cards such as The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, The Hanged Man - I could go on - are gendered figures.
The traditional Rider Waite Smith imagery, which most tarot decks are based upon, was originally illustrated in 1909 by Pamela Coleman Smith. Its imagery is not the most inclusive, which is unsurprising considering the context of the time it was created. Many people struggle to connect with it, understandably so, because the images don’t feel relatable and don’t ‘connect’ with them. Modern creators have adapted wording and created decks with more diverse representation, which is wonderful. But no matter how we change these cards visually, the gender associations with the traditional cards (and their traditional names) from The Empress to the King of Wands, can greatly impact the way we perceive them - and more importantly, whether we perceive their wisdom to be relevant to us at all.
And it’s easy to understand why. Historically, we interpreted these cards more literally than we do now. A King of Wands might have once been interpreted as a sign you’d marry a red-haired man, or The High Priestess might have indicated that an older woman was significant in your life. However, increasingly, tarot’s reputation is moving away from the deterministic predictor of fate, and more and more people are seeing the value in utilising the tarot as a facilitator of our personal growth. And so, a reader is now more likely to interpret these same cards as aspects of the individual they are reading for.
Because here’s the thing, all of us are capable of embodying and/or experiencing every single one of the 78 cards in the tarot deck…
Why Free Will Matters in a Tarot Reading
A lot of people get uneasy, or even scared, by the thought of a tarot reading, and the reason is often the same. They don’t want to hear that something bad is going to happen.
And I understand it. Tarot has a reputation for being this mystical determiner of fate - a predictive device that tells you that something will or won’t happen. Naturally, that puts a lot of pressure on the outcome of a tarot reading - your entire future hanging in the balance.
This perspective on tarot ignores something very important - our free will and agency to create our own future, as our life unfolds.
This is something I’m deeply passionate about as a tarot reader.
It makes me sad, and a little mad, when I hear past horror stories from nervous clients. No one should be afraid of getting a tarot reading. No one should be scared of living their life because of what they heard in a tarot reading. No one should leave a tarot reading riddled with self-doubt.
Because life is not something that happens to us. We are not passive observers. We are active participants in it.
So, if a tarot reading is not a declaration of our pre-determined fate, what is it?
More accurately, you could describe a tarot reading as a snapshot of the present moment…
Monthly Reflection: Knight of Wands & Two of Swords
April Reflection - Knight of Wands
We began April with the Ace of Pentacles, which was a great sign after some tough cards over the previous few months. And so I’m pleased to see the Knight of Wands as April comes to a close, a card of drive and momentum, carried forward by great excitement, enthusiasm and passion.
We’ve taken the seed of potential and opportunity given to us in the Ace of Pentacles and we are running forward with them. And it feels good. You are on fire, my friend!
What this card suggests is that April was a month of progress, where we actually dove in headfirst and did something that tangibly moved us forward in a meaningful way. There is sense of clarity here akin to someone sitting down with inspiration after suffering writer’s block. Things feel like they are flowing again, perhaps after a period of struggle, a stalemate or feeling stuck in some way…
Monthly Reflection: Nine of Swords & Ace of Pentacles
As we enter into April, we have a similar pairing as we did entering March - a Swords card reflecting on the month past and a Pentacles card that looks to the month ahead. What this indicates is that February, March and April may feel like their own three-month ‘arc’, with April fully opening up a new chapter ahead of you. We’ve seen a few rough cards recently - The Devil as our February outlook, the Three of Swords as a February reflection and the Nine of Swords in this month’s reflection for March, but these tougher energies have been indicative of important growth, laying foundations for real movement and action in the months to come - starting with April, it seems, which is a fantastic month to begin, with Springtime in full swing!
Monthly Reflection: Three of Swords & Ten of Pentacles
At the start of February, we pulled The Devil - as if winter wasn’t hard enough, am I right?
It’s somewhat unsurprising to see heaviness in the cards at this time of year. We began the month in Year of the Snake, a year of shedding, before celebrating the Lunar New Year and entering into the Year of The Horse, a year that brings a lot of movement and momentum. Collectively, this seems to have been felt deeply, with that Snake energy shedding the last things you’ve been holding onto - for some in rather spectacular fashion. Being February, for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, we’re also at the tail end of winter. In the UK, that has looked like rain, rain and more rain! Grey skies have been aplenty, and that kind of dreariness in our surroundings only adds to the heaviness we might be feeling after a long winter.
February Reflection - Three of Swords
And so this feels like an energetic match for the card we pulled for February’s reflection, the Three of Swords. It’s a card I’ve seen recurring in not only my own collective mini readings this month on social media, but also in other collective readings I’ve come across online too. Pain, heartache and disappointment pretty much sums up this card, and so when I see this appearing here, there is a sense that perhaps you have felt your own pain or disappointment rear its head this month…
Monthly Reflection: Seven of Cups & The Devil
January Reflection - Seven of Moons (Cups)
Hooray - we made it through January! We often feel like this is the slowest month of the year, but surprisingly, talking to clients and friends, it feels like the pace has been picked up as we’ve entered into 2026 - and I have certainly felt this myself too!
Chaotic and hectic, these are the two words I’ve heard others (and myself) say over and over again since the start of the year, which is why the Seven of Moons is no surprise.
In this card, we’re looking at what’s in front of us and we don’t really know what to do with it. Ultimately, this can cause apprehension, procrastination and overwhelm, and we can see this in the hesitation of the hand in the image.
Perhaps we have multiple options and we don’t know which way to go. This isn’t a case of having to make a clear cut decision, this isn’t big stuff. I’s the small things. It’s when we have a to-do list as long as our arm, and we don’t know which task to start with. It’s when we have 1000 creative ideas, so it’s impossible to discern which ones have potential and which don’t. It’s thinking about the next step in your business and not knowing which one is right for you. It’s trying to juggle more social commitments than you can plausibly fit into your diary…
Monthly Reflection: Justice & The Empress
It might be a new year, but it’s also a new month, and with that, comes a Monthly Reflection, just a little later than usual! This month, I used the Prisma Visions deck and pulled two major arcana cards, which feels rather fitting considering the shifting energy, between these two years (you can read about 2025 here and 2026 here).
Justice unsurprisingly concludes what has been a tough year for many, with The Empress being a welcome soft introduction to 2026. Let’s break this down, shall we…