Tag Archives: 5 Pointed Star

Card Reading 101, Card Spreads, Tarot Cards

Tarot 5 Pointed Star Spread Addresses Creativity Issue: 4 of Cups, 0-The Fool, Knight of Wands, Queen of Swords, XIX-The Sun, Page of Swords

For the last twenty years or so, I’ve been the victim of a love-hate relationship with my artistic endeavors.

I’ll go through prolific periods where I’m producing artwork on an almost daily basis only to have it all come to a screeching halt, catapulting me into a bottomless, artless pit where it feels like I’ll never pick up a colored pencil or paintbrush again.

When I find myself in one of these dry, artless spells, I literally feel dried up and, frankly, a little bit dead.

Tarot Self-Empowerment Overcoming Artist's Block http://livingwithcards.com
Tarot Self-Empowerment Overcoming Artist’s Block

 

Earlier this month, after suffering through a dry spell that had gone on so long I couldn’t even remember how long it’d been since I held a pencil in my hand for more than a minute, I decided to consult the Tarot cards.

My question was simple enough: What do I need to do to get the creative juices flowing again? I decided to use the 5 Pointed Star with Significator spread because it provides clear and practical information.

 

Hanson-Roberts Tarot Deck 5 Pointed Star Tarot Spread 4 of Cups - 0-The Fool - Knight of Wands - Queen of Swords - XIX-The Sun - Page of Swords
5 Pointed Star Tarot Spread: 4 of Cups – 0-The Fool – Knight of Wands – Queen of Swords – XIX-The Sun – Page of Swords

Hanson-Roberts Tarot Deck (c) 1985 U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

 

Significator Card  (Theme): 4 of Cups

Hanson-Roberts Tarot Deck 4 of Cups
4 of Cups

The significator card gives information about the theme of the reading. This is important information that should not be ignored and the five cards that make up the actual 5 Pointed Star should be delineated in light of the information contained within the theme.

The theme expressed by 4 of Cups pulls no punches: it bleakly speaks of the devaluation of one’s gifts and talents. It is a card of depression, discontent and self-pity.

Ouch.

The problem isn’t that I’m not talented enough, it’s that I am not recognizing the skills, gifts and talents I’ve been blessed with. I am suffering from a serious lack of gratitude.

 

Position #1 (Basis, Reason or Cause of the Question): 0-The Fool

Position #2 (Mindset, Motivation, Expectations): Knight of Wands

Hanson-Roberts Tarot Deck 0-The Fool
0-The Fool

 

Hanson-Roberts Tarot Deck Knight of Wands
Knight of Wands

If I look at 0-The Fool in light of the theme card, 4 of Cups, I can easily see the reason why I am feeling empty and unfulfilled: I haven’t been valuing my gifts, skills and talents. A quick look at Position #2 (mindset) shows I want to take swift action (Knight of Wands) to reduce or eliminate this feeling of emptiness and lack of progress (0-The Fool).

 

Position #3 (Additional Information or Comment): Queen of Swords

Position #4 (Answer, Solution, Advice): XIX-The Sun

Hanson-Roberts Tarot Deck Queen of Swords
Queen of Swords
Hanson-Roberts Tarot Deck XIX-The Sun
XIX-The Sun

Before I discuss what kind of information or comment Queen of Swords may be providing, keep in mind this card is my personal Tarot significator. When it comes up in a spread I cast for myself, it always refers to me and not to some other random logical, loner-type, probably divorced or widowed, sharp-tongued woman who may or may not wear glasses…

I think I have to read Queen of Swords in tandem with Position #4, XIX-The Sun. Those two cards seem to be telling me that whether or not I’m successful (XIX-The Sun) is entirely up to me (Queen of Swords).

Recall the question was: What do I need to do to get the creative juices flowing again? Queen of Swords in the additional information position clearly suggests it is under my control. Maybe I should stop being so judgmental of myself. The suit of swords suggests the problem is likely mental or intellectual. Since thoughts can be changed, perhaps I should consider changing my thoughts, which would ultimately change my results. XIX-The Sun in the answer, solution, advice position confirms success is at hand if that’s what I decide (swords) I want.

 

Position #5 (Probable Outcome): Page of Swords

Hanson-Roberts Tarot Deck Page of Swords
Page of Swords

Here we have a double edged sword (pun intended), for this Page has a tendency not to take himself seriously when perhaps that’s exactly what he should do. I suppose that’s something that can happen frequently when one does not value the skills, gifts and talents (4 of Cups) they inherently possess.

See how all the cards in this spread play together to give a cohesive, empowering and practical answer? Basically, by not valuing my gifts and talents (4 of Cups) and not taking myself seriously (Page of Swords), I’m shooting myself in the foot. In reality, it’s all up to me (Queen of Swords as my personal significator card) and the decisions (swords) I choose or decline to make.

There is nothing “out there” that is preventing me from taking action (Knight of Wands) towards starting anew (0-The Fool) and getting or having what I want (XIX-The Sun).

Blessings,

Mary Hawkins

Card Reading 101, Card Spreads, Tarot Cards

Tarot Card Job Prediction Using 5 Pointed Star Spread

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An unemployed female querent recently ran into a former employer who had always thought well of her work. After some catch-up conversation and general chit-chat, he said he might be able to offer her a position with his new company — if he could convince them to take her on. The obstacle, it seemed, was the company’s frugal nature and their unwillingness to spend money “unnecessarily.” Despite being put off by the mixed message, the querent was curious to know if she might expect a job offer from this company in the near future.

I decided to cast a 5 Pointed Star Tarot spread using a significator card to describe the major theme of the reading, and chose the Universal Waite Tarot Deck to perform the reading.

After a thorough shuffle while concentrating on the querent’s situation and question, I drew the following cards:

5 Pointed Star Tarot Spread with Significator
5 Pointed Star Tarot Spread with Significator using Universal Waite Tarot Deck

Universal Waite Tarot Deck – U.S. Games Systems, Inc. (c) 1971, 1991

 

Significator card: the central card, Ace of Pentacles, describes the theme of the reading. As the significator, Ace of Pentacles aptly describes a new opportunity such as a new job offer, exactly mirroring what was on the querent’s mind. I took the card as confirmation the spread was valid and that I had correctly tuned into the querent’s situation.

 

Position #1 – King of Cups

The card in this position describes the basis of the question. It reveals the issue under consideration, but will not affect the outcome.

King of Cups in Position #1 describes a professional man who most likely has the querent’s best interests at heart. He is trustworthy, creative, and may possibly have a Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces (Cups) sun sign. I felt this card was describing the querent’s former employer and his role in possibly helping her secure new employment.

 

Position #2 – 5 of Wands

The card in this position reveals the querent’s thoughts or mindset regarding the matter, whether she anticipates success or failure, what she may fear and/or what is causing concern.

5 of Wands in Position #2 describes the querent’s beliefs and expectations. I think she expects a “fight” between her former employer and whoever has the authority to make a hiring decision. That doesn’t mean she expects he won’t “win,” simply that he’ll have to put on quite the show to get them to come around to his point of view. Either way, the querent likely believes getting the higher-ups to agree to hire her will be challenging to say the least.

 

Position #3 – King of Wands

The card in this position reveals additional information about the situation, of which the querent may or may not be aware, that needs to be considered.

King of Wands in Position #3 could refer to the former employer’s immediate superior. Notice the King of Wands is literally above the King of Cups in the Tarot spread — he is “higher up.” He also seems to look away to the left, distancing himself from the situation described by the rest of the cards. He is disinterested and not terribly invested in the outcome. I notice that the Ace of Pentacles and the 3 of Cups are also “beneath” him in a diagonal direction. It seems to me he would consider the amount of money the company would have to pay to the querent for her skills and services should they take her on to be relatively insignificant (Ace = 1 = small amount of money (Pentacles).

 

Position #4 – 3 of Cups

The card in this position answers the question. This card may also provide advice and/or guidance on how to handle the situation.

3 of Cups is a card of celebration and could be indicating that the querent may in fact soon be “celebrating” her landing of a new position. It could also be a timing card, indicating the “celebration” would occur within “three weeks” or “three months.” Finally, 3 of Cups could also suggest part-time (as opposed to full-time) employment; something the querent may want to consider.

 

Position #5 – XXI-The World

The card in this position shows the Probable Outcome, going beyond the answer found in Position #4, to a final conclusion.

As a major arcana card, XXI-The World carries extra weight, auguring fulfillment and/or successful completion of a goal. It suggests that all will go well and that the “celebration” suggested by 3 of Cups in Position #4 will indeed take place.

 

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I thought it was interesting that 5 of Wands in Position #2 could also be referring to the King of Cups‘ beliefs and expectations. He likely would see pitching the querent’s employability to the company higher-ups as a game — one he was fully confident in winning. The querent quickly confirmed that sounded “just like” her former employer — a caring, trustworthy man who also happened to be a Scorpio (King of Cups)!

I put a three month time limit on this spread prior to casting. If I get future feedback from the querent as to what ultimately happened, I’ll update this post.

Blessings,

Mary Hawkins

 

Card Reading 101, Card Spreads, Tarot Cards

Tarot Guidance Using the 5 Pointed Star Spread

The querent is a female artist who’s hit a dry spell. Lately she’s been worrying, thinking maybe she’s lost her edge. She fears she’ll never be able to produce the quality of work she’s produced in the past.

“It feels like my creative well is dry,” she confided. “At first I thought I could shake this off, but it’s been a few weeks now and it’s starting to scare me.”

Her question was simple: How Can I Replenish the Well?

I decided to cast a 5 Pointed Star tarot spread to address her question. This is a positional spread where each point of the Star discusses a certain aspect of the problem/ situation/ circumstance of concern.

After thoroughly mixing the cards, I selected the following cards to address her question:

 

5 Pointed Star Tarot Spread - Replenish the Well
5 Pointed Star Tarot Spread – Replenish the Well

 

Position 1: The nature or basis of the situation/ issue/ circumstance, or the reason for the question:

Page of Cups as the nature or basis of the situation suggests a couple of things to me. First, it literally suggests creative (Cups) thoughts (Pages). Second, it gives a sense of perhaps being overly emotional about the situation and not trusting her own intuitions, which certainly could put a damper on generating new ideas.

Position 2: The querent’s thoughts or mindset, conscious or unconscious:

Quite literally, 0-The Fool is zero. Nothing. Coupled with Page of Cups as creative thoughts, we see the querent’s situation capsulized in the first two cards: as far as creative thoughts / new inspirations are concerned (Page of Cups), there are none (0-The Fool).

Position 3: Additional information or comment that may impact the situation (can be known or unknown):

2 of Pentacles in the third position suggests a sense of uneasiness/ imbalance, and perhaps a fear of disappointing self or others. There is also a sense of discouragement. These feelings could be causing her to bounce back and forth, between hope and despair, accomplishment and the lack thereof, which could be stifling her creative faculties and affecting her ability to make careful, balanced decisions.

Position 4: The Answer, Advice or Solution:

Knight of Cups suggests the real problem is a lack of faith in herself and her abilities. She needs to re-develop her self confidence. Knight of Cups suggests she should learn to recognize whether she’s acting on fear-based emotions or out of genuine enthusiasm for her passions and interests.

Position 5: The Probable Outcome based on the current energies surrounding the situation/ issue/ circumstance:

Queen of Pentacles furthers the advice of Knight of Cups. If the querent follows the advice of Knight of Cups and resurrects her faith in herself and her abilities, she’ll be better equipped to take on her challenges and figure out effective ways to deal with them.

Clarification Card: Ties the reading together and often gives a direction to consider for achieving a suitable outcome:

V-Hierophant is a card of tradition, encompassing specific, daily routines and rituals. Instead of worrying about a lack of inspiration or a dearth of ideas, perhaps the querent could set a daily schedule that would put her in front of the computer (she does digital design) whether she feels inspired or not. Sometimes the Hierophant can represent an older or more experienced person who passes his or her knowledge on to a student or apprentice. Perhaps the querent could consider offering online classes to beginners who would love to learn the basics of digital design, and in doing so, recover some of the spark and excitement she believes she’s lost.

Hopefully, one or more of the insights provided by this reading will help the querent in resolving this issue.

Blessings,

Mary Hawkins