Surprise!

Like this image, interpreting a tarot card is like trying to unlock a riddle. Or a Rubik’s cube. You twist the card over in your brain and you look at it from every angle. Taking in all its sides, you start to see patterns emerging and unlock the puzzle by seeing how everything fits together.

Interpreting a tarot card correctly requires seeing all of the angles.

This is much easier to do when there are multiple cards out to help clarify the way the sides fit together (we’ll get to that in a minute).

Every reader may see the angles differently or hone in on one angle that another reader may not. This is why it’s hard to say that one reader’s approach is correct and another’s is not. Or, that one person’s reading is more accurate than another’s.

This is why I teach an all-angles approach. You have to read the cards in layers.

Part of this is reading both the literal meaning (what’s happening in the querent’s life) and the metaphorical meaning (what you are feeling or experiencing internally). Of course, the two overlap. Sound complicated? It is, just a little!

Here’s a breakdown of the way I would interpret this set of cards:

1. Look for the underlying theme and connect to the big picture.

The Leader and Tower are both action-heavy cards. The Moon is the outlyer, as it’s more about the inner realm and uncertainty. The Leader acts in the spirit of creation whereas the Tower is about destruction.

They’re a bit at odds.

So, I would say that the big picture here is about the need to destroy something in order to create something new.

The Moon is undecided, so the querent may need more time to make a decision. Or they could be putting off what’s undeniable.

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2. Look at the metaphorical meaning.
Psychologically, the Tower is about breaking apart outdated mental constructs. The Moon is about uncertainty or something being veiled. I would say that the querent is still uncovering what those mental blocks are, and may need to take time to see everything fully before being able to transmute or release those energies.

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3. Look at the literal meaning.

The Tower can be social or physical constructs. A home, building, or workplace may be under construction. The person may feel squashed by the system (the Tower can represent corporations, prisons, etc).

The Leader can be the person running the show, but also the querents’s own leadership stepping up. Either way, someone is changing status and this impacts the seeker.

There are also multiple figures in each image, as well as a crocodile. One person is in shadow, as is the figure in the moon is also veiled. From this, I come to these conclusions:

– Someone else is involved in the shift.
– Someone’s intentions are soon to be revealed. Or you might need to reveal your intentions in order to take the reigns (The Leader).
– The crocodile suggests that there is danger involved.

The literal meaning would be: The querent’s stability is changing. It could be job, work, or home. They will need to consider the players and prepare for the dangers.

And then as the reader, we’d unpack both these meanings with more cards and more talking.