Tarot Readings with Psychic Sarah

I thought I’d go back to my roots for this tarot reading – I am using the Smith/Waite deck (commonly known as Rider/Waite), the cards with which I started my tarot journey back in 2001.

This is a special version, the Pamela Colman Smith commemorative set. Pamela Colman Smith was the artist who created this deck, which has played a major role in bringing tarot back into the popular consciousness, and has become the most well-known tarot deck.

I thought it would be good to use this deck for the first reading of 2012 to honour Pamela Colman Smith as a way to honour ourselves. She was underpaid for this huge body of work (first published in 1909), and died in debt. For years her name has been left off the title of this deck that she created in collaboration with Arthur Waite.

With this commemorative deck putting her back in the spotlight where she belongs there comes a reminder for us all to recognise the positive ways we contribute to beauty, joy and learning in this world. Also, we can be reminded to acknowledge, support and honour our fellow humans who inspire us to grow and become better people. May we never forget how far we’ve come, and those who have helped us to stay alive and self-connected.

And now, for the reading:

A long time ago a myth was ignited, speaking of fear, desperation and misunderstanding. We were subsequently taught that in order to get anywhere in the world we had to fight. We were told that being kind and trusting meant we were naive and/or silly and/or a doormat.

The 5 of Wands has long been a sign of how crappy life can get when we get caught up in the details and obsess with trying to get everyone to think exactly like us. “No no no you’re all wrong, I am right. My opinion is king, my god is best, you are an idiot, an ignoramus, morally bankrupt, evil.” Gee, thanks for that 5 of Wands. I know you have a sweeter side as well, but I hope you don’t mind if we just back out of your party slowly without saying goodbye.

It is a brand new year. We have new horizons to reach and new friends to make. I don’t want my new friends to be scared off by your shenanigans, oh 5 of Wands. Let’s try and listen to each other, ok? We’re just trying to figure out new ways of talking so that we don’t have to resort to gossip and opinions…

Okayyyy so let’s just sit down and take a rest with the 9 of Cups. It was pretty intense there with the 5 of Wands hey? All that shit flying around – it was good to get away. The 9 of Cups is ideal for a good yarn about stability and how to hold yourself together when life is getting strange.

Some might call the 9 of Cups smug… I mean, he just sits there like he’s fabulous, arms crossed, taking centre stage, surrounded by nine cups…yeh so maybe he can be misunderstood (as we all can), but I think having a breather with him in the first week of the New Year means we can just stand still and reflect on just how exactly we want this year to be different from the previous one.

The 10 of Pentacles meets with us as we go into the 2^nd week of the new year, establishing our awareness of abundance in what we have already created in our lives. Although no doubt we have plans of some kind for the year ahead, the 10 of Pentacles allows us to look at our current circumstances with a sense of solidity and sure-footedness.

Even in hard times, the 10 of Pentacles inspires a perspective that leaves us feeling more content (even if just vaguely so). The 10 of Pentacles will give us a boost to feel more abundance if we already have plenty, and find some if we are struggling to see and feel it.

With the 9 of Cups and the 10 of Pentacles as the building blocks for the month ahead, we can step into the 6 of Wands’ territory feeling ready for what it could bring. The 6 of Wands connects us to our plans and the ability to carry them out with commitment and grace. We are no longer just idling along when the 6 of Wands is near – we are awake and ready to do what is necessary to make the most impact in our communities, whether local or global or both.

The Wheel of Fortune helps us deal with the ebbs and flows of life so that we know when to sit and breathe with the 9 of Cups, when to dance in delight with the 10 of Pentacles and when to step into graceful power with the 6 of Wands. They each offer beautiful yet differing qualities, so we’ll need to figure out where we’re at before we sit with any of them.

The Wheel of Fortune is wonderful at helping us manifest more of what we want to see in the world, and with the Page of Cups sitting at the top of the reading – perhaps we are wanting more love?

The Page of Cups heralds love of a quirky kind – love that sings and spins around, love that whimpers if we don’t address it whilst hanging upside down reciting poetry. A  Page of Cups kinds of love will no doubt help the Collective find ways to love all beings – particularly those who live differently to us.

If the Page of Cups had its way we would all be able to access creative avenues for providing heart-melting empathy for as many people as we could. The Page of Cups is generous and fun. So generous in fact that it has given us the boon of choosing which wild card we want to work with this year (or at least for this month). Well, we get a choice between two: The 2 of Wands, or Temperance.

If you choose the 2 of Wands, you are choosing grounded vision and the capacity to think clearly as you step forward every day. With the 2 of Wands you can make decisions without fear, knowing that because you trust your intuition you can trust your choices.

If you choose Temperance, you choose the capacity to move within the mysteries of life without fear. You notice what is happening within you, and notice the effort required to grow deeply, so you make best use of your time and trust that everything that is meant to happen to support your growth will happen. As you overflow, you can trust that you will be able to contain all the emotions. Temperance is deeply affected by the power of wisdom that arises from personal experience.

I’m going off to a Vipassana Meditation Course from January 8 – 29, so seeing I’ll be in silence for that time, I guess I’ll choose Temperance 🙂

And by all means, dear reader, if you want to have both the 2 of Wands and Temperance with you – then be my guest. This is no time to be placing limits on ourselves. May we all continue to grow and be happy.

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The tarot deck used for this reading: Smith/Waite Tarot Deck, by Pamela Colman Smith and Arthur Waite.