Start Today with Guidance and a Glimpse of Possibilities

It’s unusual for The Tower not to provoke a visceral reaction; this powerful card depicts the fall of a vast edifice built atop a summit of stone that must have seemed utterly indestructible before being struck by an unforeseen bolt of lightning.

In the Six of Cups, we see the image of a figure giving a gift of a Cup, overflowing with life, to a child. The two people pictured are in the garden of a cottage, and the scene resonates with a sense of domestic comfort and security.

Let go of that which does not serve you, is the message of the Death card. This is not a card that represents literal death but, rather, the death of old ways of being and the opportunity for rebirth that this brings with it. Of the three figures depicted in the card that is before the armored skeleton, it is only the child that looks Death fully in the face, without fear - indeed bearing flowers as a gift for him. This indicates that it is our attitude towards change that must be overcome, to welcome it as a chance for redefining our lives.

The key to understanding The Hanged Man is realizing that he is maintaining this hanging by choice. This card depicts a man suspended, upside down, from the branch of a tree, a bright glow around his head. He has assumed this symbolic hanging position to reflect, meditate, and become at one with the universe - the light encompassing his head represents his success in achieving this. 

Life is like a wheel and, sometimes, we need to accept that it will turn, this is the fundamental message of this card. Just as the snake depicted on the card follows the downward slide of the wheel, so the fox ascends with the very same turn. The sphinx that sits on top of the wheel in the Rider Waite version of the card symbolizes both mystery and Horus, the Egyptian God of resurrection. Whereas The Chariot depicted the sphinxes pulling the carriage, facilitating its passage, in this card the sphinx’s position at the top of the wheel, above its relentless cycle, suggests that there are things beyond the turning wheel of life that we can only dimly comprehend but that infuse our existence nonetheless.

In this card the Hierophant sits, Pope-like on a raised throne, while two acolytes pay homage to him or await his bidding, In full regalia, with crown and scepter, The Hierophant is the point at which The Emperor and The Magician combine - he is the master of the stage, but, unlike the former, there is no element of service here and, contrary to the latter, The Hierophant does not wield his power lightly or playfully. Depending on the context, this is not necessarily a bad thing.