Rider-Waite-Smith (1909)
Rider-Waite-Smith (1909)
Queer Tarot (2022)
Next World Tarot (2021)
The Devil perches on the chains of humanity representing control and domination. Common interpretations include greed, possession, and capitalism in contrast with the card before it, Temperance. Giving into these desires of domination and greed is destructive as we see the devilish figure’s torch lighting the human’s tail on fire. However, even in this oppressed state, the two human figures don’t seem to be bothered by their circumstances, which speaks to how we can become used to the oppressive and unjust systems around us and how they slowly become normalized.
The Red Tarot offers an expanded understanding of The Devil through a liberatory lens. Not only does The Devil show how oppression dehumanizes both the oppressor and oppressed, but it can also be used to pull back the curtain of collective trauma. A beautiful encapsulation of this is “The devil strips away facades of privacy to urgently remind us that all oppression is connected, to make our personal deeply political” (Marmolejo 194). Instead of growing complacent, The Devil urges us to continue critiquing power structures and forms of oppression in our society. In the Next World Tarot, we see this exemplified through the real-world oppression and corruption of capitalism.
As the Judgment Day comes, so does a time for reconnecting with our spirituality and a call to action. The imagery of rising from the grave with arms outstretched signals that Judgement is a joyous and unitying time of awakening and transformation. The figure above speaks to a higher calling and the trumpet itself symbolizes a call to attention.
Different decks have looked at what it means to be awakened and how our idea of peace/paradise can be broadened. The Red Tarot acknowledges that it’s easy to give up against the fight of oppression because it is old, powerful and everywhere but Judgement inspires us to remain focused on our fight as “Life becomes a work of art a work of revolution dedicated to the reinvigoration of the human spirit” (Marmolejo 78). The Next World Tarot also invites us to question what peace and justice look like in a world that has historically used those definitions to further oppressed marginalized communities from seeking transformation.
Queer Tarot (2022)
Next World Tarot (2021)
Rider-Waite-Smith (1909)
Rider-Waite-Smith (1909)
Queer Tarot (2022)
Next World Tarot (2021)
Going with the thematic backdrop of the 5’s symbolizing suffering and loss the Five of Pentacles takes us into a material and monetary loss. Through interpretations of the card we see people struggling through suffering of resources such as wealth or material values like illness or injury. The imagery in the Rider-Waite-Smith and Queer Tarot pictures the suffering people in front of a church which traditionally has been a place of sanctuary for lost souls. However with the five pentacles placed into the church’s windows it could symbolize how some organized religions have failed their communities and given into the monetization of religion.
The Next World Tarot depicts a little girl going through her first loss of her home but as the guide book indicates the card “confirms a loss, but hopes for solution”(Road). Looking at the Five of Pentacles through a liberatory lens we as a collective can decolonize our understanding of value. The card “finds value where others cannot, where it presents the nonconforming bodies that the state attempts to absence” (Marmolejo 217). The Five of Pentacles can inspire us to questions where we place value and how prejudice in our perception can lead to suffering and loss.
The Five of Cups is the duality between love and despair as both take up all of our hearts. In all of the cards we see the symbolic loss through overturned cups or graves. The figures in them are so focused on the loss that they don’t see opportunity waiting for them in the homes across the bridge or the moon. The glass half empty mindset holds us back from opportunities and we can be stuck mourning as “grief is the most devoted lover we will ever know” (Marmolejo 213) The figure in the Rider-Wait-Smith and Next World tarot adorn black clothing traditional of mourning and funeral wear.
The Red Tarot challenges us to not get stuck in mourning of our losses that we are unable to take action. He stressed that “mourning doesn’t make you smaller; it is expansive… without getting stuck there, we can give loss its due” (Marmolejo 214). Expressing our emotions and giving ourselves space, time and permission to grief our losses is important to move forward in our healing journey. At the end of the day we must cross that bridge in the distance to get to a better place.
Queer Tarot (2022)
Next World Tarot (2021)
Rider-Waite-Smith (1909)
Rider-Waite-Smith (1909)
Thoth (1944)
Modern Witch Tarot Deck (2020)
The Hanged Man depicts a sense of liminality as the figures within each card are all restrained from moving their bodies past a certain point. Ironically, this lack of motion and room creates space for self-reflection and enlightenment when there is nowhere else to go. Enclosed with restraints and discomfort, "we become queered by the state of suspension” (Marmolejo, Red Tarot, 61) and present from fear and the unknown. We can embody the loss of our bodily autonomy and start viewing the world from an oppositional location by touching our senses and feeling emotions beyond conquest. Enlightenment is a key term rooted in this card's Red Tarot reading. It makes us aware of our God-given “gift”: bodily autonomy. When that’s taken away, it's brought to our attention that our losses are made in more than our pain, highlighting that our most humble offerings are sacred, valuable, and powerful.
These interpretations are consistent with the Thoth Tarot Card, as the figure in the image appears disturbingly caged yet spiritually free. The main difference between the Thoth card and the Rider-Waite-Smith card is located near the hands and feet. While the Rider Waite Smith figure dangles from a wooden pole, the Thoth figure is nailed to several stubs along a wall.
The Hierophant resonates most with the word "Dogma," which means teaching: "The word becomes a vehicle for the soul's concentration” (Marmolejo, Red Tarot, 182) as it forms a concentration for effort and focus. Such a figure emancipates faith, declares belief, and accomplishes goals through discipline. It is the ultimate representor of grit and hard work. However, "the Hierophant does more than explain systems and review technique; they initiate the reader into a family connected through a history of practiced and professed faith” (Marmolejo, Red Tarot, 184). Marmolejo says, "Choosing a Hierophant is choosing a name that offers a lineage of naming and being named. Extending back through history, it becomes a line into the present, into the unfolding future” (Marmolejo, Red Tarot, 184). In other words, once we understand who our guru is, we find a loop into faith and understanding of life. After all, "the Hierophant knows one day we will be ancestors and desperately wants us to pass down a body of knowledge, a love that is faith made flesh” (Marmolejo, Red Tarot, 188).
Knowledge and understanding are gained through time and passed through generations. We must strive for knowledge and yearn for thought to form this cycle.
Thoth (1944)
Marseilles (1639)
Rider-Waite-Smith (1909)
Rider-Waite-Smith (1909)
Thoth (1944)
Marseilles (1639)
Infinite possibilities, infinite resolutions, and infinite outcomes. This is the amount of chances and opportunities that we yearn to have. The Two of Pentacles represents our ambition and yearning throughout life. We must constantly balance the opportunities that flow our way while embracing our independence and "capital-bility." It is critical that we stay grounded when balancing the duality of each pentacle because one thing needs another for stability: “They move money, time, and bodies around, investing in the various energies of their being as potential resources for prosperity, so long as the reader properly attunes to their rhythmic energetic flows” (Marmolejo, Red Tarot, 85). In The Red Tarot, Marmolejo also mentions how the Fool takes form in the two of pentacles, “for it is the comedian offering satire and social commentary, turning bleak circumstances into humor infused with broader meaning” (Marmolejo, Red Tarot, 85). Embodying The Fool correlates with the Two Pentacles as it embraces uncertainty and the excitement of new and infinite possibilities. This correlation between the Fool and the Two of Pentacles plays into a pursuit of a meaningful, fruitful, and spiritual life that always shifts with the changing economic base of life, creating a sense of displacement.
“We leave with joy, willing to go without the security of the known when we value what is to be gained, what can only be gained by going” (Marmolejo, Red Tarot, 86). Coincidentally enough, the duality of feeling pressured to balance ourselves and also having the resources to balance ourselves is just what we need to move forward. Similar to how we need duality in society to achieve an equilibrium. In short, there are several aspects to our minds and bodies, and we must conjure up stability to find new opportunities: “Just how many things can two hands juggle?” (Marmolejo, Red Tarot, 85).
Justice
Justice opens our eyes to the process of legal storytelling and the language we use to describe innocence and guilt
Justice emphasizes cause and effect therefore legitimizing experience
Justice is an advocate for voices that aren't represented and have been historically oppressed
Justice maintains patterns and is called upon to maintain world order
Justice is a woman, but she is quite androgynous looking as well
Imagery
sword pointing up to represent wisdom as a sword, piercing through to inner meaning
the two edges of the sword signify choice
the balancing scales represent the balance of past and future
Personal Reflection
While reading about the justice card, I was thinking about how our current legal system is so screwed up and how a lot of us feel that there isn’t justice involved much of the time. This card urges us to look within ourselves and be the sword of wisdom that cuts through to the truth. I like that a lot, it feels comforting.
Fives are suffering that causes change
Loss and conflict
They come after the fours which open a channel for reflection, fives then are the bridge that is crossed through pain
Five is the fear project into the looming darkness
Five is where fear and rationality are powerless, we must suspend belief to understand
Five of Wands
The Five of Wands shows five figures fighting to be the center of attention, to have power over the others
This competition for power represents identities fighting to be legitimized by institutions
The five of wands represent the spectacle of the state, how everything is far more dramatic than it once was
these figures are not intending on harming each other, rather playfully attempting to best eachother and rise victorious
Reversed
right side up implies a sense of rules and fair play
reversed indicates the rules going out the window
the battle is more serious and nasty
the figures are now intending on harming each other, this is no longer play
Personal Reflection
This card is very interesting to me because of all of the movement shown. I found myself wondering what they were fighting for and why. It seems that in reality everyone is fighting for a different reason.
Five of Swords
The five of swords represent the master narrative
One person stands triumphant while two others are bucking under the pressure
The master has stripped them of their power and taken their swords
Five of Swords calls attention to the despair and pervasive sense of defeat in marginalized communities and how they are also somehow blamed for their situation
All fives show conflict or loss, swords bring it to the next level
Reversed
while right side up indicates a moment of defeat, reversed moves to the despair felt after said defeat
swords are the most pessimistic suit in the minor arcana
Personal Reflection
looking at the card made me want to find a more positive take on the meaning, pulling this card would be upsetting. This makes me wonder if there is a take on the card where the reader is the victor in the reading and not the conquered.
The High Priestess is the card of the unconscious, knowledge, reflection, and passivity. The High Priestess encourages us to think about ourselves, to understand ourselves, though the card does not necessarily encourage us to do anything about it. Without action, the High Priestess's understanding is limited, and following it too far can get you stuck in your mind.
From a liberation viewpoint, we have to understand ourselves and our history over and over again, we have to search for the knowledge contained within ourselves, our communities, and the earth itself. The High Priestess also represents that understanding we can achieve.
Smith-Rider-Waite Tarot
Marseilles Tarot
Related Arcana:
The Magician (They are opposites)
The Moon (Intuition)
Justice
Common Imagery:
A Curtain (Hidden Depths)
Pomegranates
Seated Position (Passivity)
Duality (The Pillars)
A Book or Scroll (For Knowledge)
Personal Reflection:
This happens to be my favorite card. While the idea of the High Priestess being "mystic" and "not-understandable" seems to pervade its representations, the idea of becoming stuck in thought and reflection is one I can relate a lot too. The imagery of it also normally encourages us to consider both the positive and negative aspect of spending too long in your mind.
Cosmic Slumber Tarot
The Two of Swords represents inner conflict, specifically conflict over contradiction within yourself (such as shame). The Two of Swords represents inner retreat to reconsider, either to shut yourself out from pain or to move forwards with a clearer head. Regardless, the Two of Swords forces you to think what you might be denying or hiding from yourself, or what beliefs you need to rethink.
Smith-Rider-Waite Tarot
Thoth Tarot
Cosmic Slumber Tarot
Related Arcana:
The High Priestess
Justice
Two of Cups
The Moon
Judgment
Imagery:
Crossed Swords (Conflict)
Moon (Unconsciousness)
Blindfolded Figure
Personal Reflection:
I liked this card quite a bit when Red Tarot explained it. Pollack's reading feels too restricted, focusing mainly on shame, while Marmalejo's reading adds in a much more active conflict to it that I find more intriguing. The act of denial requires thinking, thinking relies some level on recognition.
Smith-Rider-Waite Tarot
The Two of Cups represents an open exchange of love. It is not just reciprocity, but the vulnerability required for loving that freely. Both figures approach each other without restriction and give the other their water, their life, shared completely. This love could be of any sort, like in between a community.
It is likely one of the hardest cards to reach the full potential of, because the fear of that vulnerability holds us back. However, it also opens our eyes to the reconciling power of love.
Related Arcana:
Two of Swords (Opposites)
Imagery:
Sharing Water (A meeting of two figures or cups)
Caduceus (Healing)
Balance
Personal Reflection:
This was the hardest card for me to understand, even though its basic idea was the clearest. I struggle to go beyond the basic definition of openness for it though. However, the variety of ways this idea has communicated in art while still evoking the same idea so closely is impressive to me.
Thoth Tarot
The Two of Wands looks out over the world from on high, gripping their wand with strength. This card can be differently interpreted depending where it is on the journey. You can see either a figure looking out at the world they are eager to explore, or a figure weary at what they have already conquered. The Two of Wands encourages us to deal with what we consider exploration. Do we do it for a sense of dominance, or for a sense of wonder? How will we approach the world?
Smith-Rider-Waite Tarot
Thoth Tarot
Modern Witch Tarot
Related Arcana:
Sun
Hermit
Imagery:
Balcony (Positioning above in power)
Horizon (the world to explore)
Wand used as staff
The facial expression and posture of the figure are used for certain interpretations of the card.
Personal Reflection:
This card seems made for a liberation reading. The way it deals with exploration and power is applicable in so many ways, since it mainly questions the mental state of how we approach others. It also holds a lot of potential for interpretation, depending on how someone sees the body language of the figure.