February Update and Relational Tarot Musing
Those of you who have been following this space for a while are aware of a few things, one in particular being that I do not excel at updating or “creating content” for social media. I’m sorry for this. As much as I do enjoy Instagram, in equal parts for its community as its escapism, I also find it overwhelming. It’s an incredibly saturated space with very specific, niche trends, oscillating algorithmic chaos, and across some spaces, repetitive information, likely to keep up with the demands of the aforementioned factors. Personally, I’m not really interested in keeping up for the sake of it. When I show up I’d like to think of it as being intentional, but also, a certain amount of conviction and vulnerability is required to project yourself, especially as the face behind a “business,” into these spaces in this way, and while I like to consider myself a fairly open person I absolutely find myself struggling more than anticipated with these factors as well.
Some of you may recall that I had been working on a series of tarot zines with a focus on the major arcana–they’re still in progress but I’ve been running into similar walls writing them. If I’m being honest I’m also having difficulties focusing on the singularity of particular cards and archetypes because tarot is deeply relational. It’s hard to speak to the essence of 1 card without also referencing or speaking to several others in the process, which is one of the things I love so much about this system. I figured in light of this, and to hopefully make up for the delays and my general lack of engagement, I’d share some of the thoughts I’ve been mulling over recently in relation to some of what I’ve been working on.
Of course, my zine journey started with (16) The Tower (because what is Order anyway?) and has shifted slightly to focus on (15) The Devil, after all, I started this project as a way to share a broader language or possibility for understanding in hopes to quell the fears that, for some, might surround tarot, be it due to oversimplified pop-culture references or through our own emotional experiences in conjunction with the practice. However, in thinking about (15) The Devil, of course, I couldn’t help but think about its numerological counterpart: (6) The Lovers, and specifically, (6) The Lovers relationship to (5) The Hierophant via numerical order–which is what the remainder of this post will actually be about.
For those of you familiar with tarot’s astrological associations, you would be aware that the astrological counterpart to (6) The Lovers is Mercury-ruled Gemini while the ruler of (5) The Hierophant is Venus-ruled Taurus–which upon initial consideration might feel odd. Isn’t Mercury the planet of the mind? Isn’t Venus the planet of Love? The answer, of course, is yes. If you’ve ever spoken to me about tarot as a system, you would likely know that I believe there is a deep intentionality in the way the majors are arranged and ordered and that not only is this not a mistake but actually such a sweet moment within the succession.
A fixed Earth sign, Taurus is, in pop culture astrology, often associated with its stubbornness (dare I say bullheadedness), similarly, I’ve seen (5) The Hierophant described with a specific rigidity, especially around tradition. This is understandable given the nature of “fixed energy” but, ever the fan of nuance, I find that the quickest explanations often leave out valuable information. Within such narrow understandings, it's easy to overshadow the Venusian influences within these archetypes. What if instead of “stubborn” we entertained that Taurus contains the tenacity required for adoration? What if Taurus allows itself to get so comfortable in one space that it’s able to form strong roots? What if instead of rigid we understood (5) The Hierophant as faith-driven and devotional? For these archetypes in particular it’s important to understand that faith requires heart. But then what of (6) The Lovers? What of the irony of the most detested sign within pop-culture astrology ruling over one of the most sought-after cards within the tarot deck?
The sign of Gemini, otherwise recognized as “The Twins,” is one of duality. One entity split into 2, it is certainly representative of how I’ve heard many people speak about the idea of soulmates. Unfortunately, I’ve also heard the connotation of this split, on a surface level, considered to be “two-faced.” But what if to have a twin is to have a mirror? What if Gemini, symbolically, asked us to see ourselves in another and meet them with the compassion we would like to be met with from others? The thing about (6) The Lovers is that while we associate love with all the romance and coziness that may come from a Venusian influence, that is simply a precursor to the act of loving. To love someone (or multiple people if you’re poly or want to expand from speaking about love within strictly romantic confines) is a choice–and what is love without devotion? The faith and devotion of (5) The Hierophant is what paves the path to decision and active practice through (6) The Lovers.
In a society of 15-second videos and sound bites, I think it’s becoming increasingly easy to lose the nuance and depth in our communication that allows us to best relate to each other. So on the topic of having a mirror, what if we viewed tarot as a mirror for our experiences? What if deepening our understanding of these archetypes ultimately helped us to deepen our relationships not just to ourselves but also to each other?
Anyway, thanks for coming along for the ramble and for your continued patience. I am hoping to get these zines out one of these days where you will surely find more relational musings and frustratingly broken conclusion sentiments (endings are hard, kids) and more. Tarot appts are still open under the services tab. Hoping the first days of Pisces season are treating you with kindness.