misunderstood tarot cards

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 27 Oct 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

loveinspirit	27 Oct 2004
what do people find as the most misunderstood tarot cards in a reading or readings, not just for the querent but for the reader too.

tarotlova	27 Oct 2004
I would have to say the Court Cards god they annoy me!

Grizabella	27 Oct 2004
I agree about the court cards. Every deck I use, I always draw a blank on the court cards. I'm starting to think it's a mental block at this point---that I just freeze up when I see them. I've studied them, I've read books, I've printed info off the internet----they still stop me. I'm determined to keep at it, though.

Emily	27 Oct 2004
I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets the 'Court card block'. I have to try especially hard with them too.

Flavio	27 Oct 2004
Besides Court Cards... The Death and The Lovers are misunderstood cards, mostly by querents.

Gyda	27 Oct 2004
I would have to agree with the Death and Lovers cards, I also find the Hangman and High Preistess to be another two. I was dicussing this with my husband to be abn he's foudnd the Wheel of foutune to be another one. Gyda

Emily	27 Oct 2004
I find the Tower can be misunderstood. Sometimes the Tower can mean reaching rockbottom but then the only way is up and some situations need to crash around you for you to appreciate that you can actually change them and start with a clean slate.

shelikes2read	27 Oct 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Gyda I would have to agree with the Death and Lovers cards, I also find the Hangman and High Preistess to be another two. I was dicussing this with my husband to be abn he's foudnd the Wheel of foutune to be another one. Gyda I think the cards that have caused the most consternation among people I'm reading for are Death and the Devil. Most people aren't especially happy the first time they see the 10 of Swords, either, since the RWS image shows a guy with ten swords in his back. It's my MO to explain, prior to reading for someone for the first time, that "Death" and "The Devil" don't mean the impending LITERAL appearance of either of those things. However, if the seeker hasn't seen either one in a reading before, the first time they see either of those cards turn up in a layout, my pre-reading lecture goes out the window and I have to remind them again that disaster is not awaiting them just around the corner. Fortunately, the RWS deck has some nice, clear symbolism on it for both cards. I've found that picking up the card and explaining the symbols on it, point by point, is very helpful.

lunakasha	27 Oct 2004
I agree on Death and the Devil..... While reading for some friends today, the Death card came up (and I was using the Halloween Tarot, so it was not as "scary" as it could have been, if you know what I mean....). Everyone around the table gasped in horror when I turned over the Death card....and of course the querent exclaimed: "Is he going to die???" Same querent, BTW, who had the "coffin" come up a couple of months ago (the equivalent of "Death" in the Titania Fortune deck)....hehehe!!! But it was a good opportunity to explain once again, that Death usually indicates a significant change, the death of a situation which leads to a new beginning...and this card made perfect sense in relation to her question, so it was nice being able to explain it again. I think it is just one of those cards many people are uncomfortable with, unless they have a fairly broad knowledge of tarot to begin with. :) Luna

Imagemaker	27 Oct 2004
Part of what they may be reacting to is just the idea of change--ANY change when something is ending and the unknown lies ahead. If the Death card turns up in a "future" position, the querent may be naturally uneasy about what's coming. Even if they don't like the situation they're in. How many (many!) people believe, better the devil you know than the devil you don't.

yupkigirl	28 Oct 2004
Right now, it would be the Devil card. My brother is at the age where he is starting to get interested in girls. And since he is also starting to learn tarot, he asks the cards usually in a 3-card spread, well, about girls. And if I am not mistaken, for three different girls, when he asked "what does she think of me/how does she see me?", the Devil card has appeared each time! Since he is using the Gilded Tarot for his studies, I told him he shouldn't be bothered, since the Devil there is so gorgeous :) I told him that the girls think that he is one handsome devil---I am stading by that interpretation, and I am one proud sister ;)

Vilyariel	28 Oct 2004
i think the court cards are very confusing. you never know which aspect to analyse or apply; the physical appearence, astrological connotations, card's meaning on it's own, what the character is doing...

loveinspirit	28 Oct 2004
im glad it not just me who sometimes misunderstands the meanings. i find the court cards hard too and im not to keen on the tower. sometimes i feel for me the tower represents everything fallen about around my ears. i hope not l

Ace	28 Oct 2004
For me it is the Hermit and the Fool. The Hermit is a card that people love to riff with and joke about while I reading. Maybe the Death card and the Devil is too serious to laugh about, but they always make a big deal out of the Hermit (does that mean I will be alone all my life, HUH?) and the Fool (go back to their friends and roll their eyes, I got the Fool card! I'm I that dumb?) I like the Hermit, but it is a tough one to explain, look back and see what you have done, listen to that gut feeling, do your resume (NOT because you are getting fired! REALLY!!!) because it will show you want you have achieved so far...

RedMaple	28 Oct 2004
I've had people think Temperance was about drinking too much, alcoholism, because of the Temperance movement. (edited to add: This was the anti-alcohol movement that resulted in Prohibition at the beginning of the 20th century.) I thought that was pretty funny, at first, but it's happened a few times, and I realize that most people have no idea what the word means. So I am careful to explain this card as a card of balance and harmony, actively working to get your life in balance. Has anyone else encountered this mis-reading?

MeeWah	28 Oct 2004
RedMaple: I can see reading Temperance as related to the Temperance movement during Prohibition. Had occasions to read it upright as alcoholism or an excess of whatever habit/behaviour that needs curtailing or balance. Also read it as pertaining to health matters or healing. It can mean a tempering of the individual through the life experiences. That is, whereby one not only learns from the "mistakes", but learns to apply the knowledge gained appropriately to avoid repeating the same experiences. This can relate to any pattern of behaviour & includes relationships.

rabble	28 Oct 2004
I think I would have to agree with Death. Aside from friends at work when I first got my first deck, and took it in to show them and for us to play with, I've only ever done a reading for anyone else once, and that was by accident! At the craft fair last week, when I bought my xyron machine for laminating my cards, I was getting a demo, so I showed the woman doing the demo what I wanted. She pulled the Death card, and said "oh no! Trust me to choose Death!" (or words to that effect), so I told her that's not what it means, and told her what I thought it meant in relation to her, and she was all "wow, yes!" I do think though, that with original names, and some illustrations, cards like Death, or the Hanged Man, can give people a shock - until they're explained to them.

April	28 Oct 2004
The Lovers is misunderstood a lot. They're all like, "Oooohhh, sexy!" And I'm all like, "Get your mind out of the gutter!" Okay, I only say that to my friends, but honestly they think it means they're gonna... you know what. Peace, April

Gardener	28 Oct 2004
Hi Everyone who says Court Cards confuse them, guess what? Rhiannon started a Court Card Study Group down in the General Section of the Study Groups forum. She tells us exercises from the Mary Greer book on Understanding the Tarot Court, and they are really good! Meanwhile, the card I am most confused by, hands down, is the Chariot. I prefer to assume it indicates travel, literal and physical travel (yes, I like the Rhorig deck a lot) but supposedly it's really about internal issues and willpower. How can this be?

MeeWah	28 Oct 2004
Gardener: All of the cards, particularly Major Arcana, are capable of layered meanings which can relate on more than one level. Of the mundane, the mental functions &/or the inner workings or spirituality. 7-The Chariot represents mastery, the application or use of energy on the physical plane/mundane world & of the mental realm. Includes ambition; determination/drive; purpose; passion. It can also represent a figurative or literal journey; travel or an actual vehicle. A person or an event. The last similar to that of 16-The Tower, The Chariot's flip-side which is sometimes expressed as an event.

Gardener	28 Oct 2004
Mee-wah, thank you for giving me some clues for unraveling the Chariot. I suspect it's an important card, seeing as how it's part of the Major Arcana. Yes, you are right, I was forgetting that so many cards have a physical and a psycical aspect. But it's not just a matter of physical journey versus (supplemented by) spiritual journey, there's something more to it that gets me confused. The way the aspect of mastery/ambition relates to the aspect of journeying. I guess they don't have to relate? The other clue you gave me was a new thought for me, the Tower as the flip side of the Chariot. Because 16 adds up to 7, in numerology, yes? What does it mean to be the "flip side?" See, the Tower I understand instinctively (happens to me far too often!), I even see the way the external upheaval is a reflection of and/or spur to internal upheaval and restructuring. That makes an interesting parallel to the way the Chariot can represent a journey, whether actual or metaphoric or of some other realm. But is there a way in which the Tower complements the "mastery/ambition" aspect of the Chariot? Maybe in that the Tower is about being overcome, about letting go of control, or just plain old losing control. Each is a journey, but one is more voluntary than the other. Thanks! That makes a lot of sense to me. Still don't have a full feel for this card, but happy to have one more layer of the onion...

MeeWah	28 Oct 2004
Gardener: 7-The Chariot is to control as 16-The Tower is to lack of/no control. The voluntary as opposed to the involuntary. The difference between one making things happen vs that of things happening to one (though the latter may have its seeds in the past, via the cumulative thoughts & actions associated with Karma). The difference between the metaphoric safe driving & reckless driving--one arrives at the destination; the other may crash & burn. Hence, 16-The Tower can be seen as the flip-side, the reverse, or the Shadow of The Chariot (1+6=7). The lack of mastery or self-control gone amok. Any extremity of behaviour such as that of the control freak; temper tantrums/anger management; violent tendencies; the obsessive-compulsive; does-not-play-well-with-others/runs-with-scissors. The destructive or the unpredictable "weather" pattern; the sudden, no apparent fore-warning event (which again has its origin in the past). The Chariot pertains to control borne of self-discipline & applied knowledge, such as with which one may initiate or institute a change. In determining a path or a change of direction. The harnessing of energy; how that energy is harnessed & then used. Inherent with The Chariot is free/applied will & choice. The Tower can be the result of a lack of attention or application, which in turn leads to a lack of control over change. Or the lack of control that leads to etc. Such as: if the message of The Chariot is not heeded, it will reiterate/manifest as The Tower. Like the unheeded dreams that turn into nightmares. Thus, equates to being overcome by forces larger than the self (but may have been contributed towards in the past or more recent time). Both The Chariot & The Tower can lend themselves to both the internal & external processes depending on the nature of the matter/situation; the individual process of assimilation. Knowledge of the two-edge/two-fold effect. If action taken with appropriate knowledge, that is The Chariot (in charge). In due course, certain results expected, such as "success" or "victory"--also meanings for The Chariot. If knowledge is absent/inadequate & action taken, The Tower can result. In this context, The Tower can mean "disaster" or "failure". The Tower can represent knowledge of the inspired variety: the "AHA" moment as depicted by the lightning-struck tower. The opening of The Tower roof can relate to the stimulation/opening of the crown chakra; the trigger of the mental realm leading to understanding; or refer to divine provenance, that of the inspiration/intervention representative of enlightenment. It can also represent the culmination of the sexual act. Ultimately, The Tower is about mind-blowing, ground-breaking change whether one is ready or not.

Kit	28 Oct 2004
How many times have I had a querant draw Death or the 10 of Swords (I usually use the RWS for reading-the picture of a man lying impaled by ten swords is not conducive to positive interpretations) and assume either card points to an actual death, doom and gloom?! Come on- these cards are being misjudged. I’m sure that Death never meant anyone any harm. :joke: I’m sure everyone here knows how hard it is to convince a querant who connects negativity to the Death card that it means something ending in their life…to make way for a new beginning! It really is one of the most wonderful cards in the deck. Raeven

SeraphSarah	28 Oct 2004
I know that most of the time death on it's own means change, and people always jump to the conclusion it means an actuall death, but it really can mean it literally...Sometimes when I get death and the ten of swords and the 5 of cups after the quarent asks"How is my 80 year old aunt doing ?" I will know that they wont last the year. But you have to watch how you say things when you tell them-I do not hold back info but I do sugar coat it if I dont think the person can handle it. But mostly hey say "oh, I know that she has /cancer/ sickness oof some kind, and already knows she wont last much longer really..i was just checking"

RedMaple	29 Oct 2004
Quote: Originally posted by MeeWah RedMaple: I can see reading Temperance as related to the Temperance movement during Prohibition. Had occasions to read it upright as alcoholism or an excess of whatever habit/behaviour that needs curtailing or balance. Also read it as pertaining to health matters or healing. It can mean a tempering of the individual through the life experiences. That is, whereby one not only learns from the "mistakes", but learns to apply the knowledge gained appropriately to avoid repeating the same experiences. This can relate to any pattern of behaviour & includes relationships. Meewah, I have never seen Temperance as having to do with alcohol or excess unless it is reversed. Temperance is the opposite of excess, it is the middle road. The card I see as related to excess and addictions of all kinds is the Devil. I've also seen the five pentacles come up as a co-dependent card (especially in the Morgan Greer deck, where the image is of a wounded man being held by a woman.) I agree with being tempered by life experiences, but I would only see those as alcohol-related if there were other cards that suggested that. RedMaple

RedMaple	29 Oct 2004
Has anyone else had Death come up as a huge love affair, a huge sexual attraction? Now that is not a meaning that usually comes to mind for the querent...yet it can sometimes mean that. I think because it is so life-altering, and because you can lose yourself so easily when caught in an infatuation or love affair. Also, orgasm is the "little death".... I agree also, that depending on the reading, Death, especially when supported by other cards, can literally mean death, but that is rare in my experience. Everything goes through the cycle of birth, growth, death -- and most often I see the Death card referring to the end of a cycle or phase in someone's life, or the end of a love affair, marriage, or other issue. Something dies, something else is born. I do see it as a no-turning-back card, as well as transformation. It is the chrysalis, where everything becomes formless before maturing into the butterfly.

Vilyariel	29 Oct 2004
what about if you were consulting the cards about an ailing person, and death turned up, in which case, it could be interpretted: a) a change for the better; recovery [second chance] b) a change for the better; death [suffering is over]. how would you tell? what happens if the surrounding cards are kinda...neutral or not so helpful?

MeeWah	10 Nov 2004
RedMaple: The occasions Temperance was read as related to alcoholism or drugs were peculiar to those individual readings; expressive of balance/moderation or the obsessive-compulsive behaviour. They were also "cold" readings where no background information given & proved accurate. Agree 15-The Devil can pertain to excess; the addictive behaviour pattern (may also be as the flip-side of 6-The Lovers, related to the concept of choices; similarly where 7-The Chariot concerned as related to choice). An old discussion concerned the appearance of The Devil in a love affair. Also agree with 5-Pentacles as dependency/co-dependency, which can be expressed by other individual cards such as those cited above. Vilyariel: How Death may be read may depend on variables such as the reader, the moment &/or the particular surrounding cards. In one reading The Sun, traditionally an upbeat card even if reversed, appeared for a terminally ill person. The Sun can be seen as a "healing"; a passage to another cycle, a different plane. In mortal terms, the actual outcome was still physical death. Where Death appears with ambiguous surrounding cards, it could be that the information is not to be known at that time.

The misunderstood tarot cards thread was originally posted on 27 Oct 2004 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.