Reading Tarot For Wisdom And Guidance

Whenever I read or teach Tarot, I always emphasize the importance of beginning with a good question. Vague questions lead to vague answers. Forming a good, relevant, precise question is halfway to solving the problem, whether you’re using divination or working with strictly mundane methods.

But sometimes you need more than a yes or no answer. You need more than a picture of what the future will look like if you continue down a certain path.

Sometimes you need to know what you’re missing, either because you’re overlooking something important or because something important is being hidden from you. You don’t need Tarot to tell you what to do (never surrender your autonomy to a deck of cards or to the spirits that may or may not be speaking through them) but you do need to know what your options are – including options you may not know exist.

Sometimes you need wisdom and guidance.

It’s similar to when you discuss a problem with a friend. You don’t expect them to solve your problem for you and you don’t want them to tell you what to do. You want to hear a perspective that’s different and more objective.

Divination can do that. And, if you or your reader are skilled enough, it can tell you things neither you nor you friends have any way of knowing.

I had a situation like this recently. It involves my paying job, so I’m limited with how much detail I can share, even without naming any names. But this worked out extremely well, and I think it’s worth walking through the process even if can’t tell the whole story¹.

A problem at work

A couple weeks ago I was notified about some changes that were coming at work. They weren’t earth-shattering (no layoffs or anything like that) but they would negatively impact me in ways that were somewhat unique to me. It wasn’t personal, but it was harmful to me. And there was nothing I could do about it… on the surface anyway.

I haven’t heard a lot from the Morrigan recently. My understanding is that she’s been very busy in the Otherworld. My understanding is also that that’s getting ready to change, but that’s another topic for another time. But one of the things she said to me earlier this year was “why are you trying to handle ‘all this’ with only mundane means?”

I’m an engineer. I’m biased toward tangible, this-world action – particularly in times of stress. Tangible action brings tangible changes. Magical action improves the odds that the change you want will happen. Tangible action is more reliable than magical action. Except that sometimes the level of tangible action needed to fix a problem simply isn’t possible. Or you don’t know exactly where to apply tangible action.

This was clearly a situation where magic was needed. But what magic should I use, and what should be my target?

This is where divination comes in.

The Dark Wood Tarot

This is a bit of a rabbit hole, but it’s part of the overall process, and I figure I’m better off telling this part of the story up front.

I keep telling myself I have all the Tarot decks I need, and I keep finding new decks I want. Earlier this year I ordered the Dark Wood Tarot because I love Abigail Lawson’s artwork. I never really expected to read with it – there’s very little I can’t do with Robin Wood, Celtic Tarot, or when necessary, Waite-Smith.

And then as I was doing a series of readings around a specific issue, I felt the need for a fresh voice. So I grabbed the Dark Wood Tarot – the cards were still in order. I shuffled them, asked my question, and drew cards.

I was shocked at the clarity I got. So I kept using the deck, and I kept getting very good results. In a few months it’s become my go-to deck for reading for myself. I expected the fantasy / goth / horror themes to be too fantastical, but there’s something in it that really speaks to me. I haven’t tried reading with it for someone else, but for me it’s doing great.

The Dark Wood Tarot uses the Waite-Smith system, but some of the artwork is very different. You have to read the cards in front of you and not just recite consensus meanings from memory. The very nice book that comes with the deck can help, but at the end of the day you have look at the pictures and figure out what they’re saying in the context of the question you asked.

And I still needed a question. I knew I needed guidance, but guidance for what? After a bit of thinking, the question went something like this: “given this situation, and the fact that I need to keep this job until I can retire, and the problems this change will cause, what’s the most effective way to eliminate or at least minimize the harm to me?”

I didn’t need the Celtic Cross, but I needed more than what one or even three cards could provide. So I decided to draw five cards.

The reading

King of Pentacles. I’ve always had an affinity for this card. It shows a man who’s practical, grounded, and who handles wealth well. And he’s a king – he’s in charge. This reminded me to be myself, to work from my strengths, and to act like I’m in charge, whether I am or not.

Four of Wands. This Four of Wands is rather different from the same card in Waite-Smith – this one shows a troll under a bridge. This implied that there are dangers lurking in this situation and I should watch out for them.

Two of Wands. Here the meaning is more similar to Waite-Smith – at least for me in this situation. “You hold the world in your hands” – implying that I have the capacity to take care of this, even though I couldn’t see how at the time.

Justice. Sometimes one thing stands out when you draw a card. The first thing that caught my attention was the red on the skirt of the Lady of Justice – it looks like blood. What our mainstream world calls “justice” is often bloody. This warned me that trying to reverse the decision by appealing to fairness was unlikely to be successful and would probably have negative consequences.

King of Swords. Could the message “make good, prudent decisions” be any louder? I don’t think so.

The interpretation

So out of five cards I got two kings, telling me to be myself, make smart decisions, and conduct myself as though I have all the power even though I don’t (and if you think “as though I have all the power” means “be arrogant and demanding” you don’t know much about true power and leadership). I got two wands, reminding me to use magic and to remember that I have more power than I think. And I had two warnings to pay attention and choose my words and actions very carefully.

Is that vague? Of course it is. I wasn’t expecting the cards to lay out a plan guaranteed to work in five easy steps. But it told me what I needed to know.

This reading looked very favorable. Both the cards I drew and the absence of the cards I didn’t draw (no Ten of Wands, Nine of Swords, or Gods forbid, The Tower) gave me hope. It told me to take tangible action, but to do so carefully and diplomatically. I didn’t know what that meant at the time, but it would become very clear later on. And it reminded of the message from the Morrigan: “you have magic – use it!”

The magic

I had plans for a big working at the August full moon. And then the day before the full moon, I got sick. With Covid. I was out of bed the next day, but I didn’t have the energy or the focus for an elaborate working.

But the need was still there. And the full moon was still there.

So I did what I could: a visualization that focused on protection from the effects of this change. I added prayers for protection, and for help with the magic (“add your magic to mine, I pray”). And after that, I came up with a secondary working for the day the changes went into effect.

No eye of newt and toe of frog. No summoning spirits to go fix it for me. No sigils, which are my usual magic of choice. Just a clear vision of what success would feel like, and a strong desire for that success.

The results

I went into the office on the first day of the big change, mentally and emotionally prepared to deal with it. I’ve dealt with far worse – I could deal with this.

I hadn’t been in long enough to do my secondary spell when an unexpected opportunity presented itself, one that would for all practical purposes undo the change – for me. I made a formal request (carefully and diplomatically) within an hour. On the fourth day I got a favorable response. On the fifth day the change and the problems it would cause for me were eliminated.

Magic works best when you have a specific target. At the same time, magic needs to focus on the ends, not on the means. I had no idea these means were even possible. But both my magic and my mundane work left me open to them.

That night I gave special thanks to the Gods I follow.

How much of this was the work of the Gods? How much was my own magic? How much was a favorable chain of unexpected but ordinary events? I don’t know. And I don’t care.

What I know is that the problem is gone.

For now. There’s a chance this problem may arise again in a few months. So I have more magic and more mundane work to do to keep that from happening.

But for now, I’m celebrating a magical success.

Reading Tarot for wisdom and guidance

Tarot couldn’t fix this problem for me. It couldn’t tell me exactly how to fix it. But it told me how to approach the problem, it warned me to watch out for complications and unintended consequences, and it gave me confidence that I could fix it.

I still had to do the mundane work. I still had to make a specific request, and make it skillfully enough to convince the decision makers that it was the right thing to do. If I waited for the Morrigan to hand it to me, the opportunity would have disappeared and I’d be stuck with the problem.

Know what magic and divination can do, and what it can’t.

Tarot can’t solve your problems for you. It can provide wisdom and guidance so you can solve them for yourself.

¹ I do my best to keep my spiritual life separate from my professional life, for reasons that should be obvious, unfortunately. But if you catch in me person at a convention or gathering or such, I’ll be happy to tell you the whole story.