21 The World

Do you feel fulfilled? Have you completed a grand project exactly as you had planned? Are you reaping the benefits from your labor and beginning to live your dreams? Do you feel in control of a relationship that is mutually beneficial to the both of you? Has that joining together created wholeness in your life that you longed for? If these and other feelings of involvement and completion dominate your life, expect to see the highest numbered Tarot card of them all appear in your reading: The World.

Floating in the center of a blue sky is a nude woman, wrapped in a scarf that covers her pelvis and flaps behind her shoulders and below her feet. She holds a baton in each hand and has her hair braided tight and bejeweled. A luscious laurel wreath crown surrounds her, its green leaves wrapped at the top and bottom by a red cloth band. In each of the four corners of the card is a portrait. A man in the upper left looks in profile over at an eagle that returns the gaze. In the lower left a bull and across from him is a lion, both staring your way. Each of these is illustrated with a billowy light-colored cloud as their backing.

The woman is dancing in the abandonment of complete victory, surrounded by a victor's crown. The wreath is the equivalent of a trophy: in ancient times, chariot race winners would be crowned with the laurel. The lack of any solid ground on a card called "The World" might seem ironic, but the illustration depicts the feeling that you get when you have conquered your world. The four faces in the clouds represent the fixed signs of the zodiac (Aquarius the Water-bearer in the upper left, Scorpio's higher status as an eagle in the upper right, the Taurus bull in the lower left and the Leo lion in the lower right) and relate to similar depictions on the Wheel of Fortune card. But whereas they are depicted as golden statues on that card, here they are made much more personal with distinct, lifelike portraits. From an illustration of random chance that the Wheel of Fortune foretells, The World card confirms that the highest achievements are being met.

Meaning in Past, Present and Future Positions

Each Tarot reading assigns a position to every card that is dealt. The card lands in an area designated as representing your past, your present or your future. A card's meaning might subtly change depending on where it lands in your reading.

When The World card is in the past position of your Tarot reading, the foundation of your current situation stems from having accomplished something great earlier on. Perhaps this was marriage or a job promotion. You may have served your community well to the point that everyone now takes pride in what you contributed. Regardless of whether this peak accomplishment happened long ago in your childhood or just last week, there are two important things to take from the card landing here: The foundation upon which you currently stand is deeply rooted in this past sense of completion and … the moment of fulfillment has definitely passed and you are wise to no longer live in the past.

In the present position, this card is a powerful affirmation of a climax upon which you are treading. To dream is a natural state in all humans, but to live your dreams and see them manifest is actually not an ordinary state in which to exist. No matter how much you are getting what you have always wanted, there could be lots of anxiety in your life because this situation is so abnormal. To always want and then to get what you want puts you in unfamiliar territory. The reassuring nature of this card in this position should underscore that you should be careful not to sabotage your recent gains out of anxiety. Stress occurs when the happiness caused by this state of contributing to the world with the best talents you have suddenly seems so new to you.

In the future position, this is the card that insists you must keep your dreams alive. You may be questioning your own ability to put all of the energy necessary into your dream. The World card landing in the future position of your Tarot reading is a green light from the universe to race forward with confidence in the beauty and value of what you have to offer the rest of us.

Card Combinations

Every Tarot reading is based on a grouping of cards. A reading is not comprised of analyzing each card individually. The presence of other cards in the reading influences the energy that a specific card has. The Tarot reader puts these subtle shifts in meaning together for you.

The World, card number twenty-one in the Tarot deck, is one of three Tarot cards with the number one in it. The Magician is card number one and the Justice card is number eleven. Having either of these two cards appear in a reading with The World makes for a powerful release of energy. With The Magician, you are able to get others to buy into your vision of the way the world should be. With Justice, the way the world works manages to work out for you in a spectacular fashion.

The four Aces of the Tarot deck are also considered to be a lower echo of the energy possessed in the cards of the Major Arcana bearing a one. If the Ace of Wands shows up in a reading with The World, a creative solution unlocks a long-held dream. If it is the Ace of Cups, you will be given a new level of emotional satisfaction. If the Ace of Swords appears, you are convincing and your words will carry weight with the right people. If the Ace of Pentacles combines in your reading with The World, money solutions are imminent.

Because the Tarot is considered cyclical, the fact that The World card is numbered twenty-one and no card is numbered any higher does not give this card any rank over other cards. The Fool is numbered zero and is considered to follow The World in the ongoing cycle. If The Fool is in a reading with The World, you are on the right path to total control and total freedom.

19 The Sun

Have you been feeling revitalized? Have you been the center of attention lately? Are you getting an award soon? Are you making a breakthrough in understanding the patterns of a relationship? Has a recent victory given you reason to be confident? Look towards The Sun's appearance in your Tarot reading as an indicator that everything is going in the right direction for you. When you are feeling at your best emotionally, physically and psychologically, The Sun confirms that it is no illusion – things really are going well!

A white horse is at the forefront of this card. Although there is no saddle or riding gear attached, the full-grown animal carries a rider. This passenger is a naked baby, wearing a crown of flowers with feathered plumage and carrying a pennon flowing in the air. We are witnessing the moment of unveiling. Behind the horse is a gray brick wall that serves as a planter. Large blooming sunflowers sprout from within. Behind it all is a cloudless blue sky dominated by the sun. The rays of the sun surround a serene face within the yellow, light-giving disc itself.

There are many things going on during this moment of unveiling. The Sun is a card that indicates the universe is conspiring in your favor. The horse represents being taken along on your journey with less effort. The baby is a rebirth into a new phase of your life. Consider this as more than a simple victory; this is a mastery of much of what is before you. To underscore this, the baby is as naked as the day it was born: welcome to a new you. Perhaps you are starting over. This is a card that indicates that your good choices are adding up to create a great life. The sunflowers represent the affect that you are having on others. Sunflowers always face the sun; people are watching to see what you do in order to emulate you – they consider you to be a paragon of success. Dominating the illustration is the sun itself. The face on the sun is an illustration of your higher mind. This is the concept of blending a built-in knowledge of your purpose in life with your intuition on how to maximize this purpose. The serene face of the sun in this card reflects the peace you are at when you know yourself.

Meaning in Past, Present and Future Positions

Your Tarot reading is divided into sections. Each card is dealt into one of them. The sections are: your past, your present and your future. The meaning of each card can change depending on where it lands in the reading. Sometimes the changes are subtle, but with some cards the change is drastic.

No matter where The Sun card is in your reading, it is a good thing. When it appears in the past position, you can look at the foundation of who you are as an optimistic, take-charge person whose charisma and vitality help you make the most of all situations. The card in this position indicates a fundamentally wonderful childhood. If there are any negatives it is that you may miss those days gone by and focus on what once was rather than what is and what shall be. The Sun is also a card of solitude. You shine greatly and can inspire people as you get ahead in life on your terms, but you are often by yourself. In the past position, you may have started off on your present course inspired but alone.

In the present position you have everything to gain with this card. You can get exactly what you want and are the center of attention in doing so. Little can be lost and consequences are few when you reach out to take what you want. If there are any downsides to The Sun card being in the present position, it is that secrecy is almost impossible. You must operate in a transparent manner. Everyone should be able to see what you are doing in order for your integrity to never be questioned.

In the future position, the outcome to your current situation will see you coming out ahead. This is not just a card indicating a win; you are on a path leading to enlightenment.

Card Combinations

Every Tarot reading consists of a unique combination of cards. The few cards pulled from the deck are parts of the whole; each has an influence that changes the meaning of every other card just a little.

The Sun is closely aligned with The Hermit. Where The Hermit is alone and carries his light (representing enlightenment) in a lantern for his own use, in The Sun card, the light is an inspiration for all to see. The Hermit is numbered #9 and The Sun follows it as Tarot card #19. Consider the old man in The Hermit card to be at the end of one phase, and the baby in The Sun card him reborn into a new phase of his life.

When The Sun is in your reading with The Chariot card, a victory is at hand that will be big news, catapulting you to a higher social standing. If your reading features The Sun and The Lovers card, your current relationship or one that will soon arrive will be the central force of good feelings in your world. When paired with The Moon, your intuition is high and can lead you to the right person for help on a project. If The Sun is in a reading with Temperance, you will be an example to many by what you do without. If The Sun combines with any Ace card in your reading (Ace of Wands, Ace of Swords, Ace of Pentacles or Ace of Cups), look for a big improvement in your mastery over a specific area of your life that has up until now been troubling you. Sunlight is the best astringent in cleaning up an old house and The Sun is the best Tarot card to enlighten you on the direction your life must take.

18 The Moon

Have you discovered an unfamiliar yet beautiful new reality? Are you feeling disconnected to the values and traditions with which you were brought up? Is an alienation from the norm creeping into your life? Have you been talked into something that only last year you would have considered preposterous? Are you aimless in your goals and ambition? Has an artistically inspired streak of creativity suddenly appeared out of nowhere? All of these brooding outsider tendencies call forth The Moon card from the Tarot deck when you seek a reading to show you the way.

In the middle of the night, the Moon appears low in the sky. It is full, rays of light emanating from it, and yet, there is a contemplative face in profile taking up almost half of one side. The landscape under the Moon has a dirt path in the center leading off into the hills. There is a dog and a wolf, one on either side of the path. In the foreground there is a body of water into which the path leads. A lobster crawls up out of the sea, its front claws touching the start of the path. On the far left and right of the card at the beginning of the darkened hills are matching stone obelisk watchtowers.

Everything about this card presents two possibilities. We only see half of the surface of the Moon, and the profile of the face is only half of it. The towers match, but are on opposite sides of the card. Is the path leading to the lobster or is this crustacean merely starting the journey into wisdom … or oblivion. The dog and wolf represent our animal nature and the lobster is near the bottom of the evolutionary ladder, behind the dog and wolf, just beginning to understand that there is a path to higher consciousness. The watchtowers represent the mysteries of good and evil and how they may appear quite alike, and that we discover them as we grow walking down the path of consciousness. We grow into distinguishing good from evil. The Moon can inspire insight as easily as it signals the presence of great confusion.

Meaning in Past, Present and Future Positions

Every Tarot reading is divided into three sections: the past, the present and the future. When a card lands in a particular position, it tells your story from this time frame. If The Moon card shows up in the past position, look for a recent period of confusion to be to blame for your current strife. If you had a great inspiration and manifested it into art or expression that helped you cope, The Moon inspired you to find order amidst the chaos. You made the best of your past as you could, considering the circumstances, and can look back on those days as having been fruitful rather than a cause of anything negative.

When drawn in the present position, you may be getting so many mixed signals from the outside world that your turning to a Tarot reading is a seeking of some clarity, some answer to all the confusion. The world around you may be different and the structures that have long comforted you are suddenly absent. The temptations of alcohol, drugs, meaningless pleasure seeking, gambling and other escapes from reality are all too real. The Moon represents falling out of touch with reality. However, it also represents a chance to better yourself by not believing in the false assumptions that we all agree to within societal norms. Instead of following the path that you are told will get you somewhere (the path that has at present left you lost), The Moon signals your opportunity to create your own structures; a life from your own imagination and design.

In the future position, The Moon can be a harbinger that you will meander away from what is important in your life and follow a hobby or vocation that is a different path altogether. This could signal a coming spiritual awakening, or your joining of a small religious group. Be on guard for the vulnerability that all new converts feel as their path toward spiritual enlightenment meets with manipulative individuals. The Future position is great if you are in a creative field; this reveals that afflictions of boredom such as writer's block or attention deficits will soon be forgotten as a rush of inspiration fills you and you have a new muse to follow.

Card Combinations

A Tarot reading involves a collection of cards, not an individual card. No card is an island. Your reading will have cards influencing each other, slightly changing the respective meanings and delivering a unique message for your situation.

When The Moon is in a reading with the Strength card, both of these cards have the number 8 as their base. Strength is numbered 8 and The Moon is numbered 18. The two of these cards in a reading together propel you to fight for a vision you have of the way things should be.

When paired with The Hermit card, your isolation is causing you to lose touch with the enjoyable things concerning our day-to-day existence. When paired with The Hanged Man, your need to be in control has alienated people and left you to run your enterprise all alone.

The Moon is a good card to have in a reading with The Wheel of Fortune, as it confirms that your losing touch with reality is actually your understanding of where the world is going and you already being there. The thing that you enjoy that seems weird to everyone today will be the norm in six years. Likewise, The Chariot delivers a rousing victory to your vision of the way things could be.

When paired with The Magician or The Devil, there are manipulative or destructive people in your life who are taking advantage of you without you realizing the price you will eventually have to pay for associating with them.

The Moon card is surrounded in the deck by card number 17, The Star, and card number 19, The Sun. Either of these appearing in your reading with The Moon will make your higher consciousness a thing of valuable insight for your journey ahead as well as for those around you.

17 The Star

Are you in a calm state and feeling hopeful? Have you felt that giving more of yourself and your resources would help make the world a better place? Are you inspired toward a new creative path, be it artistic, spiritual or entrepreneurial? Have you turned a corner in feeling sad and are starting to see some hope in a long-term situation? The Star is a Tarot card that will appear in your readings when the glimmer of hope is about to shine, when your generosity of spirit is making an impact and when your peace of mind has elevated your consciousness to the benefit of those around you.

Under an illuminated night sky, a nude woman is outside, kneeling on the grass at a pond. Her foot stretches forward onto the water. Holding a clay pitcher in each hand, the woman is pouring water from one out into the pond in front of her. She is simultaneously pouring water from the other onto the green landscape at her side. The water landing in the pond forms concentric ripples. The water hitting the grass forms streams in every direction. In the sky are eight stars, each with eight points. Central to the composition is a large golden yellow star. It is surrounded by the seven smaller white stars on either side. Under this light, the woman concentrates on the pitcher she is pouring into the pond, while the pitcher she is pouring onto the grass is just as precisely releasing its water.

The unclothed woman represents both purity and vulnerability. The pitchers are symbols of potential and this scene of the woman releasing their contents underscores how The Star card rewards those who are generous at this moment in their life. When we give, we create energy – represented here by the ripples and the streams. The gold star dominating the scene lights up the night in a magical way that the sun never could. In this starlight, vulnerable and pure, giving and genuflecting, the woman will see the world so differently that it will inspire her to create something that is different. This inspiration to create is the manifestation of hope that is the core energy released by The Star card. When we have hope, we have something to live for, somewhere to move towards, someone to love – even if it is ourselves.

If there is a downside to all of this, it is that The Star card is a quintessentially impractical card. The idealism expressed in all of this card's symbols is not solid enough to assist one to feed a family or earn a living. Remember that The Star is otherworldly – the concerns of this world are not arranged in the same priority. A fantastic inspiration is something that has no basis in reality. We must work to incorporate our visions of how the world should be with the reality of the way the world is.

Meaning in Past, Present and Future Positions

Every Tarot reading assigns a meaning to the place that a Tarot card lands. If a card were to be dealt sooner, it might land in the past position, later and it could be in the future position. Some readers mix up the order, but the present position exists to hold the past and future positions together.

When The Star is in the past position, it refers to a good idea you had that began a series of events that led to your present circumstances. If you are in a good place right now, you can thank the intuition and improvisational skills of The Star. If you are feeling lost, the impractical side of this card took you to a place that did not fit in well with everyday realities. Maybe The Star inspired you to pursue your dream of being an artist, but that led to an overpriced art school that did not teach you any new skills. The Star may have left you broke and in debt with all of your hopes for success now expressed in complex philosophy instead of brilliant masterpieces.

When The Star is in the present position, you are on the precipice of making big plans. A new idea of where to take your life has dawned. You may be feeling like you want to contribute to better the planet and humanity. Your idealism about a relationship and your partner will be especially strong now. You may want friends to take notes about how they feel when looking at your situation. You would never take what they wrote seriously now, but in the near future, after the light at the end of the tunnel blinks off for a moment, you can consult what they wrote and see it in a more objective light. People close to you will give you truth that will be hard to handle in the moment but will be valuable reference material soon enough.

In the future position, The Star beckons for you to keep hope alive. You will figure out a solution to any current crisis and will soon be immersed in devising your exit strategy for maximum success. This card is especially lucky in this position. Flirt with abandon around an available, attractive catch. Ask for a raise. Take a chance.

Card Combinations

Cards in a Tarot reading do not exist independent of each other; the cards joining this or any other card in a reading all influence the meaning of each other.

The Star is connected closely to The Chariot card, as they are numbered #7 and #17 respectively. The rider of the chariot wears a crown containing the same stars illustrated in The Star card. If these two pair up in your reading, your idealism will find a manifestation in the world to great success.

When the Ace of Pentacles is in a reading with The Star, a casual inspiration could become a profitable venture. If you have any business acumen, this is one of the best card combinations in the entire Tarot deck.

The Lovers card combines with the Tarot to make you quite blind to any faults that your partner may possess. This blind support could be what he or she needs to become the best match for you. When The Star is in the same reading as The Hermit card, your excitement is hard to share with anyone. Artists and musicians who live in isolated areas that are not familiar with new expressions see this combination often. Another card with a similar outcome is The Magician, although the inspiration it represents puts you in the position of being in control of delivering the vision you have. You will most definitely convince a few people.

16 The Tower

Has a big change of plans occurred? Are you getting a Tarot reading because some unexpected event has completely changed your life? Has your world turned upside down? Was a steady part of your life recently destabilized in dramatic fashion? Is change happening too quickly for you to hold on to something? If so, the tower is influencing events and has appeared in your Tarot reading. This card is the Tarot's way of acknowledging that the rapid transformation occurring in your world is due to forces beyond your control. Be it a stirring of Mother Nature or the impact of someone else's economic decisions on your life, understand that these are circumstances with which you had little if any influence over.

Centered amidst a black sky, lightning strikes a stone tower. Flames erupt from the top of the tower and from out of the building's windows. There are two men falling out of the tower. Both are falling headfirst, one diving forward, the other falling backwards, neither in control. The tower itself is on a craggy cliff and the men appear to be falling even further past the foundation of the building. Atop the edifice, a giant gold crown has been dislodged by the thunderbolt and is being lifted up and off the top of the tower. Billowing clouds of gray smoke are everywhere.

Neither of the men in the illustration have done anything to cause the destruction and chaos in which they have become enveloped. All measures were taken to be isolated from war, pestilence and disease by building a remote tower. And yet calamity still struck. The men are in different positions to indicate that the effects of the radical change that is happening will not be equally distributed. Some will barely survive while others will thrive. Many Tarot decks illustrate one of these men as wearing a crown and the other man dressed in attire more likely to belong to a peasant. This is to illustrate that these sorts of sudden, intense events do not take one's wealth or status into account. The disruption of the crown atop the tower itself symbolizes that it is the end of an era. The crown is moved only when a new king is about to be crowned. One era ends, another era begins. The Tower card means that change all around you is more likely to be of the permanent kind. Any attachments to the past that you have will only hurt your fall when you land in the new way the world will be.

Meaning in Past, Present and Future Positions

After the Tarot deck has been shuffled, your reading consists of a few cards dealt out into specific positions representing your past, your present and your future.

The Tower is one of the only cards in the deck that has energy that always belongs in the moment. While most cards confine their energy to the position in which they land, The Tower is about the here and now no matter where it falls in the Tarot spread.

In the past position, The Tower indicates that the upheaval about to happen has its roots in the past. Was there a long-simmering feud a few months ago that could suddenly erupt again? Is there something that has been in need of repair that has undergone maintenance with the intent to overhaul? Well, the overhaul needed in the past is about to happen whether or not you are ready for it.

In the present position, anything goes with this card. Relationships, jobs, financial circumstances … any situation could be affected. The chaos unleashed by The Tower in this position usually affects one area of your life, but the affects are thorough. You may lose a job, but your love relationship will grow stronger as a result. You might get dumped, but you will get an easier work schedule that boosts your pay. Juxtapositions of absence/abundance are inevitable.

When this card is in the future position, there are no surprises to the coming chaos. You can already see the writing on the wall and the decimation of some structure in your world takes place quickly and totally. When this card appears in this position, the future is days, perhaps hours away. It is not the future of next month that the reading presents.

Card Combinations

When you receive a Tarot reading, the cards that are included do not speak as independent voices. Every card carries a subtle influence that combines with the other cards in your reading.

When The Tower appears, it dominates like few other cards. But the other cards in the deck can reveal a bit about the forces that are unleashing the changes around you. If it is combined with The Emperor card, the actions of the government are causing the sweeping changes you feel. If your reading features a pairing of The Star and The Tower, your intuition will guide you to a better place and you will ultimately see the quick shift in your world as a good thing.

The High Priestess in a reading with The Tower means your avoidance of certain realities is to blame for part of your world crashing apart. Of course, doing too much can be just as much to blame if The Chariot shows up in a reading along with The Tower. Sometimes micromanaging can ruin a perfectly good thing.

The Tower is symbiotic with The Lovers card. The Lovers is Tarot card #6 and The Tower is #16. The Lovers reveals that pure love is unavoidable and that we do not know what causes it, just that it is a completely transformational energy that brings us together. The helplessness of this situation is echoed in The Tower, but this is a card primarily of dissolution. When these two cards appear together in a reading, you are really twisting in the wind, at the mercy of a fate determined by others. The best advice here may be to start your life all over again. The Tower is a structure. If the structures you have built in your world cannot handle disruption without collapsing, perhaps it is time for new structures in your life.

15 The Devil

The Tarot deck has many high points and some low ones as well, just like life in general. There is no finessing card #15, The Devil. It is not a good thing to get this card in your reading, with the exception that it may be the confirmation you need to end a dysfunctional relationship. The core of this card is a negative relationship that you have with someone or something. It might be a lover or a boss. It might be marijuana or alcohol. It might be a friend who you knew was a bad influence and yet you deepened the relationship. This card carries all of the negativity surrounding the twin terrors of addiction and codependency. Toxic substances, toxic relationships and our deep denial about the depth of our situation conspire against us. The Devil card says your only hope is to abandon the current state of hopelessness.

No mistaking who that is perched on a stone pedestal. It is the beast himself. This man-beast has bat wings, ram's horns, a grotesque hairy goat-like face, a shaved obese chest and hairy animal thighs that turn into talon-like claws that grip his pedestal. The background behind him is black as he raises his right hand as if to administer an oath and lowers a lit torch with his left hand. A metal ring is bolted to the concrete pillar he calls home. A woman and a man are chained to this ring. The chains are leashed onto their necks. The woman and man are naked and stare straight ahead.

There are other symbols that may or may not appear in the particular Tarot deck from which you receive your reading. The astrological symbol for Mercury may be tattooed on the Devil's belly. The symbol for the planet Saturn may be formed in the lines of his open right palm. There may be a pentagram floating above his head or tattooed onto his forehead. The words "Solve" and "Coagula" may be emblazoned on his right and left arms respectively. In some illustrations of this scene, the woman has grown a leafy tail while the man has a tail with flames at its tip.

The Devil's appearance is nothing short of that of a beast. The core point of interest is the chained man and woman. Their nudity is a metaphor for pleasure-seeking and shamelessness. The chains indicate that they are prisoners of a lifestyle of their own choosing. The Devil is simply a metaphor for the thing to which they have surrendered themselves: addiction, anger, lust, interpersonal emotional games disguised as love, etc. The Devil does not sit on a throne, but rather clings to an unadorned small pillar. The glamour these two pursued was an illusion all along. The Devil appears to be administering an oath, indicating that most people willingly go into serving the thing that enslaves them and build a loyalty to this vice. The many symbols that may or may not adorn The Devil in your Tarot deck all underscore the severity of servitude and the ruin caused by surrendering love to materialist and sensualist pursuits at the expense of all else.

Meaning in Past, Present and Future Positions

When your Tarot reading begins, cards are placed in locations that have specific meaning. Your past, present and future are signified. Some cards are stronger in different positions than others.

When The Devil card is in the past position, your dealings with a domineering person or situation are over and done with. The foundation on which your life operates has the experience of this intense relationship at its core, but you have new structures in your life from which to operate and excel. It is good news to have The Devil in the past position. The chains have been broken.

In the present position, this card's appearance is your wake up call. You are hooked into something and may not even realize it. It could be the mindset of being a victim, or it could be the need to have a buzz before facing the day. You are being held back by something that you willingly embraced, at least initially. Perhaps your once great lover has become an embittered hater who takes out his resentments on you with verbal abuse. Whatever the case, The Devil card here acknowledges that a terrible connection in your life right now is chaining you down from being whom you truly are.

In the future position, this card is a warning. You are setting up structures in your life that are attracting people who are users, takers and not good for what you hope to accomplish. The Devil in the future position looms as something that can be minimized or avoided if you work hard to spot the areas in your life in which you lie to yourself in order to just get by or get along. A rigorous self-examination is needed in order to move forward with confidence in the beauty and value of life.

Card Combinations

Cards that join together to make your reading also influence each other. They can change each other's meaning ever so slightly. This combining of energies is what makes your reading unique.

The card with the closest relationship to The Devil is actually its opposite: The Hierophant. This card represents surrendering to the greater good and to the established order. When these two are in a reading together, the tension will be whether chaos or order reins supreme in your life.

Most other cards of the deck add a better definition of who The Devil in your life may be. The Lovers card combined with The Devil indicates an affair. The Chariot indicates your pursuit of victory will destroy everything in your life – this combination is particularly terrible to receive if you are in litigation. Combined with The Empress, The Devil card indicates that someone to whom you are attracted is too closely associated with bad people to ever really trust.

One card that minimizes The Devil is The Fool. This card puts you in a safety bubble as you move through life interacting with people whose agenda is destructive. Even the Tarot has insurance cards!

20 Judgment

Are your days of sitting on the fence done? Have you found a reason to keep living? Are you feeling refreshed and looking forward to moving on? Has a casual interest turned into a dominating philosophy of life that you are pursuing as your true calling? Are you able to brush aside the ambiguities and obfuscations of the past and clarify exactly what it is you have been through? When the Judgment card arrives in your Tarot reading, it is time to take a stand as the hardest choices become obvious after the simplest of appraisals.

The top half of this card is a depiction of an angel blowing his horn. In most Tarot decks, his large wings are astride wispy gray and white clouds out of which his arms extend to clasp a large golden horn, upon which he is pressing his lips. Attached to the musical instrument is a square white flag with a red cross. The illustrated lines emanating from out of the trumpet indicate that Gabriel is blowing his horn. Beneath him, the graves of the departed have all opened and the dead have begun to rise. The landscape is an almost monochrome blue-gray in contrast to the red wings, the fiery orange and yellow hair and the colorful horn and flag of the angel above.

This is the scene of the last judgment as described in many mythologies. In the end times, the archangel Gabriel will blow his trumpet and summon the dead to rise. They are about to meet their maker and discover whether or not they are to spend eternity in heaven or in hell. There is an absolute nature to the final judgment of legend that is imbued in the Judgment Tarot card. When this card appears in your Tarot reading, be assured that absolutes are about to take place.

Meaning in Past, Present and Future Positions

When you receive a Tarot reading, the cards are pulled from the deck and placed before you. The pattern of cards is divided into three areas of meaning: your past, your present and your future. Landing in one area can bring out select parts of a card's true meaning and will be subtly different from an appearance in a different area.

When Judgment appears in the past position, you made a big decision to go along with one way of thinking. This might have been in your youth or it might have been a few weeks ago. This card does not guarantee that you made the right decision. Your current foundation rests on having taken a particular path and the results of this decision may be the reason you are seeking a Tarot reading. Regardless, you may be defining who you are by the decision you made in the past to follow a certain calling. Now you are taking stock of where you are in your life in relation to where you want to be because of that big move.

In the present position, Judgment is reflecting your internal conflict about making a big decision. The finality of this choice is quite apparent to you, even if it seems small to others and is perhaps even dismissed by those close to you. The presence of this card can give you little guidance over your choice. While many Tarot cards have a sense of inevitability about them, the Judgment card in the present position is powerful in that your free will is on the line here. All this card represents is that the decision you are about to make is, in fact, an epic one.

An especially powerful placement of this card is the future position. When Judgment is here, the murkiness, guilt, burdens and misery are about to go. A coming incident will allow you to finally see the possibilities. It will be like you have been a ghoulish zombie in a graveyard of your own creation and the sudden blowing of a trumpet will pull you out of your stupor and give you a second lease on life with a definite sense of purpose and an obvious direction.

Card Combinations

When your Tarot cards are dealt, they do not stand alone. They speak as a group. The presence of various cards has an influence on what other cards in a reading will mean.

The Judgment card is numbered #20 in the Tarot's Major Arcana. It is most closely related to the other two cards that end in zero: The Fool (card #0) and The Wheel of Fortune (card #10). The Fool looks at every decision as meaningless, The Wheel of Fortune divides up the times in our lives into ups and downs and Judgment completes the themes by calling us to a most critical juncture in order to move on. The cards ending in zero make the evolution from ambiguity (represented by The Fool) toward the universe having a random impact on our lives (The Wheel of Fortune) and finally to our personal decisions and the weight they have on our own destiny (the Judgment card). When either The Fool or The Wheel of Fortune is in a reading with Judgment, the road you choose will have a lifetime of positive reinforcement about it.

When Judgment pairs up with The Hermit card, a relationship that is in the final stages will result in a productive period of being single. The opposite is true if The Lovers card is present in a Tarot reading – combined with the Judgment card, a marriage or live-in commitment is in the works.

When the Temperance card is combined with this card, a decision to quit drinking or doing drugs is imminent. The step of sobriety is a giant leap epitomized by the Judgment card and made possible by the Temperance card. When the Five of Swords is in a reading with Judgment, a decision to go at it on your own has at its roots a desire to spite an old acquaintance or family member. Independence will not be as you imagine. When the Ace of Swords is in a reading with Judgment, expect to give an interview, legal testimony or lecture that has a profound impact on the lives of many people. While this could be a highlight in many peoples' lives, a moment that carries such import is almost an ordinary occurrence in the routine of a schoolteacher.

Judgment's impact does not portend that this is a unique occurrence that can happen only once in a lifetime – the presence of this card may mark one great turn of events in your life, but you are just as likely to have many others, as you are none at all. The card carries no weight as to how often a big change might occur, only that its impact is absolute and influential.

14 Temperance

Do you see both sides of an argument? Can you lead adversarial parties toward a middle ground? Have you recently discovered the value in sharing control? Is your recovery something that has brought you to a happy medium in life? Are the days of excess behind you? The Temperance card is the Tarot's way of indicating that peace will not be arriving, because you already have it within you. When you are in that even place away from the harsh side of things, you will find that peace, and in unleashing it, exert the greatest amount of control over your world with the least amount of effort you could ever imagine.

An angel with large feathered wings stands at the water's edge of a lushly landscaped pond. Her right foot is dipped into the shallow water. Her left foot stands firm on the ground. On one side golden lilies blossom from out of the greenery. On the other is a path leading from the pond all the way through a verdant landscape to far-off mountains, toward a bursting yellow sunrise. The angel's gold crown and yellow hair pulsate with a halo. Her white robe has a golden triangle in a white square embossed in the center of her chest. In each hand she holds a golden chalice and she is pouring water from one to the other, her gaze fixed on the stream of her own design.

This card is linked closely to the cards before and after it in the Tarot deck, serving as a buffer between uncontrollable destruction and self-destruction. The card before it is Death, #13, featuring a gloomy sunset indicating that things have ended for good. The same sunset on the right side of that card is rising here on the left side of this card. The card after it is The Devil, #15; the winged angel has transmogrified into a winged devil and the two chalices here are two enslaved pleasure-seekers. The Tarot's sophisticated pace gives us the peaceful respite that only an oasis can bring. Everything in this card speaks of balance, equity and repose. The golden triangle is an ancient symbol of healing. That stream of water between the two cups is the act of finding the right balance between two sides, giving everyone their fair share. With all the gloomy drama surrounding this card in the deck's natural order, there is a healthy dose of serenity throughout this illustration.

Meaning in Past, Present and Future Positions

Each Tarot reading features an examination of your past, your present and your future. Specific locations in the reading lock the card that lands there into a description of one of these time frames.

When the Temperance card lands in your past position, there is a foundation of calm in your world. Your childhood had a peace to it that has lent itself to ensuring that the ever-maturing present is never too rattled. This could also be an indicator of an incident in the recent past when you showed a great degree of integrity and character in a situation that you could have easily tilted to your advantage.

In the present position, you are finding common ground in a dispute. This is a great card to appear if you are going through a divorce and custody battle. You can feel confident that, moving forward, things will be equitable despite past disagreements. We often cling to our more extreme positions out of a fear of what life will be like were we to move toward the mainstream. Temperance insists that in abandoning extremism, you will actually be happier, will not miss the past at all and may find a greater degree of acceptance for who you are and what you believe. The stubborn side of your character will be replaced with tolerance when Temperance appears in the present position.

This is one of the most welcome cards in the Tarot deck when it is in the future position. No matter how tense your struggles are now, or how forgettable your past may appear, the future is a sunrise of peace and well-being. If you are ill at present, this is a great card, reflecting stamina and physical health are on their way. Many people seek a Tarot reading as entertainment, but almost as many seek it in times of great crisis. Tarot readers delight in seeing the Temperance card in the future position as they get to give their client great news about his or her days ahead.

Card Combinations

When the Tarot cards are dealt out, the group speaks as a whole. The presence of one card will influence the other cards. Certain cards match up well and change each other's meaning a little … or a lot!

Temperance (Tarot Card #14) is most closely related to The Emperor (Tarot card #4). Whereas The Emperor card exerts control from an inherited position of leadership, Temperance effuses a self-control that has been learned and earned. When The Emperor appears in a reading with Temperance, a mastery of your passions leads to a major career breakthrough. Learn more about the connection that Temperance shares with the other cards numbered four in the Tarot deck.

When The Tower is in a reading with Temperance, your self-control is challenged by events in the outside world that you could never have planned for. The forces of chaos will take you out of your normal day-to-day existence, but will you really be that rattled?

The Nine of Pentacles is a card that complements Temperance. This is the card of being blissfully enraptured with material success to the point that you may not see how it has entrapped you. With Temperance, the wisdom to leave behind excessive behavior produces a material security without the obsession for big spending.

The Three of Wands is a card of wanderlust that is aided by Temperance in any reading that occurs before you begin setting out on an adventure. You will have a fun time without it being so wild that it risks your personal security.

When your reading features The Star accompanying Temperance, look for a great dose of artistic inspiration to lead you in a creative direction. You can accomplish quite a bit under the energy of this reading, especially if you are in the middle of a project for work or are working toward a college degree. The Star inspires, but we can often dissipate this energy with partying and casual effort. Temperance delivers the diligence to manifest a great result out of a good idea.

13 Death

Amidst the shuffled Tarot deck, there is a card that nobody wants to see. Let's face it; this is not a popular subject. And if you feel bad for the poor Tarot card reader who pulls it from the deck, imagine the dread this card creates in the person who receives it in his or her Tarot reading. The most important thing to remember about the Death card is that it represents the coming of many possible types of death, not the physical one whose inevitability we all fear.

Under a slate gray sky, on a pale white horse, a yellowed skeleton in black armor rides across a landscape. Beneath him, one sees a dead body laid out, a corpse whose crown has fallen from its head. A small baby and an adolescent girl kneel at the hooves of the marching horse, not fighting their fate. A bishop in ornate robes stands praying, but from the viewer's vantage point, we see he is in the path of the horse. The horse's bridle is leather and adorned with skulls. In his right hand the skeleton holds the reins and steadies the horse ahead. In his left hand he carries a mast; its flag is black with a white five-petal flower blooming. Off in the distance is a lake or sea with a large warship, its giant sail most prominent, but still almost a speck. The sun is setting at the card's far right. It is perfectly aligned between the two watchtowers featured in The Moon card.

There is little redemption in the scene depicted on this card. The people are dead or dying. Neither surrender nor prayers seem to help. The triumphant flag is to be planted as a flower on one's grave, cold and colorless. The warship off in the far distance lets us know that the littlest incident in our past may have led to this current state of utter immolation. The horse's leg is raised in a slow march on a certain path, so nothing there will be spared.

But there is some good news:

The sun has not completely set
This is an indication that the sweeping changes surrounding you are providing some opportunity. Changes that cannot be stopped are ones that can at least be harnessed and from which you can benefit.

The sky is gray, not black
Tarot cards that feature black skies are the ones that give us no way out. The gray sky is one of neutrality. The powerful and permanent changes that are taking place might adversely affect you, and they might not. If change is not your enemy, you may not mind the change symbolized by the Death card that is on its way.

The skeleton is looking outward, but not directly at the viewer of the card
This is not a card that signals "your" death. It is a card that signals a definite ending, an absolute transition and an elimination of much of the past. It is the death of the way things have been, but you will be around to be part of the new order of things.

Meaning in Past, Present and Future Positions

Your Tarot reading is divided into sections: your past, your present and your future. Where a card lands affects what it means to you and to your overall reading.

Death is probably best in the past position. This indicates that you have gone through a wrenching change that involved loss and a helpless inability to do anything about it. Whether it was a childhood scar or a recent breakup, this card here is solidified as no longer being able to capture you. It may be the concrete foundation on which your present situation rests, but it is most definitely not a surface that will come back to haunt you in anything other than bad memories. The permanence of what happened is lessened in power by the finality of it all.

In the present position, this card indicates that you are paring down to the minimum to deal with a massive change in your life. You may be breaking up or under great duress. You might be worried about your job and out of touch with the world around you as obsessions about the economy become preoccupations. You might be involved with a foreclosure or other tragic loss of personal property. One thing about the Death card is that it is impossible to fight. You might want to consider accepting the fate that has occurred and seek to work within it today for a happier tomorrow.

The Death card landing in the future position is ironic in that we are all going to die. But in the near-term future, this is more an indicator of the impending death of a close friendship or previously strong relationship. If you have a secure job, check again. Perhaps you should start reading up on business websites to see if your company is financially strong and economically sound.

Card Combinations

Your Tarot reading features a few cards from the deck interacting precisely to ensure that cards influence each other.

Death is a powerful card. It is hard to mitigate the absolute changes it delivers, but other cards in the reading can give specifics in regards to where the changes it has in store will most likely affect you.

The Empress card is the most closely allied with Death. She is card #3 and he is card #13. She represents abundance, he represents plight. When she and he are in your reading together, look for an unexpected windfall to have more disastrous consequences than benefits. Learn more about the connection that Death shares with the other cards numbered three in the Tarot deck.

When Death and The Hermit card appear together, your feelings of frustration center on the end of a good time in your life. These feelings are compounded because you have been left alone and unable to properly cope with overwhelming transitions. This card pairs well with The Tower in that you are at least assured that you did very little to cause all of the endings in your world. You do not have to take responsibility for the weather nor for acts of a divine nature.

The Moon is an intense complement to Death because its twin towers are pictured on both cards. A point in life may be reached where you are so emotionally disrupted that you need to make radical changes in your world. The combination of the Moon's emotional hunger and Death's transformation drives many people to finally make that great change in their lives, be it to end an abusive relationship, quit smoking or move to a better part of town. The Moon signifies the emotions of many years finally bubbling over like hot water in a boiling pot. The Death card makes that change actually occur.

12 The Hanged Man

Is he in danger? Did he put himself there? How did The Hanged Man get so tangled up? If you are receiving a Tarot reading, The Hanged Man card is a strong message from the universe that the option of surrendering is always open to you. It might, in fact, be the quickest way to a complete and total victory.

A man is upside down. His right ankle is tied to a tree branch and his torso spans the length of the trunk. He is awake, and alertly stares at the viewer. His left leg is bent at the knee, crossed behind his straightened and bound right leg. His hands are not visible and are behind his waist. Most interestingly, he has a halo like those seen in medieval paintings of saints and his long blonde hair stretches downward, obscuring the top of his spiritual crown.

The Hanged Man has put himself in this position and there is no way he can win. And yet, that halo lets us know that he may be about to claim a sizable victory. He was not attacked, nor forced to be where he is, nothing is disheveled besides his hair hanging down due to simple gravity. With his hidden hands, he is not letting us see his manipulation of the situation. His bent leg indicates that he is getting quite comfortable being helpless.

Personification

With some cards in the deck, the question may arise as to whether this card illustrates you (the person receiving the Tarot reading) or if it is a depiction of someone in your life. It is critical for you to be brutally honest about your behavior, your character and your tendencies when discussing the possibilities of a card's personification. If The Hanged Man represents you in your reading, you are being advised by the Tarot deck to surrender, to change course or to let the universe solve a situation without your input.

If this card instead represents someone in your life, you are being informed about manipulations that may be taking place and the overall strategy of a person with whom you are engaged in a battle. The insidious nature of The Hanged Man card personifying someone else in your reading is that you often do not realize that this person is your enemy. The inherent helplessness and seeming victim status of The Hanged Man as illustrated by the card is, fundamentally, a mask about the reality of the situation and the person behind it all.

Meaning in Past, Present and Future Positions

A Tarot reading places cards into positions of the past, the present and the future. The Hanged Man in the past position underscores that your current situation began with a letting go, a retreat, a foregoing of pleasure or reward in order to not be controlled by simple temptations. You are where you are now because of a decision to leave things behind or let them all settle themselves. In the present position, you are being urged to avoid conflict. Sometimes an enemy so dearly wants a fight that the way to defeat this person is to deny him or her that one thing that is most deeply desired. To withhold the confrontation is to be the winner in these situations. In the future position, The Hanged Man foretells of a coming battle and advises you to not be seen as an active aggressor.

Although the Tarot deck is hundreds, if not thousands of years old, The Hanged Man card is often drawn when condo association meetings are getting chaotic and disagreeable or when a cranky neighbor is threatening the peace and stability of those around them. The Hanged Man reminds us that the best victories are often battles avoided while an enemy destroys himself.

Card Combinations

As a member of the deck's Major Arcana, The Hanged Man dominates most of the cards around him. Suited cards are often sublimated in the presence of a member of the Major Arcana. When there are lots of Sword cards around The Hanged Man, an argument or litigation is building to a climax and the need to be passive is quite pronounced. Combining Cups cards with this card serve notice that being the pursuer in a romantic relationship will lead to disastrous consequences while being the one on the receiving end of a seduction could lead to extraordinary pleasure.

Pentacles and The Hanged Man are a warning from the Tarot that you might be controlled by greed and that the best way to make money is to follow your bliss and approach material possessions as needs instead of wants. Cards from the Suit of Wands in a reading with The Hanged Man are an indicator that your creative pursuits are in need of work and refinement. People in the creative fields who see this combination are often thinking of signing with a manager or promoter and this is the Tarot deck's way to scream a negative warning about such an agreement. Patience and passivity will bring a better offer and a more honest businessperson may come your way.

The Hanged Man combines well with some of the more nefarious cards of the Tarot deck. When The Devil card appears with The Hanged Man, it may be easy to kick a drinking or smoking habit by going cold turkey. When The Hanged Man combines with The Tower card, a roommate situation will resolve itself and you need not get into a battle. This combination also indicates that accepting a foreclosure of a property and moving on might be the best course of action in a real estate investment gone sour.

When The Hanged Man is in a reading with The Empress or The Emperor, a domineering woman or man in your life is best dealt with by passivity instead of confrontation. Bore the bossy people and they will look for others to boss around. The number twelve card of the Tarot deck, The Hanged Man is the higher echo of the number two card, The High Priestess, a Tarot card devoted to submitting one's self to the knowledge of an all-powerful universe. This submission reaches its zenith with The Hanged Man giving, letting go and letting what is to happen simply happen. Learn more about the connection that The Hanged Man shares with the other cards numbered two in the Tarot deck.

11 Justice

When it is time for you to do the right thing, make a big move that involves absolutes or to accept responsibility for some of your actions and move on, the Tarot deck will reveal the Justice Card in your reading. There is little you will be able to back out of once you set the course demanded by the Tarot's Justice.

She sits on an unadorned stone seat, wearing the red robes of a servant to the court and a simple crown on her head. Hanging between two gray stone pillars, a cloth behind her obscures a golden sky. In her left hand is a scale, evenly balanced. In her right hand is a sword held upright.

The robe and crown denote her status as a servant above the reprimands of authority but beholden to the law. The scales represent opposing arguments, both sides of the story, the possibilities of what will happen depending on the choices you make. The sword represents the finality of the decision you will make – the sword will cut the possibilities of other things happening.

Meaning in Past, Present and Future Positions

Each Tarot reading finds cards landing in positions representing your past, present and future. When the Justice card lands in the past position, the foundation of your current situation can be traced to a decision you made a while ago. Be it marriage, divorce, having children or leaving home for college, think as to what it might have been. The choice that you made then was the definite beginning of a new chapter of your life and a severance with your past. Justice does not weigh in on whether you made a bad choice or a good choice. This card only weighs in to certify that your choice indicated an absolute break from the many possibilities life was offering you.

In the present position, the Justice card represents a situation facing you that requires a decision. The card alone does not indicate the specific nature of the decision you are being moved to make. It could be a decision involving your educational future, your love life, the path a good friendship might be taking, the purchase or selling of real estate, taking a particular job – it could be something epic in your life plan or something that appears to be a small decision in the scheme of things. The presence of the Justice card in your Tarot reading indicates that your coming decision is an irreversible one and that your free will in making it will be a force that pours a foundation on which the rest of your life may be setting.

When the Justice card appears in the future position of your Tarot reading, the things that you are working on in your life now are inevitably leading you toward having to make a big decision. We think of many things in life as solid, but no matter how firm they are, most things are fleeting or transitory. The deepest friendships of our youth are affected by geography and the shift of what we choose to do with our lives. These shifts are imperceptibly slow, but it is as if they do not actually change until we notice that they are changing; by then they are too far removed from what they once were to ever be again as we lived them. The Tarot is telling you to get ready for a big change no matter how minor a decision you are about to make.

Card Combinations

The cards that are placed into your reading influence one another. Each card informs other parts of the reading and is strongest in impacting the cards dealt closest to it.

When Justice appears in a reading with The Magician card, someone who is trying to get you to make a decision is misleading you. It is important to get all the facts. When The High Priestess is paired with Justice, someone close to you has all the answers to give you the best advice possible at this time, but you will have to approach this person.

As resolute as the Justice card is in indicating that a coming decision is bound to have an impact, it can be a maddening riddle regarding what the decision will be – is the card indicating the decision to make an appointment for another Tarot reading next month or the decision to move in with your boyfriend early next year?

If there are many cards from the same suit in your reading, this is a good indicator of what Justice is declaring as your coming impactful decision. Pentacles are cards that underscore the material plane. Lots of these cards in a reading with Justice indicate a big financial decision is looming.

When the suit of Swords figures prominently in your reading and the Justice card is present, the coming impactful decision will definitely be announced to those that will be feeling its effects. If the suit of Cups is all over your reading along with Justice, the decision you make regarding a love relationship will shape the rest of your life. A reading that sees the Justice card in the presence of many cards from the suit of Wands indicates that a business or creative decision made soon will have a measurable impact on your career for years to come.

The Justice card has a special relationship with the Aces of each suit. Be it the Ace of Pentacles, Swords,Cups or Wands, the presence of any Ace in a reading with the Justice card gives the decision you are about to make a special blessing – a little luck in your corner as you severe the path to the past and move forward on your journey.

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