In the Minor Arcana of Tarot, “traps” are like pitfalls or misunderstandings that readers can fall into if they’re not careful. Here are a few common ones to watch out for:
Taking Things Too Literally:
Each card has its traditional meanings, but if you stick too closely to them without considering the bigger picture of your reading, you might miss important nuances.
Ignoring Reversed Cards:
Sometimes, cards show up upside down, indicating different meanings than when they’re in their upright position. Ignoring these card reversals could mean missing out on crucial insights or warnings.
Forgetting about Suit Meanings:
Each suit (like Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles) brings its own vibes and themes, based on elements like fire, water, air, and earth. Not paying attention to these can leave gaps in your understanding of the Tarot spread.
Focusing Only on Numbers:
Numbers in the cards do matter, but it’s essential to blend them with other aspects like symbols, context, and your gut feelings. Over-relying on just the meaning of the numbers can oversimplify things.
Being Too Set in Interpretations:
Viewing the Minor Arcana as set in stone can limit your ability to see how they interact with each other in a spread. It’s good to stay flexible and open to different meanings and connections.
Avoiding these traps means staying open-minded, trusting your intuition, and blending traditional meanings with your personal insights for a more balanced reading.
Suit of Wands
- Stubbornness and pressure on others.
- Doubts, fluctuations between the two poles.
- Frivolity.
- Rest on our laurels. To believe that peace has come forever.
- Dodging a fight, giving up your position before it comes to battle.
- To ossify in the achieved state, to identify with the triumphant and not want to move on.
- Anything that is not 100%.
- Act as if you have an eternity ahead of you.
- You are tired. Your attention is dulled.
- Invincibility for the sake of invincibility.
King. Stubbornness, pride, fanaticism, scams generated by passion and bringing misfortune.
Queen. Pride, stubbornness. Errors generated by them.
Knight. Not knowing the ford, sticks into the water.
Page. Enjoy your own weakness.
Suit of Cups
- Actions conditioned only by feelings. The danger of being buried under emotion.
- Unification of fate with someone for the sake of inferior goods (marriage of convenience).
- Excessive passion for feelings.
- Reject the offer of heaven if it initially aroused a mixed feeling. Blindness to new opportunities.
- Remain in your sorrow. Those who only look back do not notice love, even if it is near.
- Put your group above others. Hostile opposition.
- Follow imagination without analyzing.
- Follow the path of least resistance. Convenience.
- The pursuit of happiness.
- Inability to distinguish between desire and fulfillment. Make the fulfillment of a cherished desire dependent on external circumstances.
King. Manipulation with feeling, allowing yourself to be manipulated.
Queen. Take whatever they give. Self-deception. Excessive compliance. Listen only to the voice of feelings.
Knight. Extortion through emotions.
Page. Avoid deep feelings for fear of losing control. Superficiality. Aesthetics as an escape from reality.
Suit of Swords
- A sword in the service of base interests. Violence as a solution to all problems.
- Seeming inner peace.
- Be afraid of pain.
- Expecting something easy.
- Believe that inner dignity is a guarantee of success in life.
- Get carried away with immediate benefits.
- Intrigue and cunning as the main tool in life.
- Do not recognize the interference in time.
- Excessive cruelty, vindictiveness.
- Hold on to what lies in ruins.
King. Protect base or selfish interests.
Queen. One-sided career orientation. Clan coexistence issues can lead you away from the inner truth.
Knight. Deliberate insult.
Page. The student tries to pretend to be a master.
Suit of Pentacles
- Fixation on a certain form, certain benefits.
- If your character is described by the number “zero”, you risk to seem spineless.
- Do something without love and carelessly.
- Stubbornness, inertia.
- To ossify in the habitual, eternal discontent.
- Give more than you can. Take more than you could give.
- Get bogged down in meaningless work, not having the strength to stop.
- Don’t see the forest behind the trees. Get into the web of success and limit yourself to it.
- Put on rose-colored glasses and not notice the truth. Making someone better than they are.
- An attempt to keep “today” for the sake of its completeness and wealth.
King. All attention is only material.
Queen. To lock herself in four walls for fear of leaving them.
Knight. Excessive gullibility and immobility.
Page. Freeze in place.
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I can’t understand how some people focus solely on numbers in Tarot readings. There’s so much more to consider!
Exactly! It’s surprising, isn’t it? Tarot cards are packed with symbols, emotions, and connections that go far beyond just the numbers. Each card tells a story, and it’s the combination of these elements that really brings depth and meaning to a reading. It’s like trying to understand a painting by only looking at the frame!
I think to avoid these traps, it’s crucial to consider the broader context, trust intuition, and integrate both traditional meanings and personal insights.
Absolutely! By doing so, you ensure a more nuanced and comprehensive reading. This approach allows for flexibility and deeper understanding, making your interpretations more accurate and meaningful. It’s about balancing established knowledge with your own intuitive responses to the cards, ultimately leading to better guidance and insight.