May 3 - Tarot Characters: Three of Swords (Pop Culture)

💔 The Three of Swords is heartbreak, grief, and the moments when love and loss meet in a way that can’t be ignored. It’s the piercing clarity that comes when something precious is taken, when a wound opens, and when the heart feels both ache and truth.

Here are three scenes that embody this card:

The Inner Light (Star Trek: TNG)

Captain Picard living an entire lifetime in a single day - loving, building a family, and watching it all slip away - is the Three of Swords distilled. The grief is profound, intimate, and quiet, showing that heartbreak often arrives not with a crash but with a subtle, relentless ache.

Three of Swords Vibes:
• Love and loss intertwined
• Grief experienced deeply and privately
• A life changed in the span of a moment

Ellie’s Story (Up)

The opening montage of Up portrays a lifetime of hopes, joys, and dreams, culminating in the heartbreak of loss. It’s sorrow born of depth, a reminder that the pain we feel is proportional to the love we’ve held.

Three of Swords Vibes:
• Love that leaves an indelible mark
• Grief inseparable from devotion
• Heartbreak that shapes a life

Wanda’s Grief (WandaVision)

Wanda holding onto an imagined life to keep her loved ones near embodies the Three of Swords in its rawest form. Her heartbreak radiates outward, reshaping reality itself, showing the power of loss to transform and isolate, yet also the first step toward healing.

Three of Swords Vibes:
• Pain altering perception of the world
• Love driving both creation and suffering
• Heartbreak as the catalyst for growth

Three of Swords Theme: Heartbreak is both a wound and a teacher - the ache reveals what truly matters.

May 2 - 👻 Tarot Myth #8: “Tarot Is Evil and Invites Spirits”

🧭 The Myth

“You’re playing with dark forces.” “Tarot summons spirits.” “That card has a skeleton on it!” “It opens a portal to the underworld via your coffee table.”

🕵️‍♀️ Where It Came From

• Spooky media tropes: Movies love to make tarot dramatic. Cue thunderclap every time Death appears.

• Religious suspicion: Some traditions view intuitive tools as threatening or “unclean.”

• Fear of the unknown: Symbolic systems often get labeled “evil” when misunderstood.

💡 The Reality

Tarot is a tool for self-reflection - not a haunted Ouija board from a 90s horror film. It’s a deck of illustrated cards. You shuffle them. You pull one. You reflect. The most mystical thing that usually happens is a moment of “oh… ouch, that hit.”

Yes, some readers work with spiritual guides or ancestors through tarot - but it’s by choice, not automatic. Tarot doesn’t summon spirits. It doesn’t curse your house. It won’t cause your bread to fall or your ex to text (unless you manifest recklessly).

🕯️ What If It Feels Spooky?

That’s valid. Tarot can bring up deep emotional truths - and that can feel intense. But that’s not evil. That’s growth. Like therapy, but illustrated and occasionally on fire.

If you ever feel uncomfortable, you can:

• Cleanse your space

• Set a clear intention

• Use a comforting deck

• Take a break (no one’s forcing you to read during a thunderstorm unless you want to)

🧠 Reader Prompts

• Have you ever felt spooked by a reading?

• What helps you feel safe and grounded with your deck?

• Do you use ritual or intention when you read?

✨ Final Thought

Tarot holds up a mirror. And sometimes the reflection is powerful. But you’re the one looking into it - not a ghost.

(Unless the card literally flies off the table and into your soup. In that case, maybe burn some rosemary just to be safe.)

May 1 - How to choose the cards

There are about as many ways to draw tarot cards as there are tarot readers - and every one of them swears their way is best.

Some people spread the cards out in a fan and choose whatever draws their eye. Some let their hands hover and wait for that quiet yes feeling. Others shuffle until a card jumps dramatically out of the deck - the “jumper” method - and take it as the card insisting it has something to say.

Then there’s the chaos option: shuffle, stop, and pull the top one. Or cut the deck. Or let one slide right off the table and call it fate (it’s amazing how often those fallers are spot-on).

The truth is, it all works. The deck doesn’t mind whether you pick neatly, riffle wildly, or let gravity decide. What matters is your intention - that quiet inner click that says, this card, right now.

If you’re experimenting, try different ways on different days. Notice how the energy shifts when you let the cards choose versus when you deliberately select. You might find your own method hides somewhere in the middle.

Closing question:
How do you draw your cards - precise, intuitive, or total happy accident?

Apr 30 - Ace of Pentacles (Images)

Ace of Pentacles Across Decks 🎴✨

A whole new world - a new fantastic point of view

The Ace of Pentacles is a new start, a new idea or job, a passion project for you to work on. Across decks, this is shown in different ways, but they all show the same idea.

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1. Gaian Tarot — real world beauty

In this card a young fawn lies hidden among ferns. Everything is new to this animal; it's ready to start exploring this beautiful world.

Ace of Pentacles Vibes:

• 🧪 Key themes: Beginnings, growth, potential, stepping into the unknown
  🎨 Emotional tone: Fresh, peaceful, quietly hopeful
  ✨ Unique: The fawn captures that fragile, early-stage energy - this isn’t a bold leap yet, it’s the moment just before it. It emphasises readiness rather than action, like the world is opening up and waiting for you to take that first step.

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2. Sugar Skull — Wild West vibes

The Sugar Skull tarot uses the tropes and imagery of the Wild West to present the cards. The Ace of Pentacles features an erupting oil rig - a literal source of life for the workers of the area, and a sign that there's plenty of work yet to do.

Ace of Pentacles Vibes:

• 🧪 Key themes: Opportunity, abundance, resource discovery, hard work paying off
  🎨 Emotional tone: Energetic, gritty, triumphant
  ✨ Unique: The oil rig reframes the Ace as something explosive and high-stakes. This isn’t a gentle beginning - it’s striking gold. It suggests that new opportunities can arrive loudly and demand effort, but the rewards are tangible and immediate.

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3. Lieselle's Eternal Tarot — Pips with mantras

Lieselle's Eternal uses mantras to help beginners get to know the cards. The mantra here is short and sweet; 'The new start'. The card reminds us that the only thing standing in our way is ourselves.

Ace of Pentacles Vibes:

• 🧪 Key themes: Self-belief, intention, new beginnings, personal responsibility
  🎨 Emotional tone: Focused, encouraging, quietly empowering
  ✨ Unique: The mantra strips everything back to the core idea - you decide to begin. It places the power firmly in your hands, suggesting that the real “seed” of this Ace is internal rather than external.

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Reflection:

Across decks, the Ace of Pentacles reminds us of the sheer joy a new project can bring - whether it arrives softly, suddenly, or because we choose it for ourselves.

When was the last time you felt that spark of possibility, like something new was just waiting for you to reach out and claim it?

Caption:
A new foundation takes root. 🌙✨

Apr 29 - The Lovers (Images)

The Lovers Across Decks 🎴✨

What if we rewrite the stars?

The Lovers is often seen as the card of romance, but at heart it's about making choices - choosing your person, your path or your new way of life. Across decks artists have imagined this in different ways.

Apr 28 - Creating your Traditional Deck

You don’t need a publisher or a Kickstarter to design a tarot deck - you just need ideas, symbols, and a spark of curiosity. Your deck can be hand-drawn, digital, collage, or scribbled on index cards with a half-dry marker. The point isn’t perfection. It’s expression.

Building your own deck is one of the best ways to get to know the tarot more deeply. Every choice you make - every symbol, colour, or character - reveals what you believe the cards mean.

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🃏 Step 1: Choose Your Vision

What kind of world do you want your deck to live in?

• Something traditional, re-imagined through your lens?

• Something surreal, mythic, or modern?

• A deck that celebrates a theme - nature, cities, emotions, cats?

If you’re unsure, start by noting what you love in existing decks. Do you prefer soft watercolours or sharp geometry? Gentle guidance or brutal honesty? That’s your aesthetic compass.

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🧩 Step 2: Start with the Majors

The Major Arcana are your deck’s backbone.
Sketch or list your first impressions:

• What image says “Fool” to you?

• What would your Tower look like - chaos or breakthrough?

• What kind of world sits behind your Star?

Don’t worry about getting it “right”. Tarot has been reinterpreted for centuries - you’re just the next link in the chain.

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🪄 Step 3: Build the Minors

Think about how your suits connect. Are they the classic Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles? Or do you want to rename them to fit your theme - Seasons, Elements, Stories, Dreams?

Keep a consistent system of symbolism and energy. (Or don’t. You’re the artist. Just make sure you can still read with it later!)

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🎨 Step 4: Bring It to Life

Decide on your medium - drawing, collage, digital art, mixed media. Or, if art isn’t your thing, build it symbolically with found images, or even words and key phrases.

You can print your cards at home, use online printing services, or create a digital reading version on your phone or tablet.

When you’ve finished a few cards, try a spread with them. You’ll instantly see where your imagery sings and where it still mumbles.

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🧠 Reader Prompts

• What would your Fool look like?

• Which card do you most want to redesign from scratch?

• Would your deck be serious, whimsical, or somewhere in between?

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✨ Final Thought

Creating a deck isn’t about art skill or technical perfection. It’s about dialogue - between you and the tarot, between symbol and soul. The cards you make will always read more honestly than you expect, because they speak your language.

Whether you craft a full seventy-eight cards or just sketch the ones that fascinate you, it’s your deck, your vision, your voice.

Closing question:
If you designed a deck today, what would be its theme - and what would you call it?

April 27 - 🎶 Tarot: The Musical!

The cards take the stage. There will be solos. There will be sequins. There will probably be a breakdown in Act Two.

Spring is in the air, and your tarot deck is ready for jazz hands and emotional key changes.
So grab your playbill and your velvet cloak - tonight, the cards are performing.

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🎤 Major Arcana: Lead Roles

The Fool – Opening number energy.
Big grin, wide eyes, spinning in circles as birds sing harmonies.
Song: “What Could Possibly Go Wrong?”
(Answer: Everything. But we love them.)

The Magician – The show-off soloist.
Wields all four suits like props in a magic show.
Song: “Watch Me Manifest This (Again)”
Choreography includes jazz hands and actual fireworks.

The High Priestess – Mysterious ballad queen.
Emerges from fog in Act One to sing the cryptic power ballad no one understands until Act Three.
Song: “Between the Veils”

The Lovers – The duet that becomes a trio that becomes a dramatic choice.
Lots of eye contact. Someone storms offstage.
Song: “Why Is This So Complicated (But Also Destiny?)”

The Tower – Act Two closing number.
The big one. The reveal. The twist. The stage collapses. The audience gasps.
Song: “I Warned You (But You Didn’t Listen)”

The Star – Hopeful 11 o’clock number.
Soft spotlight. Gentle melody. Everyone cries.
Song: “Stitching Light into the Dark”

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💃 Minor Arcana: The Ensemble

Wands – The dancers. High kicks. Chaos energy. Constantly on fire.
Cups – The emotional balladeers. Sing with teacups. Cry in harmonies.
Swords – The dramatic understudies. Constant solos. Often in minor key.
Pentacles – Tech crew. Stage managers. Keep the show running. Also the ones funding it.

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🎟️ Bonus: Court Cards as Cast Stereotypes

• Page of Wands – Has never hit a note but auditions every year with enthusiasm and glitter eyeliner.

• Knight of Cups – Only speaks in song lyrics. Has three roles and one doomed romance.

• Queen of Swords – Directs Act Two from the wings while muttering about blocking errors.

• King of Pentacles – Executive producer. Funds the whole thing. Brings snacks.

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✨ Final Thought:

Life is a stage. Tarot is your cast.
Some days you’re The Fool singing into the wind, some days you’re The Tower mid-key-change.

So ask your deck:

What role am I playing today - and what’s my next big number?

(And yes, The Chariot has a tap solo. Obviously.)