Chased By A Card

I’ve been deepening my study of tarot lately, and part of it is the fact that I’ve started writing about Tarot on Collective.World. It would help me a ton if you’d go over there and read what I’ve written, but you’re under no obligation or pressure to do so. But — do remember that in the attention economy, clicks are king!

One of the great things about Collective.world is that they have some top notch astrologers and tarot readers over there, and I’ve found myself reading more and more of their stuff (just to make sure that I write things that are compelling to their audience).

What I write there is a bit of a different style to what I write here. What I write here in Meditative Tarot is more focused on other tarot readers and how people can engage with their own tarot decks. While on Collective.World I’m more focused on their readers as being querants — people who have questions to ask of the tarot deck. The piece that feels the most like it could be at home here is the one on 7 Powerful 3 Card Readings. I’ve been really enamored by three card layouts, and it was a delight to write about them.

I’ve been very much enjoying writing from the perspective of a tarot reader to a querant. A lot of readings have been focused on people’s Zodiac signs (it’s an easy way to make them more personal to someone), but some of them have also been based on MBTI personality types. There will be a few other ways I play with reading for people over there, so if you have something you’d like to see let me know.

What’s a Stalker Card?

As I’ve been doing readings for my columns I was reminded of the concept of follower cards, because there are a couple of cards that have come up repeatedly, asking me not-so-gently for personal attention. I heard the words ‘stalker card’ recently, but I’ve experienced a card that follows me throughout my decades of tarot use. I want to be clear I’m not talking about a card that indicates you HAVE a stalker — but a card that just keeps showing up — or won’t let you go.

I’ve had stalker cards leap out of the deck as I’m shuffling — literally flinging themselves out so that I’m forced to notice them. I’ve had cards show up in reading after reading for months. I’ve had cards whose characters arise in my thoughts like long-lost friends (and aren’t they my friends, at this point?).

I think these cards have special messages. Maybe it’s something that is attracting you to them (or them to you). Certainly it’s a good indicator for you to take a minute and give them some attention.

What does that card mean to you? Is there something compelling in the symbols that resonates with you? Can you think of a reason of WHY this card? How does it speak to your life — your goals, your current situation?

I’m going to ‘pick’ on Strength as it has been a bit stalkery with me lately (you can even see it in the above picture). In the standard Smith-Waite deck, Strength shows a woman leaning over a lion, closing its jaws.

There are a lot of details here that appeal to me. Strength is number 8 in the Major Arcana — the number of infinity, of abundance, rebirth, and cosmic consciousness. It’s also there in the lemniscate above her head. The woman is the one who is exhibiting strength here. Of course the lion is strong — but she is the one taming it. The lion is associated with the fiery Leo of the Zodiac — passionate, brash, and fixed in focus. Yet the maiden is associated with the balanced Libra.

Here is Strength, flowers cascading around her, clothed in a white gown, closing the fiery lion’s jaws. By tempering it she is focusing its energy through her calm assertiveness. She is not coercing it, nor does she temper it through cruelty — instead it is her steadfast love that has tamed it. There are mountains in the background which remind me of the long roads it takes to learn such loving patience as the woman exhibits. They are stable, they are sure. The color white is associated with purity, and the gown is a simple chemise style gown. There is grass around them — abundance surrounds them in this fertile area.

When I noticed that this card was ‘stalking’ me I contemplated what all of those symbols meant to me. Was there a place in my life where I needed to temper my own wilder energy? Was there a situation where a loving, steadfast approach would yield better results than a sudden one? Was I unable to see my own strength, and needed to be reminded of my own inner power? While the Strength card indicates a strong will and personal power — it’s also about judicious application of those attributes.

One of the things that always excites me about tarot is just how much it has to say about our lives and experiences here. It was enlightening to do readings for the MBTI personality types (I’m an INFP), because of the heavy Jungian association of both. I find a lot of comfort in the idea that so many of our experiences are echoed in the experiences of others, and throughout time. It can make moments we experience alone feel less lonely.