Real talk: Tarot can not predict the future. Ir you are here for a prediction, you are in the wrong place. These readings are about dealing with emotions, getting your head around life, understanding what the AF happened and figuring out the best way to move forward.
I’ve said it a zillion times: Tarot doesn’t tell you what will happen in life, it helps you figure out what to do when life happens.
This 3 card layout is inspired by the OG ‘past-present-future’ layout, but it doesn’t have anything to do with predictions or any sort of timeline. Even the classic layout wasn’t tied to any specific amount of time. The “future” part of the reading could cover days, weeks, years – anything.
That being said, I’ve been feeling pulled to work with this 3 card layout lately.
I still struggle with what to call this thing. If you have any brilliant ideas, I’d love to hear them – for now I call it the “Pathway” layout, but that is a little bit of a misnomer since the five card is really better for those “am I on the right path” kind of questions.
Maybe I should call it “The Stand” because it gives a read of the energy environment where you stand now, a retrospective look back and an idea of conditions ahead to help take the best step forward that you can.
In true TaoCraft manner, I see it in terms of yin and yang. Instead of the literal past, I see the first card as a diminishing energy, an influence poised to move into the past, an experience that you are moving past – that kind of past. I see it as fading, as yin.
Standing in the eye of the hurricane, the second card is current energy, hopefully a clear-eyed vies of right here, right now.
The third card is growing energy, increasing influence, the yang side of the equation.
Reading right to left (I’ll get back to that detail in another post) we see the fading energy is the four of cups, current energy is the Magician and the growing energy is the Moon.
With the four of cups, “entrenched” and “refusing” come to mind. It begs the question of who is or isn’t changing their mind. Are you stuck in a mindset, holding on to some old pain, revisiting old hurts, refusing to move on? Or, on the other hand, is this a matter of realizing you can’t control or influence another? You can communicate, try to convince – you can express every ounce of love and support that you have to give – but in the end you don’t control how other people feel or respond.
You aren’t responsible for the version of you that lives in other people’s head, as it’s been said. At some point we have to let it be. Let them be as they are, let go of your old pain, or accept that you aren’t yet done with that old pain.
The Magician is a card of manifestation and transformation. If you want to let go, let me or move on, conditions are good. The energy is in your favor to do exactly that.
That isn’t to say past hurt just disappears. The transformation of the magician card may well include integration of old hurts into a true and authentic you. I keep coming back to that Alan Watts quote that “You are under no obligation to be the person you were five minutes ago.”
I am also reminded of that meme going around “Don’t use A.I to create art. Use childhood trauma like a real artist.”
Now the the adage “Courage isn’t the lack of fear, it is doing what needs done in spite of it.” comes to mind.
This part of the energy is a little difficult to put into words. It isn’t suggesting to transform yourself into who you used to be, or to transform yourself into some future version of yourself that you imaging you want to be or should be – its about the process of becoming someone at peace with who they are now, no change or transformation required.
That kind of emotional transformation is powerful magic.
The Moon card draws us forward into that magic with a combination of its two threads of meaning. The Moon has been connected with spirituality and intuition. It has also been connected with cycles and natural phases.
In short, trust your intuition. I hear “it is rising and strong” Being at peace with the natural, changing phases of life.
We can create a brighter future by being at peace with this change energy and following our intuition through a ‘new normal’ We can’t change things that have happened. We can’t build on what was. We have to build on what is. We can only be where we are. As social media creator Tank Tolman says, you have to begin where you stand.
