WTF is Tarot?: ...& How Do I Do It?

by Bakara Wintner

The first thing I ask people when the Five of Swords appears is if they would ever, in a million years, treat someone else the way they are treating themselves right now.

This card speaks to the cruel, cutting and downright twisted ways that we abuse ourselves.

The Six of Swords calls us to move away from the past with the promise of clarity and abundance ahead—and in this card we are already on the way out.

Disarming the Swords’ ability to harm us is the task of this card, and sometimes that means dropping them altogether.

Oftentimes this card will show up as a sign of travel, or taking physical distance in order to gain perspective. Another possibility of the Six of Swords is the achievement of mental harmony and experiencing delight at the fruits of our intellect.

When the Seven of Swords is pulled in a reading, either you are being dishonest or someone is being dishonest with you. This card is a bummer.

You’re being the worst, and when the truth comes out someone is going to get hurt.

we are asked to examine our motivations here to determine if it is really worth continuing on this way.

Sometimes this card can point to a person being dishonest with themselves, or withholding something for the sake of self-protection.

The Eight of Swords speaks to a fear-based paralysis that can translate to others as laziness.

damaged thought process brought us to this place, so it is safe to conclude that more thinking will not solve this predicament.

Small steps, methodical action and setting short-term goals will, over time, reverse the self-imposed bondage of this card.

One of the most dark and bizarre cards of the tarot, the Nine of Swords has been interpreted with various levels of severity.

Tensions are high, anxiety is on fleek and stress levels are off the charts, but this card usually presents itself in readings as a sort of detox.

This card can manifest as insomnia or nightmares, insane thoughts or feelings of disquiet that are not necessarily tied to the present moment.

Let it run its course, because it will, and in the meantime consider seeking extra support and try to remember that your thoughts do not define you.

Shit sucks, you’re at an all-time low, but you are unequivocally still alive.

You’ve failed to heed the warnings of the earlier Swords, instead charging ahead in your victimization, self-sabotage and dishonesty, and have eviscerated yourself in the process.

All the advice you didn’t take, help you didn’t ask for, support you didn’t seek out—get on that.

Cut your losses, learn from your mistakes and accept the bitter but crucial lesson of humility this card teaches us. There’s nowhere to go but up, my friend.

water / summer / daytime / months

The suit of Cups embodies emotions, love, healing, fulfillment and romance, and the journey of the suit encompasses the experiences of our emotional landscape.

The Cups ask us to go inside and take stock; they are an invitation to know ourselves better and, consequentially, connect more authentically with others.

A sweet card of self-love and renewal, the Ace of Cups offers us some much-needed hydration after the draining and sometimes futile expedition of the Swords.

the Ace gives us the initial taste of the Cups’ qualities, and with it, hope.

While the Ace of Cups does not signify a romantic relationship, it establishes the foundation needed to cultivate healthy connections with others.

The baby of The Lovers card, the Two of Cups shows a promising new connection, typically of the romantic variety.

Both parties have something to offer each other that may be different in content but equal in value.

Whether you are turning up, staying in, working, devastated, experiencing a crisis or doing nothing—it is better and easier simply because these people are with you.

A card that speaks to a soul-level connection between people, it shows up to tell us we are surrounded by people who have our back, who want to show up for us, who will be there through thick and thin. Let them in. Allow the nourishment that can be delivered only by true friendship.

You are surrounded by emotional abundance, support and sustenance that you refuse to see. Rather, you are focusing on what you don’t have.

Nothing drains a relationship faster than lack of generosity, and this card is a gentle urging to look around and gain some perspective.

this card speaks to residual sadness and the inability to move on. While it may point to a recent loss, it can also reveal a hurt that was never properly processed.

You may be reading for a fully functioning adult, but there is a strong possibility that in this place they are transported back to an injured, younger version of themselves.

The gift of the Five of Cups is that it presents an opportunity to feel our heart, even when it is heavy and broken, and there is beauty in that. The only way out is through.

sweet energy of the Six of Cups.

The only through line of this card, in my experience, is that it asks to look back.

is not uncommon for the Six of Cups to speak to family karma, shadow inheritance and ancestral baggage.

Either way, there is something to gain by reflect...

the Six of Cups is an invitation to remember.

The experience of the Seven of Cups is that of having multiple layers of skin peeled off—unburdened of ego, we are overwhelmed by the beauty of the world.

The surrender of the Seven of Cups can be an antidote for taking yourself too seriously or not stopping to smell the roses.

At best, you are indecisive, non-committal and identify a little too strongly with Drake songs. At worst, you are flirting with addiction, escapism and retreating into a strong fantasy life.

Most likely, it is time to get grounded.

Similar to the Six of Swords, Six of Wands and Seven of Wands, the Eight of Cups revisits the idea of letting go of something that isn’t serving us.

The broken relationship, behavior or situation depicted here leaves us heartbroken, devastated and laid bare.

The red flags, the moments of clarity and the invitations to let go before it reached this point were ignored.

There is nothing left for you here. Put the ruins behind you.

The most obvious meaning of this happy card is fertility, gestation and pregnancy, both in the literal and metaphorical sense.

You are in a period of contentment, joy and comfort.