Sometimes you can pull some cards, and you understand each one, more or less, but they don’t quite land as a whole. They sit there in front of you as separate ideas, and this is often the point where we fall back on keywords, guidebook meanings, and interpret each card individually. Which is fine, but it doesn’t feel very fluent.
I’ve been working on a 3-card spread that has really helped me to bring the cards together with a bit more fluency. It was based initially on the idea of “if this, then that” as a way of following a thought through the cards, rather than stopping and starting with each card. It avoids sentences that start: “This card means…”
3 cards – One train of thought
The reading starts with a ‘yes’ card that points to the subject matter of the spread or what you need to know about the question or situation at hand.
The second card is the ‘and’ card, which expands on the ‘yes’ although in my experience, this is sometimes the ‘but’ card. Because often that’s what we do in a conversation when we hear something that we need to know. We say “yes, but…”. This card can show up as resistance, contraction or a simple block to the ‘yes’ card.
And finally comes the ‘so’ card. This is the ‘what next?’ card or sometimes the ‘so what?’ card.
I’ve been using it in my daily readings for a while now, and I’ve noticed that it has shifted the way that I read. It encourages a much more conversational style and produces a much more coherent ‘answer’.
Here’s the framework
Card 1: YES
What is already true? What do I know or need to know? What is present or unavoidable? What is asking to be acknowledged?
Card 2: AND / BUT
What complicates or adds depth? Does this feel like expansion (AND) or contraction (BUT)? Is it supportive or does it bring friction? What shifts the meaning of the YES?
Card 3: SO…/SO WHAT?
What follows from this? What matters now? What is the invitation, action, or perspective shift? So What?
Here’s how the conversation goes
First pass: A quick-fire read of the cards in one sentence … Yes, and so… straight off the top of your head helps to identify the core thread running through the cards, finishing with some direction in the ‘so’.
Second pass: Turn the cards into a deeper conversation, at which point you can draw on card systems and meanings to illustrate and get into the detail of the thought thread.
Prompt: A takeaway thought or actionable challenge that brings the reading to life and focuses on personal choice and possibility.
Here are some real examples
Yes, Wheel of Fortune, and 8 of Pentacles… so Temperance
First pass: Yes, so much may feel chaotic and out of your control right now, and yet you are still expected and required to show up and keep going, so finding some calm, steady practice or focus of activity can help you stay centred while everything around you spins.
The Wheel of Fortune X
8 of Pentacles
Temperance XIV
Second pass: Yes, it can feel as though the world around you is spinning out of control. Things are happening that sit far outside your influence, and sometimes it feels as though the world is on fire while you are still expected to show up every day for work, for family, for friends, for all the ordinary roles and responsibilities of life.
Sometimes that can feel futile or exhausting, just carrying on with the job at hand while the world keeps turning. But the 8 of Pentacles suggests there is actually something grounding in continuing to focus on the work in front of you, whatever that work or that role may be. You can find calm and comfort in small acts of attention, routine, and presence. And you can make a difference.
Temperance reminds us to seek the calm at the centre of it all, like the still point at the centre of the wheel. Practising some balance, some steadiness, some conscious stillness can help us stay grounded and connected to ourselves and others, while so much around us feels uncertain or beyond our sphere of control.
Prompt: What can you focus your energy on today that will help ground you and keep you steady, so that the chaos around you and in the wider world does not pull you completely off centre?
Yes, 2 of Swords, and 6 of Wands… so 6 of Pentacles
First pass: Yes, it’s to come off the fence about something and move forward with confidence and conviction, and belief in the direction you are taking… so you need to make that choice from a place of abundance rather than fear, trusting that there is enough support, enough value, and enough good stuff available to you.
2 of Swords
6 of Wands
6 of Pentacles
Second pass: Yes, this feels like a moment that calls for decisiveness and commitment, and you may have been agonising over something for a while now. The Six of Wands is not hesitant energy. It asks you to choose a direction and stand behind it fully. Part of what gives people confidence in us is not perfection, but confidence and leadership. If you are constantly second-guessing yourself or holding back, other people feel that uncertainty too.
The Six of Pentacles suggests that if anything is holding you back, it may be a scarcity mindset. A fear that there is not enough money, enough security, enough permission, or enough worthiness for you to move forward properly. But this card reminds you that abundance flows through giving and receiving. You do not have to do everything alone. You are allowed to accept support, opportunities, kindness, and generosity, just as much as you are willing to offer them to others.
So perhaps the real shift here is not simply making the decision, but making it from a different mindset, not from fear, scarcity, or self-protection, but from openness, trust, and the belief that there is enough room for you to succeed too.
Prompt: Where in your life are you hesitating because of fear or scarcity thinking, and what might change if you trusted yourself enough to move forward wholeheartedly?
Don’t have a Tarot deck?
You don’t necessarily need a tarot deck for this one. You could use it as a journaling exercise by simply sitting with the structure itself:
Yes… And / but… So…
What’s true? What else is true? And what follows from that?
… and see where the train of thought takes you.
Or, if you’d prefer to work with cards, you can use my pick 3 cards below. Once the cards are face up, click on them again to explore each one in more depth. Have fun!
The High Priestess (Moon) & The Hierophant (Taurus)
The subtle moonlight
At first this Decanic ‘episode’ had me scratching my head a bit. I can immediately see where the Hierophant fits into the 6 of Pentacles picture ~ the concept of compassion, charity and the “church” and the gesture of the right hand of the Priest pointing above to the “on high” being mirrored by the right hand of the Benefactor in the 6 pointing down to the lowly below ~ but where does the Moon and The High Priestess sit with it all? Apart, that is, from the fact that The High Priestess sits naturally opposite the Hierophant ~ both the gatekeepers, or key keepers, of knowledge.
I have sat with it for a few days and found the connection to be subtle. A bit like moonlight and the Moon herself. Nothing came to me as terribly obvious or direct at first. In the moonlight you must adjust your eyes to the light in order to see the details.
Measured generosity
In the 6 of Pentacles, we see a wealthy man openly doling out charity to the needy with his right hand. In his left hand, he holds up a set of scales, suggesting balance but also that is some kind of measured activity. I get the impression of noblesse oblige ~ the responsibility that comes with privilege ~ from the Rider Waite Smith card. And also that this man is being seen to be doing the right thing.
The two unfortunates on their knees before him hold out their hands to receive charity from the rich man. In the background, we see a castle, symbolic of accumulated wealth and the security that provides.
Perhaps the influence of the Moon suggests that there is more going on here than at first meets the eye: an undercurrent. Is this a straightforward act of generosity towards those less fortunate than himself? How is he measuring out his charity, directing his compassion? What is the power dynamic in this card and how does it make you feel?
As with previous Decans, I have found it useful to look at some keywords to see what ideas it may spark about the Moon and Taurus, and the second Decan of Taurus.
Monthly cycles of initiation, growth, culmination, release and rest
Taurus ~ attributes
The Bull
Fixed
Earthy
Grounded
Sensuous
Materialistic
Enduring
Patient
Persistent
Driven
Determined
Steady
Solid
Stubborn
Resistent to change
Indulgent
Excessive
Possessive
Giving & receiving ~ without judgement
So, let’s start with this. The Moon is exalted in Taurus – she is at home in this house, the house of money earned, one of the two houses of Venus (the other being Libra, the house of relationship). That the Moon is so comfortable in Taurus is suggestive of emotional security and, it could be argued, it is only from a place of emotional security that we are able to truly can give and receive – without judgement.
Which reminds me of a quote by Brené Brown:
“Until we can receive with an open heart, we’re never really giving with an open heart. When we attach judgment to receiving help, we knowingly or unknowingly attach judgment to giving help.”
~ Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
I usually associate this quote with the 5 of Pentacles, and the idea that when you overcome the judgment that you place on yourself, when asking for and receiving help, you are then more able to truly enter into the true spirit of the six pentacles ~ giving with and open heart.
Considering the energetic value of it all
The 6 of Pentacles speaks about the true energetic value of money (as a means of exchange), resources, and of the distribution of that wealth in society and across the globe. We know that money itself has little or no intrinsic value. Money is just money. It is only useful to humanity when it is in circulation and only worth what you can exchange it for, or the good that you can do with in the world.
But it is all to easy to lose a grip on this idea when we are busy with the business of accumulating wealth, like the good workers we are raised to be.
This is something that Taurus knows much about and in my experience you can always rely on a Taurus to know the value of things and understand the value of any exchange. Driven, patient and persistent a Taurus also understands reciprocity and that what you put in directly affects what you get out of a situation.
May 1 is Labour Day ~ a likely coincidence?
As 1 May was approaching, and I was researching for this post, the following quote/tweet by the late Barbara Ehrenreich came up on one of my feeds. And it occurred to my how very synchronistic it is that International Labour Day ~ a day to celebrate workers’ rights and an opportunity to air economic grievances or political demands ~ should fall at the beginning of Taurus II.
“Labor Day wish: Please, no more talk of companies “giving” people jobs. In reality, the gift relationship goes in the opposite direction. Workers give their blood, sweat and tears, sometimes their lives, and in return companies pay them the minimum they can get away with.”
~ Barbara Ehrenreich (@B_Ehrenreich) sept 2 2018
And this is indeed the way that the world runs on a macro scale: the markets, institutions, whole nations. But is this dynamic Is it true in our day to day lives? Do we give the minimum that we can get away with when it comes to our jobs our personal lives, our relationships? Or does our effort wax and wane?
The moon is constantly and reliably changing
She waxes and wanes, like so many things in life: health, wealth and energy. The moon brings cycles of change to fixed Taurus. And fixed earthy Taurus ties the subtle moon down to actual intentional (ideally) compassionate action.
Deep down, on a sub-conscious level maybe we all know that when you help others you help yourself. When you hurt others, you also hurt yourself and everyone else. And today you may be a beggar or benefactor, employee or employer, but tomorrow the tables may turn.
Prompts for 6 of Pentacles ~ The Moon in Taurus
When considering work, health, finances, relationships…
Ask yourself:
How do you express your gratitude for the ‘wealth’ and abundance in your life?
How do you share your energy, time and resources with others?
Are you generous with what you have?
Do you give freely with an open heart or are you more measured?
Does the exchange of energy in your work and relationships feel balanced and healthy?
Are you getting as much as you are giving, or vice versa?
What can you do to improve that balance?
Observations and synchronicities ~ on Taurus II
I’m making a space here to return to over the coming days of Taurus II, to add any thoughts, ideas and synchronicities as they arise…
This post feels like it’s all over the place… like I’m trying to make too many points. But the whole Labour Day/Taurus II thing, I found very, very interesting.
It left me thinking about exchange on a macro and micro micro level and also the value of human dignity.
And, if you care to join me for this continuing solar return, you’ll find me on Facebook and Instagram hanging out on the corner of #decanwalk2024 and #decanastrology And I will be following @astroco_op and @tsusanchang
