Tarot Circle: Family Issues

This week, Ale from Germany has sent in her Celtic Cross reading for our Tarot Circle interpretation.

As with all Tarot Circle posts, I’ll provide my initial thoughts and then I’ll hand it over to you, the reader, to use the comments section to write what you see.

Remember there’s no right or wrong and you don’t have to be an experienced Tarot reader to comment.

The Question

Ale’s question is about her parents-in-law. She writes that she feels they have acted against her and her son, and so she has decided to move away and not see them anymore. While this was three years ago, Ale still finds it difficult to understand why they acted this way towards her son.

Ale asked the Tarot cards, “What was their real intention, to act like that to my son?”

We do need to be quite careful with this question as it relates to a third party who is not present for the Tarot reading and who has not provided their permission. This can raise issues of privacy and ethics which you can read more about here.

Ideally, we would rephrase this question to, “What does Ale need to know about the way in which her parents-in-law responded to her and her son?”

The Tarot Spread

Ale used the Celtic Cross spread, drawing these Tarot cards:

• Significator – Magician
• Crossing card – Wheel of Fortune
• Above – The World
• Below – Five of Pentacles
• Recent Past – Queen of Swords
• Near Future – Ten of Pentacles
• Advice – Six of Wands
• External influences – Page of Swords
• Hopes and fears – Tower
• Outcome – Four of Cups

Ale’s Interpretation of Her Tarot Reading

Ale has also provided her own interpretation of her Tarot reading.

• The Magician may describe that I am aware of my actions.
• The Wheel of Fortune suggests that karma will play a big role about it or there is not much to do about it.
• The Five of Pentacles  may indicate how I feel abandoned and unwanted about myself or about my son.
• The Queen of Swords describes my mother-in-law or her behaviour . She is being rational, cold, distant and never acts with such emotions. Or maybe it is my final action towards to them when I used  a sharp tongue to tell them my opinion about their attitudes.
• The World seems to be a good sign but maybe it is another indication for us to relocate again.
• The Ten of Pentacles suggests wealth and good fortune is on the way again.
• The Six of Wands may show me acting with self-confidence or seeing myself as winner
• The Page of Swords reflects my son. He has strong Aquarian qualities in his natal chart and he asks a lot of questions.
• The Tower highlights that I am afraid any sudden changes.
• The Four of Cups reflects that I don’t appreciate my in-law’s behaviour.

My Interpretation of Ale’s Tarot Reading

Firstly, I think Ale has done a great job at interpreting her own reading. Remember that the Tarot cards you draw often have specific messages just for you. That is, what you, as the reader, see in the cards first off is often what you are meant to know about those cards. Getting a second opinion often just confirms what you have already seen for yourself.

Nonetheless, let me add a few other observations and ideas to Ale’s interpretation.

If we go back to Ale’s original question, it was to ask why her in-law’s acted in this way. To me, this is more about the past actions of an external party, so the Recent Past card and the External Influences card will have the most relevance for answering her question.

The Queen of Swords in the Recent Past confirms that what was said and done by both parties came from a place of no emotion, rationality and perhaps even a cold heart as Ale has noted. While it would be easy to say this card reflects the mother-in-law alone, I do think it’s important to look at this card as an indication of the dynamic of the relationship. That is, both parties are responsible for how they have responded and upon reflection, Ale may also acknowledge that she too acted like the Queen of Swords.

The Page of Swords sits in the External Influences and as Ale noted, this probably reflects her son. Isn’t it interesting that we have both the Page and Queen of Swords here. Mother and son? Family ties? I see this as a subtle reminder that despite the family issues here, Ale’s son is still her mother-in-law’s grandson so Ale does need to acknowledge there is still a family connection. Her son still deserves to know who his grandma is and have that connection, even if it has been a little nasty as of late.

The Below card will also be important here as it relates to the underlying factors involved in the situation. The Five of Pentacles is about being left out in the cold and isolated. Perhaps Ale has been impacted by this situation because her in-laws have shown no sign of helping her and her son when they are in need. Perhaps Ale needed financial support, but they refused to provide it. She has been left to fend for herself and her son, and this is very disappointing and hurtful.

So, clearly a difficult situation. Let’s know focus on how to move forward by turning to the Advice card – the Six of Wands. Ale needs to hold her head high and just move forward now, feeling proud of herself and what she has accomplished. It is no use having nay-sayers in your life. Instead, the advice is to surround herself with positive people who support her.

And where to from here? The Four of Cups shows that she is unlikely to respond at all to her in-laws and I wouldn’t be surprised if there is no contact for several years given the hurt that has been caused. It doesn’t mean that there will never be any contact, but I suspect that she will not to be open to any sort of invitation for communication for a while.

Interesting, too, to see the Ten of Pentacles. If Ale has been suffering financially, then she is going to find a way to bring wealth into her life. Perhaps there is an inheritance, a new relationship with a wealthy man, a financial gift, or improvements in her own career and income.

What’s Your Read?

Over to you! How would you interpret these cards and the spread overall? What is your advice to Ale?

Post your response in the comments below. Use this as an opportunity to hone your Tarot reading skills or to get your opinion out there!

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