Facing the Future Through Astrology and Tarot
Most people see the word “astrology” and brush it off as a hoax. But what happens when the future can only be predicted through stars, planets, and cards?
BY: SARAH HILTON
Artwork by Daniel Gomes // THE UNDERGROUND
How many of you turn to religion, superstitions, or “lucky charms” when you’re in need of guidance or success? Maybe you’re watching a hockey game and you want to wear your “lucky jersey” so your team has a better chance of winning; or maybe you’re like me and you say a little prayer before an exam that you’ll get a passing grade.
These are little things we all take part in whether we notice it or not: calling to religion or a higher power only in times of need, but never on a regular basis as to be considered religious. But when you replace these practices with tarot readings or horoscopes, people usually react with skepticism and judgement because they’re being faced with pseudoscience.
It’s not like I’m ruling myself out of that group of skeptics, though. I’ve always had a curiosity towards astrology and tarot, but never knew where to start. The tarot readings I’ve done in the past always ended in some cryptic message that I could never find meaning in, and my daily Co-Star horoscopes had become even more ridiculous as the days went by. (What good is the horoscope “put your hands in actual dirt”?)
But I recently had a change of heart when my friend Victoria came to the conclusion that she’d received a tarot reading that actually foresaw her future; I realized that astrology had more power than I’d given it credit for.
“My friend Alana has this old school tarot deck from the 70s, and we decided to do a 10-card draw.” This spread, she explained, shows the reader an in-depth portrayal of their past, present and future, which she realized after the fact had been really accurate about what was to come.
“It was saying ‘you’re just coming out of a period of heartbreak,’ which I was, and that ‘you’re going to find your groove, you’re going to find success.’”
This was all true. Since that tarot reading, Victoria had published about ten poems, she had been accepted to her MFA program at NYU, and she was getting her first chapbook published this coming January. Her life was only going up just as the cards predicted.
“And then I pulled The Devil card, which basically means everything is going to be chaos. But when I look at life, that’s just on an overall because the pandemic hit, and there’s also civil unrest everywhere. So, with that card I was waiting for it to be a bad year, and then it was March, the day of my birthday, and we were about to go into lockdown.”
It certainly piqued my interest at the possibility that I could read my cards and potentially see what sort of fate was waiting for me tomorrow, next week, or however far into the future. I figured that maybe dabbling in tarot wouldn’t be the worst idea at a time like this.
We’re living in a time where more harm than good seems to be coming from everywhere at once as Victoria said, whether it be in the form of the pandemic or civil unrest. I can imagine all anyone wants is something positive to grasp onto, something to look forward to post-quarantine. But with the chaos of COVID-19 constantly rising and falling, we can’t know for certain that anything we’re looking forward to will actually happen. My impression of Victoria’s reading gave me the feeling that maybe astrology and tarot readings could relieve some of the uncertainty of quarantine life with daily guidance and potential predictions of the future.
Tarot can be defined as “a symbolic map of consciousness that encompasses our journey through life, both spiritually and practically.” From what I already knew, a tarot reading involves picking cards from a 78 card deck, 22 of which are from the Major Arcana (e.g. The Fool, The Magician, Death, The Hieropian, The Sun) which represent “The Fool’s Journey.” The remaining 56 cards come from the Minor Arcana which is divided into four suits (Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles) that range from Ace through Ten, plus the four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, and King).
When it comes to reading the cards, my understanding is that any spread is valid so long as you’re asking the cards a question you need answers to. This could be as simple as a one-card draw, or as complex as a 15-card spread.
My most recent card reading was a simple one-card draw in which I asked how I could improve my quality of life in quarantine. The card I pulled was the reversed Ten of Swords from the Minor Arcana. This supposedly indicates that the reader is “combating an inevitable change or ending,” or that the card is “a welcome sign that the pain or sadness you have been feeling is ending” since the card’s reversal shows a picture of what looks like swords falling out of a man’s back.
Ten of Swords reversed by The Fountain Tarot. Photo by Sarah Hilton. // THE UNDERGROUND
It’s up to the reader to ultimately decide what to make of their reading, but I found that this reading directly spoke to my current situation. At the time, I was dealing with quarantine-related depression from living in isolation, which only worsened at the thought that I didn’t know when quarantine would end. So, to have a card say that these feelings would soon pass was a sign of hope and immediately lifted my spirits.
These were all things I only knew from my limited experience playing around with my cards, doing one-card draws and three-card spreads while having friends to help with interpretations. However, a lot of these friends who practice tarot readings don’t actually use it as a way to look far into the future, rather it’s simply a way for them to assist them in assessing short-term situations. This is typically a practice to see if they’re making the right decisions, if they need to be making alternative plans, or if they need additional guidance toward a positive outcome in certain situations. My friend Jules explained to me that he uses astrology and tarot as a tool to “figure out who [he is].”
“I use it as a guide to figure out how I can best utilize my skills and talents in this lifetime to complete my purpose here on earth; so I can see where I should push myself to become the best version of myself.”
Though Jules’s relationship with tarot is more so as a way to find a better understanding of himself, in a sense he also uses tarot to predict if his present decisions will pan out well for him in the future, especially when it comes to pursuing his passions, like writing.
“Usually I’ll just wonder if I’m writing the right story, or if people will like it, or if I’m on the right path with my story. In terms of advice I’ve drawn cards like The Sun, which reflects brighter days ahead, and The Magician, which is about having the right tools at your disposal. So the cards have told me that only I could write a specific story, and I have all the tools I need, I have the knowledge. Tarot for me is like that pat on the back that you’re doing good, and you should keep going.”
Though short-term in guidance, Jules says that having that confirmation from a spiritual source gives him the reassurance to go forward with his goals and follow his dreams, knowing he’s using his skills to the best of his ability in an area that he loves.
In fact, Jules isn’t the only one who describes astrology and tarot as tools for guidance and reassurance. Noor was raised with an understanding of astrology and spirituality from the age of 13, in a similar fashion that one would be raised with religion.
“Reading about astrology for me was definitely more of a guide,” she explained. “Something that would explain the differences and traits that people can have, and by explaining those traits you can learn to deal with those negative emotions that can be associated with your sign.”
For Noor, having astrology as part of her upbringing has not only helped guide her through hardships in life, but it’s offered a better understanding of the qualities of her life she never knew she needed to overcome.
“I’m a Cancer, and a lot of the stereotypes or typical cancer traits are that Cancers are moody, passive aggressive, that they can be emotional or sensitive. They expect people to just read their minds if they’re upset or hurt. And now looking back, as a kid this is definitely something I struggled with, I definitely did expect people to understand what I was going through without ever verbalizing it, which is obviously so problematic.
“But I think I’ve gotten better at voicing the problems I have in relationships, that’s something I’ve been able to overcome. Or at least not expecting a partner to know exactly what I’m going through.”
This is something I’ve definitely been skeptical of in the past. The first thing that always came to mind when looking at astrological signs was that these qualities could just as easily apply to everyone. But when I look at my own astrology chart, I can’t deny that Noor is right in that we live with very accurate representations of who our sun signs say we are.
For instance, I know that one negative quality I would possess as a Virgo is that I’m overly analytical and critical. Of course, you could easily pass that off as my anxiety forcing me to read into every minor inconvenience, but at the same time being anxious and over-analyzing have always existed as separate traits for me. I’ve always been someone to read into situations that don’t even directly apply to me, like if a friend comes to me with a problem. It’s always been in my nature to be an analytical person, and I know that when I take opportunities to step back, it improves my mood drastically.
Noor sympathizes with my skepticism, though. She explains that usually people don’t necessarily agree with these qualities simply because they have a very limited amount of knowledge about their birth charts. Where most people think their sun signs will tell them the qualities that stretch through every area of life, Noor explains that understanding your birth chart also opens you up to what sort of qualities you have in terms of mood, intellect, love and sex, philosophies of life, and senses of responsibility.
A sample birth chart. Generated via Cafe Astrology.
“When people only know their sun sign they’ll usually say things like ‘oh, I’m a Gemini, that must mean I’m two-faced’ or ‘I’m an Aries, so I must be angry all the time.” She indicates that those who generalize astrology are usually quick to discredit it as something too general to be true to their personality. But in reality, if someone doesn’t feel like the qualities of a Gemini apply to them, then perhaps it’s because their chart has more earth than air signs. This is something I noticed within my own birth chart. Although my Sun sign is Virgo, my Mars (aggression), Mercury (communication), and Venus (love) signs are all ruled by Leo, which are well known for their qualities of leadership, loyalty, and their competitive nature, all of which I’ve felt are strong parts of my identity.
This idea of generalization is a part of astrology that’s always kept me on the fence about reading into horoscopes or paying attention to what tarot cards have to say about my future. Every morning, I get a Co-Star notification on my phone that gives me my daily horoscope, but I’ve always felt they were too generalized for me to fully believe in or trust. If astrology is something that’s supposed to be personal to me, how can it be so easily applied to someone else?
“If you read your daily horoscope, it follows where the planets are going and intersecting,” Noor explains. “So in that sense, it’s basically giving you an analysis. … The reason it might appear as vague is because it’s not actually meant to be something personal or individualized for you, it’s actually giving you a calculation of where your planets are.
Noor then looked to me as an example of how the planets give us our horoscopes.
“You’re a Virgo, so you’re ruled by Mercury. If you read about your daily horoscope, it’s probably going to tell you where Mercury is right now, or where it’s orbiting. Based on that information, it will calculate what kind of emotions or traits will rise based on where the planet is located, and because you’re ruled by that planet, you’re going to be affected by it even if it’s a little bit.
“I think that’s why it comes across as vague for some people, because they read horoscopes as fortunes. Horoscopes are actually just planetary calculations, and they’re just giving you a calculation of where the planet is and the kind of atmosphere and energy that’s being projected from that planet based on where it is in the world.”
Though it felt as though all these myths and skepticisms seemed to be debunked, there’s a lot that could still be questioned when it comes to astrology. While astrologers are going off the movements of the planets as Noor said, there’s no way anyone can completely confirm that our actions are based off the rotations and alignments of the planets. There’s also no way we can entirely trust the guidance of a randomized draw from a tarot deck. But as we’re living in a time with so much up in the air, looking ahead through the lens of planetary movements and tarot may be our only way to predict how life will change moving forward after quarantine.
For Noor, her mother’s recent astrology reading brings her comfort as it shows her what to expect in terms of changes in society, in the world, and in herself.
“In March I was laid off due to COVID,” she says. “I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t know what to expect anymore, so I decided to talk to my mom and she said ‘you know, I’ve been reading a lot about Pluto, and something bigger than COVID is going to hit us in May … people are going to be really angry soon.’”
Looking back at the protests and riots that’ve taken place in America over the past couple months, it was shocking to hear that Noor’s mother had been able to predict this unrest through the movements of Pluto. Even if it was something as general as “people are going to be really angry,” there’s no mistaking that it speaks directly to people’s outrage toward the Black Lives Matter movement.
This sparked Noor’s interest as well. She soon started reading into Pluto’s movements and found that it’s conjunction with Capricorn could predict our way of living for the next four years.
“Capricorn is the planet that rules order and structures,” she explains. “But Pluto is the planet that breaks things down, and they’re going to be in conjunction until January of 2024. So that means that all structures and orders that are in place right now are going to be broken down and renewed for the next four years.
“It brings me comfort because at the same time, a lot of the social changes can only take place if you’ve actually learned or unlearned a lot of things yourself. So this conjunction can be about social issues, but it’s also about a lot of changes you go through yourself because this conjunction is supposed to make you face a lot of things you kind of sweep under the rug. And now it’s time that you face the fact that you can’t really let yourself do things just to make other people happy.”
Even if there’s nothing she can do to prepare for the future, Noor expresses that she finds comfort in knowing that it will bring a change that she describes as long overdue. Noor is able to find comfort in the fact that at least she’s able to know what’s coming.
Tarot and astrology can be too often met with skepticism, and though I’m guilty of taking part in said skepticism in the past, I believe it has the potential to bring us comfort in these uncertain times with predictions and readings of the future. It seems that astrology and tarot can be a sense of comfort as it at least allows someone to see a little bit into the future, to know what’s to come and how to prepare for it.
Since my research, I’ve been doing a weekly one-card draw as well as reading into my astrological chart to see where there are planetary shifts. So far, I’ve been able to understand my need to push myself through hard times (as interpreted by The Chariot card), to take some alone time to recharge (as interpreted by the reversed Three of Cups), and that I am in need of some re-alignment (as interpreted by the reversed Temperance). Having these resources at my disposal may not be able to guide me through long-term changes, but to have something pushing me forward when so much is uncertain brings me the comfort I need to keep moving going, and to work on becoming the best version of myself while there’s time to do so.
Whether you’re a skeptic or not, tarot and astrology exist as a reminder that even in these difficult times, there’s still something for all of us to look forward to—there’s still something out there for all of us to keep fighting for to find happiness and peace.
