Exploring the Coronavirus with a 10-Card Reading – Part 2

Tarot cards are excellent tools for insight and revelation.  As a professional reader, I work with clients on a weekly basis, doing readings to help them navigate life.  With so much happening with regard to the outbreak of COVID-19, I thought it would be helpful to do a tarot reading about COVID-19 for the Ask Astrology readership.

This is the second reading; Ask Astrology published the first one on March 9, 2020.

The Question, the Method, and the Spread

The question I asked again was, “what do the visitors to Ask Astrology need to know about the COVID-19 coronavirus?”  I have over 75 decks in my tarot and oracle card collection and I chose to use the Mythic Tarot by Juliet Sharman-Burke (Author), Liz Greene (Author), Tricia Newell (Illustrator).   I selected the first edition, published in 1986, and purchased, by me, in 1989.

When I do a reading for a client, I ask them questions for each card draw.  For this reading, I decided to select 10 cards.  The layout I chose was the traditional Celtic Cross, shown below:

Question 1: What Does the Readership Need to Know Right Now?

The card selected is 6 of Cups:

In this deck, the cups suit tells the story of Eros and Psyche.  Psyche holds a single cup, reflecting on what she has lost (Eros), represented by the five cups on the ground below her, and what she wishes to recover, which is her relationship with Eros.  With lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders, everyone has plenty of time to contemplate and reflect on their relationships.

• The Astrology of the Coronavirus

Question 2: What is the Challenge We Need to be Aware of?

The card selected is 5 of Cups:

Eros was sent to kill Psyche, by the order of his mother Aphrodite.  Instead, he fell in love with her and stole her away, telling her that they could be together so long has she never tried to discover who he was.  But that kind of secrecy never works well in a relationship in the long run.  Psyche cannot live ignorantly so she finally uncovers the truth, that her lover is the God of Love.  In the front of the card, four cups are spilled, but one remains upright, as a symbol of hope.  Many relationships will break during this time and our challenge will be to find out which ones can be restored, and which ones will be lost.

Question 3: What is Obvious?

The card selected is the 7 of Cups:

In this scene Psyche seeks help from Aphrodite, not knowing that Aphrodite ordered her son, Eros, to kill Psyche.  She pleads for the Goddess of Love to intervene and help her reconnect with Eros.  Aphrodite agrees to help her but requires Psyche to complete impossible tasks.  But this card is not about the tasks, but supplication and the need for a higher power to intervene.  So, it is obvious that we will have to seek outside help with relationships, which, in this day and age may involve counselors, coaches, and spiritual advisers, as well as requests to spirit.

Question 4: What is Hidden?

The card selected is the Queen of Cups:

Here sits Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships and the prize Paris received from Aphrodite for awarding her the Golden Apple as the most beautiful goddess; Hera and Athena were not pleased.  In this deck, the court cards also represent astrological signs, and the Queen of Cups represents Scorpio.  This card is about conviction and emotional fortitude.  Helen eventually returns with her Greek husband Menelaus, after Troy burns to the ground.  She is a symbol of emotional endurance, which is a quality we will all need during these times.

• Coronavirus: Advice and Astrological Insights

Question 5: What Do We Need to Know from the Past to Help Us in the Present?

The card selected is Ace of Cups:

In this card we see Aphrodite rising from the sea foam, bringing the chalice of love and emotion.  She and the card represent the potential of human connection, love, and desire.  What the virus will teach about love and connection will arise out of the social distancing.  We will become acutely aware of the importance of connecting with is so abruptly removed.

Question 6: What Do We Need to Know for Guidance Going Forward?

The card selected is the Three of Swords:

The Swords suit tells the story of Orestes, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra.  In this scene, his mother and her lover kill Agamemnon after his return from Troy.  He sacrificed Orestes sister Iphigenia for fair winds to sail to Troy.  In old Greek law, Orestes was duty-bound to slay his father’s killer, who was his mother. Failing to slay his father’s killer or killing his mother would bring the wrath of the Furies.  The card represents how the actions of others bring dire consequences for Orestes.  In our guidance going forward, for the time being, we will be at the mercy of the harsh actions of others.

Question 7: What is the Purpose of this Virus, Spiritually Speaking?

The card selected is the 10 of Cups:

The 10 of Cups shows Eros and Psyche together again, and now Psyche, overcoming Aphrodite’s trials (with some help) is a goddess, and thus a proper bride to the God of Love.  At a spiritually purposeful level, the virus has the potential to bring the world together by tearing up the old-world order.

• How the Zodiac Signs Deal with Quarantine

Question 8: How Do We Fulfill the Purpose Positively?

The card selected is the Queen of Wands:

Here we meet Penelope, wife of Odysseus, who was without her husband for 10 years.  In that time, she carefully and successfully ruled Ithaca.  Astrologically, this card represents the sign Leo.  She is a symbol of confidence and positive leadership.  Where in the world do we see this kind of leadership?  It needs to be the leadership everywhere in the world.  Brave leadership is important to support the work of the 10 of Cups.

Question 9: What are our Hopes and Fears?

The card selected is King of Swords:

Here we meet Odysseus, husband to Penelope, and the cleverest Greek in the Homeric hymns.  This card represents the sign of Libra in the Zodiac.  As a ruler and judge of his kingdom, Odysseus weighs the issues before him to bring sound and fair judgment.  Our hope with this virus is logical, well-thought-out decision making.  And our fear is decision-making based on emotion, not logic.

Question 10: What is an Action to Consider Taking at this Time?

The card selected is the 8 of Wands:

The suit of wands tells the story of Jason and the Argonauts, who went on the adventure to retrieve the Golden Fleece.  In this card, they are returning form the journey across calm waters.  As a card of action, related to the virus impact, our action is patience.  The more we follow the suggestion of the reading, which hinges on healthy and supportive relationships, the calmer we will find “in the end”.

Some Final Thoughts

It is worth noting that no Major Arcana cards appeared.  And the preponderance of Cups suggests that the current time around the virus focuses on how we are handling our relationships through the crisis.  How are our lives are changing and rearranging as a new normal takes shape gives us an energetic reprieve from the intense shifts that engage when the Major Arcana cards are in a reading.  Think about your lover, friends, and family and how your relationships change with the impact of the virus.