Exploring the Coronavirus with a 10-Card Reading – Part 5

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 fifth reading; Ask Astrology published the first one on March 9, 2020.

The Question, the Method, and the Spread

The question I keep asking is, “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 Patch Tarot by Jordan River.   

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:

Source: Wikimedia

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

The card selected is the Moon

Egyptian gods stand on either side of a pathway leading to the Moon.  The Moon represents our Soul Path and our connection to the mysteries of life.  The virus continues to have a tremendous impact on our emotional states of being, especially as we try to understand its impact on our souls and the souls of others.  We must acknowledge and process all the emotions this pandemic is forcing us to face.

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

The card selected is the Queen of Wands

The Queen of Wands is a passionate and confident individual; she leads the charge in adversity.  As the challenge card, it can be quite difficult for all of us to remain positive and passionate about life, but that is the challenge this queen represents.  This card challenges us to express the best of our character in a crisis.

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

Question 3: What is Obvious?

The card selected is the 7 of Swords

Rather appropriately enough, the keyword in the top left corner is crisis.  You are the person at the edge of the cliff facing all the others.  You will have to defend yourself and stand your ground.  What is obvious is that each of us must determine how we can best deal with the crisis, which may mean “standing our ground” regarding what is the course of action for us in this crisis.

Question 4: What is Hidden?

The card selected is the Hierophant:

The Hierophant represents learned knowledge and expertise, through a combination of study and worldly experience.  So, what is hidden is the need to study and understand the virus, by sifting through all the data to get to the useful information and important knowledge.  The Hierophant works to understand the depth of any body of knowledge, surface information only causes noise.

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

The card selected is 4 of Cups:

In this deck the positive keyword is “Withdrawal” and the negative one is “Stagnation”.  We all have time when we realize we need to withdraw, contemplate, find our inner (Cups) answer, and return to the world.  And, it is clear that old, stagnant ways of thinking and feeling will not survive this monumental transformation.

• Exploring the Coronavirus with a 10-Card Reading – Part 3

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

The card selected is the Queen of Swords:

The Queen of Swords is strategic and detached, so she can be more perceptive through observation, and ready to accept circumstances faster than others.  She does not embrace denial or anger, bargaining, or depression; she looks for the truth and moves towards it with clarity and resolve.  As more of the virus spreads, the deeper we move into a new reality distant from the old one.  The sooner we embrace her resolve and clear understanding, the safer we will be in the new world.

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

The card selected is the 6 of Cups:

Like the last reading, the card in this position is very positive.  The keyword is Joy and the negative word is Lust, which is not a bad emotion to experience when the world is dealing with so much chaos.  This card reminds us of the importance of loving relationships and close connections, especially when we are facing so much uncertainty and potential loss, not just of work, but a way of life, and a sense of stability.  A close intimacy or strong friendship is the best purpose to embrace to weather this storm.

Question 8: How Do We Fulfill the Purpose Positively?

The card selected is the Prince of Disks

The Prince of Disks reminds us to be prudent in our actions.  Pragmatic choices will benefit us in the long run, so we want to make sure we are taking actions that keep us and our loved ones safe.  To experience the Joy of the previous card, and the relationship or relationships it could represent, then we want to be cautious in the way the Prince of Disks is careful, using the energy to keep moving forward, but not recklessly.

• Exploring the Coronavirus with a 10-Card Reading – Part 4

Question 9: What are our Hopes and Fears?

The card selected is the 3 of Swords:

The fear part of this card is rather straightforward: suffering and anguish.  So, what is the hope?  That we avoid the pain?  Not likely.  No, we hope we can transmute it and learn from it.  This time is a period of significant contraction; most will have less.  But even in such immense losses, there are places of potential gain.  Breakdowns can lead to breakthroughs.  We must keep hope alive.

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

The card selected is the Devil:

Well, it’s probably safe to say, on some global and philosophical level, that immediate gratification is part of the energy that put us all in this situation, and it is not likely to get us out of it.  However, it may be necessary to find some way to satisfy desire without getting trapped in addiction.  Life is for living, for being passionate, and enjoying healthy desires … ones we can achieve without harming others.  What guilty pleasure can you choose now to give you some relief from the immense weight of this pandemic change.