Tarot Articles, Tarot Readings, Psychic Development

Reading Weather Conditions of the Tarot

by Peggy Firth, Certified Tarot Master

Nearly every card of the Rider Waite and Universal Rider Waite deck is filled with outdoor images and skies full of color, billowing clouds, storm clouds, and windy scenes that bend trees and create white caps on the water. The idea of weather patterns governing our lives grew out of ancient man's closeness with nature. Every day, the weather determined the activity and shaped the lives of those who worked the land and provided services that were produced and offered outdoors. Most of the world's population continues to rely on weather patterns for their day-to-day existence. Perhaps you have experienced or seen some of the more destructive forces of nature such as hurricanes, tornadoes, or heavy storms with flooding. The recent tsunami that killed more than a hundred thousand people over a large area of the South Pacific is a terrifying reminder of the uncontrollable character of the world's weather patterns. As readers we may want to pay close attention to the skies depicted in these cards.

As a reader, you may want to consider how these images may be interpreted - as either inner or outer forces. Ask yourself how you feel about rainy days, wintry days, hot summer weather, and especially about the severe kind of weather you may encounter. Do you like the pitter-patter of soft rain or does rain depress you? Are you happy when it snows or does it remind you of putting on tire chains or the mess of melting snow? Do storm clouds enthrall you with all of the build up of moisture and ozone? Some folks love the drama and excitement of destruction that brings on change. Your feelings will determine how you read these weather conditions.

Ancient Eastern and Western cultures formed belief systems that regarded the world as having a soul or anima mundi, sometimes called Gaia. This godlike presence was conceived of as a formative force, an intelligent, self-regulating, purposeful energy presiding over the world to guide the course of planetary evolution.

Page of Swords Every religion seems to have an explanation for how destructive forces occur, and their timing as well, which can ruin months and even years of construction and the development of farmlands. Just as importantly, weather patterns can bring about death within the community. Religion takes on an especially powerful role when death is due to outside, inexplicable, unpredictable forces. How do you regard these destructive forces? Do you separate these earth-related weather patterns from an angry God?

The moon's gravitational pull, which governs our inner (moods- remember, our bodies are made of 75% water) and outer tides (bodies of water), is a constant rhythm that follows a pattern as well. Astrological meanings add complexity to the card when you consider the waxing and waning of the moon.

Water Reflecting the Skies

Bodies of water, reflecting the skies, are also included in some form on almost two thirds of the cards. Water plays such an important part of the tarot that I have written an article, "Waters of the Tarot". You may want to think about your own experiences with the ocean, lakes, and rivers, ponds and pools.

3 of Swords Rain, often prayed for as a blessing from God or Gaia, is regarded as a lifesaving gift of the Gods for successful harvests. Since the Rider Waite cards portray life in the late middle ages, we should remind ourselves of the deeper meaning of these life forces as perceived during that time period and how we might respond to them. The three of Swords, with raindrops falling from grey clouds behind a large heart, may seem dreary but such rain prepares the earth for new growth and experiences. How does rain effect your emotions?

Sunny Weather

Sunny skies full of yellow light, with or without the sun and its rays, are perceived as the giver of all life. Spring-like weather with birds and plants bursting forth remind us of growth and fertility. Do you enjoy certain seasons more than others? Does spring spark your creative juices or do you prefer the winter cold that forces you inside?

Nighttime Skies Depicting Darker Meaning

Some cards have no sky color or cloud activity at all. Perhaps we can ignore such neutral skies and allow the other images to speak to us. Grey skies may be read as a melding of black and white.

Nighttime skies or the images that play against a black background speak of the mysterious or unseen. The major arcana Devil depicted against a black background alludes to the shadow side or the hidden facets of our personalities. The Tower, with its bolt of lightning, awakens us to the idea of giving up our old ways. Its shadow side is reflected in the ways that we constantly build fortresses around us to protect us from change and growth. Another evening sky in the Moon card speaks of the ever-changing stages of growth, with those constant barriers that we meet and overcome along the path.

The ten of Swords may seem at first as rather gruesome, played against the black skies above, but it changes to grey, then to a bright yellow of a dawning of a new day. The nine of Swords are set against black and are not in contact with the figure covered by a brightly colored coverlet, thus suggesting a dark dream. This figure could also be shutting out the world. Other seemingly dark images, such as the five of Pentacles, might represent desperation and the inability to see the good within (the lovely colored window).

The eight of Cups is filled with the evening sky, similar to the Moon card, with moonlight on a grassy path beside blackish jagged rocks that loom out of the waters. This mixed scene seems to depict both despair and a desire for change.

The fiery orange sky behind the Emperor symbolizes immense strength and vitality along with similar colored rocky mountains. Yods against the Sky Yods, those sparks of fire or water that appear in sky on such cards as the Ace of Swords and Cups, The Tower, and The Moon, are shaped like the 10th Hebrew letter, yod, which means hand or helping hands. We all welcome the blessings that come to us in the form of a helping hand or support.

Stars

Stars denote a connection with spirit, guiding light, inspiration, and direction. Star-shaped symbols appear on all of the lower arcana Pentacles and six of cups as star-shaped flowers. Stars appear in the major arcana's Empress and Chariot crowns, the Hermit's lamp, (six pointed) and the Star (seven pointed) card. Stars are as popular a symbol today as they have been throughout history. How do you feel when gazing up at the nighttime skies when all of the stars are visible?

Further refined meanings of the various number of points on the stars are found in hermetic or arcane literature available on the internet.

Although many of the above meanings are universal and have been handed down through the ages, your interpretations are based on your experiences and preferences. The challenge is to weave your feelings in with the story that each card tells as it applies to your readings.