Bonus Episode 2 - Tarot Card Reading with Guest Amanda Napier
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Topic of Discussion
In this bonus episode of Are You Two Still Friends, we invited my best friend and tarot card seer-in-training — Amanda Napier — to join us and give us a tarot card reading! What we didn’t expect was to get a boatload of content about tarot!
Background on Tarot
Let’s demystify the tarot cards first! Interestingly, tarot cards didn’t start as a form of mystic divination that many of us know today. Instead, it was a card game invented during the Renaissance period (around 1430 A.D.). For hundreds of years, it remained a card game. Then, around 1780, it became a tool used for fortune-telling.
There are 78 cards in total. Twenty-two of them are major arcana (they follow a sequence that creates a story very similar to Joseph Campbells’ Hero’s Journey) and 56 minor arcana (which feature four suits and are similar to that of a deck of playing cards). The four suits are wands, cups, swords and pentacles and they range in numbers (starting at Ace and ending at ten) and have face cards (king, queen, knight and page). Every card has positives and negatives, or a motivation and a warning. Cards can also be related on an object-level or a subject level; they can touch on something about you as an individual or something else in your life.
Within tarot, there is a plethora of symbolism. Mountains, cities, nature, humans, colors, the suits, actions, facial expressions and proportions of objects all play a role in what the cards are meant to tell you. These symbols help guide the reading and bring meaning to the question you’re asking or the clarity you’re seeking.
Inspiration
The quotes Amanda shared that inspired her journey with tarot:
“The true tarot is symbolism. It speaks no other language and offers no other signs.” - A.E. Waite
“Tarot is a good servant, but a bad master.” - Hajo Banzhaf
Amanda got started with tarot about a year ago (at the time of this writing) and was introduced by a friend. Her friend has experience with various forms of divination and has practiced since childhood. Amanda’s approach to tarot may be different from what pop culture has led us to believe it should be, but it’s probably close to the roots of the practice: tarot is nothing more than a mirror. You can look into a mirror with someone, but you can’t look into a mirror for someone. In Amanda’s readings, she offers the meaning and symbolism associated with the card, but the meaning as it applies to your life must be applied by you. In addition, whatever question you’re seeking clarity on, it’s the question in your heart, not the one that comes out of your mouth that the reading will address. No hiding here! Lastly, Amanda’s philosophy on readings is to never give a negative or warning heavy reading, because she doesn’t find them to be useful. In her experience, it doesn’t inspire growth, nor does she see it as the purpose of tarot. While she creates the space for the negative, she’s always looking for the way forward.
Getting Involved
If you’re wanting to get more involved with tarot yourself, Amanda recommends taking to the Internet where, no surprise, there are a lot of free resources. YouTube has a lot of videos offering insight and tutorials on tarot. Additionally, Amanda recommends the following apps, which she uses in her own practice. The last one is from me! I don’t know much about it, but I know it’s all things astrology, tarot and divination.
Amanda has the Rider Waite deck of Tarot which is often thought of as the original deck, but it’s not! It’s simply the most famous (it’s likely you recognized the art in the photos in this post). It became very popular during the 70s during the counterculture era. She found her deck on Amazon, but there are many places and styles of decks from which you can choose. I love this store -- owned by a veteran and veteran spouse -- which has lots of fun options for tarot: Pressed: A Creative Space.
Have questions about tarot? Want to add to the conversation we had in this episode? We’d love to hear it! Send it to us at areyoutwostillfriends@gmail.com
Below are the cards that showed up for Lueda and me in our readings! Lueda’s is on top, mine is on the bottom.
In friendship,
Alexis & Lueda
