Tarot for the Mundane - and no, this is not a joke!
On scaling down your readings to build to a beautiful life.
Hello wonderful newsletter subscribers!
This past Thursday the absolutely incomparable Theresa Reed (AKA The Tarot Lady) had me as a guest teacher for her supporters. I taught on one of my absolutely favorite topics: “Reading Tarot About Community, Close Friendships and Chosen Family.” For this, I went into the importance both of values-based reading and of having flexibility with the cards. With those two things, you can successfully dive into any topics you want with your tarot! On Thursday using this lens we thought together about big things like what is important to use in close or community relationships. From there, took to the tarot to perform readings about where we are in those relationships and what’s next for us as a team (whichever team we may be on).
One of the most fun and more lighthearted topics we got into was how fun and easy it is to scale down tarot for simple, mundane things. Our tarot cards are rich and vast, and it’s easy to lose sight of the trees to take in the dominant message of the forest. Yet trees are what give us shade, paper, fruit and they are each worth celebrating and reading. Scaling down our tarot cards can provide so much vital insight into our daily lives. Death is often a scary card for people. In the everyday, it can become about taking a friend to a play that’s closing soon or having a casual conversation with a neighbor about what’s been changing lately. Friendship, art, being invested in your neighborhood - these are the things that make life worth it for most of us. Important work doesn’t have to be feared. Instead of fearing The Tower, for example, in the everyday this card can simply be about checking your home’s foundation or making sure your outline is solid before diving into a writing project. These are two simple, foundational and yet extremely mundane practices we should be in for stewardship of space or written words.
This style of scaling down readings is a really fun way to think about reading tarot for non-romantic connections, especially. We often look over this style of tarot card reading just like we often fail to take into account the importance of close, non-romantic or family of origin relationships in our lives. Pulling a tarot card doesn’t have to mean big, scary changes or energy-consuming internal work, and neither does making a friend. When we’re looking to build connections with others, the sum is absolutely the parts of the whole. Bonds are forged in laughter as much as they are forged in tears. Friendships deepen over late night, soul baring conversations but they also deepen over inside jokes and every day “adventures.” Sometimes we take to the tarot to read not about the huge overwhelming purpose of building community, but to figure out which extremely literal of our cities the best community for us is.
Take a breath and a couple of minutes to think about your daily, normal routine. Who is involved in that routine? Don’t forget to think about your group texts, co-workers, or baristas you’re unexpectedly close to. Then think about the situations, good and bad, that you find yourself in with those people. With that information rattling around in your brain, give this style of reading a try! If you want to deepen bonds, find new people to love, or work towards specific goals slowly with others, here are some impactful but not overwhelming tarot prompts or spread placements to play with:
What should me and ____ do together next time we hang out?
I need to leave my home and connect with community. Where should I go?
Who else is looking for some company or a good conversation this week?
I’m thinking of going to (meeting/public event/etc). What should I keep in mind as I make that decision?
What do I have to offer to others right now that feels good for me?
What are others happily offering up to me right now?
As Spring descends upon Minnesota, in so many ways my city comes alive again. It is inspiring and connective, but for an introvert with extreme social anxiety, it can also be overwhelming to figure out how, who and what to prioritize. This style of “scaled down” readings is one of the tarot techniques I use to navigate the seasonal transition, so I hope it brings you as much support and yet peace as it does me.
OTHER THINGS
Businessly, this is a pretty normal month from me. Here are a couple of things to know or remember:
If you want a Snail Mail reading for Beltane and/or Pride this year, subscribe at that level of my Patreon right here.
I’m working on some important website updates this week, but in the meantime I’m still available to read your DIGITAL cards which is really fun, at Moonlight.
Weiser is currently working on edits and ideas for the upcoming essay anthology Tarot In Other Words that I edited. This is thrilling progress on this project, and as soon as I know about pre-sale you will too. In the meantime, snag my other books!
Finally, I will be at Cake Plus-Size retail in person doing a pop-up this month! I’ll be reading cards live, selling pre-performed Tarot To Go Readings as well as copies of each of my books and otherwise hanging out and having a good time. This will be from 12-3 PM on April 28th, so mark it on your calendar and come see me!
That’s really about it this month! I’m also hoping to use April to frolic in the park, hit up the Arboretum, see some art. You know, the usual. Hit me up on social media at Mx.cassandra.snow and let me know what you’re excited for this month.
In the meantime, I’m sending so much love to you and yours.
XO,
Cassandra Snow
Really love this idea of scaled down readings. I definitely find myself thinking big picture when I do tarot and I often feel overwhelmed or confused or like it doesn’t fit.