Hyperallergic’s tarotscope series is a combination of tarot with astrology, a reading for the collective readership combined with cards for the major astrological signs, grouped by their elemental associations. These are developed by AX Mina, a Hyperallergic contributor and producer for Five and Nine, a podcast about magic, work, and economic justice. These tarotscopes have a special focus on the arts and creative practice, for each solstice and equinox, to mark the turning of the seasons.
With a lunar eclipse just behind us and a partial solar eclipse ahead, the spring equinox arrives in the Northern Hemisphere amid a period of continuing change and chaos in the world. While the equinox represents a balance between day and night, these times augur further imbalance, and, in turn, a need for practices that foster greater balance in our lives.
This season’s tarotscope is read using the Mixed Signals Tarot, designed by artist M Eilo, on the tarot platform Moonlight. These readings were drawn late into a Brooklyn night, in this third month of the Hermit Year (in the tarot system) and second month of the Snake Year (in the East Asian lunar system).
For this spring equinox, we read with the Gate, the Lock, and the Key. The Gate reflects an invitation. The Lock is a blocker that we must work through. And the Key, customized to your astrological element, is how you might move forward in opening the Gate.
We start with an inquiry: What do artists need to know in this time of deep tumult?
Collective Tarot Reading
Gate: Two of Cups
Lock: Six of Swords
These two cards mark the collective context: The Cups, the suit of heart and emotion, and the Swords, the suit of logic, the mind, and traumas. Both suits come from the Minor Arcana, representing daily affairs.
The Two of Cups is a merging of hearts, an invitation to dissolve the differences and boundaries we set between ourselves. This is love in action. I’m reminded of words by the late Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh: “The practice should address suffering: the suffering within yourself and the suffering around you. They are linked to each other. When you go to the mountain and practice alone, you don’t have the chance to recognize the anger, jealousy and despair that’s in you. That’s why it’s good that you encounter people — so you know these emotions. So that you can recognize them and try to look into their nature.”
And whenever I see the Six of Swords, I remind the querent that they are called to organize their swords — their traumas — and lay them out, name them, and let them be. This card in the Lock position suggests that it comes with great difficulty. The fear, anxiety, and confusion of this moment cannot be swept aside or suppressed; it must be faced head on, and only then can we know how our art can contribute.
Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius)
Key: Nine of Cups
Nine glowing cups stacked one upon the other. The fire in your heart is the Key you can use to work through your emotions right now. Take comfort in the joyful moments, the sad moments, the transcendent moments, the fearful moments. By embracing the joys and sorrows of life, as the poet Kahlil Gibran has written, we come closer to understanding the nature of reality: “When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”
Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn)
Key: Four of Swords
The hardest working of signs, you’re called to make time for rest. Lay down your writing instruments, your craft, and find a cocooning space. Remember that there are at least seven types of rest, including physical, emotional, and spiritual. If you sit quietly, your body will tell you which type you most need right now. Cultivate that in your life before you decide how you will move forward.
Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius)
Key: Moon
The deep mystery of the moon is also the cusp of an awakening, as the sun shines indirectly onto your life. As a thinker, you’re called to embrace the intuitive arts, to listen deeply to what the universe is guiding you toward. In about one month’s time, the full moon will come into being once more. Watch the moon carefully through this cycle and ask it what it’s whispering to you.
Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces)
Key: Four of Wands
Amid the sorrow of this moment, have you made space for joy, for celebration? Art has the capacity to remind us that even now, there is still room for beauty and community. Your emotion-filled nature is uniquely positioned to help us remember the spark that brought us to creative practice to begin with, and to find strength through the art and creative capacities we have to offer.
