What Happens When We Get a Card We Don’t Like?

If you have ever owned a deck of tarot cards, whether you are a seasoned reader or just starting out...we have all been in that place where a card falls from the deck or we turn it over after we lay out our spread and boom. There it is. That ONE card that we never want to see. Whether it’s the Devil, the Tower, or the Three of Swords...we all have the one card we don’t know how to handle when it pops up for us. There is that moment when you wish you could just shuffle it back into the deck and you think, no, this CAN’T be for meeee...but WHYYYY!?!?!

I’m here to tell you, I’ve been there...and I know how you feel. I am here to offer you a new perspective!

Since our best examples are often the ones in our own lives, allow me to use one of my own…

It was October 11^th 2016...I had just found out that I had gotten the house of my dreams, in the town of my dreams and all of it was seemingly manifested from this list I had written two months prior. ALL OF IT. I was stunned but elated, I wasn’t going to question it, I figured this was the Universes way of reminding me to trust. So that night, I finished packing up boxes and I sat down with The Wild Unknown deck and I shuffled, eyes closed, and I asked if there was anyone who wanted to help me through the rest of the month. I shuffled...and then...one single card fell to the floor. I turned it over...and there was the Devil.

I was SHOCKED. I sat, mouth agape, for a moment...what can this mean? Why? How is THIS supposed to help me?

My brain was going 100 miles a minute, I didn’t even stop to think about the POSITIVE things this card had in store for me.

And then I heard, I’m here to remind you, you’ve always had the power to set yourself free.

Fuck, I thought. What a supremely hopeful message from a card that I wasn’t comfortable with, that often signifies negativity and bad habits. I kept that card out on my altar until moving day. It’s interesting the messages that come to us when we least expect, and even more so, the unexpected messages from the least likely sources.

So, if you pull a card that you aren’t comfortable with...one that makes you go, uuuugggghhhhhhh!!! Wait a minute. Hold it. Ask it why it’s there and what message it has for you. Don’t jump to the first negative thing or run right to the text book definition of what the card means. Reading intuitively is a lot about listening to the messages you are receiving through the cards and your intuition and guides.

Interviewing a card, sitting with it, trying to get to know and understand it is part of the process. What the Devil meant for me in October might not be the same as if I pulled it today. I rely on my intuition when I read for myself and for others so I had to learn to trust what I was hearing or feeling in a reading. It’s often easier said than done, I know, but it does get better with time and it’s important to get a feel for how your intuition speaks to you...especially if you’re just starting out. But again, we never stop growing and learning and evolving and that includes knowing our intuition.

[All photos are taken by me unless otherwise noted. Please do not use photos without express written permission.]