Contemplative Tarot: There is Hope

Clarity's blade reveals the victorious path,
Emotions embraced and intuition grasped,
Responsibility taken--
you’ll sail to smoother waters at last.

Ace of Swords
The moment I recognize that something is wrong, the path to healing begins. This card reminds me that clarity may not arrive gently, but it comes with the power to cut through dillusion and open the way forward. Hope lies in seeing a problem clearly and refusing to look away.

Page of Cups
The Page invites me to slow down and listen to the still small voice within. Emotions can become guides rather than obstacles. If I respond to myself with gentleness and curiosity, I may discover unexpected insights waiting just below the surface.

Six of Swords
Even in the midst of difficulty, change is possible. Change begins when I take responsibility for my choices and allow myself to move on. Peace may not be immediate, but it is within reach.

Reflection
There is hope if I can begin to move forward. Like pushing a boat away from shore, the smallest motion creates momentum. Soon, the waters and my own efforts will carry me toward a quieter place.

Egipcios Kier * 60 Evolution

The title of this card is Evolution, yet its central image is not one of growth but of farewell. A priest stands before a mummy, performing the ancient Egyptian Opening of the Mouth ceremony, through which the deceased would breathe, speak, and declare his name before entering the next world.

The ritual suggests that every true transition requires finding a new voice.

Stuart Kaplan explains that this ceremony prepared the deceased for the journey into the unknown. The card therefore speaks of change, departure, and transformation. Evolution is not merely becoming different. It is becoming capable of entering a new stage of life.

The surrounding symbols reinforce that idea. Above the scene, the ba, the winged aspect of the soul, rises carrying the tyet, symbol of life and renewal. Below, the reminder that "the body is corruptible" points to a profound truth: while the body changes and perishes, the journey continues.

One detail from Egyptian archaeology has always stayed with me. In at least one burial, a woman's Opening of the Mouth ceremony was never performed, and her name was deliberately misspelled on her coffin. According to Egyptian belief, she would have been unable to speak her true name before the judges of the afterlife. Whether this was an act of malice, political intrigue, or something more mundane, I find it chilling. To erase someone's name is, in a sense, to erase the person.

Nelise Carbonare Vieira associates this card with the traditional Five of Swords, a card that asks whether victory gained at another person's expense is ever truly a victory. Read alongside the archaeological evidence, that correspondence becomes especially poignant. Silencing another person may grant someone power, but it diminishes both the silenced and the one who does the silencing.

Perhaps evolution begins when we reclaim our own voice while refusing to take another's away.

Like the ancient priest, we are called to help one another speak, to be known by our true names, and to enter each new stage of life with honesty and courage.

The Modern Spellcaster's Tarot

I love that the creators of this deck have restored the elemental associations of Swords and Wands! I remember spending an entire evening, many years ago, repressing my natural inclination and reprogramming myself to think that Wands represented the element of fire and that Swords represented the element of air.

I'm glad they've made this change, but I don't understand why the images remain so similar to Pixie's drawings considering the "new" elemental associations! The Seven of Air (Swords) in Pixie's drawing shows a boat moving to smoother waters, while her Seven of Fire (Wands) shows a victorious horseman parading past adoring crowds. The new Seven of Fire in the Modern Spellcaster's Tarot is a redrawing of the boat and its passengers.

The question is perhaps, how much do I rely on elemental associations in my readings? And if elemental associations are only significant in meditations and spell work, why don't I use a Marseilles deck for the practices?

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