Reading the Present: What Cannot Be Sustained Will Give Way

This reading was done with the Ocean Tarot Deck,  a beautiful and evocative deck that draws on the imagery of the sea. The interpretation uses the structure and meanings of the Eilat Tarot, allowing the cards to be read not as a prediction, but as a reflection of the conditions shaping the present moment.

1. The Structure You Are Currently Within - 2 cards
What pattern is shaping your life right now? Your condition and what kind of world you’re building.

Six of Swords - The Quiet Crossing (Compassion תִּפְאֶרֶת) Careful passage toward safety, even when the journey remains incomplete. (Tribe of Asher, Aquarius, Tu b’Shevat) I'm intrigued that the card shows a mermaid riding on a shark as she faces backwards. I interpret that as me looking back to Eilat. I am being carried forward, but my attention is still with what I have left

Two of Wands - The Edge of Decision (Wisdom חָכְמָה) Power before action. Possibility held without commitment. (Tribe of Judah, Aries, Days of Sun begin, Shabbat HaGadol)

I am already in transition, not at a beginning. However, I’m only at the threshold of a choice and of power not yet put to use. I am abandoning old goals and attitudes, but I have not decided what to commit to next. I am no longer who I was, but have yet to decide who I want to be or what I can do.

2. The Opening Available - 1 card
What possibility exists within that pattern? What kind of movement is possible and what can be built?

Nine of Swords - Night of the Mind (Connection יְסוֹד) Rest denied from within. Troubling thoughts brought honestly to prayer. (Tribe of Zebulun, Gemini, month of Sivan)

I must face and evaluate what is troubling me. Understanding myself and my situation is the only way forward.

3. What Is Already in Motion - 3 cards
What existing skills and efforts can you build on?

Daughter of Swords - Walker in the Dust (Emanation אֲצִילוּת)
 Asking before concluding. Listening before speaking. (Earth of Air)

Ace of Cups - The Gift of Love’s Beginning (Divine Will כֶּתֶר)
 A gift of the heart. An opening before feeling takes form. (Element of Water)

Quf - The Moon (Pisces) Laughter, The Path Between Overflowing Love and Understanding. What alters the view. A different seeing.

I am questioning and considering carefully. My heart is opening to possibility. My perceptions are shifting. Things feel unstable, but this state indicates progress.

4. What Requires Development - 1 card
What is not yet stable or reliable? Poor skills or habits.

Son of Swords - Rider of the Clouds (Creation בְּרִיאָה) Probing and questioning. Quick thought without full discernment. (Air of Air - Ruach, the soul of thought and aspiration)

I need to think more clearly and slow down and be discerning. I am thinking, but my thoughts aren’t yet reliable. This could be connected to the Nine of Swords.

5. What Must Be Sustained What needs continued effort, regardless of outcome? What requires persistence and cannot be rushed?

Three of Wands - The Venture Underway (Understanding בִּינָה) Action set in motion. Turning toward what comes next. Tribe of Judah, Aries, Ta’anit Beḥorot, Festival of Pesaḥ, Counting of the Omer begins) The mermaid in this card has three hands. This may simply be an AI artifact, but it might also symbolize extra power or a task that requires extra work.

Something has already begun and my efforts should continue. Perhaps this refers to my tarot project. I should not stop working even though the final arcana is not entirely clear to me yet.

6. How You Are Meeting the Work - 2 cards
Your current stance toward building new life. Your posture and way of engaging, what you bring to the work.

Son of Pentacles - Scout of the Land (Creation בְּרִיאָה) Steady effort. Showing up each day to build what will last. (Air of Earth)

Dalet - The Empress (Venus) Seed and Desolation. The Path Between Compassion and Divine Will.
 The opening. Where life begins to take form.

I am tending something with steady, consistent effort. I am at a beginning of cultivating, trusting a beginning, even where growth is not certain.

7. What You Must Become to Build It - 1 card
The change in yourself.

Peh - The Tower (Mars) Dominance and Subjugation. The Path Between Reverence and Restraint. What breaks through. What cannot be held.

Something I have relied on, perhaps a foundational belief, cannot be sustained. It is giving way, and I must face what remains.

Contemplative Tarot

Kat Black has produced a couple of truly beautiful tarot decks. Her latest is a musical deck!

Tarot of the Troubador takes the original approach of pairing each card with a song.

It’s a distinctive system and invites a different kind of engagement with the cards. While the musical layer didn’t immediately resonate with me, I’m curious to spend more time with it, and I encourage you to explore her work directly. It’s a thoughtful and visually striking deck.

Here is how this spread reads when interpreted through the lens of the Eilat Tarot:
Living inside a change that has already occurred, while understanding catches up.
1. The Root: your past, foundation, or current subconscious energy.
Nun - Death (Scorpio) Smell 
The Path Between Connection and Persistence
What passes through change. What remains.

2. The Path: your present challenge, action, or immediate focus.
Nine - Night of the Mind (Connection יְסוֹד)
Rest denied from within. Troubling thoughts brought honestly to prayer.
(Tribe of Zebulun, Gemini, month of Sivan)

3. The Destiny: Your outcome, future trajectory, or the lesson to learn.
Kaf - The Empress (Venus) Life and Death
The Path Between Persistence and Overflowing Love
Life in passing. What continues.

This is the kind of clarity the Eilat Tarot is designed to offer: reading not for prediction, but for the structure of experience.

From First Draft to Final Form

Here is my original design for the Eilat Tarot, created with MSPaint and Google Docs:

This version carried the structure and ideas I wanted, but it was still a working draft, something built to think with rather than something ready to live in the world.

Here is the new version of the same card, redesigned by Amashé Etz Alon:

He has carefully reworked each element of the card, clarifying the structure, refining the typography, and bringing a sense of balance and visual presence that my original version didn’t yet have.

Seeing the two side by side, I’m struck by how much of the original vision remains, and how much more vivid it has become.

He’ll soon begin assembling the full deck and finalizing the card backs. I’m eager to see the entire set come together, and, at long last, to hold a finished deck in my hands!