It is the beginning of the second quarter of the year, and I’m hoping that it brings with it a new breeze of spring energy and a revitalization of my creativity.  The first few months of this year were tough, creatively.  Some of you may know that I did a 2021 Tarot Overview Spread, and the first quarter of the year was filled with leftover energy from 2020. That was something that I was not looking forward to.  Perhaps it was an accurate prediction, perhaps it was a self-fulfilling prophecy, or perhaps it was the winter blues.  Either way, I am glad to see the end of the first quarter.

Because now we usher in the spirit of change! In my 2021 yearly overview spread, I pulled the Wheel of Fortune for the theme of April.  The Wheel is always indicative of change and cycles.  With this idea of change in mind, I did an additional, slightly more in-depth reading for this month.

Disclaimer:  My tarot spreads are for myself. They are never meant to be medical, career, financial, or relationship advice for others.  If you need help in one of these areas, please consult a professional.

Tarot Reading

I used a layout from Incandescenttarot.com with 9 Tarot cards (no oracle cards this time) plus The Wheel of Fortune card specifically, due to it representing April in my 2021 overview prediction. Here is what each of the 9 cards is supposed to represent.

1. Your current self
2. Theme of the month
3. Key goal to chase
4. Obstacle to overcome
5. Major Accomplishment
6. What to avoid
7. What to embrace
8. Where to find support
9. Advice and encouragement

Here are the cards I pulled:

1. 6 of Wands Inverse
2. The Wheel of Fortune/ 9 of Wands
3. Page of Cups Inverse
4. 4 of Wands Reversed
5. High Priestess Inverse
6. Ten of Wands
7. Five of Swords
8. Knight of Wands
9. The Devil Inverse

My First Reactions

There are a high number of inverse (upside down) cards, and I normally do not get many.  However, receiving a card in the inverse position isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  Sometimes the reversed position is actually a positive message or it can be a warning for what to look out for. It doesn’t mean that something terrible will happen to you.

There are also a disproportionate number of wands to what I normally get. 5 out of 9 cards are from the Wand suite. Wands are usually associated with the element of fire. As a Pisces, I have always pulled more Cups/Chalice cards than those from the Wands/Staves suite. 

There are three Major Arcana cards.  Whenever I do readings, I usually have multiple Major Arcana cards.  Even if I am not the one performing the reading, it has happened many times.  It’s gotten to the point where if I do not receive multiple Major Arcana, I feel something is off about the reading.  Having both The Wheel of Fortune, The High Priestess (inversed) and The Devil (inversed) card makes it feel like a proper reading (for me, personally).

Finding Meaning in the Cards

Images from the Shadowscape Tarot Deck by Barbara Moore and Illustrated by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

Current Me:

The 6 of Wands in the Inverse position is a card that can mean vulnerability, anxiety, or hesitation. 

This card leads us to reflect on what we have been hesitating about and the things that cause us indecision and anxiety.  Once we know what causes our hesitation and anxiety, we can create a plan to make decisions, take action, and move forward. This was a great card to pull and remind ourselves not to fall into stasis with our goals.

This Month’s Theme:

The Wheel of Fortune is a reminder that change will happen.  Learning to deal with the change in a way that benefits us rather than harms us is a life-long task.  

The 9 of Wands is a card that indicates courage, discipline, and strong willpower are necessary for persevering through the rough times.

This card is a reminder that our goals are not easy to achieve. They will not happen overnight. If we want the life we’ve dreamed of, hard work and perseverance is necessary to make the dreams we want come true.

Key Goals

The Page of Cups in the Inverse position could be a warning. Don’t get wrapped up in idealization and fantasy.  Don’t get so wrapped up in emotions that you lose sight of your goal or your path.

This card appears to be something to keep in mind while working towards our other goals.  What we think might be the goal is not necessarily the ultimate goal. We could also be fooling ourselves. The life we dream of may not be ideal. It might not be the perfect life we think it will be.  Recognize there will always be a side of life that we cannot see until we experience it.

Obstacles to Overcome

The Four of Wands in the Inverse position is a card that represents instability, conflict, and a need for perfectionism.

This card makes perfect sense to pull for an “obstacle” position.  Having instability in our lives often makes us make decisions we might not have otherwise made.  We should ask ourselves if the decisions we make and the actions we take are truly because it is what will benefit us in the long run, or if it is to create a temporary solution. 

Conflict, whether it is with ourselves or with others, is a source of stress and anxiety. If we can, we should pre-emptively solve any arising conflicts to the best of our abilities. This card is also a reminder that striving for perfection can cause us to stall our forward momentum.  Perfection is an ideal, but it is not necessarily practical, nor achievable. Stop being torn between our desire for perfection and our desire for completion.  Make a choice and move forward.

Major Accomplishment

The High Priestess, one of the Major Arcana, can represent a lot of things.  With the card in an inverse position and representing the “Major Accomplishment” of the month, it puts an interesting spin on this card.

It can mean that we will be overcoming or resisting our own conceited behaviors and thought patterns.  We will be able to surpass superficiality, shallowness, and surface level knowledge and gain real wisdom and insight.

What to Avoid

The 10 of Wands is a card of oppression and overburdening. The card traditionally has a figure carrying a basket full of wooden staves on his or her back.  The card leaves it up to your interpretation as to whether the figure willingly loaded the wood onto their back or if someone else demanded they do so.

We should avoid putting too much on our plate. We should also avoid situations where we might be tricked or deceived into doing more than our fair share of work.

What to Embrace

The 5 of Swords is a card of defeat and failure. It is not normally a card we would want to embrace.

This could be a message to prepare for any and all possibilities that could cause us to fail on our way to the goal.  However, if we shift our mindset, it could be a message to accept failure when it happens and remember to learn from it.  Research why we failed, what could have prevented it, what could have been done to mitigate the problem, etc.  Turn our failures into learning experiences and we will be harder to defeat the next time.

Where to Find Support

The Knight of Wands card could represent a person in our lives.  They would be a person with a fiery and active spirit. This person might be a bit of a hothead who would be willing to confront others (or us) for our sake. 

Alternatively, this card is one that represents movement and adventures.  We might be able to find the answers we are looking for once we start taking action, once we take on new risks, new quests, or projects, etc.

Advice and encouragement

The Devil card is one of the Major Arcana, and is one that often depicts people who are trapped in a prison of their own making. 

This means that we can solve the problems we create.  “If we got ourselves into this mess, we’ll get ourselves back out,” is the attitude we want to have.

This card can also serve as advice against being trapped by the temptation of making a quick buck rather than sticking to our long-term plans.  And it can also serve as encouragement to not use our weaknesses as an excuse.  Stop thinking “Oh, I absolutely can’t do XYZ because I’m terrible at it.”  Take action, try it out, and if we fail, learn from it.

Next Steps

Upon pulling the 6 of Wands (hesitation and anxiety), I’ve made a list of things I found myself being indecisive about.  As of when this post was written, several of those decisions have been made, and new actions have been taken. 

I am working on setting up a new morning routine that will allow me to write more and get closer to my publishing goals. This addresses the Wheel and the 9 of Wands. 

I am keeping the warnings about perfectionism, over idealization, and overburdening myself in mind as I create my daily to-do lists.  I’ve started writing down my top priority items separate from my other items.  Once I accomplish those top priorities, my anxiety about the rest of my to-do list fades because I’ve already gotten the necessary things finished.

I’ve started a new secret project, and I’m finding a great deal of meaning and potential in doing so.  It is also helping me build skills that I know will be used in later projects. 

What about you?

Have you done a Tarot spread for the month of April?  Would you have interpreted the cards differently?  Let me know in the comments if you found a different meaning for yourself in the cards I pulled.