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, developed by AX Mina, producer for Five and ninea 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 changing of the seasons.
The winter solstice occurs in the Northern Hemisphere during a time of metaphorical winter around the world. Mars has entered retrograde and we only see a few more days of the Power Year (in the tarot system) before we make way for the Hermit Year. Let this hermit energy guide you, as winter for us mammals is a time of slowing down and storing energy as we prepare for more energetic days ahead.
This season’s tarotscope reading is using the Mixed Signals Tarotdesigned by artist M Eilo. These readings were taken during a mild Brooklyn morning at the beginning of the retrograde, in this 12th month of the Power Year (in the Tarot system) and the 11th month of the Dragon Year (in the East Asian lunar system).
Many stones have been raised in this reading. In this deck they are similar to the pentacles, but are drawn to represent the earth more explicitly. In last season’s reading we learned about “great and transformative energies in the collective air,” and now the bigger message is: finding ground. For this winter equinox we read with the Seed Root Garden Spreaddeveloped by Dorothy R. Santos and Xiaowei R. Wang, as we look towards the new year.
And we start with an investigation: what do artists need to know as we prepare for the end of the Strength Year and usher in the Hermit Year?
Collective Tarot Reading
Seed: Stone Fighter
Root: The hermit
These two cards mark the collective context: a court card from the Minor Arcana, which represents daily affairs, and a Major Arcana card, which represents archetypal forces.
The Stone Fighter, also known as the Knight of Pentacles in the popular Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) deck this represents the Seed position. This is what has been planted collectively. In this card game, a smaller force collides with a larger one, and those who understand physics even know that little things can shape the trajectories of large objects in unexpected ways. For example, I recently learned that some man-made structures can change the rotation of the earthand it reminded us that even the Earth itself, as stable and solid as it seems beneath our bodies, is constantly changing, spinning, and floating through space, just like the rest of us.
We read this card next to the Root, which represents what is growing. The Hermit card, with its three eyes, reminds us of ignorance and intuition. This is the card of seeking, of longing and of being comfortable with the uncertainty that today and tomorrow brings. It is a card of spiritual pursuit, whatever that means to you.
Reading together, we now see that we are on a new journey. A series of events that seem beyond our control and influence have changed the trajectory, yet these events are made possible by our cultural and societal norms. As artists, we all have the ability to change trajectories, like tiny asteroids in space, where even the slightest bump or nudge can lead others in unexpected directions.
This is the time to deepen our collective practice and ask questions that bubble up quietly from the heart. Think about those moments from the past year that broke you and from which you somehow recovered. “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read,” James Baldwin once said. “It was Dostoyevsky and Dickens who taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me to all the people who were still alive, or had ever lived. Only by confronting these open wounds in ourselves can we understand them in other people.”
Baldwin quoted writers, but artists have also held me in times of loneliness and confusion. Maybe your art will do the same for others.
Now the question is the garden, or the conditions in which the root will grow and bear fruit. The Garden Position completes this three-card spread and is adapted to your elemental signs. An additional card is drawn to further elaborate the solution for your element. Learn which elements speak to you right now, whether they’re related to your Sun, Rising, or Moon sign, or simply an element that speaks to you at this time in your life. Remember, nothing written here is a direction or an imposition; these are just flickering lights offered along the path we all make for ourselves.
Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius)
Method: Two stones
The two stones in the Two of Stones roll through a landscape – or is it a series of waves? This card asks you to think about how you balance multiple forces and energies. While balance requires emotional strength, the Stone suit states that some effort and planning are required to process it all. Your fire energy will be needed in the coming months, and this card indicates that now is a good time to gather and hone the tools to help you maintain balance as you summon that fire. This could be as simple as getting your accounts in order or cleaning your studio. Or it can be more complex, such as starting therapy or starting a meditation practice.
Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn)
Method: Two wands
In the Two of Wands, two branches meet and cross each other. Experiencing something like this is always a beautiful moment during my walks in nature, or when I take care of my plants. The energy of the magic wand is the qithe spark of life, and you are being asked to look at the little things that are growing in your life right now. Perhaps there is a new branch in your creative practice, or someone in your life is working on a new collaboration. Your Earth energy will be useful here. Like a gentle gardener, practice tenderly watering these new directions, grafting them, and seeing where they go. This time next year you might be surprised where your creative practice has taken you.
Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius)
Method: Three of stones
The Three of Stones is often the card of laying foundations and making plans with others. In this view, each stone forms a layer in your practice, but they still need to be put together. During this time of hibernation you are invited to flow with the Air energies moving through your mind and create your plan, or drafts of a plan, so to speak. That might look like creating a project spreadsheet or gathering your employees for a meeting. Collect the stones and be ready to get to work.
Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces)
Method: Five cups
Of all the elements, yours is the one swimming in emotions, and this Five of Cups card only emphasizes that. They break, fall apart, shatter, and like yin and yang, within the brokenness the seed of something new germinates. The greatest wisdom often lies in not turning away from it and simply allowing the pain to hurt. Remember the Baldwin quote above. Water is what connects us all in our beautiful and vulnerable humanity.
