Beyond the Shuffle: Tarot, Life & Everything In Between

Trust in Tarot

• Adrienne Amari • Season 1 • Episode 23

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0:00 | 19:41

What is your relationship like with trust? How easily do you trust yourself, other people, and the universe?

Until I did this episode, I don't even think I realized how often the theme of trust pops up in the cards - but it makes sense. We need trust in our lives: it helps us feel safe, and confident in who we are, and what we're doing.


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SPEAKER_00

What's your relationship like with trust? How easily do you trust yourself, the process, other people, and the universe? Hi there, and welcome to Beyond the Shuffle, a podcast where we explore this wild ride of the human experience through the lens of Tarot. I'm Adrian Amari, your host, guide, and very trusting person. So settle in, open your mind, and let's go beyond the shuffle. Over the last few weeks, we've been talking about different elements of tarot and not so much about the cards or specific cards themselves. So this week we're going to dive back into bringing up a few specific cards, but also talking about this important element in a tarot reading. And that element is trust. We live in a world right now where trust is kind of a commodity. We want to trust the people we're buying from that they are going to deliver what they promise. We see posts on social media and we don't know if we can trust the source or what's being said, or even if it's a real person in the video itself. We get worked up and we question if we can even trust ourselves and our own intuition. Because sometimes we see signs telling us not to. And I think for most of us, we always want to trust that there is something better, something more, something worthwhile out there for us to experience. And when it comes to a tarot reading, we want to trust the reader and the cards. So let's start off with a couple tarot cards that really lean into this idea of trust. The first one that comes to mind for me is the star, because so often when I see this, I think trust in yourself and trust in the universe. Trust in that integration process and that the dust will settle and things will be okay again. Of course, this is only one small element to the star card, but I love thinking about it this way. It's trust your own inner guiding light because that's what a star is a symbol of. It's a guiding light. Think of the three wise men following the star to Jesus. Think of sailors using the stars in the sky to map their course. And when the star card comes up in tarot, it's that self-trust that we need to lean into and that we need to rely on. And that is not just one small part of us. It's trust in all elements, in our physical body, in our mental realm, in our emotions, and in our intuition. And I think sometimes the most comforting part of the star is trusting that things can and will be better. My favorite depiction of the star is from The Prisma Visions by James R. Eads. And it is a girl falling through the sky, but all of the flowers reaching up from Earth to catch her. And it's that imagery that really spoke to me and really makes me gravitate to the idea of you will be caught. Trust yourself through this process, through this integration, through this healing, and we'll be able to return back to a state of flow. And talking about flow and trust, that's where the wheel of fortune comes in. Because the wheel of fortune is trusting in the process of the cosmic cycles of the universe. That was kind of a mouthful, but it's very much trusting the ebbs and flows that go beyond ourselves, that are greater than us, because at the end of the day, we are small parts of this giant machine, and we can't really do a whole lot to control it. So we do have to give in to that trust element. We have to trust that the sun will keep rising, that the rain will fall, that the plants will grow. And I really see that as such a big element of the wheel of fortune. When strength shows up, we are told to have that confidence, that inner strength, that inner trust in ourselves, to give ourselves grace and compassion and kindness and forgiveness, and to trust that the path forward isn't through berating ourselves or judging or criticizing or being too harsh, but it is through diplomacy and gentleness. I mean, just look at the card. In the Ryder Waite Smith version, you have the lady and the lion or the maiden and the beast. They're tethered by a flower chain, and she gently pets him and he submits. So the trust that comes with the strength card is the inner self-trust to tame that wild beast, which let's be real, rages within us all from time to time. I think too, it's also the knowledge that we can handle ourselves with a certain amount of grace, and that we can trust in our own strength and power to get us through whatever life decides to throw our way, no matter how difficult it may be. Because behind strength is this quiet fortitude. And of course, another word that goes along so well with this is confidence, because it does take trust in yourself to be confident and to carry yourself with that energy. And it doesn't mean you have it all figured out or you know all the answers. It's that inner knowing that you can handle figuring it out. And you can handle not having all the answers. Now I've talked about this card many a time, but the fool is another ultimate symbol of trust, of taking that leap of faith, of jumping off the cliff and seeing where you land. It's allowing yourself to be a beginner all over again and trusting that that process is worthwhile. And I think a lot of the time when we have that deep self-trust and that deep knowledge of trusting the process, it makes it easier to say yes to new things and it makes us worry less about what other people might think of the journey. In a similar vein, if we have the seven of pentacles, we have the trust in the hard work, in putting in the time, putting in the effort of going through the process of building something, knowing that when we commit fully, we do see the rewards of our efforts. Is it going to happen overnight? No, and that's why there is that trust element to the seven of pentacles, because sometimes things grow slowly and we get discouraged and it's frustrating because, oh my goodness, why is nothing happening in the timing that I want it to? But if we know that we're staying on track and we know that we're dedicating our resources to getting there, we will, and there has to be a certain element of us that truly trusts and believes that. The Two of Wands tells us to trust the vision, to put the ideas out there, to step outside the comfort zone, to make those plans and start taking action to see what unfolds. I also really like the King of Wands for this too, because he has those big visions, those creative ideas. He knows what he wants to put out into the world and he trusts himself to do it and finds people to work with him that he can also trust to bring his visions to reality. Because it's not always an easy thing to put your ideas out in the world and hope that other people run with them and accept them and embrace them in the way that you're intending them to. In the moon and the Queen of Cups, we're being encouraged to trust and tune into our intuition. The moon tells us that the world is full of shadows, that we don't always see things clearly, and that there are so many energies out there that can skew our perception of reality. And how do we navigate that darkness? How do we navigate when the shadows are playing tricks with our mind? It's through trusting our intuition, it's allowing it to guide us through those moments of confusion and when things aren't clear. And I think the Queen of Cups would agree because she is the queen that embodies this. She trusts those intuitive hits when she meets somebody new. And it's interesting because as I'm talking about this, I really feel like an inner trust and a trust in your intuition aren't the same thing, but I don't know if I can articulate why. Because our intuition is so much a part of us, but it's different from trusting that inner confidence, that inner power, those inner ideas and motivations and passions. It feels quieter and gentler in a way. But the Queen of Cups asks us to lean in. The Queen of Cups, along with trusting her intuition, is also the queen that would very much trust her emotion or her feelings on something. She's not going to try to overexplain it or to justify it or rationalize it. Because she has that trust, she doesn't need to. So we have trusting in the process with some of the pentacles, trusting in the vision with some of the wands, trusting in the intuition and the emotion with the cups, and then trusting in the clarity and the thoughts and the mind in the swords. The Six of Swords is a great example of this. It's trusting in the transition of allowing yourself to accept where you are, seeing your journey so far, being honest with yourself so that you can leave that behind to sail on to bigger, better waters. And it's often a really difficult thing to do to really embody that energy so that you can move on to something new without carrying all that baggage from the past with you. Because there has to be a part of you that trusts it's for the best. Because if you don't, you're not going to drop those bags in the water. You're going to keep them in your boat and you're going to continue to sink. An interesting thing too is if we look at the Six of Swords, there are actually three characters in the boat. There's the boatman and then what looks like to be a mother and a child. And it's funny because I always see the mother and the child as the one who are moving on, sailing away, leaving their baggage behind, and the boatman or ferryman is just the one that's allowing them to go through that and to get there. And some of the Six of Swords is allowing yourself to just kind of float and trusting in that transition phase where it might not all be 100% clear and you might not have it all worked out. But you sail on anyways because you know that it's time to move forward, and we can't stay anchored here forever. I feel like the Queen of Swords is also a great card for really trusting your choices and decisions. And she's not a queen who makes fickle choices, but she makes it through trusting her common sense, her intelligence, and her observations. And it can be hard to really trust that type of judgment in yourself. But we have to remember the Queen of Swords has been through it. She has seen and done so much, and she is where she is because or in spite of that. And I think we can argue that if she didn't develop that trust and that strength within herself, she wouldn't be there. She has to have conviction in her choices and her decisions. And that's not saying that every single one is the best one. But she makes it and she trusts that she can deal with the consequences, both good and bad. And of course, another element to really look at is how does a relationship with trust work with other people? We have the two of cups, which is that open, vulnerable, honest partnership. And it takes a great deal of trusting someone with your heart for you to allow them into your life that way, no matter what capacity that's actually in. With the three of cups, we trust our friends to see us for who we are and to celebrate those wins with us, to give our support and to share the losses together. It's that camaraderie. And I think for a lot of people right now, that's something that we're looking for. Those friendships where we can truly be ourselves and trust others to hold that space for us without judgment and with just love. In the Three of Pentacles, we have trusting others to do their job, allowing others to utilize their unique skills, gifts, and talents without you thinking you have to do it all. It can be another good card that comes up for trusting the experts. And I find it comes up with a lot of health readings, where it's very much like let the experts do their jobs to find out what's going on here. And it can come up too where it's like, you know what, maybe you need another opinion. Maybe this isn't the one to trust. And I think the last card I really want to bring up here is the Hierophant, because that very much is trusting in the conventional wisdom. Trust that it's been done this way for a reason and because it works. Trusting in the structure and the institutions of society that we've built and that we operate within. Although I have to admit, it does make me think of those memes where someone asks for a source and they reply, like, just trust me, bro. So you know, take that with a grain of salt, and maybe that comes partially from the organized religion aspect to the Hierophant. But it is kind of a fun way to think about it and look at it too. And until I sat here and started thinking about it, I don't know if I would have thought, oh, there are so many cards in the tarot that in some shape, way, or form speak of trust. And because there are so many different ways to look at the cards, I don't want to presume that this is an all-exclusive list either. But trust really is an important part of our experience here. And I think we've all had those moments where you misplaced your trust in somebody. Very seven of swords kind of moment. And what happens when you do? You feel upset, betrayed, hurt, broken. And a lot of the time it's not even so much the action of what has happened, it's the fact that that trust was betrayed. And this segues into the other element of this I really want to talk about, and that is developing trust during a tarot reading. So if you're someone who gets readings, like you're a seeker or a receiver, I would assume it's relatively important to you that you go to somebody that you feel you can trust. You're sharing your story to this person, your emotion, your energy. And if you feel like you can't trust them, that's probably not a good reader for you to go to. For me, a lot of those like clickbaity readers that you see online, those feel so untrustworthy to me. And maybe it doesn't to you, and that's totally okay. But when I see all those posts, like, what are they thinking? Are they coming back? Are you getting the promotion? I just get that sense of, ooh, I don't feel like this person can be trustworthy because if you look at the answers, they're always what people want to hear. And sure, sometimes you'll get a reading and it's exactly what you wanted to hear. But a lot of the time what's mixed in there is things that you needed to hear, but maybe didn't necessarily want to. So I guess my point is if somebody is always delivering the messages you want to hear, we might have to check or consider how trustworthy that information actually is. Now, if you're someone who does readings for other people, building that trust and rapport is so important. And how do we do that? Well, first and foremost, we're honest. We're honest about who we are, what we do, what we read for, what we don't read for. We're honest about our boundaries and what we think this tool can or cannot do. Most importantly, we're honest about what we see in the cards. And when I say honest, I don't mean mean or cruel or harsh. Even with difficult messages, there's always a way to deliver them in a way that's compassionate. And when clients are coming to you, they're trusting you to do that at the very least. Because people come and they bear their heart and souls. And if you're not someone who can be trusted with that energy and with that emotion, then maybe reading for others isn't the thing to do. Having a privacy or a confidentiality notice can be really important as well. That shows that you've thought about it and that you are trustworthy. Because I guess at the end of the day, how can you trust a message when the source isn't someone that you trust itself? Do you feel like you can trust a message from an untrustworthy source? That's something I don't actually have an answer to, but if you do, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Now, if you read tarot or you're learning tarot, I have a little experiment for you to try. And if you like this kind of thing where you're experimenting with your cards and thinking about them in new ways, first make sure you're signed up for my mailing list because every Monday I send out a tarot experiment to try. And consider joining us in the Tarot Lab. The Tarot Lab is my membership program where we experiment with the cards in all sorts of different ways. Every month there's a new monthly challenge. We have a monthly masterclass on working with your cards in different ways, monthly lessons to help you develop techniques and skills, office hours where you can come get feedback and ask questions, a WhatsApp group to chat in, and so much more. If that sounds like your jam, check it out at adrianamari.com slash the tarot lab. But here's your experiment. I want you to really take a moment to sit down and reflect on trust. Who do you trust the most in your life and who do you not trust at all? Make a list, even if it's just in your head. Now I want you to intentionally choose a card that represents those energies, the ones that you trust and the ones that you don't. And I want you to look for any similarities and patterns. And then I want you to consider what do you think that really means? And if this is something that you're like, oh, I don't read tarot, but I would love to try this, you can book a time with me and we can definitely do it together. Because tarot used in this way is different, interesting, fun, and so insightful. Because while I love a good card reading, it's also important to work with the cards in different ways to keep your practice fresh and your insights flowing. But I want you to give that a try. And if you don't have cards and you just want to brainstorm, that's totally okay too. You don't need cards to do this. I just think it's a really fun visual element to see what patterns might emerge. And if anything does come up, I would love for you to let me know. You can always email me at contact at adrianamari.com or find me on Instagram at Beyond the Shuffle Podcast or Adrian Amari Tarot. I hope you found this week's episode on trust interesting, insightful, and food for thought as well. Because I think as we continue on in this journey through this crazy world, we definitely need to examine our relationship with who and what we trust, and how we can make sure that we're trusting ourselves to the best of our ability. And if we don't, what can we do to better that relationship? So give the experiment a try, let me know how it goes, and until next week, stay open and stay curious.