Tarot Card of the Day: 3/26/24

The Ace of Chalices

I draw a tarot card every day now. Some days, I just read the meanings in the book and I’m good. Other days, I reference several of my many Tarot cards or look at my homemade Tarot encyclopedia that I’ve created out of an artist’s notebook (I’ll show that another day). It depends on how I’m feeling that day and how much I might know about that card already.

Every card has many aspects one can study. And as always, with many meanings, take what works for you and leave the rest. I cannot emphasize that part enough.

Today, I drew the Ace of Chalices from the Tarot of the Animal Lords Tarot deck. The image is of an antelope standing on a post in the middle of a fountain. He has a sloshing chalice in one hand and a pitchfork in the other. There are rolling green hills and trees in the background. The chalices are represented by Crabs and their element is water. Let’s break this card down a little bit.

Aces usually signify beginnings, the start of something (anything!) and the number one. Water symbolizes flowing emotions, so it could mean the beginning of a love relationship or a friendship but this antelope’s cup is overflowing! The pitchfork could also be interpreted as a trident, the tool or weapon of the great Greek god Poseidon, a symbol of power. An antelope can symbolize resiliency, adaptability and overcoming crises. The primary colors of the card are blue, green and brown. Green can mean growth, “green means go,” balance, particularly balance of emotions, and harmony. Blue is calm, relaxation, tranquility, security and order. Brown often means strength and reliability, often associated with the element of earth. The astrological sign associated with Ace of Chalices is Cancer, the crab. Overall, upright, this card has a positive connotation.

Reversed, cards can mean the exact opposite of the upright meaning, it can mean the energy of the upright meaning is blocked, or removed, or absent. In this case, typical reversed meanings for this card include lies, sudden changes, or insecurity, according to the book that came with the cards. Other meanings could be: emotional emptiness and disconnection, lacking in trust or belief, blindness to life’s joys, creative blockages, emotional disappointment. Some people don’t read reversals at all and I did not for a long time, while I was learning the cards. Now I feel they offer another level of interpretation and richness to a reading. But do whatever you are comfortable with.

Now imagine this card is part of a spread and is in the “past,” “present,” or “future” position. Or in the “problem” spot of the Celtic Cross spread. That adds another layer of meaning to any card which can each clearly be interpreted a number of different ways as well as influence how you might read another card in the spread. We won’t cover spreads for a little while, let’s just learn the cards and relate them to our everyday lives. Maybe journal about the card, how its meanings make you feel and what you get from the card. I will be starting a more in-depth tarot a day card draw soon, I have ordered a daily journal to record my thoughts.

Finally, I take the matching sticker from The Weiner Tarot Card Sticker Book and put it in my regular daily day planner. I will switch to my tarot journal once I receive it this week. Then I can look over longer stretches of time and look for patterns, what situations (looking back) may have more accurately reflected the cards drawn, what situations may have been warned about or resolved. I am also working with the books Tarot Priestess: Using the Cards to Heal, Grow, and Serve by Leeza Robertson and Tarot for Your Self by Mary K Greer, both of which encourage journaling. I am just using a day planner with plenty of room to write 7 days a week (some day planner give you tiny spots for the weekend) with a moon on the front. I’m excited to get it and get started. I also have used in the past the Tarot Journal Coloring Book by Amy Cesari; I have most of her coloring books. But I was using it based on what pictures matched my mood so that journal is half full and all out of order. I’m thinking using a day planner will be a lot better for the use I intend it for.

Let me know in the comments how you use the tarot. Do you journal? Do you draw a card every day? How well do you know the cards? Are you a beginner? Do you have a tarot deck of your own and if so, which one do you like using?