Cult of Tarot Forum

Hi, Charlie Brown,

What question would you like me to do a reading on? Thank you.

Since this is a different kind of reading, I wanted to try a little bit different kind of question. If this doesn't work for you, I'm sure we can figure something else out.

I have some very complicated reactions to this song/video that I don't exactly understand, although I have enough of a vague sense that I can probably provide some decent feedback. What am I feeling and/or why am I feeling it?

Thanks. I'm hoping this will be fun for both of us.

This is such an interesting question. I would like to try it with the spread. No need to do a new question. Thank you.

Charlie Brown wrote: ↑16 Nov 2019, 03:14 Since this is a different kind of reading, I wanted to try a little bit different kind of question. If this doesn't work for you, I'm sure we can figure something else out.

I have some very complicated reactions to this song/video that I don't exactly understand, although I have enough of a vague sense that I can probably provide some decent feedback. What am I feeling and/or why am I feeling it?

Thanks. I'm hoping this will be fun for both of us.

Charlie Brown wrote: ↑16 Nov 2019, 03:14 Since this is a different kind of reading, I wanted to try a little bit different kind of question. If this doesn't work for you, I'm sure we can figure something else out.

I have some very complicated reactions to this song/video that I don't exactly understand, although I have enough of a vague sense that I can probably provide some decent feedback. What am I feeling and/or why am I feeling it?

Thanks. I'm hoping this will be fun for both of us.

Deck: Pocket Rider Waite

Because three cards just jumped out when shuffling, I decided not to assign particular position meanings to them. So the cards around the outside represent different components of what you are feeling when you listen to the song (and thank you for the introduction to a new artist; I'm enjoying the 90s vibe). The central card is the significator. In this case, for me it became not only the song itself but you and your connection to the song or engagement with it.

I was ultimately surprised by the cards in relation to the song, but I also see some parallels. The song has this somewhat light or whimsical tone while singing about a problematic relationship, one in which the narrator is probably not treated as she should be but cannot let go of.

The surrounding cards, 9 of cups, 10 of cups, Page of Cups, and Sun, show a positive emotional experience but the need for it to be tempered. There is emotional satisfaction (9 cups), beyond that, deep emotional fulfillment (10 cups), but also embarking on a new emotional journey in which there is sensitivity and openness but not yet the experience to control our emotions or the impact of them (Page), and the abundance and renewal of the Sun which implies a coming out of a period of darkness and uncertainty.

But on the inside you have the Queen of Swords. She is someone who has the wisdom and experience to know when to rule over her emotions with her perspective and intellect. This wisdom has always seemed to me hard won. She is someone who strikes me as having suffered to reach this level of control and enlightenment. It gives her mercy. My queen of swords song is "Let it Go" from Frozen, if that helps. She seems here to be saying that your interaction with the song is one of mastery over emotion that has led to or will lead to a more positive emotional experience. This is not so for the narrator of the song. Her light tone indicates she is using intellect to manage her emotions, but still cannot escape from them or master them enough to make a decision. Reminds me of the Page of Cups here. I would say that the cards indicate you have had this experience but are moving out of it, or recalling that process as you listen.

I used the pendulum to answer the why question you had, while I used the spread to answer the what. Of all the cards, which would lead you to understanding why the song had this impact on you. The pendulum alternated between swinging toward the 9 of cups and stopping on the Queen. It did this several times. So the interaction between these two cards is significant. The Queen's back is to the 9. The 9 has not really gotten all the way there emotionally yet. It isn't a 10. But it can be a type of satisfaction that keeps us from moving on. The Queen however is able to judge whether, even in emotionally satisfying situations, we need to move on. Or what it takes to make it to the 10. The narrator in the song is not the Queen. She's maybe stuck between the two. And that process of moving beyond that surely is a deep struggle. The queen looks toward the page, who will begin that process of eperience that leads to ultimate wisdom. She also has the 10 and the sun above and below her respectively, indicating that she is the bridge to these positive, fulfilling outcomes.

I would say the song is touching on that struggle to move out of a satisfying situation that ultimately falls short, or is indicating that that level of satisfaction wasn't there, and the difficult process of learning from and growing through that experience is why you have the reaction to the song that you do.

I hope this is helpful. Thank you for sharing the song and your question.

Sorry that I’ve been sluggish with the feedback. Things have been quite chaotic at my place. I must say those central three cards are quite the descriptive. Really interesting. Thanks for this cool write up and cool exercise.

When I’m picking my own RWS-style significator based on personality (instead of astrology, looks, etc) I usually pick the Queen of Swords. We see her looking at the much younger, light, friendly, and lively Page of Cups, who seems like a significator for this young performer. Like you point out, there’s a contrast here between youth and experience and, as you crucially point out, that contrast plays in some way with my/the queen’s memory.

I think the visuals are important too. You see the queen sitting andlooking at the page. This is strikingly analagous to my sitting, watching the video.

The pundulum was right that the relationship between the 9 of Cups and the Queen is significant. As you say, my card here embodies hard won wisdowm and sacrifices to reach a level of control. I watching her and my back is to the 9 of Cups.

You mention the relationship between the Queen and the Nine as one about “moving on,” but I think it might be more accurate to say “having moved on from” or, following the visuals, “turned my back on.”

One thing that helped put some of this in perspective is this second video of hers that I came across:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxKb3YgWyU0

As you recognized, there’s a strong 90s vibe to her work. My background is in music and I myself played and wrote a lot of not dissimilar songs back then. I also play a Black-and-White Telecaster and have been known to sport the black collared shirtout and about. I think there’s definitely a sense for me that she’s sort of an idealized, modern, female version of a person that I maybe used to be or at least aspired towards or saw myself as or something of that nature. If the QoS is me today, then I can see the 9oC as me in that past: sitting alone in my room, very satisfied, either watching or listening to music like this or working on writing/playing songs not so different from these.

I think it makes me recognize parts of myself that I’ve forgotten and makes me feel that things that I thought were lost in the past have some kind of a future, even if I’m not directly part of it. Maybe it’s a recognition that I didn’t exactly lose certain things but, rather, let them fall away. There’s a mixture of gladness that they’ve been found and regret at missing them.

Thank you for the added insight into what the elements of the reading mean to you. It clarifies a lot about the reading for me.

I wish I had comforting words for your experience of finding that part of yourself was left in the past, but you never know how those parts might find you again when you most need them.

Charlie Brown wrote: ↑01 Dec 2019, 17:33 Sorry that I’ve been sluggish with the feedback. Things have been quite chaotic at my place. I must say those central three cards are quite the descriptive. Really interesting. Thanks for this cool write up and cool exercise.

When I’m picking my own RWS-style significator based on personality (instead of astrology, looks, etc) I usually pick the Queen of Swords. We see her looking at the much younger, light, friendly, and lively Page of Cups, who seems like a significator for this young performer. Like you point out, there’s a contrast here between youth and experience and, as you crucially point out, that contrast plays in some way with my/the queen’s memory.

I think the visuals are important too. You see the queen sitting andlooking at the page. This is strikingly analagous to my sitting, watching the video.

The pundulum was right that the relationship between the 9 of Cups and the Queen is significant. As you say, my card here embodies hard won wisdowm and sacrifices to reach a level of control. I watching her and my back is to the 9 of Cups.

You mention the relationship between the Queen and the Nine as one about “moving on,” but I think it might be more accurate to say “having moved on from” or, following the visuals, “turned my back on.”

One thing that helped put some of this in perspective is this second video of hers that I came across:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxKb3YgWyU0

As you recognized, there’s a strong 90s vibe to her work. My background is in music and I myself played and wrote a lot of not dissimilar songs back then. I also play a Black-and-White Telecaster and have been known to sport the black collared shirtout and about. I think there’s definitely a sense for me that she’s sort of an idealized, modern, female version of a person that I maybe used to be or at least aspired towards or saw myself as or something of that nature. If the QoS is me today, then I can see the 9oC as me in that past: sitting alone in my room, very satisfied, either watching or listening to music like this or working on writing/playing songs not so different from these.

I think it makes me recognize parts of myself that I’ve forgotten and makes me feel that things that I thought were lost in the past have some kind of a future, even if I’m not directly part of it. Maybe it’s a recognition that I didn’t exactly lose certain things but, rather, let them fall away. There’s a mixture of gladness that they’ve been found and regret at missing them.