kare Reads for Merrick: 1 reading, 2 decks

[kare]

Hi, Merrick,

What can I answer for you this month? Thank you!

[Merrick]

Hi kare!

I’m looking to move to Ireland within about a year with my family. I’d love some insight into how that process will go, thank you!

[kare]

Hi kare!

I’m looking to move to Ireland within about a year with my family. I’d love some insight into how that process will go, thank you!

This sounds like a super exciting adventure! I will post hopefully in the next couple of days. Thank you for working with me.

[kare]

Hi kare!

I’m looking to move to Ireland within about a year with my family. I’d love some insight into how that process will go, thank you!

Hi, Merrick,

Center spread:
Because your question was about the process of moving to Ireland, I decided to do something a little different for the three-card spread at the heart of the reading. The card on the left represents "here" or where you are now, either physically or internally. The card on the right represents "there" or Ireland, and all the things that go along with the idea of being there. The card between them represents the bridge that gets you from here to there. A couple of notes: I used the Bianco Nero Tarot, an RWS deck. Also, even though I do read reversals, I don't really do so with any strict adherence to what one must mean. I just like to look at the cards the way the deck gives them to me and see what happens. If I had placed the bridge card upright, it wouldn't have been reversed, but I'm going with it in a horizontal position instead.

This spread came out in a kind of consistent and unexpected way, in my opinion. And in some ways it feels to me like it is just describing things you may already know. For "here" we have the World. For "there" we have the Six of Swords. In between is Judgment, with the angel on the World/here end, and the humans on the 6 swords/there end. That is the consistent part--angel+ world, vs people+6 swords. With a fascinating white break right down the middle. My first thoughts were that if this is a trip you hope to undertake, all these things should be reversed. You should be heading toward the World, while the 6 swords represents you moving on. So this process depicted is a bit counterintuitive from what an obvious answer would be, not knowing much about your situation.

The world is about coming to full completion but also implies new beginnings. It's a natural evolution of where you have been and what you have cultivated. It is a really auspicious card in the "here" position. What better card to have for looking forward to what is next?

The process of getting "there" is represented by Judgment. I know some look at it as a card that represents your calling. That could fit here, depending on why you are moving. But there are layers to that idea. It's a card, for me, that represents accepting consequences, meeting the obligation of indebtedness or even atonement, or just accepting the results of actions or choices. Doing so allows you to let go and move forward free from the past, into a higher existence. What does it take to fulfill or respond to that calling? No one is going to hell here. They are embracing what the Angel brings. Everyone else just isn't ready yet. I would say this card indicates you are ready for this sort of process. But the earthly side, the human side, is on the where you are headed, the "there," side. And the 6 of swords is a card of moving on, of a kind of determined resolution, but it is a card in which the journey is not done. You are still in the boat. The humans are reaching up, ready to go there, but not there just yet.

So getting to Ireland, and being there, the 6 of swords, though it represents a resolution having taken place, it also shows that you really can't see quite what's ahead. It's a little more about what is left behind than what is being faced. This card has always been a bit myopic for me. What the heck is waiting. Probably a bit of struggle and uncertainty, but I like the perspective in this deck. The vantage point is from the front of the boat rather than the back. It is more open, more like that idea of something waiting for you to arrive. More hopeful.

White break right down the middle of Judgment. Does it demarcate the end of one and beginning of another? Ireland is that moment of embracing the call, the letting go. Here you have completed a journey and gotten that holy call. There is what awaits the natural next step in that process. And the figure in the World and the boat dude in the 6 are facing toward the future.

The influences:
I shifted the positions a bit to fit the compass directions on a map. It's my natural inclination, and you are traveling. North is winter/pentacles/earth, east is spring/swords/air, south is wands/summer/fire, and west is fall/cups/water. Of course wow did you get cups and cups and cups. Also, I used the Russian Tarot of the Golden Wheel. I felt the bright colors would bring some interesting contrasts or highlights to the main spread, and also you are going on an overseas adventure, and this deck is based on Russian folklore from a Russian artist. Thematically it felt suited to this idea of travel.

All these characters in these cards are literally looking back to the past. Except the baby (birth, beginnings) in the 10.

North. What is ended. Angel in Judgment is looking that way. It sits over Judgment. This idea of not being sure whether to move forward. He's connected by color and clothing to the cards east and west of him. Of beginnings, east, and endings, west. He's just having a bit of a hard time deciding whether he should move on from what is comfortable. But as Judgement indicates, you need to stand up out of that grave to complete the cycle.

East and West. Page of cups where the sun rises starting something that brings hope and possibility, a specific journey you expect to ultimately bring emotional fulfillment. Over there by the 6 of Swords in the Ireland spot. West, the comfort left behind. What the sun is setting on. Being established, secure, a sense of abundance. Maybe something that still pulls you. The red is inescapable in the overall spread. Maybe this is why you got a 6 of swords moving forward. So hard to leave behind. And its nearness to the World is notable. Maybe this is why you got the 6 of swords for the future. A difficult thing to leave behind.

Interestingly you get a reversed 7 of cups. Sort of a mirror reflection of the 4 of cups. The 7 also orients itself toward Judgement. The position here is summer, what is alive and growing. It could mean embracing possibility. It could mean the difficulty of making choices, of giving up some possibilities. The tension of both of those things existing at once. Perhaps that's the reversal element-along with the difficulty of moving on through that. The 4 is a card of almost too much stability. It complements the 7 here. That and the 4 further define the process that Judgement represents in getting to Ireland.

There seems to be a significant emotional context here. Not only because of the cups as influences, but also because of the nature of the progression, from the World to the 6 of swords. The one reversal is the one card of possible conflict, however, the 7 cups. This is a journey that concurrently begins something new for you and brings to resolution something old. (This is judgment and 6 swords here.) The resolution feels inevitable, and perhaps not one completely satisfactory, but one that is needed. The 6 of swords to me has a lot to do with your agency, a decision made. The boat also hasn't docked yet. So there is more of a journey before you. But the resoultion you will have attained prepares you for what comes next.

I hope this helps! I wish you the best in what is a difficult process even when all goes smoothly and even when the move is not so great as going to another country. Thank you so much for letting me read for you.

Update:
Perhaps it is the 10 cups and world that have you feeling ready for the move. Starting from a solid position, ready to take on what is next?

[Merrick]

I hope this helps! I wish you the best in what is a difficult process even when all goes smoothly and even when the move is not so great as going to another country. Thank you so much for letting me read for you!

This was a very interesting reading, thank you. It brought up an aspect of this journey that until now I hadn’t given much thought to: The emotional impact. My wife and I have been so motivated and excited for the benefits of leaving the U.S. that we haven’t stopped to consider what we are leaving behind, which is a whole world. But The World is a completion card which tells me that what we have here was naturally coming to an end anyway.

Interestingly Judgement was the central card of another reading I did about this, and I do really feel in this case it’s a card of rebirth and resurrection. And as we see this move as just the beginning of the next phase of our lives, the six of swords makes total sense. The move isn’t the end in itself, it’s the start of a whole new voyage.

The prevalence of cups feels appropriate, this will be an emotional time and I’m sure there will be surges of positive and not so positive reactions. On the whole this reading helped add some needed perspective and context I will take into consideration as we go through the process, thank you.

By the way, I love the look of both of those decks! That’s a very evocative World card especially.

[kare]

I hope this helps! I wish you the best in what is a difficult process even when all goes smoothly and even when the move is not so great as going to another country. Thank you so much for letting me read for you!

This was a very interesting reading, thank you. It brought up an aspect of this journey that until now I hadn’t given much thought to: The emotional impact. My wife and I have been so motivated and excited for the benefits of leaving the U.S. that we haven’t stopped to consider what we are leaving behind, which is a whole world. But The World is a completion card which tells me that what we have here was naturally coming to an end anyway.

Interestingly Judgement was the central card of another reading I did about this, and I do really feel in this case it’s a card of rebirth and resurrection. And as we see this move as just the beginning of the next phase of our lives, the six of swords makes total sense. The move isn’t the end in itself, it’s the start of a whole new voyage.

The prevalence of cups feels appropriate, this will be an emotional time and I’m sure there will be surges of positive and not so positive reactions. On the whole this reading helped add some needed perspective and context I will take into consideration as we go through the process, thank you.

By the way, I love the look of both of those decks! That’s a very evocative World card especially.

Thank you for the feedback. The cups definitely seem to indicate a complexity of emotions, which is of course totally reasonable for a big move. Thank you for sharing that you got judgment before. That card can sometimes be a touchstone any doubts you have, and here it seems you are fully embracing the move. I truly hope it goes as smoothly as possible.