Scared of the Cards? By Leela J. Williams

Why there are no “bad” cards in Tarot

It was 2002, and I had just been made redundant. The announcement wasn’t a shock, but it came months earlier than expected. I’d been saving like crazy and had a few prospects, but I wasn’t sure what to do. My only clear goal was a healthier and more rewarding employment dynamic. One of the psychics I worked with offered to give me a tarot reading. He wasn’t alone in reassuring me that I was young, enthusiastic, hard-working and capable. There must be good things ahead! But when he started laying out the cards, a different picture emerged.

The cards delivered a clear, stark message: I was at risk of wasting the opportunity that Death was offering me. Instead of a fresh start, I was about to step into the same pattern I was leaving. If I wanted to break the cycle, I had work to do! Tarot can be honest. The cards don’t shy away from the tough stuff – and why would we want them to?

I’ve written about this experience before, but it’s worth revisiting. When Death, the Three of Swords or The Tower appear in a spread, it’s not time to hide under the doona. Tarot is a storytelling device, and tension is a key element in any narrative.

When we first come to Tarot, some cards do look daunting. Doreen Van Boxtel is a professional member of the Tarot Guild of Australia and has been reading Tarot for nearly 40 years. She says “bad” isn’t the right word: “It’s more accurate to think of them as challenging cards, and to see them as necessary because life is not all roses. Sometimes, we need to be challenged so we can grow.”

I was surprised to learn that some readers remove cards like Death and The Devil, so they can never come up. This is because people do get frightened by them. It’s natural to want to avoid them – in the same way we want to avoid heartbreak or trouble. Doreen takes a different approach.

“Death can be a very useful card. If someone wants to know whether they should try to hold on to a job or hold hope for a relationship, Death gives a clear ending. With that clarity, we can move forward and have a beginning.”

Death can signify an ending, and endings can be painful, but reframing its message as a transformation or fresh beginning can be jumping ahead. Transforming fear into curiosity isn’t about softening a card’s meaning. It’s not enough to say Death doesn’t mean a literal death. We need to sit with the message instead of blaming the messenger.

The Three of Swords can mean heartache. The Tower can signify disruption. The Devil can reveal a controlling relationship. They might not mean those things exactly … the point is that denying what a card is telling us doesn’t make it more useful.

Back to my reading … I saw a future I didn’t want. When this happens, I ask myself what I can do about it. The cards will have clues. The Eight of Swords might be challenging me to remove my blindfold. The Ten of Wands might be telling me to stop overburdening myself. The Devil might turn up in a reading. But better the Devil I am prepared for – right? These cards give Tarot its edge, its honesty, and its capacity to tell me what I need to hear.

The cards don’t dictate the future. They do reflect the pattern we are in. Sometimes we just need reassurance, and Doreen agrees that seeing a future full of challenges can feel like too much. “If there are a lot of swords, first remember, it’s not going to stay like that. Secondly, it doesn’t need to be like that. When we change, the cards change.”

Connect with Leela at https://linktr.ee/leelajwilliams and find her oracles and journals, including Maxine Gadd’s Zoologica: The Steampunk Oracle at Tarotopia.