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Hi there Tarot Friends,

New Moon in Cancer today conjunct our lovely Jupiter.

Hopefully this will be a breather from the rather frenetic last few months.

As usual, New Moons are a good time to seed intentions, so you've got the rest of the week to think about what you'd like to grow in the month ahead.

Maybe write down your intentions on paper, fold them up, and plant them. Water them every day between now and the full moon. See what happens. Ya never know.

Dang! Your Tarot reading would thrive if...you fed the roots

The Mindset Shift That Turns Tarot from Guessing to Knowing

I've got quite the garden, and I'm always checking out plants wherever I go. From the humblest weed to painstakingly cultivated displays, I notice plants.

Then it hit me: Tarot is like a plant.

It's quite pretty and attractive, with all those colorful cards. Just like any other plant, you might see a gorgeous Tarot deck and take it home.

How wonderful to have that vibrant, colorful energy in your presence.

But over time, that Tarot plant starts to wilt. Leaves drop. The blooms fade. Why?

Because Tarot is a living organism, just like a plant. And just like a plant, you must tend to the entire system—not just the showy parts.

Most of what you find online or on YouTube about Tarot focuses on the above-ground parts:

• Definitions
• Spreads
• Decks
• Divination

However, Tarot has deep, mysterious roots worth exploring. These foundations include:

• Numerology: The energy of numbers and their sequence
• Classical knowledge: Alchemy and the four elements
• Playing cards: Knights and the Major Arcana tradition

There's much more to study about Tarot's roots and branches, but this framework guides how I teach the system.

Root Knowledge and Function

A plant's roots provide stability and nourishment. They uptake water and nutrients, feeding the entire organism.

In our analogy, Tarot's foundations, history, and traditions inform everything above ground. Unfortunately, most people spend all their time in the leaves and never enough in the roots.

Their Tarot practice never fully "roots"!

What does spending all your time in the leaves look like?

• Collecting decks but rarely using them
• Memorizing definitions without understanding
• Thinking Tarot exists only for divination
• Arguing about different approaches
• Obsessing over which deck is "most accurate"
• Believing you need different methods for different decks
• Struggling with spreads instead of creating your own

I'm not knocking these behaviors—we've all been there. I've been there.

But when you realize you're missing the whole system, you understand why it's not working.

What does spending time in the roots look like?

Discovering Tarot's playing card origins. There's ancient wisdom here. Contemplate the mysteries: 52 cards, 52 weeks in a year. Coincidence?

Exploring classical knowledge in the deck. The four elements appear in the four suits. Alchemy weaves through the Major Arcana.

Understanding Platonic numerology. Every number carries energy. Numbers are sequential—how does this create meaning between cards?

But wait—the leaves aren't useless.

Leaves capture unlimited solar energy and create food for the entire plant. That nourishment flows everywhere, including the roots.

This means Tarot's visible expressions are vast. Just as you can have countless varieties of bougainvillea, you can cultivate unique Tarot practices. Ever seen a plant covered in one color of flower, except for one branch sporting a completely different hue?

Stunning.

You are that plant.

Show us what you've got.

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-Cassandra the Card Reader

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