My Top 3 Tarot Cards for Compassion

A few years ago, I was a tarot conference when a few readers started talking about gift certificates for tarot readings.

“Don’t buy your friend a reading when they’re celebrating a happy occasion – no one gets tarot readings when things are going well,” one of them said.

He was half-joking, half-serious.

And the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

Gift certificates aside, it’s typical for people to seek out tarot readings when they are contemplating a dilemma.

Tarot helps people when they feel stuck in a rut or trapped in a tough situation. It helps when they are blocked around a decision, or when they feel unfocused about their overall direction in life.

Sure, some people book in for cosmic check-ins and general life updates, but by and far, I’ve noticed that most clients have specific reasons for buying tarot readings.

This is why tarot reading requires compassion. While it can be tempting sometimes to tell it like it is in a reading, diviners need to strike the right balance and tone when delivering messages. Especially when querents are feeling vulnerable.

Tarot itself is a powerful teacher whose images and symbols hold great reminders of compassion.

We can reflect on tarot’s images to meditate upon the ways in which we can practice compassion in our readings, and in our everyday lives.

We can also watch for the presence of key symbols and cards in readings that call for a big heart and gentle touch.

My Top 3 tarot cards for compassion are:

Ace of Cups: To me, this card epitomizes open heartedness and the ever-lasting potential of new beginnings. It’s also a wonderful reminder to demonstrate self-compassion, as I often look at it as a timely message to “fill your own cup.”

Six of Pentacles: Often seen as a card of charity, the Six of Pentacles is a powerful reminder that life is always about give and take. Sometimes we are the ones who need help. Sometimes we are the ones capable of restoring balance in someone else’s life. Compassion for others and for ourselves is encompassed in the Six of Pentacles.

Six of Cups: This is currently one of my favourite tarot cards. To me, the Six of Cups carries a benevolent energy. It see it as a reminder to be gentle, and also as a good sign that easier times are around the corner.

Tarot readers need to be able to support questions that are emotionally charged, or that require a gentle, non-judgmental approach. 

Until next time,

Liz 

p.s. Are you looking for a deeper dive into the meanings of tarot? Going Beyond the Little White Book is one of the most comprehensive tarot guides out there, designed to help you put your cards into a range of contexts. Get it here.