21 Ways to Read the Tarot Card - Step Eight - Metaphor

21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card
Mary K. Greer

In step eight of our journey, we look at using metaphors to convey the meanings of the cards.

"Metaphors express what cannot be told in any other way, prompting pictures that trigger the imagistic unconscious mind and bypass the critical conscious mind. As a basic mechanism for understanding our experience, metaphors convey in very few words the essence of a card meaning by evoking emotions, sensations, and memories."

Metaphor as Transporter

"A metaphor is simply one thing representing something else; furthermore, it's not just a comparison but also a shared identity."

Some given examples:

• 5 of Pentacles - crippled spirit
• 10 of Swords - stabbed in the back
• 5 of Cups - crying over spilled milk

Five of Pentacles
Artwork © Jennifer Galasso, 2011  

Activity 8:1 - Part One - Find some other metaphors for the Five of Pentacles based on the card in your deck.

• Left out in the cold
• Fend for yourself
• Strength through struggle
• Waiting out the storm

Activity 8:1 - Part Two - Find phrases relating to the number five and suit of pentacles.

• Falling from glory
• The storm before the calm
• A test of faith
• Returning to basics

Activity 8:1 - Part Three - Which phrases don't work for you? Cross them out. Which ones work well? Use these as the beginning of your own list relating to this card.

Here's the beginning of my own list.

• Left out in the cold
• Finding strength through struggle, a test of faith
• Waiting out the storm to see brighter days

Artwork © Jennifer Galasso, 2011  

Activity 8:2 - Part One - List metaphors and sayings for your chosen card. Include expressions already used when describing the card.

• Blinded by the truth
• Caught between a rock and a hard place
• Weighing the options
• Assessing the situation

Activity 8:2 - Part Two - Finish the following statements, in as many ways as you can:

• I am insert one of your metaphors.
• I am blinded by the truth.
• I am caught between a rock and a hard place.
• I am weighing my options.
• I am assessing the situation.

• The situation feels like describe an emotion implied by the metaphor.
• The situation feels suffocating.
• The situation feels hopeless.
• The situation feels important.
• The situation feels major.

Activity 8:2 - Part Three - What do these metaphors suggest about your own situation?

Taking all four of these metaphors and the related emotions, I feel the decision before me is a very important and major crossroads in my life. My pause is due to not being able to see past the ultimate decision. The results of either choice seem daunting. To stand in one place, rather than take the step, leaves me in the moment, rather than moving forward, which is safe, for the moment.

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