A Tarot Reading for 2021 - Revealing the Spread, Cards 1 and 2

This is the third in my series of posts about my New Year's 2021 Tarot reading.  Post one where I talk about my choice of deck is here, and post two where I discuss the spread is here.  

So onward!  Let's start with looking at the cards as a whole, just to get a feel for the connections and overall themes.  Then I'll 'flip' the first two.  Here's what's in my spread:

1.  Death.
2.  Five of Swords
3.  Ace of Swords
4.  Five of Wands
5.  Eight of Wands
6.  Tower
7.  Sun
8.  Magician
9.  Page of Cups
10.  Ace of Cups
11.  Four of Coins

Looking at the suits, it’s interesting to see how they are so cleanly split.  Swords (challenges, intellect, thoughts) appear early, referring the background like my inner self and the conflict.  Then the framing forces of the past and present are Wands (career, projects, inspiration).  The intangibles of 2021 are represented by Cups (emotions, relationships, creativity).  Only at the very end do we find Coins/Pentacles (money, resources) showing the tangibles of real-world outcomes.  Four of the eleven cards are Major Arcana, and two are Aces, which is pretty cool as indicators of key themes/aspects of my relationship to 2021.

I've placed the first two cards off to the side, although they are usually dealt to lay across the middle of the center card in the spread.  These two cards form the essence of me and my relationship to 2021, both my role(s) and my true inner self within that context.

1.  Death - Significator.  Okay, so I’m a romanto-techno-weirdo-goth person and thus the Tarot Death card has never been one I’ve viewed negatively.  This card represents change, and I see a lot of positive aspects in that.  We certainly need some change after 2020.  The character in the card wears a mask, already so appropriate for 2020/2021 but in addition, this mask is a plague doctor’s mask.  Creepy appropriate.  It is intended as protection.  The white rose is an homage to Death.  My interpretation is that I see myself as someone trying to stay safe, but also trying to help and to honor others who were not so lucky.  I also think it bodes for my role in 2021 being different from 2020 in some way that may be specifically virus related.

2.  Five of Swords - Me.  This card depicts the winner of a hard-fought battle.  But while the character in the card has indeed won, the victory may have been Pyrrhic.  As my inner self I see this card as a question - what have I gained and what have I lost in 2020?  I have to take my lessons learned forward with me into 2021 or this victory (my continued health and prosperity) will have been at a high price, indeed.  My inner self is one who is glad for victory, but cognizant of costs and compromises.  This is appropriate as Swords as it frames my challenges and thoughts of myself and my place.

Next post, I'll talk about the five middle cards that form the cross.

Image Credits:  Pix by me of my stuff.