We've all seen it, in the movies.  A man goes to a gypsy and BAM she pulls out a scary ass card.  "Something evil is coming!!  Something horrible shall come to pass soon!!  You must run and hide!!"  While entertaining for TV and movies, in real life its really not that way.  Thing is......these cards?  Not so scary in real life.
Emma's Rule #1:

 The Death Card never means actual physical death.

Phew!! Right?

It means the end of one thing to make room for something new.  It should be renamed as "Transformation" or "Change", cause that's what it is.  One door closes, another one opens.  The imagery on most decks look like this one (Rider Waite) so while it looks pretty scary, its really not.  The ending of a bad relationship, a useless job, an annoying situation, things like that.  Then the door opens for something sooooo much better. 

Where do you desperately need change in your life?  How can you go about getting it?  How can you view a recent end as a new beginning?

So now that the hardest card is out of the way........

 

Emma's Rule #2

The Tower Card is not as bad as it looks.

Looks scary as hell, though, don't it?  

It means something might take you by surprise.  It might break all your walls down to start with a clean slate.  Now that still might sound scary, but its all in how you see it.  I see it as an amazing surprise and adventure to look forward to.  Look at the people of the world who have achieved everything they've ever wanted to.  How did they get there?  They had to have their slates wiped clean MANY times before their achieving what they did.  Not only that, but sometimes its not a HUGE slate-wiping experience.  It also might be something small.  It just depends on the situation.  But for the most part, I see it as exciting!  All that lightening, pure energy!! 

What do you want to wipe clean in your life?  Where do you need a fresh, new start?  What do you need to shake up in order to wake up those who aren't paying attention?


Emma's Rule #3

The Devil is just a symbol.

Of course all the cards are just symbols, but people need reminders when it comes to this big guy.  He's pretty scary looking and is a symbol of evil in the Christian religion.  But in reality, he's just a story that's told to help explain the of the dark parts of the human existence.  Greed.  Lust.  Addiction.  Toxic relationships.  Bondage.  Materialism.  The parts of us we want to hide from the public.  The secret, dark, and shameful parts.  But we shouldn't be ashamed at all.  Life is not all unicorns or roses.  We can break free from our bondage.  We can shine light on those hidden parts (esp. if the Sun is nearby) and work with them to make them whole again.  This card should not scare you.....by having it show up in a reading, it says "Hey, look at me!  You need to take care of this part of yourself and pay attention to it.  Now is the time for change." 

Where are you lax in your life right now?  Where can you tighten up the reins and do better? 




Emma's Rule #4

The 10 of Swords is actually a positive card.  Mostly.

He sure looks dead!  Haha!  But he's not dead at all.  He's tired.  He's been either stabbed in the back or felt like he was stabbed in the back life itself.  BUT,  if you look closely, you'll see calm, still water, with beautiful skies behind those dark clouds.  So whatever it is, it will soon pass.  Your back-stabbery is very temporary.  Soon, clear skies will reign again and life will feel fresh and new.  So see, its actually a pretty positive card.  You just have to look at it in the right way.  Sometimes its good to know who or what the backstabbers are your life before you stay around them for too long. 

Where in your life do you feel stabbed in the back?  Make sure it's not an imagined situation: like, my husband has ADHD and doesn't always hear what I say, and sometimes, I feel betrayed, as though he's not listening to me....but in reality, I am the one causing the issue, as I am only imagining it as intentional. 


I am sure there are other cards that kinda freak you out.  But if you closely at the imagery, you might see things that make the card more positive.  Or look up as many interpretations as you can, get a good for feel for everything it could possibly mean.  When you read, it will make sense which meaning is coming forth.  But just remember this last rule:

Emma's Rule #5

Everything that looks bad is usually only due to one thing: Attachment.

All sadness, all sorrow, all regret,....they are all due to our attachments.  To people, jobs, expectations of how life should have went.  But if you can look past your attachment (or your client's) to whatever is causing you pain, you can see the good in change.  You can see how life is constantly shifting to make room for bigger and better things. 

So any card that looks negative, can be completely turned into a positive by looking past the attachments we hold on those things that we think we need in our lives.  Truth is, deep down inside, we need nothing.  When you can be okay with change, then there is nothing to fear.  Nothing bad can happen to us.  We can accept change, even hard change, and move forward, excited for the future.

Its easy in some circumstances to accept this idea, but not all.  And that's okay.  But in order to look at a negative Tarot card and turn it into a positive, you need to look past those attachments to find the silver lining.


Happy Taroting friends!  And don't let the scary cards scare you.....cause really?  They aren't scary at all :)




Tell me what card you find scary below, and how you could spin it into a positive meaning instead.