So this spread is to help us connect or reconnect with the energy of the Fool. It doesn't matter how long you have been a teacher for. I think it is important, especially when you are feeling a bit burned out, to get in touch with why you wanted to go into teaching to begin with! So let's get started!
Amy's Two Card Fool's Spread for Teachers:
Card #1 What most excites me about being a teacher?
Card #2 What should I trust most about myself as I start this journey as a teacher? (Remember, this can apply to anyone no matter how many years you've been a teacher!)
Here is what turned up for me when I did this reading for myself!
This reading really made me laugh at first, which is probably weird to some of you who may not be familiar with the cards. I'll try to explain the best I can.
So apparently what excites me most about teaching is the 4 of cups. The cups represent relationships and emotions. The keywords for this card are boredom and stagnation.
Um, Amy, how can you be excited about a card that means boredom and stagnation?
Ah, this is where we get to the heart of tarot reading! It's not enough to memorize a bunch of meanings from a book. Yes, there is a standard of meaning that can't be completely deviated from, but let me show you how it works. The biggest thing to remember is to use your intuition based on the symbols in the card. So what stands out to me is the cup being offered to a young man who is looking bored and very closed off. Hmmm, looking bored and very closed off, who could that be? Why a teenage student of course!
So what excites me most about teaching is building relationships and offering support to difficult students. I am the floating hand offering a cup of support and guidance to my more challenging students. Sure those same students can really tick me off sometimes, but if I am connecting with the energy of the Fool, I am remembering why I wanted to come into teaching.
When I was in 8th grade, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I loved learning, but I didn't really like school. I was bullied a lot and I was very shy. I was so shy that I was willing to take my first F on a project because it required me to recite a poem aloud to my class. Well, my teacher, that angel of a man, allowed me to recite the poem just for him alone for a B grade. He told me I could get an A if I recited it to the class. I opted for the B, but I never forgot his kindness. We are still in touch to this very day. So I knew that that was the kind of teacher I wanted to be - compassionate and kind to students who were going through tough times.
The 9 of swords was a little bit more challenging for me to understand at first. Right now in my journey as a teacher, I am ending my maternity leave that began at the beginning of the school year and returning to work in the middle of term 2. The suit of swords represents thoughts and communication. The keywords for the 9 of swords are worry and anguish which is clearly depicted by the character sitting up in bed with his face in his hands. I think it is perfectly appropriate for me to be having some anxiety about going back to work when the kids are used to their substitute teacher.
So how is a card about anxiety something you should trust about yourself? This doesn't seem positive at all!
On the contrary, I think this card is giving me great advice. This card is telling me that I should expect to have some level of anxiety, but that I should trust myself in knowing what is worth losing sleep over and what isn't. In fact, this can apply to many teachers! I know I am guilty of losing sleep and stressing out about things that are beyond my control: the decisions of administrators, MCAS results, new laws and programs that I will need to follow and participate in whether I agree with them or not. You can really drive yourself nuts over things that are in your periphery. So this card is a reminder to trust that I know the difference between what is worth worrying about (like grading 150 essays, creating an amazing lesson plan, and connecting with that challenging student) and what is not worth stressing over (like the new evaluation system and if the copy machine will be working when I need to make my copies).
So please try this spread out if you need to connect with the energy of the Fool and feel free to post your results in the comments if you aren't too shy to share. If you get stuck, feel free to ask me for help because this is exactly what I am here to do!
Also, as I was researching for this post (because I didn't want to steal anyone's spread accidentally and claim it as my own), I did come across this more in depth spread that can be used for any area of your life. It is on the Hermetic Rose website and it is called the New Beginnings Spread.
Yes! The first spread! This is a cool and intuitive way to reflect on teaching.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to tap into the "Fool" energy you describe, so I tried this spread for the first time this morning. It is the Friday of the first full week back at school after the holiday break, and I am feeling tired and uninspired. Here is what I got:
1st card: 4 of Wands Reversed
2nd card: 5 of Cups
Now from my understanding, reversed cards are usually negative. Do you even consider whether cards are reversed or not? I'm not sure how to reflect on either of these cards in a positive light, like you have been able to do with your cards.
According to my cards, what most excites me about being a teacher drives from feelings of insecurity and feeling like I don't belong. I have to admit that pursuing a career in teaching has brought me a level of security I never had before, but how can that be what excites me most? It is all self-serving.
The keyword for my second card is "disillusionment", so is that what I am supposed to trust in myself? I have had so many changes and disappointments in teaching but things have always worked out in the end. Is my strength being able to accept that negative things happen, but there are always other options?
This reading does not exactly pump me up or excite me with Fool energy. Any thoughts on how I else I can see this?
I personally don't read reversals, but that's just a matter of preference. However, not everyone who reads reversals look at them as the opposite meaning of the card. Check out this amazing video by The Four Queens for more information http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSrREW8De2s&list=PLH1DuMfxSE8iFgylkOjVpL_cf1NcNqU7P&feature=share&index=6.
DeleteAs far as the 4 of wands go, I would read that as what excites you is being part of a community of learners and educators as well as attaining goals. This card is very celebratory in terms of achievements of milestone and the 4's stand for stability. So although you have not experienced stability yet as you have bounced around a lot, you are excited about the idea of finally finding a stable position.
As for the five of cups, you need to figure out if the sad character in the card represents you or a student. If the sad character is you, despite that this card is about disillusionment and unattained goals, it is also about being able to see the glass half full as opposed to half empty. So maybe you can trust that you have the ability to be positive regardless of circumstances. If the character represents a student, this card could be about your ability to comfort students who are going through challenging obstacles.
I had a conversation with a wonderful reader recently. She is helping me to unblock my third eye. One exercise she is having me practice is to stop relying on my "keyword knowledge" of the cards. She is having me read them by looking at what stands out to me about the card and connecting with the cards first before thinking about their universal meanings, if that make sense. So maybe try that? It takes practice. Please let me know what you thought of my alternatives to your reading and if any of it resonated with you. I hope you continue to do the spreads! Check out my channel every Sunday for a weekly tarot reading for teachers at http://youtube.com/user/tarot4teachers
Thanks for your point of view! I also enjoyed the video you linked. I think it has all pushed me to think deeper than the knee-jerk reactions that come with looking at a card and looking up the textbook definitions.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that remains difficult though is being able to look at the card and connect with just what I see. I have a very basic and old deck. The illustrations you refer to are not present in my cards. For example, I don't have a person with their head down for 5 of cups. I just got 5 cups. I only have figures on the Major Arcana cards and the court cards on the minor.
If you are really interested in learning tarot, you should definitely subscribe to her youtube channel and check out her tarot trainee series. She is probably the best tarot teacher out there in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that your deck doesn't have images that go along with the Minor Arcana is going to be a major challenge. This is similar to when a person uses a deck of bicycle cards for divination. This is called cartomancy and it's something that I have done sporadically for the past couple of years, but ultimately I prefer tarot/oracle work over cartomancy.
If you really are interested in tarot and want to commit to it, I highly recommend getting a deck that really speaks to you visually. I use the Radiant Rider-Waite deck when doing my readings on this site and for other people because it is a deck that most people are familiar with (and most other decks get a lot of their symbolism from this deck). A good place to look for a personal deck is http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/. They have a ton of decks with cards images provided. Gypsy Chique on youtube is currently doing a series where she compares multiple decks to the R-S deck and rates them, so that could be another good place to start.
Ultimately you need to find a deck that calls to you. My personal deck that I use for myself every day is The Whimsical Tarot. I love that it has the traditional meanings, but it also relates to various fairy tales and nursery rhymes for a secondary layer of meaning. The images are very cutesy (not everyone's cup of tea) but I get AMAZING insights from this deck that I don't get from some of my other decks.
Also, oracle decks can also be used for these spreads in the place of tarot cards. I like to use oracle cards when I am in a negative space and need something a bit more uplifting to help me. So I hope this helps. Oh, and here is another place for good reviews: http://www.daily-tarot-girl.com/tarot-deck-reviews/
Have a great week!