Kitchen Table Tarot

Six of Cups, Five of Swords, The Star

Hello, friend, and welcome to my kitchen table. I’ve been absent a few days due to the holiday week throwing everything off, but I am back and ready to receive whatever spirit would like to be known. If this reading resonates with you, I sincerely hope you may find guidance and clarity, or at least the knowledge that you are understood in this space. If it isn’t for you, I’m still glad that you are here—perhaps it may help you in the future. Let’s get to these cards.

The energy right now is typical of the last dregs of the year. If you are located in the Northern hemisphere, where the days are shorter and temperatures are dropping, these cyclic changes often intensify the loneliness often felt around the solstice holidays. This has the potential to incubate strong emotions around nostalgia and regret. The end of one year and the beginning of the next often inspires examination and change. The 6 of Cups is a card that represents positive memories and the way we feel when we look back at them, comparing past iterations of self to the present one. The imagery in this card speaks to the ways we stay the same, even after years of growth and change. The seed of who you are remains through the years—the innocent outlook from youth and intrinsic good still exists within you, no matter how grown up you may feel. If you find yourself examining the past or looking upon it fondly, it could suggest some dissatisfaction with your life as it exists right now. The 5 of Swords adds a layer of regret to this retrospection. Are you looking at past actions with shame, or wondering: what if I had done things differently? Being swords, this is a card of inner conflict—you may feel pulled between different parts of your mind. Remember that you contain multitudes. If you are yearning to break free, overthinking and arguing “amongst yourself” may keep you trapped in lamentations about where you went “wrong.” If this is the case, please be kind to yourself. Though the card can also represent the conflicts you have experienced with others—perhaps even sneakiness or other less-than-ethical behaviors and decisions made that led to harm—you must consider what was going on with you at the time, such as the confusion that surrounds unresolved trauma. It may feel like you should exist in a sorrowful state, swimming forever in the guilt and unpleasantness that encapsulated those choices, but you are allowed to accept past behaviors as having been done—and move on from them. If you are looking back at pleasant times with guilt, as though you don’t deserve to return to such a happy state or to people/places/actions that fulfill you, this is a sign to take the time to process both the “light” and “dark” aspects of your life as you might perceive them. Nobody deserves to punish themselves forever. While we should face the truth of the less-than-stellar things we’ve done, remorse will not serve you or clear the passage forward. We cannot grow when we are preoccupied with shame. Contrition is a signal that you know you don’t want to be a “bad” person anymore, so stop casting yourself as the villain. Even “villains” have their innocent beginnings and redemptive moments; we are neither dark nor light, but a spectrum of experience. The presence of two nostalgia cards are to show you that you aren’t all bad, nor should you aim to be an absolute angel—that simply isn’t possible.

However, if you have apologies to make—especially to anyone cropping up in the 6 of Cups energy—it’s a good time to make them. It may seem scary, but this is a time when people tend to soften with regard to events of the past and the people involved in them. As long as you are sincere and speak from the heart—and leave room for other people’s feelings—you don’t have anything to fear. You are your own harshest critic. If revisiting the past and making amends were to result in chaos, the Tower would be here instead of the Star, which is revealed when a Tower has already fallen. If you are at a nostalgic crossroads, you have probably already had a few Towers collapse in your life. The Star suggests that you are seeing the chaos come to a close and are both ready and able to put your faith into a brighter future. It is a guiding sign which, when followed, will lead you to a place of hope and healing. If you stay focused on guilt, thinking that a life spent examining your “bad” choices will eventually absolve you of them, you will not see the positive transformation ahead of you and may miss out on joyful restoration of what brings you light and connection with self. We often look towards happiness as the ultimate goal and state of being, but I believe more in the concept of self-possession—owning yourself and taking responsibility for the things that have the potential to bring that happiness and contentment into our lives, as well as remaining on an even keel in more emotionally charged and chaotic times. To know yourself is to be in control of your potential, your growth, and your ability to connect with others. This is not an overnight process—it’s something that comes with time, patience, and a willingness to forgive yourself for past actions that may have hurt others and yourself. It means accepting that you can acknowledge but not blame outside forces or mental issues for things you have done, and that no outside force now can dictate how you choose to live your life. If your spirit is urging you towards a path of freedom, be wary of anyone who tries to talk you out of it. Those with your best interest at heart will trust you to seek your own answers.

Running from the past will not fix your future, and wallowing in penitence will only keep you stagnant. This is a time to pull up your grown-person pantaloons and decide how you want your existence to be. It’s your life—not that of a parent, friend, mentor, boss, or partner. Time is finite and we don’t live forever. Do you want to be controlled by regret, or follow the Star towards truth and self-possession?

Thank you for being here today, and being at all. You are important and have a place here in this time and consciousness. Though I give guidance here through the wisdom of spirit and the collective, I am not here to tell you what to do or how to feel about your own individual circumstances. I do hope I may provide some thought and questions for self-examination, and I sincerely wish for you to see yourself in a gentler light and find a way to forgive yourself and live your best life going forward. Whether or not you feel this reading was for you, I send you love and light and understanding, and remember: you are always welcome at my kitchen table. -KTT 🌻💛