Kitchen Table Tarot

Judgement, The Hierophant, 6 of Cups

Hello friend, and welcome to my kitchen table. I hope that wherever and whenever you are that you are treating yourself and others kindly. It’s tough out there and whatever you have going on in your life, you deserve care and love—and sometimes that begins with you, to yourself. If this reading resonates with you, I hope it brings you some clarity and guidance. If it does not, I’m glad you’re here too. This perspective is timeless and may apply at a future date, or could reflect something you’ve already been through. Let’s get to these cards.

The reappearance of the 6 of Cups in this reading connects to yesterday’s crossroad of nostalgia. Where the 5 of Swords was a shadowy mirror—the regret of past things and the shame that makes it hard to accept that one is worthy of the experiences that create such fond memories—here there is an awakening represented by the Judgement card, and a different obstacle in the form of the Hierophant. The Judgement card is all about listening to the inner voice of your soul, your intuition. When you are open to what it has to say, a lot of things can become clear. Giving yourself some grace may reveal the bigger picture and sweep away the stifling, oppressive regret that might plague you. This frees you to examine both the inner and outer energies that influence your feelings and perception. When you are able to identify the external factors and internal parts of yourself that no longer serve a purpose, you have the power to set yourself free and determine a more fitting path for this leg of your life’s journey. In this case the card may also represent a choice you have to make. Whatever has you at these crossroads will require you to exercise free will to move through it. This is where the Hierophant jams up the works.

It is a card of tradition, teaching and learning, and spiritual/religious practices. There’s nothing wrong with these things alone or taken together, but it depends on the influence. If you have outgrown a particular set of beliefs, or have learned things that decrease their relevance in your life, others—especially those with real or perceived authority over you—may be reluctant to see you flit off in a different direction. Even if you’re paying attention to what your intuition is telling you, others may drown out that voice with their own over-amplified takes. Withstanding that input might be relatively easy, but I get a sense that there are material costs incurred by going your own way. Leaving certain environments can mean leaving behind close contact with community and relationships—like when you leave a job and eventually drift out of contact with the other folks there because you no longer have that glue of shared experience to pull you together. Other examples could be leaving a church congregation because your beliefs have changed, or a support group when you have grown enough to not need that support anymore. It wouldn’t make sense, though, for someone to stay in an unfulfilling job when they’ve been offered better opportunities, or gather in worship for a deity they don’t accept anymore, or to receive active assistance in coping with a problem they have surpassed and healed from. Often what keeps us stuck in place is needless and unthinking conformity to something that no longer adds value to our lives. If you are made to pack away your personality, dissent, and critical thinking skills in order to remain a member of some group or another, you cannot discern easily for yourself the things you actually need. The Hierophant here is standing in for those roadblocks. When I use this deck the Hierophant usually shows up when someone is stuck; the smiling figure, in this energy, seems to be gatekeeping and guarding the staircase behind them, laughing at those who think they can ascend. Judgement is your intuition telling you to choose a different path, the one that can take you somewhere like that 6 of Cups warmth and acceptance.

If you kept a broken bicycle because it once helped you get around, you have no room for a new bike—or in the case of 6 of Cups, an old bike lovingly restored—that will take you to whatever’s next. Of course, none of this decision-making is easy. The gratitude for the old bike can turn into guilt—for not needing it anymore, or for letting it take up space in your home. The cards can’t offer the solution, but they can show you what your situation looks like from a great distance. Your individual circumstances could mean staying a little while longer in stagnant energy; we can’t always “just leave” something that has meant a lot to us. Lives are connected and entangled and clean breaks aren’t always possible. What I encourage you to do—if this is for you—is to take the time to think about your situation. Weighing the pros and cons of staying vs. leaving, in any scenario, will bring you closer to seeing what’s right for you. Whatever the 6 of Cups represents in your life, keep it in mind. It isn’t moving backwards to give people/places/things from your past some future consideration when examining the status, and next stages, of your life.

You are worth the life you want. Whatever path you wish to travel is yours if you can imagine it. When you extend kindness, spare some for yourself. Remember that you are loved and cared for, and you are always welcome at my kitchen table. –KTT 🌻💛