Kitchen Table Tarot

The Wheel of Fortune, 6 of Cups, The Emperor

Hello friend, and welcome to Kitchen Table Tarot. I took an extended break while taking care of some other things, but I’m back with a new reading for you, and with hope, I will settle back into my routine of connecting with spirit and interpreting these cards for you. If this message resonates with you, I hope it can bring you guidance and a feeling of calm on your journey. If it does not resonate with you, I’m glad you’re here too. It may still give you a sliver of insight for something else you are dealing with either now or in the future. Whether or not this is your reading, I hope you feel warm, understood, and cared for in your time here with me. Let’s get to these cards.

The Wheel of Fortune is a pivotal card in any reading, and it is here to assure you that you are capable of navigating the winding road of life and all of its many bumps and changes. I get the sense here that life lately has been a long hard slog that feels like it will stretch into eternity, a Sisyphean task that dooms you to a fate of struggle. Worry not, dear one—the wheel keeps turning, and us with it, because to stop would mean fossilization. If the earth didn’t rotate or if it stopped moving around the sun, half of it would freeze and the other half would burn. We wouldn’t have seasons, or mark the passage of time with lengthening and shortening days. And just as the extended dark of winter does not last, neither will the passage you are traveling now. There will be time for rest, time to recuperate from the burdens you have been carrying, and time to gather what you need to meet any challenges on next leg of the journey. Part of this means accepting that change is the only constant. Do your best to go with the flow—use the current to your advantage to get where you need to be.

Where you need to be may have some roots in the past. The 6 of Cups, as a card of nostalgia, positive feelings, and pleasant memories of times gone by, can represent great healing by way of the familiarity of past love—the warmth of being in company that truly gets and accepts you, not those who would urge you to change for change’s sake, or to conform to a shape that isn’t yours. Perhaps you are surrounded by people who want you to be different or think you are better suited to their journey. Given that we are in the end of year holiday season, a time when we may be surrounded by family we don’t see very often—sometimes very opinionated people who don’t approve of your lifestyle, behavior, habits, or the things that bring you joy and enrich your life—it makes sense that you could be looking back at times, people, and places you miss. The cyclic nature of life as represented by the Wheel suggests that it could be a good time to look at those things more closely; are you being called back to something that will add to your existence or aid you on the journey? Sometimes we leave things behind when we didn’t really want to, but thought a different path offered something more seemly or appropriate according to those around us, or what we think they might find more tasteful.

The Emperor is here to remind you that you are your own authority—the expert in you. Anyone who claims otherwise is intimidated by your power, and will do anything to make you feel small. You get to decide your journey and the shape of your own life—considering the Wheel once more, and the concept of fate, it’s still up to you how to approach your own outcomes. Following the 6 of Cups, this might involve returning to some aspect of the past to resolve or rekindle something upon which you never fully closed the door. Whichever it is—resolution or relighting—you know deep within that you are capable of it, even if others have tried to convince you otherwise. If you have been shrinking back from your life, now is the time to expand and claim responsibility for your actions, and what you want/need—just as an Emperor would.

This is a difficult time of year for a lot of us, and there can be a lot of unstated pressure to be your most jovial self. The holiday songs we are most likely to hear right now can make us feel broken for not being full of joy and light. I am here not just to interpret cards but to let you know it’s okay to have large, messy feelings—to grieve for what has been lost, to have difficulty navigating difficult relationships, even to feel angry at god/spirit/the universe for the things/people/situations we are mourning. We are all at different points in understanding our life’s journey, and it’s okay to feel hurt, to have questions, to sit in confusion. It will not last forever. You will feel joy again. You have a good heart and you deserve to know happiness. Conversely, if you are in a happy place but feel fearful of it being taken from you, know that it’s alright to wrestle with that feeling as well. The path can be scary, but we are each other’s lights in the darkness. Thank you for letting me be such a light for you here, and know that you are special, cared for, and always, always welcome at my kitchen table. -KTT 🌻💛