Reading Health and Wellbeing Questions
First and foremost, tarot is not a diagnostic tool. What it can read is states and tendencies: whether you are worn out, whether you should rest, where your emotions are weighing on you.
The limits first
Tarot cannot detect illness, and it should never replace any medical test. When you ask about health, the cards describe "what state your body and mood are in right now." They cannot tell you "what you have." See The Ethics of Reading for more.
The body
When reading about the body, put the cards in only three places: how much energy there is, whether to move or to rest, and where you are pushing through on willpower. How some common cards read for the body:
- Four of Swords. Upright, rest: stopping on purpose and lying low to recover for a while. This is one of the best cards to get when asking about the body. It says you need rest and that you are able to rest. Reversed, being unable to rest, or being forced to a halt; so tired you have to lie down, while your mind keeps racing.
- Nine of Pentacles. Upright, the body is in good shape, with reserves to spare and the means to look after yourself. Reversed, you are drawing down the savings you built up; the health you built over the past few years is slipping.
- Temperance. Upright, balance: sleep, diet, work and rest are all in the right proportion. Reversed, imbalance: something has gone too far, whether late nights, eating, or training.
- The Sun. Upright, plenty of energy, a body that feels bright, quick recovery. Reversed is still not bad news. The brightness has been turned down: the energy is there but you cannot summon it, and often your mood is weighing on your body.
- Strength. Upright, the body is resilient and can take the strain. Reversed, pushing through: using willpower to hold off fatigue and keep going. This is a signal to watch.
- Five of Pentacles. For the body, read it as "feeling left out in the cold": being ill with nobody looking after you, or loneliness during recovery. It describes your circumstances. It says nothing about the illness itself.
Reversals share one reading when it comes to the body: something here is straining. The suit of the reversed card tells you which part. Reversed Wands means drive is running low, reversed Pentacles means the body itself is sending you a reminder, reversed Swords means the mind is tired, and reversed Cups means your mood is dragging your body down. If you see two or more reversals, suggest rest first before reading anything else.
Emotions and stress
When reading emotions, read the cards as states, and avoid reading them as events. The Nine of Swords means "you are thinking too much at night." It does not mean "something bad is going to happen."
- Nine of Swords. Anxiety: lying awake at night with one thing replaying over and over. Seen in daylight, that thing is usually smaller than it seemed at night. Reversed, the hardest stretch is over, or the anxiety has gone so deep the person will not talk about it; look at the cards beside it.
- The Moon. Unease: not being able to say what you are afraid of, with moods rising and falling on things you cannot see. For emotions, this card is usually read as "hold off on judging for now"; look again when things are clearer.
- Five of Cups. Loss: staring at the three spilled cups and not seeing the two still standing. Grieving is necessary, but it needs a time limit.
- Eight of Swords. Feeling trapped and unable to leave, when in fact your feet are not tied and the door is not locked. For emotions this card means limits you set on yourself, and the way out is to take one step.
- Three of Swords. Pain with a specific source: one remark, one event. It describes a wound, and wounds heal. It does not describe an illness.
- The Hermit. Wanting to be alone. Emotionally this may be a real need, or it may be avoidance; look at whether it is upright or reversed and at the querent's situation.
- The Star. Recovering, feeling hopeful, willing to take things slowly. If it comes up in a question about emotions, you can breathe a little easier.
Readings about emotions should offer more ways forward and fewer verdicts. After reading each card, add a line about "one small thing you can do now." That is more useful than explaining the card's meaning itself.
Questions tarot should not be asked
Specific medical conditions. "Is this lump malignant?" "Do I have depression?" The cards cannot answer, and forcing a reading does harm. For anything unusual in your body, go to a doctor. A reading cannot replace a checkup.
Medication and treatment plans. "Should I stop taking my medication?" "Surgery or a more conservative treatment?" These are matters between you and your doctor, and tarot should not step in.
Life and death. "How long do they have left?" "Is something going to happen to me?" Tarot does not foresee such things. Asking only gives the querent fear or comfort with no basis, and neither should be given.
Other people's health and privacy. "Is my mom hiding an illness from me?" This is someone else's business, and someone else's body.
How to respond to questions like these: first acknowledge the feeling, then state the limit, then turn the question toward something the cards can read. "You're worried about them, and that worry is real. The cards can't read a medical condition; that needs to be checked at a hospital. What the cards can read is how you can be there for them during this time. Would you like to look at that?" Most querents accept this, because what they really want to ask is often that second question. For the full ethical position, see The Ethics of Reading.