Tarot is a wonderful tool for exploring various aspects of self—and if you’re someone who feels pulled in different directions or is struggling to figure out where to devote your energy, the cards can help offer some much-needed clarity.
Passion can feel like a loaded word, so tied to the deepest parts of ourselves.
When people talk about finding their passion and doing what they were meant to do, it is likened to a calling or vocation, something that is essential to their being.
But if you don’t know what your passion is, or if you feel that something you used to be passionate about no longer interests you, you can feel behind or out of touch.
In our current world, when hobbies quickly turn into money-making opportunities, and we feel pressure to monetize anything we’re good at, it can be difficult to untangle what feels useful or productive from what actually makes us happy. Living in capitalist societies doesn’t always leave room for passion, yet it also makes it more important than ever to prioritize joy, creativity, and doing things that are just for us.
Instead of thinking of this spread as one that will help you identify “the one thing you are absolutely supposed” to be doing,” let this time with the cards be an opportunity to explore new possibilities, gently investigating your natural creativity and longings and desires.
If you try this Tarot spread, consider:
- What does your life naturally revolve around?
- Which themes keep emerging, no matter where you are or what you’re doing?
We all contain multitudes, and putting pressure on yourself to figure out your one singular passion can make it even harder to identify it.
Rather than serving as a be-all-end-all, use the cards to begin a new internal conversation, to ask yourself questions that can open up internal pathways that you may not have realized existed.
Let this reading be the beginning of an inquiry rather than a definitive answer to a singular question.
How to Pull the Cards
As you’re shuffling your deck, you may want to tap into the spirit of the Suit of Wands and the element of Fire.
Ask the cards to help you name what lights you up, feeds your sparks, and gets you motivated, excited, and curious. Think about the Ace of Wands, the Six of Wands, and the court cards from the Suit of Wands.
What are you doing when you feel the most yourself, like you’re dialed into something bigger? When do you feel eager to keep pushing, to try new things, to embody a particular spirit or energy?
The following reading is just a brief sample meant to give you an idea of how to utilize this spread. While it is not intended to be for any particular person, you may find some inspiration here anyway.
A Spread for Discovering Your Passion
Card One: Something You Are Curious About
King of Coins
Kings are cards of authority and change, serving as architects not only for themselves but also for their communities. And within the suit of Coins or Pentacles, here we see a figure that is confident in their ability to gather, manage, and expand resources of all kinds.
Rather than seeing this card in this position as someone eager to feel stable and safe in their own world, the King of Coins card may indicate that this is someone eager to be in charge of something industrious, something lasting, something that serves as a kind of legacy.
‘What would it look like to build a strong foundation that can support other types of endeavors?
Card Two: Something You Keep Finding Your Way Back To
Page of Wands
In contrast to the experience and power of Kings, Pages are students, novices, in possession of a beginner’s mind and heart. And while they may not have as much authority as their older counterparts, Pages bring a sense of delight and wonder to everything they do.
The Page of Wands is passionate, inspired, eager to grow, and willing to take big risks just to find out what will happen. This position hints at a person who loves to begin new things, experiment and play, and be fired up by possibility.
What excitement is there in the start of something different? How often does that energy show up in regular life, and what would it look like to pursue that desire more consistently?
Card Three: An Aspect of You to Take Pride In
Knight of Wands
All four members of the court of Wands are charismatic, brilliant, courageous, and eager to experience the world in all its wonder; however, the Knight of Wands is particularly ready to prove themselves, setting out on a quest or an adventure that will help them truly understand what their natural fire looks like, and what it needs in order to thrive.
Knights always challenge us to balance the element that they are associated with, so in this position, the Knight of Wands wants this person to celebrate a sense of innovation, adventure, and experimentation. But at the same time, Knights often get caught up in ego, so pride should still be paired with a desire to learn, a willingness to listen, and a healthy dose of humility.
How do Fire and passion inspire pride in the creation of new projects? How does this kind of energy activate and motivate other people?
Card Four: A Way to Explore Further
The Emperor
The only Major Arcana archetype in this reading, the Emperor, is a card of organization, structure, and boundaries.
And in light of all of the court cards that came forward, particularly the younger members of the court of Wands, the Emperor serves as a reminder to work with purpose and intention, to explore with focus rather than simply trying anything that strikes an interest.
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of something new, but actually making a plan to pursue something, set goals, and define parameters can bring the kind of satisfaction that simply chasing passion doesn’t always afford.
Consider: What does it mean to make space for play within protected guidelines? How can intentional discovery create safety and joy, even in creativity?
This sample reading includes three court cards and one Major Arcana card, making for a fascinating charge: to take chances, recognize internal strength, and not be afraid to get organized about those big goals.
Passion doesn’t have to mean that there is no purpose, so even in experimenting and pursuing adventure, the King and the Emperor on either side of this reading remind the querent that there can be joy in intentionality as well as in play.
Now, Time to Explore Your Joy
As you use the cards to explore your own passions, give yourself plenty of room to wander, question, and listen to your intuition.
In readings like this, the cards don’t always give us specific messages like “start painting again” or “go to culinary school,” but they can help to open up possibilities that allow us to reach those conclusions on our own.
What do your cards make you think of? What keeps bubbling to the surface? And how can you integrate that natural passion into something with shape and form, something that can expand within you?
This piece features cards from the True North Tarot. All photographs by Meg Jones Wall.
You may also like: Try This Spread to Overcome a Creative Block