Exploring the Coronavirus with a 10-Card Reading

Tarot cards are excellent tools for insight and revelation.  As a professional reader, I work with clients on a weekly basis, doing readings to help them navigate life.  With so much happening with regard to the outbreak of COVID-19, I thought it would be helpful to do a tarot reading about COVID-19 for the Ask Astrology readership.

The Question, the Method, and the Spread

The question I decided to ask is, “what do the visitors to Ask Astrology need to know about the COVID-19 coronavirus?”  I have over 75 decks in my tarot and oracle card collection and I chose to use the Linestrider Tarot by Siolo Thompson.

When I do a reading for a client, I ask them questions for each card draw.  For this reading I decided to select 10 cards, asking a question before each draw.  The layout I chose was the traditional Celtic Cross, shown below:

Source: Wikimedia

• The Astrology of the Coronavirus

Question 1: What Does the Readership Need to Know Right Now

The card selected is Justice:

We need to be dispassionate about this virus and trust in expert knowledge, studying the facts and analyzing the data.  We must remain balanced and realize that the virus is likely a result of our world being out of balance and in need of rebalancing.  It is best to be sourcing information from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Question 2: What is the Challenge We Need to be Aware of?

The card selected is The Sun:

The Sun is about revelation, the unvarnished truth.  This outbreak is going to “reveal” quite a lot, about health care systems, community, the global economy, and leadership.  This is not a political or business actor with an agenda, but rather a natural phenomenon that will ignore borders, culture, and wealth.  There is a potentially uniting opportunity that will be “revealed” in a way that human agendas cannot attain.

Question 3: What is Obvious?

The card selected is the 7 of Wands:

It is obvious that those with the best immune systems will experience the least trouble and those with compromised immune systems will suffer the most.  We can also expect to see struggles to “get above” the virus, which may introduce violence and paranoia.  The truly best defense against this or any disease is good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle supported by proper hygiene enhanced with extra diligence during the period of the outbreak.

Question 4: What is Hidden?

The card selected is the 6 of Pentacles:

The economic impact is likely to be intense, maybe even extreme.  This card often refers to our work success and our savings.  How likely is your job to be impacted by a slowdown or stoppage while the world adjusts to the new reality that this coronavirus could become a new yearly burden similar to the flu, and running concurrently with the flu?  Are you financially prepared for the possible recession that could result from the aggressive spread of this virus?

Question 5: What Do We Need to Know from the Past to Help Us in the Present?

The card selected is The World:

In many ways, I would say this card can represent “Black Swan” events, as described by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his book The Black Swan.  In short, Black Swan events are both world-changing and unpredictable, like elections of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump, or the attack on 9/11 in the United States.  This virus will be viewed as past events that “changed the world”.

Question 6: What Do We Need to Know for Guidance Going Forward?

The card selected is the Page of Swords:

Our way forward is with new thinking and new ideas that will be unproven and untested until we try them, while also trying to use tried and true methods to manage the spread of the virus and our health and the health of those around us.  We will have to find a way to manage uncertainty because we will be getting a heavy dose of it thanks to this virus and the unfolding reality of its spread and impact.

Question 7: What is the Purpose of this Virus, Spiritually Speaking?

The card selected is the 10 of Swords:

This card is one of the hardest to face since it shows us the death of the stag from swords and arrows.  If you look closely, you will see that the swords are different designs, indicating that the impact will affect all parts of the world and bring some new levels of illness and fatality across all borders.  Like any 10^th card in each suit, it represents an ending before the beginning of the Ace, once again, and over and over.  At the purposeful level, we will be dealing with negative results forcing us to embrace new ideas (the Ace of Swords).

Question 8: How Do We Fulfill the Purpose Positively?

The card selected is the 4 of Wands:

This card is about community, coming together, and helping each other out.  If we are able to see that we are all in this situation together, we can work towards solutions that will minimize fatalities, violence, fear, and all-around bad behavior.  While quarantining may appear the opposite of this card’s message, the act of a quarantine reminds of how interconnected we really are with the rest of the world, which, in turn, can help us appreciate the community in new and profound ways.

Question 9: What are our Hopes and Fears?

The card selected is Strength:

Our hopes and fears are rather obvious.  We hope to have the strength to survive this virus and we fear that we will not.  It is not just a matter of physical strength, but the strength of our minds and spirits.  We hope to see strength in our science and leadership, and we fear that we will not.  We hope to find strength in our family and friends, and we fear we may end up abandoned and alone.  Regardless of hope or fear, it is our Strength that will be tested.

Question 10: What is an Action to Consider Taking at this Time?

The card selected is the Empress:

The Empress represents the feminine divine, nurturing support and compassionate leadership.  If you are strong, financially as well as physically, help those around you who may come to you in need.  Ask for help if you are in need of help.  The Empress is the energy of caring for others that provides the organic fabric of life and civilization.  As much as we need Justice right now, we also need emotional support and emotional strength, which is what the Empress represents.