Negative looking spread (Rider-Waite)

[Jessica]

Negative looking spread (Rider-Waite)

Discussion

[LeRedditNormie]

My opinion? This spread is indicating that some things you’re used to having around (thoughts, ideas, fantasies, etc.) are no longer viable. Be brutally honest with yourself and look at things that no longer serve a purpose. Ask for help if you find that you’re overwhelmed. The issue may be trauma based and you might need outside help.

[121918]

Drew this spread last night and have been pretty much filled with dread, lol.

Some background: Recently been struggling a lot with comparing myself to my classmates/peers as I’m looking to enter a very competitive field (medicine). It seems like all my friends and classmates are getting positions and doing well and advancing their education/careers, and although I’ve been doing decently academically, I don’t have any internships and have really not been enjoying my time in the extracurriculars I am participating in. I’ve been feeling terrible that I’ve been jealous of my friends instead of celebrating their success, and as such have been in a relatively depressed mood for the past few days. I’ve also been questioning whether I really want to go into medicine—it’s indubitably a high-pressure, expensive field, and I find myself more passionate about literature anyway. As such, I drew this spread, generally just asking about pre-medical studies and what I should do.

I usually set up my spreads as such: the top-center card symbolizes the outcome of the situation, the two surrounding cards clarify the situation, and the bottom card is sort of a “wildcard” meant to deepen meaning, for example, how to achieve the situation. Fairly new to tarot so I’m still playing around with spreads.

Overall, I interpreted the 5 of Pentacles to represent my depressed state, and my unwillingness to seek out help or second options. Instead, I’ve been closing myself off and pretending everything is fine. I interpreted the Seven of Cups as me being too drawn into a fantasy of a career without actually putting action into trying to advance that career. The Tower honestly scares me, lol. I’m assuming there’s going to be shaking up my thoughts soon. Finally, the Three of Wands is sort of my only hope, lol. I’m hoping I’ll come out of this with a better understanding of what I’m meant to do, and feel more at peace and more belonging amidst my peers and my course of study.

I can’t lie, this is obviously a problem deeper than tarot and I need to spend a long time reflecting on what I want in the future and how I plan on achieving it. However, this is really a curious spread to me and I’d appreciate any help I can receive in interpreting it—and maybe not feeling like my situation is as dire as I think it is, lol. Really appreciate any help anyone can provide!

[Sung0d420]

Me and my girl both pulled the tower as well yesterday. Something is happening

[Bigbluehyacinth]

You already got some great answers, just wanted to add that the five of pentacles can also come up when you’re stuck in a „lack mindset“. While the two people on the card are definitely having a hard time they‘re focusing so much on what they’re struggling with that they don’t see the light in the window, indicating that’s where they could get help (warmth etc). So to me this could also mean that you’re always worrying about what you don’t have (compared to others, your friends for example) while you could also focus on what you do have or what resources are available to you, if that makes sense.