Tarot terminology that would make a good song title
December 22, 2019 11:41 AM   Subscribe

I’m looking for some tarot terminology that’s short, punchy, and can be interpreted in a few different ways.

I’m not necessarily looking for card suites from the Rider/Waite tarot. Other decks, spreads, interpretation styles, or cards that aren’t in the Rider/Waite deck are great.
posted by pxe2000 to Grab Bag (7 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Any name of any Tarot card can be interpreted a few different ways. Can you expand on what sorts of connotations you're looking for?

Absent all other information, I'd look at Page of [Suit]. All of the court cards can mean either a specific person or general qualities, and "page" also gets you the page of a book/page as an attendant ambiguity.
posted by yarntheory at 2:53 PM on December 22, 2019


Response by poster: I’m looking for a short phrase with a nice scansion that’s not obviously a tarot reference or a reference to a specific major arcana card. I wanted to stay away from titles like “three-card pull”, for example.

FWIW, the song is about a character who doesn’t necessarily believe in esoterica but who needs to talk to someone about her life.
posted by pxe2000 at 3:44 PM on December 22, 2019


Wheel of Fortune!
posted by inexorably_forward at 4:10 PM on December 22, 2019


Whoops, might not apply as it is a specific card. It's just so many other things as well.
posted by inexorably_forward at 4:12 PM on December 22, 2019


Tarot cards have one meaning when dealt right side up, and the opposite(ish) meaning when reversed, or upside-down. The card is described (for example) as "The Fool, Reversed" or "King of Cups, Reversed." You could use "Something, Reversed" where Something could be really anything.
posted by CrunchyFrog at 5:22 PM on December 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


Best answer: The traditional phrases for referring to the cards in the Celtic Cross spread might fit your needs:
- This covers you (or "That which covers you")
- This crosses you
- This crowns you
- This is beneath you (or "That which is beneath you")
- This is behind you
- This is before you (or "What could come into being")

You can find more about the Celtic Cross spread here and here.
posted by ourobouros at 7:12 PM on December 22, 2019 [2 favorites]


For no real reason: 13 Cups
posted by unknowncommand at 7:57 PM on December 22, 2019


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