Some people practice their Tarot skills while hunched over a table with a couple of candles, a huge stack of books, some crystals and a deck of Tarot cards. While I do like this method on occasion there's a style of Tarot practice that is just way more me. You know I'm all about Pop Culture Tarot and Tarot making sense in the real world and so that's how I practice!
I gave myself some Tarot homework this week because every time I turn on TV these days, Friends is on. It never ends, and if you are still watching at the start of the next episode you can't get away! As I found myself falling down the Friends rabbit hole earlier this week I thought I should make the most of it and play Tarot with Friends!
This is a crazy fun Tarot game and you can play alone or with Friends (Ha! LOL!). All you do is sit on your couch, turn on the TV and grab your Tarot cards. Look for cards that represent characters, storylines or locations. Make it harder by using only Court Cards, or Majors or Minors. Experts can use only one suit! Oh! You smarty pants!
I've been watching a lot of Friends lately so I thought I'd double up and so I give you a Major Arcana card and Court Card for each of our favourite TV Friends!
Let's start with Ross... He's a total dork, a serious loser and a lot of people who've watched this show kind of can't stand him. I don't mind him, he's just a total Dinosaur geek right? So who better in the Major Arcana to represent a Dino Geek than the Hermit? Sure, the Hermit is usually a hell of a lot wiser than a guy like Ross. He mostly relies on book smarts to get by and rarely shows any 'wisdom'. But perhaps he's like a young Hermit. In like, 40 years or something, maybe he'll be wise. Ross is totally the King of Swords. He's all intellect and not so great with his heart, passion or earthly stuff, although Dinosaurs come from the Earth, hrmmmm. But books and History facts are his thing, which makes him a Swords guy. A very different version of the King of Swords than Eric Northman, he's probably more Page of Swords because he's kind of clueless and immature, but maybe he's just still growing into his King of Swords boots.
Phoebe is a real mystery and a mixed bag. She doesn't totally fit into any of the archetypes of the Tarot that easily, but she's definitely got a whole heap of Moon qualities. Mystery alone makes her a Moon chic. She's a total space cadet with a deep hidden past - she mugged people as a kid and has even alluded to being secretly married in the Las Vegas episode. The Queen of Wands is Phoebe's court card. She's fiery, passionate, super confident (but not very musical!) and always sticks up for herself and her friends. Remember that episode where she was catering a wake with Monica? Monica was too soft to ask the widow for her money and Phoebe just walked right in there in a middle of the widow singing a show tune and demanded that they get paid! Woah, that's what a little Wands energy can do!
And Joey is the Fool. Obviously. He's a kind hearted guy with not a lot going on upstairs, bless his cotton socks. Just like the Fool in the Tarot who is so in awe of life and a believer in all things good in the world, Joey steps off the cliff into the unknown every time he leaves the apartment because he always forgets what he went out for. In the Court Cards Joey is the Knight of Wands, mostly because he always acts first and thinks later, a pretty common Wands thing. He follows his passion, rocks up to audition after audition looking for his big break, but retaining his cool the whole time. His quick mouth often gets him into trouble, but because most of what comes out is completely Fool-like and innocent everyone just loves him even more. Nawww.
Moving onto Rachel and I cast her as the Empress. She's creative, easy going, looks after everyone and is a bit of a mother hen, especially to the boys. Monica thinks she is, but Rachel really tucks everyone under her wing whenever they need it. She's sweet and lovely and is pretty obsessed with the idea of creating an awesome life for herself. Empresses don't always have to be 'mothers' in the literal sense, but they do have a gorgeous nurturing vibe and if they're not giving birth to babies, they need to be giving birth to something else! Rachel is also the Queen of Cups. She's kind and intuitive and one of the things that her Empress is always trying to 'create' is the perfect love affair. Because the truth is, love makes this friend's world go round. Like a lot of Cups people who desire romance with all their heart, being single is even harder for them than for us Swords, Pents or Wands peeps.
Chandler, what a joker! His witty one liners give us a giggle, but in terms of plot, they don't get him very far. This makes Chandler the Hanged Man. If you think about it, Chandler is pretty much everyone else's side kick, and he has no real character development until he hooks up with Monica, which is like, ages later! He basically hangs around shooting out sarcastic remarks for years without anything really happening to him. He's having a great time in that tree, living in NYC, hanging out with friends, but is his career, relationship or life really going anywhere?! I've also made Chandler the Knight of Pentacles. He seems like an earthy kind of dude, much more than most of the characters in this show. Chandler may be a joker, but there's a real sense from him even at the start of the first series that all he really desires in life is a a good job with a decent salary, a pretty wife and a couple of kids. He's not into saving the world, he just wants to enjoy his world.
And Monica is the High Priestess. Not, in this case, because she's particularly intuitive, but because she's a little on her high horse at times. She thinks she's the High Priestess, the Queen of the apartment block, a little high and mighty. She doesn't do it on purpose, that's just how she is. She likes things a certain way and expects everyone else to just be OK with that. She's not big on compromise, and sees the world in black and white, she doesn't really do grey. Monica is the Queen of Pentacles too. She's the Queen who thinks her apartment and her space is her palace. She likes having nice things around her, good food (oh! Hello catering business!) and she likes to look nice too. She looks after her money and spends carefully, but is more likely to spend money on something nice for the apartment than a new pair of boots.
I hope you enjoyed reading my Tarot homework. Now your homework is to grab your cards and watch your favourite TV show (or any TV show!) and start pulling out some cards for your characters!
I'd love to know how you go with it so please comment below or find me on Facebook where I'm always around for a chat about Tarot, TV or whatever else you fancy!
<3 Love, light and Tarot with friends <3
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