Woven Together: A Tarot Spread for Kinship
The practice of tarot and the art of herbalism have always been woven together for me, starting when I received a bundle of books on both subjects as a birthday gift from a rather intuitive aunt.¹
The idea that tarot and herbalism were intertwined was further affirmed when exploring my first few tarot decks - all were rich in plant and tree illustrations that didn't look so dissimilar from the images in my herb books. Over the years I've found that both practices in their distinct ways are attempting to alleviate suffering, provide clarity, and, hopefully bring peace to a situation. And, even more apparently similar, both tarot and herbalism are traditions steeped in storytelling, where the telling of tales is an act of healing, integration, deep listening, and reweaving previously held beliefs.
I wanted to celebrate these shared pathways between these two traditions I loved so much, so nearly a decade ago I created The Tarot Apothecary. My goal with The Tarot Apothecary was and is to share all the interesting ways that the stories found within tarot can help us understand the healing practices found within traditional western herbalism (and vice versa). Tarot is not a tool of diagnosis, but it does work wonders as a tool of reflection, of curiosity, as a mnemonic device, and for drawing upon images and myths that help us to tell our stories, name our needs, and provide similar support to those we serve as herbalists and healing practitioners. At some of its most sublime moments, tarot becomes a path of connection, whether between our self and the clarity we're seeking, between friends doing readings for one another or that intangible quality of feeling interwoven into the strange and wondrous energy that flows through all mystically useful practices.
I can read a dozen plant profiles on a particular herb (something I very happily do on a regular basis), but that doesn't always help me to hear and name the story that I feel when working with a plant ally. For me, the image-rich cards of tarot help to tease out feelings into prose, so that, in addition to sharing information like the chemical constituents of a plant or its physiological actions in the body these images help to tell a plant’s story as I've come to know it, inviting students and clients to engage with a plant not as a commodity, but as a relationship steeped in collective wisdom. Tarot is a storytelling tool helping to strengthen our ability to be in kinship with one another - with both the human and beyond-human world.
Some of the most meaningful moments on my path as an herbalist have taken place in a room full of plant folk, listening to stories cast like so many cards on a table about one particular plant ally we all love. Equally, some of the most magickal moments on my path as a tarot reader have been amongst tarot folk exchanging stories about particular cards, nourishing the soil of our collective practice with deep-rooted insight. I hope to create opportunities for these types of exchanges in the resources I create, encouraging folks to find one another, full of inspiration about plants and cards and ways to make life more kind and to thrive in our kinship. Mostly, I just want folks to want to get together and have fun sharing stories about traditions they love, which is what the Woven Together spread hopes to inspire!
The Woven Together Spread
The following tarot spread is a joyful experiment in strengthening kinship through sharing our stories. The spread guides us through introducing ourselves, honoring boundaries, opening up about vulnerabilities, and celebrating what we appreciate about each other. I can imagine this spread being used between herbalists working together in a practice or friends working on a project together, between covenmates or close family, between lovers and partners of all varieties, and so on. Woven Together also goes well with tea, such as tea inspired by the celestial season or for supporting the nervous system (which supports our intuitive clarity).
It's very customizable and is meant to be approached with a bit of playfulness - I hope you enjoy casting it!
A few notes on casting the Woven Together spread. First of all, it's worth reading through the whole spread first before casting it because there are a few options you should decide on ahead of time. You can choose for each person to use their own deck or for everyone to draw from a single deck. Each person casts one of each card, essentially creating two versions of the same spread between you. The first card is purposefully chosen while the rest of the cards are chosen at random like in a traditional reading (with the option of card 6 being either purposefully chosen or randomly pulled). Some of the cards will be shown to the other person while others won't be.
Card 1. The Business Card
A play on the traditional querent card.² Look through your deck before shuffling and choose your "business card" that represents who you are. Rather than a querent card that is about representing you at the present moment in the context of a spread, think about the tarot card you would purposefully choose to represent yourself to others.
Card 2. The Table Card
This and the next few cards are pulled at random like in a traditional reading. This card represents what you bring to the table. The card will speak to what you bring to the particular relationship or situation you share with the person across from you, but often speak to the skills, ideas, lived experiences, and/or perspectives that you bring with you in every situation.
Card 3. The Not Yet Card
A card that you will not show the other person, but it is one that you can take a moment to look at and reflect on. This card highlights something we feel vulnerable about rather than being a secret. It can be a subject that you need more time to figure out how you feel about it first or something that you hope to share in the future, but just not yet. It's a practice in knowing that we don't need to know everything about another person to still hold them in care and trust in a relationship's pace of unfolding.
Card 4. The Heart Card
A card to represent something that you are ready to share with the other person, even if you feel a little hesitant or unsure. This is not a card about revealing deep held secrets or getting too vulnerable too quick, but about practicing opening up about yourself with healthy boundaries in place. The card, for example, might inspire you to share a dream or hope you have that has meaning in the context of your relationship with the person sitting across from you.
Card 5. The Easy Card
A card that helps you express something you appreciate, like or love about the person across from you. Think about the meaning of the card and the person across from you like, "Oh, it's so easy to love {x} about you…"
Card 6. The Library Card
All of us are living libraries full of stories chronicling our experiences. This card represents what you want to learn more about the person sitting across from you. You have a choice to either pull this card at random or choose it purposefully from the deck (reshuffling the deck afterwards if you make a purposeful choice).
Card 7. The Calling Card
A message for both querents within the context of your relationship. Perhaps it points to next steps if the querents are working on a project together. Maybe the cards affirm messages and perspectives shared during the spread. Or it can be very interesting for each querent to compare this card with their first card, the business card.
✨
Do you have someone or a group in mind that you'd want to cast this spread with? What are some of your favorite community-building tarot practices? While you're invited to peruse the Tarot Archive for more inspiration, I've collected a few posts below to get you started on your next adventure:
And if you’re feeling particularly inspired, I’d love to have you join us in The Tarot Apothecary. Wherever your tarot or healing practice takes you, I hope you have many happy hours spent in story-filled spaces, where the conversation is gleaming and the spirit of kinship flows freely.
This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎
📚
Footnotes
1. Blessed be perceptive aunties!
2. You'll notice that the first card in the spread is called “The Business Card” and besides being a lovely pun we can all enjoy, it's also because I have a secret love of clever business cards and their status as social artifacts. I could not wait to have my own business cards when I was a kid. I was likely influenced by my early childhood in Japan where the exchange of business cards can look like a ritual of sacred objects from a child's-eye view. Anyways, I am looking forward to a renaissance of business card making (that extends beyond just strictly business into the personal) as the cultural urgency for third spaces and in-person social events of all varieties continues to arise.
