Using Tarot Cards to Check for a Curse

Using Tarot Cards to Check for a Curse
Excerpted from Have You Been Hexed?, by Alexandra Chauran
If you are already familiar with the decks of seventy-eight cards used
to tell fortunes, you may be more comfortable using them for divination
than other tools. However, obviously tarot cards are limited since there
is no single card with a picture of your enemy on it and a confirmation of
a curse or hex. In fact, if there was a one in seventy-eight chance of getting a curse card pulled in a reading, everyone would tend to avoid using
tarot cards due to their inaccuracy and tendency to frighten the reader.
Certainly some tarot cards are challenging, and some have little positive to say. But when somebody’s reading consists entirely of the more
negative cards, it’s easy to conclude that everything is not going all that
well in that person’s life. A completely negative reading, although rare,
would be consistent with someone who is suffering the effects of a hex.
In particular, when cards of the suit of swords, which indicate conflict, are drawn almost to the exclusion of any other suit, this can point to an individual who is cursed. For example, the Nine of Swords
can be consistent with somebody who is losing sleep due to an enemy attempting to hex or appear in
his or her dreams. The Ten of Swords can also indicate the feeling of being overwhelmed and helpless, which often accompanies a hex. The Three of Swords would likely be present in the case of one
whose love life is the target of a curse. The Seven of Swords can be a card indicative of malicious
magic when associated with other signs.
If most or all of the fives show up in a tarot reading, that is a sign of the instability and loss that can be
the goal of most hexes. Pay attention to the major arcana, the twenty-two most powerful cards in the
deck. These are the cards you would not find in a regular playing-card deck. Their presence would
be warranted in a curse reading since they represent powerful energies, especially when one is at a
crossroads in life. No single card can represent a curse with clarity, but some major arcana cards, especially when reversed, can be more telling than others. In particular, pay attention if any of the following cards show up: the Moon, associated with cycles, deception, and fear; the High Priestess, associated with magic; the Death card, associated with endings and loss (but not actual death!); the Devil for
self-imposed curses and obsession; and the Lovers, which can mean one’s own passions getting the
better of them. All these cards are worthy of attention.
In summary, there is no single tarot card that tells you you’re cursed. But if you were to get all of the
fives in the deck, most of the suit of swords, and a few revealing major arcana cards, the reading
would suggest a major negative life change that might be associated with a curse. Tarot cards aren’t
the best tool for determining the presence or absence of a curse, and they’re certainly not a required
tool. [However,] if a reader is already a skilled tarot practitioner and feels comfortable using them for
the purpose of hex detection, they can make a useful addition.
Copyright 2013 Llewellyn Worldwide
Reprinted by permission of Llewellyn Worldwide, Inc.