Should I move to Oregon?
A note from Corrine: This real-life reading highlights some of the techniques I incorporate in my tarot practice. To schedule a reading with me, in person or online, click here.
Question: I’m thinking about moving to Oregon. Is that a good idea? Cara (via email)
Answer: For you, I shuffled the deck and asked, “What does Cara need to know about a move to Oregon?” As I mixed the cards, hand over hand, one card worked its way apart from the rest of the pack: The Ace of Swords.
In this case, I think the Ace of Swords is a very portentous card. The Aces are the first card of every suit, so they represent new beginnings. At the same time, the suit of Swords represents your intellectual life. Combine those two components, and it seems clear that a move to Oregon would represent a new, fresh start for you on an intellectual level.
That’s a little surprising. Normally, most moves represent a new physical or emotional start, not an intellectual beginning. It makes sense, though, if you’re hoping that a move would help you establish a new outlook in life, or connect with people who share your mindset. It might also mean that you could be deciding to move for career reasons, especially if your work relies primarily upon your intellect.
A few other things come to mind when I look at the Ace of Swords, too. First, I notice the olive and palm branches hanging from the crown at the top of the card. Both represent victory and success. (The crown is another symbol of the intellect, because a crown sits on top of a head.)
What’s more, the sword obviously has a point: You may be using the move to make some sort of a point to your family and friends.
The hand holding the sword seems to be coming out of a cloud, like the hand of God. Some people regard the Ace of Swords as a gift from God, relating to their intellectual abilities. I also associate that ethereal hand with the Magician, the first card in the deck. In the tarot, the Magician has learned how to use a sword as an extension of his intellect, logic, and will. Either way, the image depicts your determination to set your own agenda, and to manifest your own ideal life.
I don’t know what your family situation is, but the Ace of Swords occasionally symbolizes pregnancy, because it depicts the act of impregnation, right down to the six yellow seeds suspended in mid-air. If you have a young family to raise, or if you’re planning to start a family, Oregon could be the place where it happens.
On a final note, just for fun, I’d like to point out that there are mountains in the distance. Those mountains could be depicting the mountains you would have to cross, either literally or symbolically, if you were to move.
Obviously, a single tarot card can’t tell you if you will move, or if you should move, or how you would feel if you did move. The Ace of Swords does a pretty good job, however, of pinpointing some of the factors that may be entering into your decision.