In the newsletter she just sent out, Theresa Reed, the Tarot Lady, challenges us to pick a setting and think about what tarot cards would best illustrate it. So: challenge accepted! I pick: the bus stop! Because I spend a lot of time there.
I thought this tarotcise would be hard, but I quickly found the card I most associate with waiting for the bus: The Hanged Man. Why? First, because the Hanged Man is all about waiting. But also because the Hanged Man represents a change in perspective, and I feel that traveling by bus is a wonderful opportunity to expose oneself to many different perspectives–as many different perspectives as there are people who get on the bus or who walk past the bus stop. Simply standing at the bus stop invites us to consider the perspective of the Earth–something we so easily miss when traveling by car.
In the photo at right, I’ve flanked the Hanged Man with two other cards that say “waiting for the bus” to me: the Two of Wands (planning for the future, yes, but also gazing into the distance wondering when the bus will show up!) and the Ace of Pentacles (bus token or bus pass literally in hand!).
But I couldn’t stop there. I had to think about what cards represent riding the bus. While The Chariot can represent travel by car, I feel that the bus is more of a Six of Swords mode of travel. It seems to me that the crafts generally depicted on a Six of Swords card can hold more people than the Chariot could. I also connect the Four of Cups (boredom–I don’t get bored on the bus, but many people do) and the Two of Pentacles (multitasking!) with a bus ride. But most importantly, to me, the bus is a blessing that gives me independence and the ability to travel even though I don’t have a car right now–and to me, that’s a Nine of Pentacles moment.
What cards do you connect with riding the bus?
Quiet Mystic 
The meaning of the card ought to be interpreted in the context of the House where it falls.
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Certainly, but in this case, the cards are not in any houses–I’m just exploring the idea of what cards might have to do with waiting for a bus. Sometimes it helps to think ahead about what cards one would expect to see associated with different situations.
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