The Housing Tarot

Introduction

For many years, people have used tarot to understand the self and their relationships with others.  

Today, as we live in interconnected metropolitan societies, there’s also the need to know a community’s past, present, future, and links to the wider world.  

The Housing Tarot can aid in understanding one’s block, neighborhood, city, or entire metropolitan area.  It can also be used like a regular tarot deck for finding meaning at the personal or family scale. 

As a Californian, the architectures and issues of this present time and place take a large role in this Housing Tarot.  There are many truths in this world and the reader is advised to adapt and reinterpret their findings to local circumstances.  

Art by Alfred Twu, Words by Alfred Twu and octo-pisces

First edition, November 2019, Berkeley, California

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How to Read the Housing Tarot

Shuffle the cards face down.  One at a time, reveal the cards and place them on the spread while reflecting on the meaning.

The upright and reversed meanings are always both present.  Sometimes a card will come out upside-down.  In these cases, pay special attention to the Reversed meaning.  

Simple Spread

1. Past: systems, decisions, and events that continue to affect us today.

2. Present: current challenges, debates, and things to focus on right now.

3. Future: changes, hopes and fears, things to monitor and prepare for.  

Celtic Cross

This is a common tarot spread for in-depth readings.

1. What are the current conditions?

2. What obstacle do we face?

3. What deeper systems are at work?

4. What does our past tell us?

5. What is going on today?

6. What lies in the near future?

7. What are we thinking about?

8. What is happening in nearby places?

9. What do we want or fear?

10. What lies in the long term?

Time and Space

A spread for expanding one’s physical and temporal horizons.

Timeline

A spread for problem solving.

Compass Rose

A spread for thinking deeper about relations and connections with neighboring areas. 

Other possible spreads

- City council or supervisor districts.

- Building floor plans.

- Transit maps.

- Project flowcharts.