In the previous blog post, I described a literally magical experience that I had with the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot. In the 22 weeks of getting to know the deck and initiating my relationship with it, I had many profound moments, but that particular experience felt truly special. It also marks a good transition point from initiation and some bad decision-making to a new, more mature relationship with the deck and what it can do. So it’s time to look at the deck again, using my own deck interview spread. I hadn’t finalized that spread yet when I interviewed this deck the first time around, but I’ve definitely found it to be a worthy exercise. And I’m still thinking that I might re-interview all those older decks.

Deck Interview spread with Spirit Keeper's Tarot Vitruvian Edition — **RE-INTERVIEWING THE SPIRIT KEEPER’S TAROT**

**What major lesson are you here to help me learn?** *The Eminence | 9 of Orbs*
**Through which divine energy can we best communicate?** *The Wish Granted | 9 of Chalices*
**In what area can you aid me to help others?** *The Haunt | 9 of Swords (reversed)*
**In what area could your guidance be easily misunderstood?** *The Joyous One | 10 of Chalices (reversed)*
**What can I do to keep our communication clear?** *The Erudite (Hermit)*
**How can I use your guidance for the highest good?** *Sacred Fire | Ace of Scepters (reversed)*
**How will I know when we’re ready for a new lesson?** *The Tower*

This deck is certainly not any warmer or fuzzier now than the first time around. I’m not thrilled to see another Tower moment immanent because I feel as though I’ve just been through one. And it’s been helpful, but I hope that this deck and I get to work with the energy of my current lesson for a while first. I’m certainly not going to fight the Eminence or the Wish Granted. (I mean, apparently I have been because it wouldn’t be a lesson now otherwise. Thanks, Chiron conjunct White Moon Selena in Taurus.)

What I can expect to work through with this deck is establishing my authority in an official way and being recognized and rewarded for it. This isn’t just about tarot reading, but it’s tied to another growing interest and skill/talent/gift/craft/practice(?) of mine that I’ll be posting about in the near future: mediumship. I had a reading from Benebell herself about the area right before doing this reading, and the Eminence (9 of Orbs) came up two times out of seven card drawings. It’s also the spirit that I most visually recognize in the image of the Keeper.

The Eminence is the first of four 9s in this reading (of only seven cards!): three minor arcana of 9 (everything but Scepters) and the Erudite (Key IX / the Hermit). That feels very personally significant. My life path and destiny number (along with a few lesser numerological identifiers) are both 9, which is where my connection to the Hermit (and the Moon as mirror) come from. That wouldn’t necessarily be relevant here except for the lens they provide for understanding these 9s in their specific positions. The 9s of numerology are similar to the humanitarian impulses of the Hermit and of Aquarius/House XI, and there’s a real internal conflict for me about the intuitive work that I do and the need to be compensated for the time and resources that I devote to that work. (I’ve discussed this previously in “Divine Gifts Freely Given,” so I won’t repeat myself here.) That’s even more true when we get into the more spiritual, less evidence-based aspects of the work. But it is work that I truly want to be able to do for people long-term, so I like seeing the Wish Granted (9 of Chalices) here as the spirit with which I can best achieve such work when using this deck.

But wait! I thought you didn’t use this deck with clients. That’s true for standard tarot readings. It’s a very personal deck, and its spiritual nature makes it a potential distraction for people who are looking for insight into the mundane practicalities of life. (Mundane can have judgmental overtones that I don’t mean—I just mean worldly, practical, and everyday real-world issues that affect the things everyone deals with, regardless of their beliefs). But there are those who are trying to connect to specific (or even general) energies or spirits, and I believe that I can help them with that. And it’s this deck and my work with it that has helped me accept that belief.

And that’s where the Haunt (9 of Swords) reversed comes in, validating those beliefs and sending a clear message from the proverbial Holy Guardian Angel watching over it that this deck can help me help others by releasing their negative spiritual energies. One of the few books I’ve read about mediumship described the process as often just simply listening to a spirit and passing along their message so that they could leave, no evil will present and no complicated exorcisms needed. This card also came up in my reading with Benebell, and if you know this deck well, you’ll know that the woman in the Eminence and the woman in the Haunt are the same woman (one of only two or three repeated characters). This may not be important, but it feels like great confirmation that brings the reading full-circle.

Speaking of full-circle, I should get on with this reading. The reversed Joyous One (10 of Chalices) warns me that this deck could easily be misunderstood if someone, including me, is not working toward interpersonal harmony and ultimate happiness for all. The Wish Granted that drives the divinity of this reading is all well and good, but it must be used wisely (the deck’s Book of Maps explains that you must use the Erudite’s wisdom when working with this deck), and that wisdom requires what’s best for everyone, not just for oneself. It recalls the recent fiasco I instigated just before the Lunar Eclipse. The Joyous One (upright) is actually the spirit that I petitioned to help heal that situation, so it’s not all that surprising to be reminded of the need to attend to what I learned from that particular lesson. The Erudite shows how to keep our communication clear: it’s the same energy needed to make proper wishes from the Wish Granted. That wisdom should probably guide all of my work with this deck. This combination of cards is also potentially a warning that this deck, or my work with it, will need to be very cognizant of the lessons already taught and learned. Relapses could very well end badly.

And I think that’s where the final two cards come in. The Eminence is all well and good, but to work with this deck toward the highest good, I need to not be using it for personal glory, as seen through the reversed Sacred Fire. I suspect that the next phase of my relationship with this deck—the Tower—will be forced into my life after such a self-glorifying use of the deck. Tarot work as work can require such a delicate balance, and it’s hard to not want to find glory in what one feels to be a calling. But if I’ve learned anything from this deck so far, it’s that with power comes responsibility. And when that responsibility is not properly demonstrated, a Tower moment is certainly justified in resetting the karmic balance. Here’s hoping I’ve learned enough by then to repair whatever has been broken.

The cards pictured here are from the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot (Vitruvian Edition), which is an independently created deck by Benebell Wen. It was available through her website when I conducted the initial interview, but it is now sold out. According to Wen, it’s not likely to come back into print any time soon, if ever, so hopefully someone can gift you theirs if they aren’t in love with it.

Deck Interview: Spirit Keeper's Tarot, Part 2 (the re-interview)