Not everything about the tarot is easy to understand or navigate. Some things feel straight forward like color magic, but other things like masculine and feminine can feel a bit off putting, especially as we step into a wider spectrum of identity acceptance within our communities.
I struggled for a moment last year using this language in my readings and spent the better part of winter unloading this language and understanding it on a deeper level. Masculine and feminine within the tarot is not meant to describe man and woman. While easy to confuse, this language is archetypal and meant to describe contrasting energies that cannot exist without the other.
Archetypal language has existed since the dawn of humanity. Symbols written on cave walls, on great stones atop mountains, within text, stories, literature, paintings, films, songs and more. The connections are endless. Even within languages words are often categorized between masculine and feminine forms.
It's also important to recognize that regardless of how we identify that all of us hold this dual energy within ourselves. I no longer feel uncomfortable using this language within my readings because I now understand the origins and meaning behind them more. I also understand however that some readers don't resonate with this language, so I've offered a chart below with some alternative words you can use if masculine/feminine isn't your thing!
Sensitivity and the ability to "read the room" is so important in any line of spiritual work. I hope this chart helps to alleviate any anxieties you may be feeling as a tarot reader!
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