#three card

I... actually can't really bring myself to do a full read of these lol, so uh. In order:

Ten of Swords: Oh shit oh fuck--

The Tower, reversed: this is fine THIS IS FINE--

Six of Wands, reversed: (screen darkens) [YOU HAVE DIED] -> (Jocat voice) "Congrats, you're better at the game than you were five seconds ago."

On the plus side, this was about the worst it could have gotten, so... Now we're in the reconstruction phase. Which means I went for a full on Celtic Cross spread to get the most context and direction.

This is... More promising.

Temperance in this position indicates that I am seeking a point of balance, compromise, and calm. Sounds good, right? Reasonable, even.

Eight of Cups (reversed): I currently feel stuck, and like I don't know what to do. (Aka: my freeze response is acting up, because of course it is.)

The Star is reinforcing the calm/balanced energies from Temperance. Hey, look at that: I have hope.

Four of Swords here is reminding me that I took some time recently to take a step back and get a little perspective, and reassess. (:bonk: Not everything has to be push-push-push all the time, LP!!!)

Knight of Pentacles: I have a plan, and I'm willing (and able!) to put in the work. That little glimmer of hope? I am following it carefully but doggedly.

Five of Pentacles: (Disclaimer: so, interestingly enough, my deck deviates majorly from the standard Rider-Waite interpretation for this card -- I usually cross-reference while I'm checking things over because my brain is Swiss cheese and I don't remember what everything means beyond vibes. Because this is the deck I'm using, I'm sticking with what my deck says, which THANKFULLY is nowhere near as negative.) Anyway. There is a period of rest and relaxation ahead -- literally, we're going away this weekend lol. It should help.

Ace of Pentacles here is telling me that I'm giving myself the green light to go ahead with my plans. I'm feeling more secure and safe to make the moves I wanted to make, and the suggestions I wanted to suggest. Optimism is at a high.

Eight of Pentacles tells me I'm not going to be the only one working at making the changes that need to be made. It will be a joint effort. This is very encouraging.

Herald of Pentacles in this position is also very hopeful: I am approaching this as a period of learning and growth and I am determined to take the tools and resources I now have at my disposal and build something great.

Finally, the King of Cups here is the culmination of that calm, balance, and stability from Temperance. Patience and compassion as I stay the course will be key, but should bring us to a good place in the end. Overall, this indicates success.

Before I jump into the individual members, I think it’s worth noting I pulled many cards from the Cups deck, as well as the Wands deck. This indicates to me that most of them are in the midst of a situation where emotions are running extremely high. There were fewer pentacles than I expected to see, indicating to me that - for all that contracts are a business decision - there are actually a lot of things involved that don’t involve tangible things like money. Instead, many of them are dealing with self-esteem, how they would like to define success, and being respected.

JB:

Current energy: Two of Swords (Reversed)

Currently focusing on: Seven of Wands

Subconscious influences: King of Cups

Jaebeom is definitely struggling. He wants to make a decision about his future career, but right now he’s being held at an impasse. Given the presence of the Seven of Wands, it appears as though JYPE is the source of this impasse. Whatever negotiations are going on are tense and unpleasant and he may even need a lawyer in the future. Right now he’s trying to control his emotions in this tense atmosphere, while also being someone his members can rely on. However, he’s rattled, let down and frustrated. 

Mark:

Current energy: Two of Cups (Reversed)

Currently focusing on: Three of Cups (Reversed)

Subconscious influences: Three of Wands

Mark is also unhappy. Things are so intense and acrimonious that he’d rather avoid his coworkers and supervisors altogether. Interactions all feel negatively charged to him. Things being this way is also having a negative impact on his self-esteem. He does have concrete goals for the future, though. He’d like to seek out work abroad where he’s less likely to be rebuffed by supervisors when it comes to opportunities in the entertainment industry. 

Jackson:

Current energy: King of Wands (Reversed)

Currently focusing on: Nine of Wands

Subconscious influences: Seven of Pentacles (Reversed)

Jackson is frustrated with sunk costs, though mostly the loss of time rather than money. He put a lot of time and effort into his activities with and for JYPE but isn’t sure he reaped the rewards he wanted. Sometimes he’s tempted to tough it out, but there are other times he’s tempted to pack it in. He definitely wants to step into more leadership roles, but all the different conflicting demands on his time makes it difficult for him to communicate as well as he would like. There’s also a lot of conflict in his life right now. He’s navigating a situation with someone who’s being petty and jealous, but he’s doing his best to stand strong. 

Jinyoung:

Current energy: Page of Cups

Currently focusing on: The Hermit (Reversed)

Subconscious influences: Five of Pentacles (Reversed)

There’s something Jinyoung is excited about, and it’s likely a creative endeavor. He’s been growing through a difficult time period, but he can glimpse hope and opportunity on the horizon. He’s also more likely to be financially secure. However, he’s also keeping this opportunity secret for the most part. He might have confided in a few people, but he’s being cagey otherwise. People may be feeling shut out by him. 

Youngjae:

Current energy: Five of Cups

Currently focusing on: Ace of Pentacles

Subconscious influences: Four of Cups 

Ahhh there’s a very leaden, listless feeling to this reading. Youngjae is resentful and disappointed right now. There’s a strong sense that things did not turn out the way he wished they would have, and he’s fixating on how he could have prevented this all. There are new opportunities on the horizon and he knows he should be pursuing them, but he’s struggling with the apathy and disconnect that can come with repeated disappointments. 

Bambam:

Current energy: Nine of Cups (Reversed)

Currently focusing on: Eight of Swords (Reversed)

Subconscious influences: The Empress

Meanwhile Bambam has a lot of energy here. Almost too much. Bambam is actually pretty content in some ways. He has a lot of the material things he wants, and he’s enjoying getting to be generous with others. Something feels like it’s missing, though, and he’s deeply frustrated by it all. Contract negotiations naturally make someone reflect on the passage of time, and he’s probably thinking something along the lines of “I’m getting close to my mid-twenties! I’m getting ancient! It’s all going downhill from here.” In some ways, it’s reasonable to worry about one’s youth in the entertainment industry, but he might be overthinking it at the same time and underestimating his ability to tap into new opportunities. 

Yugyeom:

Current energy: Strength

Currently focusing on:  Four of Pentacles

Subconscious influences: King of Pentacles

So, Yugyeom obviously declined the contract re-signing. I still want to do a reading on him because I’m interested in the dynamics here (individually and as a group.) 

Recent past: Five of Pentacles (Reversed)

Present: Queen of Cups

Near future: Four of Cups (Reversed)

So, this is a pretty straightforward and optimistic reading, in my opinion.

Relief was the predominant emotion of Jay’s recent past. He was finally done with being a trainee, finally done with a competitive reality show, and had had a successful debut. This professional success allowed for some newfound happiness and vitality after a long period of stress and stagnation. During the debut period he couldn’t have been more relieved, even if it was exhausting. There seems to have been a slight sense that something was missing, but for the most part Jay was happy to go with the flow. 

Consequently, right now he’s pretty happy and in touch with his creative intuition. He trusts himself and his creative instincts and is pretty confident that things will keep going his way for a while.

Irene:

Current energy: Temperance (Reversed)

Clarifier card: High Priestess

What's working in their favor: Four of Cups

What's working against them: King of Swords

Due to her attitude scandal, Irene’s bargaining power with SM disappeared pretty much over night and she’s well aware of it. SM hasn’t minced words with her about this issue, either. They’ve made it clear to her that she’s going to be on the backburner for a while. The company - like any kpop company, really - is all about the bottom line, and they’re worried about Irene effecting it. 

Prior to all this, Irene could have re-signed with SM or signed up with another company with terms that were very favorable to herself. Now this is less likely. It’s possible that some less than scrupulous companies have reached out to her with deals that sound very favorable to her. But, to Irene, it’s fairly obvious they’re trying to get her why she’s down, and signing up with them would likely leave her in a worse state. It also appears that she’s somewhat on board with SM’s decision to keep her hidden for a while, and is turning down some CF deals that are more legitimate. While these deals would have brought in some immediate cash flow, it would also have the effect of reminding the public about her scandal again. 

Otherwise, Irene is (for lack of a better term) reflecting on her actions. I think I might need to sit down and do a more in-depth reading on the attitude scandal in order to get a better sense of what was going on there, because right now the cards are being a little opaque with me about her feelings and motivations. Suffice to say being taken to account definitely shook Irene and she wants to avoid anything like this in the future. All I can say is that her future is pretty uncertain and she and SM are both weighing how to proceed. 

Seulgi:

Current energy: The Magician

What's working in their favor: Ten of Wands (Reversed)

What's working against them: Three of Swords (Reversed)

Seulgi’s current situation is, in some ways, the polar opposite to Irene’s. And it’s worth noting I pulled the Magician for her and the High Priestess for Irene (two cards that complement each other.) She came out of Irene’s gapjil scandal with more social capital in a way. There was a lot of talk about how no one in the industry had anything bad to say about Seulgi, and SM definitely took notice of that. 

Currently the company is likely treating her as a kind of interim leader of Red Velvet while Irene is being sidelined. They also very much want to keep Seulgi and she’s aware of that and trying to strike while the iron so that she can do more projects while she’s still under contract. She also very much wants to lead Red Velvet over the finish line so that they have at least one or two more comebacks that are well-received. 

All that being said, Seulgi’s struggling with her current situation a lot. Red Velvet had a really difficult year in 2020, and she’s exhausted by it all. As she nears the end of her contract, she’s wondering what she has to show for it all. As a result, she’s approaching contract negotiations in a depleted and wary state. 

Wendy:

Current energy: Judgement

Clarifier Card: Five of Swords (Reversed)

What's working in their favor: Three of Pentacles

What's working against them: Knight of Wands

Wendy has gone through quite an emotional journey, if these cards are anything to go by. 

For a long time she held a lot of resentment towards SBS for their extremely dangerous negligence (and, seriously, who could blame her?) For a while, her recovery was fueled by a desire to get revenge by living well. After a while, though, this was no longer a sustainable modus operandi. It’s not that she forgave them, necessarily. Instead, it appears as though she fell in love with singing and performing again. She really feels as though music is her purpose in life and this conviction is fueling her her current motivations. 

In addition, she also feels very supported by the people in her life. Moreover, though, she actually believes in herself very strongly. She’s heading into the contract negotiations period in a very confident mindset. I think she will ask for more solo work from SM and they will be inclined to grant it since she’s another Red Velvet member with a lot of good will from the public at the moment. 

Joy:

Current energy: Four of Pentacles (Reversed)

What's working in their favor: Two of Cups (Reversed)

What's working against them: Strength

This will be shorter than the others, because the cards were extremely clear: When it comes to the contract negotiation period, Joy is going to be almost entirely focused on money. 

Simply put, Joy feels like she’s owed a raise or, at the very least, even more promotion and opportunities. She has a strong sense of self-worth in this regard and believes SM should compensate her more fairly for all her work. It also appears as though the last year or so has made it very clear to Joy how precarious an idol’s job really is. As a result she wants to budget and save in order weather any other scandals that might come there way. 

She’s also entering into these negotiations from a somewhat adversarial mindset. It appears as though she thinks SM management is full of drama and fails at communication. As a result, she doesn’t really trust them to have her best interests at heart. She always feels out of sync with them. 

It also appears as though Joy is right to be wary and on guard. SM is not inclined to listened to her demands. 

Yeri:

Current energy: Seven of Wands

What's working in their favor: Four of Wands

What's working against them: Seven of Cups

Note: I’m not actually sure if Yeri’s contract runs out this year or not, since she debuted in 2015. I assume hers actually runs out next year, but I’m reading for her anyway since the fates of all the other members will naturally effect her.

It’s also worth noting that Yeri has two “seven” cards. All the seven cards in the minor arcana suits indicate complications and shakeups.

And it appears as though Yeri was definitely a bit taken aback by aespa’s debut. While I’m sure all the members of Red Velvet saw it as another reminder that their initial contract was about to end, the cards seem to indicate that Yeri was the one who took it most personally. It has less to do with aespa in particular, and more to do with the nature of the industry in general. For her, her years with Red Velvet practically went by in the blink of an eye, and she wasn’t prepared to be a senior girl group to a debuting girl group so soon. It’s honestly kind of scared her on an almost existential level. 

This might be because - unlike Wendy’s reading - Yeri isn’t sure what her purpose in life is right now. She has dozens of different ideas on what she wants to pursue but hasn’t stuck to any of them. She wants to be seen as creative and interesting and take risks, but also wants to be seen as vital and reliable. As a result, her headspace is a bit scattered and she can’t decide on how best to advocate for herself. 

Solar:

Current energy: Nine of Swords Currently focusing on: Seven of Cups (Reversed) Subconscious influences: Six of Wands

Although Solar signed an extension of her contract, she seems to be going through a rough patch right now. There’s likely a lot of late night agonizing and worrying about whether she’s on the right path. The kpop idol life definitely favors the young and she’s also turning thirty this year. Birthdays are often a time of reflection, and doubly so when you switch over to a new decade. Right now she’s stressing that opportunities may be closing to her due to her age (please note: I’m not calling her ancient here!) 

Solar’s not about to give up, though. She’s quite proud of how far she’s come in the industry and would like to maintain that. Solar’s also very eager to have another solo that does better than her previous one. It’s important for her to establish herself even more as an artist so that she can keep up her career in the industry. She wants to keep singing and being successful for it even if she knows she won’t always be an idol. While she’s determined, she’s definitely worrying about it all right now. Staying in RBW is likely about availing herself of the networks she established there as well as maintaining access to the resources available in an established company.

Moonbyul:

Current energy: The World (Reversed) Clarifier card: Eight of Wands Currently focusing on: Strength Subconscious influences: Queen of Cups (Reversed)

Moonbyul is feeling a bit scattered right now. Her attention and energy is required in a million different places at once, and it also appears as if there’s some major project on the horizon for her. In fact, it’s possibly something she’s been working on for a while but it’s never quite come to fruition. It looks as though RBW’s approach to it has been a bit haphazard, and Moonbyul also lacks the stamina to really advocate for herself. Part of her didn’t want to leave RBW while leaving this project unfinished. In addition, she’s actually pretty aware of her negotiating power in the company. She has a lot of fans abroad who were willing to buy tons of copies of her EP. Bringing this kind of thing up is exhausting, though, and I think it wore her out. Right now she’s trying to bounce back and focus on her projects, but she’s given a lot of herself away, lately, by both advocating for herself as well as taking on the emotional baggage of others. 

Wheein:

Current energy: King of Pentacles Currently focusing on: Eight of Cups Clarifier card: Knight of Cups Subconscious influences: Six of Cups

Right now, Wheein is very, very focused on financial stability above all else. Fame can come and go, financial planning can literally pay off. Therefore she’s been spending a lot of time going over her budget and thinking about how to invest. She wants to get something out of her success, and she wants to do so in a way that will serve her well for a long time. If she stays with RBW it will be because she’s decided it will be the best financial decision in the long run. It’s a hard decision, though. She’s been compelled to walk away from the company because she’s currently very disappointed. I don’t think this is due to mistreatment by the company (although that’s always a possibility with a kpop company.) I think this is more of an issue of misaligned values. Fame hasn’t been as fun as she thought it would be, and the scrutiny is getting to her. She also might not be feeling their music, lately, and wonders if another company will let her perform music that’s more to her taste. All that being said, she’s also been hit by a lot of memories, recently, of all the good times with her group mates. This might convince her to stay, especially if she also uses her power to negotiate for the financial and creative things she wants within RBW.

Hwasa:

Current energy: Ten of Cups Currently focusing on: Nine of Pentacles (Reversed) Subconscious influences: King of Swords

The Page of Swords is curious. This past life yearned for knowledge, was full of new ideas. Especially as a child, it seems, this past self wanted to explore and discover. I find it interesting that even the art on the card looks young here. This is very definitely referring to a childhood state of being. I think it would be apt to say that this past self was a precocious child.

“Present”/Mid-Life: 5 of Cups (Reversed)

Cups are about emotion and relationships. The 5 of Cups is usually a rather negative figure, but in the reversed position we see something else. Rather than having a youth leading into adulthood colored by regret, we see a history of personal setbacks that did not keep this past self from success. This was a period of time for self-forgiveness and moving on. I interpret this as meaning that this past self struggled a lot internally and held themself back because of it.

“Future”/Late Life: 4 of Cups (Reversed)

Being so close to the previous card is very interesting. Whenever I see a common suit coming up, I take it to mean that what the suit represents is very important for what the cards are trying to convey. Water, emotion, and relationships were all very big in this past life. The 4 specifically (when reversed) suggests a degree of withdrawal. There was a retreat into the self later in life, but in a way that was for inner reflection. There was a need to check in with the Self. Perhaps this past self felt lost after some time and needed to be reminded of what was important. Of who they were.

Recent past: Ten of Swords (Reversed)

Clarifier: The Hermit

Present: The Sun

Near future: The Magician

Clarifier: Five of Swords

Oh my. Three major arcana cards.

So the Ten of Swords tends to symbolize the pain of the ending. When I see it in my readings I tend to focus on the ending aspect of it. Tonight, though, I was more drawn to to the aspect of pain. I don’t think this was me being particularly intuitive, I was pretty sure it was tugging at a memory I had of a headline involving Taeyong recently. Googling confirmed that he’s going to be sitting out activities for a while due to a relapse in a waist disc injury. No wonder the concept of pain seemed to overwhelm the recent past section of the reading. 

Just to be sure I was on the right track I pulled a clarifier card and I think I’m on the right track here. The Hermit card here seems to be urging this hiatus, confirming that break, rest, and alone time are needed and good. Particularly after such a busy end of the year. 

Right now, I believe Taeyong is almost weirdly proud of how much he pushes himself. He’d much rather be working, but I think he seems to think he shines brightest when performing. Therefore, he’s also proud of all the effort and work he puts into said performances, even if it’s physically taxing. 

I’m a bit wary of the future here. The presence of the Magician could mean he ends up taking this time to rest and heal and he’ll come back stronger. There’s also the possibility he’ll choose “mind over matter” and push himself once he’s able to perform again. The Sun and the Magician are both so positive I’d say things are tentatively more likely to be the former scenario.