¡Hola mis amores! It's Your Favorite Fortune Teller, Fernie, the author of The Joy of Tarot and the supermodel for sequined caftans and feathered fans of the world! One of the major reasons I wrote The Joy of Tarot was because I wanted to infuse a little more glitter and a whole lot more magic into our lives; tarot is one of the most beautiful ways that I do this in my own life, and I wanted to share that with all of you gorgeous folx.

Joy has many permutations, meanings, and ways of being, but what I believe always holds true about "joy" is that it is inherent in all of us and we are all worthy of experiencing it. Whether you love the quiet joy of a Sunday morning alone, the exuberant joy of the strobe lights at a gay club, or the triumphant joy of a gold medal, joy is meant for all of us to hold. I believe that we should all dare to be delighted, and that being delighted is being daring—and that's how we should approach tarot, as well.

I remember the first time I laid eyes on the cover of The Joy of Tarot; the bright colors, the flowers, the ecstasy that it inspired in me was almost too much to handle. After recovering from this ecstatic vision, I noticed something hidden, like a treasure, behind the title: the three cards that form a spread behind the words. The Star, The Sun, and the Ten of Cups—cards that denote contentment, happiness, and accomplishment. Definitely what I felt at writing this book, and definitely a positive reading for anyone who gets the book, but also something of a roadmap for finding joy in our own lives.

What I've written below takes these three cards and gives you three different ways to find joy in your own life. I'll be honest and share that these slant towards the more exuberant forms of joy, as that's just who Your Favorite Fortune Teller is, but I encourage you to lean into the exuberance or find your own ways of celebrating yourself and those you love. Here we go!

The Star: Shine Brightly Even in Darkness
The Star card is one of my absolute favorite cards, as those of you who have seen any of my videos can attest, it's always right behind me, sometimes just right out of sight, but always present in my heart. The Star's meanings of hope, healing, and calm are feelings I aspire to and seek; let me be honest, however, and say I also just think of myself as a STAR, and so this card was destined to be a fave of mine.

In order to embody the joy of the Star, I want you to think of something that makes you feel most like yourself and the absolute happiest, even when things are tough. In my mind, this means putting on something daring (like a sequined caftan and some glitter), going out, and having a delightful time that includes a tarot reading. I can't tell you the number of times I've done this after a long day away from home in a new city all by myself, and how it always cheers me up to no end. I've also done this with a girlfriend when her new beau is being a silly billy gumdrop, maybe after giving them a new shade of lipstick to try on so they can shine a little brighter on our night on the town. It can be tough to shine in your darkest moments, but the Star can show you the way, corazon.

The Sun: Set Off On a Tarot Adventure
You know, the Sun was not in my top ten favorite cards before I saw it on the cover of The Joy of Tarot. But once I saw it, front and center, on that gorgeous blue and yellow background, it clicked into place and gave me the biggest boost of joy I've ever experienced. Since then, its message of contentment, happiness, accomplishment, and starting anew with delight has been ingrained into my heart, so much so that the sunflower has found its way into almost every flower arrangement I've made since then.

For the kind of joy the Sun encourages us to experience, I want you to invite a friend out for a new adventure. Use the cards to help you choose what to do; either you or your friend can pick out a card and see what its message inspires you to do. Maybe the Three of Wands is encouraging a hike to a previously unknown height. Temperance might encourage you to go searching for rainbows at a water park; maybe pulling the Ten of Swords means that you should go to the beach at night. Use the cards as a guide, and have a sunshiny day, mi amor.

Ten of Cups: Celebrate Those You Love
As an out and proud queer person, the Ten of Cups and its beautiful rainbow hold special meaning for me. The depiction of a happy family in the card is something that I know many members of the LGBTQIA+ community aren't so fortunate to have; the Ten of Cups reminds us that we can create our own family, and that after the rain comes the rainbow. We are reminded that contentment and happiness can be the gifts we receive at the end of any hardship, and that we are ultimately going to find ourselves right where we belong. Allow the dance, the embrace, the solid home found in this card to either remind you to be grateful or to be an aspiration.

The Ten of Cups exemplifies a joy that we find most solidly in the company of those we love. To bring that energy to life, you should have a friends and family potluck. Use a tarot card or a reading to inspire the menu; bring forth some spicy Mexican food if the King of Wands has popped up, or maybe have the Lovers encourage everyone to bring a guest who perhaps is new to the group. You could even have people give each other readings throughout the night if they're willing and able! The point of the night is for everyone to have fun and leave feeling even more connected to each other, and you can be the bringer of joy and of cups, my love.

Super Special Magic Bonus Tarot Spread: The Joy of Tarot Spread
When I was originally writing The Joy of Tarot, I had already planned on including spreads but hadn't yet thought of including the stories that accompany them. However, as I was writing and thinking about what the actual joy of tarot was, one of the things that was readily apparent was just how much my friends, family, and community had brought me joy. I knew that I had to include them, and the fun we'd had together, and invite my readers (meaning all of you gorgeous people!) to join me in these readings.

One of the most beautiful parts of being queer is being able to make your own family, and that's why these spreads felt so important to include—to show that even though I have a good family structure, I've also been able to create brothers and sisters and siblings from the lovely connections I've made over the years. Therefore, I'm going to include a special BONUS spread here for you! Here it is for you:

 

What It Is:
In thinking of the spread to make for The Joy of Tarot, I wanted to include the subtitle's beautiful exhortation to read the cards with daring and delight. These two words perfectly encapsulate a key part of my personality, the parts of me that are so bold that I'm going to do whatever I want and the parts of me that can find the glitter in any situation (and if there isn't any glitter, you know I always come with my own).

The first card, the card of Daring, invites you to dare, to be bold, to think of what it is that you might need to do in order to make your life a little more happy. This card might be an action that you need to take or a mindset that you need to embody, and even if it seems scary, or especially if it feels scary, take at least a teensy-eensy step towards doing it.

The second card, the card of Delight, encourages you to do something that will bring you pleasure. There is enough work and labor in this world, and there is always going to be one more thing to do—this card tells you about something that you should enjoy without having earned it or feeling like you need to work it off. If the card isn't obviously positive or delightful, read the positive interpretation in The Joy of Tarot and see how you can stretch it to fit the kind of joy you're meant to have.

Finally, the Joy card is something that you should celebrate. What in your life have you accomplished? What is deserving of your gratitude? What have you worked toward, or what gift have you received, that you should acknowledge at this time? Allow this card to fill your heart with love and happiness, corazon, and revel in its light.

When to Use It:
The Joy of Tarot spread is meant to be used whenever you could use a little pick-me-up. If you've had a bad day, or if work has been a little ridiculous, or if people have just been unkind, pull out your tarot cards and draw these three cards. As per my usual instruction, if you don't like the cards, draw them again until you do. This spread is meant to bring you joy, and if you need to make joy yourself, do it! No one's checking—not even me!

Neon is as bright, vibrant, and fun as his name would imply. A go-go dancer, costume designer, community leader, and all-around amazing male performer, he has carved out for himself a brilliant career and his star is always on the ascendant. Recently, however, he has experienced a few setbacks; he tore the ACL in his knee twice, meaning that his favorite way of making money, entertaining, has been severely reduced, and his family situation has gotten very thorny. Needless to say, his usual neon-hued aura has dimmed just a bit, and as someone who loves him so so so much, I wanted to make sure that I could help him.

The first card I drew for him was the Seven of Swords. An inveterate survivor, I knew that this card was telling him that even though he's confronted so many obstacles, he needs to dare to walk away from the pain and continue back on the path of his success. It can be so hard to be bold enough to escape the traps that life sometimes throws in our way, and Neon has definitely felt like those jaws are closing in around him. The Seven of Swords reminds him that he needs to figure out what he needs to take from these experiences and leave them behind.

The card of Delight was the Queen of Pentacles, RX. The thing that he needed to celebrate was that he didn't have to take care of himself, and that he had people that loved him and would take care of him and bring him the abundance he was seeking. He and I have spoken enough about the way that he feels like he has to take care of all those around him that I know that this card hit him hard in the chest—it's actually what had me add the phrase about not needing to earn the joy this card offers to you. Just because he was Neon he was worthy of being taken care of, and there are people ready and willing to tend to his garden when he can't.

Finally, the Ten of Swords ended up being the card of Joy. What a spread! Even the most positive leaning card, the Queen of Pentacles, was reversed, and I was intrigued in seeing two of the hardest cards in the deck, the Seven and Ten of Swords, pop up. Neon was obviously going through it; my job, as his Favorite Fortune Teller, was to figure out how this was going to bring joy. One of my favorite reads of the Ten of Swords is about how dramatic the card is; it only takes one sword to end someone, and here we have someone being destroyed by SO MANY SWORDS! All I could think of was how this card was making me laugh—yes, you didn't just tear your ACL once, but twice, and yes, you didn't just have someone move into your house, you had all of your family move in at their worst moment… of course it would happen that way! The joy, then, was to be found in recognizing the unseriousness of the situation, and to look to the sun rising in the background.

Neon's bright, effervescent, indomitable spirit would shine just as luminously as that sun promises it will. While today, and yesterday, and maybe even tomorrow might have even more swords to poke him with, I know that together, he and I will start the work of pulling them out and letting the glitter and joy seep back in. This I can promise him.

And with that spread, I now remind you that The Joy of Tarot is my gift to all of you beautiful people. My most sincere hope is that this book is able to help you live your lives with more daring and delight, corazon. Allow yourself to feel joy today and everyday, in both moments big and small—I give you my whole-hearted permission. With The Star, The Sun, and the Ten of Cups as a foundation, you will surely reach new heights of joy. ¡Los quiero mucho, mis amores!