Agatha All Along leaned fully into the artform of tarot in its seventh episode. The trial focused heavily on Lilia’s powers of divination as the crew had to place the correct tarot cards in the proper order, lest they wanted to be impaled by falling swords. The usage of swords itself is a direct nod to tarot, as there is a suit of swords in the Minor Arcana that represent everything from decisive decision-making to a dangerous journey. And the Witches Road has indeed been a treacherous path that has claimed lives and revealed epic secrets. Agatha All Along gives fans a crash course in tarot card reading/interpretation, but are the meanings given in this story actually accurate? For the most part, they do line up with standard interpretations.
After Teen a.k.a. Billy Maximoff a.k.a. Wiccan asks the question of who he really is (which makes him the querent, or a person seeking answers from divination), Lilia prepares to do a “Safe Passage” spread for him to place seven cards in several designated spots. The first card represents the Traveler themself, the second card is What’s Missing (the meaning of a quest), the third one is the Path Behind (wounds suffered and lessons learned), the fourth is the Path Ahead (a space for growth and discovery), fifth is Obstacles (which inevitably happen before a Windfall). Finally, the Traveler must overcome all to reach the ultimate Destination.
Teen begins to draw the cards and Lilia gives us an interpretation of each one, which initially doesn’t go well until she figures out what she really needs to do. So let’s break down what happens with each tarot card in Agatha All Along, its interpretation, and if that meaning makes sense according to IRL tarot. (Note: Most of these interpretations are going to be in high vibe/straightforward meaning instead of a reversed/low vibe meaning.)
The Magician (Initially Chosen for Teen as the Traveler)
Of course, Teen draws the Magician first. At first, Lilia says this card represents him, a person with enormous potential and the ability to turn all of his goals into reality. She puts it in the first spot and a sword falls, indicating that it is not the right choice for this spread. However, Lilia’s interpretation of what this tarot card means in Agatha All Along is indeed correct. The Magician card is about having the innate ability, creativity, and potential to manifest your goals and deepest desires. The querent should focus on making the most of opportunities and crafting their own destiny.
The Sun (Initially Chosen for Teen’s What’s Missing Card)
The next card he chooses is the Sun. Lilia interprets this as good fortune, joy, and reunion, the latter of which sparks particular interest for a young soul who wants to see his twin again. But another sword falls again to the chagrin of everyone. In its straightforward interpretation, the Sun does indeed represent joy and optimism. The querent can know that good things are coming their way or are already here!
After pulling the first two cards for the wrong person, Lilia realizes that she is the Traveler and, just like her experience of her life, things are out of order. This is when everything starts to fall into place with more tarot cards and interpretations.
The Queen of Cups (Accurate Choice for Lilia as The Traveler)
Lilia is indeed the Queen of Cups, a person who is empathetic and intuitive who’s inner voice is trustworthy. She could see the dangers lying ahead for Teen and that’s why she placed the sigil on him. This interpretation of this card is indeed correct. The Queen of Cups represents psychic and motherlike energy and encourages the querent to draw close to someone with that energy or use their own energy to be a supportive space to those around them while being careful to not become overwhelmed due to their empathetic nature. Lilia does what mothers often do as she sacrifices herself to ensure others safety.
Three of Pentacles (Accurate Choice for Lilia’s What’s Missing Card)
Lilia then pulls the Three of Pentacles and goes back to seeing a very similar symbol on an eviction notice with the rest of the coven’s names on it. (What a clever tidbit!) Collaboration, community, and singular voices waiting to harmonize is the interpretation she gives us and literally the crux of this series. The Witches’ Road coven literally sang multiple versions of a song and spoke incantations along the way. Lilia needed her coven. The artwork for pretty much every Three of Pentacles card shows people with various skill sets coming together to achieve a common goal. One, if not more, of the figures often represent an apprentice, which is what Teen initially seemed to be for Agatha. It is all about bringing your energy and talents together with others to bring something to completion.
The Knight of Wands (Accurate Choice for Lilia’s The Path Behind Card)
The Knight of Wands tarot card in Agatha All Along is a representation of Alice, who was full of fire and fought bravely, giving her life to save Agatha. This card indeed represents all the tenets one would associate with a knight. It’s a signal to be valiant, to explore, and to lean into uncharted waters with a curious and bold spirit.
The High Priestess (Accurate Choice for Lilia’s The Path Ahead Card)
The High Priestess represents Jen, someone who has a lot of spiritual power and is either unable or unwilling to use it. Oh, how we cannot wait for Jen to fully break the bonds that suppress her full abilities. The High Priestess card asks the querent to identify and use their gifts to fully tap into their inner power and witchiness. It is a card that is representative of intuition and psychic connection, which could be giving us more of a hint about Jen’s full capabilities. Like the regal title suggests, the High Priestess is quite wise and regal.
Three of Swords (Accurate Choice for Lilia’s Obstacles Card)
Lilia gives us three words for this card interpretation: heartbreak, sorrow, and grief. We see that in this instance, it is indeed Agatha, who carries much guilt and sadness over her past. The Three of Swords is a heavy card indeed that signifies a recent or ongoing era of sadness or mourning. However, pulling this card is often a signal that there’s a possible light at the end of the tunnel as a dark night of the soul moment’s fog begins to lift. It is time to release, seek forgiveness, heal, and recover, all things that Agatha and the others must do if they want to truly gain what they need from this journey.
The Tower Reversed (Accurate Choice for Lilia’s Windfall Card)
This is the one and only card that is not meant to be read straightforward; however, Lilia is kind enough to give us both interpretations despite time running short. In its straightforward meaning, the Tower can mean disaster and destruction but when it is reversed, it means miraculous transformation, according to her. And she is once again correct in both instances, even flipping the Tower card upright again to defeat the Salem Seven and fall to her death.
Death (Laid Crossways Against Windfall for the Destination Card)
Ahh, so this is the one that is tricky. Lilia realizes that Rio is Death. The show’s interpretation of the Death card based on Lilia’s ending and Rio’s persona so far takes death literally, suggesting that the roads lead to an actual demise. This surface level thought of Death makes this tarot card one of the most feared in the deck when it shouldn’t be. The Death card is often about the death of ego or a death of your former self that’s needed to be reborn into something greater. The weeds and brush that clutter your path need to be cleared in order to step boldly into a new life and find transformation. It’s a sign for a querent to not continue to cling to the past or stay trapped in an unhealthy cycle that doesn’t allow for growth.
In the end, the coven moves on and Lilia accepts her fate of falling to her death. Hate to see it. Hopefully this episode will spark more curiosity about tarot cards and get more fans into this complex yet fun practice. There’s even an Agatha All Along tarot deck that’s coming our way soon! Until then, we will continue down the Witches Road towards the finale.
