Honoring Shannen Doherty’s Legacy Through Tarot and Nostalgia
Shannen Doherty of Beverly Hill, 90210 and Charmed fame died at age 53 from breast cancer. She spent her last couple of years raising awareness for cancer research and showing the world that people with a terminal diagnosis still want and need the opportunity to live, love, and create.
I know her mostly from Charmed, so that’s what I’ll be discussing here.
I grew up watching Charmed. Being blissfully too young and unaware of the behind-the-scenes drama, I fell equally in love with Prue (Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), and Paige (Rose McGowan).
Apart from starring in the show, Doherty directed several episodes. I always found it impressive that she directed her last episode and season 3 finale, “All Hell Breaks Loose.” Especially after learning about all the drama between her, the showrunners, and Alyssa Milano. What else says “I’m leaving on my own terms” better than directing your final appearance on the show? Badass.
Of course, now that final appearance is bittersweet because her character — spoiler for a 20+ year-old show — dies at the end of the episode.
While only a couple of years older than me, my boyfriend did not watch Charmed growing up but has harbored a lifelong crush on Holly Marie Combs. This weekend, while cozying up to weather a tropical storm, we decided it was time for him to finally watch the show that put his celebrity crush on the map. It had also been nearly a decade since I had watched the show and was long overdue for a re-watch.
(I did watch the 2018 reboot of Charmed, and I’ll write a lengthier opinion piece about it soon. Short version: the first season tried too hard to be a remake, but the show took flight in the second season and became a decent witchy show only occasionally weighed down by the legacy of its namesake.)
All of that to say, we’ve been discussing Shannen Doherty’s passing a lot in my house this week. My boyfriend caught on to how Prue Halliwell was the most powerful of the three witches within the first couple of episodes. We talked about her acting range, her artistic choices when she had to show sisterly affection towards Alyssa Milano’s character, and what a badass she was overall.
Anyway, I was filming a YouTube tarot tutorial on how to read a Nine-Card Tarot Spread. It was a sunny day and the light through the window was causing my favorite pink tarot deck to have too much glare on camera. So I went to my closet and pulled out The Illest Tarot deck because I knew the card stock was matte against bright light (these are the exciting things you have to think about when you’re a creator).
The Illest Tarot by Kristi Prokopiak is a deck that uses celebrity images in the Major Arcana and court cards. The High Priestess is Tori Amos, Justice is Mos Def, The Tower is Fairuza Balk (from The Craft), The Sun is Drew Barrymore, etc.
I wasn’t thinking about Shannen Doherty when I selected it. And I wasn’t even filming a tarot reading, it was just a tutorial. So I was surprised to see that Shannen Doherty popped up in the significator position (where the subject of the reading goes) and she was above the Death card, represented here as Beyonce (that’s a whole other story).
Do I think I actually channeled Shannen Doherty into my home? Of course not. I did not have any real ties to her apart from the same love and respect for her work that thousands of people also share. But I think this is a good example of how attracting energy works. It’s not like, well, in Charmed. There aren’t tiny lightning bolts coming out of my hand. There isn’t a ray of light emanating from my home as a beacon to the spirit of Shannen Doherty. It’s not dramatic at all.
You mention a name a couple of times. You see them in action in your mind’s eye (or through your literal eyes, in my case). And next thing you know, you have the impulse to reach for a tarot deck that’s been locked in your closet for years, and, not remembering that her image is even featured in the deck, you pull a card, and there she is.
Intuition, energy work, and witchy things in general are usually quiet. They’re soft. They’re subtle. They aren’t for us to lose our heads over, but just to nod in acknowledgment of them and move on with our magical little lives.
RIP Shannen Doherty. And thanks for bringing a little magic into our lives.
Thank you for making it this far. I have a free download available: What every tarot card means in a money reading. Perfect for tarot readings regarding business, workplace, or personal finances (for entertainment purposes only, obviously).
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