Thoughts on a Happy Squirrel card?

[Chariot]

I know the Happy Squirrel card which appears in some decks is not traditional ...apparently it originated from an episode of The Simpsons!  I do own one deck that contains the card, though—the Touchstone Tarot, by Kat Black—and I'm intrigued by it.  I do shuffle it in with the deck when I'm reading with the Touchstone Tarot, but thus far it hasn't popped up in the spread.  (Whew....)

 

Have any of you tarot readers out there ever used a Happy Squirrel card?  If so, how do you interpret it when/if it appears?  Do you shuffle it in with the rest of the cards and treat it like any other card in the spread, or do you use it in some other way?  And what about a reversed Squirrel?

Edited August 20, 2025 by Chariot

[Sonnenkind]

Just the other day I was thinking about the The Happy Squirrel card. In the Light Seer's Tarot there is a squirrel card but the squirrel is not happy. The card is actually the tower so it would present doom, chaos, a sudden unsettling incident. Which happens to be the meaning of The Happy Squirrel in the Simpsons episode. 

 

I am familiar with the Simpsons episode but had not been aware that the card had been added to some tarot decks. I love this! 

[geoxena]

@Sonnenkind, there is a small list of decks with a Happy Squirrel card over at AT:

 

https://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/tarot-decks-with-a-happy-squirrel-card.shtml

[Libra 58]

@Chariot I will use it in the spread and hopefully it will be some extra happy answer.

 

 

@Sonnenkind Thank you for the list of Happy Squirrel decks. I didn´t even know that I have a deck with it, but i do!☺️

It´s The Mibramig Magical Tarot, but I have not yet worked with it.

I think that I will have to look at the cards next to it to decide which way I see the card.

 

In this picture it look lika the squirrel have to take his collected nuts and run for his life, it doesn´t look like he has much chance to make it!

[Chariot]

16 hours ago, Sonnenkind said:

Just the other day I was thinking about the The Happy Squirrel card. In the Light Seer's Tarot there is a squirrel card but the squirrel is not happy. The card is actually the tower so it would present doom, chaos, a sudden unsettling incident. Which happens to be the meaning of The Happy Squirrel in the Simpsons episode. 

 

I am familiar with the Simpsons episode but had not been aware that the card had been added to some tarot decks. I love this! 

 

Oh yes, I'd forgotten the squirrel in The Light Seer's Tarot.  I never thought of it in connection with a Happy Squirrel card, as it's obviously depicting a squirrel that is getting its home struck by lightning.  So I always assumed it had the same meaning as an ordinary Tower card.  How interesting that a squirrel was chosen by this artist for this card!  I wonder if it's a coincidence, or if the artist intended it to connect to the Happy Squirrel.

From what I have learned about the Happy Squirrel, I understand the meaning is about something frivolous.  So if a deck contained a Tower card AND a Happy Squirrel card (like The Touchstone Tarot does) I can only assume each card has a different meaning—it wouldn't make sense to include two cards with the same meaning, would it.  I don't know if The Happy Squirrel is intended to be taken on the Major Arcana level, or the Minor Arcana, or if ...like a Jester in a conventional playing card deck ...it's something outwith any of the normal suits.
 

I have used my Touchstone Tarot many times, with the Squirrel included in the mix, but the card has never appeared in a reading.  It's  hard to say what I will do if/when it does.  Just wondering if other people have had experience with Happy Squirrel cards, and how they would integrate them into a reading, if they appear.

Here is a side-by-side view of the Tower and the Happy Squirrel in The Touchstone Tarot:

The meaning that Kat Black (who designed the deck) for the Happy Squirrel is:
Upright: Lighten up. Do not take yourself of anything too seriously.  There are no simple answers; life is very complicated and the most important thing is to take joy in the journey.
Reversed: Hey, it's bad enough that a gave you an upright meaning.  You do realise this isn't a real tarot card?

 

Ha ha! Okay, I laughed.  Maybe I am overthinking it. 🙂

Edited August 31, 2025 by Chariot

[Sonnenkind]

@Chariot The exact meaning of the card is actually not given in the Simpsons but the tarot reader reacts with shock when seeing the card. Lisa asks if it means something bad and the tarot reader then evades the question by saying "maybe not. The cards are vague." but based on the tarot readers reaction I would assume that an upright squirrel is somewhat of a bad omen. 

 

I will watch the episode again to get the full reading that is shown and the story which is then told to put it into better context. 

 

The first bit of the tarot reading is actually on YouTube https://youtu.be/M-dButYcv14?feature=shared

 

@geoxena Thank you for the link to the deck list. There are surprisingly many with that card! 

[Chariot]

Just found lots of information and ways to approach The Happy Squirrel card on this site:  https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/2017/12/28/happy-squirrel-tarot/

 

Apparently (I've seen this elsewhere today as well) the card—when included in a deck—is considered a Major Arcana card, and comes AFTER The World.  

A squirrel in the real world can either be overly concerned/worried/absorbed by thoughts of the future (busy non-stop foraging and hoarding of nuts for the winter) or it can be playfully unhinged, racing around daft, and kinda ...well ...squirrely, as a former teacher used to label us students when we were being giggly and silly.  

I actually think The Happy Squirrel could become an interesting and useful part of the Major Arcana—either encouraging us to be 'squirrely' and playful in the moment (the upright card), or warning us against overdoing obsession with the future (reversed.)  Hmmm.

Edited August 31, 2025 by Chariot

[Sonnenkind]

I have thought about possible meanings of a happy squirrel. Just my own thoughts:

 

Squirrels and their behavior are strongly linked to the seasons and thus the passing of time in a cyclical manner. Squirrels collecting nuts are seen in fall and thus herald the winter. Their preoccupation with the future is based on the inner knowledge that winter will come - just as spring and summer will follow. They collect nuts and hide them and though their survival depends on them doing this and doing this will, squirrels always seem to be in high spirits. So what the happy squirrel makes me think of is that a positive mindset will help you prepare for the hardships in life. And that if hardship is upon me, this too shall pass - just like winter. 

 

In this sense the squirrel also fits into the major arcana after the world as it would suggest the ending of one cycle which haralds the beginning of the next cycle. As it's a cycle there isn't really a beginning or an end. The Fool will set out again on a different journey and everything will start again - anew and always the same at the same time. 

[Chariot]

1 hour ago, Sonnenkind said:

So what the happy squirrel makes me think of is that a positive mindset will help you prepare for the hardships in life.

I really like that thought. And it would make sense, if the card comes after The World card in the Major Arcana.  Gives you a notion that while the next phase can bring hardships (as the last phase did) a positive mindset and the willingness to prepare for the future is a good thing to carry.  I like that.

Mind you, we have tons of squirrels that visit our back garden, and their 'preparation' for winter often takes on a totally unhinged aspect ...and they fight with each other as well, if they get too close while burying!  My favourite moment was looking out one time to see a squirrel attempting to bury a large apple!  What sort of state the apple was likely to be in, months later, who knows.  The squirrel only dug a hole about halfway deep enough, scattered some leaves over the top, and shot off.
 

My second favourite moment was the time I put out some large lumps of cooked oat porridge (made from stale oats.)  The squirrels had the sense not to bury that, but ate it on the spot.  However, one pair were both stuffing lumps of porridge into their mouths ...while mating with each other at the same time!  Don't say squirrels can't multi-task!  🙂  But it's a lesson why we should NOT anthropomorphise animal behaviour.  Their brains are not doing what ours would be doing under the same circumstances ...I hope.

[Sonnenkind]

I have watched the Simpsons episode again (season 6, episode 19 by the way). The reader does not pull any other cards. Only death and the happy squirrel. And she doesn't say more about them than in that little clip that I have shared already. So nothing more to learn here. 

[geoxena]

I have always known the adjective squirrely to mean someone who is indecisive, flighty, or avoiding/hiding something, and sometimes just odd or eccentric.  In the US, that's how it's generally used, anyway.

 

Off-topic (sorry), but for some fun with squirrels, check out these "Squirellympics" videos by Mark Rober! 

Here is Part 1 - Ninja Warrior Course (link is https://youtu.be/hFZFjoX2cGg😞

 

 

 I can only put one video in a post, so here are links to the rest...

 

Part 2 - The Walnut Heist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTvS9lvRxZ8

 

Part 3 - The Summer Games:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg5wznn3IBE

 

So much fun!    He went to a lot of effort to make those obstacle courses!

 

 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2025 by geoxena
added links to YT

[Sonnenkind]

I love those squirrel pacours videos! I knew the first one already. I didn't know he made two more! 

Thank you for sharing those @geoxena