distance reading
so I laid out five cards in a row, without assigning positions.
oh, let me first mention that what I usually say about my own chances of winning the lottery is that my chances are only slightly smaller than if I actually played.
okay, so. then I decided, partly based on a general sense I was getting from seeing the cards laid out, that cards 1 and 2, to the left, would be background or underlying causes, card 3, in the middle, would be where you are right now, and cards 4 and 5, to the right, would be where you are or seem to be headed.
anyway, what I got was:
5 pentacles, reversed/knight swords, reversed/10 wands/9 swords and/ (20) judgment
which gave me a sort of initial impression: right now you are feeling burdened with more on your plate than you feel you can handle, in the background is a sense of rejection or failure that may be illusory or fading, and a sense that you are not, or have not been, applying your reason to the problem at hand. then nine swords, anxiety, and (20) judgment, a sense that everything will come to a head and there will be some kind of decisive moment.
then I laid out five more cards, as a sort of explanatory overlay, and got:
(16) tower/king wands, reversed/7 swords, reversed/ (7) chariot and/knight cups, reversed
which by themselves suggest a very significant discontinuity (overlaying the 5 pentacles sense of rejection or failure), a weakness or absence of the controlled exercise of will (overlaying the knight swords sense of not applying reason), the idea of subterfuge in some kind of nonobvious or unexpected context (overlaying the 10 wands sense of burden), a very strong suggestion of decisiveness (overlaying the 9 swords sense of anxiety), and some misdirected expression of strong emotionality (overlaying the (20) judgment sense of a decisive moment).
then I realized that ten cards could be laid out in a celtic cross, which is how I do usually read, though my positional meanings are somewhat idiosyncratic.
in this layout, we see knight swords reversed as a supporting influence on the perception of failure, the idea of burden as the focus, anxiety as an underlying cause, (20) judgment as the dominant conscious concern, (16) tower, discontinuity, as an impending influence -- contrast this with the pairing of this card in the initial spread to 5 pentacles, both as past influences.
king wands, reversed, the sense that your will is not being exercised in a contolled manner, becomes in this spread your self-perception, and 7 swords, subterfuge, some kind of external event. (7) chariot, decisiveness, becomes the hidden factor, and knight cups, reversed, misdirected emotionality, falls into the "outcome" position.
there are three swords, including knight reversed, spread across the middle of this layout, with the pips adding to net (2) priestess, suggesting an intuitive knowledge of the swords issues. the three majors add to 43, which reduces to (7) chariot, putting additional emphasis on that card, and also indirectly emphasizing the 7 swords, reversed, and also 7 equals 1 plus 6, (16) tower. two knights reversed, but the knight cups is not supported by any pip cards. king wands reversed connecting with 10 wands
and here I should say that I also looked at the "shadow" card, at the bottom of the deck, and it was 2 wands, reversed, saying something or other about the idea of initiative.
before I go further, let me suggest that you lay out these ten cards from one of your own decks in the two configurations I have just described, so that you can form your own impressions.
if I had to put a narrative to all of this, which maybe I should not, because your own impressions should prevail, I would say that you may have been blaming yourself for some failure in the practical or material sphere, and that you are existing in a state of paralysis because of some sense of impending disaster. 7 swords reversed, subterfuge, seems to me to be the idea of getting around all of this by winning the lottery. (7) chariot, decisiveness, is set up as a strong contrast to this idea.
the "outcome," knight cups reversed, and the shadow, 2 wands reversed, are for your own interpretation.
[after feedback]
in light of your reply, I am thinking that knight swords reversed in position 2 may have more to do with the sense of mental turmoil you are describing -- thoughts, thoughts, thoughts, all seeming to pile up on each other. then knight cups in the "outcome" might suggest emotional turmoil . . . or it might suggest emotional turmoil coming to an end, as a result of (7) chariot, decisiveness. it might even be that seven swords in position 8 (externals) talks about duplicity on his part, rather than self-deception on yours, but more likely both.
so then the shadow card, two wands reversed, initiative. the idea of the shadow is to put a card behind the reading that says, this is what the reading is about, or this is a perspective to see it from. in this case, the card is saying, look at this entire spread -- five pentacles, but why reversed? isn't this card upright a good enough description of the sense of failure?, well, two wands reversed says, you have to take responsibility for this, it's yours, now let's move forward.
zb
oh, let me first mention that what I usually say about my own chances of winning the lottery is that my chances are only slightly smaller than if I actually played.
okay, so. then I decided, partly based on a general sense I was getting from seeing the cards laid out, that cards 1 and 2, to the left, would be background or underlying causes, card 3, in the middle, would be where you are right now, and cards 4 and 5, to the right, would be where you are or seem to be headed.
anyway, what I got was:
5 pentacles, reversed/knight swords, reversed/10 wands/9 swords and/ (20) judgment
which gave me a sort of initial impression: right now you are feeling burdened with more on your plate than you feel you can handle, in the background is a sense of rejection or failure that may be illusory or fading, and a sense that you are not, or have not been, applying your reason to the problem at hand. then nine swords, anxiety, and (20) judgment, a sense that everything will come to a head and there will be some kind of decisive moment.
then I laid out five more cards, as a sort of explanatory overlay, and got:
(16) tower/king wands, reversed/7 swords, reversed/ (7) chariot and/knight cups, reversed
which by themselves suggest a very significant discontinuity (overlaying the 5 pentacles sense of rejection or failure), a weakness or absence of the controlled exercise of will (overlaying the knight swords sense of not applying reason), the idea of subterfuge in some kind of nonobvious or unexpected context (overlaying the 10 wands sense of burden), a very strong suggestion of decisiveness (overlaying the 9 swords sense of anxiety), and some misdirected expression of strong emotionality (overlaying the (20) judgment sense of a decisive moment).
then I realized that ten cards could be laid out in a celtic cross, which is how I do usually read, though my positional meanings are somewhat idiosyncratic.
in this layout, we see knight swords reversed as a supporting influence on the perception of failure, the idea of burden as the focus, anxiety as an underlying cause, (20) judgment as the dominant conscious concern, (16) tower, discontinuity, as an impending influence -- contrast this with the pairing of this card in the initial spread to 5 pentacles, both as past influences.
king wands, reversed, the sense that your will is not being exercised in a contolled manner, becomes in this spread your self-perception, and 7 swords, subterfuge, some kind of external event. (7) chariot, decisiveness, becomes the hidden factor, and knight cups, reversed, misdirected emotionality, falls into the "outcome" position.
there are three swords, including knight reversed, spread across the middle of this layout, with the pips adding to net (2) priestess, suggesting an intuitive knowledge of the swords issues. the three majors add to 43, which reduces to (7) chariot, putting additional emphasis on that card, and also indirectly emphasizing the 7 swords, reversed, and also 7 equals 1 plus 6, (16) tower. two knights reversed, but the knight cups is not supported by any pip cards. king wands reversed connecting with 10 wands
and here I should say that I also looked at the "shadow" card, at the bottom of the deck, and it was 2 wands, reversed, saying something or other about the idea of initiative.
before I go further, let me suggest that you lay out these ten cards from one of your own decks in the two configurations I have just described, so that you can form your own impressions.
if I had to put a narrative to all of this, which maybe I should not, because your own impressions should prevail, I would say that you may have been blaming yourself for some failure in the practical or material sphere, and that you are existing in a state of paralysis because of some sense of impending disaster. 7 swords reversed, subterfuge, seems to me to be the idea of getting around all of this by winning the lottery. (7) chariot, decisiveness, is set up as a strong contrast to this idea.
the "outcome," knight cups reversed, and the shadow, 2 wands reversed, are for your own interpretation.
[after feedback]
in light of your reply, I am thinking that knight swords reversed in position 2 may have more to do with the sense of mental turmoil you are describing -- thoughts, thoughts, thoughts, all seeming to pile up on each other. then knight cups in the "outcome" might suggest emotional turmoil . . . or it might suggest emotional turmoil coming to an end, as a result of (7) chariot, decisiveness. it might even be that seven swords in position 8 (externals) talks about duplicity on his part, rather than self-deception on yours, but more likely both.
so then the shadow card, two wands reversed, initiative. the idea of the shadow is to put a card behind the reading that says, this is what the reading is about, or this is a perspective to see it from. in this case, the card is saying, look at this entire spread -- five pentacles, but why reversed? isn't this card upright a good enough description of the sense of failure?, well, two wands reversed says, you have to take responsibility for this, it's yours, now let's move forward.
zb
posted by zach bender at 5:13 PM
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