reading with the solitaire deck
C.,
Thought I would do a little tarot spread for you, to give you a small glimpse into how this has come to occupy a fairly large space in my daily awareness.
I used a deck of playing cards for this purpose, which means no "major arcana" cards, no "reversed" cards, no imagery, the "knight" (high intensity) sort of folded into the "page" (something just emerging) in the form of the jack, and of course a greater mathematical likelihood that there will be a fairly even distribution in a ten-card spread among the four "minor" suits (the majors being in effect a fifth suit) and actually a somewhat higher frequency of "court" (i.e., face) cards.
This is what came up (the enclosed diagram shows the physical arrangement of the cards in a "celtic cross"). Clubs are "wands" or "rods," diamonds are "pentacles" or "coins," hearts are "cups," and spades are "swords."
1. the central concern, ten wands, the sense of burden
2. a related or possibly competing concern, three pentacles, getting things done, "cooperation"
3. the focus, three cups, taking pleasure in a connection with another
4. an underlying or possibly receding influence, two swords, avoidance or denial
5. the immediate concern, six cups, sharing, innocence, nostalgia
6. an approaching influence, three swords, anguish
7. self-narrative, queen pentacles, the quality of resourcefulness
8. how others are affected, six pentacles, issues of having/not having, fairness
9. a hidden influence, ten cups, the idea of emotional fulfillment
10. "outcome," two wands, the moment of initiative
I usually also draw a "shadow" card from the bottom of the deck, which sort of says, this is what the reading is "about." In this case, the shadow was the king cups, a mature expression of the quality of compassion and understanding.
The major arcana can be implied by some of the numerical combinations. For example,
a. the run of threes across the middle of the spread might suggest (3) empress, sort of "the female principle" of abundance, sensuality, nurturing, and/or, albeit less directly, (12) hanged man (because one plus two is three), an interval or condition of suspension and surrender. [Note that three wands, engagement, moving forward, is absent here, though the two and ten wands do add to twelve.]
b. the pair of twos, swords (reason) and wands (will) might suggest (2) high priestess, an intuitive understanding, a period of non-action, and/or (11) justice, taking responsibility for decisions. [Actually, in reading for myself, (11) justice often refers to an outcome that is determined by forces external to myself.]
c. the pair of sixes, cups (proclivity) and pentacles (practicality) might suggest (6) lovers, making choices that affect others, i.e., ethical choices, and/or (15) devil, a propensity to self-destructive patterns.
d. the pair of tens might suggest (10) wheel of fortune, the turning point, gaining perspective, and/or (19) sun, enlightenment, clarity, and/or even (1) magician, focused awareness, effective action.
There is a very slight prevalence in this spread of cups and pentacles, water and earth, over wands and swords, air and fire. (Actually, I do not include "elemental dignities" in my reading, so let's just disregard that. What I meant to say was proclivity and practicality over will and reason. But again, slight.)
The "pips" on the cups add to nineteen, again suggesting (19) sun, (10) wheel, (1) magician, this time in connection with the cups cards. The pentacles (queen high, as self-perception) add to nine, suggesting (9) hermit, solitude, introspection. The wands add to twelve, again suggesting (12) hanged man and less obviously (3) empress, and the swords add to five, suggesting (5) hierophant, external norms, and less obviously (14) temperance, pretty much what it sounds like.
The shadow king cups of course connects to the cups in the spread, but also sits in contrast to the queen pentacles. I also tend to think of the shadow as a sort of commentary on the first two cards (which themselves purport to state the "subject" of the reading).
So putting all of that together:
A sense of burden connected with some kind of practical project involving the participation of others (sound familiar?). An issue relating to enjoyment of another's company, possibly rooted in the avoidance or denial of something. And here note how the three swords, anguish, sits across from the two, with the central cards between, while the six cups, sharing, innocence, nostalgia, is above, with the three, (absence of?) joy, below. All symmetrical and stuff. Anyway.
Self-perception or self-narrative is conveniently a court card, queen pentacles, resourcefulness, nurturing or supportive in a material context. How others are affected, having and not having, and so on.
The presence of ten cups, the idea of fulfillment, as a hidden or unexpected influence is interesting, especially in view of king cups as the shadow.
While this spread was done "for" you, and presumably you could build a narrative around it that applies to your present situation, it is of course also the case that I could readily build a narrative that applies to mine. We are talking about random arrangements of playing cards here, after all.
This kind of exercise is something I spend about half an hour on almost every day, usually with one or the other of my two tarot decks, with of course the majors and the knights and the reversals also at play. The process engages the pattern-making impulse in a big way, but it also provides a quiet space in which to ruminate.
zb
Thought I would do a little tarot spread for you, to give you a small glimpse into how this has come to occupy a fairly large space in my daily awareness.
I used a deck of playing cards for this purpose, which means no "major arcana" cards, no "reversed" cards, no imagery, the "knight" (high intensity) sort of folded into the "page" (something just emerging) in the form of the jack, and of course a greater mathematical likelihood that there will be a fairly even distribution in a ten-card spread among the four "minor" suits (the majors being in effect a fifth suit) and actually a somewhat higher frequency of "court" (i.e., face) cards.
This is what came up (the enclosed diagram shows the physical arrangement of the cards in a "celtic cross"). Clubs are "wands" or "rods," diamonds are "pentacles" or "coins," hearts are "cups," and spades are "swords."
1. the central concern, ten wands, the sense of burden
2. a related or possibly competing concern, three pentacles, getting things done, "cooperation"
3. the focus, three cups, taking pleasure in a connection with another
4. an underlying or possibly receding influence, two swords, avoidance or denial
5. the immediate concern, six cups, sharing, innocence, nostalgia
6. an approaching influence, three swords, anguish
7. self-narrative, queen pentacles, the quality of resourcefulness
8. how others are affected, six pentacles, issues of having/not having, fairness
9. a hidden influence, ten cups, the idea of emotional fulfillment
10. "outcome," two wands, the moment of initiative
I usually also draw a "shadow" card from the bottom of the deck, which sort of says, this is what the reading is "about." In this case, the shadow was the king cups, a mature expression of the quality of compassion and understanding.
The major arcana can be implied by some of the numerical combinations. For example,
a. the run of threes across the middle of the spread might suggest (3) empress, sort of "the female principle" of abundance, sensuality, nurturing, and/or, albeit less directly, (12) hanged man (because one plus two is three), an interval or condition of suspension and surrender. [Note that three wands, engagement, moving forward, is absent here, though the two and ten wands do add to twelve.]
b. the pair of twos, swords (reason) and wands (will) might suggest (2) high priestess, an intuitive understanding, a period of non-action, and/or (11) justice, taking responsibility for decisions. [Actually, in reading for myself, (11) justice often refers to an outcome that is determined by forces external to myself.]
c. the pair of sixes, cups (proclivity) and pentacles (practicality) might suggest (6) lovers, making choices that affect others, i.e., ethical choices, and/or (15) devil, a propensity to self-destructive patterns.
d. the pair of tens might suggest (10) wheel of fortune, the turning point, gaining perspective, and/or (19) sun, enlightenment, clarity, and/or even (1) magician, focused awareness, effective action.
There is a very slight prevalence in this spread of cups and pentacles, water and earth, over wands and swords, air and fire. (Actually, I do not include "elemental dignities" in my reading, so let's just disregard that. What I meant to say was proclivity and practicality over will and reason. But again, slight.)
The "pips" on the cups add to nineteen, again suggesting (19) sun, (10) wheel, (1) magician, this time in connection with the cups cards. The pentacles (queen high, as self-perception) add to nine, suggesting (9) hermit, solitude, introspection. The wands add to twelve, again suggesting (12) hanged man and less obviously (3) empress, and the swords add to five, suggesting (5) hierophant, external norms, and less obviously (14) temperance, pretty much what it sounds like.
The shadow king cups of course connects to the cups in the spread, but also sits in contrast to the queen pentacles. I also tend to think of the shadow as a sort of commentary on the first two cards (which themselves purport to state the "subject" of the reading).
So putting all of that together:
A sense of burden connected with some kind of practical project involving the participation of others (sound familiar?). An issue relating to enjoyment of another's company, possibly rooted in the avoidance or denial of something. And here note how the three swords, anguish, sits across from the two, with the central cards between, while the six cups, sharing, innocence, nostalgia, is above, with the three, (absence of?) joy, below. All symmetrical and stuff. Anyway.
Self-perception or self-narrative is conveniently a court card, queen pentacles, resourcefulness, nurturing or supportive in a material context. How others are affected, having and not having, and so on.
The presence of ten cups, the idea of fulfillment, as a hidden or unexpected influence is interesting, especially in view of king cups as the shadow.
While this spread was done "for" you, and presumably you could build a narrative around it that applies to your present situation, it is of course also the case that I could readily build a narrative that applies to mine. We are talking about random arrangements of playing cards here, after all.
This kind of exercise is something I spend about half an hour on almost every day, usually with one or the other of my two tarot decks, with of course the majors and the knights and the reversals also at play. The process engages the pattern-making impulse in a big way, but it also provides a quiet space in which to ruminate.
zb
posted by zach bender at 10:02 PM
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