A “Point-Counterpoint” Situational Awareness Spread

Here is an evolved situational awareness spread that is designed around the diurnal path of the Sun, from emerging conscious awareness of “outer” developments (Dawn) to entirely subconscious perception of the “inner landscape” of the matter (Midnight), accompanied at each step by an “intuitive” adjustment that serves as “counterpoint” to the main thrust of the narrative. This spread requires two decks, one from which to choose the querent or topic card and draw the covering or “Heart of the Matter” card, and one to populate the rest of the spread.

Deck #2 is to be split into two sub-packs, one with all of the Fire and Air cards (both Minor and Major Arcana) and the other with all of the Water and Earth cards. The idea here is that active Fire and Air “illuminate” the outer or observable dimensions of the situation, while passive Water and Earth are more about the inner or less highlighted aspects that are no less potent. This creates a two-tiered reading, one describing the developmental “awareness cycle” for the circumstances surrounding the central “focus” pair and the other offering more subtle insights that can adjust the expression of the preceding card at each phase.

The premise reminds me of the old “Point-Counterpoint” routine of James Kilpatrick and Shana Alexander on 60 Minutes that was viciously lampooned on Saturday Night Live (but hopefully there are no “ignorant sluts” here). It’s interesting to note that J.E. Cirlot (in A Dictionary of Symbols) describes the diamond as “material and active” and the square as “material and passive,” and joining the two results in “material generation through the interaction of two opposing principles.” Since half of it is dynamic and the other half is stable I’m thinking that this spread could produce some highly constructive advice.

Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on December 11, 2022.