“Bottom-Feeding” — The Fish-Hook Spread
AUTHOR’S NOTE: There are times when it seems that our ability to come up with meaningful conclusions in a tarot reading has deserted us; perhaps the wisdom we seek has receded into the murky depths where we’re not accustomed to going. The usual advice is to just dig deeper and more diligently for a better answer, but this may only lead to further frustration if we try to wring it out of a pull that has been stubbornly resisting us up to that point. Rather than merely scrapping the reading and starting over along the same line of inquiry, here is a spread that I’m proposing as a supplement to revive a moribund attempt. With a couple of twists, it has similarities to the suggestion in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot to use the previous outcome card as the Significator for a new reading.
Before shuffling, consider whether the Significator or main topic card (the “heart of the matter”) from the original spread should be used for the “Fisherman” (Querent Card), showing a deliberate intention to revisit and resolve the original question. If so, remove it from the deck and place it upright at the top of the layout. (It may be advisable to use a different deck for this follow-up reading in order obtain a “fresh cut” at the issue.)
Similarly, if the original “end of the matter” card or any of its direct inputs did not provide a coherent explanation for the outcome, the most problematic of those cards can be intentionally placed in the “Bait” position as an enticement for its final resolution. (Think of it as upping the ante to stay in the game, even if not raising the stakes involved in the solution.) The “baited hook” will then “fish up” the answer from as deep as necessary in the matter.
Deal the shuffled deck face-up from top-to-bottom in the order shown (exclusive of any pre-positioned cards). Reversals should be avoided since we are striving for clarification, not additional complications.
Read Card #1 as the “prompt” that launches the narrative.
Read Cards #2, 3 and 4 as you would any three-card series as you try to find the “pulse” of the reading. Staying with the “fishing” motif, you could equate this interlude to using a sonar fish-finder to locate your quarry.
Read Card #5 as the incentive or inspiration for obtaining a more conclusive answer than the first time around. (If you chose not to pre-select the card for this position, look for an energetic, upbeat card here; otherwise its focus will already have been determined,)
Read Card #6 as hopefully providing an answer that will make more sense.
Here is a simple example reading. I didn’t pre-select any cards because I only wanted to see how this flows. The brief card meanings are self-explanatory so I’m not going to add any further commentary for each position except to say that it hangs together well as a story-line. (For what it’s worth, I didn’t single out the Minor Arcana for this.)
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on January 19, 2025.
