Concept, Context and Consequences: An Incremental Reading Method
AUTHOR NOTE: I’ve been reading about the universalizing thrust of individuation by which we begin to puzzle out the Cosmos from our evolving personal vantage point, eventually coming full circle to our primordial state of inborn comprehension. (The final “Star-Child” scene of a fully-conscious fetus in 2001: A Space Odyssey comes to mind.) This got me thinking about how I might express the unfolding of our single-pointed perspective into a more well-rounded one via a tarot reading. This will work best if it is “situational” in focus rather than mystically open-ended. (There are no enigmatic obelisks here.)
Begin by shuffling a tarot deck while concentrating on what you hope to see or anticipate seeing in your future circumstances. (The alternate goal of this targeted reverie is to allow hunches signified by less-favorable cards to make themselves known as a reflection of your instinctive self-knowledge.) Although there are none in the example reading below, reversals may be permitted to show whether the arrival of predicted conditions will be overt or covert without dramatically altering their nature.
Next, deal one card face-up in the center of the table. This is intended to reveal the overarching core concept or principle that will emerge from your contemplation. (In other words, it will intimate your most urgent subconscious preoccupation at the time of the reading.)
After judging this card, shuffle the deck again while concentrating on what this means for the pragmatic course of your life. Then deal four more cards into a square around the “concept” card in any order you choose. Read these cards as the mundane matrix in which the influence of the first card will surface. Cooperative pairings between the middle card and the outliers will show an environment conducive to their joint realization (for good or ill), while uncooperative matches will convey difficulty in achieving their shared potential (again for good or ill). Various forms of converging or diverging “dignity” can be applied in making this call: suit; element; number; rank; similar nature; etc.
The idea behind the “for good or ill” qualifier is that a fortunate core principle will be amplified for “good” by an optimistic bond with surrounding factors and muted in that regard by a pessimistic one, while an unfortunate “concept” card will be exaggerated in its adversity by collusion with similarly discouraging companions and reduced in severity by encounters with more encouraging mates.
Consider whether one “shade” of blended influence is more persuasive than the others* and treat it as the dominant expression of the main theme in day-to-day life. The emphasized quality is likely to produce a consistent effect over the duration of the forecast; multiple “friendly” pairs of either a positive or negative complexion will reinforce the thrust of a core concept of that particular type, while several “unfriendly” pairs will blunt its impact. If there is no standout feature, the development of the central motif is likely to be unremarkable in practical terms. (The implication of this could be that you’re “making a mountain out of a molehill” in your subconscious apprehension.)
Finally, calculate a numerological synthesis (or “essence”) from the face values of the five cards (see my previous posts on the “quintessence” derivation) to come up with a single trump card to stand as the symbolic destination for the journey depicted by the existential matrix. This card will reflect its more far-reaching consequences.
*The four “flavors” of blended influence are: 1) positive enhanced; 2) positive diminished; 3) negative enhanced; and 4) negative diminished.
Here is an example reading to illustrate the process:
I concentrated on what I would like to see happen or, conversely, what is likely to happen in an ongoing situation. I pulled the Emperor, in which both eventualities dovetail seamlessly (by all appearances a “self-fulfilling prophecy”). I don’t see any downside either way, although I don’t really identify with the Emperor’s authoritarian style.
The randomly-drawn, four-card “mundane matrix” included the Hierophant; the 9 of Wands; the Ace of Pentacles and the 6 of Cups. As an elemental construct, this “square” array is portrayed as having Fire at the upper left; Air at the upper right; Water at the lower left and Earth at the lower right. In this way elementally-friendly Fire and Air reside at the same level, as do elementally-friendly Water and Earth, while the “complementary opposites” (the Golden Dawn description is “neutral and supportive”) Fire and Earth are diagonally counter-posed, as are similarly-dignified Water and Air. To complete the picture, Fire is situated as hostile to Water, as is Air to Earth in an “above-and-below” configuration.
Consequently, the fiery Emperor is well-favored by the 9 of Wands and mildly encouraged by the Hierophant and Ace of Pentacles, while it is indisposed toward the 6 of Cups.
The Emperor is an exemplar of secular dominion just as the Hierophant represents spiritual sovereignty. Although in Medieval times they were sometime antagonists, here I think they are mutually appreciative. It’s entirely possible that my ego-driven desires (Emperor as Aries) will be achieved through traditional or conventional means (Hierophant as Taurus), since both are champions of the status quo and neither one is a ground-breaker.
The Ace of Pentacles I read as the “golden opportunity” card, and it is advising “don’t miss the boat.” Since it is sympathetic to the Emperor, it suggests a straight “shot on goal” with few complications.
The 9 of Wands challenges me to “get serious” with my efforts, “stay the course” and don’t give up easily.
The 6 of Cups is titled “Pleasure” in the Golden Dawn system and that’s how I see it (“nostalgia” does nothing for me in a divinatory sense). The Emperor is too relentless to allow anything like the idle pursuit of physical and emotional gratification to deflect him from his mission, so this is an uneasy combination that nags at his composure. He never mixes business with pleasure except to the extent that “laying down the law” is his twisted idea of fun. (Does anyone else remember Tommy Chong as “El Nebuloso” in the film Yellowbeard?)
The Chariot as the numerological essence is perfectly aligned with the Emperor’s agenda. I interpret this card as signifying “movement toward a goal,” and I think of it as the Emperor’s “mobile throne” when he sets out on a military campaign.
The overriding emphasis in this reading is on advancement of the Emperor’s purpose. The foursquare potentate is perfectly at home in the realm of earthly affairs symbolized by the four-card matrix, as long as he is able to look beyond the lure of simple pleasures and “keep his eye on the ball.” The Chariot, according to A.E. Waite, represents triumph on the physical plane.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on October 11, 2024.
