Daily Patterns: “Moon-Day,” “Mars-Day,” Etc.
As an astrologer of long standing, I’ve always been fascinated by the internal or secondary structure in my tarot readings offered by the symbolic architecture of the astrological correspondences developed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn at the end of the 19th Century (see the chart below). Some of them work better than others, and I quibble with more than a few, but the alignment of the minor cards, court cards and a select group of the trump cards to the Chaldean zodiac provides a kind of “sideways” look at card interpretation that can add depth and nuance to a reading. Obviously, the core meanings for the cards and any inspiration derived from free-association (aka “intuitive” insights) take precedence since tarot does work quite well as a stand-alone discipline. But in any situation it’s entirely possible to go to the well of traditional and extemporaneous wisdom and come up dry (especially if a skeptical client is buying none of it), and having a few more “arrows in the quiver” is always helpful.
As far as using the correspondences in periodic personal readings, this seems to work most systematically at the level of the monthly draw since every month has an orderly array of minor, court and trump cards under its astrological umbrella, and each card has a planet or sign correlation that brings color to the occasion. These can be used as a backdrop of associations against which to compare the influence of the cards randomly pulled, primarily in the sense of their mutual “dignity” (think “friendliness” or “unfriendliness”) by element or other common attribute. But here I want to talk about how to do this with what I see as the rather barren or “bloodless” daily draw.
My problem with the single-card daily reading has always been that day-to-day life is often a rather seamless continuum in which one day is much like the next unless “big things” are afoot at any given moment (in which case a more consciously-focused reading is advisable). But any one of the 78 cards can be pulled on any given day, and as we all know they can be dramatically different in scope and mood, more often than not having absolutely nothing to do with the reality of one’s present circumstances. It has been argued that maybe they’re showing something we didn’t see coming, so we shouldn’t dismiss them out of hand. But in practice I just don’t see it happening very often. Expanding the draw to three cards at least provides a sense of perspective and dimension to the outlook (not to mention movement over time), but the fact remains that we are creatures of habit and things don’t usually fluctuate that wildly day-in and day-out for most of us unless we’re truly out-of-control. It strikes me that a series of weekly readings sandwiched within the boundaries of a broader monthly forecast is a far more practical approach.
However, weekly readings are inevitably comprised of a moving tapestry of daily impressions that can show a coherent trend in behaviors and attitudes over the period. It could be something we’ve had in mind for some time and have finally decided to act on, and the cards can reveal the growing urge to do so. I’m thinking that some days of a week may be better than others for implementing the sequential steps in such a developmental process, and decided that the historical assignment of the seven “classical” planets to the days of the week is a good place to start. Monday is the “Moon’s day;” Tuesday relates to Mars; Wednesday is the domain of Mercury; Thursday — “Thor’s Day” — embodies Jupiter; Friday belongs to Venus; Saturday vibrates to the eponymous Saturn; and Sunday does the same for the Sun.
Each daily planet has a set of cards connected to it in the Chaldean model that can be used as a “projector screen” against which to play the image of the card or cards pulled for the week to see what evidence of congruity emerges. (As an aside, when I worked in Quality Control we had a device called a “shadowgraph” — officially an “optical comparator” — that used a clear acetate template showing the maximum and minimum dimensions for a part; a production part was put in front of a light source and the shadow on the template would reveal whether or not its dimensions were within tolerance. The principle here is similar, an archetypal blueprint and a comparative reality: “How close am I to meeting the norm?”) On days when there is a good match, the weight of the planetary energy can be brought fully to bear on the activities suggested by the card (whether weekly or daily) with some confidence that it will be expressed in full measure.
As an example, Mondays partake of the energies of all the “Moon” decans of the Chaldean zodiac: 6 of Pentacles (Moon in Taurus); 4 of Cups (Moon in Cancer); 2 of Swords (Moon in Libra); 9 of Wands (Moon in Sagittarius); and 7 of Swords (Moon in Aquarius). Depending on the monthly zodiacal sign applying to the week in question, one of these lunar cards may step to the front of the line. Monday of the current week (this is being written on August 12, 2022) comes under the auspices of Leo; since there is no “Moon in Leo” placement, the subdued but still fiery nature of the Moon in Sagittarius is the card I would set as the “lunar current” for any action contemplated on Monday. If I then pull a Fire or Air card as the active influence I would expect a lively transmission of energy across the interface; if on the other hand I draw a Water or Earth card, the exchange would be more sluggish or imperfect, therefore taking more effort to manifest. To flesh this out further, the Bangles’ frenetic “Manic Monday” might best be symbolized by Crowley’s 7 of Swords (Futility). I’m sure we all have favorite song-and-card combinations. The Mamas and Papas “Monday, Monday” anyone?
As always when I get into these subtleties of interpretation, this is all highly theoretical and unproven; but it does seem to make sense and is certainly a good deal of fun to contemplate and explore.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on August 12, 2022.
