Deconstructing the Quintessence Calculation

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Although I have always preferred to perform the “quintessence” calculation in a way that rolls up the numerical values of all the cards on the table (including the court cards) to generate a single trump card as a condensed overview of the situation and the outcome, I have in the past “parceled out” discrete sections of a spread into what I call “sub-quintessence” snapshots, which I then accumulated into an overall “grand quintessence.” (With the three-card reading discussed below, the “grand quint” will not be identical to the “normal” quintessence because some of the math is doubled up but, as the saying goes, “Numbers don’t lie.”) I shaped this “derived” series of cards into a stand-alone narrative that ideally described a parallel path to a more expansive future.

In my studies I recently came across an approach to the three-card reading that applies the quintessence routine to each of the three pairs in the series: Card “A” + Card “B;” Card “A” + Card “C;” and Card “B” + Card “C.”* This creates a third high-level perspective for each pair that can furnish additional insights about their interaction. I’m a fan of the quintessence because it always yields a trump card that can reveal the “big-picture” dimensions of a matter, and having a set of “sub-quintessence” cards to augment the single one produces a second multi-card reading that will often raise the sights of the outlook into more philosophical or psychological territory.

I’ve mentioned in the past that I now view the cards of the Major Arcana as setting the stage or establishing the background “theme” for the actions identified by the Minor Arcana in a spread rather than as showing significant events in their own right (which seldom manifest to that degree anyway). Having a supplemental layout that consists only of trump cards implies a kind of “alternate-reality” environment in which sweeping gestures and overarching motifs populate an archetypal tableau that can represent the “ideal” trajectory for the mundane circumstances of the reading. If our goal is to “empower” our clients by asking them to reach beyond their everyday reality and aspire to a higher purpose, this is one way to map their route to self-realization.

Here is a randomly-pulled example reading that poses the hypothetical question “What can I (the imaginary querent) do to improve my social life?” The first card shows “Where I am now,” the second one “How I can move beyond this point” and the third one “Where this will most likely take me.” I first calculated the “normal” quintessence for the three cards and then expanded into three more “sub-quintessence” cards and a “grand quintessence” to flesh out the “quintessential” scenario.

The Queen of Cups (unnumbered but treated as “13” for the calculation) in the “current circumstances” position suggests that I have become too quiescent and comfortable in the status quo. I’m content but bored.

The Wheel of Fortune as the “action I should take” indicates that I need to “roll the dice” and stick my neck out to see what will develop. If I don’t do it proactively, it will probably be done for me. The climate is certainly ripe for change.

The 10 of Disks in the “likely destination” position implies abundant opportunities to successfully connect in a physical way. I may have to spend some money to get there but I should be amply rewarded.

The Lovers as the “normal” quintessence (13+10+10=33; 3+3=6) looks like one of these opportunities will turn out to be “the way.”

The “sub-quintessence” array gives me a double dose of the Hierophant (13+10=23; 2+3=5 taken twice), cautioning that merely edging away from the Queen of Cups’ domain while remaining too stiff-necked and conventionally stodgy will get me nowhere, while The Aeon (Judgement; 10+10=20) is a clear command to “answer the call” prefigured by the Wheel of Fortune. (If I were a present-day Crowley thumbing my nose at bumper-sticker Christianity, I might say I need to “let go and let Horus.”) Once I start down this path, there is no turning back. There is an interesting progression of 5, 10 and 20 here; the two Hierophants could mean tentatively “doing things by halves” while The Aeon shows “pulling out all the stops.” The two Tens mediate between them (I don’t ascribe traditional religious meanings to the Hierophant so I won’t be finding my “social fix” at church, although with The Lovers two of them might suggest a strong urge to marry.)

The Empress as the “grand quintessence” (5+5+20=30; 3+0=3) intimates that “a good time will be had by all.” I’m thinking that the “3” of the Empress being doubled in the “33” of the first quintessence calculation looks like an “embarrassment of riches” to rival the 10 of Disks. Yay!

This supplemental series reminds me of the sly line from Monty Python’s “Happy Valley” sketch: “After a time (or a few times anyway) he too fell in love with her.”

* Full Disclosure: I owe the inspiration for this approach to Alejandro Jodorowsky. Also, before anyone speculates, I’ve been married to the same woman for 44 years; this hopeful seeker most definitely isn’t “me,” just a bit of creative role-playing. Finally, although I favor “casting out nines” (subtracting increments of nine) over the usual “Theosophical reduction” technique in my current quintessence calculations, I decided to stay with the simpler “standard” technique for this essay.

Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on March 31, 2023.