My 2022 “Beef Stew” Annual Forecast Reading
This is my first use of the annual forecast spread I just created using a “beef stew” metaphor: “broth” (trump card as the background “tone” of the upcoming year); “meat/gristle” (court cards as who I should become and avoid becoming); and “veggies/sludge” (minor cards as what I should do or avoid doing — you know, like “eat my veggies” and “ditch the gunk” at the bottom of the stew-pot. I simply asked what 2022 will hold for me and how I can capitalize on what I find out.
The “Broth” (trump) card that came up in the “Annual Tone” position was The Lovers. This is the “crossroads” card of the Major Arcana. I always see it as offering a “high road” and a “low road” out of the intersection. Rather than trying to deduce which it will be, I’ll look briefly at both. Although I didn’t use reversals in this spread, I will assume that the upright Lovers is the “high road” and the reversed Lovers is the “low road.” I won’t interpret both in detail but will include the distinction in the “quintessence” calculation. The “high road” should send me onward and upward to the next level of my life’s journey (the Chariot, a card of “victory or triumph in mundane matters” and the Star, a card of boundless hope); the “low road” could deliver me to the Hermit and the Devil, isolation and disillusionment. These assumptions are built on my model for the evolution of the Lover’ path that presumes it will lead to cards that add and reduce to “6:” to whit, 7+17 = 24; 2+4 = 6; and 9+15 = 24; 2+4 = 6.
https://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com/2018/07/05/down-to-the-crossroads/
Suffice it to say that, sometime around the May-June timeframe (this is the “Gemini” card), I will be confronted with an important opportunity and the available options at the time will determine which way I go, as well as how it works out.
The “Meat” court-card (“Be more of this person”) was the Knight of Disks, advising me to be more centered and stable while readying myself to “reap the harvest” offered by the Chariot or “cut my losses” if the Devil presides.
The “Gristle” court-card (“Be less of this person”) was the Princess of Swords, suggesting that I should be less antagonistic, irritable and standoffish; time to step up and engage!
The “Veggies” minor card (“Do more of this”) was the 9 of Swords (Cruelty), telling me to be more exacting and self-critical in my choices in everything I do, but also be ready to swallow my pride and “pull in my horns” if I must. There is no time for petty skirmishes over unimportant matters. (Hmm, these veggies look quite prickly, like arugula. “You want a helping of crow with those nettles, mate?”)
The “Sludge” minor card (“Do less of this”) was the 6 of Wands (Victory); I will need to be less blase in my handling of anything the Lovers drops in my lap, whether from the “high road” or the “low road.” Get thee behind me, Dr. Pangloss! I’m wise to you; everything is not always for the best.
The “Quint” card required a two-pronged approach. If I include the personal-development aspect of the court cards in the calculation (something many people don’t do because they are unnumbered) by considering the Princess to be 11 and the Knight to be 14, I come up with the Wheel of Fortune, which most of the time means a nominally fortunate change due to its Jupiter correspondence (the “Greater Benefic of traditional astrology). The calculation was 6+11+14+6+9 = 46; 4+6 = 10. If I exclude the court cards, the quintessence becomes the World, generally seen as a card of satisfactory closure (the “end of the matter”); this calculation was 6+6+9 = 21. Either one of these would be an encouraging but low-key capstone for the year.
Although I don’t show it in the graphic, if I take the “low road” shown by the reversed Lovers (included in the calculations as “negative 6”) I will get the Chariot: (-6)+11+14+6+9 = 34; 3+4 = 7; or the Hermit: (-6)+6+9 = 9. The Chariot is favorable in mundane matters much as the Wheel of Fortune is salutary in general, and with a greater sense of forward movement; however, it may be the Devil’s merciless “pitchfork” that is driving me on. The Hermit is a card of contemplation and isolation, the least upbeat of the possible “Quint” cards in this reading, but it certainly wouldn’t be out-of-character.
In summary, if I attend carefully to my personal prerogatives and “eat my veggies” religiously ( arugula, ugh!), I should pass through 2022 in good shape.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on January 7, 2022.
