Rethinking the “Four Winds” Spread
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I’ve come across examples of the “Four Winds” spread in more than one publication. Its premise is that the classical “winds” that blow from the four quarters of the Earth can be equated to the four aspects of the human psyche, Spiritual, Intellectual, Emotional and Physical. (The inspiration for “rethinking” this spread came from Vincent Pitisci’s book, Genius of the Tarot.)
In my own practice, although I don’t use this spread in its usual form, I follow the esoteric principles of the Western Mystery Tradition: South/Summer is related to Fire/Wands; North/Winter to Earth/Pentacles; East/Air to Spring/Swords and West/Water to Autumn/Cups. South relates to aspiration, ambition, enthusiasm and all solar attributes; North to physical matters and the Jungian concept of “sensation;” East to the power of thought; and West to the qualities of feeling and caring, as well as imagination and inspiration. Also, I don’t structure the array according to the Northern Hemisphere’s magnetic compass-points, with North at the top, South at the bottom, East to the right and West to the left, but rather in agreement with the axes of the diurnal horoscope of astrology, with South — where the Sun reaches its midday zenith — at the top; North — the domain of midnight — at the bottom; East, which brings the rising of the Sun, at the left and West, signifying sunset, at the right.
Once those logistics are established, it’s just a matter of pulling a random card for each position and seeing how well the “resident” card matches the elemental nature of its “home.” If there is an agreeable match, the influence of the card will play out without any friction, “for good or ill,” as the saying goes. If the paired dynamic is unsympathetic, some “drama” might be expected in the manifestation of its energy. Because these “snapshots” are rather one-dimensional with little predictive scope and no developmental trajectory, I will often pick the one that exhibits the most compelling scenario from the standpoint of potency (which could include rank, field position and temperament), and draw two more cards to fill out “the rest of the story” on the indicated path of advancement. (“Ties” will require a judgment call.)
A further wrinkle is to calculate a “quintessence” card for both the original four-card pull and for the extended three-card forecast(s). The first “quint” (they are always Major Arcana cards) will reflect significant “big picture” factors that effect the entire reading and should be placed at the center of the layout, while the second will imply the long-term consequences of the matter as shown by the three-card “radial” expansion; it should be placed at the end of that line. Below is a brief example reading demonstrating its use. For the purpose of illustration, I did not introduce reversed cards and I placed the “Series Quint” below the narrative line.
My question was “What will become of my modest business initiative in the next month?”
The elemental match between Air and Earth (the Devil) is poor, so there is no possibility of advancement in that direction.
That between Earth and Water (the Chariot) is friendly, but there are better alignments here.
The Queen of Cups is ideally suited to the element of Water, and is a card of quiet confidence.
The 5 of Wands is a good fit with the Fire position, but it is a card of some antagonism and it could be provoked by being in its own element.
I decided that the Queen of Cups offers the best opportunity for success so I pulled two more cards to fill out the developmental arc. The 5 of Coins says that there won’t be much money in it for me, but that’s not my primary goal; I’m looking for community engagement. The King of Wands seems to provide that in terms of recognition and honor. (While this Queen and King are not on the best of terms [Water to Fire], both appreciate the money (5 of Coins as Earth is cordial to both).
The Main Quintessence card is the Empress. I recently wrote an essay on “patience” in the tarot cards and noted that “All good things come” to the Empress, so she is in no hurry. She favors the Queen of Cups elementally (Earth to Water) and is of a similarly gracious disposition, which bodes well since the people I’m dealing with to get this going are female. This looks like an encouraging portent since I’m not anxious for a bang-up start to the enterprise anyway.
The “Series Quint” derived from the Queen of Cups, the 5 of Coins and the King of Wands is the Hierophant, which suggests traditional values and profound guidance. Since my objective is to offer tarot and horary astrology consulting to the public, this looks like a positive sign. The Hierophant is elementally friendly to the Queen of Cups, and is “of a piece” with the Empress, his Taurus to her Venus, ruler of Taurus. It represents a “doubling” of the number 5 in the series, echoing the 5 of Coins, which may reinforce the opportunity to make some money. (Both of these cards contain elements of “spirituality” — the stained glass window and the high priest’s regalia — and both are on good terms with the Queen of Cups elementally, Earth to Water.) Five is also about “change,” and in this situation any change would be welcome.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on July 20, 2023.
