The DIY “World-View” Self-Realization Spread
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I recently came across an observation on one of the qabalistic pages that merits quoting for my purpose in developing this spread:
“All along the way you make the definitions, the container, the parameters of your being.”
I realize that “You make your own reality” is a rather tattered bromide (and apparently a Westernized misquote of Buddha’s original statement about becoming that which you think), but the idea here is that as you live an enlightened life you create the “vessel” that is then filled with the essence of Cosmic Consciousness (by whatever name you choose to call it). The other contributing premise comes from Alejandro Jodorowsky’s “World Tarot” spread that uses the central figure of the World card to show one’s Higher Being and the symbolic figures at the four corners to describe facets of that being that can be sublimated according to their elemental nature.
In conveying the four archetypal aspects of an evolved existence I followed the general occult assumptions of Aleister Crowley and others that the fixed signs of the zodiac exemplify the qualities of incarnation: the Ox or Bull at the lower-left corner represents physical reality as an expression of Earth/Pentacles/Taurus; the Lion as Fire/Wands/Leo at the lower-right embodies creative/procreative energies; the human or angelic figure at the upper-left epitomizes the intellectual domain of Air/Swords/Aquarius; and — perhaps most controversially — the Eagle as Water/Cups at the upper-right signifies the pinnacle of Scorpio’s three-fold nature and therefore elevates that sign’s “purgative” urge, redirecting it to the opposite end of the alimentary canal (which, if I were to be particularly vulgar, I might liken to a hearty “belch” rather than its flatulent cousin . . . I can almost hear Crowley’s ghost snickering). This contradicts Jodo’s idea that the human being is capable of emotion and must therefore be represented by Water, while the Eagle is patently a creature of Air.
My own thinking is that human-kind is the only sentient species with the power of deductive reasoning — a characteristic of Air. The lower animals go by sensory cues alone: if it “looks (and smells) like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck,” it must be good to eat, while the human encounters a roast duck and deduces its origins from its drumsticks and scrawny wings. Regarding the Eagle, we might see it as the influence of Fire (Mars) on Water (Scorpio), which — as suggested by Crowley — “gives off a gas or vapour” as I humorously referred to above. This has always worked for me and I don’t feel compelled to change my thinking.
This spread requires that the deck be split into Minor and Major Arcana sub-packs. The trump cards are used to randomly populate the central position and the four subordinate positions. Then the remainder of the deck is shuffled and amplifying detail is provided for the four archetypes by dealing cards adjacent to each one in any order; the number is up to you but I would use at least three and no more than five to create a meaningful narrative. Reversals should not be used for the archetypal positions but can be applied to their Minor-Arcana complements. Since each archetype sports a set of elemental, suit and zodiacal associations, it will be necessary to synthesize the nature of any Minor Arcana that fall outside that range with the underlying theme in each case.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on April 18, 2023.
