“The Fix is In!” — Invoking Tarot Energy
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This tarot-based technique for magically imposing one’s personal Will on circumstances is based on the concept of intention. If we “intend” something strongly enough we will ideally achieve its realization without “getting our hands dirty.” As long as it isn’t harmful to others (and if it is, the Wiccan “Three-fold Law” might kick in to stomp on our heads thrice over), we can attempt to mentally invest our prerogatives in the matter. I see this as more than idle wishing and hoping but instead an active effort to “make a difference” through force of Will.
The idea is to use a six-card “cross” layout with a pre-selected seventh (central “focus”) card expressing our intention. The three-card horizontal axis will show the natural course of events if they progress unimpeded, with the three-card vertical axis displaying the self-directed “spin” we might put on events if we choose to intervene through mystical or magical means, as well as how we can set about doing that in more concrete terms. I also believe that using reversals will add another dimension to our plans, perhaps making them more subtle and therefore less easily detected and contravened. In addition, I’m thinking that performing a “quintessence” calculation for the spread could convey the long-term consequences of our actions.
Here is a hypothetical example reading. (All cards except the “Focus” card were pulled randomly and I wove a likely narrative around them.)
The question involves two individuals who have a strong physical attraction to one another but they haven’t been able to “make good” on their mutual desire, and one of them (the Querent) wants to know how to change that. We chose the Thoth “Lust” card as the focus of the reading. (Since I’m using the Thoth deck I could just as well have picked the 6 of Cups [“Pleasure; Venus in Scorpio”]; Crowley certainly thought it is charged with “sexual Will.”) With the Princess of Disks as the middle card of the horizontal line, the “Natural Progression” suggests that the unfulfilled female querent is “stepping up to the plate” as the one who has the greatest interest in bringing the situation to a head. (Someone on Aeclectic Tarot once observed that the Empress reversed can be a “royal bitch;” maybe that’s part of this young lady’s “back-story.”)
The Empress reversed implies her bottled-up passion, while the Devil reveals that if she lets nature take its course, she will wind up being cured quite lustily of her unhappy affliction, just as long as all she wants is sexual gratification. It’s worth noting that, although Earth moves slowly and deliberately, all three cards are on the same page elementally as well as being supportive of the Focus card, so she will get there eventually.
In the “Intentional Spin” column, the Ace of Wands reversed indicates that she could be overplaying her hand if she tries to force the issue, while the 7 of Swords “(“Futility”) reversed gives the impression that she will be stymied if she tries to do so. The 10 of Cups (“Satiety”) reversed makes me think she would come up empty in her machinations despite pulling out all the stops. Three reversed cards in a row look like a “no-go” to me; furthermore, these cards are a mixed bag elementally, with cooperative Air and Fire suggesting her sense of urgency while Fire and Water together may be “steamy” but aren’t going to generate much momentum given their reversal.
I did the quintessence calculation for this spread in two ways. First, I considered all the cards to represent positive integers (11+3+11+15+1+7+10=58; 5+8=13 by “Theosophical reduction” or 58-[5×9]=13 by “casting out nines”). This gave me Death as the “quint” card, suggesting that if she is frustrated for too long her desire could wither and die on the vine; she might be better off to plow a different furrow. (Note that this “quint” could be reduced further to 4, the Emperor, but I don’t think she is in a position to be too high-handed by trying to turn her aspirations into ultimatums.
In the second instance, I subtracted the numerical values of all reversed cards as follows: (11+[-3]+11+15+[-1]+[-7]+[-10]=16. This is my preferred method of reduction, and in this case it yields the Tower. (Another Theosophical reduction or subtraction of nine would have given me the Chariot, which would be a more optimistic outlook but it can still succumb to the Tower’s chaos as its numerological counterpart). Since 75% of the reversed cards are on the vertical axis, I’m going to say that having a “Tower moment” would be the result of pushing too hard. (In other words, a crash-and-burn scenario that would undo all her well-laid plans.)
All in all, she would be much better served by “cooling her jets” and letting nature work its tortuous wiles. The Devil says emphatically that “the fix” (or something) is in . . . eventually.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on May 8, 2024.
