“Turn the Page:” A Personal and Professional Development Spread
I’m always looking for new ways to use the facing of the human figures and other directional elements on the tarot cards. Here I’ve created a spread that takes on different forms depending on whether or not the salient features are focused “off-page” and which way they’re looking or pointing (left, right or straight out). Five of the cards are pre-placed face-down on the table, and the rest — other than Card #1 — are only pulled from the deck if “tapped” by one of the previous cards. The premise is that right-facing figures, or odd numbers in non-scenic decks, indicate the need to move on to the “next chapter,” while left-facing and non-facing figures (i.e. omnidirectional or peering straight out of the picture) and even numbers suggest “standing pat.” The result is a set of four “progress” cards that may come from different “chapters” of the saga. In other words, it’s possible to dip one’s toes in an alternate mode or state of development and then withdraw to more familiar ground. I envision using this spread in both personal and professional development scenarios.
To test the concept of odd and even numbers as indicators of facing (according to Joseph Maxwell, one is active and forward-looking, the other is passive and focused on the status quo), I decided to use a Tarot de Marseille deck (the Fournier TdM) in the following example reading. Note that I don’t normally read reversals with the TdM, but here I’m using them because they can change the direction of the “facing, gaze or regard” of the figures, which happened with two of the cards in the spread.
The question I asked was whether I should push harder at promoting my post-Covid, hobbyist’s “semi-pro” tarot reading gig, or just “take it as it comes.” As a retiree, I consider leisure to be something of a “Divine Right,” so this may have been a foregone conclusion, but three of the four “progress”cards did pick up on that predilection, facing toward the “stay where you are” left side of the spread. I’m really not looking for a new full-time career, I would just like a few more opportunities to ply my craft and meet some fellow enthusiasts outside the environs of the internet.
The left-facing Hermit in the “Ambitions and Goals” (Fire) position clearly wants to keep some distance between himself and the public while also trying to “light the way.” I too feel that I have a foot in both worlds, and this is a perfect reflection of my desire to keep it that way.
La Force (Fortitude or Strength) reversed becomes a left-facing card in the “Connections & Support” (Water) position. As such I’m no longer actively looking for a sympathetic community in my area, having come up empty on all previous attempts. So I’ll just continue to “wrassle my own demons.”
Although the Ace of Swords is an odd-numbered card, the hand holding the sword-hilt gives it a directional element, and that direction when reversed is to the left. My personal lexicon for the TdM pip cards says this about it: “The Ace is the ‘bright idea’ card showing a thought process that is completely fluid, unconstrained by practical considerations (the concept of ‘brainstorming’ begins here).” In the “Risks and Opportunities” (Air) position it means keeping all options open at this point in time. Business has picked up just a little and I’m getting to exercise some of those “bright ideas” while also generating some new ones.
The card in the “Strategies & Tactics” (Earth) position was the 5 of Swords, ending the series. My condensed set of definitions gives this meaning: “The Five sows argument and discord,” which could be aggravated by an Air card in an Earth position. At present I don’t have enough public exposure to routinely experience dissension over my tarot-reading activities, although I did find that on the occasions when I offered tarot-education lectures to a local group, they weren’t too keen on learning anything; all they wanted was free consultations masquerading as “example readings,” so I quickly backed away from that initiative and won’t be returning. All the heartburn was on my side, but the 5 of Swords wasn’t laying blame, just commenting on the reality.
The advice I’m taking away from this reading is to just stay in “cruise” mode and don’t try to accelerate the journey. That way I can stay in control of my own destiny and pick my shots as they present themselves.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on October 3, 2022.
