I am sick. Not the best time to be sick, either… I work in the financial markets, and they are rocking and rolling at the moment. Anyway, I thought it was strep throat based on the initial symptoms, but it turns out to be mononucleosis (“mono”). Which means, according to my doctor, I will feel sub-par for about the next month or so. yay…

My reading today was about my sickness. I used the Osho Zen Deck for it:

That’s the Kinght of Swords, 4 of Swords, and 9 of Swords, and I put the cards in a simple three-card sentence.

Strange to get all swords (or “clouds” in osho zen deck parlance). Well, the Knight of Swords is me, the Gemini card. I see this spread as telling me not to struggle against the illness. After all, there is no cure for mono… you just have to wait it out. Rather than be sad about the stuff you must postpone, you might as well embrace the sorrow.

The osho book says that 9-Swords “sorrow” is about the fact that the things that hurt and hinder you serve to make you more aware. And, in fact, since I have been monitoring my condition, I can confirm that I am more aware of my body than I have been in the months previous. I was planning to take a Reiki class soon, and so maybe all this focus on what I’m feeling internally will better prepare me for that.

So, in true zen fashion, I should simply use my circumstances to become more aware and conscious. It’s a good message for me, so I appreciate this reading. But, I always have to stop to notice that all my osho deck readings seem to come back to simple buddhist concepts. I still say this deck is a little too zen…

If you’ve been noting my lack of updates lately, then you’ll understand why my reading tonight was for the question: “How do I fit everything I want to do into my hectic schedule?”

I did the counting and pairing technique with my Thoth Deck. Lately, I have been cutting the deck in half, and then using the half deck as a source of the cards. That way, instead of 12 to 20 cards in a spread, I get 5 to 10. Much faster!

Anyway, I consider this to be a fire-realm issue… that of motivations and drives. Conflicting desires, and the like. So, after cutting the half-deck four ways, I read the fire pile. It had the following 5 cards in it:

If you aren’t familiar with the deck, that’s: 3 Cups + 9 Cups + 7 Cups + 2 Wands + 6 Wands.

Overview

Well, we got five cards, which indirectly relates this reading to the Emperor (Atu IV). That seems appropriate, since I’m trying to get my life under better control. The top card is the 6 of Wands, “Victory.” What strikes me about this card is the stable structure, and the orderly, slow-burning flames. The central card is the 7 of Cups, “Debauch,” and I see it as my main problem right now. I keep essentially fooling myself into thinking I’ve made the right changes and I’m set up to get everything done. In fact, I end up focusing on fun and ephemeral pleasures. So, that’s the basic answer, but how to get there?

The only other thing that jumps out at me, at the overview level, is that it’s all Water and Fire here. No swords or disks are present. This tells me that we’re talking about a kind of spiritual/emotional shift, rather than a problem I need to solve, or an action I need to take in my physical environment. Fair enough!

Counting and Pairing

Pairing around the current situation, we get:

• 3 Cups + 6 Wands: Joy comes from stable effort, and expansions in creative output.
• 9 Cups + 2 Wands: I get a deep satisfaction from putting effort into my businesses. Once I force myself to sit down and work, I usually don’t mind it at all. The problem, of course, is…
• 7 Cups: Illusions of Success, fooling myself, getting caught up in fun distractions

Now for the counting. No court cards here, which is appropriate since the question was internal to me, anyway. So, I decided to count from the top card and the central card, in both directions.

Counting from the 6 of Wands in either direction takes you right to the 6 of Wands. This reinforces the stability and self-sustaining nature of the card.

Counting from the 7 of Cups clockwise, we get: 7 Cups + 9 Cups + 2 Wands + 7 Cups. So, my procrastination does in fact bring me some happiness, and causes me to have to rush and spend extreme effort to get my actual work done. Then, back to more procrastination. Not a great cycle to be in… but in fact, it’s the cycle I’m in now.

Counting from the 7 of Cups counter-clockwise, we get: 7 Cups + 2 Wands + 6 wands. Here is the other option… expend a lot of effort and will to overcome procrastination, and get into the zone of stable and expansive effort.

So I know of the two paths, and I know I want to be on the one I’m not on… but how do I get there?

Unaspected Card

My counting hit four of the five cards. The untouched card is the 3 of Cups, “Abundance.” When a card is not hit, it is called unaspected (ever wondered where the title of my blog came from?). Unaspected cards can represent energies that the participants in the reading are unaware of. They are forces that could be brought to bear on the situation. In some ways, you can think of them as “advice” cards.

When I see the 3 of Cups in that position, I think of Mercury in Cancer, and I think that I could be smarter about the way I do things at home. I think I have been making smart improvements, actually, but this card tells me I’m not done. Also, when I get so busy I start to feel constricted, like there won’t be time enough for everything I have planned. The 3 of Cups reminds to enjoy the tasks I do accomplish, and even celebrate them. It also alludes to the fact that life is not a race, even when it feels like one, and that there actually is time for everything important in due course. Maybe this is the mindset I need, in order to see clearly how to make my way over to the stable 6 of Wands.

I did a reading with my Thoth Deck to describe the work I’m planning to do for an old client. He called me yesterday and left a message saying he’d like me to do additional work for him. I put out the following cards about the prospect:

I started out with just a three-card sentence. I got the Pricess of Cups, the Knight of Disks, and the 7 of Disks. But, given that two of the cards were court cards, I decided I wanted to fill in a bit more information. How will the energy of the cards interact to lead toward the 7 of Disks? So, I added the second row to answer that question.

I am represented here by the Princess of Cups. I am like the earthy part of water… I represent crystalisation of material out of seemingly nowhere. To me, this represents the support and development I do for people. Also, I live in a dream world!

My client is the Knight of Disks. Methodical, thorough, and slow-moving. He also has a fair amount of wealth at his disposal.

The 7 of Disks is the outcome of this meeting, which is labelled “Failure.” Not very promising! To elaborate, the 7 of Disks represents failure from a dramatic downturn in activity. The passivity of the earth element becomes too pronounced, and has negative effects. The coins on the card are made of lead, a reference to heavy-handed Saturn.

So, how do my client and I interact to arrive at lethargic failure? That’s why I wanted to see extra cards. Let’s see how they help!

I got the 2 of Cups as the energy between me (Princess of Cups) and the client (Knight of Disks). Hard to beat that! We will apparently get along really well this time. That was not always the case.

I got the 10 of Cups as the energy between the Knight and the outcome. And that, I think, may be the root of the problem. Things are going to go too well! He may offer me a lot of work, which is exactly what I should want, on paper (10 Cups). But, the attribution here is Mars in Pisces, and Mars never lets supposed perfection sit idly.

Note that every card in this spread is either of water or earth. There’s nothing inspired (fire) here, and no intellectual (air) challenge. To me, this is a recipe for boredom. And, I tend to put off projects that bore me. I will be inclined to drag my feet in the manner suggested by the grey-black leaden 7 of Disks. In fact, the last couple days I have been thinking a lot about interests and pursuits I have let fall away over the last few years. There just doesn’t seem to be time for everything!

Notice how the extra cards fill out the reading, without changing the meaning. That’s an important principle I try to stick to. You want to fill in additional detail… not alter what you’ve already seen. Avoid the temptation to add more cards just because you don’t like the ones you got in the first place!

Anyway, I’ve left the client voice-mail, but have yet to converse with him. It will be interesting to see how accurate this reading is! It will be even more interesting to see if I can work out a way to avoid falling into the 7 of Disks outcome somehow. Armed with this reading, at least I know to try…

Today’s reading comes from the Thoth Deck, one of my favorites.

I just pulled three cards about how my day will go. I got:

That’s the 5 of Disks, 6 of Swords, and 4 of Cups. So, I knew immediately what this was all about. I will be worried about my programming project, but it will turn out well. I have planned to get a lot done on that project today, so it’s natural to have some anxiety about it. I’d be surprised if I didn’t get the 5 of Disks! I was glad to see the rest of the sentence play out like it did.

Note that the attributions on the 5 Disks and 6 Swords both point to the planet Mercury. This is what ties it so clearly to my programming work… it’s a big thought exercise. Also, both cards are in fixed signs, which brings an element of perseverance with it. This is vital to a successful project, as well!

So, we have a somewhat passive apprehension upon analyzing the situation (5 Disks), counteracted by more active investigation (6 Swords), leading to a return of emotional stability (4 Cups).

For obvious reasons, I’m pleased that the 4 Cups is the strongest card in the reading. This is so on at least three fronts. First, it is the lowest numbered card present, giving it the highest energy. Second, it is of the suit of cups, bringing association with the Briah (or however you care to spell it), a “higher” world than those which the other cards represent. Thirdly, the air and earth of the other two cards interfere with each other (which makes sense because worry gets in the way of proper study, whereas scientific progress erodes worry), weakening each in the process.

I’ll also note that, elementally, we are missing fire in this spread. It makes sense to me, as my heart is not in this work right now… I don’t have any kind of spark or will for it at the moment. I’m just doing it because I know I should.

Thought for the day: in the Crowley deck, the 2 and 3 of Cups are titled “Love” and “Abundance,” and are situated above the abyss of Daath. The first card that can be fully expressed in the formative world is the 4 of Cups, “Luxury.” What a neat statement about the relative purity of love and abundance over worldly luxury! Not to mention, the 4 of Cups is associated with the moon, which gives it an extra dose of inconstancy. This all fits quite well with my views, which are mostly drawn from Buddhism.

This is a late-night reading I did about what I need to know for tomorrow. I used my Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg for this reading.

Here’s what I got:

So, I just drew three cards, which were Temperance, 2 Coins, 6 Swords. First I noted, though I didn’t know what exactly to make of it, that the three cards had Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Aquarius attributions… three consecutive signs covering mid-November to mid-February. As this was a reading about tomorrow, I decided to just note it as interesting and forget it.

So, of the three, Temperance is the strongest card, especially as the Jupiter energy from the 2 Coins is very comfortable in Temperance’s Sagittarian shadow. The 2 Coins and 6 Swords have a bit of elemental conflict, and I deemed it to weaken the 6 Swords more than 2 Coins due to the Jupiter connection I just mentioned.

I read the spread as “I’m getting balanced (temperance) by making changes and balancing responsibilities (2 Coins), but I’m hindered because my mind is elsewhere (6 Swords).”

Naturally, I wanted something less vague than that, so I pulled 3 more cards for 6 Swords. What is the nature of this mind-wandering? I got the Devil, 5 Swords, and Emperor. So, I am going to be distracted because I will feel constrained (Devil), leading to a confrontation (5 Swords) with an authority figure (Emperor). Or, at least someone asserting their control… acting like an authority even if not one.

And, obviously I’d like to know how this distraction affects my harmonious changes (2 Coins), so I pulled three additional cards to support it as well. I got 8 Swords, Knight Swords, High Priestess. Interesting! So, note that 8 Swords is yet more Jupiter energy. Think: expansion, more. Also, see how the imagery of the 8 Swords fits right in with the constriction theme from the Devil. That ties the two groups of cards together nicely. So, too many thoughts in my head (8 Swords) will cause me (Knight Swords–Gemini Richard) to focus on finding my calm and zen-like state (High Priestess). I think of this as a good thing, but rolling with punches may make me less effective at making the changes I need to make.

I know that tomorrow I have a lot of things to juggle (think: the traditional RWS 2 Pentacles… though this deck doesn’t have the juggling imagery on it). So, to me this reads like a warning about wasting time on distractions and drama… which would force me into a reactive mode as my various life responsibilities pop up.

Got it! No distracting arguments or conflicts tomorrow… just focus on getting the work done, the new mattress delivered, the old one moved away, the lunch with my friend, and the evening plans. Piece of cake… and according to the spread, it’ll be good for my overall balance to get it all done. We shall see…

Continuing in my lazy and hurried fashion, I threw down a simple 3-card sentence to describe the afternoon Wyrd Astrology meetup I was going to attend.

I used my Haindl Deck for this quickie reading. Here’s what I got:

It was the 2 Cups, Aeon, and Father of Wands. Interesting! The central Aeon card indicates some sort of rebirth and realignment to me. I would say that it strengthens the fiery king, and weakens the 2 Cups somewhat. So, to put that together, I’d say changes are brewing that are more about ambition and less about friendship. The Leo energy of the king reminds me of the 5th house, which is about creative endeavors and anything that bears someone’s personal stamp, so to speak. So, maybe ambition is a strong word, but creative freedom isn’t.

It will be interesting to see what happens, here… I’ll keep you posted.

Today’s tarot reading was for a basic question: How can I best balance my life? As is my usual practice, I pulled two cards for “focus here and not here,” because I feel spreads work best when we observe the interaction of opposites. Your mileage may vary.

I used my Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg.

As you can see, I pulled the Page of Wands, and the World. My interpretation: be whimsical, and follow your instincts. Don’t expect to see results right away, and certainly don’t bring any of your activities to an end. Instead, try to cultivate youthful energy.

I pulled three more cards to help explain the Page of Wands, to see exactly how he applied. I got the 6 of Coins, the 2 of Cups, and the 3 of Swords. Well, first off, I’d say this is definitely a reading about balance, since we now have one card from each of the four suits. I wasn’t sure what to make of the 3 of Swords there, so I pulled one more card to flesh it out, and I got the Star. Ok, so I saw that combination as esoteric study… the reflection and hopefulness that can stem from studying the sometimes sorry human condition.

So I read the Page’s support as the three primary areas of his focus: helping people through my business (6 Pent), building relationships (2 Cups), and esoteric study (3 Sw + Star). Elementally, the hardest one to pull off for our fiery page will be the relationships part… because you need to have a certain amount of focus on the other people. Fire and Water can be a painful combination. So that area will get special focus, to make sure it doesn’t get lost in the mix.

Today, I’m giving a talk on a product I sell, and I did a quickie 3-card reading for advice. I chose three positions:

1. What I should do
2. What I shouldn’t do
3. Important consideration(s)

The Reading

I used my Universal Waite Deck and got these three cards:

If the picture’s not clear, these are The Lovers, 4 Pentacles, and Queen Swords.

First off, the two air cards overwhelm the central earth card. This emphasizes that the presentation (a webinar), is all about conversation and ideas rather than physical presence or money. Ok, makes sense.

Having the Lovers in the “what to do” position tells me that I should be trying to create a community and bring people together in harmony with my talks. If I can do that, the sales will follow. Also, as this is a major arcana card, I view it more as on ongoing process I should be undertaking, rather than something I can do in one shot with this talk.

The 4 Pentacles, in this context, speaks to me about fear and protecting yourself, and positioning yourself in a place of “power” (semi-sarcastic quotes due to the Chesed/demiurge aspect of the card). Possibly, it could refer as well to pushing to close individual sales. Grab the low-hanging fruit, if you will. This position says: don’t do that. The sales will come as a natural part of the process.

The important consideration is the Queen of Swords, who dominates Libra. This tells me that, yeah, I should be trying to bring people together and create a sense of community, but I shouldn’t compromise my principles or play favorites to do it. I should be diplomatic, even-handed, and logical with people. At the same time, I should stand by my decisions. Tough but fair.

Not a bad reading, for just three cards, if you ask me!

Someone was asking me about a series of classes they were considering taking. I assigned three positions:

1. Take the classes if …
2. Don’t take the classes if …
3. Important consideration(s)

… and I pulled a main card and three support cards for each (as I described in this article).

The cards (from my Universal Waite Deck) fell this way:

Take the Classes If …

For this position, we got 3 Cups, supported by 7 Pentacles, Wheel, and 3 Wands. I saw Jupiter (wheel) fighting back the constrictive force of Saturn in Taurus (7 Pent), making way for the Sun to shine in Aries (3 Wands). But, not yet, as the Wands are at odds with the watery main card 3 Cups. That puts the immediate focus on celebrating the accomplishment itself, rather than what the accomplishment makes possible. So I responded:

“By taking the classes, you could gain new skills that could expand your possibilities in the future. You’ll be more confident about your prospects, which will be especially good if you have a nagging dissatisfaction with what you are doing now. But I see that result a bit in the future… for now, you’ll feel good about having taken steps in that direction, and possibly meeting similar people in the process.”

Don’t Take the Classes If …

Here we have the High Priestess, supported by 5 Wands, 5 Swords, and 2 Swords. Here, we get a glimpse that the classes aren’t entirely a rosy experience. We have Saturn in play again in the 5 Wands showing multiple impulses at an impasse. Unlike the first position, Jupiter will not come to our aid this time… instead we get the bitchier side of Venus in Aquarius (5 Swords)… so there could be arguments either in class, or in the other parts of her life that are stressed by the new activity eating up time. Lunar energy dominates this position, in both the High Priestess and the 2 Swords (Moon in Libra). So, it would seem that we do end up in a state of peace and balance, but only underneath a turbulent surface. So, I said:

“I wouldn’t take the classes unless you feel confident deep down that it’s in line with your needs right now. There will be difficulties, perhaps in terms of the material, or competing approaches to it that may not agree with you. Tension between you and others could cause arguments that strain your relationships. You can still achieve balance despite this, but make sure it’s worth it to you to go through all that.”

Important Consideration

Here, we got the Fool, supported by 8 Swords, Page of Pentacles, and Page of Wands. So there is elemental conflict between the Page of Pentacles and the 8 of Swords. To me, this position is about what would happen if she just waltzes into the situation blindly (Fool). It indicates that if she has too many things going on in her life, or merely in her mind, then expanding the list (8 Swords is Jupiter in Gemini) is probably not good for her ability to study and learn (Page Pentacles). And I can even see this leading to her blowing off the class for things that seem more important at the moment (Page of Wands/Fool). So I said:

“Keep in mind that you shouldn’t make this decision lightly. If your life is already hectic, then adding a set of classes to the list will not help…. you might find that you end up dropping the classes, or at least not performing at your potential.”

Today’s reading was pretty straightforward, and comes from a google search for “ask for advice.” The first question I found was on some relationships forum. If you are too lazy to click over, it says, in part:

so theres this guy (of course) and last year i found out that he had had the biggest crush on me for like a year. … i said no … so when the new school year started the awkwardness returned … he suddenly asked if i would go out with him again … it was a complete disaster! … after that i decided to try to hang out with him more often, if he wouldnt make a move, i would … everything was going fine……untill he sent me this: “i just want you to return my love. Do you know why i act so strange by you? well its because i have a crush on you that you know about.”

… and she wanted advice. I just did a quckie reading with 4 cards (using my Tarot of the Angels, but shown here are images from the Universal Waite):

That’s the Hanged Man, supported by 10 Cups, Ace of Wands, and The Lovers.

My advice: You have all the power to resolve this situation, but for some reason you have gotten stuck in this weird place. Sometimes the weirdness can start to become more comfortable than moving forward, and it’s like you get addicted to these situations. The cards indicate that your intuition about this guy might be hampered by the fact that he isn’t the kind of boyfriend you imagine for yourself. But, you still have valuable intuition, and if you can get in touch with it, you will know whether to pursue him or not. The choice is yours! Either way, you’ll be happier once you can break out of this cycle.

For the tarotists: I was looking in particular at the elemental interplay between the watery main card and 10 Cups, versus the Ace of fire. The Lovers (of air) is sympathetic to all the other cards, waiting for the conflict to subside before her outer world can be put in order again.