Surprise Me
I’m a proponent of focused and specific card readings. For me, this is the best way to glean the psychological benefits of a Tarot practice. My mental legwork in preparation of the reading is as much a part of the exercise as the cards. Digging into why a situation makes me feel the way it does, weighing my options, and organizing my thoughts with Tarot isn’t quite as thrilling as predictive style reading, but it keeps things practical. A carefully planned spread with precise positions and a subject with a clear focus can make reading cards a lot easier too.
However, in spite of these preferences, I realize that there are times when this formula just doesn’t suit the situation. For example, lately I’ve been at loose ends. I feel restless, I’m not sleeping well even though my days are very busy, and while some of my concerns are obvious to me, other niggling things are hidden below the surface and I can’t pinpoint them. I don’t feel sick, but I don’t really feel well, either. My spring cleaning post addressed aspects of these feelings, but I still haven’t quite managed to get back on track yet. It’s times like these when I don’t know where to begin with writing out my thoughts. I say to myself, “Haven’t I already figured this out? What is left to uncover?” This impasse creates a challenge for constructing a reading that provides helpful information or proactive ideas. When I can’t do the majority of the “work” on my own and use Tarot as a helpful tool to illustrate the fine points, sometimes I use the methods I would like to share with you today.
The first technique provides a place to start with sorting your thoughts. Sometimes I use it in conjunction with the second technique, as both methods together can provide additional clarity. Shuffle your Tarot deck and pull a card. The suit of the card illustrates which sphere of life to address first. If you are feeling muddled, there are probably several areas of your life that need attention, but picking one to start with can help you to focus. For this technique I associate wands with passions (what you love the most – creative pursuits, hobbies, etc), cups with relationships of all varieties, swords with mental health, coins with practical affairs and employment, and trumps with matters that are beyond your control (or are perceived to be beyond your control) and higher order concerns (spirituality or personal development). Noting the specific card and its connotations is certainly beneficial as well. Once this step is completed, you can start traditional brainstorming or move on to the second technique if you want additional information.
For the second technique you can use a spread deck or create one. I own two spread decks: The Deck of 1000 Spreads (sadly oop) and The Dynamic Spreads Deck. These decks are meant for spreadcrafting, generating random spreads, and labeling spread positions for easy reference during a reading. The Dynamic Spreads Deck’s recipe box with organizers is excellent, and it makes thumbing through spread options even more fun. I like both decks and I do recommend them, but as I said, you can make your own. Simply jot down the spread position on a notecard with a brief description. You can make as many of them as you want. Feel free to cover your bases for future readings and other purposes beyond this exercise.
Once you have a spread deck available to you, whether it’s homemade or store bought, sift through it and remove any cards that will not be relevant to your reading. For example, a spread card that represents “Choice A” in a decision will likely be confusing at this stage and is better suited to a subsequent reading where concerns have been highlighted. Once you have a pack of spread cards with position meanings that could be useful to your muddled mind, shuffle them up and lay them out in a configuration of your choosing. You can pull as many as you want. Keep in mind that since this method is “winging it” even more than a general reading with a vague spread, a large number of cards may create even more confusion. I think 3 to 5 cards is ideal. Depending on your personal preferences, you can flip over the spread cards and focus on each spread position as you pull its corresponding Tarot card, or you can lay your Tarot cards on top of the still hidden spread positions and reveal them when you start the reading.
When you are ready to shuffle and draw your Tarot cards you can return the card from the first technique to your deck so that it can come up in your secondary reading, or you can use a second deck and leave the first card out like a randomly drawn significator. I used my trusty Universal Waite deck for the initial draw and busted out my Spiral Tarot for the second draw so that my “subject heading significator” could pop up again.
Here is my reading:
When I employed the first technique I drew the 7 of Cups. This indicated that my interpretations in part two, as well as my initial brainstorming, should focus on the realm of relationships. My personal connotations with the 7 of Cups in this context relate to my relationship with tasks and possessions. If you read my previous spring cleaning post, this probably surprises you about as much as it surprised me.
At a glance I can see that aside from the Ace of Cups, I’m looking at higher numbered cards – notably a pair of sevens. It is also worth noting that the 7 of Wands appeared in my spring cleaning exercise. The matters that weigh upon me are in their middle and later stages, which could be one of the reasons I’m feeling a bit of burnout. Air, fire, and water are present in this spread, but there is no earth to slow things down or keep them grounded – another reason I’m feeling like I’m at sixes and sevens (ironic with all those sevens, no?). This alone tells me a lot about what I need to incorporate in my life. Thoughts, feelings, and passions flying around out there in the cosmos aren’t at their best without something to reign them in a little. It’s also worth noting that the 5’s and 7’s in this spread are represented by fixed signs of the zodiac, and that the Star adds a second association with Aquarius. The progressive and utopian tendencies that can be associated with Aquarius may be relevant here. Let’s take a closer look.
Mind: The Star. The Star speaks to my desires for personal growth, a quiet mind, and feeling settled in and stable after recent changes in my life (a long distance move). Having goals and being future oriented is certainly not a bad thing, but I recognize that I can become so future oriented and wrapped up in “getting things done” that I make myself miserable along the way. And although completing projects in my new abode will bring me closer to the state of mind represented by the Star, it is unrealistic to think that getting my to do list completed is going to be a cure-all for my anxious mind. These ideas connect to the 7 of Cups heading. My relationship with my current projects isn’t very healthy. I’m expecting myself to get a lot done, and for those accomplishments to have utopian benefits to my mental health.
Lesson: 5 of Wands. This card is about learning to create a sense of calm and coordination. I tend to hurry to finish things so that I can finally have some time to rest. It causes stress when I don’t meet my productivity standards, and it sucks the fun out of the journey. I’m basically trying to work my way to relief from anxiety and instead my brain feels like chaotic mush. This card also reiterates that my “get shit done” attitude probably won’t have the results I’m hoping for. Thus far getting things done isn’t making me feel better. There’s always more to do. That’s just life. There isn’t an end point where everything will just be done and I can relax. I need to learn to be satisfied with what I do get accomplished and to soothe my mind even if I could still squeeze a few more productive minutes into the day.
Home Life: Seven of Swords. This card illustrates the continued theme of trying to pick everything up at once and get it all done. Not everything can be done at the same time, and if I try, I’m bound to drop the ball on something or cut corners. I need to focus on one thing at a time and on doing it well. This card, like the Star, is associated with Aquarius, which prompts me to reconsider my expectations. There is a lot to do at my new house, and making a house into a home doesn’t happen overnight. It isn’t fair to expect myself to accomplish that overnight transformation.
Be Flexible With…: Ace of Cups. I need to allow myself to be happy, embrace possibilities, and enjoy where my life is at right now. A “go with the flow” attitude about the timetable for working on the house will be very difficult to adopt, but I know it would keep my brain from blowing a fuse.
Be Firm With…: 8 of Swords. I need to get a grip on my anxiety and not allow myself to be overwhelmed. Additionally, the satisfaction represented by the Star needs to be my own – not a sense of satisfaction that I am finally living my life in a way that makes it difficult for others to criticize me. People will always be able to find something to gripe about. I can fix up the yard and paint the house and do my best to make the place look as neat as a pin – but someone will still hate the paint color I chose (probably my mother). How much of my “get things done” anxiety is related to my concerns about what other people think of me? Do they think I’m lazy? Do they think I should be doing more? Fretting over these things isn’t doing me any favors. It traps me in my anxiety and I have to buckle down and get tough with myself when it comes to letting other people find their way under my skin.
This technique has worked exactly as intended. It helped me to zero in on a few aspects of my situation that were not addressed in my spring cleaning exercise. One is that it may be difficult for me to slow down, enjoy the process, and feel any sense of accomplishment because of my concerns about other people’s opinions and expectations. It isn’t enough to listen to the people who do think I’m accomplishing things, I have to stop listening to people who aren’t being constructive as well as my own unsubstantiated concerns about what people might be thinking. For example, I often think to myself “I’ll bet the neighbors think I’m a bum!” I don’t know that for sure. Truthfully, the neighbors are probably far more concerned with their own lives than what needs sprucing up at my place. But I still struggle to accept that and change my thought patterns. Another noteworthy theme of this reading is that completing the projects on my to do list result may not result in freedom from my anxiety. Telling myself that “if I get one more thing done I will feel better” probably is not going to be sustainable for the long term. Hopefully, uncovering these things will help me to combat them and feel better as I move forward.
I hope you give this exercise a try. Have fun and happy shuffling!
Decks used in this post:
Universal Waite Tarot
Spiral Tarot
Deck of 1000 Spreads
Dynamic Spreads Deck
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