I will try to start us out here by giving a quick interpretation of the spread. In parts.
The 8 of Wands is in a position symbolizing the querent's current situation. I read the 8 of Wands a little differently from most, to me it has always symbolized energy being expended rapidly, not in a good way, things headed in a negative direction.
The 8 of Wands is crossed by the Knight of Wands. This position I see as having an important impact on the situation illustrated by the first card. Interestingly, placed together like this, I see these cards as extremely complimentary to each other. I'm reading the Knight of Wands as symbolizing that same use of energy. This not in a negative or a positive way, just the use of energy, will perhaps. The querent utilizing lots and lots of energy, mental, physical, emotional, or all three.
These two cards taken together are the heart of the matter. They show our querent expending a lot of energy and effort, I'd say worry, about her question, which is, will she find the relationship she is seeking?
Card three, the King of Cups crowns the heart of the matter as illustrated by the previous two cards. These are the querent's conscious thoughts about the situation. It makes sense. The King of Cups symbolizes an emotional and loving man. She's thinking about what she is expending energy to find.
Card four, the Eight of Cups symbolizes our querent's unrecognized, subconscious thoughts. The Eight of Cups is a card standing for loss. A walking away from a situation, specifically from an emotional situation, perhaps a past relationship, or perhaps illustrating a fear of having to leave a future relationship in which much was invested, but it didn't work out anyway. This card, in this location, given this question and the rest of the spread is to me a card illustrative of the querent's fears, unrecognized though they may be.
We now have a vertical line of cards, moving down from the King of Cups to the 8 of Wands, crossed by the Knight of Wands, ending with the Eight of Cups. We can view these cards as her conscious desire for a loving, romantic relationship, along with her unrecognized or unconscious fears about that relationship breaking up if it was found, with these two opposing thought patterns resulting in a lot of thinking about finding a relationship, and effort to find a relationship, but perhaps in a poor or misguided way because of unconscious fears holding her back, or causing her to act in a manner contrary to finding that which she is seeking. She may well be sabotaging herself.
Card 5 is the position of that which has just passed away, or is passing away at this time. The position is occupied by the 6 of Cups. A card symbolizing joy, and perhaps an innocent or naive love. It seems from this card that our querent had found what she believed to be the relationship she wants, but that it has very recently ended or is still in the process of ending. She knows that it is over. And that very likely is contributing to the fear she is feeling as symbolized by 8 of Cups examined earlier. That fear is beginning to make sense.
Position 6 illustrates what is to come very soon. Perhaps in days or a couple of weeks. No longer. It is filled in this spread by the 5 of Pentacles. A card symbolizing want and poverty, needs going unmet. It shows that our querent will not be finding that which she is seeking, or even feel hope about finding that which she desires anytime soon. She will continue to feel as if the situation is hopeless, at least over the short term.
Taken together these cards can be seen to symbolize the Past - Present - Future. In this case, a budding relationship or at least the hope of such, illustrated by the 6 of Cups has been lost. Much thought, worry, and energy is going into reliving that loss, and the search for the next relationship at this time. But, in the short term, all of that will prove fruitless.
This completes the 'cross' half of our Celtic Cross. This represents the generative energies surrounding our querent and her actions in her search. These are passive energies that will, when combined with active energies, work to create our querent's reality.
Tomorrow I will post my interpretation of the second half of this spread here, including the card we are focusing on, Death.
But, in the meantime, does this break any thoughts loose for you? Anything you agree or disagree with? Anything you find that you can expand upon?
We see the Page of Swords in position 7. This card symbolizes how the querent sees herself in relation to the situation she is asking about. In this symbolism I read that she sees herself as still young and desirable, and that she is trying to approach her search for love with a clear mind. Not wanting to get carried away by passion, she believes that she is making sure that her next relationship is actually good for her, by remembering her own particular needs and desires. She wants a partner in life, someone she can move forward with, not simply a passionate romance.
But then in position 8, how others see her, we encounter Death.
Death is an ending. A very final and abrupt stop. It is not the end of everything or the end of us, the symbolism of the card makes it clear that rebirth and renewal is always possible, but it is a very significant transformation from one state to another. The symbolism also reminds us that this is something that all must go through.
Others see no chance for a relationship with our querent to succeed. This keeps potential suitors away, and keeps others from wanting to introduce her to their single friends. Others keep their distance from her, because they do not believe that a relationship with her can ever be positive for them.
The querent is, when it comes to romantic relationships, seen as death and destruction by those who know her. This perception will prevent her from gaining what she seeks.
Taking card positions 7 and 8 together, we can see that there is a large disconnect between how the querent perceives herself, and how those around her see her. She sees herself as desirable, a catch, open about her desire for a relationship, and going about finding that rationally, not with thoughtlessness. But that certainly isn't how those around her see her. They see a romantic relationship with her resulting in destruction and metaphorical death. This disconnect must be resolved, she must work on herself, if she is to ever find the relationship that she seeks.
The Wheel Of Fortune is in card position 9. This position, in my view, can be read in a couple of different ways, depending on the context of the reading. Sometimes I will read it as illustrating the querent's hopes and fears. Other times as advice to the querent. In this reading, I'm seeing it as her hopes and fears. Going back to the earliest part of this spread, we see her hopes symbolized by the King of Cups, and we see her fears symbolized by the 8 of Cups. The Wheel shows us that these hopes and fears are spinning within her constantly. Moving her emotionally from hope one moment to fear the next, and back again. Her hopes work to draw the person she is seeking in, then her fears take over and work to push that person away. Over and over again the cycle repeats in her mind, resulting in an emotional instability that in turn makes the relationship she seeks impossible. This explains the disconnect between Page of Swords and Death. It also shows that this must be resolved if she is ever going to be able to have that which she seeks. Ultimately, she will have to get over her fear, even unrecognized fear.
Card position 10 illustrates the longer term result. Out to six months, if nothing changes. The 3 of Swords. Continued heartbreak. A continued search for the relationship she seeks, in vain.
But Tarot is not fortune telling. What I mean by that is that it does not predict a future set in stone. Rather it is a tool that helps us understand what will result, if current conditions continue. It points out to us things that we can continue with to achieve the result we seek, or change to bring forth a different result than what we see. Our querent can change, and by changing will open up the possibilities of a different result.
Taken together, this second half of the spread represents the active energies surrounding our querent with respect to the topic she asked about. These energies, combined with the generative energies illustrated by the first half of the spread interact to manifest the reality she experiences.
They can, of course, be changed.
Does this reading of the spread pictured in the post offer any insight to you as to the questions asked in the post?
Anything in this reading that you agree or disagree with?
Later I'll give my answers to some of the questions I asked in the post. In the meantime, let me know what you think.
To me it means that those who might be interested in a relationship with her see it as doomed from the start. Likely friends who might be able to introduce her to someone see it the same way. Hence, no one is willing to take a risk on her.
>>>How does Death relate to The Wheel here?
I think that we can picture her fear of a relationship making up half of a dial, her want of a relationship making up the other half. And the dial spinning, alternating between fear and desire. Bouncing from mental state to mental state, and as a result making herself unable to receive that which she hopes to have.
>>>There is no particular suit or number overwhelming or dominating the spread. Does that >>>indicate a balance? Or even a part of whatever the problem she is having finding >>>someone might be?
The three Cups (King, 6, and 8) along the right side of the spread are interesting to me. I see the King in the South, a place of the bright midday sun. The 6 of Cups in the West, the place of the setting sun. And the 8 in the North, a place of darkness. The King is clearly the positive relationship that she wants, that is a good thing, well symbolized by the bright light of day. The 6 of Cups depicting an ending or ended relationship in the place of the setting sun. The 8 of Cups, a card of sorrow, in a position of darkness. The symbolism seems to fit very well in my mind. She wants that good and positive relationship, but the past relationship(s) ended so painfully for her that on some level she can't leave it behind. A part of her is stuck in the darkness, and that is keeping her from moving forward to find that which she seeks.
>>>The Wheel of Fortune is sitting in a place that may sometimes indicate the querrent’s >>>hopes and fears, or may be read as advice to the querent. What might it mean in this >>>place in this spread, given the question asked?
Given the context of the reading, I see it as Hopes and Fears, with the hope unable to overcome the fear.
>>>Position 7, the Page Of Swords indicates how she sees herself. Quite a contrast with >>>Death, how others see her. What can this contrast tell us? Does it give her something to >>>work on?
I think that it certainly does give her something to work on. Something positive that she can do to change this negative reading.
To my mind it is telling her that she has to let go of the hurts and pains of the past in order to reach a place at which she is able to welcome into her life that which she is looking for. She's not finding the relationship that she is seeking at this time because she has not done the work within herself that she needs to do in order to have it.
She needs to let go of the darkness of the past, in order to look towards a bright future.
>>>Positions 1 and 2 combine to illustrate the Heart of the Matter and seem to indicate a lot >>>of energy. But how does all that generative energy, apparently being used, fit in with >>>Death?
I think that the energy we see in the 8 and Knight of Wands is mostly worry. Her worry about not repeating past mistakes, worry about being hurt again. That worry results from fear, and that fear is what is making it impossible for her to find the relationship she seeks. As symbolized by Death.
>>>What can our querrent learn from all of this? If we are reading for her, what advice can >>>we give her?
That she is holding too tightly to past mistakes and past hurts. That she needs to let go of those things so that her fear about what negative things could happen is dissipated. That until she is able to do that, she's not going to be ready for the relationship she wants to have.
I'm learning from the way you interpret, as my knowledge lacks from practical experience. The part that stood out to me was regardless fortune telling, by the presumption that we can change a scenario by becoming aware of a fortune or mis-fortune (such as the 'wheel of fortune'). I wonder is this is true? A lot of people I think would concur that we cannot change others or things that happen around us. So if we are creatures of character, will we-or can we- change?
I can give an example to help clarify myself. I had a reading done by so.eone using the tarot cards. In the spread, the death card came up. It was read as a misfortune. This person through a course of a work party, did a reading 2 more times. The consistency was the same- the death card came up each time. I wasn't worried, but wondered if I could change this card of endings. What happened shortly afterwards was getting laid off at work, which shifted my life a bit a different direction.
So, this is why I wonder if we can change by simply knowing the symbolism of the card is at play.
I'm glad that you are finding some value in this! I wasn't sure that anyone was actually reading it! Now that I know you are here, I'll keep on going!
In any event, I don't know how I interpret the cards exactly. I've read a heck of a lot of really good Tarot books (There are a lot of good ones out there) and I allow my intuition (and life experience I think) to blend with that 'book learning' to come up with my interpretations. I suppose that everyone must read with a blend like that, some heavier on the book learning, others heavier on the intuition. Some do, I'm aware, try to read strictly with one or the other, but I don't think that doing so can lend itself to accurate readings.
Like you, I have found readings I have received from professionals to be quite accurate, and that does tend to lead to a strengthening of a view of fixed fate. But, I also believe that we can, through sheer force of will, change that.
Through Magick too. I'll try to put a comment here about that tomorrow. Let's see if we can use a bit of Magick to change our querent's love life!
This is familiar territory that I love exploring. Somewhat reminiscent of my interpretation of adam, eve and the serpent: thought, intuition, and divining. A meaning that can be found on the Lovers card.
I started reading some books here and there to refresh the little knowledge I have. What I started with is pretty interesting, called "The Tarot of the Bohemians". The writer has an interesting perspective with the history of the Tarot and Freemasonry.
Yes! The Tarot Of The Bohemians was I think the second or third book I ever read on the Tarot. Maybe over 30 years ago. Loved it!
I think that we do extremely well to read good, solid, modern, experience backed books on Tarot. Holistic Tarot by Benebell Wen anyone? But we do equally well to read what our old Masons and occultists wrote. They were after all, the people who devised the Tarot as we know it today.
I will try to start us out here by giving a quick interpretation of the spread. In parts.
The 8 of Wands is in a position symbolizing the querent's current situation. I read the 8 of Wands a little differently from most, to me it has always symbolized energy being expended rapidly, not in a good way, things headed in a negative direction.
The 8 of Wands is crossed by the Knight of Wands. This position I see as having an important impact on the situation illustrated by the first card. Interestingly, placed together like this, I see these cards as extremely complimentary to each other. I'm reading the Knight of Wands as symbolizing that same use of energy. This not in a negative or a positive way, just the use of energy, will perhaps. The querent utilizing lots and lots of energy, mental, physical, emotional, or all three.
These two cards taken together are the heart of the matter. They show our querent expending a lot of energy and effort, I'd say worry, about her question, which is, will she find the relationship she is seeking?
Card three, the King of Cups crowns the heart of the matter as illustrated by the previous two cards. These are the querent's conscious thoughts about the situation. It makes sense. The King of Cups symbolizes an emotional and loving man. She's thinking about what she is expending energy to find.
Card four, the Eight of Cups symbolizes our querent's unrecognized, subconscious thoughts. The Eight of Cups is a card standing for loss. A walking away from a situation, specifically from an emotional situation, perhaps a past relationship, or perhaps illustrating a fear of having to leave a future relationship in which much was invested, but it didn't work out anyway. This card, in this location, given this question and the rest of the spread is to me a card illustrative of the querent's fears, unrecognized though they may be.
We now have a vertical line of cards, moving down from the King of Cups to the 8 of Wands, crossed by the Knight of Wands, ending with the Eight of Cups. We can view these cards as her conscious desire for a loving, romantic relationship, along with her unrecognized or unconscious fears about that relationship breaking up if it was found, with these two opposing thought patterns resulting in a lot of thinking about finding a relationship, and effort to find a relationship, but perhaps in a poor or misguided way because of unconscious fears holding her back, or causing her to act in a manner contrary to finding that which she is seeking. She may well be sabotaging herself.
Card 5 is the position of that which has just passed away, or is passing away at this time. The position is occupied by the 6 of Cups. A card symbolizing joy, and perhaps an innocent or naive love. It seems from this card that our querent had found what she believed to be the relationship she wants, but that it has very recently ended or is still in the process of ending. She knows that it is over. And that very likely is contributing to the fear she is feeling as symbolized by 8 of Cups examined earlier. That fear is beginning to make sense.
Position 6 illustrates what is to come very soon. Perhaps in days or a couple of weeks. No longer. It is filled in this spread by the 5 of Pentacles. A card symbolizing want and poverty, needs going unmet. It shows that our querent will not be finding that which she is seeking, or even feel hope about finding that which she desires anytime soon. She will continue to feel as if the situation is hopeless, at least over the short term.
Taken together these cards can be seen to symbolize the Past - Present - Future. In this case, a budding relationship or at least the hope of such, illustrated by the 6 of Cups has been lost. Much thought, worry, and energy is going into reliving that loss, and the search for the next relationship at this time. But, in the short term, all of that will prove fruitless.
This completes the 'cross' half of our Celtic Cross. This represents the generative energies surrounding our querent and her actions in her search. These are passive energies that will, when combined with active energies, work to create our querent's reality.
Tomorrow I will post my interpretation of the second half of this spread here, including the card we are focusing on, Death.
But, in the meantime, does this break any thoughts loose for you? Anything you agree or disagree with? Anything you find that you can expand upon?
Does it offer any insight to you?
Let's chat about it...
Starting with the second part of the spread...
We see the Page of Swords in position 7. This card symbolizes how the querent sees herself in relation to the situation she is asking about. In this symbolism I read that she sees herself as still young and desirable, and that she is trying to approach her search for love with a clear mind. Not wanting to get carried away by passion, she believes that she is making sure that her next relationship is actually good for her, by remembering her own particular needs and desires. She wants a partner in life, someone she can move forward with, not simply a passionate romance.
But then in position 8, how others see her, we encounter Death.
Death is an ending. A very final and abrupt stop. It is not the end of everything or the end of us, the symbolism of the card makes it clear that rebirth and renewal is always possible, but it is a very significant transformation from one state to another. The symbolism also reminds us that this is something that all must go through.
Others see no chance for a relationship with our querent to succeed. This keeps potential suitors away, and keeps others from wanting to introduce her to their single friends. Others keep their distance from her, because they do not believe that a relationship with her can ever be positive for them.
The querent is, when it comes to romantic relationships, seen as death and destruction by those who know her. This perception will prevent her from gaining what she seeks.
Taking card positions 7 and 8 together, we can see that there is a large disconnect between how the querent perceives herself, and how those around her see her. She sees herself as desirable, a catch, open about her desire for a relationship, and going about finding that rationally, not with thoughtlessness. But that certainly isn't how those around her see her. They see a romantic relationship with her resulting in destruction and metaphorical death. This disconnect must be resolved, she must work on herself, if she is to ever find the relationship that she seeks.
The Wheel Of Fortune is in card position 9. This position, in my view, can be read in a couple of different ways, depending on the context of the reading. Sometimes I will read it as illustrating the querent's hopes and fears. Other times as advice to the querent. In this reading, I'm seeing it as her hopes and fears. Going back to the earliest part of this spread, we see her hopes symbolized by the King of Cups, and we see her fears symbolized by the 8 of Cups. The Wheel shows us that these hopes and fears are spinning within her constantly. Moving her emotionally from hope one moment to fear the next, and back again. Her hopes work to draw the person she is seeking in, then her fears take over and work to push that person away. Over and over again the cycle repeats in her mind, resulting in an emotional instability that in turn makes the relationship she seeks impossible. This explains the disconnect between Page of Swords and Death. It also shows that this must be resolved if she is ever going to be able to have that which she seeks. Ultimately, she will have to get over her fear, even unrecognized fear.
Card position 10 illustrates the longer term result. Out to six months, if nothing changes. The 3 of Swords. Continued heartbreak. A continued search for the relationship she seeks, in vain.
But Tarot is not fortune telling. What I mean by that is that it does not predict a future set in stone. Rather it is a tool that helps us understand what will result, if current conditions continue. It points out to us things that we can continue with to achieve the result we seek, or change to bring forth a different result than what we see. Our querent can change, and by changing will open up the possibilities of a different result.
Taken together, this second half of the spread represents the active energies surrounding our querent with respect to the topic she asked about. These energies, combined with the generative energies illustrated by the first half of the spread interact to manifest the reality she experiences.
They can, of course, be changed.
Does this reading of the spread pictured in the post offer any insight to you as to the questions asked in the post?
Anything in this reading that you agree or disagree with?
Later I'll give my answers to some of the questions I asked in the post. In the meantime, let me know what you think.
Answering some of my own questions from the post:
>>>What does Death mean in this context?
To me it means that those who might be interested in a relationship with her see it as doomed from the start. Likely friends who might be able to introduce her to someone see it the same way. Hence, no one is willing to take a risk on her.
>>>How does Death relate to The Wheel here?
I think that we can picture her fear of a relationship making up half of a dial, her want of a relationship making up the other half. And the dial spinning, alternating between fear and desire. Bouncing from mental state to mental state, and as a result making herself unable to receive that which she hopes to have.
>>>There is no particular suit or number overwhelming or dominating the spread. Does that >>>indicate a balance? Or even a part of whatever the problem she is having finding >>>someone might be?
The three Cups (King, 6, and 8) along the right side of the spread are interesting to me. I see the King in the South, a place of the bright midday sun. The 6 of Cups in the West, the place of the setting sun. And the 8 in the North, a place of darkness. The King is clearly the positive relationship that she wants, that is a good thing, well symbolized by the bright light of day. The 6 of Cups depicting an ending or ended relationship in the place of the setting sun. The 8 of Cups, a card of sorrow, in a position of darkness. The symbolism seems to fit very well in my mind. She wants that good and positive relationship, but the past relationship(s) ended so painfully for her that on some level she can't leave it behind. A part of her is stuck in the darkness, and that is keeping her from moving forward to find that which she seeks.
>>>The Wheel of Fortune is sitting in a place that may sometimes indicate the querrent’s >>>hopes and fears, or may be read as advice to the querent. What might it mean in this >>>place in this spread, given the question asked?
Given the context of the reading, I see it as Hopes and Fears, with the hope unable to overcome the fear.
>>>Position 7, the Page Of Swords indicates how she sees herself. Quite a contrast with >>>Death, how others see her. What can this contrast tell us? Does it give her something to >>>work on?
I think that it certainly does give her something to work on. Something positive that she can do to change this negative reading.
To my mind it is telling her that she has to let go of the hurts and pains of the past in order to reach a place at which she is able to welcome into her life that which she is looking for. She's not finding the relationship that she is seeking at this time because she has not done the work within herself that she needs to do in order to have it.
She needs to let go of the darkness of the past, in order to look towards a bright future.
>>>Positions 1 and 2 combine to illustrate the Heart of the Matter and seem to indicate a lot >>>of energy. But how does all that generative energy, apparently being used, fit in with >>>Death?
I think that the energy we see in the 8 and Knight of Wands is mostly worry. Her worry about not repeating past mistakes, worry about being hurt again. That worry results from fear, and that fear is what is making it impossible for her to find the relationship she seeks. As symbolized by Death.
>>>What can our querrent learn from all of this? If we are reading for her, what advice can >>>we give her?
That she is holding too tightly to past mistakes and past hurts. That she needs to let go of those things so that her fear about what negative things could happen is dissipated. That until she is able to do that, she's not going to be ready for the relationship she wants to have.
I'll be back with a bit more, eventually!
In the meantime, your thoughts?
I'm learning from the way you interpret, as my knowledge lacks from practical experience. The part that stood out to me was regardless fortune telling, by the presumption that we can change a scenario by becoming aware of a fortune or mis-fortune (such as the 'wheel of fortune'). I wonder is this is true? A lot of people I think would concur that we cannot change others or things that happen around us. So if we are creatures of character, will we-or can we- change?
I can give an example to help clarify myself. I had a reading done by so.eone using the tarot cards. In the spread, the death card came up. It was read as a misfortune. This person through a course of a work party, did a reading 2 more times. The consistency was the same- the death card came up each time. I wasn't worried, but wondered if I could change this card of endings. What happened shortly afterwards was getting laid off at work, which shifted my life a bit a different direction.
So, this is why I wonder if we can change by simply knowing the symbolism of the card is at play.
I'm glad that you are finding some value in this! I wasn't sure that anyone was actually reading it! Now that I know you are here, I'll keep on going!
In any event, I don't know how I interpret the cards exactly. I've read a heck of a lot of really good Tarot books (There are a lot of good ones out there) and I allow my intuition (and life experience I think) to blend with that 'book learning' to come up with my interpretations. I suppose that everyone must read with a blend like that, some heavier on the book learning, others heavier on the intuition. Some do, I'm aware, try to read strictly with one or the other, but I don't think that doing so can lend itself to accurate readings.
Like you, I have found readings I have received from professionals to be quite accurate, and that does tend to lead to a strengthening of a view of fixed fate. But, I also believe that we can, through sheer force of will, change that.
Through Magick too. I'll try to put a comment here about that tomorrow. Let's see if we can use a bit of Magick to change our querent's love life!
This is familiar territory that I love exploring. Somewhat reminiscent of my interpretation of adam, eve and the serpent: thought, intuition, and divining. A meaning that can be found on the Lovers card.
I started reading some books here and there to refresh the little knowledge I have. What I started with is pretty interesting, called "The Tarot of the Bohemians". The writer has an interesting perspective with the history of the Tarot and Freemasonry.
Yes! The Tarot Of The Bohemians was I think the second or third book I ever read on the Tarot. Maybe over 30 years ago. Loved it!
I think that we do extremely well to read good, solid, modern, experience backed books on Tarot. Holistic Tarot by Benebell Wen anyone? But we do equally well to read what our old Masons and occultists wrote. They were after all, the people who devised the Tarot as we know it today.