Sunday, March 18, 2018

Simple Cross Reading

I recently got to try a layout I hadn't used before, for a person in a group I moderate in and contribute to, and I really enjoyed the layout, so I have created a layout image for it and will share the reading here to explain how it worked. The person I did the reading for will remain un-named, for privacy's sake. They drew and laid out the cards in this layout, which they then explained the placement meanings for, and they said they found the layout in the book that came with their deck, which I believe is the Royo Tarot, seen here.

So here is the layout, with a background I borrowed from google, which is a still from this video by Dan Lopez. I hope he doesn't mind the use of it.



The following is the write up I did based on the client's draws, seen below. The client also drew two extra cards, in the final two positions, which made the reading really interesting.



In your simple cross layout, in the position of what helps you, you drew the 9 of Swords. Swords are the house of combat, competition, and action. The 9 is a card I call the ‘night terrors’ card, because it represents despair, misery, desolation, disaster, self-criticism, and mental cruelty. How can this HELP you? Perhaps you are motivated by criticism and being down at the bottom of the barrel. The 9 is often about dealing with the consequences of some action long gone. Something that still drives you, perhaps?

In the position of what hinders you, you drew the 8 of Swords. The 8 card is about crisis, indecision, restriction, censure, doubt, mistrust, confusion, interference - thinking things over too much. So this tells me that your actions are hindered by nothing other than YOU. You are allowing self doubt to hold you back - over analyzing the possible results of your action so much that you never actually take that action. This may be a heads up that is it finally time to ‘do the thing’, before it is too late.

In the position of where you are coming from, you drew the 5 of Swords. This makes a bit of sense, because the 5 is about defeat, degradation, unfairness, constriction, fear, distortion, and empty victory. In tradition decks, this is symbolized by a person who has clearly just won a battle, but the war is not yet over as his opponents retreat in order to return stronger. This card often shows up when someone has been dealing with a repeat issue - something that keeps coming back to bite them in the rear, time and again, because they have never actually resolved the issue, just pushed it back for a time. This card says you’re coming from a place where you are becoming weary of fighting that same battle over and over.

In the position of where you are going, you drew the 2 of Wands and the Hermit. These are a good pairing. First, the 2 of wands represents dominance, rulership, enterprise, sovereignty, power, and unification. The Hermit represent guidance, completion, introspection, contemplation, experience, detail, revelation, integrity, respect, leadership, transitions, discovery, wisdom, mentorship, open-mindedness, and courage. I think the 2 of wands describes where you are going/want to go, and the Hermit represents the tools you need to GET there.

Finally, in the position of something important - your message to think about - you drew the Knight of Swords and the Empress. The Knight of Swords is a card I love to teach. He represents impulsiveness, courage, intuitive thinking, and the unrestricted mind. He is the bold leader, but he is one not without flaws. His flaw? He often leaps before he looks. In my deck, he is depicted as a dragon, razing a village with its fiery breath. I like to tell my students that he is doing it for all of the right reasons - but he is in the wrong place! He should be razing the village in the next valley, not this one! He acted before verifying his target. The Knight of Swords often appears as a warning to think things through and to always look before you leap.The Empress card represents fertility, wisdom, prophecy, love of nature, healing, nurturing, emotion, creation, cycles, balance, fruitfulness, and contentment. Paired with the Knight of Swords, she is the foil to his temperament. She calms the impulsiveness and heals and nurtures him after battle, and after he is burned by his own flame when he makes mistakes. I think that while the Knight reminds you to look before you leap, the Empress is the reminder to take care of yourself while you try to become the leader that the 2 of Wands implied in the 'Where you are going' position. Self care is important, especially to those in leadership roles, which can accumulate a lot of stress.

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