First Time Spread

The other day I was doing a professional spread. By that I mean one for which I was being paid, and quite well thank you. This person asked me the most unusual questions. Some were just out of left field. Others made me feel like I should have pushed Jason Miller to share his practical tarot exercises. He claims to do very practical readings. Mine, often tend to range from the spiritual to one's own ability to create one's own life. In this case, I simply made up a couple of spreads on the fly. The results were spot on.

I've been wrestling with a question. The answer sought is a common one among magicians. What would be the result of this act of magick? I decided to do a spread I've never done before, probably the result the reading just mentioned. I've come across it in some books but glazed over it. The spread involves laying the cards out in the pattern of the The Tree of Life. If you're not familiar with that, simply refer to the picture.

I changed the question to, "How will this magic unfold?" Then, I dropped the cards.

Kether (1) - Prince of Disks - This position represents the primal energy. In this case, this is myself, taking a huge step by, in a practical matter, diving in with magick and justified confidence.

Chokmah/Wisdom (2) - Queen of Wands - (please see end note) Chockmah is "God's" reflection of Itself. What It uses to understand Itself. In this spread it reflects the Prince of Disks in a different form but serves to clarify the Prince of Disks. I've withheld power. I haven't acted, not yet and this is very positive and powerful position to be in. Some magick is about timing.

Binah/Understanding (3) - Knight of Disks - This position indicates the highest form of the magick. Manifested Creativity.

Given the cards of the three supernal sephiroth so far, this act of magick will have a huge impact.

Chesed/Mercy (4) - Six of Wands, the Lord of Victory. The mercy I am extending involves a great many other people. None of which would even know I did any magick. In this case, at least for the majority. It is a very good thing indeed.

Gebuarh/Severity (5) - five of wands Defeat. A five in the fifth sephira denotes extra emphasis should be put in this card. In fact, that makes this card so strong that I'm going to pull more cards to understand the full nature of the meaning. There is a person I will be servere with if I do this magick. That person will suffer the intended impact.

This is the sort of thing that always gives me pause. Power means making hard choices sometimes. If you impact a life the way I am contemplating, you damn well better know it is the right thing for you to be doing. You damn well better accept full responsibility for your actions. Anything else is disrespectful to the person your acting upon, the magick itself and the operator. Never should one do magick that cheapens oneself.

Tipereth/Beauty (6) - This is a place of the balance. This is living in accordance with your Holy Guardian Angel's guidance. This position is one of personal unfolding. If I was cheapening myself, it would be revealed here. Knight of Wands, this is the Universe providing an opportunity for me to create. This is important. The check here is one of arrogance. It still may blow up in my face. Just because I have the opportinity to create, just because the universe is providing me a perfect venue for magick, doesn't mean I should take advantage. See preceeding paragraph.

Netzach/Victory (7)  - This is a position that reveals my human desire. A seven here would indicate I am way off base. Eight of Pentacles. Sometimes, I can throw out all my personal meanings and just look at the card itself. The card's name is the Lord of Prudence. My desire is to protect myself and others.

Hod/Splendor (8) - This position relates to magick, thought and emotion. Knight of Swords. I want to create by separating something out. Thus, I make a new whole.  On a football team, one player change can change the entire dynamic of the offense. No news for me there but it bugs me, I will pull more cards for this.

Yesod/foundation (9)  - Yesod is the place of our fight/flight instincts. Seven of Wands, Lord of Valour. I'm trying to protect myself. There likely is no need for that. This need for my own protection is an illusion. False. However, the six of wands in the Mercy slot says my other aim is right on target.

Malkuth/Kingdom (10) - This is the final manifestation. Nine of Disks, Lord of Gain. Overall, this will be a success.

Does this answer my question? Will I make a decision based on this? No, this is one data set. I will do magick to let the universe answer the same question in other ways. Readers of DoingMagick will likely see that work posted in the future.

The point of posts like this isn't to take you through every card. It is my hope that folks will begin to see the underlying technique and attitude being employed. I don't know if a card by card post will be common on here or not. I'm still fleshing out the form this blog will take. Feel free to leave constructive feedback in the comments section. 

End Note: I have very open and generic meanings for the cards in my system. The apply to myself and those I read for. I also have some very personal meanings for the cards. When they jump out, I use them. In the case of the Queen of Wands, my meaning is this: Fire made patient. Not smoldering but power contained. When fire is not fire, power is not power, but the full potential for both making it more power/fire than even the ace. It is pre-ace but manifested.