The Fool
and Nine of Wands Reversed
Morgan-Greer Tarot
by Lloyd Morgan with art by Bill Greer
Something new!
With this post, I'm introducing a new feature in which I'll occasionally post a card layout that you can try for yourself. You'll learn how divination cards work in relationship to one another, further amplifying the stories they tell and illuminating their meanings.
To start, let's look at a layout I call the Five-Card Cross. It has just enough cards to interest and challenge you without being overwhelming.
After shuffling a Tarot or other oracle deck of your choice, draw a single card (Card 1) at random and place it face down in the middle of a space with some room around its edges for the rest of the layout. Card 1 will form the focus of your layout; the next four cards you pull--also at random and placed face down--circle it:
Place Card 2 in the space above it.
Place Card 3 in the space below it.
Place Card 4 to its left.
Place Card 5 to its right.
In our CARD OF THE DAY, WEEK, and WEEKEND series, we've examined messages derived from single cards. Now, let's see how a central card receives greater definition from its accompanying quartet and, in turn, may impact and flavor those other four cards.
Keep all the cards face down for a moment.
The central card carries the highest energy and consequence. You can designate it in any of a variety of ways. Some examples are:
Significator
Thought of this way, it identifies or gives you the most important information about the main person (perhaps you, if you are reading for yourself, or your querent) in the matter in question.
Spirit Card
As a Spirit Card, it identifies or describes a spiritual being--say, ancestor or other--who is central and influential to the matter in question.
Turning Point
As the Turning Point, it represents a crucial factor or the significant timing for a major change or development in the matter at hand.
You can decide for yourself, beforehand, what you'd like this central card to represent--Significator, Spirit, Turning Point, or something else--and you can work with that consistently or change it from reading to reading according to your point of view and your needs.
You can even read the same layout in different ways, viewing the central card as, say, both Significator and Turning Point or both Spirit Card and Turning Point.
You might find another way to think of the central card. For example, it could represent the oracle's view of a major new job opportunity you're considering or a city you might want to move to; the circling cards would offer helpful information about these possible decisions.
What about reversed cards? When you turn your cards over, you have the choice to leave any reversed card as is. Some readers do not read cards reversed. They turn them right-side up. I do like reading reversed cards, feeling that reversals usefully expand the cards' possible meanings and do not necessarily suggest negative meanings.
Next, turn over your central card. Leave it in place and spend some time observing its features and sensing its message.
Then, move on to the four outer cards:
2: Above
Identifies and describes a current and dominant influence on your question or situation
3: Below
Identifies and describes the current and grounding context or environment for the situation in question
4: Past
Shows a significant influence or influences specifically based in the past
5: Prospect
Shows potential or already-developing situations and outcomes
Here's a lovely example of this layout in operation for which I used the Morgan-Greer Tarot.
At the top of this post, I've shown you two of the cards I pulled--The Fool, my Above card; the Nine of Wands Reversed as my Spirit Card. Not only have landed in opposite directions, they're also opposite in level of experience--The Fool, a fresh-face beginner; the wand-bearing knight of the Nine of Wands, a seasoned veteran of many battles.
The five cards I pulled for my layout were:
1: Nine of Wands Reversed
2: The Fool
3: The Star
4: Eight of Cups
5: Page of Swords Reversed
Try it out with your own deck--whatever deck works for you--and see how it feels.
For me, this layout presents a vigilant, but confidently laid-back protective force--say, ancestral energy--at the center of a scenario in which relationships, events, conditions of the past have been sorted out and dealt with (Eight of Cups). The ancestors may be subtle when they feel all is going well, but they are an ever-present force, and nothing occurs without their loving oversight. Make no mistake. They are ready to rock when necessary. They'll do the spirit equivalent of turning right-side up. You'll definitely feel and see their force at work in your world.
The current context is alive with energy and a sense of meaningful, influential connections (The Star).
The current, dominant influence is the unknown--uncertainty in the positive sense of a fresh beginning, a clean slate upon which something new can be written (Page of Swords Reversed) in the unpressured spirit of openness, curiosity, and eagerness to learn.
Again, central to it all is that cheerful green light given by guiding and protective ancestral spirits. It's like when a parent--without overbearing doubt and anxiety--backs off a bit and allows a toddler to take a few small, brave steps on their own.
No matter how advanced in age you might be, it's never too late to have a happy childhood, as they say. It's never too late to learn something new or try your hand at a new skill or project, identity or responsibility.
You'll be fine. Just begin.
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Do you have a particular Tarot or other oracle card that you'd like to me explore and write about in the hummingwitch way?
Just email a good, clear jpg photo of your card to hummingwitch@gmail.com, and I'll incorporate its message, one way or another, into one of these posts. Let me know if you'd prefer your submission to be anonymous.
Thanks!
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Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY/WEEK/WEEKEND posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2022/03/catch-up-with-any-featured-card-you.html
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