We now have several Tarot reading methods that give us insight into the situations that might be going on. Of course, actual practice and experimentation is the key to understanding. I can only give hints. It is worth summarising what we have covered:
The next stage is to create a spread that has the best of both worlds. A simple version is one that has three cards in each of the four positions. Of course, in a real spread there will be different Tarot cards in all the positions, but we can still analyse the situation on several levels.
| ED Spread | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Level | ||
| M | P | M | |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | Fire |
| 6 | 5 | 4 | Water |
| 9 | 8 | 7 | Air |
| 12 | 11 | 10 | Earth |
I am not going to give any qualities for the four positions as they will depend on the actual cards - this is a complete reversal from almost every other tarot spread where each position has a title and description. However, the central cards 2,5,8,11 are Principals, and the cards either side act as Modifiers, so it should be fairly easy to break down the reading into constituent parts and then relate the results to the final picture. The fact that none of the positions have titles gives the mind free rein to create associations and links between the cards. Having said that, we can reasonably assume that the Fire position relates to actions and the past, the Water position is connected to emotions, the Air position relates to problems, while the Earth position indicates manifestation and the future. That is the logical model, but humans do not act in logical ways.
Once the cards have been laid out, it is worth spending a few minutes looking at patterns: the types of cards represented - Major, Minor, Court - in general and at each level. Mentally note how many cards signify the various elements to see excess or absence. Do we find Major cards at the end or at the beginning? etc, etc. It is also worth looking at particular combinations - 3 Aces, 4 Kings etc and incorporating them in the reading. Look at the EDs of each position to see if there is a particular card that is very strong or very weak. You may find that a weak element is balanced or strengthened at another level. Sometimes it is possible to find that out of all 12 cards, 9 or 10 are neutral in effect, so you can focus on the strong or weak combinations. For example, if the reading is about love, you may find the only love card in a very weak position surrounded by strong or excessive cards that are blocking it. The Central Modifier cards should indicate the course of action from Fire to Earth, but ED analysis may show another picture, which a skilful reader can use to suggest alternative means or methods for changing the situation.
It is quite possible to allow the tarot cards to choose a Significator rather than opting for the limited Court cards. The understanding and use of EDs allows me to see which card(s) are significant because of their relative strengths or weaknesses, which creates a flexible and dynamic method of analysis. In general, Neutral cards can be safely ignored, so a strong card can be chosen as a Significator.
Many of the pointers above are necessarily vague as the intention is to open out possibilities rather than channel the reader into a particular method. Experience with a few readings will show that a consistent approach is not necessarily advisable, especially when a card "jumps" out before any analysis is attempted. If you wish, you may try transposing the cards within a level to see what effect this has, but it should not be necessary. All 12 cards contribute to the ambience of the reading, but EDs can be used to isolate the strongest or weakest cards to focus on them, ignoring the Neutral cards.
Remember the Golden Rule:
Apply the rules rigidly: interpret the results freely
With experience it is actually quite easy to come to a conclusion about the nature and course of the reading, but for now we will work through this example systematically. The first stage is to analyse the Principle cards in each position individually and together to get the big picture and then each position using the Modifiers to see the details. Referring to the tables in Elemental Dignity rules, we see that:
Air is conspicuous by its absence while Water dominates. None of the elements are in their enemy positions. I would suggest we have a situation where there is a tendency to consolidate (Earth in Fire) into a more comfortable position (Water in Earth). Analysis or forethought is distinctly lacking, and there is hardly a lot of activity (Fire is giving energy to thought, but not action). It is as though a decision has been made to do something but there is a lack of application.
We have already analysed the Principal and Modifiers in Lesson 1, but now we have to interpret in the light of the analysis above.
We have Air surrounded by Water and Earth. Water is obviously weak even though it is friends with Earth and Air. Earth, on the other, hand is weakened by Air. This tends to confirm our suspicions that the thought processes are weak, to say the least. Fire is not present, but the position does turn the heat on the other elements to change. Earth is probably the strongest card, so there is some inertia.
In the Water position Air and Fire surround Water. The lack of Earth means that there is no real grounding or stability to the situation. Water is excessive while Fire is very weak, leaving Air as the strongest by default. The imagination should be in overdrive, but dreams are dreams, after all.
When we get to the Air position, Earth and Air are the Modifiers to Fire. Air is excessive, and energises Fire, with Earth as the enemy in the camp. Analytical processes are at work, but it seems that they are divorced from the emotional content. A lot is going on in the mind. Alternatively, there are difficulties and politics going on to disturb the status quo, but the real desire is not to rock the boat.
In Earth, Air and Fire surround Water. Air is in the enemy camp. The Modifiers, however, are friendly and active which is uncomfortable to Water which likes to be settled. In other words, Water is in its most comfortable place but it is not happy due to the influence of Air and Fire. This is compounded by the fact that Air is weak and Fire is an enemy of Water. In the final analysis, we would have to conclude that whatever happens, there is probably not much satisfaction, and certainly not much change in the future. In my experience situations like this are quite common. We are in the "Wouldn't it be nice to..." territory.
Applying Elemental Dignity rules to Tarot spreads
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