A full spread.
YOU DREW TEN CARDS:
-
Environment
Page of Pentacles
Coins: Obtaining. Providing for yourself. Establishing a comfort zone. Taking risks with resources. Think of the thoughts and feelings you experience when you buy a lottery ticket.
Knave: Learning. Curiosity. Becoming interested.
A youthful figure, looking intently at the pentacle which hovers over his raised hands. Divinatory Meanings: Application, study scholarship, reflection; another reading says news, messages and the bringer thereof; also rule, management. Reversed: Prodigality, dissipation, liberality, luxury; unfavourable news.
Approach new projects with a schoolboy’s wonder and enthusiasm. Study hard, apply what you learn and you’ll reap positive rewards. Seek out solid, well-researched information before making any moves.
Reversed: Not using your intelligence to guide you. Your actions bespeak of ignorance, closed-mindedness. Should listen to the advice of others, learn from their experience. Don’t allow your nonconformity to lead to difficulties, losses.
-
Obstacles
Eight of Pentacles
Coins: Obtaining. Providing for yourself. Establishing a comfort zone. Taking risks with resources. Think of the thoughts and feelings you experience when you buy a lottery ticket.
Eight: The efficiency expert. Through the use of discipline and structure, you reach peak efficiency.
An artist in stone at work. Divinatory Meanings: Work, employment, commission, craftsmanship, skill in craft and business. Reversed: Voided ambition, vanity, cupidity, exaction, usury.
-
Above
Six of Pentacles
Coins: Obtaining. Providing for yourself. Establishing a comfort zone. Taking risks with resources. Think of the thoughts and feelings you experience when you buy a lottery ticket.
Six: Keeping it going. You’ve established a pattern or rhythm which allows things to run smoothly. Things are going well and you’re in a position to be generous with others or even to give up some of your goals for others’ benefit.
One in the guise of a merchant weighs money in a pair of scales and distributes it to the needy and distressed. Divinatory Meanings: Presents, gifts, gratification; another account says attention, vigilance; now is the accepted time, present prosperity, etc. Reversed: Desire, cupidity, envy, jealousy, illusion.
Your hard work pays you dividends. A bonus is coming. Business pursuits prosper. You feel generous, want to share. Feeling satisfied, in harmony. Others around you appreciate what you do for them. Reversed: Not getting your fair share. Someone is holding out on you. Not satisfied with the return on your investment. Possible debts. Not sharing with others, thinking only of yourself.
A merchant weighs money in the scales and distributes it to the needy. He shares his plentiful riches with others, out of the goodness of his heart and a sense of justice. Divinatory Meaning: Philanthropy, charity, gifts. Alms dispensed with justice. Present prosperity shared with others. Reversed: Unfairness in business. Cause for envy, avarice, bad debt.
Help is coming from an outside source.
“I leave in search of everything that surpasses me and is already in me.”
The Six of Pentacles celebrates the beauty of the world and feels as one with it.
-
Below
Six of Cups
Cups: Interacting. Emotions and relationships of all kinds. Dealing with people. Think of two people toasting each other with wine glasses.
Six: Keeping it going. You’ve established a pattern or rhythm which allows things to run smoothly. Things are going well and you’re in a position to be generous with others or even to give up some of your goals for others’ benefit.
Children in an old garden, their cups filled with flowers. Divinatory Meanings: A card of the past and of memories, looking back, as — for example — on childhood; happiness, enjoyment, but coming rather from the past; things that have vanished. Another reading reverses this, giving new relations, new knowledge, new environment, and then the children are disporting in a newly-entered precinct. Reversed: The future, renewal, that which will come to pass presently.
Memories of good times fill you with happiness. The past is not lost, it can always be remembered. Also, past events can figure favorably in the present. Old friends may serve you well at this stage. Reversed: Can’t allow the past to cloud your emotions. Time to open yourself to the present. Need to find new friends, share new experiences. Leave the past in the past.
In a village green a boy offers a girl a cup of flowers. The manor house in the background suggests home and happy childhood memories. The other five flower-filled cups suggest beauty and abundance. Divinatory Meaning: A card of the past and memories. Looking back on childhood things that have vanished. It may be the beginning of new relationships, new knowledge, new environment, or a meeting. Reversed: Living in the past, clinging to outworn symbols and associations. Possibility of an inheritance, or a gift from the past.
The Cups relate to emotional matters of love, sex, marriage, fertility and creativity.
Lighthearted memories, the past reawakened.
-
Behind
Ten of Wands
Staves: Creating. Creative energy. Think of building a house with wooden planks.
Ten: Enough already. You’ve attained your goals, but find them unsatisfying. Time to begin something new.
A man oppressed by the weight of the ten staves which he is carrying. Divinatory Meanings: A card of many significances, and some of the readings cannot be harmonised. I set aside that which connects it with honour and good faith. It is oppression simply, but it is also fortune, gain, any kind of success of these things. It is also a card of false-seeming, disguise, perfidy. The place which the figure is approaching may suffer from the rods that he carries. Success is stultified if the Nine of Swords follows, and if it is a question of a law-suit, there will be certain loss. Reversed: Contrarieties, difficulties, intrigues, and their analogies.
You are carrying a heavy load — more than you can handle, more than you really want. Things weigh you down. You must share responsibility with others before continuing. Get rid of what you no longer need.
Reversed: Someone has made you responsible for their problems, or led you astray. You are near collapse.
Having completed its cycle, the Wand divides into two, opening up to make a place for a white axis. In the following stage the next element will be the Ace of Swords. It can symbolize an angelic vision of sexuality; energy no longer circulates inside or outside but crystallizes like an androgynous diamond and becomes pure spirit. The individual is no longer in the sexual or creative domain and has passed on to other interests: for example, an artist who has become a teacher, a person who has discovered a vocation as a healer. The negative aspects include bitterness, the uprooting of reality, a lack of faith in life, the painful surrender of power through a loss of energy, or a failure.
-
Ahead
The Fool
Foolishness. Nonconformity. Devout. Humor which illuminates a situation. Unexpected good advice.
Folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy, bewrayment. Reversed: Negligence, absence, distribution, carelessness, apathy, nullity, vanity.
Who but a fool would leap headlong into the void, seemingly uncaring about the potential dangers, trials, and challenges that lie ahead? The Fool’s innocence is also his charm and what makes him so attractive. The Fool is untouched by life, but ready for the experience. He represents purity of action. There is no time for analysis or strategy. He doesn’t look behind him. He only looks forward. The Fool needs no encouragement to begin the journey. He does not need to test the water. He’ll find out when he steps in it whether it is warm or cold.
His motives are pure. He seeks to discover. His quest is for life — and he is willing to give it a chance, come what may. The Fool lives to live.
The Fool is a believer in all things, especially the potential that life holds. But ask him to be elaborate, and he’ll smile and say, “Find out for yourself.” His source of knowledge comes from inside. He trusts his instincts — he instinctively “knows”.
The card tells us to take the plunge, follow our heart, listen to the inner call. We are being told to face the risks, even tempt fate. The card also reminds us of the power of our imagination and our dreams. The message is simple: all things are possible. Reversed: A thin line divides the act of The Fool from foolishness. The need to exercise caution, not to charge ahead foolishly. It also could mean that you are holding yourself back, not paying attention to your instincts. You say to yourself, “if in doubt, don’t do it.”
The Fool is depicted as a youth lightly stepping to the edge of a precipice surrounded by lofty mountains. He looks out into the distance; the abyss at his feet holds no terrors for him. A dog barks at his heels. The wand over his shoulder is a symbol of the will, and the wallet contains the stored-up knowledge of universal memory. The rose he carries is white, to indicate freedom from lower forms of desire.
The Fool is about to enter the supreme adventure — that of passing through the gates of experience to reach Divine Wisdom. He is the cosmic Life-Breath, about to descend into the abyss of manifestation. Every man must journey forward and choose between good and evil. If he has no philosophy, he is The Fool. He must pass through the experiences suggested in the remaining 21 cards, to reach in card 21 the climax of cosmic consciousness or Divine Wisdom.
Divinatory Meaning: The subject of the reading faces a choice in life — a choice of vital importance to him. Therefore he must be careful to use all his powers to make the right choice. Reversed: The choice made is likely to be faulty.
Unencumbered and unnumbered. Although the Fool may seem like an innocent, it is one of the most complex and human of all cards, containing as it does the holy innocence of a wise man. But the fool is also a trickster and a charlatan, with all of the human contradictions and problems that we all face every day. The fool is neither male nor female, good nor evil, angel nor devil. It is the symbol of human potential and new beginnings, rising up to meet all new challenges that come to it on its long road. The Fool prefers to look forward to the future rather than dwell in the past. Reversed: Beware of foolish lack of forethought.
Freedom, Great Supply of Energy
The fool has a name, but he does not have a number. He represents the original boundless energy, total freedom, madness, disorder, chaos, or even the fundamental creative urge. The key phrase of The Fool could be “All paths are my path.”
The Fool evokes an enormous burst of energy. Wherever he goes, he brings this vital impulse with him.
This card, an inseminator of energy, will exacerbate, nourish, or despoil the surrounding cards. The Fool is a mirror of The Nameless Arcanum, which could well be his skeleton. The Fool shows us that the capacity to act is also acquired through the initiatory crossing through madness and death.
-
You
Queen of Swords
Swords: Defending. Self-defense and setting boundaries. Think of drawing a line in the sand with a sword point.
Queen: Encouraging. Getting things done in a calm, understated way. Using persuasion rather than force.
Her right hand raises the weapon vertically and the hilt rests on an arm of her royal chair; the left hand is extended, the arm raised; her countenance is severe, chastened, and suggests familiarity with sorrow. Divinatory Meanings: Widowhood, female sadness and embarrassment, absence, sterility, mourning, privation, separation. Reversed: Malice, bigotry, artifice, prudery, deceit.
Learn to rely on your mind; hone your intellectual abilities. Learn to see both sides of an issue, analyze carefully, free from emotions before deciding which action to take. Reversed: Don’t look at things from a narrow perspective. Don’t shut yourself off from the truth by closing your ears to other points of view.
A queen seated on a throne looks out over a cloud-filled landscape. Her right hand raises a sword whose hilt rests on the arm of her throne. She looks sorrowful and grave. (Note the storm clouds in all the Court cards of the Swords.) Divinatory Meaning: A dark-haired, brown-eyed woman, subtle, keen and quick-witted. May signify widowhood, sterility, privation, separation, acquaintance with sadness. The sword of spirit penetrating matter and informing it. Reversed: A woman of artifice, prudery. May betoken narrow-mindedness, intolerance, bigotry.
A sharp, clever, highly qualified woman who demands respect will offer advice.
-
Others
Two of Swords
Swords: Defending. Self-defense and setting boundaries. Think of drawing a line in the sand with a sword point.
Two: It takes two. A dialogue. Weighing and comparing different possibilities.
A hoodwinked figure balances two swords upon her shoulders. Divinatory Meanings: Conformity and the equipoise which it suggests, courage, friendship, concord in a state of arms, affection, intimacy. Reversed: Imposture, falsehood, duplicity, disloyalty.
You can’t decide. Instead, you close your eyes to what faces you. You step back from the situation, taking time to get your emotions in check, to ponder things in silence. You can’t remain aloof forever; soon you will have to decide. Reversed: Although a decision has been made, and action has been taken, it is too early to tell if it was the right thing to do. Only time will tell. Either way, things are beginning to move.
A blindfolded woman balances two swords upon her shoulders. She sits on a bench with her back to the sea. The crescent moon looks down upon her. Divinatory Meaning: Balanced forces, stalemate, indecision, impotence, a temporary truce in family quarrels. Reversed: Release, movement of affairs, sometimes in the wrong direction. Caution against dealings with rogues.
Gold circumstances rising out of adversity.
The intellect remains passive, waiting for an action.
-
Illusions
Four of Cups
Cups: Interacting. Emotions and relationships of all kinds. Dealing with people. Think of two people toasting each other with wine glasses.
Four: Making it happen. Your efforts result in concrete manifestation. Initial success.
A young man is seated under a tree and contemplates three cups set on the grass before him; an arm issuing from a cloud offers him another cup. His expression notwithstanding is one of discontent with his environment. Divinatory Meanings: Weariness, disgust, aversion, imaginary vexations, as if the wine of this world had caused satiety only; another wine, as if a fairy gift, is now offered him, but he sees no consolation therein. This is also a card of blended pleasure. Reversed: Novelty, presage, new instruction, new relations.
Material pursuits no longer satisfy. Time to reassess, reevaluate, turn inward for answers. Looking for new, more fulfilling, satisfying challenges, pursuits. Answers to your questions are within reach. Reversed: Ready for new challenges, relationships. A sense of excitement is in the air. Feeling revitalized, refreshed, and invigorated. Ready to resume past relationships, renew friendships.
Seated under a tree, a young man contemplates three cups on the grass before him. Out of a cloud in the sky comes a hand offering him another cup. He is nevertheless discontented. Divinatory Meaning: Discontent with environment, but hesitancy to embark on a new venture. Contemplation, dissatisfaction with material success, re-evaluation of one’s earthly pleasures. Reversed: New instructions, new relationships, novelty.
Expressive of emotions, but beware of over-indulgence.
-
To Come
Page of Cups
Cups: Interacting. Emotions and relationships of all kinds. Dealing with people. Think of two people toasting each other with wine glasses.
Knave: Learning. Curiosity. Becoming interested.
A fair, pleasing, somewhat effeminate page, of studious and intent aspect, contemplates a fish rising from a cup to look at him. Divinatory Meanings: Fair young man, one impelled to render service and with whom the Querent will be connected; a studious youth; news, message; application, reflection, meditation; also these things directed to business. Reversed: Taste, inclination, attachment, seduction, deception, artifice.
A new idea will break through the surface. It may be delivered by a friend. It’s a good time to apply your creativity, to try new methods, initiate new projects. Could also signal development of psychic ability. Reversed: Acting on impulse could lead to trouble. Need to mature, become more thoughtful. Must learn to accept responsibility for self and actions. Ignoring ideas that may be beneficial.