A full spread.
YOU DREW TEN CARDS:
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Environment
Five of Cups
Cups: Interacting. Emotions and relationships of all kinds. Dealing with people. Think of two people toasting each other with wine glasses.
Five: Challenging yourself. A monkey wrench. Things don’t go as expected and you’re challenged to grow. Or you may be deliberately challenging yourself.
A dark, cloaked figure, looking sideways at three prone cups; two others stand upright behind him; a bridge is in the background, leading to a small keep or holding. Divinatory Meanings: It is a card of loss, but something remains over; three have been taken, but two are left; it is a card of inheritance, patrimony, transmission, but not corresponding to expectations; with some it is a card of marriage, but not without bitterness or frustration. Reversed: News, alliances, affinity, consanguinity, ancestry, return, false projects.
Unhappy endings, broken relationships. Time to pick up the pieces and start building again. See what you can learn from your losses. Turn your back on the past and look to the future. What’s gone is gone. Hold on to what you have, no matter how little it is. Reversed: Although a loss has been suffered, there’s no reason to feel hopeless about the future. Things will start looking up again. An old friend may hold the key.
A mysterious figure in a dark cloak looks at three fallen cups, while two others stand upright behind him. In the background, a bridge leads to a small castle. Divinatory Meaning: Vain regret, loss, but with something left over. Inheritance, patrimony, but not up to one’s expectations. Can mean marriage, but may carry with it bitterness and frustration. Rejection of pleasure. Reversed: Hopeful expectations, a new alliance, return of an old friend.
Love gone astray, loss, need for reassessment.
The Five represents a temptation, an aspiration, a bridge, a transition toward a new world, but one that keeps part of its activity based in the old world.
We turn our hearts toward God, yet without scorning human affections.
Here the central cup decorated by glorious flowers marks the emergence of new feelings that can even go as far as fanaticism. It is the discovery of faith, a euphoria that carries us toward a higher being or someone we view as such. It is also the first time the heart opens to a solution that may be good for humanity. The negative aspects can be blind trust in any guide, an emotional imbalance, as well as lack of faith, disappointment, and bitterness.
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Obstacles
Ace of Wands
Staves: Creating. Creative energy. Think of building a house with wooden planks.
Ace: There’s a first time for everything. Beginnings. A seed that will grow.
A hand issuing from a cloud grasps a stout Wand or Club. Divinatory Meanings: Creation, invention, enterprise, the powers which result in these; principle, beginning, source; birth, family, origin; the beginning of enterprises; according to another account, money, fortune, inheritance. Reversed: Fall, decadence, ruin, perdition, to perish; also — not unclouded joy.
New beginnings. The birth of an idea that leads to action. The start of an enterprise or new challenges. You are filled with a sense of optimism, eagerness, enthusiasm, excitement, and boundless energy. You can sense the potential. You are looking forward to what’s ahead. Reversed: Difficulty in getting something started. False hopes. Misdirected energy. You are lacking motivation, ambition, or drive to face the challenges. You don’t want to attempt anything new.
A hand comes out from a cloud holding a flowering wand. In the distance is a mountain peak surmounted by a castle. Divinatory Meaning: The beginning of an enterprise, creation or invention. A birth, the starting of a family or of a fortune, possibly an inheritance. Reversed: The new enterprise may not materialize. Clouded joy, false starts.
Fresh starts bring spiritual awakening.
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Above
The Sun
Well-being. Warmth. Security. Peace. Innocence. Optimism. Clear perception of that which was glimpsed in the Star and obscured in the Moon.
Material happiness, fortunate marriage, contentment. Reversed: The same in a lesser sense.
In The Sun we are free. Free of our burdens, our material concerns. We have traveled far since beginning the journey as a Fool, and yet we come to this stop along the way even younger than when we began. That’s because we are young in mind and spirit. Enriched by the past experiences of our lives, we begin a new stage in life on a higher plane, wiser and more confident. We have been reborn many times on this journey. And we will be reborn many times more.
A naked child mounted on a white horse holds a banner aloft. The child rides without saddle or bridle because he represents perfect balance and control between the self-conscious and the unconscious. He seems to have emerged from the walled garden behind him into the glorious sunlight. Four sunflowers, corresponding to the four kingdoms of nature — mineral, vegetable, animal and human — are turned toward the child, signifying that all creation turns to man for its final development.
Creativeness, life forever renewed. Nature, the mother of all growth and life.
Attainment and material happiness. Good marriage and happy reunions. Achievements in art, science and agriculture. Studies completed, liberation; pleasure in the simple life. Reversed: Future plans clouded; possible broken engagement; loss of a valued object unless vigilance is exerted; voided contract.
At the end of the long and dark night will always be the light. Let the sunlight warm you and give you strength to overcome any difficulties that may rise up before you. Wholeness and harmony can be achieved if you can keep the sun in your heart. This is a card of triumph and rewards greater than gold. Reversed: Complete failure, loss of hope. At best only minor success can be attained.
The beginning of a new life in which past difficulties are left behind.
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Below
The Moon
A perception of larger truth, more than the glimpse we saw in the Star but still obscured. Mystery. Unease. Hidden motivations. A wild, untamed, Dianic energy.
Hidden enemies, danger, calumny, darkness, terror, deception, error. Reversed: Instability, inconstancy, silence, lesser degrees of deception and error.
The Moon glows, but it does not illuminate the earth below. It is not a guide like The Star and it does not warm or brighten. The light The Moon casts isn’t even its own — it’s a reflection of The Sun. The reality we know by day is now cloaked in an illusion. When The Moon is high in the night, we enter the dreamworld. And in this netherworld, things are not as they always seem. The familiar shapes of the daytime hours take on different meanings. We must be on guard. Even the Moon doesn’t reveal all of itself to us. It grows from a little sliver to a full moon — another reminder that not everything has been revealed to us.
The Moon card warns us of the unknown, yet at the same time beckons us. It’s that fear of the unknown that attracts. We don’t know where the journey will lead and yet we’re willing to take the risks, to venture out into the darkness. The Moon tugs on us, just as it pulls the tides. Reversed: Not a time to venture out. Stay with the path you know best. Lacking in faith and in nerve. Going through a phase. In the dark about things.
A dog and a wolf are seen baying at the moon. The pool in the foreground is the same as that shown in Keys #14 and #17. It is the great deep of mind stuff out of which emerges physical manifestation. The shellfish symbolizes the early stages of conscious unfoldment. The wolf is nature’s untamed creation, while the dog is a product of adaptation to life with man. The path ascends ever upward between the towers. The upward progress of man is here symbolized; the moon signifies the reflected light of subconsciousness; the falling drops of dew (Yods) represent the descent of the life-force from above into material existence. Divinatory Meaning: Imagination, intuition, dreams. May mean bad luck to one you love. Unforeseen perils, deception, secret foes. Reversed: Storms will be weathered, peace gained at a cost. Imagination will be harnessed by practical considerations.
For a prudent person, this can be an unfortunate card. The moon is an irrational supernatural force in the universe. Sometimes intuition can be your best friend. Believe in yours and listen to it closely. Your irrational side can overcome many obstacles, yet it must be used carefully since it can lead to a dangerous fantasy world. Reversed: Forewarns against letting your life become too stagnant and cold. Don’t become old before your time.
Receptive Female Power
The moon is one of humanity’s oldest symbols; it represents the maternal feminine archetype par excellence, the Cosmic Mother. Its essential quality is receptivity: the satellite body of the moon reflects the light of the sun. The moon is also the world of dreams, the imaginal realm, and the subconscious, traditionally associated with night. The Moon symbolizes the mysteries of the soul, the secret process of gestation, everything that is hidden. The moon is connected with biorhythms, water, tides, menstrual cycles, and the transition from life to death. Its infinite receptive potential is its greatest treasure.
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Behind
The Wheel of Fortune
X – The Wheel. Feeling helpless in the grip of fate. Accepting the limitations of life. Awareness of the cycles of life. Foolishly chasing after success. A promise of rebirth.
Destiny, fortune, success, luck, felicity. Reversed: Increase, abundance, superfluity.
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Ahead
Temperance
A proper balance of character traits leads to psychological health. Being temperate; tempering our behavior. Moderation. Rising above limitation through flexibility.
Economy, moderation, frugality, management, accommodation. Reversed: Things connected with churches, religions, sects, the priesthood; also disunion, unfortunate combinations, competing interests.
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You
The Empress
An idealized feminine spirit. One’s home, nation, or land. Nurturing. Protection.
Fruitfulness, action, initiative, length of days; the unknown, clandestine; also difficulty, doubt, ignorance. Reversed: Light, truth, the unravelling of involved matters, public rejoicings; according to another reading, vacillation.
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Illusions
Six of Wands
Staves: Creating. Creative energy. Think of building a house with wooden planks.
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.
A laurelled horseman bears staff adorned with laurel crown; footmen with staves are at his side. Divinatory Meanings: The card has been so designed that it can cover several significations; on the surface, it is a victor triumphing, but it is also great news, such as might be carried in state by the King’s courier; it is expectation crowned with its own desire, the crown of hope, and so forth. Reversed: Apprehension, fear, as of a victorious enemy at the gate, treachery, disloyalty, as of gates being opened to the enemy, etc.
Once again, through hard work, intelligence, and a clear understanding of the objectives, you achieve your goals. You have the drive, ambition, and desire — and a belief in your abilities — that lead to success. But even though you’ve earned your place, you’ll have to work to keep it or someone might take it from you. Victory cannot last forever. Reversed: Victory eludes you. Not strong enough for the challenge. Letting others beat you. Keep trying, you may be successful yet. Need to develop faith in yourself and a desire to win.
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To Come
Eight of Swords
Swords: Defending. Self-defense and setting boundaries. Think of drawing a line in the sand with a sword point.
Eight: The efficiency expert. Through use of discipline and structure, you reach peak efficiency.
A woman, bound and hoodwinked, with the swords of the card about her. Divinatory Meaning: Bad news, violent chagrin, crisis, censure, power in trammels, conflict, calumny; also sickness. Reversed: Disquiet, difficulty, opposition, accident, treachery; what is unforeseen; fatality.
You’ve boxed yourself in and not allowed yourself any options. You are holding yourself back — and for no good reason. You need to cast off the blindfolds and cut yourself loose. Reversed: You’ve removed the veil from your eyes and can see, think, and act without restriction. You can put your fears behind you and start moving forward again. You feel a great sense of release and relief.
A bound woman standing in a watery waste is surrounded by swords. She is blindfolded. Behind her on a high crag stands a castle. Divinatory Meaning: The seeker does not know which way to move in a situation. Bondage, crises, waste of energy in trivial detail, censure. Reversed: Freedom, relaxation from fear. New beginnings now possible.
Difficulties will end with patience.
The Eight of Swords represents the Buddhist ideal of emptiness. The intellect achieves perfection: emptiness. This card indicates that the mind has ceased to identify with its concepts. It is a powerful concentration, a trance state or deep meditation in which the duality of opposites dissolves in celebration of the present. The solution to problems becomes obvious, beyond the powers of reasoning. In this state of nonthought, all revelations are possible. If we want to read this card negatively, we see it as intellectual blocks; all illnesses affecting cognition, from coma to amnesia or aphasia; the fear of emptiness; or stupor.
