30/05/24
listening to: dayvan cowboy - boards of canada
i had a great time yesterday exploring this variant of the classic spread:
the celtic cross tarot spread: revamped, by daily tarot girl
i don't have strong feelings about the celtic cross one way or the other. it's detailed which means it can also be tedious. i don't think it's suited for all types of questions etc. but this version seemed a fun one, so i gave it a shot. i didn't have a question, just thought i'd see what shows up and if it makes any sense (it did! what a shock for someone who abhors "general" readings! maybe it is a matter of spread. like, any layout - positional or not - can answer a question, but not everything can answer a non-question? at least for my brain, idk!)
since i used one of my more "novelty" decks with very unique images - the tarot del fuego - i'm linking a reference photo:
1. me currently: 10 of swords. the house is a trashfire and everything is an eyesore. bit of hyperbole but yeah, i've been trying to soothe this spiky environment. and (as previously explored) i'm slowly emerging from this pincushion situation with various forks finally receding.
2. biggest influence/force in my life now: page of wands. i'm drawn to plumbing some spiritual mysteries, going deeper with things. a few months back - the vague stirrings of wanting my life to be "bigger", then trying to reclaim my time and focus from passive numbing activities, then dealing with death in the family, then the decluttering. something's trying to be explored, i'm swept along. (a chilling thought from the day: if i spend 10h/day on youtube - who is my god?) the wands lend it a "doing" energy, and i think that's been a key theme recently. trying to get myself to do things that matter to me. just do more, create more, act more, rather than sit, receive, let things happen.
3. hidden desires - the tower. yeah, sometimes i wish Something Big Happened that would do that spiritual work for me. that would transform my life so completely that i wouldn't have a choice but live differently. obviously there's no guarantee that that's what the result of a big upheaval would be. could as well be a ton of trauma. but that is a little guilty wish of a "short cut".
4. what i've shed - 7 of cups. i'm done with the multitudes of choices and "finding what /you/ want!" i know it's been a useful part of healing, as someone who didn't know /how/ to even want, not to mention the /what/. unfortunately the easiest way to learn has been via all sorts of consumerism and i feel poisoned in a way. additionally, i'm also kind of trying to shed the "me, me, me" of it. it's so boring, and definitely not a life-biggening direction.
5. what do i think i want/actions i've been taking - page of swords. this checks out with all the previous cards. this page is tackling that same spiritual "cave", just more intellectually. i've been reading motivational books (about love, about a spiritual type of creativity), watching inspiring videos (mostly about minimalism and essentialism), trying to think my way through this. i'm not sure if it's the /best/ way to delve into that cave, but it'll get me there in the end. maybe once i crack that shell i can focus on experiences led by intuition a bit more?
6. into the forest/what's next? - 6 of coins. the pain and pleasure of the material, continued grappling with the stuff in my life, my relationship to it. interestingly the image identifies "money" as thorns, and the more natural world of matter as the flower, the pleasant part. maybe it's a clue and a reminder to rediscover the pleasure of the natural world. if i manage to un-glue from the concept of consuming.
7. my relationship to my higher self (whatever that means) - the sun. great! we are of one mind, i'm aligned with my "higher nature", and with nature itself. the messaging is clear, that's why there's been such cohesion in the various parts of the spread which would usually benefit from comparing and contrasting to unravel some more convoluted situations.
8. my role in my community - four of wands. the steady campfire, a place for others to rest and seek warmth. i'm support, optimism, inspiration. that's nice. maybe i can use this as further motivation on my quest. i'd like to break through this issue so that i can be in an even better position to help others, and maybe i'll have some good wisdom to impart??
9. the key to bliss - magician. just do it! lol. no but, i know the will, now i have to remember to use all my tools. put the list up somewhere visible and do it. the key to bliss isn't the shortcut, it's the process itself, the doing of it. like happiness - it's not a destination, it's a way of going about things. maybe the same applies to this new thing.
10. wonderful things that will happen - page of cups. unbothered. moisturized. happy. in my lane. focused. flourishing. in a deck about fire, the page is bathing in soothing, nourishing milk. long hair, wild thicket of flowers - there's emotional and spiritual growth and yet a youthful lightness remains, or is reacquired/rediscovered. the peace of a dusk or dawn spent in solitude. (this is also pointing to those "tools", a nourishing morning/evening "routine" is definitely up there. like... things can go down hill from there, but at least i can try to start things right and maybe that will set me up for success).
lovely. a little surprising bonus for me: i definitely feel the "tone" of this deck matched the tone of this modified spread. good choice, me.