78 Possible Spreads Using RWS

Lady Astral Tarot provides two outstanding videos in which she demonstrates how you can make your own Tarot Spreads by using individual cards from RWS and RWS Clones to help frame questions.

To test run this concept I pulled a card from the Tarot of Curious Creatures by Chris Anne. This six of swords is quite unique. By contrast the image in the RWS Six of Swords shows a woman and a child in a boat being rowed in the water to a land that is on the other side. We can gather from the images that the woman and the child are leaving something behind, as their backs are faced towards us. The woman’s head is covered with a cloak – perhaps she is fleeing something, and must go without others knowing her true identity.

Here the Hare sits on what appears to be luggage, waiting to leave. As she waits a tortoise approaches.

Using Anna’s approach I take the time to take in all the details in this image but my focus is on the approaching tortoise and the story of the Tortoise and the Hare comes to mind. The moral lesson of this story is that you can be more successful by doing things slowly and steadily than by acting quickly and carelessly.

Seeing the Tortoise approaching makes me wonder if the Hare has thrown in the towel too quickly. I also wonder about what assistance may come from an unexpected quarter and I frame a question around this.

From what unexpected quarter may I get support?

I shuffle and draw another card. It is the Four of Pentacles depicting a Pig protectively keeping her gold to herself. Initially it is not clear how this provides any support.

However, in a general context, the message from the Four of Pentacles Tarot card could help the Hare by demanding she consider if she is are holding too tightly on to people, possessions, situations or past issues.

The Four of Pentacles tarot card may also be an indication that there are deep seated issues affecting the Hare that she needs to process and let go of. Perhaps the Hare has only been valuing things for their material worth, is trying to hard to control her life or is holding back. It is possible that she has become too greedy and needs to be reminded that money works best when it can flow and exchange, not when it is being stashed away in her luggage.

Certainly, as the Hare sits on her luggage waiting to leave, she is given things to think about.

Saving Sorrento – Literature Study

Literary Studies is the study of written works of the imagination, of which poetry, drama and narrative fiction constitute today the most familiar types or genres. Most students and teachers of literature, however, see it as a more complex matter. It might be more accurate to describe it as a set of methods for examining the richness and diversity of experience through unusual uses of language, through a language that we recognize as different from everyday language and that thereby aspires to produce a reflection of and on the world not available to us otherwise. As such, literary works are also primary documents for investigating national histories, world events, the individual psyche, race, class, gender, science, economics, religion, the natural world, leisure and the other arts. Because literary studies engages with countless other disciplines, it is among the most interdisciplinary of any field of study.

Saving Sorrento by Monika Roleff is available at Amazon.

Back in the day, when I was teaching Year 12 Literature and English I applied some interesting techniques to draw out responses but I cannot deny that it never occurred to me to use Tarot or any other cards for that matter. Yet it was the Head of English at Monash University who gave a lecture about the Tarot and their relevance.

Whatever! Time has passed and it has become clear that exploring the insights cards have to offer can prove very illuminating.

When I drew a card to see what the White Numen Deck thought about the idea of working with Saving Sorrento by Monika Roleff (available at Amazon) out popped the Ace of Wands.

They say that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. The Ace of Wands tarot card carries a similar message, representing a bold step toward a new beginning. The first card in the Suit of Wands, this Ace is full of energy, a creative kind, that breathes life into things that did not exist before.

According to Labyrinthos “Wands symbolize creativity, and the Ace of Wands is the boldest among the cards in the suit. It is not the kind of creativity that you learn from school or as a hobby. It is bravely finding your own voice, it creates a place where you can develop your own vision. In other words, it is associated with willpower, and creativity in the cosmic sense.

When you draw the Ace of Wands, it is an indicator that you should just go for it. Take the chance and pursue an idea that you have in mind. Take the first steps to start the creative project. The Ace of Wands calls out to you to follow your instincts. If you think that the project that you’ve been dreaming of is a good idea, and then just go ahead and do it.

Initial Character Study

One way to reflect upon characters is to do a spread like this. It enables us to put in an anchor and glean what forces are impacting on our primary protagonists. In this instance I used the Margarete Petersen Tarot.

The cards that appear for Isabella suggest that when she first meets the stranger on the beach she is threatened by his demeanor. On a conscious level she knows she needs to bring a halt to these unbecoming, fickle and shadowy thoughts. She has experienced fear before and understands she can leave such fears in the realm of the past. By contrast Alexander is unsettled by the appearance of this woman at his makeshift camp. He has good reason to be wary of seemingly attractive women. He is bereft and tries to hide it. However he has the gift of sensitivity and knows his feelings have been blurred by the events that bought him to this space. He senses that he will melt into what awaits him.

Page of Cups

In medieval Europe, a Page was a youth of noble birth who left his home at an early age to serve an apprenticeship in the duties of chivalry in the family of some prince or man of rank. While Pages were young male attendants or servants, they would also have been shield carriers, doing simple but important tasks such as saddling a horse or caring for the knight’s weapons and armor. They would also have been used as a messengers at the service of a nobleman.

In the hierarchy of the Tarot Court Cards, the Pages are the youngest in line. In many Tarot card decks, the Pages are also called Princesses. Pages often represent the very beginning of the development of the personality, and have a child-like quality about them. The energy of the Pages is often very child-like, young / immature, and feminine.

Pages are almost always the messengers of our decks. They encourage us to go for it and give us the green light for a new project or initiative. Pages often appear when you are on the cusp of a new idea, a new feeling , a new way of thinking or a new job or career pursuit. They generally symbolise a new stage in life and can be wonderful to work with if doing inner child work.

On the bright side they represent youth, potential, growth and excitement about the future. However they can also speak of uncertainty and inexperience.

The Page of Cups as a Messenger

In our Topsy Turvy, strangely constructed world, we tend not to see the youth as mentors. Rather, they are perceived to be the ones who are apprenticed to some older and wiser mentor. Yet as a teacher with over thirty years of experience I have found this to be fallacious. I have learned an enormous amount from the young because I have been prepared to listen.

Lady of Coins aka Page of Pentacles

“The Page of Pentacles, like the Pages of all four Tarot suits, brings a welcome message of new beginnings, inspiration and the initial stages of a creative project or venture. Since Pentacles rule the material realm and correspond to the element of earth, this Page symbolizes a burgeoning awareness of the value of money, wealth, possessions, career, and physical health, and how to manifest more of these material blessings. You welcome new opportunities to your material life – a new job, a new business, or a financial windfall – and wish to discover how to turn your dreams into reality.

When the Page of Pentacles appears in a Tarot reading, you are tapping into your ability to manifest a personal goal or dream and may be in the midst of a new project such as a hobby, business venture, or the start of a new educational experience. You are excited about the possibilities and potential of what you put your mind to, knowing you can create whatever you want with focused intention and action”. Biddy Tarot

Working with the Inner Child

Nyungar Weather Seasons. There are many fledglings venturing out of nests in Birak, though some are still staying close to their parents such as magpies and parrots. Reptiles will also be shedding their old skin for a new one.

With the rising temperatures and the decreasing rainfall, it’s also a time for the baby frogs to complete their transformation into adulthood.

At the time of writing this it is summer in Australia. According to the Nyoongar Seasons, Birak is the Season of the Young. This is a time when there are many fledglings venturing out of nests, though some are still staying close to their parents such as magpies and parrots. Reptiles will also be shedding their old skin for a new one. It is dry and hot! It is burning time!

It seemed perfect therefore to be engaging in a month long challenge to work with the inner child. It seems like it is her season to flourish, to gain the recognition she deserves.

As I began to work I decided that I could value add to this challenge by doing some extra activities. Finding the A Spread for Your Inner Child was like finding a nugget of gold. It fits with my project to examine each card in the deck and to see what memories they invoke.

Barbara Moore explains that “the page cards are perfect cards to work with when it comes to inner child work.” She says that “some of us have happy and joyful inner children, some do not. They can be wounded, angry, hurt, neglected, alone, or feel unloved. Inner child energy is very powerful and can be responsible for bad habits and self- destructive patterns of behavior”

Moore suggests that we “take some time to think about which part of our inner child we wish to work with and then select one of the Pages to represent that part of the inner child.

Then you take the page card and place it in the center of the spread as illustrated here. Once your page is in place, shuffle your deck. Draw four more cards, placing them in the order illustrated here.

4 Page 2

In Robert Place’s Alchemical Tarot it is the Lady of Coins who is the equivalent of the Page. I have been participating in a challenge working with the Inner child using the Medicine Woman Tarot by Carol Bridges and this Lady emerged as the first Page to work with. I placed the Lady of Coins in the centre and then used the Medicine Woman Deck.

Card One: This card represents the environment in which your inner child grew up. This is an important card, as it is not emotionally invested in your personal memories. It simply lets you know what energy surrounded you at the time your page archetype was developing.

Card Two: This card represents what was missing while your page was growing. More to the point, it reveals what your inner child feels it missed out on. This card reveals wounds or issues that may still need some healing work.

Card Three: This card represents what kind of environment your inner child craves. Note that this may not always be constructive energy, so please don’t be dismayed if a not-so-friendly card shows up in this position.

In many ways, this card can shed light on self-destructive behaviors or inner triggers. If it is a positive and constructive card, that is fabulous. Above all, know that there is no wrong or right card in this position

Card Four: This card represents how best to harness your inner child energy moving forward. This card also gives you hints and clues for empowering your inner child if it feels shy or timid as well as how you might cool it off if it is somewhat reactive.