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Tarot reading 24 February 2003
Re: Barbelith Working
(Note: I use the Rider/Waite/Pamela Colman Smith deck. Your personal Tarot deck may vary in symbolism. Feel free to PM me with any questions.)
I used a seven-card spread here. Usually I tend to just let the cards flow into each other when reading for someone in person, and reference back & forth between them. That doesn’t translate very well to a text-on-screen format, however! 
So, for those as like them, here’s what each position indicates:
1) The past of the matter
2) The present condition
3) The immediate future
4) The type of energy that must be dealt with in order to handle the situation
5) The surrounding environment
6) Undermining forces
7) The result, brought about by one’s reaction to the influences symbolized by the previous six cards
If anyone wants to lay out the spread using their own cards, The layout is a hexagram with the result card in the middle – try to visualize it:
1
5, 6
7
3, 2
4
So this is what came through:
1) The Star
2) King of Swords
3) King of Wands
4) The Magician
5) Queen of Pentacles
6) The Hermit
7) Three of Wands
I realize that reflect posted my comments about The Star previously; I don’t wish to be repetitious. The card generally deals with creativity, of access to the wellsprings of the unconscious mind, of a healing connection to the divine. A paragraph in Rachel Pollack’s Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom struck me:
The water being poured onto land indicates that the energy…is directed outwards as well as inwards; it links the unconscious with the outer reality of the physical world. One way to describe the streams of water is as the archetype of myth, the images through which the unconscious expresses itself. The unconscious is a whole, without shape or division, but it emerges into awareness through the separate streams of mythology.
(This reminds me of the idea that Barbelith connects with different people using whatever paradigm is easiest for them to assimilate, whether it be monotheistic, polytheistic, scientific, hedonistic, whatever-ic. It connects to the source of the individual’s psyche in a non-threatening, easily understandable way.)
With the Star we have gone beyond myth to its source as formless energy; as light coming out of darkness. The transformation of darkness into light is the unconscious, the hidden vastness within us, changed into the ecstatic awareness of super-consciousness. (Pg. 123)
King of Swords: This is the sort of individual who is most comfortable in hir own head, and in dealing with matters of the mind. Ze is always thinking, always aware, the gears are clicking and the wheels are turning. Nothing gets past this one – ze is very correct, thorough and appropriate in *every* situation. The personality type of the King indicates that, however much ze would love to sit around and read and learn and soak in knowledge…it’s not enough. Ze has to act upon the knowledge and awareness at hir disposal. Whether or not this person actually has authority, ze is seen as such by others. This need/desire to act upon what ze knows can sometimes distort hir ability to discern the wheat from the chaff, although for the most part ze is pretty good at this.
The King of Swords needs to be very careful not to narrow hir focus overmuch. While it is always essential to keep one’s feet firmly on the ground – whether one deals in the heady heights of academia or the ethereal flights of mysticism – relying overmuch on "the REAL world" or "keeping it REAL", or trusting "common sense" over one’s innate gut instincts may prove problematic. (‘Round my way we would say there needs to be a balance between "keeping it real" and "keeping it FABULOUS!"  ) There can be a tendency towards remoteness, arrogance or harshness in dealings with lesser, meaner minds. (Worse yet, such are the intellectual skills of the King of Swords that, even if ze is not necessarily behaving in such a manner, ze is seen as such by lesser, meaner minds. It’s an occupational hazard that comes with being the King of Swords.)
King of Wands: This person is more willing to trust hir instincts or gut feelings; ze works not from the realm of intellect but from that of will. Ze may not be able to explain exactly why something is the way it is, or how a situation got to a certain point, but ze knows the way forward, and is more often than not correct. This is quite different from emotions or feelings (which is a Cups thing); This personality type is following energy patterns, with little or no emotional attachment involved.
This type of person is very honest and values truth above all else. Ze is also a very optimistic, passionate individual, who tends to be very blunt and takes no shit from other people. Which can cause problems similar to those encountered by the King of Swords, except where the Sword is considered too cold the Wand is considered too intense. Both Kings can be intolerant, however, and both Wand & Sword need to understand that not everyone is where they are at. Kings indicate maturity and advanced awareness; as frustrating as it is to deal with people who obviously "don’t get it" (whatever "it" is), Kings not only have to deal with such people, they are expected to bring them over to a point of awareness. In which case, such Kings as there are must make contact and connect:
The further on I go…the less I know… friend or foe, there’s only us – Peter Gabriel, "Only Us"
The Magician: This card deals with manifestation of spirit into matter. The Magician is all about giving life meaning and direction – taking potential energy and making it kinetic. Unless potential energy is utilized in the here & now, it really doesn’t exist (because it’s not being used). It is crucial to remember that in the Tarot, the figure in the Magician card is not casting arcane spells, drawing down the moon, conjuring up demons, creating servitors or any such shit; all ze does is raise one arm towards the sky and lower the other arm towards the earth.
Universal energy (or Divine energy, if you like) is not meant to be held in by the human body; it needs to pass through the body. Humanity functions best as a channel for energy. The more one passes the energy on, and learns how, when and to whom to pass this energy, the stronger one becomes.
Queen of Pentacles: This type of person is a doer, not a dreamer. However, ze is very careful and extremely aware of the ramifications of hir actions, how they will affect others, and works very hard to make sure the maximum effect is reached with the minimum amount of effort. Pentacles deal with the tangible world, the here and now, and the Queen type of personality is completely aware and comfortable with the mundane, the typical, the "REAL". Ze is aligned with the forces that shape reality, and is comfortable enough (unlike other Pentacle types) with those forces to allow them to flow without trying to change or manipulate them:
Don’t talk back/Just drive the car
Shut your mouth/I know what you are
Don’t say nothing/Keep your hands on the wheel
Don’t turn around/ This is for real
– Peter Gabriel, "Digging In The Dirt"
The Queen of Pentacles is connected to the Magician; The forces the Magician deals with are understood as a given to the Queen of Pentacles. They are a part of hir everyday life. Other people may wonder, "How does ze do it?" Perhaps the answer is that ze does it, instead of thinking about it.
The Hermit: How interesting that our old friend the Hermit comes under "undermining forces". This might be an admonition not to seek guidance overmuch without, not to look to other people for information that can be easily found by oneself.
The card of the Hermit signifies a tendency or need to turn inward, to focus on "inner awareness" instead of "outer reality". The very idea of a dualistic schism between "inner" and "outer" should be a warning sign, because the energy & wisdom inherent in the Hermit card goes well beyond "this" and "that".
I also sense a need to adhere to discipline, to keep at the divination/meditation/whatever else it is that keeps the peeps doing this working. This indicates a "plateau phase," a point where one can get bored and drop off, or decide to stick with the process and do the work.
Three of Wands: A sense of accomplishment. This card indicates keeping a solid basis in what has already been taken care of while still reaching out towards the new, the unknown. Making peace with the past; an understanding of the bigger picture, that one is bigger than the petty peculiarities of one’s own life. We always hear that we are interconnected with everything else that is, but sometimes it’s hard to really know what that means. It sort of becomes a party line, a "given" unless one really takes the time to look into it and see what the concept of interconnection means to the individual – it’s the point where one becomes many, but only if one wants it that way. This is a Minor Arcana card, so one’s individual needs and desires hold far more sway. Which makes sense, again, considering the nature of Barbelith.
This reading was brought to you by Us (Peter Gabriel) and the beautiful wines of Spain. |
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