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An Electric Monk tarot reading

  
 
Jack Denfeld
13:34 / 19.03.07
So, I had an online, random shuffle/kinda computer reading done and posted about it which made several people tell me that it was either worthless, or highly ineffective. So after listening to some responses I took up Monk's offer for a reading.

Even though it's still over the internet, and Monk and I have never met in real life, I figured that just reading each other's posts and interacting on Barbelith over the years would be similar to say just kinda feeling out a stranger before giving them a reading face to face. At least there's more familiarity than a random internet reading.

Someone also mentioned that with a fee payed there's more of a "taking it seriously" current between both parties. What I did was offer Monk the choice of where I could make a donation here in my area, and he basically said to just give to someone/something I thought was worthy, and I ended up giving some money to a Big Brothers and Big Sisters type organisation.

I asked for an overview of my life in 2007. This is Monk's reading in Bold.

I asked for a year-to-come overview for you and laid out a Triangle Spread with a Querent Card, like so:




The cards fell thusly:

Q - The Queen of Swords (also called Water of Air)

1 - The King of Cups reversed (also called Fire of Water)
2 - The Nine of Wands (or Great Strength)

3 - XXI-The World
4 - The Four of Pentacles (or Earthly Power)

5 - I-The Magician reversed
6 - XVI-The Tower reversed

7 - The Three of Cups reversed (also Abundance)

The Querent Card is kinda standing in for you being at the reading physically. I usually pull the Q card and meditate on it in relation to what's been presented to me by my client via PM. I think some readers conciously choose it, but I seem to get better results this way. So we’ll start there.

The Queen of Swords showed up for you in the Querent position. Your intelligence is at the forefront these days, and while you are thinking things thru clearly, you’re also maybe distant from those around you. But the tranquility this detachment has given you has recently been disturbed, which is indicated by the King of Cups. The Nine of Wands indicates that this disturbance has changed your situation pretty drastically, but has also left you free to exercise your strength as a consequence. You’re feeling stronger than you were before this disturbance happened, and ready to move onward.

Looks like there’s bigger things awaiting you in the immediate future. The World card in position 3 is saying that this newfound strength can give you the confidence to go out and seek success on your own terms. You might even feel carried along in this by the flow of the universe. Things may seem to always go your way. If you don’t catch it on the flop, you’ll catch it on the river, as they say in poker. I see some possible monetary gain for you in the Four of Pentacles, enough to realize some of the goals you’ve set for yourself for this year.

The long-term is where things might start to go downhill for you. The Magician reversed shows us weakness, energy restrained. He also warns of the need to use power responsibly. The Tower reversed shows us a painful experience, from which some amount of liberation is achieved. Luck, strength and intelligence will have gotten you this far, but you’ll need to remember to use them responsibly or you run the risk of losing what they’ve brought you. Like the spark that started this, the lightning that may destoy your tower will come out of the blue.

The Three of Cups reversed is our Central card, the card influencing all the others. It can indicate a loss of harmony between friends, but it can also stand for independence and self-reliance. I get a sense of an independent streak running through this whole spread, so I guess it’s not surprising to find this here. It seems as if you will, indeed, be the Rugged Individual with all that that entails.

If you have questions or anything you need cleared up, let me know. I'm at your disposal.

Best,
monk
Nothing overly drastic has happened yet, which kinda worries me that something is around the corner, and also makes me wonder if something I did recently may have planted the seeds for this big obstacle.

I have had a couple of monetary cash blings this year though, enough to pay rent a couple of months early. Nothing huge, just a couple of insane wins at the poker tables this year.

I'm also worried about the knocking friendships out of balance thing and becoming a more rugged individual type. I spent most of last year being a loner here in Florida, and I've just now started developing a little social circle of friends.

Is there anyway to get around some of this stuff?

Also, so this isn't just another Denfeld ego thread, what do you all think of Monk's technique? Is it similar to yours? Would you have read any of the cards a little differently?

Again, big thanks to Monk for taking time out of his schedule to offer a reading for me. Thanks Monk, I owe you one.
 
 
electric monk
15:22 / 19.03.07
You're very welcome. It was my pleasure. And I couldn't have asked for better payment. Nice one.

Nothing overly drastic has happened yet, which kinda worries me that something is around the corner, and also makes me wonder if something I did recently may have planted the seeds for this big obstacle.

This "something" you mention: Is that a specific incident you're thinking of, or a general "something" you haven't identified but are afraid is there?

Is there anyway to get around some of this stuff?

Oh, absolutely. This isn't written in stone or anything. This is just a fuzzy map of where you're headed on your present course. There's plenty of time to change and adjust. To that end, here's a little something I do in readings for myself, and this might help you too: If there's a future state I'd like to avoid or deal with before it becomes a big monstrous deal, I usually take the card that's worrying me and use it's other meaning as advice. So, in your case, we'd reverse Abundance reversed and consider how "Friendship, deep connections, and sharing" (which is the upright, or Dignified, meaning for the 3 of Cups) might be helpful. Not a perfect method, but I find it's usually a good starting point for making change. Make sense?

what do you all think of Monk's technique? Is it similar to yours? Would you have read any of the cards a little differently?

I too am interested in people's reactions and thoughts on this.
 
 
Quantum
16:48 / 19.03.07
See Jack? That's what a proper reading should be like. More later...
 
 
EmberLeo
07:52 / 20.03.07
Is there anyway to get around some of this stuff?

My standard reply to this is that the future doesn't already exist.

Divination is looking at patterns of various complexities. Change a major element, change the pattern. There are often major events that are nearly unavoidable simply because they would be there or near there in so many variations of the patterns more major changes would have to occur to shift the pattern than are at all likely to occur.

But nothing is guaranteed until it's already happened, and the immediate patterns of your own life are rarely locked in on a scale you can't affect to the degree you want to affect it.

what do you all think of Monk's technique?

It seems fine to me, but this is my only example.

Is it similar to yours?

That's a complex question. I don't use layouts the same way, but it doesn't sound like we're coming at the individual cards from drastically different angles.

Would you have read any of the cards a little differently?

That's also hard to answer, because my layout technique is fairly different from Monk's. I can look at the individual card readings perhaps, but without knowing which deck Monk was using, even that is hard to say.

I go to the trouble of saying all of this because I suspect it's an answer you'll hear a lot: I wasn't there, I don't know which deck was used, and I don't use that layout, so I don't know how similarly I would have interpreted the reading.

--Ember--
 
 
EmberLeo
08:27 / 20.03.07
Mostly for the sake of the exercise, I took the cards listed and the description of their placement in the layout, and gave interpretation without directly comparing my notes to Monk's notes as I went. Monk seems to have used a Thoth deck. I don't have a Thoth deck, and don't resonate with that deck at all, so my interpretations are based on my experience primarily with the Robin Wood deck, but also with a handfull of other decks of various themes.

As I am not the original reader, didn't see the cards, etc. I think this should be treated as supplemental. Monk's is the original reading, and I think is more likely to be correct. If nothing else, Monk seems to use Court cards differently than I do, which can affect the interpretation dramatically.

(e.g. In my readings, Court cards are always people, and the are almost always representative of the actual gender of the person as the Querant knows them. It's rare that there's a difference between the person's self-identified gender and the querant's perception of their gender, but if such occurred, I would err towards the querant's perception, because the whole reading is relative to them. "Person" doesn't necessarily mean human, however.)

[Querant]
Q - The Queen of Swords
An intelligent [female] adult who depends greatly on the value of thought over emotion. Inclined to stable, rational decisions. Mature enough to have developed some sensitivity to other's emotions, but has difficulty giving her own emotions any credit.

[Present]
1 - The King of Cups reversed
An adult [male] emotional thinker. (e.g. Tends to remember what was said by remembering how people seemed to feel about it at the time.) Very in tune with other people's emotional needs, but perhaps too inclined to bury his own for the benefit of others to the point of becoming high-maintenance himself. Becomes tempermental or withdrawn and depressed when backed into a corner. Reversed indicates that he is in such a downswing now.

2 - The Nine of Wands
Standing your ground. Waiting. Calm, but prepared to defend your choices. Strength of the high-ground - you have every reason to believe you have made the correct choices, and are prepared to prove it if necessary. You are not taking the offensive, however. If no reason is given to defend, you will simply wait until the danger has passed, and then let it go.

[Immediate Future]
3 - XXI-The World
An abundance of opportunities. This can bring joy, and probably will, though there are some who would be struck by option-overload, and end up self-paralized with indecision. Only the reversal of the 3 of cups gives me any reason to believe this may be the case.

4 - The Four of Pentacles
Some of those opportunities are of a practical nature. Probably financial. At least physical-resource based. An increase in stability.

[Long-Term Future]
5 - I-The Magician reversed
Lack of control over too many details. A sense of entitlement. Too much power, not enough responsibility.

6 - XVI-The Tower reversed
Drama. Either an over-reaction to a comparatively minor problem, or a major problem that could be prevented with some attention and caution. That doesn't mean it should be prevented, however. My inclination is to say that attention to prevention will only turn the Tower from Reversed to Upright.

[Central Card]?
7 - The Three of Cups reversed
Upright I read this as a joyful solidarity of people who love eachother. Close friendships, etc. Reverse there is some reserve. Less joyful abandon may be because of stress, or lack of complete trust, or a misguided sense of Adult = Serious.

If this is a Context card, I would take it that these events are all taking place in a limited social context of a small group, clique, or family who started out very important to eachother. They may not be so tight knit by the time all is said and done. They are not each growing at the same speed, and those who are growing can no longer afford to be held back by those who lack the strength and energy to grow with them.

If I may wander a bit further out on a limb: The King of Cups is not prepared to let the Queen of Swords go or grow. He thinks he needs her to stay the same and prevent frightening changes that he isn't prepared to face. It's quite possible what he needs is therapy, or a serious clue-by-four. He will get the latter if not the former, because the Queen of Swords is no longer in a position to continue accommodating the King's needs to the detriment of her own. This may seem ironic to the King, who considers himself very sensitive to the needs of others, and probably thinks he is asking very little of the Queen.

--Ember--
 
 
electric monk
12:17 / 20.03.07
Monk seems to have used a Thoth deck.

What makes you say that? I actually know very little about the Thoth deck, and didn't use it here, but I'm interested in why you made the connection. (If it's my references to "Water of Air" and such, that's just me noting from 777. Nothing to do with the deck in itself, but something I have tried to incorporate into my practice.)

(e.g. In my readings, Court cards are always people, and the are almost always representative of the actual gender of the person as the Querant knows them. It's rare that there's a difference between the person's self-identified gender and the querant's perception of their gender, but if such occurred, I would err towards the querant's perception, because the whole reading is relative to them. "Person" doesn't necessarily mean human, however.)

I may well try this interpretation in my next readings and see what I turn up. Thanks!
 
 
Quantum
17:28 / 20.03.07
I use court cards as either people or aspects of the querent's personality, depending on the position and influences. I almost always interpret the querent card as the querent, so in that reading I'd say the reversed Queen was an aspect of Jack that was most appropriate.
 
 
EmberLeo
18:55 / 20.03.07
What makes you say that?

Oh, the words you were listing after the number cards are the words written on the Thoth cards.

Considering your source and the source of the Thoth deck, that makes sense

--Ember--
 
 
EmberLeo
20:24 / 20.03.07
I use court cards as either people or aspects of the querent's personality, depending on the position and influences.

I've gone back and read this sentence repeatedly, and now I've finally clicked on it...

I agree with you - the Querant is, after all, a person. Court cards referring to the querant generally give some information as to how the querant relates to the overall situation. None of the court cards is so complete that they don't imply aspects of a personality.

What Court cards don't mean to me is situations, non-personified factors, etc.

--Ember--
 
 
Quantum
17:27 / 21.03.07
What Court cards don't mean to me is situations, non-personified factors, etc.

For sure. I've found tying astrology to court cards to be useful for some querents too, people who know nothing about the king of pentacles will understand if you say he's a Taurus kinda guy, and realise who it represents.
I'd say the Queen is Jack* partly because she is a more masculine Queen (though not as much as Wands) and seems to relate to the rest of the reading as protagonist, and because I don't use the gender of the cards as concretely as you do- everyone has anima and animus within them.

One thing I would say, Jack, is that the further future pair could refer to Poker, as the Magician has all four suits in front of him on the table. In some decks he is a mountebank playing find the lady in fact, and so reversed could indicate a loss of control over the cards or game itself. The reversed Tower (normally meaning disaster) is very interesting because it can go two ways- either it could mean it's disruptive power is reduced so it's not so bad, or it could be that the normally cathartic Tower experience, getting kicked out of a rut by a bolt of lightning from God, is blocked as thus insufficient to break the stasis of the old habits.
What I'm saying is beware getting in thrall to the habit of poker, if that's a danger. Tarot readings show you what will happen if you continue along your present course, and so the advantage of an early warning is a little course correction will let you avoid those rocks in the distance easily rather than sinking. Forewarned is forearmed they say, and even Sarah Connor can tell you there's no fate but what you make.
To Finish on a poker analogy**, play it safe and quit while you're ahead, everyone gets a bad streak at the table eventually, so be careful dude and you could be fine.


*har har, poker paradoxes
**I am blatantly copying Monk
 
 
EmberLeo
18:29 / 21.03.07
For sure. I've found tying astrology to court cards to be useful for some querents too, people who know nothing about the king of pentacles will understand if you say he's a Taurus kinda guy, and realise who it represents.

I do that too sometimes, though I don't correlate the Cardinal/Fixed/Mutability of the signs, just the element. "The King of Pentacles is a mature Earth sign - probably male. You know, like a Taurus. Very interested in practical stuff, kinda stubborn, maybe tries to ignore the fact that there's more to the world than what he can see and touch..."

I'd say the Queen is Jack...I don't use the gender of the cards as concretely as you do

Agreed, in this case - Monk doesn't use the gender cards as concretely as I do either, after all, so I've no reason to expect that result in his reading. In this case, the main reason I didn't switch to referring to the Queen as "He" for Jack's sake is that I'm in the habit of telling the story of the cards as purely as possible before relating it back to the querant, so when I said "She" I was referring to the Queen herself, not the person she referred to.

Perhaps I should have clarified - I thought that since the card had already be related directly to Jack (it was, after all, in the Querant position) that it was already clear. Sorry!

play it safe and quit while you're ahead

"Now every gambler knows that the secret to surviving is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep..."

*blinks* Sorry. Life is a song cue, and I get to write it all night long.

--Ember--
 
  
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