Mah Jongg Oracle

tohrutohno

I've had this deck for awhile now and so far I believe it to be rather accurate in it's immediate readings. Where I'm having trouble is in interpreting an actual time line and the over all big picture in context. Also the guardians confound me a little. I'm looking for anyone who would like to discuss or share interpretations with this deck.

Currently I'm using the original 13 card spread introduced in Walters book. Does anyone know any other spreads for these cards? If so what are their uses?
Are their any other reading material out there for tutorial besides his?

I guess what I'm really saying is Help! I just want to make sure I'm on the right track.

Below I have a reading I did. Any feedback on the interpretations is welcome.



The question asked is about a guy I'm interested in. I wanted to know if he was ever going to feel comfortable opening up to me. It feels like he's been holding back lately, not because he's not interested, but because I think he's afraid of getting hurt. His last relationship was really rough.


Center- 8 Bamboo – Mushroom

I take this as a good sign. He will eventually open up to me, but the manner or timing of how it happens is going to be completely unexpected.


The East

1- West wind
2- 8 Bamboo – Mushroom
3- 4 Bamboo – Carp

The West usually represents the partner so this means him. The repeated mushroom plus the carp, further reinforces the fact that I can’t rush things and they will just have to unfold at their own pace.

The South

4- 5 Bamboo- Lotus
5- 2 Wan – Sword
6- 8 Circle – Tiger

With the lotus standing for enlightenment and the sword for release, I won’t have too long to wait. The tiger can mean either authority or an older male, since there is a significant age difference between us I take this to mean the latter. Having the tiger coupled with the sword, it seems he will eventually let his guard down.

The West

7- 7 circle- Insect
8- Center
9- 7 Bamboo- Tortoise

My obstacles (represented by the insect and tortoise) are hard work and patience. This definitely speaks to me since patience is not my strongest virtue. Center represents my eventual success should I be able to accomplish that. Easier said than done for me ;P

The North

10- Orchid Guardian replaced by 9Wan- Heaven
11- 3 Wan- Earth
12- West wind

Orchid guarding Heaven…..I don’t know how else to interpret this other than divine intervention. Some things are just beyond my control and is making sure everything falls in to place when and where it needs to (i.e. could be the unexpected event from the center card). The earth is the element that represents the Center and stability. I think this reinforces the success from position 8 in the west and ensures it is firmly rooted in the future as well as the near future. So once he is able to open up to me we can further build a solid foundation for our own relationship. The 12th position brings the west wind full circle. I take this to mean that ultimately all answers lie with him and I will just have to patiently wait for his cues.


I realize the interpretations are rather crude but I am still new at this.
 

Padma

hey, I finally caught the time to get to this -

Centre Mushroom: Yes, an unexpected event, generally; but when in the centre, romantically, it means a relationship that will cause offence to the family, perhaps because of a difference in age, colour, religion, what have you. So a difficult romance, already.

The two outside cards in the East group represent your surface personality, and the center card the hidden self. Hence they are read as 1 (outer left) 2 (outer right) and 3 (centre card).

So what's in your East?

West: the West can represent the partner, indeed, but here we are talking about *your* personality. So in that case, it appears your outer personality is all about another person, and not you. You live for love, are in love with love, believe you need another to complete you. It may also be seen as a heavy influence on you from an older person.

card 2 (outer right hand side) Mushroom. You are a person who does not do the expected or required thing. You may be considered bizarre by others, or unusual. In the East, it shows a person of remarkable creative talents, and so it may be said you are an artistic person.

Card 3 (centre card) your hidden core: Carp. 4 Bamboo. It can be said that your inner core being is one of calm and tranquility. You are slow and sedate. You enjoy contemplating the mysteries of life, and are reliable, long-lived, and dependable.

Now we move to the South, the near future of your question (so those cards on the right of the centre) and you have 5 Bamboo, Lotus. In this position, it means returning from a setback, or incredible hardship, so it means a turn of luck in a matter that seemed doomed to failure. This doesn't automatically mean success, but may mean new communications with the man you desire.

Next you have 2 Wan, Sword, which classically means severing something objectively, not emotionally. It can also mean a quandary, a decision that needs to be made. So I believe in this context, it means you are contemplating severing ties with this person, or, it may well reflect Lotus, saying that you are actually thinking about renewing ties with someone who was severed from you. It can also mean the lifting of restrictions, and with Lotus, I feel this well might be the case - in terms of communications. You have to tie the cards in with their mates on either side - I don't think you can read them as stand-alone cards. I still feel this combo means you hear from him, and have some kind of discussion or debate about the suitability of the romance. It seems your suitor may be opposed; it may be a heavy discussion.

Then you have 8 Circles, Tiger, meaning an older or aggressive person, possibly a suitor. With the 2 Swords, it can represent a conflict in authority, (though more typically in the North than here) and so there may be some other people opposed to you two being together again - including opposition from the suitor himself... This would also reflect the centre card, Mushroom, as being an indication that your suitor does not typically fit into your family or social group, and feels like the odd man out. It may also be further resistance from your suitor, as he does not think he is a good fit with you.

Next, we read the West: the houses of obstacles. The first obstacle is represented by outer card 7, in your case, is 7 Circles, Insect. Therefore, a great deal of hectic activity or thought on your part in regard to the relationship. the negative aspect is that the matter is not as weighty as you imagine it to be. So you are feeling this is far more important than it is, therefore causing an obstacle of lack of objectivity, otherwise known as wishful thinking. In the west 7th, it means wasting a lot of time, energy, and money on something that is literally not worth it.

Next comes outer card 8. In position 8, you have the Honours card 33, the Centre. In the outer 8th position, especially as an obstacle in the West, it may indicate inflexibility on your part - you wish to win at all costs. If you combine this with card 7, you get a great deal of energy and time spent without thought of the costs, all aimed at securing the beloved you desire.

In the centre comes card 9, the Tortoise, 7 Bamboo. The Tortoise generally indicates that you are upset with the amount of time it is taking for matters to resolve themselves. So yes, as you indicated, you are short on patience! As position 9 is one of the most negative aspects in the West, consider this as a warning from the cards that you need to relax! Your impatience may cause more problems than it solves! You cannot push the river.

Next we move to the last quadrant, the North, the future outcome. Here, as in the South, the cards are read in the direct manner they were laid out (unlike East and West, where the outer cards are read first) and so you got Orchid, which as it is a Guardian card, as the book directs, you have replaced with another card (9 Wan card 27, Heaven). Guardians generally influence the card below them, in your case Heaven, chosen to replace Orchid. So in this case, Guardians are not read independently, but as an influence. They also represent timing.

So let's look at Heaven in the North 10th house, as influenced by Orchid, which we have placed above it, as the book directs: The card generally represents completion; not as an ending, but as a beginning to the next step in the process. When it is beside Earth, as in your case, heaven and earth are in accord, and happiness takes place. the book states that if Heaven is drawn as a replacement, then heavenly intervention can be expected. (I think you noted that as well) seems you will have the help of your guardian angel on this one. But the two mushrooms in your spread mean a kind of help you are not expecting!

As influenced by Orchid, which represents elegance and refinement, we can expect that taking such a course of action (being elegant and refined; i.e. understanding that you are above the person you are trying to latch up with) yourself will be beneficial. It also shows that inexperienced young girls are protected from an unwise course of action; as Heaven is never negative, we can assume you may be saved from having this relationship. Sometimes, what seems terrible is a blessing and a protection; I feel this is hinting at a save, a blessing, a protection of your heart. You may well be spared a relationship with a person not suitable to your estate. Orchid's timing is summer, so this may well take a long time to play out, with great obstacles delaying your forward movement (hinted at in Tortoise, as well as Sword, Tiger and West.)

The last card in the North is the West. In general, while this card may well represent a partner or a beloved, it is a card that also represents obstacles. As your reading is not particularly laced with happy indications that this is the right man for you, I can only conclude that in this position, it means that Heaven and your guardian will unexpectedly protect you from entering this relationship. And in the end, it will be a really, really good thing. :heart:

From the entirety of your spread, I think the man you seek to wed or otherwise have is not particularly convinced it is a good relationship, nor a good idea, nor do your friends or family think it is a good idea, and it seems Heaven supports these views. I feel you will be stopped by some divine intervention and prevented from advancing with this person into a state of couplehood.

Having said all that, I am fairly new at this myself. I am sure you will not want to believe the outcome I see, because it is not what you want to have happen, but there you go, that is what I see, from what I understand so far from these cards, and from my intuition as well.

In regard to spreads, I have used a daily 3 card draw with great success, myself, or just use one card to answer a question. Journaling has helped me in understanding how they hint and unfold! ;) Good luck with your cards. I do believe there is another book on this by the same author, but it is now out of publication...sadly!
 

tohrutohno

Thank you for all your feedback! I really appreciate it! I would never have read some of the cards the way you did.

For the center card (mushroom), this is definitely true. We are of different ethnic backgrounds (which I’m not sure my dad’s side of the family would care for) and we didn’t meet in a conventional way. We met online and we actually have yet to meet in person ;) However my main question was if he would open up to me so I took this to be positive still.
With the East you couldn’t have been more on the mark with the interpretation of the West wind. I am the romantic sap, and yes I’m aware of the “sap” part lol. I didn’t even think to look at the cards this way since I know the East cards can also represent presently occurring events, so that’s how I was reading them. I listed the cards by their position in the spread instead of the order in which they were read so for the mushroom and carp here in the East and the tortoise and center in the West, you interpreted them in switched positions. I apologize for the confusion. Knowing the true position now, I would be interested in if and how that changes your view of the message from the overall spread.

You read a lot of truth in the South too. When it came to the tiger, there are definitely some people that wouldn’t want us together if they knew about us so this hit home for me. Also with the insect in the West , I am definitely guilty of always over-thinking things. It’s seriously one of my worst habits, so I can see the wasted energy you were talking about.

With the update on the position of the cards for the East and West I am not sure how you would reinterpret the cards in the North. I still see them as an over all good sign.
I had done another spread about three weeks ago about the potential success of the relationship and got pretty positive signs here. I did it after another failed attempt of ours to meet up together. We live over 1100 miles apart and both have really hectic schedules and we’ve been trying to meet since April. So the day he was supposed to finally come down he called to cancel because of work obligations. He was just as bummed as I was.

Just to show you what I got (I’m not looking for a free read, just sharing is all)
In their drawn positions

0- The Center

East
1- The dragon (5 circle)
2- Mushroom (8 bamboo)
3- Phoenix (3 circle)

South
4- Earth (3 wan)
5- Pine (2 circle)
6- Peach (6 circle)

West
7- Seven Stars
8- The center
9- Orchid guardian replaced by East wind

North
10- North wind
11- Seven stars (7 wan)
12- White

To be honest I was already so upset about him cancelling I felt the cards were mocking me, especially with Center in the center spot and White in the final position. Now I’m not sure. Wanting to be forever optimistic I see this all as a good thing.

Thank you for the suggestions about the different spreads. I will have to try those and see how it goes for me.
 

Padma

I am still a little confused, so which card was which in the East and West? If you would kindly point out which was the true 1-2-3 and 7-8-9 I would appreciate it.

The way the book explains it, at least to my understanding of things, those two positions should be laid out and read as

1-3-2 and 7-9-8, with the outer cards being read first. :)

If you can clarify this for me, I can have a look - but I am sorry, I can't recreate the other spread you listed - too much work! lol!

I know you want to see a happy ending, who wouldn't? But I still have my doubts. I have a funny feeling you will actually meet and fall in love with a younger suitor, and that will upset the current applecart. ;) Tiger and West both sort of confirm this as a distinct possibility.

Sometimes, the Universe firmly locks a door shut for a darn good reason. If this relationship does not come to fruition, and with Orhcid and Heaven being where they are, and what they stand for, it looks to me like the Universe is indicating a big fat NO on this man you have never met - because you are about to meet a far more suitable and younger lover :)
 

tohrutohno

So for the East, the west and carp are the outside cards and the mushroom was the middle card. You are right you read position 1&3 first then position 2. So you would read west and carp first then mushroom. For the West, the outside cards were insect and tortoise with Center as the middle card.

Thank you so much for the input!
 

Padma

No, I disagree, it is not read position 1 and 3 and then two - it is like this: 1-3-2 and so you read 1 and 2 first, (outer flanking cards), three being the middle card!!!

I can't comment until you give them to me in that order! Sorry to be annoying, just following the book's reading formula! :) As I am fairly new at this, I have to stick to the book to a small extent, or it will not make sense!

So the way you lay them out when you do a spread is East 1-3-2, and West is 7-9-8.

Unless I have completely misunderstood you....?
 

tohrutohno

If you read the book's description again it should tell you that's the order you read the cards in, not their position.

So you lay the cards out in the position 1-2-3, but when you flip the cards over you do it one at a time and you flip the cards in position 1 over first, then the card in position 3 over second, and then flip over the card in position 2 third. I know it sounds confusing but the book should help clarify. You flip the cards in the west in this same order.
 

Padma

So for the East, the west and carp are the outside cards and the mushroom was the middle card. You are right you read position 1&3 first then position 2. So you would read west and carp first then mushroom. For the West, the outside cards were insect and tortoise with Center as the middle card.

Thank you so much for the input!

I have already read West in that Eastern position card 1, so will not reiterate.

Carp in that position (outer right) shows contentment, but no excitement in romance.

Mushroom as middle card in the east still simply indicates a creative temperament, with a highly individualistic style. :)

I have already read Insect in the left position for West, so will no reiterate that, either!

Tortoise in the right and last position of the West cards still remains as a sign to be patient if you desire further development.

Centre as the middle (9th) card in the West sector of obstacles shows inflexibility. You
have set your sights on this person, and will not be swayed.

No offence, Tohrutohno, but I don't see the point in pursuing this, because you have already stated twice in your replies that the cards have shown you it will end perfectly in your favour, so I feel my opinion is not required!

I really thought this would be about studying the cards themselves, and not about answering particular questions put to the oracle.

Much love and light, good luck with the cards. Should you ever want to truly study the cards themselves, and not a particular answer to a particular question, let me know! :)

:heart:

No hard feelings, I obviously misunderstood your initial desire in regard to study. :love:

ETA I did notice there was no 2 Ducks in your reading, nor any other kind of marital or relationship type luck, so though you may remain friends with this person, love will not progress, in my personal opinion. What is NOT present is just as telling as what is. Just my 2 cents.