Self-Image Spread

Aeric

Lee, I am curious to know what inspired you to make the spread you included in the book. It's very good, though I find it works rather oddly for me.

I've done three personal readings for myserlf using this spread, all focusing on unrelated issues, love, future schooling, and new home. Though I find that the first three cards are easy to put together and interpret, the idea to pick the fourth for yourself frustrates me a little.

Maybe it's because I'm so drawn to a specific few cards visually, that I always end up picking the World card. Not only is it pleasing to the eye, it also fits the situations well as seeing burdens as blessings. I find that due to my continued progress of 'evolving' towards the World card, that it's difficult to rule it out in favour of another self-image. Like I can't let the other cards distract me, so to speak, from taking my eyes off the original goal.

I suppose because being Tarot readers we might fall prey to cheating ourselves knowing what cards we would instinctively select. Though you're right being able to choose your own future helps development towards it, I'm nonetheless loathe to make any variation when the answers rest so comfortably within one specific card. Perhaps I'm being too general about it?

How do you incorporate this spread in your own readings?
 

Lee

Hi, Glaucus --

Your question is interesting. It didn't really occur to me that people might use the spread repeatedly with focuses on different areas of life. I envisioned it more as something one would do once in a while as a general reading. I wanted to provide a method of using the cards which wasn't entirely dependent on random fate for all the cards, and wanted to introduce an element of choice, to echo the fact that we have more choice in self-esteem issues than we sometimes think we have.

I can see how if you did the spread repeatedly, you might be drawn to pull the same final card each time. What you might do is not choose the final card yourself but rather choose it randomly like the other cards, and then think about that card and see how its energy could impact self-esteem in a positive way. Or, instead of choosing the World card, deliberately choose some of the cards which don't appeal to you, and, again, think about how you could possibly use that negative card's energy in a positive way.

If you try these methods, let us know the results!

-- Lee
 

Elentir

Self-Image Spread :; Another Suggestion

I'm thinking that perhaps choosing the same card repeatedly for this spread does not *necessarily* undermine its effectiveness. I mean, because the other cards have been selected randomly in the usual way, relating the final, self-chosen card to the others will still be new each time because its relationship to the others will always be different. I think it's perfectly reasonable to have one or perhaps very few cards that you identify with the most, and in this spread it seems like they become emblematic rather than predictive, like having a point of focus while meditating or visualizing.

It also strikes me as sort of like the traditional significator card, which is also chosen non-randomly. I may always choose, say, the Knight of Pentacles to represent myself, but it will mean something different in each reading depending on the other cards I choose. I personally never use a signifcator, and, strangely, none of my professional colleagues do so either. But i've been thinking lately that perhaps I might begin giving it a try, because of the ways the significator card may resonate especially strongly with other cards that are chosen for the spread. (For example, using the Kn of Pentacles for myself as significator, if other knights or other court pentacles were to appear in other positions, they would emphasize the significator more than, say, a random cup or sword card might.)

Here's an idea; maybe we can begin collaboratively to develop some new spreads designed specifically for this deck? I'm picturing in my head a card layout in the shape of the Mars symbol, or two interlocking Mars symbols....
 

Shade

I think that, at times, the different areas of ourlives are connected by sutle threads to one common need. Even though you are reading different aspects of your life the World could be an answer to all of them. Maybe if you meditate on the world card and you will have the answer to all of the various questions.

Which takes me to Elentir's suggestion for a Mars or Double Mars spread. Perhaps in the single mars the cards on the circular part could represent the various areas of our life and the arrow card could be the direction we need to go in to evolve/transcend/heal/organize. In a double mars a reading could be done for a couple, you would be able to see the various things that are important in their lives at the time and what each of them needs (the arrow points) in order move forward.
 

Elentir

Shade said:
Perhaps in the single Mars the cards on the circular part could represent the various areas of our life and the arrow card could be the direction we need to go in to evolve/transcend/heal/organize. In a double Mars, a reading could be done for a couple, you would be able to see the various things that are important in their lives at the time and what each of them needs (the arrow points) in order move forward.

What an GREAT idea! And as an alternative, how about the circular part representing one's resources, abilities, experience, etc. and the arrow indicating in what direction or to what purpose those things are being applied.

Cool. :cool:
 

Shade

Sounds good and probably more workable as, if in y version the cards of the person's surroundings are all positive why would they want to transcend or move on?

We should test it out and see.
 

Elentir

I don't know if this was clear, but I guess I was thinking of the circular part sort of like the houses of a horoscope spread. I've just been doodling in Powerpoint and came up with a spread like this: eight cards in a circle, then from the right-hand corner card, three cards up in a diagonal, then two cars to the left and two cards down to make the arrow. That's fifteen cards. I usually don't do readings with that many cards in one draw, but it doesn't seem like too much. For a double spread, though, that would be thirty cards... that does seem a bit much.

But what would the eight cards represent? My first thought is the top and bottom, left and right being goal, foundation, past, and future, more or less like the Celtic cross. You could also take the remaining four and, imagining a zodiac wheel, put them at the cross-quarter points (15 Taurus, 15 Leo, 15 Scorpio, 15 Aquarius) and come up with meanings parallel to the corresponding houses (the 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 11th). And oh, look! the arrow of the Mars symbol points right at Scorpio.... interesting, huh?
 

VisionQuest

I just got my deck in the mail a little while ago, and I'm so happy! LOL

I did the Self-Image spread, and I think it's an excellent way to "break in" the deck. I feel connected to the deck already :)

I agree it's not a spread I would use very often, but I did write it up in my Tarot Journal so if I do that spread again in the future I can compare :)