rwcarter
I'm a fairly new member of AT. In addition to being a Tarot card collector, I also collect spreads. So I have been going through the spreads from page 1 and copying the ones I like and passing by those that don't interest me (or that are very similar to spreads I already have in my collection). I came across the following thread a few hours ago and haven't been able to move past it:
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=35820
I think WhiteWolf had the start of a good idea, but it appears that she hasn't been around for awhile and that she never (as of page 50 in the Spreads forum) expanded upon her initial idea.
First, she constructed her hexagram in the wrong direction. Hexagrams are constructed from the bottom up, not from the top down as she did. So the layout of the cards would be:
16.17.18
13.14.15
10.11.12
7...8...9
4...5...6
1...2...3
As listed in the original thread, one could use reversals to determine whether the line is changing or unchanging and Yin or Yang. I think a better way to make that determination is to use Elemental Dignities (EDs).
For those who are not familiar with EDs, below is one good source for info:
http://supertarot.co.uk/lessons/03edrul.htm
Basically, each Minor Arcana suit is associated with an element*:
Cups = water
Pentacles = earth
Wands = fire
Swords = air
(* - the particular deck you're using may have different associations.)
Each Major Arcana card is also associated with one of the four elements. (There are many systems of associations, so go with whatever system you're familiar with.)
For the purpose of using the Tarot to form a hexagram, we're not worried about whether the elements are friendly/unfriendly/neutral but whether the elements are active or passive. Water and Earth are passive, which is Yin energy. Fire and Air are active, which is Yang energy.
For each line of three cards, you determine how many active and passive cards there are:
if all three cards are passive (all Earth and/or Water), the line becomes changing Yin and is written as -- --x
if two cards are passive (Earth and/or Water) and one card is active (Fire or Air), the line becomes unchanging Yang and is written as ------
if one card is passive (Earth or Water) and two cards are active (Fire and/or Air), the line becomes unchanging Yin and is written as -- --
if all three cards are active (all Fire and/or Air), the line becomes changing Yang and is written as ------x
If there are no changing lines in your hexagram, it's interpreted as it is. Using your preferred source of I Ching interpretations, you would only worry about the main interpretation.
If there are changing lines in your hexagram, they turn into their opposite. So a changing Yin becomes an unchanging Yang and a changing Yang becomes an unchanging Yin. Your answer would lie in both the original hexagram and the changed hexagram, which shows what the situation will develop into or will further clarify the answer given in the first hexagram. The changing lines in the first hexagram are also taken into consideration when looking up the answer.
For example, if lines 2 and 4 were changing lines, when reading the first hexagram, in addition to reading the main interpretation, you would also read the advice given for lines 2 and 4. For the second hexagram, you would just read the main interpretation.
To bring the Tarot cards back into play, you would read the three cards of each line as an Elemental Triad. Lines 1 and 2 reflect the past, lines 3 and 4 reflect the present and lines 5 and 6 reflect the future. If any of those lines are changing lines, then their interpretation would give additional insight into the advice given by the I Ching for those lines.
I haven't tried this myself yet and probably won't get a chance to until Sunday at the earliest.
I'd be interested to hear what other people think about this method and how it works for them.
Rodney
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=35820
I think WhiteWolf had the start of a good idea, but it appears that she hasn't been around for awhile and that she never (as of page 50 in the Spreads forum) expanded upon her initial idea.
First, she constructed her hexagram in the wrong direction. Hexagrams are constructed from the bottom up, not from the top down as she did. So the layout of the cards would be:
16.17.18
13.14.15
10.11.12
7...8...9
4...5...6
1...2...3
As listed in the original thread, one could use reversals to determine whether the line is changing or unchanging and Yin or Yang. I think a better way to make that determination is to use Elemental Dignities (EDs).
For those who are not familiar with EDs, below is one good source for info:
http://supertarot.co.uk/lessons/03edrul.htm
Basically, each Minor Arcana suit is associated with an element*:
Cups = water
Pentacles = earth
Wands = fire
Swords = air
(* - the particular deck you're using may have different associations.)
Each Major Arcana card is also associated with one of the four elements. (There are many systems of associations, so go with whatever system you're familiar with.)
For the purpose of using the Tarot to form a hexagram, we're not worried about whether the elements are friendly/unfriendly/neutral but whether the elements are active or passive. Water and Earth are passive, which is Yin energy. Fire and Air are active, which is Yang energy.
For each line of three cards, you determine how many active and passive cards there are:
if all three cards are passive (all Earth and/or Water), the line becomes changing Yin and is written as -- --x
if two cards are passive (Earth and/or Water) and one card is active (Fire or Air), the line becomes unchanging Yang and is written as ------
if one card is passive (Earth or Water) and two cards are active (Fire and/or Air), the line becomes unchanging Yin and is written as -- --
if all three cards are active (all Fire and/or Air), the line becomes changing Yang and is written as ------x
If there are no changing lines in your hexagram, it's interpreted as it is. Using your preferred source of I Ching interpretations, you would only worry about the main interpretation.
If there are changing lines in your hexagram, they turn into their opposite. So a changing Yin becomes an unchanging Yang and a changing Yang becomes an unchanging Yin. Your answer would lie in both the original hexagram and the changed hexagram, which shows what the situation will develop into or will further clarify the answer given in the first hexagram. The changing lines in the first hexagram are also taken into consideration when looking up the answer.
For example, if lines 2 and 4 were changing lines, when reading the first hexagram, in addition to reading the main interpretation, you would also read the advice given for lines 2 and 4. For the second hexagram, you would just read the main interpretation.
To bring the Tarot cards back into play, you would read the three cards of each line as an Elemental Triad. Lines 1 and 2 reflect the past, lines 3 and 4 reflect the present and lines 5 and 6 reflect the future. If any of those lines are changing lines, then their interpretation would give additional insight into the advice given by the I Ching for those lines.
I haven't tried this myself yet and probably won't get a chance to until Sunday at the earliest.
I'd be interested to hear what other people think about this method and how it works for them.
Rodney
