Find the following trumps which represent the three aspects of the Goddess - Maiden, Mother and Crone:
The High Priestess - because you want to perceive wisdom from before your death and rebirth into this life
The Empress - because you're trying to create new knowledge of a former life and how you nurtured and were nurtured
The Moon - because you want to use your wisdom, intuition and psychic powers
Place them at the top of your layout to allow their influence to flow over the cards below. Make an invocation if you wish. If you have a symbolic representation of the Goddess, place it here and place these Trumps with the others. You could consider using cards from another deck, for instance.
Look at your deck face up and deal one by one to 3 piles: Trumps, Court Cards and Minors.
Shuffle the Courts and draw a Significator to represent yourself in that life. Place it in a central position.
Shuffle the Minors and draw one card to answer the following questions. Place them around your Significator where you think it most appropriate.
What situation was I in immediately before my death?
What was my position at the peak of my powers?
What was the nature of my love life?
What was my vocation?
What was my early family life like?
These questions are just a sample of what you could ask about a whole life. Change them, add to them and/or take some away depending on what you think is appropriate. You could, for example, make 12 positions like the houses of an astrology chart but this is obviously going to yield many cards to interpret.
Now think about an aspect of that life that you want to know more about, that firstly, had some major influence affect it.
If you have not already done it and you have a symbolic representation of the Goddess, place it where the 3 Trumps are at the top and shuffle them with the other Trumps. If not, resolve that her influence is still pervading your space and your reading and shuffle them with the other Trumps. Draw a Trump and place it with the relevant position. Repeat for as many positions as you wish.
Secondly, if you want to know about other people who may have been significant, find a representation of yourself in that life, place it where the Significator was and shuffle it with all the other Courts. Draw a card for a position, as you did with the Trumps.
Thirdly, use as many of the remaining minors as you think necessary to clarify positions you want to know more about.
Take the time to meditate on and empathise with the life described by the reading. Create 'stories' relating a card to others. Record your impressions if you think they have the 'ring of truth' about them.
Give thanks to the Goddess and dedicate the fruits of your new-found wisdom to the propagation, nurture and enhancement of all the creatures of the universe.
Gather all the cards together, shuffle and think, "Now, I am dispelling the energies used in this reading and clearing the space."
