Seven Noblet cards. A reading.

BSwett

Hi all,
I know that not many people are doing this around here, perhaps because the 'early decks' sub forum is more of a historian and collector gathering place; but I feel like there is a pretty big community of TdM users, and doing only a monthly 1 on 1 reading circle that forbids third party input is a waste of valuable knowledge and opinions from my fellow readers. And I don't want to post this elsewhere and get some RWS interpretations for my cards. So here I go.

This is a reading I did for myself that I want to share. I want to share it because the results were pretty interesting but some of the cards proved a bit challenging for me, so I'd gladly take some feedback. I've been trying to harness this particular 7 card horseshoe spread and of course, fine tune my TdM abilities, so, after a good year of turning my attention (again) to the tarot, I decided to ask the cards for an overview and advice regarding my 'cartomantic' journey.

This version of a horseshoe goes like this:
1) Past
2) Present
3) Hidden influence
4) Obstacle
5) Environment
6) Advice
7) Outcome

And this is what Jean Noblet had to say to me:

1) Past. Seven of Swords.
The number seven, for me, represents the idea of going deeper, the mystic search. The soul of things. Combine this with the thinking suit, and looking at the issue I'm trying to address, it made me think about my past focus on studying and rehashing my relationship with the cards. I've been certainly reaching deep in my journey to better understand the Tarot and come up with my way of using the deck.

2) Present. Eight of cups.
The first thing I thought when I saw this card was my small yet well organized collection of decks. They are like cups full of psychic inspiration. They quench the inner thirst that my heart has for something sacred and I think the eight of cups shows this. This is the number of efficiency and talent, of energy and quality, and in the present, that's what i'm aiming to achieve. I also see the extending vines and leafs representing how the tarot is reaching out and spreading to the four corners of my life and how I'm hoping to be able to somehow help the people that are close to me.

3) HIdden Influence. Queen of cups.
Here lies one of the tricky spots for this reading. First of all, the hidden influence concept is often kind of gray when I read the cards. Add to this the fact that this Queen is actually hiding something inside her glorious cup. Double puzzle. I know she's caring, and encouraging. She is the Queen of love and creativity and psychic powers, and I'm not sure if she' saying that those powers are hidden to me, or that actually I have some special talents that are still to properly be uncovered and see the light. Either way, i'm working on opening that cup…

4) Obstacle. The Tower.
Walls. Bricks. Confinement. Maybe the lid on the queens cup! I think this deck is telling me to come out of the closet and start reading cards for more people. This will no doubt help polish my skills. Hmmmm….

5) Environment. Seven of cups.
I find in my surroundings the opportunity to exercise my esoteric muscle. I have a small group of close friends that get together once a week to talk tarot, and we share our findings, learnings and decks. Sometimes we bring some runes or astrology to the table and have lots of fun going deep into the mystic heart. I see in this card that fertile world that surrounds me. My wife is part of this too, and our home is warm and affectionate. I love the seven of cups!

6) Advice. Queen of Swords.
Objective perspective. She looks at things through her sword, and this helps her properly measure the dark and light of things. The rational and the irrational. She is probably advising me to be very real and honest when I look at the cards. And she's looking directly at the eight of cups in the present position. This queen looks very serious…. This one is tricky as well….

7) Outcome. Ace of cups.
I can't help but smile when I see this overflowing cup. I feel like if I'm able to unscramble the hidden clues that both Queens are pointing out, and break down some of the walls to let the light in, I could build a very powerful castle in my mystic cup, heighten my senses, and have an abundance of positive energy to share. I'll take an ace as an outcome card any day!

This i what I got from this reading. In all honesty, I know very well that I usually tend to look at things from the most positive angle I can find; It is how I tend to live my life, and it almost always works, but I don't want to loose objectivity by always wearing these rose tint glasses.
If anyone in this Marseille forum wants to pitch in and help me understand this reading a little better, I owe you one. Is all part of the journey!
Paz.
B.

dancing_moon

I can't agree with you enough.

Thanks for sharing your readings with everyone!

This is a very interesting spread, and I like how you interpreted it. I'm going to add some ideas I had looking at your cards. Hope you'll find something useful in them.

First of all, it's interesting to note the opposition 7 of Swords - 8 of Cups. In the past, you tried to harness your knowledge of Tarot in an intellectual way, gathering information and trying to assemble a whole system of it. However, now you're using a more balanced and intuitive approach. 8s somehow build on 7s, so your intuitive insights often come from the knowledge you gained before, but it's certainly a step ahead - and a shift in focus, from thinking about card meanings to 'feeling' them.

Court cards are always tricky to interpret.

I see the Queen of Cups as your hidden nurturing nature - in your interpretation you keep talking about helping people and sharing your Tarot skills for their benefit. So, it might be the part of you that keeps returning your attention to Tarot and how you can use it for the good of other people.

As for the Tower... I get a feeling you might be a little afraid to leave the pre-learnt meanings of cards and just open up to your intuition. Perhaps, the Queen invites you to open the infinite ocean of your own inner self through Tarot, but you're reluctant to leave the safe framework you've studied, which might be narrowing your understanding of the cards right now.

I love your interpretation of 7 of Cups and the Queen of Swords.

You're lucky to have such a friendly community to share Tarot with.

The Ace of Cups is great to get as the outcome! If you can incorporate both Queens in how you read Tarot, you'll be able to build a new and solid foundation for your skills for sure.

For me, those two Queens stand for the two sides, left and right brain, logic/knowledge and feeling/intuition. If you can master them both and make them work together, it's going to be a great new coil in your Tarot journey.

Hope any of this makes sense to you.

Thanks for sharing once again!

BSwett

dancing_moon said:
8s somehow build on 7s, so your intuitive insights often come from the knowledge you gained before, but it's certainly a step ahead - and a shift in focus, from thinking about card meanings to 'feeling' them.

Thank you so much dancing_moon! This is a fantastic way of looking at those two cards. I'm remembering this for sure. Love how you saw that progression of the numbers and change of suit.
Also really enjoy your view on the Queen of Cups. Those courts often take some time to sink in. Your words are truly really helpful!

Sherryl

I tried interpreting your spread before reading your comments so I wouldn't be influenced. I hope this slightly different view is helpful.

BSwett said:
1) Past. Seven of Swords.
The number seven, for me, represents the idea of going deeper, the mystic search. The soul of things. Combine this with the thinking suit, and looking at the issue I'm trying to address, it made me think about my past focus on studying and rehashing my relationship with the cards. I've been certainly reaching deep in my journey to better understand the Tarot and come up with my way of using the deck.

I agree that this card has to do with intellectual pursuits. Your tarot studies have taken you into new territory and encouraged you to innovate and think creatively.

2) Present. Eight of cups.
The first thing I thought when I saw this card was my small yet well organized collection of decks. They are like cups full of psychic inspiration. They quench the inner thirst that my heart has for something sacred and I think the eight of cups shows this. This is the number of efficiency and talent, of energy and quality, and in the present, that's what i'm aiming to achieve. I also see the extending vines and leafs representing how the tarot is reaching out and spreading to the four corners of my life and how I'm hoping to be able to somehow help the people that are close to me.

There's a number progression from seven in the past to eight in the present, but the suits (swords and cups) are somewhat incompatible. Your studies have resulted in a mass of branches and leaves extending in several directions that might need to be pruned back. Your current circumstances are defined by three Cups cards, showing that this kind of energy is swirling around you in a big way. The two cups in the center may end up as the two falling figures in the Tower.

3) HIdden Influence. Queen of cups.
Here lies one of the tricky spots for this reading. First of all, the hidden influence concept is often kind of gray when I read the cards. Add to this the fact that this Queen is actually hiding something inside her glorious cup. Double puzzle. I know she's caring, and encouraging. She is the Queen of love and creativity and psychic powers, and I'm not sure if she' saying that those powers are hidden to me, or that actually I have some special talents that are still to properly be uncovered and see the light. Either way, i'm working on opening that cup…

The Queen is a supportive woman who is hiding a gift in her closed chalice. If these cards were lined up in a horizontal row, she would be offering her cup to the Eight of Cups. Perhaps this is an intuitive insight, or a unifying symbol that is still lurking deep in your subconscious, that has yet to emerge and give you clarity about what the Eight of Cups means. This could simply signify a woman, possibly a teacher you haven't met yet. Perhaps your wife has been trying to tell you something about your metaphysical studies that you haven't been hearing.

4) Obstacle. The Tower.
Walls. Bricks. Confinement. Maybe the lid on the queens cup! I think this deck is telling me to come out of the closet and start reading cards for more people. This will no doubt help polish my skills. Hmmmm….

When I looked at this card, I heard the words "tripping over your own shoe laces and falling on your face". This card doesn't show you being stuck in a tower; rather you are being forcefully ejected. I also thought "too much fire in the head". The Queen of Cups might be emerging from the tower bearing something that's been locked up in the dungeon, which she is offering to reinvigorate your present circumstances. I really like Dancing Moon's description of the Queen leaving the tower.

5) Environment. Seven of cups.
I find in my surroundings the opportunity to exercise my esoteric muscle. I have a small group of close friends that get together once a week to talk tarot, and we share our findings, learnings and decks. Sometimes we bring some runes or astrology to the table and have lots of fun going deep into the mystic heart. I see in this card that fertile world that surrounds me. My wife is part of this too, and our home is warm and affectionate. I love the seven of cups!

This is the last of the Cups cards that describe your current circumstances. An environment of metaphysical searching and questing which has generated the abundant ideas and pathways of the Eight of Cups.

6) Advice. Queen of Swords.
Objective perspective. She looks at things through her sword, and this helps her properly measure the dark and light of things. The rational and the irrational. She is probably advising me to be very real and honest when I look at the cards. And she's looking directly at the eight of cups in the present position. This queen looks very serious…. This one is tricky as well….

She is facing the Eight of Cups across the horseshoe, getting ready to use her sword to cut through the tangle and get to the heart of things. If these cards were aligned in a row, she would be facing the Seven of Cups, offering her objectivity and intellectual acumen to the metaphysically inclined center cup. Perhaps she has seized the vertical sword in the first card. Take a look at what has especially excited you intellectually in the past – this could show you where your studies need to go next.

7) Outcome. Ace of cups.
I can't help but smile when I see this overflowing cup. I feel like if I'm able to unscramble the hidden clues that both Queens are pointing out, and break down some of the walls to let the light in, I could build a very powerful castle in my mystic cup, heighten my senses, and have an abundance of positive energy to share. I'll take an ace as an outcome card any day!

The Queen's closed cup opens up. What was hidden will bloom, probably after the tower comes crashing down. After the ruin comes rebirth. It reminds me of how wildflowers spring up the year following a forest fire.

I don't think you saw this spread through rose-colored glasses. You know your life better than anyone else. Dancing Moon's comments imply that transitioning from the intellectual swords to the intuitive cups was a good thing. My emphasis is different because of how I see the Eight of Cups. I see "eights" as an excessive amount of energy. When you consider that four of your seven cards are Cups, you have a huge amount of emotion and intuition that desperately needs balancing by the Queen of Sword's objectivity and critical analysis.

If I may be blunt for a moment – I really don't like this kind of spread with the TdM. Each card is isolated in its own spread position, encapsulated in a bubble (a "past" bubble, an "advice" bubble, etc.) that inhibits interaction with the other cards. I tried to overcome this by looking for similarities in suit and number, and for echoes in card imagery. I wanted to line the cards up so they could talk to their neighbors rather than having to shout at the opposite card across the gap of the horseshoe.

My summary of your cartomantic journey: You've gotten off to a brilliant start, but may be getting bogged down in too many metaphysical byways. The universe wants to send you a message that could unify your studies and tie a lot of loose ends together. Before you can hear it you need to clean house, simplify, and get back some of the mental clarity and intellectual mojo you had in the past. Your reward will be a creative breakthrough and spiritual renewal.

Feel free to tell me I have no idea what I'm talking about. This is a learning experience for me as well.

BSwett

Hi Sherryl,

Awesome to read your words! Thank you so much for adding to the many angles available to a reading. TdM is particularly special in this aspect, I believe. We all build our own techniques and approach to the cards, specially the minors, and that flexibility makes for great creative control. Love it.

I do agree, somewhat, with what you say about positional spreads kind of locking the cards and limiting their interpretation. I often prefer freeform layouts as well, and let the cards speak to each other that way. That being said, I feel like querents probably enjoy seeing the cards in specific positions, face down first, and with exciting anticipation watch the reader slowly flip them. It spices things up a bit…. It's also good exercise. But yes, I know what you mean.
I also had a thought regarding the shape of this spread vs. a more linear display; if you think of a gathering of people having a pow-wow, or a conversation, you wouldn't see them line up in a row. This would limit their exchanges to the people right next to them. If everyone sits in a horseshoe formation, then everybody is free to interact with everyone else! So if we think of the cards as friends talking to each other, and the reader as the person closing the circle, this places all the participants face to face and allows, for example, the Queen of swords to talk to the eight of cups, and me, to look straight at the crumbling tower and turn to the queens for help! Ladies, HELP!

I loved your reading though. A couple of things you said particularly grabbed me:

First, again, that relationship between the Queen of Swords and the eight of cups. The way she looks ready to use her sword to cut through all those branches and get to the heart of things. As you said towards the end: It's easy to get bogged down in too many metaphysical byways. It's hard not too when the world of tarot is so large and fascinating! You just want to read more books, research more history, get more historical decks!
(I just got my hands on Crowley's Thoth, and phew, THAT road could go on for miles and miles…)

Another interesting thing is how you mentioned my wife. She has been encouraging me to step out and do some readings. In fact, just today i got offered a paying gig to read cards at a big party happening this weekend. They are setting up a tent with a couple other people and want me to participate with my cards. I am very hesitant because it is a 'party', and the theme is, of course, halloween, and so they think it'd be 'spooky' to have some 'fortune tellers' available. Well, I take Tarot a lot more seriously and personal than that, but she said, screw it, It'll be fun and great practice, and there's gonna be lots of good friends there…. Hmm...
I'm still on the fence about this, but perhaps you're right. She could be the queen, releasing the cup from the tower and moving it towards the celebratory, and very energetic eight of cups 'party'…

And lastly; I really liked your comment of "too much fire in the head". Definitely my best readings and most powerful connection to the cards happens when I've let tarot matters settle. When it's not so driven by hasty passion. That perspective on the Tower as obstacle pairs fantastically with The Queen of sword as advice. Just like a bottle of Viognier goes with Clams and Linguini. (sorry, it's dinner time, I'm hungry).

So again. Thank you very much Sherryl. Of course you know what you're talking about! And yes, let's exercise more TdM readings in this neck of the woods!

Paz,
B.

Sherryl

BSwett said:
I also had a thought regarding the shape of this spread vs. a more linear display; if you think of a gathering of people having a pow-wow, or a conversation, you wouldn't see them line up in a row. This would limit their exchanges to the people right next to them. If everyone sits in a horseshoe formation, then everybody is free to interact with everyone else! So if we think of the cards as friends talking to each other, and the reader as the person closing the circle, this places all the participants face to face and allows, for example, the Queen of swords to talk to the eight of cups, and me, to look straight at the crumbling tower and turn to the queens for help! Ladies, HELP!

I love the image of the cards having a conversation around a horseshoe-shaped conference table with the reader at one end as the moderator. I'm inspired to make my own horseshoe spread!

In fact, just today i got offered a paying gig to read cards at a big party happening this weekend.

I've heard people say so many negative things about doing parties. But many years ago I did a few large corporate parties, and the experience of giving 50 quick readings in a row gave me a confidence boost that never left me. Best of luck if you decide to do it.