Ok, here's the sample, as promised.
I used the Anraths Tarot, which is a RWS deck with eight additional Court Cards - four female Knights (Ladies) and four female Pages (Maidens). This makes for a slightly different grouping, as you now have three pairs: children/adolescents/inexperienced people (Pages/Maidens), enterprising/hardworking people climbing the hierarchy
fast (Knights/Ladies) and older/established/conservative people in charge (Kings/Queens). I mention this, because an awful lot of Courts turned up in this reading.
For the question, I chose the state of the global economy as the focus, because it a) impacts virtually everyone, b) demands taking
action from our
governments (both being represented by the Emperor card), and c) it is a mess that needs ordering, which is what the Emperor (and this spread) is about.
And (and I promise that I'll get on with the reading in a few seconds
) I laid out more than one card in each position: 3 cards in pos 1 forming the Emperor's crown, 4 in pos 2 forming the scepter, 4 in pos 3 for the globe and 2 in pos 4 to make a nice square throne. I read them in combination.
So,
finally, here it is.
Question: What can be done to get the global economic crisis under control?
Pos. 1 (a clear assessment of the situation: what is really going on) - Knight of Swords, Maiden of Coins, 7 of Swords
Right now, there's a lot of hectic activity, mostly to show that "we are taking care of the situation", but without thinking things through before rushing in. There is no plan, no strategy (Knight of Swords) - the Maiden of Coins is really overwhelmed with all this complicated financial stuff. She's so
new to all this! Why couldn't the banks and stock brokers and... y'know,
people take care of this before it exploded in our face?
Meanwhile, some people are still making profit out of this mess, quietly transfering their money to safer coasts, or even going to court and demanding their bonus... never mind the mismanagement...
Pos. 2 (action that can be enforced without having to be considerate of others' sensitivities; what is in
your power) - Lady of Wands/The World, 8 of Wands, Maiden of Cups
The World and the 8/Wands confirm that there must be a concerted effort of governments all over the world to get a handle on this. 8/Wands strikes me as a lot of travel (by air), lots of meetings and signing of contracts.
I'm surprised that no card indicates harsh measures, new laws or other means of setting boundaries. The two Courts are very idealistic, but then again, with all those
sovereign nations, such things probably cannot be enforced. You'd
have to appeal to everyone's ideals.
The Lady of Wands wants to be successful, not only in the sense of successful meetings (with results!), but also in the sense of "we need to get the global engine fixed and the flow of money running again", like you'd want your business to be busy and productive. She sees it as a bigger business than usual, but, if she's successful, the fame will be bigger, too
The Maiden of Cups thinks of the people. She's the one to remind everyone that there is real human suffering, that families have lost and are still losing their jobs and homes. The Cup
provides. Politicians with €€€€€€€ (or $$$$$$$$$) every month better not forget it.
Please note that this position is about what
must be done; it doesn't say that it will be done. As to what is currently being done, refer to pos.1 . A rather sobering contrast, if you ask me.
Pos. 3 (things that need to be done, but need others' input and cooperation) - Ace of Wands, Strength, Queen of Swords, Knight of Coins
For some reason, I feel his is more about what each nation has to do individually; a new beginning, a pact among all members of society to close the money-eating mouth of the Beast of Recession (Ace/Wands, Strength). Also, strength again indicates that not brute force, but rather gentle prudence should be applied. The Queen of Swords and the Knight of Coins may be the government (now wiser for the experience) and the (hard-working) population, respectively.
Pos.4 (conditions that cannot be changed or avoided) - 5 of Coins, 10 of Wands
Well, that speaks for itself, doesn't it? Financial hardship and the burden of responsibility to avert the worst; also, this man has arrogantly grabbed more than he can handle - but he can't drop the Wands now, because that would only aggravating the predicament...
And since the spread
looked hollow, I invented a 5th position in the middle: a summary, the "heart" of the matter: Justice
Here, at last, the Law shows up - of course, justice has to be at the heart of all measures that need to be taken.
This is what the layout looks like:
..................\ I /...............
...+...........................I......
....I...............I.......I......I..
....I...........................I.....
...................=.................
...................=.................
Let me know what you think! I love feedback!
TL
