TdM Charlie Brown reads for Dodalisque

[Charlie Brown]

Speak, so that ye may be heard.

[dodalisque]

Well, today is the first week of the new soccer season in England so I would really like to ask you for some more predictions, but my question is this. My grandson is about to start high-school and I wonder, amid all the uncertainty about the Covid-19 pandemic, what he should expect and how he will fare. If that is too narrow, I suppose I am curious about his education, and whether he will be successful in finding a comfortable place in this new school, what friendships he will form, and how it will prepare him for adult life. I leave it to you to frame a decent question out of all this.

[Charlie Brown]

Death as the key card states the obvious that it's going to be a period of transformation. The resulting line is:

Star - Magician - Devil - Wheel Rx - (Fool Rx)

Clearly, Le Bateleur signifies your grandson. So without belaboring my interpretive process, I see that he's going to be distracted by something represented by the star. This distraction will be something of a negative influence (at least as it directly relates to his academics) and will cause to lose momentum and probably do a bit more poorly than he otherwise would.

The star could be a lot of things: The first thing I noticed was the young man looking at the naked girl. I thought, but this is distance learning, so no little girlfriend. But... then I remembered how these kids do everything virtually. Thinking about the star as the star and not the woman on the star, it can also represent a distant message a path to follow. So, it IS possible that the star represents distance learning in itself. If so, the reading just says that it isn't going to go so great for him and he'll learn less than he would otherwise and, possibly, get turned off to education.

I did draw a couple of cover cards as I felt warranted. The Star is 'clarified' (ugh) by the KoC. Again, there are a couple of interpretations. My first impression is that it suggests that the star represents a relationship: cups as romance and—as I've often discussed—the King of Cups is a very detached figure, so he's appropriate to represent online love. However, it's also possible (given the idea above of star-as-star, not girl) that it represents something distant (star) and detached (KoC) like online pornography, etc. However, I infer from the 2 of Cups that clarifies the Devil that it is indeed a relationship that causes the problem. Looking at the King of Cups, more literally, it could be an older teacher or administrative figure that causes the problems.

So, in summary Magician - Devil/2C - Wheel Rx/9W seems awfully clear but what exactly is the initiating cause (as denoted by The Star) is in question. My sense is that it is most likely social and/or romantic entanglements on the internet but might also be online pornography and/or games, a bad teacher, or just the experience of online learning in general. I imagine that a further reading could tackle the question of how he can best react to the upcoming difficulties.

[dodalisque]

My sense is that it is most likely social and/or romantic entanglements on the internet but might also be online pornography and/or games, a bad teacher, or just the experience of online learning in general.

My grandson sounds like a chip off the old block. How wonderful the way you connect the Star card with online pornography. I'm not sure that would ever happen in a Rider-Waite reading. I like your take on the King of Cups. He looks like a tired old lecher, like Edward VII or Jack Nicholson. With the hand on hip, half-sitting half-standing, he's like an aged, distracted version of the guy on the Emperor card. What is that ridiculous hat he's wearing under(?) his crown? The card in Kris Hadar's TdM has a ray of yellow sunshine, or something, coming down from on high to explain the gap between the two separate wings of the hat. I assume that's why he does it.

It might have been nice to see you bring out the chaining element of the spread rather than just using it as an elaborate alternative to shuffling, but the question itself wasn't really suitable for that kind of approach. I can understand why Flornoy calls it the Cadillac Spread - big and unwieldy. Maybe it's very awkwardness is what would make such a reading seem like a special event if you did it face to face with a client. But thanks for indulging me and letting us experiment with it. I don't have any other pet spreads in mind. Apologies for being so slow to respond. It's been hard finding time this month.

[Charlie Brown]

I can't remember the last time I've enjoyed a sentence so much.

How wonderful the way you connect the Star card with online pornography.