Reader's Choice: Amoroso reads for kare

[Amoroso]

Hello kare. I'm happy to read for you once more.

What question would you like me to tackle?

[kare]

I've been carrying around a kind of emotional burden for a few years now that in the past resulted in some real struggles to move on. Over time I have begun to move on and am doing much better now. How do I continue the positive progress I am making with this situation?

Thank you.

[Amoroso]

That's an interesting question. I'll be posting my reading here in three days at the latest. I already have a spread in mind.

Update: I already drew the cards and am just crafting my analysis. I'll post it here within 24 hours. Thank you for being patient, kare.

[Amoroso]

For this reading, I devised a spread tailored to your question. Since it's mainly about moving on from past hurts, I created the Turnaround Spread, which like any successful about-face is shaped like the letter U:


THE TURNAROUND SPREAD

1 5

2 3 4


1. TRAJECTORY

What would happen if you keep on your current path.

2. - 4. COUNSEL

Three cards representing possible improvements on your approach that would bolster your progress.

5. OUTCOME

The upshot of heeding these advices.


I used the Wild Unknown for this, a deck that I find apt for healing readings. I also employed reversals for this. Here are the cards I drew:

1. Trajectory: IX of Swords

I'm a firm believer in the philosophy that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. You mentioned that you have begun to move on and are doing better now, so I guess that the restorative mechanisms that you had recourse to worked fine. So it got me thinking: what would eventually happen if you pursue your current path? Because if it's all well and good you might as well keep truckin' or risk stumbling into some unpleasant corners of your psyche.

Unfortunately enough, I drew the IX of Swords, with all its attendant baggage and anxieties. It means that eventually, it's very much possible that you'll be encountering the same old ghosts from your past, flareups from your previous struggles. Do remember that this is not inevitable. The events that lead to it might still happen, but what's important is that with this warning, you've forearmed yourself from succumbing to the familiar despair. What you'll change is how you'll react to it.


2. Counsel: III of Cups Rx
VII of Wands
Death

The Reversed III of Cups might mean that this battle is something you'll have to figure out for yourself. No amount of socializing or engaging in various diversions will make it go away. You may want to seek outside help but make sure that the other party is fully competent to deal with it or at least have had useful experiences in that area or things might just get worse. Again though, something tells me that you might go at it alone and still end up succeeding.

This card stands for finally getting serious, of getting down to brass tacks. This is no time for merriment: it's time to grab the bull by the horns. Now that you've achieved some emotional distance from that burden, you'll have the necessary objectivity from which to analyze those events.

Ask yourself: is it possible that the same circumstances will recur again? If it is, what were the various means that you used to deal with it? Which ones were demonstrably successful, what recourses may you resort to if it becomes necessary? How has your situation changed, and what new advantages can you employ now that you can't previously?

If those struggles were a one-off, are there potential triggers that may set off the same anxieties again? How will you deal with then if that happens? The VII of Wands says that regardless of the case, you have an adequate reservoir of strength to draw from with which to fight the same old monsters. You must have enough self-belief though, you should acknowledge that your scars have given you an inner toughness that would be hard to shake the next time. But really, above all you must have the courage and the wherewithal to finally face the core issues that you may have disregarded in an effort to protect yourself from too much distress. A person can only take so much before they break. But that was then, and you're an entirely different person now.

Again: if you feel like there are still some unresolved issues from those painful episodes that you'd eventually have to face, you may as well do so now. Running won't cut it anymore. Old wounds that don't heal might fester into something truly baleful if left to rot. To fear facing it is normal, but now you have to muster the bravery to nevertheless go on the offensive.

The third counsel card is a powerful one: the Death card. It doesn't stand for anything forbidding at all in this instance. It has a very clear message though, and it buttresses the advice made by the preceding cards: that something in your life needs closure. Only by facing your past would you be able to truly proceed forward, purging the trauma and negativities that scarred you and which may yet consume you once more.


3. Outcome: The Emperor Rx

Many Tarotists regard The Emperor as the esoteric twin of the Death card, or at least the purest essence upon which the latter should ideally evolve to. After all, 13 -> 1 + 3 = 4. It is only upon the complete transmogrification of our baser, weaker selves that we can ascend, realizing our fullest potential as we commit our anima to its age-old, primal call to power.

That said, while The Emperor in this last position shares a bond with Death in the penultimate one, we should also point out that it's in a Reversed state. This does not deny the efficacy of the latter. Indeed it presages your desired outcome: that you would eventually free yourself from the specters that may still haunt you. This does not preclude some unintended consequences though.

The shadow Emperor, in his bid to retain a control that he feels is slipping, may become colder, more tyrannical. After all, he successfully banished previous dangers by being ruthlessly methodical and hardening his heart. That may have been necessary during that instance, but if, after all the perils have passed, he still decides to don his impenetrable shell, then that opens up another set of problems.

It is inevitable that there will be a period of instability and vulnerability after all of this. However, just as Temperance follows Death in the path of the Greater Arcana, once you resolve your burdens with finality, balance becomes the key. You would not wish to remain suspended in a petrified state.

I hope this reading would prove helpful to you, kare.

[kare]

For this reading, I devised a spread tailored to your question. Since it's mainly about moving on from past hurts, I created the Turnaround Spread, which like any successful about-face is shaped like the letter U:


THE TURNAROUND SPREAD

1 5

2 3 4


1. TRAJECTORY

What would happen if you keep on your current path.

2. - 4. COUNSEL

Three cards representing possible improvements on your approach that would bolster your progress.

5. OUTCOME

The upshot of heeding these advices.

This is such a neat spread! Thank you!

I used the Wild Unknown for this, a deck that I find apt for healing readings. I also employed reversals for this. Here are the cards I drew:


IMG_20200925_083125.jpg


1. Trajectory: IX of Swords

I'm a firm believer in the philosophy that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. You mentioned that you have begun to move on and are doing better now, so I guess that the restorative mechanisms that you had recourse to worked fine. So it got me thinking: what would eventually happen if you pursue your current path? Because if it's all well and good you might as well keep truckin' or risk stumbling into some unpleasant corners of your psyche.

Unfortunately enough, I drew the IX of Swords, with all its attendant baggage and anxieties. It means that eventually, it's very much possible that you'll be encountering the same old ghosts from your past, flareups from your previous struggles. Do remember that this is not inevitable. The events that lead to it might still happen, but what's important is that with this warning, you've forearmed yourself from succumbing to the familiar despair. What you'll change is how you'll react to it.

You are so right that I do sometimes encounter flareups, some unexpected and some not. I think that focusing on being prepared for when they do happen rather than just focusing on how much better I feel now is a really good suggestion. The idea that it may not go away, or not entirely, at least possibly, makes sense. An attitude of preparation is a good way to keep the positive forward movement.

2. Counsel: III of Cups Rx
VII of Wands
Death

The Reversed III of Cups might mean that this battle is something you'll have to figure out for yourself. No amount of socializing or engaging in various diversions will make it go away. You may want to seek outside help but make sure that the other party is fully competent to deal with it or at least have had useful experiences in that area or things might just get worse. Again though, something tells me that you might go at it alone and still end up succeeding.

This card stands for finally getting serious, of getting down to brass tacks. This is no time for merriment: it's time to grab the bull by the horns. Now that you've achieved some emotional distance from that burden, you'll have the necessary objectivity from which to analyze those events.

Ask yourself: is it possible that the same circumstances will recur again? If it is, what were the various means that you used to deal with it? Which ones were demonstrably successful, what recourses may you resort to if it becomes necessary? How has your situation changed, and what new advantages can you employ now that you can't previously?

I have developed strategies that have worked very well, and it really is up to me to stick with them. There was a situation that arose today and I really had to think hard about what I should do. In the end I decided to trust the strategy that had worked before, and I think it was the right choice. The strategy itself involves a little withdrawal from people, so the reversed 3 cups makes sense.

If those struggles were a one-off, are there potential triggers that may set off the same anxieties again? How will you deal with then if that happens? The VII of Wands says that regardless of the case, you have an adequate reservoir of strength to draw from with which to fight the same old monsters. You must have enough self-belief though, you should acknowledge that your scars have given you an inner toughness that would be hard to shake the next time. But really, above all you must have the courage and the wherewithal to finally face the core issues that you may have disregarded in an effort to protect yourself from too much distress. A person can only take so much before they break. But that was then, and you're an entirely different person now.

Again: if you feel like there are still some unresolved issues from those painful episodes that you'd eventually have to face, you may as well do so now. Running won't cut it anymore. Old wounds that don't heal might fester into something truly baleful if left to rot. To fear facing it is normal, but now you have to muster the bravery to nevertheless go on the offensive.

You are right. I definitely have developed an inner toughess I didn't have before. The situation ultimately led to me building more self-confidence because of what I went through to get over it than I may have ever developed otherwise. It has been easier to face certain things about the situation since I have been feeling better about it. And I've learned too that I don't have to accept others' hurtful assessments when I know in my heart they aren't correct. It was definitely a 7 of Wands situation.

The third counsel card is a powerful one: the Death card. It doesn't stand for anything forbidding at all in this instance. It has a very clear message though, and it buttresses the advice made by the preceding cards: that something in your life needs closure. Only by facing your past would you be able to truly proceed forward, purging the trauma and negativities that scarred you and which may yet consume you once more.

Closure is what is needed, and I am the only person who is going to bring that about for myself. The 3 of cups reversed resonates here too. This is a positive card, and especially in this deck, achieves a certain balance with the 9 of swords and the death imagery and the idea of managing the burden. Maybe I can get closure without completely free of flareups. I've been thinking closure would mean no more flareups, but I do think I need to reassess that position. Because if that were the case, closure would probably not happen. Instead I can manage closure too and not make it depend on things out of my control.

3. Outcome: The Emperor Rx

Many Tarotists regard The Emperor as the esoteric twin of the Death card, or at least the purest essence upon which the latter should ideally evolve to. After all, 13 -> 1 + 3 = 4. It is only upon the complete transmogrification of our baser, weaker selves that we can ascend, realizing our fullest potential as we commit our anima to its age-old, primal call to power.

That said, while The Emperor in this last position shares a bond with Death in the penultimate one, we should also point out that it's in a Reversed state. This does not deny the efficacy of the latter. Indeed it presages your desired outcome: that you would eventually free yourself from the specters that may still haunt you. This does not preclude some unintended consequences though.

The shadow Emperor, in his bid to retain a control that he feels is slipping, may become colder, more tyrannical. After all, he successfully banished previous dangers by being ruthlessly methodical and hardening his heart. That may have been necessary during that instance, but if, after all the perils have passed, he still decides to don his impenetrable shell, then that opens up another set of problems.

It is inevitable that there will be a period of instability and vulnerability after all of this. However, just as Temperance follows Death in the path of the Greater Arcana, once you resolve your burdens with finality, balance becomes the key. You would not wish to remain suspended in a petrified state.

I hope this reading would prove helpful to you, kare.

The reversed Emperor is interesting. I have had to cultivate a sense of coldness in order to remove myself from problematic scenarios. It has felt very uncomfortable to do that, but it has helped me tremendously. I had to make a choice between doing something fundamentally against my nature or remaining burdened by emotional baggage. So on one hand, I would say this is a good trend with this particular situation. But your point is well taken that ideally I learn the proper balance, rather than taking an either/or approach.

This reading was so so helpful. I will take your advice to heart and reflect on it further. I am so appreciative. Thank you so much.

[Amoroso]

Thank you for the helpful feedback, kare!