Tarot: Dodalisque and Charlie Brown

[Charlie Brown]

So I've been thinking about this spread and how the cards work together rather than as just a set of 1-card slots. Ultimately, this seems to be a spread about how to harness your energies in order to manifest something new in your life and/or the world.

Cards 1 and 2 indicate the internal and external forces at play
Card 3 shows how they can combine. That is, WHERE they can lead to if properly synthesized
Card 5 shows the method of transformation. That is WHAT to do
Card 4 (abundance) shows what you have as an available resource to fuel the transformation. That is HOW to go about doing it.
Card 6 (surrounding energies) suggests to what end this is happening. That is, WHY bother with this.

To help clarify these relationships, I'm reordering the cards as follows:

x6x
132
x5x
x4x


Dodalisque, why don't you subscribe to this so you can get notifications. I'll update with the reading when it's ready.

[Charlie Brown]

I've drawn the cards and will post the full, main interpretation later. In the meantime, I thought I'd share a brief, alternative (or, perhaps, complementary) interpretation of the cards, which is that you should take some kind of a beach vacation.

[Charlie Brown]

The cards' actionable advice is most succinctly summarized in the tones of a classic American cheerleading trope. Since I'm not sure what lives in your mind's ear, I link you to the following:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... jvcficmBgw

As we discussed, my plan was to rely more on astrological and elemental associations at least as much as the normal suit/number interpretations. With all of that fire, I feel that I got a sense of what the cards were trying to say almost immediately. As I looked more closely, I could see my initial reactions reinforced in several ways, but I don't want to give the impression that this reading is the result of a long or involved deliberation. Most of the specific delineations were generated post hoc.

My executive summary is this: Burn hot in order to beat off the yoke of Saturnine oppression. This will allow for more balance and pleasure in your life.

Working with this spread, I realized that I didn't fully comprehend the role of card #6. Yes, it's surrounding energy and I further suggested that it served the why/whither function. But what I didn't mentally account for before drawing the cards was whether that energy is pre-extant to the reading (i.e. the current state) or the energy that will surround the process of manifestation called for in the cards. Luckily, it doesn't really change much of anything in this instance since, in either case, it speaks to the need to rectify and elemental imbalance through the manifestation of your fire energy.

So much fire and Solar energy! Aries, Leo, and Sag. 2 Suns, Mars, and The Devil. Oh, my.

It seems like you might have a lot of weight on you at the moment. Devil and 10 of Wands as internal and external factors make me think that you're feeling pressed upon. I wonder if, at present, you suffer from a general repression of your animating energy. As you know, I don't do a lot of Thoth reading, but when I do, I always keep in mind that The Devil tends to serve as a kind of archetypal masculine energy. Crowley says "[The Devil] represents masculine energy at its most masculine" He further states that the card shows the "fiery material energy of creation." In the context of this 'manifesting' spread, I take that seriously. We see Saturn as part of the 10 of Wands' external forces and, here, the Devil appears to control Saturn.

You have what it takes to overcome these forces that are pressing down on you.

But how? If I linked to cheerleaders already, I might as well go down the rabbit hole and into the American Heartland:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuFkavneS60

Fight fire with fire. Their ten wands are matched by the seven-plus-three. The dragon fights the tiger. Card 4 shows the resources you're advised to bring to bear in your life. The 7 of wands indicates a strong sense of yourself and an abundance of Martian energy. Use that (card position 5) to take your own side (3 of Wands). Assert your position. Stand your ground. I took a glance at Liber M and it says that this card is, ultimately, about establishing yourself. This makes total sense given that the ram wants to climb the mountain and stand high in the sun.

By fiercely advocating for yourself, you can arrive at the 6 of Cups, in which fire and water become balanced and life becomes more pleasurable.

[Charlie Brown]

But, I repeat, all that sun manifesting itself in the Lord of Pleasure's sun/water combo may just be telling you to take a summer vacation.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mvyh01 ... u.be&t=557

[dodalisque]

Thanks for yet another fascinating reading. I'm a bit scared of the Thoth, and all things Thothy, because my knowledge of astrology is so sketchy but your reading made perfect sense. You put your finger on the main issue I'm facing these days. After a lifetime of working construction jobs to burn off my restless physical energy, for the past 5 years or so I have been working at a sedentary retirement job in a bookstore. I love the work but I am putting on weight and feel generally "oppressed" and miserable. I think you're reading is 100% accurate in suggesting I need to "burn hot", that is perhaps to institute a fairly rigorous exercise regimen in order to feel more like myself. This reading is a bit of a wake up call for me. To be honest I hadn't realised just how gloomy I've been getting over the past year. There are no imminent disasters or great sources of anxiety in my life these days, so I guess I feel like I don't have the right to complain, but I am just marking time and it doesn't suit me. On a very mundane level, half-jokingly, I wonder if all those Wands might not be cigarettes. After many years away from smoking, just lately I've taken it up again and I'm smoking way too much tobacco and pot. At my age it's a downer rather than a stimulant. Maybe the burning Wands and the "oppression" are the same thing. I'm not sure how this theory would work out with individual cards. I certainly feel I won't have the 6 of Cups pleasure experience until I can become more physically disciplined and active. I'm not sure if I need an actual vacation to charge my batteries. Like you I live in a beautiful part of the world and feel sometimes as though I am permanently on vacation. I almost need a vacation from vacations. Get working! But no, you're definitely right that pleasure is missing from my life these days. Maybe when you get old you need to redefine what constitutes pleasure. Sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll (even Kansas) are not really as much fun as they used to be.

Thothy decks seem a lot less cozy and anecdotal than the RWS - more chthonic, if that's the right word. Anyway, it's definitely a good fit for the pagan Beltane Spread. Nice touch, in a reading that recommends a vacation, to lay out the cards on a map. It was also the first tarot reading I've ever received that came with its own soundtrack! In fact if you count the picture of the two Hilton cocktails, this reading is a complete synesthetic sensory experience. Who knew that San Diego had its own official song. New York and Chicago and San Francisco have too many. The cheerleaders chanting "Be aggressive" reminds me of the time I was coaching my young daughter's soccer team a number of years ago. Several of the other parents complained when I instituted this chant among our players at the start of the game. Very middle-class, politically correct neighbourhood. For a joke I suggested we change the chant to "Be assertive", but they all loved the idea so I was stuck with it for the rest of the season. The video of Kansas singing "Fight Fire With Fire" is utterly alarming. Jeez, even during the 70s I didn't have that much energy.

[Charlie Brown]

On a very mundane level, half-jokingly, I wonder if all those Wands might not be cigarettes.

That would make a certain amount of sense. In that case, the Devil would probably be interpreted in a more traditional sense, with less of Crowley's masculine animus schtick. You have some internal problem that's externally reflected in those 10 wands cum cigarettes.

Learning more about your recent situation and the growth of your gloominess, it seems relevant to share a thought I had regarding the High Priestess. Thinking about what it would mean if that spread position were more of a past/present style card (you'll recall that I mentioned some confusion as to whether that position was about the past or the future), I had that thought that it was saying "you're all wet."

If cigarettes are a "vice" notice how that contrasts with the 3's title of Virtue.

[dodalisque]

It's like when Gene Wilder in "Young Frankenstein" is having an hysterical fit and he frantically yells out to his hunchbacked assistant played by Marty Feldman, "I'm having a panic attack. I'm having an hysterical fit. I'm in hysterics." So Marty Feldman slaps him across the face. Wilder stops vibrating for a second to realise what just happened, then says, "I'm in pain. I'm having a panic attack, I'm in hysterics, and I'm in pain." So Marty Feldman throws a bucket of water over him. Wilder stops once again to register the new sensation, and says, "I'm wet. I'm in pain. I'm in hysterics, and I'm wet."

[Charlie Brown]

I got to slap someone once in order to calm him down. Good times!

[chiscotheque]

i would never argue that Dodalisque isn't all wet, he is a Scorpio after all, but as with most Scorpios, it's a kind of fire-water. i recognize that i'm just dipping my foot in here, but i'm curious as to what the High Priestess means in this reading - it seems she's the WHY, but i see little to no exposition on her significance here. she seems to stand in stark distinction from all the male fire energy.

[Charlie Brown]

i would never argue that Dodalisque isn't all wet, he is a Scorpio after all, but as with most Scorpios, it's a kind of fire-water. i recognize that i'm just dipping my foot in here, but i'm curious as to what the High Priestess means in this reading - it seems she's the WHY, but i see little to no exposition on her significance here. she seems to stand in stark distinction from all the male fire energy.

The spread position describes her as "surrounding energy." As I wrote before, I was unclear as I did the reading whether this was meant as the surrounding energy that exists at present or the energy that will surround the future "manifestation" that this spread seems to assume will happen. Either way, what she brings to the reading is the idea that the ultimate purpose of this fire is to bring about a better overall balance, as supported by the combined fire/water of the Six of Cups/Lord of Pleasure. So, he's either soggy and needs heat to dry out (HP as current energy) or burning away the forces of oppression will allow him to enjoy a better balance (HP as future energy, emphasis on the Lord of Pleasure).

[chiscotheque]

again, i'd never argue that Dodalisque isn't soggy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edSaraqDzm4
but it's interesting how the why can be what motivates in the here and now or what the why is as an end goal. both seem plausible, and while both may co-exist, my money's on the latter - the anvil of the 10 certainly feels like a red-hot reshaping amounting to a foundational rebalance (HP sauce) and resulting in 6/cups stuff.
if i may, i think some people have problems with the HP, but for me, one of the things she signifies is something maybe not "fun" but fundamental which fire let's say, with all its heat and light, overlooks, something which feels lost but still exists somewhere to be found, a crucial something which may just salvage a guy from the wreck of himself.