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Name/Age
Reading Type: Name/Age
Cards: 16, 1, 1
Question or Concern: This is a
general reading, done without a specific question in mind.
Deck Used: The Halloween Tarot
Spread Used: Name, Birth, Year
For your reading today, I first calmed and centered
and established a connection with my inner voice. I meditated on
the spreads I want to do for you today. We’ll do the Name/Age
spread I talked about, and then I’ll calculate your Birth
card and Year card. It will be interesting to see if either of those
come up in the reading. You’ll notice a 5th card added to
your last name. This is because there are 5 sections to the Future
part of this spread. Your age is 46 and the 46th card has been noted.
Cards drawn
J 4 of Imps - Freedom
O Page of Imps - Faith
H Chariot - Hard Control
N 8 of Ghosts - Go
V 5 of Imps - competition
I Knight of Ghosts - Invitation
N Moon - Illusion
C King of Imps - Honest
E 10 of Pumpkins - Success
N King of Pumpkins - Adept
T Temperance - Balance
B Four of Pumpkins - Possessiveness
E Empress - Abundance
A (46) Strength, retrograde - blocked, soft control
L Knight of Imps, retrograde - blocked departure
(5) 5 of Pumpkins - lack
Ahem, ah yes, well, seeing Strength show up reversed
in your Age place in the spread, and calculated as your Birth Card
below sent shivers up my spine!! The two retrograde or reversed
cards bear special mention because this is a deck that I do not
use reversals with. A quick look confirmed that no other cards in
the deck are reversed. So these get special significance in the
reading below. But before we get to the interpretation proper, let’s
look at recurrences:
Dignities
Trumps - 5 trumps or major arcana cards. This is quite usual
for the number of cards in this spread.
Suits - 4 Imps or Wands, 2 Ghosts or Cups, 4 Pumpkins, Pentacles
or Coins, no Bats or Swords. Imps are Fire, will, and Pumpkins are
Earth, money, physical cards.
Pips - 2 Kings, two Knights can be seen as strong male figures
either influencing you, or present in you. Two 4’s and 2 5’s
correspond to balance being overturned by strife or challenge.
Birth Card 5/11/1954
5+1+1+1+9+5+4 = 26 = 2+6 = 8 Strength
Year Card Birth date
plus current year
8+2+0+0+0 = 10 Wheel of Fortune
Interpretation
Past
J 4 of Imps - Freedom
This first card refers to your remote past. 4 red imps are dancing
under a smiling full moon in front of 4 staffs holding up a decoration
of 4 pumpkins. The idea or archetype associated with this card is
of a freedom hard won. Celebration after victory, freedom after
great stress of suffering. The little black cat that appears on
every card in this deck is dancing between the feet of the imps.
O Page of Imps - Faith
H Chariot - Hard Control
These middle two cards are what’s very close to you, like,
something from the past that is affecting you now. The Chariot is
sort of an opposite to the Strength card. The Chariot is about willpower,
self control, lessons and wisdom gained the hard way through trial
and error, through punishment, through constant repetition, and
by following rules.
When I looked at these two cards I saw a strange
connection between them. The Page of Imps has two golden pyramids
in the background (not the vague mountains that appear in a lot
of tarot cards) and the Chariot has a Sphinx riding on the front
driver’s side fender. So there is something ancient and mystical
in your past that is affecting you now.
Back to the card description: The Page of Imps
is a young man gazing at a large staff that he holds. It is burning
on one end like an Olympic torch. A red imp and the black cat are
both looking at this Page, not the flame. Symbolically, the flame
of faith burns within this earnest young man. His faith is immature
but sincere and full of zeal. This card reminds us to have faith
in ourselves as well as our higher power.
The Chariot card shows a pumpkin-headed person
driving a really snazzy hearse. I think he must be driving very
fast on the curvy mountain road because the cat is staring at him
wide eyed, and the Sphinx on the fender is holding on tight. This
card is about controlling the horses, and not letting them control
you. Controlling events in your life as well as yourself. Driving,
steering.
N 8 of Ghosts - Go
This card refers to your recent past. Recently you left something
behind. In traditional decks a person climbs a hill leaving behind
full golden chalices. In this deck, a person climbs a hill and 8
ghosts with various expressions on their face watch or react. The
cat is watching but its back faces us, like the person who is leaving.
The full moon looks down with a grim expression. This card is about
moving on, upward. It’s the right thing to do, sometimes the
only thing to do, but we may regret what we are leaving behind.
We talked about my friend who committed suicide
last time, and I went to the Free Tarot Network (www.freetarot.net)
and requested a reading about why it was affecting me so much. And
this card came up. I had to let go and move on.
Present
V 5 of Imps - competition
I Knight of Ghosts - Invitation These first two cards show
the effect you have on others. These two cards are nearly opposite
in their meanings. Perhaps you compete with men and invite women?
Or, who do you feel competitive with and inviting to?
The 5 of Imps shows 5 red imps fighting with staffs.
They don’t look particularly serious about it. This is a fight
to see who is best, not a fight to the death. Still, the black cat
looks on with its fur standing on end. The cat appears very small
in this picture which is odd because when a cat fluffs its fur,
it usually looks bigger.
The Knight of Ghosts is riding a brown horse and
bearing a rolled paper or parchment. A ghost floats in the sky and
smiles on him. The cat is large and watches as he rides by. This
card often appears indicating marriage proposals. Could it be that
the effect you have on women is to see marriage material. And in
the same light, the effect you have on men is as competition for
available women?
N Moon - Illusion
C King of Imps - Honest
E 10 of Pumpkins - Success
These three cards are about what is going on with you right now.
The Moon is a card of illusion, seeing things that aren’t
there, kidding yourself; or something going on that you are not
aware of. And yet, this is contrasted with the King of Imps, a man
who is very honest with himself as well as others. The 10 of Pumpkins
indicates that you are happy and feeling successful about something.
In light of the King of Imps beside it, and the
Moon being a major arcana card. I think this indicates illusion
that may be out of your hands. The Moon in the picture on this card
is huge and orange hanging low behind a faraway castle. The black
cat stares annoyed and ruffled at the Wolfman who is bending a wrought
iron fence. There is a bulldog with large pink ears on the ground,
and a picture of a lobster with an arrow pointing toward the castle
on a tree. Is someone acting like a wolfman? Nice and civil one
minute, then a wild beast, the next? I see you as the cat in this
picture, annoyed but powerless.
The King of Imps may be you or someone near you.
An honest person, mature and wise, patient, of strong faith; able
to guide. The cat lolls at the King’s feet, batting at a small
salamander. The King holds a long torch, giving light to the kingdom.
A red imp holds another torch, but he is looking at the cat. Who
are yo uin this picture? The King giving guidance, the cat listening
to it, or the imp ignoring it?
The ten of Pumpkins shows 9 jack-o-lanterns in
a tree, one held on a string like a piñata. The tenth is
on the ground and the cat is sitting on it. His fur is fluffed up,
but his expression is more curious than upset. A small child in
a purple imp costume is blindfolded and hitting the piñata
while a costumed adult holds the string. This card is about the
happiness of family life, and getting everything you truly want.
So, in some way this is manifesting for you right now.
N King of Pumpkins - Adept
T Temperance - Balance
These cards show the effect that others have on you. I think you
stay around people who have it together, and who balance you. This
is very good. So often people surround themselves with people who
seek to unbalance them.
Here we find the second King in the spread. Pumpkins
is the suit of health and wealth and this King is very good at his
job or whatever he does. Cattle skulls adorn his throne, and his
foot rests on a gargoyle that may be alive. The cat is stalking
this gargoyle thing.
In the Temperance card we see a rather young and
modern looking witch carefully measuring something to be added to
her bubbling cauldron. Her shelves are full of odd witchy ingredients
and a cask is spilling between her feet. The cat stares at the owl
resting on her black hat.
Relating to the first two cards in this section,
I wonder if you see men as more adept at their lives in comparison
to yourself, and women as magick users who have it together and
are more balanced than you. In both these cards, the cat is staring
at something small that accompanies the person in the card. He is
missing the person. Do you see the real person when you meet someone;
or do you let their accomplishments confuse you as to their true
nature?
Future
B Four of Pumpkins - Possessiveness
E Empress - Abundance
You will feel possessive and your goal is abundance. The 4 of Pumpkins
shows an odd vegetable man planting pumpkin seeds in a walled off
garden. The seeds are golden and look like little gold coins. He
has a crazy smile, as though he is already greedy for the harvest.
Beware feelings of greed and possessiveness. As soon as we think
we own something, it’s taken away.
The Empress in this deck is the Bride of Frankenstein
reclining on a purple couch and petting the cat. His paw is curled
in enjoyment, yet he gazes up uneasily at the monster woman. This
card is about feminine power and giving birth to a new self. It
means having all that you need for true happiness. A wonderful goal.
A (46) Strength, retrograde - blocked, soft
control All righty, finally we get to the card of triple significance.
1 - it’s the now/future card of this spread
2 - it’s your age card according to this spread
3 - it’s your Birth Card, calculated at the beginning.
The picture on the Strength card is of a lion tamer in the circus
putting a tongue depressor in the lion’s mouth. The lion looks
quite worried and pitiful, although it is huge and standing on a
small platform above the tamer. The tamer is coaxing the lion gently
and kindly. The cat watches the lion from the floor behind the tamer.
As mentioned before this card is sort of the opposite of the Chariot
for me. Soft control verses hard control. Sweet words verses the
crack of the whip. Positive reinforcement verses punishment and
boring repetition. Control through love, obedience, and respect
rather than fear. And being strong within yourself. Understanding
what strength really is; that it is so much more than how big your
biceps are or how much money you have in the bank, or how many people
work under you. It’s how many people look up to you and try
to emulate you; who look to you for protection and support.
So appearing retrograde or upside down here indicates
that there is a blockage or a challenge for you now, or in the near
future with these types of issues. Because it is your birth card,
you may be struggling with, or conscious of these issues in a way
that touches the center of your being. This is the most significant
card in the reading. And if you meditate on nothing else, think
about this card and what it means to you and your entire life.
L Knight of Imps, retrograde - blocked departure
(5) 5 of Pumpkins - lack
These two cards are influences and outcome. When I first saw these
I thought, “Crap, he’s not getting out.” I sure
hope that’s not what it means. And even if it does, the future
is not written in stone. But let’s look at the interpretation.
The horse of the Knight of Imps is a snorting charger rearing as
it leaps forward. The Knight has a red salamander on his overtunic
and a bright orange plume. A red winged imp flies with him above.
The black cat looks on from the bottom corner of the card. We see
only its head. I think he is left behind. This card is about charging
forward and doing something new and completely different. But appearing
retrograde, we see this energy is blocked in the influences acting
on you in the future.
The 5 of Pumpkins card shows two trick or treaters,
small children passing in front of a brightly lighted window. There
is snow on the ground, the smaller child has dropped his bag of
candy and the older child is holding him with one hand and clutching
the black cat to his chest with the other. They are in snow up to
their ankles. Perhaps they are lost. This position in the spread
shows the outcome of some current endeavor, perhaps of the things
that came up for you in the middle name part of the spread. It shows
there is a struggle ahead for you and that you will feel like you
are out in the cold. But since you know what is coming, you can
prepare to face it.
Year vs. Birth card
The Birth card is more of a life long lesson, while the year card
is a year long lesson that changes at each birthday. Your Year Card
is the Wheel of Fortune, or luck or chance. This archetype is about
making your own luck. It’s also about doing everything you
possibly can and still having the cards fall out against you. It’s
about destiny vs. chance. It means anything can happen. I call it
the tarot card and it was my year card last year.
Standard Disclaimer:
The tarot shows how the future could be based on the present. Your
future is yours to create.
© 2000 Lady Lorelei
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