World Server's Spread - Oct.-Nov., 2006

By Christine Payne-Towler
October 21, 2006
For an introduction to the World Servers' Spread see ArkLetter 5,

Advice for and from the Burning Bush
This article was titled before the cards were spread.  The thought  of the moment was:  "every person who identified with last month's spread would be getting some input about the state of their new reality, whatever experiences you had that corresponded with last month's commentary."

The Burning Bush concept certainly flows into the groove that this last month has established for me, as my chart is in flames from Pluto transiting my Mars in Saggitarius, alongside the fact that my Solar Return has this same Pluto rising for the upcoming 12 months. This fact created a second layer of implication for this title, both of which I was pondering while I shuffled the cards.

Then again, if the cards were wanting to pun off this title for political purposes (and who is to say that they are not?!), there could be a third layer of meaning to track in these cards as well.  We shall see...

The utterly unexpected result of this spread is that the cards *themselves* are still holding with the theme of stark loss and radical change established last month. Not just the theme in general, but the very cards that were pulled, even (in one case) in the very place where it fell last month!  Is the Tarot quoting itself across a month's time? 

Now we have four levels of meaning possible in this spread, and those are just the ones that are obvious, or at least not a stretch, to conceive of. How many other layers of meaning can be found here?  Most likely, for every reader, there will be another application. Such is the mystery of the Tarot.

Two months ago,  when pulling cards with a friend about a topic of mutual interest, we each shuffled our separate decks, asked the same question and then pulled a card in answer. For both of us, out came the Ace of Coins!  My friend recoiled as if he had been shot, huffing and puffing for a little while after. It turns out, this fellow is a numbers man, and so in his head he had instantly calculated the odds of this happening -- 78 to the 78th power.  "That's as long as the odds of us being hit by a meteor!  We just got hit by a meteor, Christine!"

What are the odds, then, that this month's World Server Spread would contain 2/3 of the same cards, with one of them even in the same position, as September's spread? This can not be blamed on your intrepid reader, my friend;  I have shuffled these cards a thousand time since then, I have moved my entire household and utterly changed my destiny in the last four weeks.   There is barely a shred of my inner and outer life that has not been upended by circumstance since last we chatted here in this column.  No, this is bigger than me, and bigger than you too, I dare say.  Let's dive into reading it and see what we can pull out to explain this amazing happenstance.

World position: 10 Cups, Reversed

Last month when this card came up, it was in position number 3 and it was upright. This time the card initiates the action from an upside down posture. My father might call this attitude "leading from behind," in the sense that the greatest among us will walk last into the promised land, holding back to be sure that every one of the people is included in the blessing before he includes himself.  There is a feeling of wariness, the feeling that we don't dare quite let down yet, in case there's an eleventh-hour development that could lead to disaster. There's an implication of being too tightly wound to truly rest right now, like the soldier who can't leave the battle behind.

One similarity to last month is in the sense of finality that all the 10's have, especially as we see another 10 in the third card of this spread.  Together these 10's seem to emphasize the idea of fullness in both expansion and expression,  suggesting that things have grown to their limit and therefore must turn like the tide to cede some of their gains, or in some other way back down from this point of maximum extension. 

In the suit of cups this gives a feeling of exhaustion after a vastly taxing period, a period that has "emptied us out" and drained our emotional reserves to the bottom. In a sense we are looking at the floor of the resevoir, a profile that is normally not exposed to be seen in this way or from this angle.  Things that have been under the surface for years are jutting out, revealing what time and tide have done to their original identities.

Due to the history of the land in western Washington state, one need never lose track of the role that glaciers and volcanos have played in the topographical features we live in and drive through. Glaciers are after all giant bodies of water frozen solid and moving against the bones of the land, scraping channels open as they go. Once the glaciers have receded, an entirely new landscape emerges from below the ice. Something like this might be going on in the human world right now, both the devastation of the previous order and the promise of new beginnings.  In a world of frozen feelings, which have lain all over the fertile landscape like a great ice blanket, it's time to thaw out and melt down.  To be appropriate we must be prepared to contemplate unimagined vistas and seek out the positive potential hidden in the soggy ruins of our expectations.

Fool position: Death, Reversed

As soon as this card turned face-up, my mind began the mantra "not fatal, not fatal, not fatal".  Presumably this suggests that even though it feels as if one is undergoing a "close shave" and are having more of one's treasured identifications pruned away than were volunteered, there is still a positive side to note with this card when it's reversed. We want to give the Reaper credit for his genius, which is separating the quick from the dead. It's possible that he has just passed close by, but somehow left the hairs on your chinny-chin-chin substantially untouched. Do you believe it? Perhaps the fear and loathing leading up to the event were the worst part of the process, and the event itself is somehow anti-climactical by comparison.

When Mary Greer speculates on the meanings of reversed cards, she often suggests that the ones with difficult upright meanings actually benefit from being presented upside down. In that mode, it is implied that the querant has dodged the bullet,  has experienced the worst the card has to offer and yet has carried on anyway. Somehow, someway, there has been a reversal of the rules of this card's normal appearance. In the case of the Death card, the cold breath of winter has huffed and puffed around you, but you managed not to freeze. Your power of agency, your powers of consciousness, have not been suspended however close a call it was. There will be another Spring for you.

Let's also note, as a part of the reversal of this card, that what was seen to reap when the card is upright  might be interpreted as plowing when the card is reversed. Here the blade rips the earth instead of the wood, thus opening the furrow to the seed. Death is sowing life, as when, under the thresher's hook, the grain falling from the sheaves reseeds the field for the coming year. The circle completes itself in the sweep of the cut, as the past makes way for the future.

The question now is, after spending so much time dreading the incipient ending, do you even have a plan for a new beginning? In what corner of your realm are you willing to clear the field, that a new harvest might develop there?

Magus position, Ten of Coins

I like the look of this card, and it's easy to see why. After the inundation, flooding, and possible glaciation of the Ten of Cups, the wintery chill of the Reaper forced us to abandon the less hardy aspects of our visions and ideals. Now the Ten of Coins suggests that there will be renewed purpose, increased fertility, and fresh potentials germinating in the upcoming future.  This Ten  promises rewards for our sufferings that are tangible, substantial and worthy. It is sometimes called "castle", suggesting that something valuable like land, monetary assets or a business comes under our control. Other times it suggests the fruiting of long-term efforts, like a mature orchard, or a house all built up and filled with the comforts of home. At very least it suggests that the labors of the past have not been  undertaken in vain, despite unexpected twists and turns of the path along the way. 

Occasionally this card holds a cornucopia, symbol of "all good things".  In the wake of the previous two cards, it strongly signifies a build-up of nourishment as happens to the delta areas of some rivers in spring. Soil and vegetation wash downstream as the days get longer and warmer, leaving the lowlands refreshed with brand new topsoil and seeds to germinate. Here the hand of fate is being as beneficent as the previous card seemed harsh.  The message is, the sacrifices and privations that have gone before have all been worth it, because now will commence the time of plenty, of peace and of security.  What was not carved, washed, or blasted away in the inundation is now in its permanent position, ready to commence towards the future unhindered.

Of course, we are not called to the Ten of Coins to rest secure on our laurels. The suit of Coins represents work, dedication, planning, discipline, repetition of effort and wary defense against random accidents. Only by thinking like the Earth itself can we secure the highest benefits of this Ten.  Slow and steady wins this race, as each step must be taken deliberately without undue haste or any desire for short-cuts. Stone by stone this road is laid, as no other method will produce lasting results.

I have a friend who calls me every six weeks or so to ask me what my imagination of paradise is. Regular as clockwork he's on the case, making sure that I update my envisioning to pace current events and realizations. He's always got a practical suggestion or story to tell that applies an overcomer spirit to the challenges of the moment.  I have heard this approach from others as well, especially in the dictum "There are no problems, only solutions".   Such people keep me in contact with a determined optimism that isn't daunted by the configuration of local circumstances, pro or con. This spirit, too, belongs to the Ten of Coins. This type of person has the personality muscle to leverage any situation into its highest manifestation -- consistent with the laws of gravity and karma, of course!  Summed up, it's a "Can Do" attitude that enthusiastically embraces whatever the circumstances consist of, on the way to wrestling the dilemma into submission. 

This Ten of Coins makes a great invitation to us all to take up this view of ourselves and our situations. Each event is a fresh adventure, no two alike. Don't miss the chance to engage with your life at a high level. Every investment you make in the things you love, admire and take pleasure from will add to your vitality and enthusiasm. Tend lovingly the body of Earth, and the Earth will tend to your body in kind. Trust your senses, your experience, your practical common sense. The justification for the last few months' challenges is coming into sight finally.

blessings,

Christine

IMAGE LINKS

Alle Bilder, Burning Bush - http://gedeonp.com/fractals/theburningbushd.html
Eric Morris, "Preponderance" - http://web.telia.com/~u51205352/28.htm
Ta Kuo - http://www.cfcl.com/ching/P/28.36.shtml

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The TAROT ARKLETTERS are published by:

Christine Payne-Towler
Research: Esoteric Tarot, Literature and Practice; Tarot.com
Publisher, The Tarot Arkletters
Bishop, Gnostic Church of St. Mary Magdalene
Founder: Tarot University;
Author: The Underground Stream;

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