The number cards of the minor arcana give an index of human experience and a progressive sense of what stage things have reached. We see this index in this table as defined by the key-words:
ARROWS BOWS VESSELS STONES
1 Breath of life Spark of Life Waters of Life Foundation of Life
2 Injustice Decision Attraction Challenge
3 Jealousy Fulfillment Joy Creativity
4 Rest Celebration Boredom Protection
5 Frustration Empowerment Ecstasy Endurance
6 Transition Abundance Reunion Exploitation
7 Insecurity Clearance Mourning Healing
8 Struggle Hearthfire Rebirth Skill
9 Dedication Respect Generosity Tradition
10 Instruction Responsibility Happiness Home
The numbers of the minor arcana show the progression, where we’ve reached so far, what part of the creative process we are currently engaged in:
ACES are setting out, starting up, initiating something, honouring essentials.
TWOS are choosing a way, partnering, reflecting, opposing, dialoguing.
THREES are fulfilling, combining, understanding, coordinating, creating
FOURS are structuring, ordering, defining, stabilizing, finding boundaries.
FIVES are breaking out, checking reality, bringing awareness, striving.
SIXES are exploring confidence, self-worth, harmony, returning to centre.
SEVENS are experimenting, heroically re-ordering, finding courage, making space.
EIGHTS are reassessing and recognizing, grappling with consolidation, accomplishing.
NINES are seeking self-fulfilment, creative completion, contentment, satisfaction.
TENS are engaged in finalization, the restatement of principles, passing things on, bringing things home.
The progression of 1-9 completes the cycle, while 10 is both the culmination of the cycle and the beginning of a new one, in a long and endless spiral. Be aware of these resonances, especially when you’re trying to working out where a querent is within a process, or when you draw several minors of the same number.
COURT CARD SPREAD SEVEN: SIGHTING THE TARGET
This spread looks at timing and draws upon the information we looked at in Court Card Practice Five above, bringing it all together. The results may show trends that you need to address in order for the timing forecast to come about. Your free will, the decisions you make will change everything. All the information given here helps you better sight the target for your issue.
1. Shuffle your issue into the cards. Cut the deck into 3 even-ish packs.
2. Add up your birth day like this: day + month + year = (whatever it totals, reduce composite numbers above 22 to a single number.
Example: 14th February 1971 is
14
1987
1+9+8+7 = 35 3+5=7
Go down each pack, counting this number to find a card and draw it out. This gives you line one of the reading which is about what needs to change or move in order for the event to come about.
3. To get line two:
Look through Pack 1 from the top to find the first Court card: this gives you the Season of the issue’s manifestation. See Part One of Court Card Practice 5 above.
Look through Pack 2 from the top to find the first Major card: this gives the guiding power that impels the issue. See Part Two of Court Card Practice 5 above.
Look through Pact 3 from the top to find the first Minor cards: this gives you the gateway through which this event can manifest. See Part Three of Court Card Practice 5 above.
The reading looks like this:
1 2 3
4 5 6
1. What needs to change in me.
2. How the issue needs to be re-evaluated.
3. What conditions bring it about.
4. The season it can burgeon or manifest in.
5. The guiding power that impels the issue.
6. The gateway through which it can appear.
It’s helpful to read the two lines in pairs 1 & 4, 2 & 5, 3 & 6.
EXAMPLE:
In this example I was asking about an unplaced project: what needs to happen for it to be accepted and what’s the timing?
1. King of Bows 2. Queen of Bows 3. Ace of Arrows
4. Page of Stones 5. 9 The Hooded Man 6. 8 of Bows
My project is attendant on publishers’ decisions, so I’m not surprised to see two court cards in this line.
1. King of Bows: I see that I need to be much bolder and creative, even challenging in order to establish a presence. More enthusiasm and engagement would be useful.
2. Queen of Bows: I need to play up the aspects of the proposal that create an immediate social warmth, a sense of occasion or a bolder presentation to get this party started.
3. Ace of Arrows: When I engage with the focus of my project, everyone else will also be able to it. I note that the suit of Arrows is associated with the Spring and wonder if this is also relevant, as the London Book Fair is then, when proposed books get sold to other publishing houses for co-edition.
4. Page of Stones: The Lynx oversees 7 January -31 January. It’s now October 2011 and the proposal is going the rounds. A contract by January would be acceptable, but if I’m looking at publication, that’s a longer way off, January of 2013 unless I get the proposal accepted sooner.
5. The Hooded Man: He stands in the middle ring of the Wheel of the Year and so the guiding power of the proposal is to resonate with the stillness and contemplation that the Hooded Man offers.
6. 8 of Bows: The gateway through which the book can appear is again, I notice, in the context of gathering, in this case round the hearthfire. As an 8, it shows that completion is near.
The changes needed in me and the manifestation time are related - King of Bows & Page of Stones: I pair the cards and see how I need to head for a more eminent publishing house, rather than the indifferent firm who are currently sniffing at my proposal. Getting a better sense of my own self-worth and blowing my own trumpet won’t go amiss in this project.
The re-evaluation point and the guiding power are connected - Queen of Bows & Hooded Man: These are two nighttime cards and I get the connection of the moon and the steady lantern. Don’t be transfixed by the illusion but be guided by the light of meditation.
The conditions that help it arrive and the gateway are like the bow and arrow, - Ace of Arrows & 8 of Bows: The arrow has its maiden outing with the ace while in 8 of Bows, the guys are all carousing having shot their bolt. I need to line up my audience in view as well as aiming the proposal carefully.
copyright: Caitlín Matthews 2012
The title above should read 'Sighting the Target' which one needs a bow and arrow for, not 'Siting' for which one would need a theodolite!
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