There is a great little tip/trick in tarot that can come in handy when you want to explore an issue through a different view point. It is using two (or more) decks in a spread. Pulling one card from each deck for each of the positions in a spread.  Or using one deck for one side of the spread and another deck for another view on a second section of the spread. It is up to you, I don’t use this technique often but when the opportunity comes its way I will whip out another deck along with my Rider Waite to really spice things up.

 

Recently I had a client come to me with a few questions, one of the question had to do with their spiritual path. With my client’s permission I am going to share with you the question, reading and response. This will allow you to see my process, the technique in work and the response/feedback from the client.  The client’s name has been changed to “Joe” for anonymity.

Their question was “Where am I going regarding my spirituality?”

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The Reading

For this question I will be using two decks to explore this issue. I will be using the Osho Zen Tarot which is the deck I use for matters such as this in combination with a traditional Rider Waite Smith deck. There will be four positions in this spread, which was made custom for this question and you got some very interesting cards showing up here!

 

1- Where am I spiritually at the moment?

2- Where should I be heading, spiritually?

3- What lesson am I here to learn?

4- How will I achieve this?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1- Where am I spiritually at the moment?

Osho Zen – Success & Rider Waite Smith – The High Priestess

The card “success” depicts a image where a person rides a lion in great joy and victory. There is a parade. All is well and happy. The lesson in this card is about enjoying the high (the peak of life or any moment) but understanding that a low comes after it and that we should also welcome the low periods as well. We cannot live always in a intense level of energy all the time. We need to have the balance of the low to relax us. The High Priestess shows us that you are listening or trying to listen to your inner voice. Be it through meditation or trying to recall and understand your dreams. This card is a psychic card and deals with everything of the unconscious. Together these two cards paint an image where I feel that spiritually you are focusing on your inner self while at the same time it is difficult because you also have your attention on other things in life (the “success” card). But it is a good start you are trying to find your inner guide and trying to silence and still yourself which is a good start. I just feel you should try and put more effort into things that could help you get in touch more with yourself.

 Client Response - 

 I found it to be quite accurate.  I am in a place of listening to myself and trying to find a “niche” as it were.  You are correct that I have allowed other parts of my life to supersede my spiritual growth.  

 

2- Where should I be heading, spiritually?

Osho Zen – Understanding & Rider Waite Smith – The Tower

I just love this combination! Wow, ok so we have here “understanding” and The Tower which is basically saying that you need to shift the very fundamental and foundations of what you believe in and how you understanding spirituality and the path you live or want to live. The card “understanding” shows us doves flying free away from a cage or some jail which is actually illusionary. It signals a new beginning of understandings and freedom. Think of the jail or cage as your current situation or framework of understanding life, god, ect and the bird as your soul. It is leaving the cage, becoming free from the confinements its been stuck in for a long time. Likewise The Tower is resonating a similar theme, The Tower shakes us to our core, it rids us of false beliefs, or strongly held ideas which we built our lives on. The Tower says you will need to rid these tightly held beliefs and this process won’t be easy it will be hard and you will feel like everything is lost. When we question everything we thought to be true it can cause a panic and a period where everything feels like it’s falling a part but what good spiritual growth is not painful? Real spiritual growth is hard and painful and through this destruction of the old it leave room for new beliefs to be developed. Overall these two cards speak about new understanding and liberation/freedom from things which hinder you.

Client Response -

The funny thing about this is that I don’t think I have been holding onto religious beliefs but rather telling myself that what I want to believe is “tacky” and will be judged by others – in other words, I believe that what my heart truly desires is “wrong”.  This is where the story starts… I practiced wicca more than ten years ago.  I dabbled, wasn’t too serious about it.  Since then I have studied every religion except for wicca again, but my heart never left it.  I’ve just avoided it and tried to be a fantasy writer so I could tap into that side of what I always wanted. 

 

3- What lesson am I here to learn?

Osho Zen – Laziness & Rider Waite Smith The Emperor

The card “laziness” implies that just when you think you made it, that you have arrived and nothing more can be done that now it is time to sit back and relax there is in fact more to be done! lol There is always more to be done, your never “finished” when it comes to the spiritual. When you become lazy and say to yourself you have no more energy to do anything you really do have it. The lesson you are to learn here is not to be complacent with life, always do more. The Emperor comes in really as the issue or problem that we see in the “laziness” card, The Emperor is not lazy but what these two cards have in common is a desire to create something that is fixed or unmovable. The Emperor is fixed in one place and has an established way of living and does not want to flex, bend or change. Change is something The Emperor does not welcome and much like in the “laziness” card it also does not want to change, because it thinks well, why change? I have arrived, all is well! Again with The Emperor a lesson to learn is that that nothing is permanent. If you look at both cards they are similar, both figures are siting on on a throne of their creation. Granted the “laziness” card is much more comical but they both say, your lesson is to not become fixed in on spot, do not get complacent and to do more.

 

Client Response - 

Correct, I don’t want to change because it means I have to question my entire belief system around what I have created for myself.  I have reached my throne.  (or so I thought)… I did begin studying all religion very aggressively this last year; however, open to whatever may come but thinking more “academically” rather than “practicing”.  As you say, I would have to challenge my entire way of living if I listened to my heart and followed what I believe to be my true spiritual path.

 

4- How will I achieve this?

‘Beyond Illusion” is a heavy duty card in this deck and really goes sums everything up for your reading. This card is about going beyond the illusions of the material world and coming into contact with consciousness. Do not look outside for truth and reality, you need to look inside for these. If you loom without, you become caught up in judgments, of what is right or wrong, good, bad and between wants and desires. This leads us right into “The Lovers” which is a card which represented desires, this card does represent sexual temptation and desire among other things like choices and decisions. However it is the desires and sexual nature of this card which I feel is really being expressed here because the “Beyond Illusions” card speaks about removing the outer world and its judgments, The Lovers when looked at it’s sexual/desire expression represents this outer world of desire and judgments quite perfectly. Another astonishing connection between these two cards is doubt. Traditionally, The Lovers also symbolized doubt (between choices) and Beyond Illusion says that doubt is a gift, it allows us to doubt the illusions of the material world.  So to tie this in two card two, the tower and understanding…. Once you doubt what you believe in, then you will enter in the time of spirtual awakening and upheaval that leads to better understanding.

 

Client Response - 

What will stick with me is “removing the outer world and it’s judgements” and yes “doubt”, “sexual desire” (also something I connect with spiritually and as I have ignored my spiritual growth my sexual life has been unrewarding because I don’t feel a spiritual connection with previous partners).  You said “once you doubt what you believe in, then you will enter in the time of spiritual awakening and upheaval”.  This is exactly it, I need to doubt my beliefs around pagans.

 

Client Overall Response

Since this reading I have decided to be open to my roots in paganism.  I am a lover of the earth and in my heart I know I am a pagan.  I can’t deny it any longer, during this; however, I also realized that paganism is not likely the only path for me so I am going to mix in pieces of other practices that truly call to me.  I feel like it’s the dawning of a new spiritual chapter in my life.  I am going to change the image of wiccan from “woo-woo” so that it can work in the business professionals life.  I have set up an alter and ordered some books and supplies.  I’m truly ready to honour myself… I will not be a stereotype but truly challenge the “image” of wicca/paganism.

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As we have seen, the technique of adding a second deck to the reading was able to reveal additional information while at the same time both decks were reflecting each other in meanings and stitching together a fuller picture of what was going on.