Live every day the tarot way
Spreads
How to Answer a Yes/No Question
31 year ago
So how do you answer a question that seeks a Yes or No? This is a touchy subject because some readers think you should not answer questions directly as a yes or no…. Remember my post on the Oracle of Delphi, she never answered things as Yes or No. If you pushed her for one, then bad things happened lol
Well if you want to answer a yes / no question with tarot there are methods of doing this. This method comes from “Tarot: Prediction and Divination” by Susyn Blair-Hunt
Exploring The Seven Deadly Sins – Tarot Spread
11 year ago
by Angelo Nasios
in Spreads
The Seven Deadly Sins is a very popular theological concept known through out the western world. The Seven Deadly Sins was created by a 4th century Greek monk Evagrius Ponticus who wrote of the “evil thoughts” in Greek. He lists these “evil thoughts” as gluttony, fornication, avarice, hubris, envy,wrath, boasting and dejection. In 590 AD Pope Gregory I revised the list into the list we know today. Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride.
Explanation of the sins
Pride – The excessive belief in one’s own abilities, that interferes with the individual’s recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity.
Envy – The desire for others’ traits, status, abilities, or situation.
Gluttony – The inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.
Lust – The an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.
Anger – The manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury. It is also known as Wrath.
Greed – The desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called Avarice or Covetousness.
Sloth – The avoidance of physical or spiritual work.
The seven deadly sins though written by a Greek monk is not a emphasized teaching in Orthodoxy as with Catholicism, the focus tends to stay on the virtues, not the sins.
We all are subject to the following “sins” at some point or another. We all become prideful, envious of others, eat more than we need, become lazy and so forth. Using the tarot will allow us to explore how/what/why we fall into these patterns.
This spread involves 7 cards, one card for each sin. There is no layout shape so lay them out as you wish.
[1] Pride -What in myself do I pride myself in/ why am I prideful?
[2] Envy – What do I envy in others/ why do I envy others?
[3] Gluttony – What do I desire excessively / why do I desire this excessively?
[4] Lust – What do I lust after / Why do I lust for the things I do?
[5] Anger – What makes me angry/ why do I become angry?
[6] Greed – What am I greedy for/ why do I become greedY?
[7] Sloth – What spiritual work am I avoiding / why do I avoid spiritual work?
The Sin Spread – Understanding and Correcting It
31 year ago
by Angelo Nasios
in Spreads
Sinners! All of you dirty sinners forever to burn it the pit of fire! That might be the kind of thing some people may think of when they hear “sin” (Catholics you especially). Sin is normally thought of some sort of transgression, a stain on your soul that needs to be washed away. Hmm how do you wash sin off, would you have to soak it over night in bleach? lol
This idea of sin resides in western christianity thanks to Augustinian theology. That we are born sinful, with the guilt of Adam (original sin) and that we are inclined to sin. However and thankfully I was born in Greek Orthodoxy which holds a very different view of the nature of sin. “Original Sin” in the Orthodox tradition is known as “Ancestral Sin” and the fundamental difference is that Orthodoxy states we do not inherit the guilt of Adam, but the consequences. The consequences is the world that we live in is “fallen” from the “perfect” state of being in communion with God in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve introduced Death into the world which transformed the world into a “Fallen” state.
The goal of a good Orthodox Christian is to align yourself with God in a process called “Theosis”(deification/divinization), where we work to become like God, partaking in the God’s Divine nature. Sin comes into the picture as an action we take that puts us in misalignment with God. The Greek word for “sin” is Hamartia ἁμαρτία which means to “miss the mark”. When you “sin” or “miss the mark” you are making a mistake, you fall short in your goal to become like God. The remedy, simply to correct your mistake. These are one of the few things in the Orthodox faith which I really like and connect with.
That is it, no hell fire, no angry God, no punishment. Just correct your mistake.
This bit of theology inspired me to create this simple tarot spread based on this notion of sin.
[1] How have I sinned? (Missed the mark/Mistake made)
[2] What was the root or cause of this sin/mistake
[3] How can I correct this mistake?
[4] How can I keep from repeating this mistake?
Give it a try.
Winter Solstice Spread & Reading
11 year ago
The winter solstice falls on December 22nd this year. The winter solstice is the longest night out of the year. Spiritually it represents the New Year. Even though We place the New Year on January 1st, the winter solstice marks the time when the Sun is “born” and day begins to get longer.
There are many points in the year in which I do tarot readings for myself to evaluate where I am, where I was and generally what’s going on. I do a reading on my birthday, the Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice or New Year.
In this post I will be sharing with you a Winter Solstice spread that I shared on YouTube where I pulled cards for my reading. In this post I will be giving my interpretations to these cards.
The spread goes like this.
1) How do I feel overall about the past year?
2) Where were my challenges in the past year?
3) Where did my support come from in the past year?
4) How have I changed in the past year?
5) Where do I need to change?
6) What do I need to release?
7) What do I need to bring in?
8) What do I need to honor in myself?
How do I feel overall about the past year? – 6 of Wands. This card is about victories and the overall feeling about this past year is a feeling that I have come out on top, that I have achieved something and that I am victorious in some aspect. This is true. In the start of 2011 I felt that good energy was heading my way, many things positive happened for me tarot wise. Personally, I lost 55 pounds and that without a doubt is a victory. The 6 of Wands can also indicate support and praise from people around you, which is true. I had great support from my fellow readers and I have been cheered on in my endeavors. In the last part of the year I was laid off from work however I see that as a GOOD thing, my tarot business picked up right after being laid off and I have been able to focus on my book, blog and youtube much more.
Where were my challenges in the past year? – 4 of Cups. Oh how I laughed when this card came up, tarot has a good sense of humor for sure. This card relates to my challenges in this past year perfectly. I see this card is boredom, apathy and losing interest in things and I see it also as laziness. Laying around, wanting to do something but not having the drive to do it. This is the story of my life. I see this card influences me the most with my book. It often found it card to get myself to sit and write. I was overwhelmed by the energy of the 4 of Cups.
Where did my support come from in the past year? – The Wheel. This is an interesting card to see here. The Wheel represents cycles and the flux of ups and downs. As what supported me this can show that either I understand this idea of cycles more and that I understood that lows don’t last that sooner or later things move on up. As a force outside of me it represents that higher forces have been at working pushing me into a positive direction. Which is a great thing to see here.
How have I changed in the past year? - The Fool – The Fool is about newness and taking risk, jumping into new things, trying new things. This is something I did do, during the summer especially felt the energy of The Fool. I was more adventurous and really went with things as they came.
Where do I need to change? Justice - This card is about balance, fairness and about understanding cause and effect. Justice is about taking responsibility for our actions. I need to take more responsibility for my actions. I also need to change and become more balanced. As well as more rational.
What do I need to release? – Ace of Wands. This is odd and somewhat of a stumper. The Ace of Wands as what do I need to release? Perhaps instead of something I need to release as in “let go of”, I may need to release in another way. I may need to release as express what is being kept inside. If this is the case there is a whole bunch of fiery energy that this ace represents that needs to be let out of the bottle.
What do I need to bring in? – 10 of Swords. This seems odder than the Ace of Wands this card may seem counter-intuitive as something you should bring in right? Maybe not, this card can signal a need for me to let go of something, which has become a dead horse, which I keep beating. This card can signal a need to usher in a new cycle or thought and new ways of thinking to old problems.
What do I need to honor in myself? – 6 of Cups. Finally, the 6 of Cups for what to honor in myself directs me to look towards the past, my childhood, my upbringing perhaps making peace with it. Honoring my past and my experiences growing up. I don’t need to go into much detail but I look at my past with mixed emotions of regret, missed opportunities and a desire to change certain things. However this card being a card of the past and in the “honor in myself” it says I need to stop wanting to change what can’t be changed and honor that which made me who I am.
This reading was very accurate and resonated with me very much. I would love for all of you to try this reading and see what the cards have to say to you.
Have a Blessed Yule, a Merry (happy) Christmas and a great New Year.
Angelo Nasios
Halloween Spreads
01 year ago
by Angelo Nasios
in Spreads
Today is Halloween and I have put together some Halloween themed spreads for you to enjoy.
——–7——–
—-5——-6—–
3—————4
1——-8——-2
1 – The Skeletons in the Closet – The secrets you keep from others.
2 – The Rats in the Basement – The secrets you keep from yourself.
3 – The Black Cat in the Parlour – What makes your claws come out?
4 – The Jack O Lantern in the Kitchen – What, or who, would you like to carve up with a knife?
5 – The Ghost in the Bedroom – What, or who, haunts your mind and thoughts?
6 – The Spider in the Bathroom – What totally creeps you out.
7 – The Bats in the Attic – What drives you to the brink of madness.
8 – The Front Door – The way out of all this insanity
——————————————–
1. Costume: What you’re wearing for the party – the situation.
2. Trick: The shadow/the unexpected
3. Treat: The positive side/opportunities
4. The Candy Bag: What you can take home – the outcome.
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Spread is shaped like a witch’s hat
_____1
____2_3
___4_5_6
1. The Witch Herself – Significator – sets the tone for the reading, the special powers the querent has and their ability to transform energy
2. The Cauldron – something percolating in your life – the matter of the reading
3. The Spellbook – the plan, where things are currently headed
4. The Black Cat – forces that are here to assist you
5. The Skull – a message from your ancestors, advice form those who know best
6. The Broom – what you need to take your plans further
———————————————–
Morgana’s Trick or Treat Spread
……5……
..3……4..
……2…..
……1…..
1. What do you want in your Halloween bag? (what is your goal?)
2. What costume are you wearing? (what role are you playing as you work toward that goal?)
3. Tricks (what is in your control – what ‘tricks’ can you do to work toward your goal?)
4. Treats (what isn’t in your control – what ‘treats’ come to you without your effort?)
5. What do you take home? (what comes to you from this experience?)
——————————————–
Samhain Spread
——–3———6——–7
1————–4——————-9
——–2———5——–8
1. Autumn Yield (what can be used)
2. Reserve stock (what can be put aside)
3. Winter ordeal (for what to prepare to)
4. Passage between the worlds (new paths & methods)
5. The gifts of Samhain (gifts of the new tide)
6. Misterious meeting (some unexpected encounters)
7. What to say goodbye to…
8. What to remember…
9. Results/conclusion
All spreads are courtesy of Aeclectic Tarot Forum. www.tarotforum.net
Birthday Spread
01 year ago
by Angelo Nasios
in Spreads
Today is my birthday so I created a birthday spread for the occasion. it is a great time to do a reading for yourself on your birthday. It is a time were you change, a part of you dies and a new part comes alive. You are able to reflect on the last year and see what you have learned, accomplished and what has changed.
Here is what the spread looks like.
1) Where you were last year
2) Where you are now.
3) What has changed.
4) What lessons have you learned.
5) What lessons you will have to learn this year.
6) New influences entering your life.
7) Challenges you will face.
8 ) Accomplishments you will gain.
9) What you should let go of.
10) What you should embrace.
10
7*****9*****8
4*****6*****5
1*****3*****2
The Soul Spread
51 year ago
The Soul Spread
I am in a very philosophical mood today and wanted to do this post for a while so the timing is perfect. In Platonic philosophy there are three parts of the soul, which are
1) The Logos (The Rational)
2) The Thymos (The Spirited)
3) The Eros (The Appetitive)
Logos (λόγος), represents our mind and reasoning (intellect, thinking). This part of the soul seeks truth and knowledge and a desire to learn.
Thymos (θυμός), represents our emotion, spiritedness and the masculine aspect. It is the part of the soul that you find temper and anger. This part of the soul seeks power, honor and fame. It is our ambitious aspect.
Eros (έρως), represents desire, our physical needs (appetitive) and is the feminine aspect. This part of the soul seeks to satisfy its present needs. Instant gratification, it is the most primitive and animalistic part of the soul.
To understand what your soul is feeling and advice it has to give you regarding a particular situation you can pull one card for each of these aspect of the soul.
1) Logos – The rational thing, the truth of the matter, what can be learned?
2) Thymos – The motivation behind everything, what you seek to gain?
3) Eros – The self-gratification aspect, what you desire right now, the thing that should be controlled/limited.
How can we use this spread? Let’s try an example.
The main thing on my mind is my current issue regarding my job. I want to leave and go to another department. So let’s see what my soul has to say about it.
Logos – 3 of Swords ~~ Thymos – Justice ~~ Eros – 8 of Wands
In the Logos, the 3 of Swords shows that logic is clouded and is being overcome by emotion. In this issue logic and emotion are intertwined. The 3 of Swords indicates a need to make a hard decision.
In the Thymos, Justice shows that my motivations are just and with reason. Justice may symbolize the need for correction and fixing. What I see to gain is fairness and equality, which I feel has been lacking in my present environment.
In The Eros is the 8 of Wands which shows that what I desire right now is a fast escape. The 8 of Wands is swift and fast. I want something, anything to be done right now just to get me out of where I am. The 8 of Wands shows also a desire for conclusion and having things come to an end. The Eros aspect needs the most limiting and control, so to balance this out I need more patience.
This spread has been a success! Try and see how it work for you.
~ Live Every Day the Tarot Way
What would you tell yourself 10 years ago? Tarot Reading
32 years ago
by Angelo Nasios
in Spreads
If you could travel back in time 10 years ago and have a 5 minute conversation with yourself what would you say? Using your deck do the following spread.
1) Do not do this
2) Do this
3) Change this
What do your cards say to tell yourself 10 years ago?