As a lover of both classical poetry and metaphysical theorizing, I have long adored (not a word I use often or lightly) the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. It’s full of elegant verse and philosophical profundity (and the joy of wine). I decided to use it as the basis for a tarot spread aimed at the goal of spiritual sublimation. This applies an expanded version of the right-to-left elemental organization of the First Operation of the Golden Dawn’s “Opening of the Key” method. Where not directly assigned, the elemental correspondences for the Major Arcana are derived from their astrological associations in the Golden Dawn system.

A word about the “Moral Nature” column. I tried various expressions here: “Aspirational Nature” (too pompous); “Desire Nature” (it has one foot in the “Emotional” and “Sensual” realms); “Ardent Nature” (too vague); “Motivational Nature” (too clinical); “Dynamic Nature” (close but not quite right); and a few that just didn’t “flow” very well. What I really meant was “that which moves us” or the “inner voice” that prompts our behavior (for example,”It’s the ‘Christian’ thing to do” or “The Devil made me do it”), so I chose “Moral” because it suggests our ethical response to circumstances without stopping to think about it (the “moral compass” idea).