AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is another “mixed-media” spread that uses tarot cards and a single six-sided die as a “pointer.” Instead of just posting the spread and following up with an example reading tomorrow, I combined the two in this post. (The images are from the Magical Tarot of the Golden Dawn by Pat Zelewski and David Sledzinski.)

I tried the spread in two different ways. First, I dealt one card face-down into each of the six positions starting at “top dead center” and working clockwise, then I rolled the die to identify which “chain” to follow, and finally I pulled four more cards from the top of the deck to populate the identified chain.

In the second example, I dealt five cards face-down into each of the six positions, then rolled the die and spread out the identified pack into a five-card sequence for the reading. It’s your choice whether to use the top card or the bottom card in the five-card sub-pack as the first card in the string; my preference would be to take the first card pulled (i.e. the card at the bottom before the sub-pack is turned over) and then work up the chain from there.

Note that the six positions can be populated in random order, but for the die roll I would start from the top as “1” and go clockwise to the last card in the circle as “6.” I chose not to use reversals in these examples but I certainly could have.

The question I asked was “What is (or should be) my path in the near future?” This question has both practical and philosophical implications. The first reading came across as more philosophical and the second one as more practical, but there is really no other important distinction between the two pulls.

For the first reading I rolled a “1,” so I turned over the “top dead center” card and dealt four more cards from the deck extending outward from that position. The 8 of Wands followed by the Hanged Man suggests “rushing to a stalemate” in my progress (it could also mean intentionally restraining myself from precipitous action – “cooling my jets,” as it were), but the 4 of Wands implies making a graceful exit from the impasse despite the elemental discord of Water and Fire. (The 4 of Wands as the “hinge” card makes me think this would be a good place to stay for a while.) The Lovers leading into the Hermit foretells a decision that will most likely advise maintaining a contemplative posture and remaining aloof from external considerations. Since I’ve had a particular passion for some time, this reading shows that it probably isn’t immediately forthcoming. The elemental dignities in this series are generally unfavorable, creating an unsettled atmosphere that discourages taking any kind of action. Although there is friction between Air and Earth, maybe the Hermit will eventually “stand up and be counted” without having to exert himself too much.

For the second reading I rolled a “2,” so I spread out the five cards in the second clockwise position. The King of Wands followed by the 3 of Swords and 9 of Swords gives the impression that I will have the energy and resolve to work through some increasingly complex intellectual issues (probably decisions to be made), in order to master my circumstances in the Queen of Disks and arrive at an harmonious state of peace and satisfaction in the Empress. (The 9 of Swords as the “hinge” card conveys the idea of anxiety reaching a “fever pitch” before the elementally-cooperative King of Wands and Queen of Disks are able to tamp it down.) Except for the double dose of mental indigestion leading up to the repose of the Queen of Disks and the Empress, the elemental dignities in this sequence are not as dispersed.

The 24th hexagram of the I Ching seems instructive here; I’ve related the two Earth cards capping the two Air cards to Fu/Return (The Turning Point), which is Earth (the Receptive) above Thunder (the Arousing). The verse is:

Return. Success
Going in and coming out without error.
Friends come without blame.
To and fro goes the way.
On the seventh day comes return.
It furthers one to have somewhere to go.

Another useful wrinkle would be to consider an odd-numbered die roll as promoting an active, “hands-on” approach to the matter and an even-number roll as advising a more passive “wait-and-see” attitude. By chance, I had one of each in these examples.

Of the two readings, the second one is more in line with my conscious goals but it’s interesting that “decision” cards showed up in both cases. Visually, these layouts remind me of the “Holy Hand Grenade” from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Hopefully there won’t be an explosion! Seriously, though, I’m thinking this spread could become a favorite for shorter readings because it offers some of the “theater of tarot” while delivering a solid five-card forecast; I will probably stick with the second option.