AUTHOR’S NOTE: Quoting Thomas Ellison in The Collector, “Conjunction refers to the process of combining the elements from the previous three stages.” Another source (Credo Quia Absurdum) notes: “The separated elements demand a new combination to find the balance. The male and female principles are significant for every human being and its physical and spiritual lucidity. The conjunction provides a bed for the royal marriage between the Sun (the male) and the Moon (the female) which is the improvement and evolution of the spiritual self in its search for perfection.”

From the perspective of spiritual transmutation, Ellison adds “we see what still remains within us, which is of value, and then begin to combine these elements to form one’s authentic self. After the first three stages of purification by fire, water, and air, our disparate elements are brought together under the earth element. We begin a process of embodiment as the spirit begins its process of materialization.”

This explanation presented a unique challenge in developing a tarot spread to convey the principle of conjunction because it demands a more complex formula. Drawing on the concept of creating “a bed for the royal marriage between the Sun and the Moon,” I chose the two fundamental Sun and Moon cards (The Sun and the Priestess) to represent the metaphorical frame of the “bed” and the Thoth “Art” card (symbolic of the “alchemical wedding” of Fire and Water) as the marriage taking place therein.

Because Art corresponds to the sign of Sagittarius and sits on the “Path of the Arrow” between the sphere of the Sun (Tiphareth) above and that of the Moon (Yesod) below on the Hermetic Tree of Life, I specifically selected the Thoth 9 of Wands (Strength; Moon in Sagittarius) to act as the “way shower” for this evolution. This card, with its linked Sun and Moon symbols, graphically depicts the scenario, serving as a conduit between the three Major Arcana and the Knight of Cups as the Significator, or querent’s “avatar,” that completes the tableau. In this role I see it as manifesting the view of Papus that the feminine principle in spiritual maturation is one of “Intelligence and Authority” intent on stabilizing and preserving the creative impulse it receives from its masculine counterpart.

To begin, I split the pip cards from the deck, shuffled them (allowing for reversals), and dealt one card on top of each of the three trumps in the order Sun-Moon-Art; these cards signify the mundane “processes” by which the archetypal “principles” will be implemented within the querent’s developmental arc. (In the image below, the face-down cards are only placeholders showing the architecture of the final layout.)

Next, I separated the court cards from the deck and further divided them into “male” and “female” sub-packs. Because the Moon is the “receptive” half of the equation, I shuffled the female sub-pack and placed one card on top of the transitional 9 of Wands to show how the querent will manifest the feminine qualities of the “alchemical marriage;” then I shuffled the male sub-pack and laid one card on top of the Significator to indicate how he will “personify” or embody the masculine energies. Together these cards will express the “conjunction” in personality traits that signify his spiritual and psychological “consummation of the marriage.”

In the “process” section of the spread, the querent received the 10 of Disks (Wealth) reversed in the Sun position; the 4 of Disks (Power) in the Moon position; and the 8 of Wands (Swiftness) in the Art (synthesis of forces) position. The reversal of the 10 of Disks suggests that the practical resources he must marshal for developing the ego-based dimensions of his persona are buried deeply and need to be mined with diligence. The 4 of Disks in the Moon position offers no such resistance in the emotional realm; the power is there for the taking. The 8 of Wands in the “synthesis” (Art) position urges him forward. It is elementally cooperative with both of the Earth cards, so he just needs to find the most productive furrow to plow; think of it as “getting in the groove.”

The transitional position showing furtherance of the feminine agenda in his quest for self-realization holds the Queen of Swords (“Intelligence and Authority” writ large), making its third appearance in this series of readings. Its relentlessly judgmental nature indicates that he will not be permitted a chance to relax in pursuing the most rational path to self-understanding: to hesitate would be to lose his “mental edge.” It is elementally friendly to the 9 of Wands so there are no situational impediments to achieving its full articulation.

The masculine “personification” of the archetypal principles and their mundane manifestation is the Prince of Swords, here contributing to the “authentic self” of the male Significator. This is a somewhat vindictive card that eschews the more dispassionate, deliberate ways of the Queen of Swords; it is just as intellectually exacting but more prone to express that quality with “extreme prejudice.” Still, they are at least on the same page. Where the Queen is calmly decisive, the Prince’s curt abrasiveness seems to be saying “Don’t just stand there, pal. Get with the program!”

There are no elementally hostile two-card combinations in this spread, implying that he has a success path laid out before him. (The pairs are Fire/Earth; Water/Earth; Fire/Fire; Fire/Air; and Water/Air.) He just needs to effectively apply the leverage of the synergistic court cards in prying out the value of the two Earth pips that are resistant to the persuasions of Air. But the expeditious, Earth-friendly 8 of Wands should help to open the door.