AUTHOR’S NOTE: As I pursue my study of the I Ching, I’m encountering numerous new ideas that demand scholarly attention while also creating a wealth of intriguing notions that I intend to fold into my ongoing exploration of the syncretism between the tarot and the Book of Changes. Here is the latest example.

In general, it seems to be a common theme that one trigam of a hexagram is subordinate – or “yields” – to the other trigram, which “rules” the combination (solely for the purpose of this essay I’m assuming that these are the lower and upper trigrams respectively). With the tarot one might take it for granted that this concept is best served by a two-card pull.

But I’m no fan of the binary reading because it results in a cyclical flow of energy that bends back upon itself in a reciprocal or compensatory way (kind of like a swinging pendulum), bringing to mind the “No Outlet” cul-de-sac that goes nowhere but in circles. For prediction it’s almost as useless as the one-card “daily draw.” The three-card line is usually my threshold for divination because it moves “away from center,” allowing for narrative development. But I find that the I Ching premise has given me the inspiration for a two-card approach (well, “two-with-a-kicker”) that makes more sense.

Elementally, the powers of Fire and Air have it in their nature to ascend due to their volatility and subtlety, qualities that convey aspiration and insight, while Water and Earth are more prosaically nuanced in their operation, descending to a receptive state that accepts and nurtures the influx of “higher-vibration” matter in a less-ephemeral setting. This has led me to create a columnar two-card spread in which the upper position embodies the essence of Fire and Air (even though the random card that lands there may not be elementally congenial to either one) and the lower position partakes of the nominal character of Water and Earth.

I’m thinking that the latter portrays the vessel into which the former pours its content; we might describe one as the “bucket” and the other as the “spigot.” This dual paradigm represents the mechanism by which the testimony of the cards in the reading is delivered: Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles (or trumps according their element) arrive wrapped in Fire/Air or Water/Earth. Whether we receive a delicate canapé or a turd sandwich depends on the meaning of the cards in the draw.

If a Water or Earth card lands below, all is well from an elemental standpoint since it will be superbly situated to absorb, integrate and (ideally) harmonize the influence of the upper card even if the two cards are inherently incompatible in meaning. A Fire or Air card appearing there symbolizes a “leaky bucket” from which the potential value of the input will escape before it can be concentrated. (A clever optimist might say we no longer have a “pail” but a “watering can” that disseminates rather than conserves, not in itself a bad thing in the proper context.)

The idea is to shuffle a deck of tarot cards as follows and deal two cards, one into the lower position and then another into the upper position. If the question or subject of the inquiry has broader “big-picture” implications, use the full 78-card deck, but if it has only limited social or mundane significance, remove the Major Arcana and apply only the 56 court and pip cards. The upper card should be read as the “giving” end of the situation – that which is incoming from outside or from one’s “higher self” – and the lower card as the “receiving” terminal – the existing conditions with which the arriving influence must be be reconciled to the extent possible. If the pair is well-favored the reading is off to a good start, but if they aren’t “on the same page” adjustments will have to be made to resolve their incompatibility, ultimately ceding jurisdiction to a mediating authority as described in the next paragraph.

The final step is to derive a card to stand as the “judgment” in the matter. Although it doesn’t serve as the traditional fifth (or “quintessence”) card of European cartomancy, the process of calculating this card is the same. Add the numerical face values of the two cards and if necessary diminish the total by Theosophical reduction or “casting out nines” to a number that falls within the range of the 22 trump cards. (Although you may do it differently, I assign the numbers “11” [RWS Pages/Thoth Princesses] through “14” [RWS Kings/Thoth Knights] to the court cards. I may also subtract the sum of reversed cards from the total if I apply reversal.)

The trump card associated with this calculated number becomes the “last word” in the reading. All of the Major Arcana have elements attributed to them, so the pip card of the “base” element (Fire, Water, Air or Earth) that engages most cooperatively with the element of the “quint” card identifies the “path to judgment.” All that remains is to correlate the divinatory meanings of the trump card and the pip card in the highlighted spread position to create a narrative that generates a conclusion. (For completists, the non-selected pip card can be read as supplemental guidance or “background” commentary to the outcome that can increase its depth).

Below is an example reading that illustrates my thinking. I asked simply “What will come my way this week?” in mundane terms, so I worked with the 56 court and minor cards. For the purpose of illustration I decided to ignore reversals.

I received the seminal “Earth” card, the Ace of Disks in the Fire/Air position, a location in which it is not at its best; however, the 2 of Cups in the Water/Earth position is absolutely perfect. One signifies “rooted” practicality that may be a challenge to wield while the other implies that “my cup runneth over.” I may have to let the tap run for a bit before the water becomes clear, but the Ace of Disks is the most “plastic” of the Earth cards so I don’t anticipate too much resistance to the “softening” effect of the 2 of Cups.

This pair is highly cooperative from an elemental perspective even though the Ace of Disks in the Fire/Air position “has its hands tied” to some extent; I may have to lightly nudge its energy in order to get it flowing. The Empress (archetypal Venus as an exemplar of Earth) sitting in judgment fully endorses the combination but it is most attuned to the 2 of Cups while also being sympathetic to the Ace of Disks. It should be a week during which I can leverage emotional harmony and stability, and that relaxed attitude may well yield favorable pragmatic results as a bonus. (As an aside, I could not have come up with a better set of cards as an example reading for this essay.)