AUTHOR’S NOTE: Here is a tarot spread that should be useful for exploring any profound existential issues confronting a seeker. In it, the analytical shares equal billing with the mystical (which is my customary approach to divination).

The five-fold architecture of the layout is more philosophical than pragmatic in a “fortune-telling” sense. It is to be read “across-and-down” like a crossword puzzle, and uses a “point/counterpoint” argument with a “numerical essence” or roll-up series that displays the long-range implications of the more specific give-and-take in each column. The bottom position presents a calculated “lessons-learned” trump card that is intended to summarize the entire tableau in the same way the “quintessence” card does in the French cross (aka tirage en croix) spread. The table at the bottom provides the basis for determining the “counterpoint” cards.

Begin by shuffling a tarot deck while concentrating on the “big-picture” question at hand, then deal five cards from left-to-right into the top row to express the “main theme” of the forthcoming answer. The flow resembles a bell-curve with its apex at the “Epiphany” (or “Aha! moment”) position that can change the course of circumstances leading up to the outcome. Reversals may be used.

Referring to the table, find the “Counterpoint” card that sits at the same numerical distance moving right-to-left from the opposite end of the sequence as each random card does going left-to-right from its end. It doesn’t matter if this second card “crosses over” and thus precedes the first one when the pair is identified since we are only interested in the “point/counterpoint” dialogue between the two. (I don’t employ reversal during this step.)

Next, applying “Theosophical reduction” or “casting out nines,” derive a “numerical essence” card (always a trump card) from the two vertical cards in each column to provide a resolution for the two-part dialogue that also shows the long-range consequences of their interaction. Read each three-card set as a sub-text to the main narrative discussed below. (As is my normal practice, I subtract the face value of any reversed cards in the main pull, and I assign the numbers 11 through 14 to the court cards, although none are present in this reading.)

Read each five-card row as a “story” that begins with the “Inspiration” that brought the querent to ask the question and ends with the “Revelation” that will arise from working through the other three intervening stages. The two cards flanking the “Epiphany” position – “Deliberation” and “Reappraisal” – offer a more thoughtful perspective on the run-up to and the run-out from the turning-point. (While it’s tempting to interpret these rows as “best case,” “worst case” and “it is what it is,” that would most likely be an over-simplification since the critical thing is their vertical interaction.)

The “Main Point” cards suggest the most straightforward avenue of advancement for the answer, while the “Counterpoint” cards offer rebuttal for the interim assumptions and the eventual conclusion. The “Resolution and Consequences” cards blend the two into an archetypal overview of the “big-picture” outcome, with the last card at the lower right (the “5+10” calculation) and the two contributing cards above it serving as the “next-to-last” word in the reading.

Finally, using the calculated totals from the five “essence” cards, derive a single trump card as the “Grand Essence” that is intended to reveal any overarching lessons that will be learned from the entire evolution. Traditional meanings for the Major Arcana can be used in making this determination.

Here is a hypothetical example reading that asks “How should I go about pursuing my long-range goal and what is the likely outcome if I do so?”

There are many subtleties in this spread, and I had to use three decks since several of the trump cards repeated. The “Main Points” row suggests being filled with tremendous optimism (Sun) about an emotional opportunity (2 of Cups), but the reversed 2 of Disks is sending mixed signals about the practicality of the venture, while the Hermit shows being “left alone” to mull over the implications of this uncertainty and the 9 of Swords reversed can only mean an unpleasant realization.

The “Counterpoint” cards are book-ended by the same two cards that began and ended the “Main Points” row but in the opposite order. The Sun/9 of Swords dialogue at the beginning is saying “Things may seem wonderful now but don’t hold your breath” while the advice of the reversed 9 of Swords/Sun pairing at the end is more like “Don’t worry, be happy.” Considering the other three dismal cards in the “Counterpoint” row, I don’t think I would trust the second opinion. The reversed 2 of Disks/Death duo brings together “little change” and “big change,” with the latter implying that there will be no going back once underway. With Death in the thick of things, the Universe obviously sees this proposition as a “big deal,” and I should definitely pay attention.

The “Resolution and Consequences” row begins and ends with the Wheel of Fortune, making the whole enterprise look like one giant “crap-shoot.” The Hermit makes another bow in a meditative role (he seems to be scolding “What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand?”) while Lust and Art want to push the agenda. In the end, though, it looks dicey to me.

The Hermit once again at the bottom has me thinking of the closing line from Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “A sadder and a wiser man he rose the morrow morn.” Never let it be said that I can’t take a hint.