“I’ve got a feeling, and I know I’m right
That tomorrow will bring the darkest night.
I’ve been around too long,
I’ve got to get away.”
– from I’ve Been Around Too Long by Marmalade

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Here is an example reading to test the spread I posted yesterday. I inquired about a situation that has been vexing me for a couple of years; resolution is constantly being thwarted by prevailing conditions that are exacerbated by lack of initiative and limited opportunity. This is the latest in an extended series of predictions on this topic and, given the dismal forecast, I think it’s going to be the last one. Time to move on, just as soon as the Hanged Man decides to let me off the hook.

I could not have picked a less favorable group of cards unless I chose them intentionally. The Thoth 8 of Swords (“Interference”) looms large in both trend-lines, and in the “Optimistic” chain it indicates a siphoning-off of any remotely beneficial influence from the reversed 5 of Cups by diverting further developments into the “worst-case” conclusion due to the stiff resistance it presents; it is a potent deterrent as described in my previous essay. The upshot of the narrative is that nothing good will come of it since there is little likelihood of progress until the Hanged Man bestirs himself, and he seems to be in no hurry.

To see when that might be, I performed a numerical essence calculation for the population, and wouldn’t you know I came up once again with a “12” using my personal method of Theosophical reduction: 12+8+2-5-5=12 (aka the Hanged Man, or “deja-vu all over again”). The message is obviously “You can’t win for losing,” and the doubling of the Hanged Man makes that abundantly clear. (For the record, as the primary expression of Elemental Water this trump has no zodiacal date notation that pegs it to a particular month, so there isn’t even that scheduled turnover of circumstances to bank on.)

Considering the drab outcome of previous readings, this one – although a notch or two more discouraging – is not unexpected, so I will try to endure the postponement (and probable cancellation) without fidgeting for as long as it takes to receive a sign of movement, positive or otherwise. In the meantime, I had better find another dream to chase.