AUTHOR’S NOTE: Rising on the planes is an act of ceremonial magic performed on the Middle Pillar of the Qabalistic Tree of Life. Here I’m using it as the inspiration for a tarot spread that looks at practical/physical, mental/emotional and spiritual/philosophical approaches to decision-making and problem-solving, with an eye toward optimizing one of them.

Begin by choosing a “Significator” card to represent the querent or the subject of the reading. Leave it in the deck.

Shuffle the cards while concentrating on the question or topic of interest and then start dealing them face-up into a column of three sub-stacks. (Reversals may be used.) The bottom pile addresses the mundane (or “Body”) solution to the problem; the middle pile reflects the mental/emotional (or “Mind”) route to the answer; and the top pile shows the spiritual/philosophical (or “Spirit”) considerations that can be brought to bear on the matter. Where the Significator lands will initiate a three-or-five-card narrative running from left-to-right that describes the preferred way of confronting the situation.

Continue dealing to create a roughly equal distribution among the three stacks, stopping when the Significator appears. If the Significator does not have at least three previously-dealt cards beneath it, deal as many more as needed to create a three or five card line depending on how much detail you want in the reading. (In the example below I’ve selected the three-card option.) This stop-gap measure suggests that the Significator has “brought the answer along with it.” If they are required, place these cards to the right of the Significator in the order pulled to prepare for the next step.

Take the three or five cards directly under the Significator and spread them out to the right, working from top to bottom. If necessary, supplement them at the end of the row with the extra cards to populate the desired spread.

Read the earmarked series of cards as follows:

If the physical approach is designated by the Significator’s location, interpret the scenario as responding best to pragmatic strategies and tactics. The nature of the cards will explain what those are.

If the mental/emotional mode is stipulated, read the cards as recommending a more discerning and sympathetic handling of the decision or problem.

If the spiritual/philosophical path is identified, couch the answer in impersonal or universal terms that offer a more unstructured path to the conclusion. This may be more figurative than literal in focus, allowing extra room for intuitive conjecture.

In any line spread with an odd number of cards, the middle card of the sequence can be treated as the “peak moment” or “climax” of the projected events and circumstances. If this card aligns well with the Significator according to various forms of “dignity” (element, suit, polarity, number, rank, inherent nature, etc) the solution should be on track to follow the above script. If the Significator is instead more attuned to the “outcome” card at the far right or is not bolstered by any of the other cards in the spread, the querent will have to accept whatever comes with little say in any intervening developments.

This example is another of my hypothetical romantic relationship readings, an ever-popular topic among paying clients. I chose the 2 of Cups as the Significator to represent the subject of the reading.

The Significator turned up reversed in the “Mental/Emotional” sub-pack. I interpreted the reversal as meaning that the best that can be achieved under the circumstances is an “arms-length” relationship. In these stand-offish conditions, the querent must be content with “what-iffing” the situation in the hope that one of the “ifs” will become reality.

The 10 of Disks (“Wealth”) implies abundance, but it is unlikely to mean “a great deal of money.” Within the context of a potential relationship it could signify domestic felicity as we see in the RWS version of the card. In this position it reflects the aim of the reading (although the seeker may not realize it at this point since he intends to put “love before marriage” at all costs).

The reversed Knight (RWS King) of Swords conveys the idea of discretion or abstaining from judgment. The advice is to avoid being too impatient and let matters play out in a rational way.

The Prince of Cups can be a card of craftiness or sly maneuvering, but here I’m viewing it as representing shrewdness as a consequence of the Knight of Sword’s well-reasoned discretion. It suggests a cat-and-mouse patience in allowing the reversed 2 of Cups sufficient time to right itself.

Elementally, the Knight of Swords is “neutral and supportive” of the 2 of Cups, but the Prince of Cups is on the same page so the recommendation is to let conditions mature at their own pace and be prepared to pounce when the time seems right for it. The “crisis” card (reversed Knight of Swords) is committed to not let things come to a boil just yet.