AUTHOR’S NOTE: This innovation is a real “stretch” (and perhaps even a dead-end) but I’m always seeking unique approaches to spread use. This one is just more “out there” than most, although the goal of overcoming an insurmountable roadblock is legitimate.

Tarot readers who prefer to use positional spreads (for the record, I’m one of them) tend to see each position of a carefully-crafted layout as representing a coherent and often quite literal component of the overall scenario, and they strive diligently to integrate everything into a seamless whole. This is fine as long as all of the cards hang together in some form of logical framework even if they aren’t all on the same page, but what if they don’t? Many readers will scrap the reading and start over, others resort to supplemental “clarifying” cards to coax the mess into alignment, but I’m not partial to either solution. Rather than merely punting or “adding on,” I’m proposing internal reconstitution of the “second-guess” kind.

Suppose we come up with an array of cards that is completely “out-to-lunch” when brought to bear on the question. We will typically argue that the situation wasn’t ripe for examination with the tarot and suggest that the querent come back at a later date. In other words, we admit failure. This is hardly fair when the client arrived for the reading in good faith and is now being turned away. On the other hand, immediately throwing the cards again is frowned upon as bad form, as if we’re just fishing for a better answer. Our only recourse is to “go back to the well” reflected in the original pull with deep misgivings and premonitions of wasted effort, and do what James Ricklef recommends: “Let them simmer in our consciousness until they make sense.” (Better tell the sitter to get comfortable, this could take a while.)

In these situations the diviner must go into interpretive overdrive and embark on what I think of as an excess of “verbal tap-dancing” in order to make something useful of the jarring dissonance that often exists. While it’s true that this type of mad scramble is part-and-parcel of the reader’s art (if you can stomach another cliche, we could say with justification that it “comes with the territory”), it shouldn’t have to be that hard. I’m not one to give up, so I will fight my way through. But there is another way.

In thinking about it, we could say that every pattern of cards has “another side to the story” buried within it. One way to flush out the alternate narrative would be to find the card that sits opposite each original card in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn’s Chaldean wheel of correspondences or, if it isn’t present on the wheel, the card that complements it astrologically according to sign rulership or elemental association. These cards can be used to populate a parallel story-line that may reveal more than the first iteration did.

In each case the diametrically opposite card would be substituted for the original one to come up with a recasting of the story on the same axis but from a different tier of meaning that offers a complementary perspective.

Here I’m applying this concept to my favorite positional spread, the Celtic Cross. (All images are from the Thoth Tarot, copyright of US Games Systems Inc, Stamford, CT.) I performed a general reading about any changes the next six months could bring. After pulling and reading the initial spread, I replaced all of the cards with their complements using the charts at the bottom and any supplemental considerations necessary for cards that don’t appear on either wheel. Where reversals occurred in the original spread, I kept them intact. The spread positions I use are described in this link:

https://parsifalswheeldivination.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/basic-celtic-cross-with-guidance.pdf

The initial pull was discouraging, with the reversed Aeon (Judgement) and the Tower dictating the dysfunctional tone for everything that followed. To me they suggest a “broken promise or unfulfilled dream” that never had a chance: the already compromised Aeon can’t make good on its “new current in respect of the future” with the Tower “knocking the props out from under it.” It’s like I have a “Kick me!” sign taped to my back and the rest of the cards line up to have a go.

The three “stage-setting” cards, the Prince of Cups (in the Distant Past or Foundation of the Matter); the 2 of Disks (“Change” in the Recent Past) and the 3 of Disks (“Work” in the Present) are all reversed, implying a lack of traction caused by the instability of the Tower that hampers their progress. They just can’t find their footing.

The 8 of Swords (“Interference” in the Near Future) and the two cards that follow it, the 8 of Cups (“Indolence” in the “Fears” position) and the 5 of Disks reversed (“Worry” in the “Environment/Home-Base” position), are anxious and out of sorts. They make me think of “picking at a scab that won’t heal.”

The reversed Sun in the “Hopes” position is beset by clouds. Something is being concealed that can’t stand the light of day.

The reversed Ace of Wands as the “Outcome” card represents “Disempowerment.” Nothing will come of just flailing away.

I see nothing to like in this reading, not even the Sun. The lyrics of Jethro Tull’s “Locomotive Breath” come to mind:

“In the shuffling madness
Of the locomotive breath
Runs the all-time loser
Headlong to his death”

“He hears the silence howling
Catches angels as they fall
And the all-time winner
Has got him by the balls”

The “other side of the story” is quite a bit more agreeable.

The reversed Hanged Man as elemental Water is the complementary opposite of the Aeon as elemental Fire. Its reversal suggests that the figure is “returning to the Light” after being suspended in darkness.

In mythology and astrology, Mars (corresponding to the Tower) is the male counterpart of female Venus (associated with the Empress), so I swapped the two in this alternative array, with Venus bringing peace and harmony to the situation. (On the Chaldean wheel, Aries opposes Libra, also ruled by Venus, but I decided to stay with the planetary complements.)

The Prince of Disks as the “Foundation of the Matter” is more “grounded” than its opposite, the Prince of Cups, although both are slightly off-balance due to their reversal. But the Prince of Disks is honest where its counterpart is devious so I’ll go with the straight-shooter.

The 2 of Cups (“Love”) and the 3 of Cups (“Abundance”) are less deliberate than the Disks they replace, but the reversal lends them gravity and patience. They are taking their time in a state of placid composure.

The 8 of Wands (“Swiftness”) in the Near Future position is also much less “prickly” than the 8 of Swords and brings a rush of stimulating energy. It displays enthusiasm as the flip-side of irritability.

The 8 of Disks (“Prudence”) in the “Fears” position conveys admirable caution, a big improvement over the dolorous 8 of Cups.

Only the reversed 5 of Cups (“Disappointment”) in the “Environment/Home-Base” position strikes a sour note that could mean uncomfortable domestic conditions that resist remediation.

In classical astrology of the kind used by the Golden Dawn, the Sun rules Leo, and the opposite sign of Aquarius is ruled by Saturn. The Universe corresponds to Saturn so I switched that with the Sun for this alternative spread. Whether it is upright or reversed, the Universe stands for “completion,” and the most reversal would do is increase the delay attributed to Saturn. The conclusion might drag on for a year instead of six months.

The Ace of Swords reversed as the “Outcome” card is less debilitating than the reversed Ace of Wands because it is mental rather than physical in its operation. The reversal implies circumspection that is in line with the general theme of the reading.

Summary: Regarding the six-month forecast, the original pull had five active cards – Fire and Air – three of which were Major Arcana, and five low-key passive cards. There is a good deal of volatility present, and the overall feeling is one of turmoil as delivered by the Aeon-Tower and “8-8-5” complexes. The alternate draw had eight passive cards – Earth and Water – three of which were Major Arcana. From the perspective of long-term manageability, the “other side of the story” is much more amenable to calm, orderly execution since there are no real surprises. I’ll hold out for that option and work my way toward it.