«Where does my problem come from, and what are my prospects?»
1·2Two forces currently standing in each other’s way.
3Early causes.
4The trigger.
5The insight that helps you move on.
6The consequence that follows from it.
7The next step.
8Surprising experiences.
9The outcome.
The ancient Egyptian symbol of life: the loop holds the deeper causes, the cross holds reality. First find the tension between 1 and 2, then the roots 3 and 4. Insight (5) and consequence (6) open the way to cards 7 to 9.
Astrological Spread12 cards · Seeing the big picture●●●
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Astrological Spread
12 cards · advanced
«What lies ahead of me in the coming month or year?»
1Your basic mood.
2Money and security.
3Everyday life, contacts, conversations.
4Home and a sense of belonging.
5Joy, play, creativity.
6Work and tasks.
7Partnership.
8The hidden, crises and their transformation.
9Wide horizons, travel, insights.
10Career and recognition.
11Friendships.
12Secret hopes and longings.
Twelve areas of life based on the astrological houses. First interpret each card on its own, then the axes: 1 and 7 (me and you), 4 and 10 (where from and where to). Then the elements: Fire 1·5·9, Earth 2·6·10, Air 3·7·11, Water 4·8·12. You can explore areas with strong cards later in a reading of their own.
«What do others see in me that I hardly notice myself?»
1What everyone sees in you – you and the others.
2Your blind spot: what others perceive in you.
3What only you know and keep to yourself.
4What is at work deep down – still hidden from everyone.
Begin with position 1, then 2 and 3. Compare the two: position 3 shows your image of yourself, position 2 the image others have. Position 4 gives you the most – whatever comes to light there, you can shape consciously. Feel free to leave the cards out for a few days and look at them again and again.
Begin with 5 and 9: Where does the question come from, what are you hoping for? Then the heart of the spread, 1 and 2. After that 3 and 4 (conscious and inner), 7 and 8 (you and your surroundings), and finally 6 and 10 – the way forward.
For several options, card 1 stays in the center, and for each path you draw three new cards (2, 3, 4) – like the rays of a compass rose. Sum up each ray on its own; position 4 is its keynote.
First honor what is gone, and then what has remained – there is often more strength there than you see at first. Across the bridge (3) you find the way to your safe place (4).
One of the simplest spreads, yet surprisingly versatile. Read 2 and 3 together – that’s where the advice lies. To begin, you can also use only the 22 Major Arcana.
The daily card often shows something subtle that is easy to miss. Take it with you through the day and look back in the evening: Where did its theme show up for you? Day by day, your perception grows sharper.
«What happens if I choose A – and what if I choose B?»
7What your choice is really about at its core.
3·1·5Path A: how it begins, how it continues, where it leads.
4·2·6Path B (or: letting go of A) – beginning, course, destination.
Begin with position 7, then read path A and path B, each from left to right. The last cards (5 and 6) show the longer view and carry the most weight. Signal cards give a clear recommendation for their path: The Lovers (your heart has already chosen), Wheel of Fortune (this path calls you first), The Star (the path of your future), Judgement (the deepest experience awaits here) and The World (that is where you belong – the strongest of all).
A very vivid spread for anyone who likes working with images. First read 1, 2, 10 and above all 8: Is this door worth it? Then compare 6 with 8 and 7 with 10 – expectation and reality. Finally: What do you need (4, 5, 9), and which key (11) opens the lock (3)?
Fool’s Journey13 cards · Seeing the big picture · also «Your Journey (at the reading table)»●●●
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Fool’s Journey
also known as «Your Journey (at the reading table)»
13 cards · advanced
«Where am I on my path – what lies behind me, what lies ahead?»
0The Fool is taken out of the deck. You draw twelve cards, then the Fool goes back in, all thirteen are shuffled and laid out in a row.
1–12The stations of your journey, in reading order.
FoolThis is where you stand. The stations before it you have passed through, the stations after it lie ahead of you.
If the Fool lies near the beginning, something new is starting. If it lies at the end, a whole path is coming full circle – and a new beginning appears. Look for patterns: suits or Major Arcana that repeat tell the theme of your journey.
Begin in the middle. Position 2 shows the attitude you travel with, position 3 the echo of the people around you. Positions 4 and 5 belong together: the detour and the way.
Inanna’s Descent into the Underworld15 cards · Knowing yourself●●●
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Inanna’s Descent into the Underworld
15 cards · advanced
«What lies unresolved within me, and how do I find access to it?»
IYour bright side, the way you know yourself.
2What the descent looks like from the outside.
3–9Seven gates: what you may lay down on the way down – habits, expectations, ideas.
XYour shadow – the hidden gold.
11Who or what helps you from above.
XII·XIIITwo forces that bring you back to life.
XIVThe new, whole person.
15What you give up for a while.
Based on the oldest recorded myth of a resurrection, the Sumerian journey of the Queen of Heaven into the underworld. Fill the positions with Roman numerals with Major Arcana cards, the others with Minor Arcana. First let I, X and XIV sink in – light, shadow and their reconciliation. Then follow the descent (2 to 9) and the ascent (11 to XIII). A spread for longer inner work.
«What connects us – and what pulls in different directions?»
1·5Where you are furthest apart.
3·7What connects you – the place where reconciliation begins.
2·6What each side consciously wants.
4·8What drives each side from within.
The cards are laid out like the symbol of infinity. The right loop belongs to you, the left one to the other person – or, for an inner conflict: right is the conscious, left the unconscious. Begin in the middle with 3 and 7, where your common ground lies. The forces in 4 and 8 often act more strongly than the intentions in 2 and 6.
Leonardo – Ideal and Reality9 cards · Seeing the big picture●●●
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Leonardo – Ideal and Reality
9 cards · advanced
«Where do my plans stand, and what can I improve?»
1·9The theme – conscious (1) and deep down (9).
4Your foundation: where you stand.
7An action that strengthens your foundation.
8An insight that strengthens your foundation.
2The tangible goal.
5The deeper meaning of this goal.
3Your expectations and worries.
6What comes in unexpectedly.
The square stands for reality, the circle for the ideal. First compare 1 and 9: Are head and depth pulling in the same direction? Then the foundation with 4, 7 and 8, after that 3 and 6. Finally goal and meaning, 2 and 5.
«Where does my relationship stand, and what can I do for it?»
1The theme of your relationship right now.
2What moves you inside.
3How the other person feels about you.
4Advice for you.
Position 2 often shows a force that runs deeper than your conscious thoughts. Position 3 shows the other person’s attitude toward you. The advice in position 4 is meant for you – it shows what you can give next.
Love’s Blessing9 cards · Love and relationships●●●
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Love’s Blessing
9 cards · advanced
«What is my relationship about?»
1The connecting force between you.
2·3How you and how the other person see the relationship.
4·5What each of you wishes for or worries about.
6·7Advice for you and advice for the other person.
8What you are hatching together.
9The blessing – it stays face down until the end.
Read your side, then the other person’s, then the force of the connection (1), the advice and what you share. Finally, turn over card 9: If it is a Major Arcana card, a blessing rests on your relationship and casts everything in a brighter light. A Minor Arcana card goes back face down – then the other eight cards speak for themselves.
A playful spread with the magic of old fairground fortune-telling. Read the cards in order. Cards 2, 4 and 6 show how you come across, cards 3, 5 and 7 your inner state.
2What you can let rest – you are putting too much energy into it right now.
3What matters now – the heart of the spread.
4Where this step leads you.
This spread shows one stretch of the path, the next step. Position 3 is the most important card. Once position 4 has come to pass, it is time for a new reading – usually after two to three weeks.
A spread for two: you take turns drawing three cards each. Turn them over one after the other and tell each other what you see – the cards are a lovely occasion for an open conversation. Finally, each of you sums up your own three cards, and together you sum up all six.
2·3·4Your path so far: what you have thought, felt and shown to the outside world.
7·6·5Your path from now on: which attitude, which feeling and which actions will bring you to your goal.
First look at position 1: How good is the chance? Then compare the two pillars level by level – 2 with 7, 3 with 6, 4 with 5. Position 6 usually shows most clearly what is ready to change.
1What is melting away: a form that has become too tight.
2What set off the upheaval.
3What protects and carries you during this time.
4Where the solution lies, the new land.
Interpret the cards in the order they are turned over. What melts in position 1 can be an attitude or something external – a job, a home, a habit. Position 3 is your anchor, position 4 the goal of the transformation.
Relationship Spread7 cards · Love and relationships●○○
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Relationship Spread
7 cards · easy
«Where does my relationship with … stand?»
1The theme currently shaping your relationship.
7·6·5Your side: what you think (top), what you carry in your heart (middle), how you show yourself (bottom).
2·3·4The other person’s side on the same three levels.
First read the theme in the middle, then your pillar and then the other person’s. Compare the levels: Where do you meet, where are you still reaching for each other? Finally the movement: Who is moving toward whom right now? This spread works for any relationship – love, family, work.
Secret of the High Priestess9 cards · Knowing yourself●●○
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Secret of the High Priestess
9 cards · medium
«How will things go on – and what deeper meaning lies in it?»
1·2The theme as two impulses that strengthen or rub against each other.
3The influence that is strongest right now.
4A force that is growing.
5A force that is withdrawing.
6What is at work in the dark.
7What lies in the light and is conscious.
8Where the journey is heading.
9The book: face down at first, revealed at the very end.
The spread follows the image of The High Priestess: the cross on her chest, the three moon phases of her crown, the dark and the light pillar, the crescent moon at her feet. Read the moons in the order 5, 3, 4 – from waning to waxing. Finally, card 9: A Major Arcana card reveals the why and what for behind your question. A Minor Arcana card stays face down – the secret can still wait.
«Where do I lose my center – and how do I find it again?»
1Pride.
2Sloth.
3Envy.
4Greed.
5Wrath.
6Gluttony.
7Avarice.
The seven ancient deadly sins as a mirror: excesses that tie up a lot of life energy. The cards lie at the points of a seven-pointed star. Read each one on three levels: How do you handle this theme? Where does it show up? What price do you pay for it? Begin with the bright cards – the areas you already live well – and then turn to the difficult ones.
Twelve Nights Spread12 cards · Through the year●○○
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Twelve Nights Spread
12 cards · easy
«Which themes will accompany me through the new year?»
Dec 25On the first of the Twelve Nights you draw the card for January.
Dec 26 …Each following night, one card for the next month – until January 5 for December.
+1If you like, draw one Major and one Minor Arcana card each time: the theme and advice on it.
Since ancient times, the twelve nights between the years have been seen as a time of intuition. Lay the cards out in a circle and, at the start of each month, look at its card.
Year Card2 cards · Through the year · also «Month Card, Birthday Card»●○○
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Year Card
also known as «Month Card, Birthday Card»
2 cards · easy
«What is my theme for the new month, the new year, or my new year of life?»
GOne card from the 22 Major Arcana: your main theme.
KOne card from the 56 Minor Arcana: a comment on it – advice, a hint, an outlook.
Separate the cards into Major and Minor Arcana beforehand. Draw the two cards at the start of the month, on New Year’s Day, on your birthday or at the start of a journey. The Major Arcana card gives the theme, the Minor Arcana card shows how you can meet it.
