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Two articles published in the Spring 2010 American Tarot Association Quarterly Journal

Focused Two-Deck Twelve House Spread

John S. Marani, Jr., Certified Professional Tarot Reader

I routinely use an astrological twelve-house spread as a part of my tarot practice at 13 Magickal Moons in Occoquan, VA. A twelve-house spread is usually a circle of 12 cards, one at each of the clock points, and each card represents one of the astrological houses. Normally, I use three cards for each house and intuit the area of the house that the client needs to know about since the subject areas for each one can vary quite a bit. The last

card I draw per house is the outlook for the coming year, so many of my clients request this spread on theirbirthdays, at the New Year, or if I am reading them for the first time.

 

Over the past year, this spread has grown in popularity and some of my clients request it two or three times a year. So I expanded and re-focused this excellent spread to meet my clients’ needs more effectively by (1) making each of the houses hit several focused areas, and (2) craft the outcome so that it covers the next 90 days or the next six months, instead of the next year. Those were the two most important factors in mind as Idesigned this new spread.

 

Here’s how to lay out this spread. Please not e in advance that you’ll need a pretty large area. Imagine the clock points on the table in front of you. At the six o’clock point, you will create a small triangle of three piles. Pile #1 will be at the top of the triangle, pile #2 just below it to the left forming the angle, and pile #3 just to the right of pile #2. These piles will represent the subject areas of the 1st astrological house (see descriptions below).

 

Start pile #1 with one card to represent the current situation in this area and then a second card on top of it to represent the timeframe of your choice (90 days, six months, etc.). Do the same for piles two and three. When you are done you will have three two-card piles in very close proximity at the six o’clock point of the circle. Move to the five o’clock point on the circle and repeat step 2. Proceed counterclockwise to the rest of the clock points and do the same, reading each house in turn. Place a final “overall” card in the middle to summarize the content of the entire spread.

 

One challenge for this spread was that using the formula above I’d be drawing 73 of 78 cards in the spread (12 clock points times 3 piles times 2 cards per pile + 1 overall final card = 73). Since I tend to use extra cards as clarifiers it would be very easy to run out of cards. So that’s where the idea for the second tarot deck comes into play. I use the standard RWS most of the time in my practice and have an old copy as well, so I used both of these RWS decks when I did prototype readings. But this is where you could really change things to suit your mood. Here are a few ideas:

· Have the reader shuffle one deck and have the client shuffle the other

· Use one deck for the main cards and the other for extra clarifying cards

· Have the client shuffle or otherwise mix both decks together on the table

· Use two very different decks to represent different perspectives, i.e., one deck that focuses on physical realities paired with another deck that focuses on spiritual concerns.

I’ve listed my suggested topics for each pile below, but you may decide on different ones.

 

Meaning for Card House Positions

1st House

Pile #1: Overall personal attitude

Pile #2: Self-portrait (How does the client see himself/

herself)

Pile #3: How the client want others to see him/her

 

2nd House

Pile #1: Money/finance

Pile #2: Values

Pile #3: Emotional security

 

3rd House

Pile #1: Communications

Pile #2: Conscious mind (What is the client thinking

about?)

Pile #3: Brothers and sisters and extended family

 

4th House

Pile #1: Overall home life

Pile #2: Those who live with the client

Pile #3: Relationship with mother and/or nurturing

instinct

 

5th House

Pile #1: Fun, recreational activities and hobbies

Pile #2: Romance

Pile #3: Spending habits and gambling

 

6th House

Pile #1: Health

Pile #2: Day to day job and work responsibilities

Pile #3: How the client is handling all obligations

 

7th House

Pile #1: Relationships

Pile #2: What the client must face / confrontations

Pile #3: How the client can have harmony with others

 

8th House

Pile #1: Endings, transformation and evolution

Pile #2: Sex life and sex drive

Pile #3: Psychic ability or sixth sense

 

9th House

Pile #1: Spirituality and ethics

Pile #2: What the client must learn

Pile #3: Travel

 

10th House

Pile #1: How others see the client and his/her reputation

Pile #2: Relationship with Dad and/or father/

protector instinct

Pile #3: Long-term goals

 

11th House

Pile #1: How the client see others

Pile #2: Group activities and dynamics

Pile #3: The unexpected

 

12th House

Pile #1: Inner strengths

Pile #2: Inner weaknesses

Pile #3: Psychological nature (What is going on in the

client’s subconscious mind?)

 

Chances are that you may not regularly work with a spread this large, and it can be unwieldy and a little intimidating for even a seasoned reader, so here are a few things I’ve learned.

· When fully done, this spread will take at least 45 minutes to complete, more if there are questions.

· This spread may not be ideal for situations in which you are reading people who walk-in and sign up for readings simply because it takes so long to complete and people could be waiting a long time. Telephone readings and private readings that last 45-60 minutes could be an ideal place to try it out. I’d also recommend trying it out on your close friends in your home.

· From a professional/business perspective, be sure to charge accordingly; for me this spread should cost no less than $45, but I think I could go as high as $60, depending on the area you live in. When I have described this spread to my clients and the price, however, all of them have said they would be willing to pay for it.

· Watch the flow of this spread. If astrology is not your forte, you’ll have to do some work to prep for this one, because you’ll be describing three separate areas of the same house. You don’t want it to sound like 72 two-card readings. (A big thank you to my wife Jen for this one!)

 

John Marani, CPTR, is the tarot reader at 13 Magickal Moons of Occoquan, VA. He also serves as the Priest of Tarot and the Head High Priest in Training in the Tradition of the Witches Circle in Occoquan, VA. He welcomes e-mail messages and can be reached at hierophant@cox.net.

Morgan’s Tarot

Created by Morgan Robbins and illustrated by Darsham Chorpash

Review by John Marani, CPTR

If you’re looking for a more psychedelic tarot experience, then Morgan’s Tarot is for you. While a lot of tarot deck advertising calls a particular deck “truly unique”, for me it was the first time that a deck lived up to such a description.

 

Historically, this deck was first published in 1970 and truly embraced the counterculture philosophy present at that time. You won’t find anything even remotely considered standard or usual about this pack of cards, and more traditional tarotists will find that they have no frame of reference in the cards, although depending on the age of the enthusiast, they may associate culturally with the cards’ message. The cards encourage the development

of a connection to the universal consciousness. The deck was influenced by many different paths but Tibetan Buddhism shines through on several occasions.

 

This 88-card set has no hierarchy whatsoever, and this means more than just no separation

of Major and Minor Arcana. There are no numbers anywhere on these cards, and

the little white book says that the cards can be read “in any order”. In addition, there is

no color on the cards at all; the images are all black and white on both the front and the

back of the cards. On several cards, there are no words at all, only images, and there is

also a blank card as well.

 

The counterculture message abounds in the cards, with card names like: “It is not what

you do that counts, it is...Where your head is at”; “HEAVY”; “FAR OUT”; and

“Whatever’s right.”

 

There is writing on almost all of the cards, but many of the messages don’t immediately

make sense. “Pigs and fishes surround you” is one of the cards. It has a pencil

drawing of a man holding his hands to his head, surrounded by pigs and fishes. A

look at the little white book--which, being true to the deck, lists all of the cards in no

particular order--gives the following entry: “Pigs and fishes represent those aspects

most difficult to influence in the polychromatic bubble of dualism. It is also said that

this card means ‘inner truth’.” To me, it said, “Stop looking at all of the nonsense

going on around you and look within for the answer.”

 

This is not to say that all of the cards are cryptic. Some of those that are more

direct included “STOP”, which seems to be a message for focusing on mundane

rather than spiritual concerns. “Someone is laughing at you” indicates a person who

is not taking what you do very seriously, or that the client is doing something absurd.

The message of the “I still don’t understand” card seems quite clear--for me it was

similar to the Magic 8-Ball’s cryptic “Ask Again Later”. This card features a nearly

room-sized early IBM computer and reel-to-reel tape recorder.

 

For those who read professionally it would be fantastic to transplant a few of

these cards into a current deck for certain situations. “DO IT NOW”, “Try to Relax”,

and “Keep up the good work”, which shows a nearly-built pyramid, were some

that caught my eye with a positive message.

 

You will definitely get a chuckle out of a few of these cards, too. My personal

favorite card had to be “FREAK”, since all of us at one time or another probably

have been on the wrong end of that name. This card shows a four-fingered, three

breasted alien sticking out her (?) tongue at us and describes a situation that is radically

different than it should be, or that it’s OK to be who we are no matter how

weird it may seem.

 

It would be hypocritical to say that the meanings ascribed to each card are confusing,

since anyone who reads tarot knows that the little white book entries for any

tarot deck can be obscure; my RWS little white book listed “furlough for a military

man” as one of the meanings, for example. But while it would be helpful to have additional

meanings for each card, the creators of this deck probably would never do it

for the simple reason that they wouldn’t want to impose their vision of what the

cards should mean on you; this will give you the opportunity to draw your own conclusions.

While there is the occasional reference to more traditional tarot cards in this guide, these are few and far between.

 

This deck is an essential for tarot collectors and for those tarot enthusiasts who

eschew anything traditional about the tarot. In this age where “one of a kind” has

become a hackneyed marketing phrase, that would be the best way to sum up this

deck. Enjoy your journey!

 

Morgan’s Tarot

U S Games Systems © 1970, 1983, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-88079-028-4