Sample Spread: The Relationship Spread

I want to begin this post by stating that Tarot should not be relied on to solve all of your problems. Let the cards offer you guidance, by all means, but understand that the person you care for has their own free will, and that sometimes the best thing you can do is seek the help of a marriage counsellor, or the support of a trusted friend.

With that in mind, this spread is very good if you need to step back from a situation, and understand how the different factors in your lives are affecting the way you are with each other. I find it works just as well with friendships.

Shuffle the cards, and lay them out, like so:

Then we interpret them as follows:

Card One: This card represents your past.

Card Two: This card represents the past of your significant other.

Card Three: Your present relationship.

        Three A: Factors affecting you.

        Three B: Factors affecting your partner/friend.

Card Four: The future if you are together.

Card Five: The future if you are apart.

Card Six: Coming influences for your partner.

Card Seven, Eight, Nine: Coming influences for you.

Featured Pack: Titania's Fortune Cards

This oracle deck is loosely based on the one attributed to Mlle Lenormand, possibly the most famous cartomancer in history. Instead of court, pip and trump cards, the deck comprises 36 cards, each decorated with a single psychedelic image - a bear, a woman, a book etc. 

The cards have been the subject of much critcism, from their garish design to what some see as a gimicky cash-in - but I have been using the cards since I was 15 years old, and have never been given reason to complain. I found it easy to build a rapport with this deck, and found that once I grasped the basic concepts presented in each card, fluidity and accuracy quickly followed. They are deceptively simple cards - though each bears only the simplest of designs, the spreads and meanings associated with the cards can be quite complex. There are even layouts which use the entire 36 card deck.

Put simply, I would recommend this deck to anyone. it is a great one for beginners and veterans alike. It's value to me is immeasurable, and I use it often.

Midnight Meadow Score:

Style: 7/10 (The designs are simple, but a little loud sometimes)

Substance: 9/10 (This deck has never let me down)

Card Spotlight: The Fool

   Card Spotlight:

The Fool

  This card is often left without a number, or marked as card zero. The Fool is a symbol of youth and innocence (among other things), and represents all that is new, original, inspired and unpredictable. He signifies a need to follow your own path, even when your choices and actions seem foolish to others. As a person, he can be non-conformist, optimistic, young at heart and full of enthusiasm - but also impulsive, reckless, naive and gullible.

In Jungian terms, the Fool is described as pertaining to the newborn child, free from all individual responsibility - as it does not yet have an identity as an individual. The Fool can be a fresh eager mind, or a complete display of ignorance.

As an event, The Fool represents the unexpected, the wildcard that life throws in every so often. I sometimes interpret the cliff that The Fool is depicted stepping off of as the border between outright madness and true genius. He throws himself, unthinking, into the abyss, without a thought as to what might happen next. This is both his grace and his downfall.

Pictures; Rider-Waite-Smith Interpretation,

Dark Grimoire Tarot Interpretation

Related Articles: Card Spotlight

Goodman's Numerology - The Basic System

As mentioned elsewhere, this method of numerology differs from the kind usually put forth by magazines and books on divination. While not created by Linda Goodman, she certainly brought the system to a wider audience. In fact, Goodman went so far as to say that using any system other than the one below was a complete waste of time. She likened the 'usual' numerical values attributed to the alphabet to weekly newspaper horoscopes, and blamed both for the derisory attitudes of some toward New Age subjects.

The Chaldean-Hebrew Kabala Numerical Alphabet

A-1         H-5         O-7        V-6

B-2          I-1          P-8        W-6

C-3         J-1          Q-1        X-5

D-4         K-2         R-2        Y-1

E-5         L-3         S-3         Z-7

F-8        M-4         T-4    

G-3        N-5         U-6 

Goodman insisted that astrology and numerology were inseparable, and that when using one system, one must always bear the other in mind.

Another important thing to remember is that while many popular numerology systems dictate that you should add the dates of your birth to determine your significant number, this system uses only the day of your birth:

People born on the 1st, 10th, 19th or 28th have a strong 1 vibration.

People born on the 2nd, 11th, 20th or 29th have a strong 2 vibration.

People born on the 3rd, 12th, 21st or 30th have a strong 3 vibration.

People born on the 4th, 13th, 22nd or 31st have a strong 4 vibration.

People born on the 5th, 14th or 23rd have a strong 5 vibration.

People born on  the 6th, 15th or 24th have a strong 6 vibration.

People born on the 7th, 16th or 25th have a strong 7 vibration.

People born on the 8th, 17th or 26th have a strong 8 vibration.

People born on the 9th, 18th or 27th have a strong 9 vibration.

Next: The Numbers

Linda Goodman

                      "numerological contains two words
                         magic and logical
                    yes, the science of numbers is wise
                    as "Abstract Al" Einstein knew
                    in the Wonderland of higher mathematics...."
                                        - Linda Goodman, Star Signs

Linda Goodman (April 9, 1925- October 21, 1995) was an astrologer, numerologist and poet. She wrote the first book on astrology to EVER make the New York Times Bestseller list in 1968 , and her books Star Signs, Love Signs and Sun Signs helped to introduce astrology to a wider audience in the seventies and eighties.

Her approach to subjects such as astrological profiling, numerology and lexigrams (to name only a few) had a significant impact on the growth and success of the New Age movement. Her use of numerology, for example, differs greatly from the others presented on this site - it is the system I grew up using, having discovered a dusty old copy of Star Signs in  local second hand bookstore back in my early teens. In the book, she discusses all of the above topics, as well as the possibility of immortality, and a novel approach to weight control which utilises visualisation and colour therapy. Whether or not you are a believer in such things, there are still some important ideas in Star Signs- I find the positivity and the hope in Linda Goodman's work to be a breath of fresh air.

This week, I want to present her take on numerology, including the Chaldean-Hebrew Kabala numerical alphabet, and the relationship between your Star/Sun sign and your numerological profile.

Next: Goodman's Numerology - The Basic System