The Chariot is my 2013 Year Card, and I have been drawing it and thinking about it quite a bit lately. I had a look in Rachel Pollack's book 'Tarot Wisdom' yesterday to read what she has to say about the card, and found her spread, 'A Chariot Reading', in which you lay out eight cards to correspond to the first eight cards of the major arcana, Fool - Chariot. 'The purpose of this reading is to help you become more conscious, so that you can take the reins of the chariot that is your life,' she says.----------0----------
-----3----1----4-----
----5----7----6----
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0 Fool - What am I leaping into?
1 Magician - Where is the energy, the magic?
2 High Priestess - What is secret or hidden or unspoken?
3 Empress - Where is my passion?
4 Emperor - What are the rules, possibly hidden or unconscious?
5 Hierophant - What is the path laid out before me?
6 Lovers - How do I express my passion?
7 Chariot - Where is it all heading?
I have laid out my Giant Rider Wait in the spread positions and then shuffled and drew from my purple box Thoth for the draw. I will look at each card in turn this week.
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| The Chariot Spread, Rachel Pollack (Giant Rider & Purple Box Thoth) |
But before I look more closely at the spread, I think I'll spend some time with The Chariot card. Next entry!
That's an inspired use of the Giant.
ReplyDeleteI have considered getting Tarot Wisdom but wasn't sure how much of anything different or interesting it would contribute. Ms. Pollack seems to have come out with a few books in recent years that seem geared more towards the "this is what this card means" audience. And some of the reviews of Tarot Wisdom made me think twice. There was someone who said she inserts unfavorable opinions about some cards for which she has a personal aversion and someone who said it was lacking in substance, that it was something apparently quickly assembled from the notes of old freeform workshops Pollack led.
Normally, with a Kindle book (which is my preferred format for non-image-heavy books due to space concerns), the price is low enough that it's not a huge deal, but for some reason, this one is priced for a lot more than I could get a used copy of the physical book. So, I hesitate.
She doesn't make her personal tastes a secret, but I don't mind that. I have strong opinions, too, that I share here on this blog, and with anyone who will listen. :) To some it might be lacking in substance, in that she merely touches on some things that you sense she knows a whole lot more about (Tree of Life, etc). If this is one of those 'this means that' kind of books, it's the meatiest and best one I've seen. I'm not saying that it isn't one of those. Have you tried your local library? They might have it. Truthfully, if you like weighty analyses, this book may disappoint, but if you want to read the sometimes opinionated, sometimes meandering musings of someone who has been messing around with tarot cards for a very long time, it's really great.
DeleteLooking forward to hearing your dissection of this spread, it looks very interesting I have to say!
ReplyDeleteGah, aack! It was all going along swimmingly til I saw the Chariot's card! Well, I'll look forward to seeing how you interpret the whole lot - I liked what I was getting for the rest :)
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