by Marcus Katz
19. Big Picture, Little Picture (Chunking)
We now put our previous two sections together to arrive at what can often be a unique insight into a reading. We do this by looking at something in the big picture and then looking for that same thing in the detail of the cards.
We saw in our ‘big picture’ of this particular example spread that whilst there was a quite average spread of cards, we were interested that there were no TENS, so no real ‘completion’ cards.
We then looked to the closest completion card, a NINE, which was the 9 of Cups in the OTHERS position.
In the next section, we looked at the ‘little picture’, in this case looking at HANDS. We could have also looked at standing/sitting, objects, direction of movement, and many other details across the cards.
We now put these two sections together and provoke curious insight.
If we were using some other example, we might find ourselves looking at the Two of Wands and his hands, to get an idea of how to start from the present position. In another reading, we might end up looking at the Five and Six of Swords and their respective movements to discover the middle-ground (Fives and Sixes in the middle of One to Ten) in an argument (Swords). This approach unlocks massive possibility in your readings.
Keeping to our example and what we have covered previously, we look at the NINE OF CUPS (decided to be closest to completion in the ‘big picture’) and then look at his HANDS (our choice in looking at the ‘little picture’).
This would tell us how the step to completion can be carried out.
When we look closely, we see that the character (actually Falstaff from Shakespeare as we cover in Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot) has one hand visible and one hand hidden.
This would give us insight in that the next step to getting this situation resolved, particularly as it requires the right recognition by other people, is to only partially reveal one’s hand.
Illus. 9 of Cups (Waite-Smith Tarot).
We would build this insight into the advice as we come to an overall plan. We would advise the client to only reveal their plan in part to other people. That would lead to an interesting conversation about those “stages” we talked about in the earlier part of the reading.
In this section we go ‘big picture’ and then ‘little picture’ and then slam them both together in order to shake out hidden insight in the overall reading.
This method is based on “chunking” levels of detail as described and utilised in NLP.
20. Looking Back Forwards
Now that we have worked with the little and big picture in the spread, we resolve a problem with the Celtic Cross that is common to all spread - it is fixed to its own positions.
It is rarely noted that the Celtic Cross and many other spreads that have been inspired by it as the basic template for spreads can only take the client (or yourself) to an “outcome”. This final card in the spread is fixed there for all to see, so frames the whole reading as simply a means to describe what appears to be the most important thing – the outcome.
It is very deterministic and can often support the client’s issues of self-control or agency in their situation and life in general.
In our more powerful change-work and solution-orientated approach, we want to engage with change, make it possible, and then look even further at the consequences of change.
So in the Celtic Cross (and any other spread) we might want to add another card as a far-future card.
This is our personal variation of the “surprise card” that used to be part of earlier playing-card techniques. This was the card laid out as a ‘bonus’ right at the end of a reading, such as a fan or pyramid spread.
In our method, we simply turn up the next card in the remaining deck and say something this:
“So, once that outcome [point to the Outcome card] has been long achieved, and you are looking back now on all the things that you have changed and achieved since that time, this card shows us - way ahead in the far future - how you will be looking back at that time of your life”.
And then read that card.
This immediately takes the client into a far future position and widens the context and potential for change. It also, for those who like the technicalities, uses the language pattern of “at that time of your life” (not ‘during this time in your life’) presents a non-associated and yet possessive perspective of the present moment.
If we drew a surprise card of the Hierophant, for example, we might say “It appears most likely that you will be looking back at that time of your life in a way in which you learnt a great many things, enough to become an expert on them. In fact, as you look back now from that future point, you have enough experience to be a good teacher to others …”
21: The Force is Strong in This One
As we reach our final steps of this new approach to the noble Celtic Cross, in this section we look at direction and flow across (and underneath) the whole spread. This helps us draw together in a summary all of the steps that we have already taken in the reading.
In order to look at the direction and flow of the spread, we mentally draw lines of movement on every card - or physically with your finger in the air above the cards.
Another method you can add to this is to make appropriate noises in your mind or out loud for every card movement. This works very well for those who respond to sound more than images.
As an example, you might hear a “swoosh!” sound for the rapid movement seen in the 8 of Wands or “Durrrrr…” (like a stuck gear wheel) for the strange mix of movement and non-movement on the Temperance card. It could be that you hear an Angelic choir “A-Ah-Ah-Ahhh!” for Temperance, depending on how you have already read it in the specific reading.
Illus. Lines of Movement.
I always hear that circus show-ring music when I see the 2 of Pentacles. It also helps me remember that it is a card all about the ‘show’ and not the ‘substance’ or sawdust of a matter.
When you have done this for every card in the central area of the ‘wheel’ of the spread (the wheel we saw in a previous section) you will get a good idea of additional points to incorporate and bring together as you summarise your interpretation.
Sometimes the directions, speed and sounds of movement in the cards can show similarities and tides, which I call ‘tendencies’ or ‘trends’. It can often be that the movements and sounds go totally different ways or head into each other in certain areas of the spread, which I call ‘fractures’. These tendencies or fractures can really deepen the reading, clarify and confirm previous points, or add new information which joins those points together.
We look for dynamic flows of movement that go with - or against - the other flows first; so in our example spread we can see just how that Knight of Swords is opposing the whole flow of the other cards.
In fact, this illustrates how fast the situation will be released (straight into the 8 of Wands) once that card is actually harnessed, as we saw in our previous section on utilising the Knight with the resource card of Temperance.
Temperance is here providing a “push/pull” support mechanism to all that dynamic flow above.
We also look for sets of cards all going the same direction and chain their interpretation together, and other patterns that become obvious when you try this simple tip.
22: Vectors, Victims and Victors
As we saw in the previous section, we can imagine all the lines of force in a reading by drawing a mental image of the direction in which the illustration generally points.
These provide us “vectors” of influence in the reading.
They also show which cards may be victims, badly impacted by the overall or immediately surrounding cards, or victors, unduly heightened in their influence by the overall flow.
This is what we call a “natural dignity” which is just like the “elemental dignities” method used by the Golden Dawn system and the Opening of the Key spread.
So let us now look at the stave (or road) portion of the
Celtic Cross example, and see how those vectors can be easily and quickly seen and used in our reading.
Our first impression is how different they are to the central portion – how isolated and closed off they are, with illustrations that are more inward pointing.
These vectors are quite powerful, but being applied inwardly, which is no surprise given the rest of the reading in all our previous sections.
Illus. Vectors, Victims and Victors.
There’s what we can clearly see and call “resistance” to the current down all those cards.
So as one example, we would simply (having already removed the Page of Swords as per our section on “attention” earlier) turn UPSIDE DOWN the 9 of Cups, saying “Let’s change all this resistance, shall we? Let’s see what will happen when you turn everything on its head”.
And of course, in this example, that’s exactly the card we have been returning to in previous tips, for all sorts of reasons. It’s almost as if the whole method hangs together.
Every reading and flow of the force in it will be different and teach you new ways of working with the cards if you let it.
You can try it with just a portion of a spread first, and then build it up over practice.
In whatever way the cards fall – just remember, incorporate and utilise, it’s all about the outcome.
23: No Fault, Only Fix
As we draw together our concluding remarks in a reading, it is important to remember that these will often be the most-recalled pieces of information by the client.
So, one thing we do with outcome-orientated reading is provide at least a few resources from the reading that the client will take away.
One problem with tarot is that it can often unconsciously consolidate a feeling of helplessness in the client. This can happen particularly when badly delivered by a reader who is more interested in proving their own ability (and is projecting insecurity into the cards) than pointing the client to their own resources for managing change.
So, for today’s tip, we return to the “resources” card and in our summary of the reading drop in a few deliveries of truism + truism + suggestion as we saw in a previous tip.
We can use what has actually happened in the session, because that will always be true and verifiable.
So we might say, “Now, we’ve covered a lot of material for you in this hour, and I know we’ve had a lot of laughs along the way, which is great to pace things out a bit.”
In that sentence, we have referred to our previous reading of the Temperance card ‘pacing out’ the energy of the Knight of Swords, our very challenging card in this example, which we want to harness.
We have said two true things; the reading lasted an hour, and we laughed in it, then followed it with a suggestion based on the resource card.
This delivery helps with a “no fault, only fix” mentality. We do not go on about how brilliant we have been for finding so many problems that exist in the client’s life in our cards.
This approach also shows how the method of reading slots in with the language that we use – a very important fit when considering how we teach and learn tarot.
Tarot is a linguistic process, albeit generated by pictorial symbols. The more we learn how to speak, and how that reflects how we think, the more inspired are our readings.
24: Our Story is Not Done
To conclude this section on reading the Celtic Cross, we would like to share a story.
I (Marcus) was once doing a reading at a local car boot sale at which I was doing 20-30 quick readings a day, sometimes more, from 6am to 6pm.
My wife was shopping around the sale and passed behind me as I laid out the cards in a Celtic Cross. I actually heard her gasp as she walked past the table.
I was also looking at the cards and it was like the reading from hell. Every ‘bad’ card, and even the ‘good’ cards looked like they were tormented where they were positioned.
I looked at my client, a young, worried looking girl, probably about 19 years old.
She looked at me, and I could sense her reaching for some hope.
I started to read with the first card along the lines of “Well, although this card looks bad, one hopeful thing is …” but soon found myself referring to the darkness of the card, time again.
I turned to another card, “Now, one of the best things about this card is … “and found myself again reading it as “… well, actually, this card in this position is pretty grim, as …”
And so on through the whole reading. Whichever way I turned, however I went, the cards were bad, bad, bad, and hopeless. I have never seen before or since a reading like it.
Also, I was finding myself reading it negatively, and trying to resist that. So at some point, I gave in, and thought “I read the cards. I am a card reader. That is what I do.”
So I read the cards. I read them truly, passionately, and spoke as eloquently as I could about what it is like to live in darkness, without hope, when things can – and will – only get worse.
I stopped looking at the client. I am not a person-reader. I am a card reader. So I read the cards.
I looked up after about twenty minutes, fully expecting a request for a refund.
What I got was a slightly stunned look, and a slight nod of the head. She paid and got up to go.
I was so uncertain as to what had happened, I asked her, somewhat plaintively, “Was that OK? I mean, I’m sorry to have delivered so much bad news”.
She looked at me with some empathy, and said seriously, “Well, if it helps you, I probably won’t be committing suicide like I planned to tonight”.
And walked away.
My wife returned to ask me about the reading and I was packing up my cards, I could not do another reading that day or for a week afterwards.
For many years this reading played in my mind. Not only the reading, but the way in which it had appeared to profoundly help the client.
I thought often to myself that the reading had not offered hope, positivity, or resources. It had only – only – confirmed her dire situation and depression, futility, and the imminent action she was to take in response to a seemingly impossible situation.
So what had changed? What outcome had been delivered?
After another thirty years of learning and practising tarot, I began to formulate a thought about this reading, and it is the one which I feel is the most important tip of all.
We are card readers. So we read the cards.
That’s the lesson.
When I read those cards for that girl, I could have fudged a lot of hope out of my head and overridden the cards. I didn’t in the end – I read the cards, despite wanting to read for the person and what I naturally thought would help.
But we are not normal people, doing a normal job, offering normal or well-meaning advice.
And in not doing so, I told this girl something powerful, and demonstrated with the tarot reading something beyond any doubt she held, even in her position.
I told her that the cards knew.
They knew her story.
They knew her despair.
They knew futility.
They knew darkness.
They knew life was not always easy at all.
They knew her plan to end her life.
They could see it.
And if this were indeed the case, her life was not unnoticed, it was not disconnected.
And most of all, there was something more than she could see – something connected, something that saw her, and something that wanted to tell her a story.
In doing so, it changed her mind.
If this was all true, then she was not simply the end of her life, she was part of something more – something truly mysterious, and something more powerful than us all.
Something, perhaps, good and caring.
Something, perhaps, loving.
Something, perhaps, alive in our lives in every moment, accompanying us here and now.
This is what happen
ed, and why our story is not done.
We are tarot readers, and we read the cards.
Conclusion
In working through the entire history of the Celtic Cross and then presenting new methods of using it we hope to have demonstrated just how powerful a simple spread can be to work through all aspects of any situation in life.
We also hope to have kindled your enthusiasm to explore other aspects of our reading style in other titles and take your tarot to new levels of insight.
We hope you have found this book useful and look forward to hearing about your experience in using the Celtic Cross in our Facebook group.
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Volume I.
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