Creating a Range of Meaning
Step 11 in 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card by Mary K. Greer reminds me a lot of the month of November, which we are starting today and which is the 11th month of the year. This step is about exploring the range of a card.
Many tarot readers say that all cards have positive and negative meanings. Step 11 helps explore the full range, from most beneficial to most problematic. November is a month of extremes for me…the beginning of cold winter days (at least here in Minnesota); brown, rotting vegetation; general bleakness countered by heart-warming holidays; good football; the preparation of the earth for next year’s growth. My the parameter of my property is surrounded by lilacs. I’ve heard that in November, the lilacs set their buds for next spring.
Anyhow, it’s as good a time as any to explore a card from it’s best meaning to most troubling meaning. Here’s one way Mary suggests you do that:
Pick a card to work with.
“Consider the liability end [most problematic possible meanings] of your chosen card. What would a worst-case scenario look like? How could you consciously experience it, taking it as far as it would go?”
Do the same thing in reverse…what would the best-case scenario look like?
Now I suggest that you lay your card down and randomly draw two more, placing one on either side of your chosen card. Do those cards pull your chosen card toward one end of the range or the other? After you’ve worked with those, pick up the two cards and pull two more. This is a great way to not only explore a card’s range but also practice blending three cards together to create unique and focused interpretations.
Nice to be reading