The April 28, 2007 issue of Science News reports NASA’s puzzlement over a "giant, hexagon-shaped feature that hovers above Saturn's entire north pole." This hexagon was initially spotted more than twenty years ago by the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecrafts.  Its surrounding darker hexagon was more recently discovered in infrared images from the Cassini spacecraft.  These windy hexagonal vortices are large enough to fit four Earths within.

For Tarot questions involving challenges of restriction, reversals of fortune, frustration, burdensome responsibilities and stress as well as readings involving the need or desire for growth, advancement, manifestation or perfection, try Saturn’s Hexagons.

Shuffle your deck and draw twelve cards, placing them in two concentric rings of six cards each, beginning with the bottom card of the inner hexagon and working clockwise.

The Dark Hexagon (outer) tells a story of challenging aspects of life or self that can ultimately lead to positive change.

The Bright Hexagon (inner) tells of opportunities for growth, advancement, manifestation and perfection.

In addition, some of you might be familiar with the Planetary Layout, originated by astrologer Maud Reinertsen.  It’s a left-to-right arc of cards that includes positions devoted to the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and, yes, poor, demoted Pluto.  The eleventh and final card, which nestles below the arc, represents you or your querent.  If you’d like, you can also add positions for the North Node and South Node.  Astrologer Candy Hillenbrand--as cited by astrologer Gerry Goddard--calls the North Node the "path of future growth" and the South Node "the past, karma, inherited potential."

Trying these out?  Keep us posted on your discoveries.  The Tarot Channel welcomes your comments and questions!

(c)2007 Eva Yaa Asantewaa
http://mysite.verizon.net/magickaleva

Alternately, you can allow the cards to select the Significator and Goal cards for you without your intentional choice.  This will give you two extra cards to interpret, but--if you trust Spirit and your intuition--can reveal some important truths about yourself and your intentions and goals that you might not have realized.

Next, shuffle your deck thoroughly and draw six cards which you will then place in a line--one following the other--in the space between your Significator and Goal cards.

Read across from left to right, taking note of the implications of each of the six steps leading to your goal.  These cards can represent actions that can lead to the achievement of your goal, things that can happen that will affect the achievement of your goal, or contacts (actual people or types of people) that you need to connect with in order to manifest your intention.

Reversals can indicate many things, including temporary bumps in the road, steps to take that might need a little more work than you had planned for, the need to do some more digging or research, spiritual contacts, and the like.  Be creative in your interpretation of reversals.

(c)2007, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
http://mysite.verizon.net/magickaleva

Your querent listens to your reading and says, "Oh, that's just great...not!  Do you think all this wonderfulness will change soon?" or--with a lot less bitterness--"Okay, what can I do to bring about a change here?"

Look to any Cup card in your layout and interpret it according to its individual meaning, position in the layout, the juxtaposition of cards surrounding it, its energies and/or any other indicators you perceive.

Some general suggestions (to be augmented by the specific question and nature of your reading):

Ace: a) The Universal Solvent/Solve-It.  b) Ask Spirit for the solution/way to break up the intractable condition.  c) Use a spiritual (not material) solution.

Two: a) Two alternative solutions exist. b) Adopt and integrate the best aspects of each idea.  c) Open the lines of communication because an liberal exchange of problem-solving ideas might be in order.

Three: a) Time for a brainstorming party. b) Bring friends into the problem-solving.  c) Be more playful and creative in your thinking.

Four: a) Stop dwelling on stale or failed ideas; the right solution is within reach.  b) What solution have you ignored?  c) Pay attention to spiritual messages.

Five: Make your peace with bad decisions from your past; forgive yourself and let them go. A true solution will present itself to you when you dissolve your negative ties to the past.

Six: a) Keep your eyes and ears open: Spirit will bring your solution. b) Your solution is simpler than you think. c) Receive your solution now (or as soon as you are truly receptive).

Seven: a) Use creative imagination to find your solution.  b) A good but temporary solution that will eventually need something more secure to back it up.  c) A questionable solution--one worth probing to see if it is indeed valid and workable.

Eight: a) A solution requiring a definite shift.  b) A transformative solution.

Nine: a) This is a solution you can take to the bank! b) Not only a good solution but a deeply rewarding, satisfying one.

Ten: a) A happy solution.  b) A solution guaranteed to make everyone involved happy.

Page: a) Be prepared to put in some work for the solution to your problem. b) Study this possible solution very carefully before implementing it. c) Meditate on the problem, being open to learning new ways to arrive at a solution.

Knight: a) Someone involved here is devoted to finding a solution. Identify this person. b) Your solution will delivered by a messenger. c) Your solution comes from someone or something outside the sphere of the problem.

Queen: a) Your solution will come through intuition.  b) Your solution has been known all along.  c) Your solution is embedded in the problem itself, waiting to be recognized.  d) Your solution might show up in a dream.  e) Go for the solution that is fair to everyone involved.  f) Go for the solution that represents wisdom.

King: a) There's a precedent for your problem and its solution; do some research.  b) Use expert skill to arrive at a solution--your own or someone else's.

There are many ways to understand and use the Cups; this is but one interesting example.  If you try it out, please let me know how it works for you.  Post your comments here!

(c)2007, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
http://mysite.verizon.net/magickaleva

Open your reading with a brief meditation, invocation or prayer, then begin with a basic, vertical three-card arrangement:

Card 1: Past (or Body, or Inner Child Self, etc.)

Card 2: Present (or Mind, or Ego Self, etc.)

Card 3: Future (or Spirit, or Expanded Self, etc.)

Shuffle, draw, place and read the cards for each of those positions, just as you would for any three-card layout, assigning each position the meaning of your choice.  But don’t stop there!

When you’ve completed this first section of your reading, switch Card 1 with Card 3 and read the resulting new line accordingly.  In this new lineup, you acknowledge the intimate interconnection between the past and the future, for instance, or between the body and the spirit.  How are they really one and the same?  How does one reflect upon the other, inform the other?

Finally, return the outer cards (1 and 3) to their original positions and re-read that arrangement in light of new insights drawn from the previous trio layout.

For example, in the following layout, a situation in which assertive strength, authority and focus are all diminished or dissipated nevertheless might lead to a new source of energy and a new opportunity.  Let go of control.  False strength must be released so that true strength can develop.

Past: King of Swords (reversed)

Present: Strength (reversed)

Future: Ace of Wands

A twist of the braid highlights the fact that the gift of new energy/opportunity was hidden all along in the past crisis.  The current condition is one of vulnerability and openness.  In the future, the “king” will find a new way to operate in the world.

Past: Ace of Wands

Present: Strength (reversed)

Future: King of Swords (reversed)

Another twist of the braid brings you back to the original configuration, but with a significant difference:

Past: King of Swords (reversed)

Present: Strength (reversed)

Future: Ace of Wands

The “king” secretly desires–-and hence has created--his own transformation.  He now looks back at his own past actions and state of mind and realizes that he created his own crisis, unknowingly giving up power and control so that he can be infused with fresh energy.  He will drop his old attitudes, behaviors and/or baggage so that he can embrace the new.

© 2007, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
http://mysite.verizon.net/magickaleva

I'll use the archangelic correspondences as given by Rabbi Cooper. However, if you are accustomed to different attributions--e.g., Michael as a cosmic warrior, associated with strength and power--don't hesitate to adjust what's below and make it work for you. Also, if you're not into these archangels and prefer to attribute the positions to other spiritual beings--for example, Celtic or African deities who have similar qualities--feel free to rename the cards as desired. The layout will work every bit as well!

The layout will look like this:

       6

       4

3     1     2

       5

Consider an important question or concern that you'd like to offer for archangelic care. If you would like to select a specific significator card to represent yourself or the querent (if that is not you), do so now, then shuffle the deck. If you would prefer to draw this Querent card at random, shuffle the deck in your regular fashion, then draw a card and place it in the Querent position.

Card 1: Querent card: Put yourself or your querent here in the central position. You'll need to exercise some inner vision to see the Querent card as a living entity facing in the same direction that you are facing (not facing you, in other words). This is important so that you get a sense of the two-dimensional layout being an actual formation of beings: Uriel and Raphael will be perceived to be in front of and behind the Querent rather than actually above and below.

Card 2: Michael: Divine generosity and lovingkindness. Place this card at the right of the Querent card.

Card 3: Gabriel: Divine power and strength. Place this to the left of the Querent card.

You now have three cards in a line. Two more will go above and below the Querent card, forming a circle around it.

Card 4: Uriel: Divine light.

Card 5: Raphael: Divine healing.

Card 6: Shekinah: The Feminine Divine. Place the Shekinah card above the Uriel card. As you read the spread, the Shekinah may "float" around the circle as if hovering above Her beloved archangels and the Querent. She may come to rest at any point, lending Her particular energies (a blend of Her being and the card representing Her) to the energies of the card She touches upon.

Notes:

Rabbi David A. Cooper. Kabbalah Meditation, 2-tape series. Sounds True Audio, 1995. 1-800-333-9185

Cooper. God is A Verb: Kabbalah and The Practice of Mystical Judaism. NY: Riverhead, 1997

Books by Rabbi David A. Cooper

© 2001, 2002, 2007 Eva Yaa Asantewaa

by Eva Yaa Asantewaa
http://mysite.verizon.net/magickaleva

Ask your question, shuffle your deck as usual and, without turning them over, draw three cards. Line them up vertically as follows:

Card 3 – What Lies Beyond: What you can expect; your answer

Card 2 – The Door: What helps you to discover or leads you to your answer or outcome

Card 1 – Querent*: The person asking the question

(*Note: Some readers prefer to select a specific card as a significator to represent the querent. I always leave it to chance. Do what feels best to you.)

Charlie is suddenly feeling queasy about agreeing to lend his car to his younger cousin Tony, usually a reliable fellow, for a brief out-of-town trip this coming weekend. Charlie wants to know if there’s something that he can do to assure that everything will turn out well.

In our Door layout, Charlie is represented by the Eight of Pentacles reversed. He’s feeling unsure of his judgment and decision. Charlie has gotten a hint of some weak spot in his cousin’s character or perhaps his driving skills and habits, and he’s possibly subtly reminded of a time when he himself was less mature and responsible.  His head tells him to trust Tony, but his feelings are saying something very different. He’s getting a subliminal message that should not be ignored.

Charlie’s door is the Four of Swords reversed, which reflects a subliminal unease that is slowly surfacing.  He’s right to pay attention to his misgivings. It would be unsurprising if Charlie even had a disturbing dream about his earlier decision or an unpleasant physical sensation whenever he contemplates it. His subconscious mind has much to tell him.

The outcome is the Page of Wands–-perhaps an image of Tony as an alert, energetic but possibly impulsive youth. Looks like Charlie should find out more about Tony’s trip and his plans before he hands those car keys over.

I have a tasty–-and a wee-bit more complex–-five-card variation called Lady or Tiger. Begin as above, drawing a single card for the querent. As before, unless you have selected a specific significator for this position, keep this and all drawn cards turned face down. Next, draw one card each for Door #1 and Door #2. Placed Door #1 just above and to the right of your Querent card. Place Door #2 just above and to the left of your Querent card.

You now have two choices, each yielding its own answer or outcome. You will need to draw two final cards to serve as the “beyond” for each door. Keep these two cards face down, placing the first over Door #1 and the second over Door #2.

Turn your Querent card face up. This card reveals something relevant about you or about the person asking the question. Next, if you’re reading for someone else, ask your querent to place his or her hand over the Querent card and feel energy pulling his or her awareness towards Door #1 or Door #2. Allow time for your querent–-or you, if you’re reading for yourself--to sense this subtle tug or impulse.  You could also use an internal, mental cue to help you choose one direction or the other: the flash of a red, green, or yellow traffic signal, for instance, urging you towards or warning you away from a particular door, or the sounding of a bell that signals that you’ve found the right way. Tilt the Querent card toward the selected door.

Now turn the door card. Its image can help you to discover or lead you to your answer or outcome.

Turn the card of what lies beyond that door and consider its suggestion of a possible resolution or outcome.

When you're done examining these two cards, take a look at the alternative door and answer.

This time, Charlie comes up as the Two of Cups, reaching a comfortable compromise with Tony. Charlie felt energy moving his hand towards Door #2 and turned it over to reveal the 10 of Swords reversed. This door led to The Sun reversed.  While it is certainly within Charlie’s right to slam on the brakes and say no to the earlier deal, instead the two guys might come up with a totally new arrangement. Charlie could cancel his own Sunday plans and take the out-of-town drive with Tony. The alternative door (Strength reversed) shows exactly what Charlie does not want–-an unfocused or undisciplined young man alone behind the wheel of his car. That door opened onto the Ace of Wands–-perhaps a friendly, gentle nudge in the right direction from a concerned relative.

Give The Door and Lady or Tiger a try and post your comments here!

by Eva Yaa Asantewaa, (c)2007
http://mysite.verizon.net/magickaleva