When you’re using Tarot cards as stimuli to solve problems—the sceptic’s way, with no supernatural elements—you are free to play with the cards. Since the cards are not ‘telling’ you anything, and there are no ‘right’ interpretations, you can reinterpret, add, substitute, reshuffle, combine, replace, remove, or reject a card, or play games with the cards.
With the “Two for one” technique, you substitute one of the cards in a spread with another (randomly drawn) card, and reread the spread. The new card will change the character of the reading. In addition to an alternative interpretation for the particular card position, the reinterpreted spread may also reveal more about the situation.
Start with any spread. Shuffle the deck, lay out the cards, and read the spread as you would normally do. Then choose a card you would like to replace (either because you don’t want the card in the spread, or because you want further reflection on the card position), and draw an additional card randomly.
Example use of the technique
I chose the spread:
- Problem
- Cause
- Consequences
- Solution
Using Mark McElroy’s Bright Idea Deck, I drew:
- Red 5: Confrontation (Five of Wands)
- Trump V: Guidance (The Hierophant)
- Green 7: Evaluation (Seven of Pentacles)
- Blue Doing: Illumination (Knight of Cups)
Problem
Red: Confrontation (Five of Wands).
Abby’s son, Chris, is refusing to go to the university his father, Don, has selected for him. Don wants Chris to study something safe, like accounting. Chris, however, wants to travel the world, making an income by selling his paintings. Don is furious with Chris, and worried about his son’s future. Don believes in university and a safe career; Chris believes that his art is more important than anything else, and that it is good enough to make a living from. Abby finds herself in the middle, trying to make peace.
Cause
Trump V: Guidance (The Hierophant).
Two sets of values are clashing. Don wants Chris to take the easier, and safer, route (the cable cart), while Chris is insisting on a more dangerous and difficult route (climbing the stairs up the mountain). Don is afraid that Chris will find it more difficult than he expects to establish himself as an artist (he might have to climb the mountain without the stairs and without a guide). Both have exaggerated fears that this decision will decide the rest of Chris’s life (the globe).
Consequences
Green 7: Evaluation (Seven of Pentacles).
Chris might find himself unable to sell paintings to make a living from. He is afraid that, if he follows his father’s plan, he will be a mere spectator of the art world, not a participant. Don fears that Chris’s art will not be good enough.
Solution
Blue Doing: Illumination (Knight of Hearts)
The two antagonists are closing themselves off (the man’s crossed arms) from opportunities and solutions by arguing with too little information (the candle). Abby feels the situation needs to be ‘illuminated’ by expanding the possibilities. She brainstorms the following options. Chris could:
- travel for a specified period, a year perhaps, then return to study ‘something sensible’ (Don’s words),
- attend university in a different country,
- have his portfolio evaluated by experts,
- Identify mentors who could give him guidance on making a living from his art.
The spread as a whole
The spread illustrates a movement from anger and near-violence to a peaceful quest for ‘illumination.’ This movement echoes Abby’s hope that, with more information, the arguments will cease. The two middle cards now take on connotations of questing.
Replacing a card with another, randomly drawn, card
Abby decides to draw a replacement card for ‘Cause.’ She draws Trump XVI: Demolition (The Tower).
This card, substituted for Guidance, changes the interpretation of the spread. The second reading begins with two cards that evoke violence and anger. The final two cards now suggest a desperate quest to prevent ‘demolition.’
If ‘demolition’ is the cause of the problem, it could mean that Chris and Don are blinded by anger and fear, and that communication has broken down. They are ‘looking at the wrong picture’ (Evaluation). They are fumbling in the dark (‘illumination’ with a candle) and ignoring other possibilities (the woman with the torch).
Although Abby feels the problem has not yet reached the stage of ‘demolition,’ it is a possibility. The search for ‘illumination’ now seems even more urgent, and should include the unconventional. Don and Chris need to break through their narrow views.
Stimulated to search for more options, Abby suggests:
- identifying art experts in various countries with whom Chris could study (so he will still travel),
- mapping a route to include museums and institutions to study the works of masters,
- attending a university in a different country to study art,
- studying ‘something sensible’ part-time, and part-time art.
These possibilities will require more compromise from both sides if Chris is to ‘follow his dreams.’
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