question about timelines and cards

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 12 Nov 2001, and now archived in the Forum Library.

quan_yin	12 Nov 2001
I would be interested in hearing info on how people get a sense of time with the cards. As in, when will something happen? I know time is always relative, but are there cards that can help suggest a month or number of days/ weeks? Or what happens first vs. what happens second? Before vs. After?

Thirteen	12 Nov 2001
The book "Tarot in Ten Minutes" by R.R.Kaser says the following: If you're trying to predict when something will happen (like when you'll get a promotion, or something solid like that): Magician: By the new Moon HP: Crescent moon Empress: Full moon Emperor: Quarter moon Hierophant: Winter Solstice Lovers: Spring Equinox Chariot: Summer Solstice Justice (she goes with Justice as #8--and I'd go with this, too; "Strength" wouldn't make sense for "Fall"): Autumnal Equinox Hermit: In a matter of days Wheel Of fortune: Within a year The way this is done is to use just these ten cards in a three card spread. The first indicates the "thing" (Empress = "The outcome of past efforts," for example), the second what will happen (Chariot = "will be challenged," for example) and the third is "when" (Hermit = "In a matter of days"). So the sentence you get is, "In a few days, the outcome of past effort will be challenged." Don't know if you or anyone else agrees with her designations (most of them make sense, actually, like Empress for full moon), but it seems to me they only work if you use only those ten cards and make sure you have a "When" position in your spread. If you wanted to use more cards, go with Major Arcana and their zodiac signs. So if, say, "The Moon" showed up in a reading, you could read that as Pisces, meaning that it was going to happen in late Feb. or early March. Using this, I'd make these changes: Fool: Spring Equinox Magician: New moon HP: Crescent moon/half-moon Empress: Full moon Emperor: Aries (late march/early april) Hierophant: Taurus (late april/early may)--you get the idea-- Lovers: Gemini /Chariot: Cancer Strength: Leo/ Hermit: Virgo Wheel of Fortune: Summer Solstice Justice: Libra Hanged Man: Fall Equinox Death: Scorpio/ Temp: Sag/ Devil: Cap The Tower: Spring Equinox (trust me, this works. Spring is when the world is shaken up, the ice cracks and melts, the green that's been underneath, silent and waiting, appears...) The Star: Aquar./ The Moon: Pisces The Sun: Summer Solstice Judgement: I'd read this as "RIGHT NOW!" or maybe "When you want it to happen"--what do you think? The World: Within a year

The question about timelines and cards thread was originally posted on 12 Nov 2001 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.