World Spirit Tarot - Gifts/Shadows??Help!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 May 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

obsidian_queen	05 May 2005
Hi all I am determined to work with the World Spirit Tarot Deck; I feel so strongly about it and the artwork - the only thing is this - I'm confused about the reversals or lack thereof. I mean it's fine to say that the deck does not use reversals in the traditional sense, and that it offers "shadow" meanings instead, but my question is, how to pick up when the shadow meaning applies, or when the gift is being offered. Is it one or the other? Or are both meanings present when looking at a reading? For example, say I wanted to do a reading about someone's love life, and they were asking how things would turn out for them regarding an involvement with a certain person. I pull The Devil 3 of swords 8 of pentacles Normally I just like to read cards as a sentence rather than put them into assigned positions, so at first glance I would say that there's a third party involved in this relationship, and for some reason I'd feel that the QUERENT is the third wheel here, because I see the 8 of pentacles as mastery, and liking what you do while working and learning from someone who's a pro at the stuff. Also the earth energy of the pents card/Devil make me feel like they're enjoying the PHYSICAL aspect of things. I would have just maybe left it at that if I were using uprights alone with another deck.. But now I wonder if the shadow side of the 8 of pentacles is brought out by the other 2 cards beside it, or whether the gift still shines through and influences the others too. If anyone could give me their take on that example i'd appreciate it. I know I'm confusing myself and probably complicating things needlessly (over-analytical queen of swords that I can be), but I just want to experience all facets of this deck and learn how to benefit the best I can from it.

Sulis	05 May 2005
I really like the World Spirit deck. When I use it I use reversals. When I say I use reversals, that doesn't necessarily mean that I just reverse the upright meaning of a card - reversals to me sometimes mean the 'shadow side' of a card. If a card comes up reversed, I'd say that it's qualities are either present or potential but they might be: 1. Delayed 2. Diminished / diminishing 3. Underutilized 4. Internalized 5. Blocked I took a quick look in the World Spirit Study group threads and came up with this old thread about using reversals with this deck: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=20933&highlight=reversals Hope that helps, Love Sulis xx

obsidian_queen	05 May 2005
Sulis, If i'm to go by what I read in the thread you attached (thanks by the way); I guess the general consensus would be that you interpret whether a card is conveying its gift or shadow according to the others around it....and if i did things that way I would undertake to interpret my sample reading again: Maybe the problem was phrasing my question to the cards, since vague question = vague answer/interpretation So the querent asks "what's going to be happening between me and so and so?" And I pull: The Devil 3 of swords 8 of pentacles I STILL see the relationship as being illicit and full of tension and addiction, but now the 8 of pents..if it takes on a shadow meaning from being with the other 2 heavier cards..Devil being big Major Arcana energy..reads as ..perhaps not working hard to find your own love? kind of settling and taking what you can get (dishonestly) instead of trying to do the work - both inner soul-searching and outward external looking for someone decent- in an earnest fashion? I'm a little unsure of myself and I suddenly don't know at all whether this interpretation is right. For all I know the Devil/ 3 of swords could be abuse and the 8 of pents could mean therapy! Again..which is the gift and which is the shadow? still confused...

mudweed	06 May 2005
I think you are overanalyzing it a little. LOL The authors in the book do say that they have chosen not to include the reversed meanings in the book, but then continue to advocate mixing intuitive with rational (or by-the-book) interpretations. Personally, when I use this deck (and it is my main deck) I do use reversals, as I would with other decks, seeing the reversals as Sulis described. I also look for the potential "shadow" in cards based on context. This, too, is more or less how I read when I use any other deck. I think perhaps the hang up about "shadow/gift" is because of semantics. Just as they changed the names of the court cards to convey a slightly different world-view, so I think is the case with pointing out the many different ways one might interpret a card regardless of its direction. As they say, not as polar opposites, but as a continuum. Of course, the only advice I could possibly offer in how you approach this deck is that over-used "whatever best works for you." As for the reading, here is how I would interpret it, based on a hypothetical person, and reading it "like a sentence." (Not how I usually read, I guess, but something I ought to try.) General query regarding the path of a relationship between two persons. The relationship is one based on rewards. This could be physical, or it could be the status afforded one by the relationship with the other. The sort of relationship where they very well could be using each other, regardless of any feeling or lack thereof they have for each other. This dynamic has lead to a general feeling of distrust for each other, and there may be actual infidelity involved. (3 Swords is in the book as "sorrow" I think, but I see it as a sneaky card, with the way the suspicios figure is reflected in the mirror and the way the characters have their backs to each other.) The last card I see in two ways, and am having trouble applying it to a blind reading... First, it could be that one or both gains mastery over those darker desires, and the relationship stabilizes into something more meaningful... Or it might be that one continues to hold mastery over the other, and the relationship continues on in its carefully constructed semblance of normalcy. This last interpretation actually, to me, hints at an abusive relationship. I guess the last card is a perfect example of being able to apply either "shadow" or "gift" to the meaning of a card (like you said in both posts). The solution, I'm afraid, can't be found in a book... No cut and dry answer. This is where I have to apply intuition, and perhaps the more practical solution of an additional card to help clarify. Ack. Sorry for the book. I get carried away.

Sulis	06 May 2005
If you usually use reversals then I would suggest that you do just that with this deck. Love Sulis xx

obsidian_queen	09 May 2005
Thank you Mudweed. That helps alot, and Sulis I appreciate your taking time for me as well. I guess my problem boils down to over-analysis, which comes with the learning process...I've always been one for specifics and detail, and I'm learning the hard way that there's no way to study tarot down to "a science" as it were. I'm still developing "feeling" rather than "reading" so..you know..I drive myself crazy sometimes.

The World Spirit Tarot - Gifts/Shadows??Help! thread was originally posted on 05 May 2005 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.