Look over the deck and find repeating patterns that catches your eye. Sort the cards into groups:
The VR deck seems rather active. It seems to be heading in a certain direction. The intuition is given ease and yet I get a fixed sense from it. I am unfamiliar with the deck of its kind and what the creator’s intent was. In that I label as follows…
-Completed an action and in process of picking another direction:
These cards appear to be transient and in motion of going in one way or another. Thoughts before action I guess. Not yet at the next destination.
Knight of Pents has just slayed the dragon and being thanked by the damsel.
The Emperor sits in silence. 6 of Wands leaving a town in the form of military troops. Knight of Swords taking hold of an angel in distress. 9 of Wands standing guard in front of a house set burning. 3 of Cups posing with musical instruments and other articles of artistic expression. 7 of Wands man who is faced with a confrontation. 5 of Swords little people talking and listening. Ace of Pents presents a huge coin.
-Cards which seem to be facing me:
Intimate, intense, bringing in the reader & querent. In the way these cards look, they seem to affirm whatever the reader/querent perceives. It is certain that you know what to do and have an answer.
The Sun being guided by angels. Queen of Wands posing and revealing a mask worn. Queen of Pents poses in front of a home with coin in hand. 5 of pents with a mother and young boy in huddle. 7 of cups fishing. Page of Cups giving a cup to a pianist. 4 of pents sitting still. 10 of pents selling goods in a public market. Queen of swords surrounded by mountains. Page of wands singing. High Priestess standing still. 4 of cups looks of indifference. The Devil posing. The Moon sitting and combing hair.
-Involved with their enviroment, the situation:
The Tower shipwreck. 7 of pents pickings from a bush. 2 of pents going over a routine. 3 of swords crying. The Lovers catch. Justice being served by an angel to a man. Ace of swords fairy and sword on a hilltop. The Wheel of Fortune birdcatcher’s turning attention. 5 of wands threat in a street. Judgement glorious vision. Strength’s patience & courage. Page of Pents sits, waits in a room. Hierophant instructs students. Empress caring for angels. 4 of wands performance. Knight of wands facing woman. 4 of swords sleeping. 6 of pents giving attention. Ace of cups diving, connecting with another. 10 of cups gathering of a family & friends. Ace of Wands elevating of a flame. 3 of pents carving wood figures. 8 of pents painting a vase. 9 of cups drinking in a tavern. 2 of cups talking to each other. 6 of swords arriving to land. 3 of Wands observing swans. The Hanged Man upside down under a bridge. 5 of cups and 8 of cups seem to contain the same person walking away with head hanging down(8) and then turned up to see in the 5.
-A definite direction and moving forward known:
The World going up. 10 of swords dying in the waves. 6 of cups looking high and low. King of cups slowing going somewhere. 2 of swords surrendering back. The Lover’s vows. 9 pents lady posing. 9 of swords sleepwalking. Knight of cups surrounded by angels and looking up. 8 of wands running. The Magician sitting behind desk. The Star in water. King of Swords in the middle of ruins. The hermit sitting by the water. The Fool balancing performance. The Chariot’s flight. King of Pents sharing himself. Queen of cups looking up to the sky. Temperance in a boat. 2 of Wands looking out. King of Wands listening to music. Death floating. 8 of swords tied and waiting. 7 of swords leaving with stuff. Page of swords going into the woods. 10 of wands carrying two loads on a path.
My card is the 4 of wands and in group 3 (involved with enviroment/situation)
It’s grouped in with other cards that are very much in the mist of their personal situations, living them out. This applies well to where I'm at. I suppose this group would be considered of the mundane. I find it difficult to find an anomoly because of the depth of variation in the deck as a whole, it addresses many things in 79 cards(extra lovers card/a seemingly built in anomoly).
** Activity 14:3 really goes deep into elemental dignities, addressing how varying combinations work out----such as air and air, or air and earth or air and water, for example. These combinations tend to range from strong to weak in terms of this dignity level. Of course the spread used and the cards positioned can further modify this.
Elements of earth and water are considered friendly.
Using Victorian Romantic
5 of pents-a small boy huddles with a woman as they sit on a bench. He is covered in a brown blanket. They sit outside of a building’s doorway, to their right, on the ground, lies a basket with straw and branches. The woman holds a cross on her lap.
Ace of Cups-a man swims down to kiss a woman sitting on a giant shell, both are naked.
What I know(pents)is of a persevering nature, and grounded for better or for worse.
What I don’t know(cups)is how these two people are related, or are relating to the circumstance that brought them there.
How would I read these two cards?
That there is real devotion, regardless of hardship shared.
Elements of fire and fire are considered strong, for good or evil.
9 of wands is a roman soldier standing outside a home’s doorway that is being rained down by flames. Inside are casualties of this fire.
10 of wands is a woman carrying a huge bundle of wood on her back while simultaneously carrying a cradle with a child in it over a rocky path. Another child stands in the distance holding more wood in hand.
What I know is(9 of wands)these are trying times that tests one’s ability to stick to what they believe.
What I don’t know(10 of wands)is if the effort will prove futile.
These two cards say to me that the energy is over-extended, and will undermine one’s general well-being, or good intentions.
Elements of fire and earth are said to be somewhat friendly or neutral.
4 of wands is a lively band playing to a crowd outdoors. The band seems to be made up of 4 scantily dressed women. The crowd seems amused.
10 of pents shows a man sitting outside selling fruits and vegetables. He is just outside the entrance to a village, there is a man and a woman entering together.
What I know(4 of wands)is that there are amusements.
What I don’t know(10 of pents)if anyone will buy what is being offered.
These two cards makes me think the energies are too distracted to be productive.
Elements of air and earth are said to be enemies, contraries, and weak.
Ace of Swords shows a fairy sitting high up on a cliff, holding a wilting flower to a sheathed sword. This sword seems to be decorated in a burgundy ribbon. Below this fairy are clouds and a bird that swoops below. Behind this fairy are mountains and what looks like a blue sea.
7 of pents is a small woman collecting flower buds off a bush. She looks only to the blossom in her hands while her basket hangs lopsided at a distance.
What I know(Ace of Swords)is that there is freedom in solitude to think and feel whatever you want.
What I don’t know(7 of pents)is if the interest to accomplish anything will be there.
Since these two elements are said to be contrary…it seems that a person will be torn between wanting to be left alone with one’s thoughts and needing to be at work, and actually doing something visibly productive.