Experiments with "Eye Rhythms" in the Dodal

Le Fanu

Rasa said:
In addition to the repeating red vertical sword, I see a repeating circular motif, becoming more refined as the cards progress
Dashing out to work right now, will write more later, but if you think about it, a wheel "stretched" becomes an elipse (3 of Swords) and an elipse stretched becomes, quite simply, a straight line (Ace)!
 

Le Fanu

Bernice said:
I'm not too good with eye rhymes, but on looking at the 3 cards (plus they interact) it seems to me that the Wheel is modified by the flanking cards. A stab in the dark = "Your fortune will depend on a very formal (or disiplined) approach. Observe the rules and you will meet with success".

As there are 'creatures' present, could be... = formal dinner party?
I like this approach. To be honest, one of my fears is although I think I can work out how to look at these images in terms of form, as in, paying attention to the form, shape and patterns & the "plasticity" of the shapes, making the leap from that to interpretation is going to be difficult for me. I want to learn how to turn these impressions into a reading. That's my aim for the IDS as well as, of course, refining all that we are doing here.

My original impression was of rotation, movement, dynamics (the wheel) flanked or "set" by fixity (i.e swords almost as posts, of the movement *tethered* to a post, controlling it). I would interpret this - depending on the querant's question - as setting limits, being firm and establishing control in the face of fluidity.

But more later.
 

Herzog

Le Fanu said:
I want to learn how to turn these impressions into a reading.

You may want to consider this two step process by Enrique Enriquez. I cannot stress enough how much It's been helping me...

When looking at a spread of cards ask the following:

1. What is happening?

2. How does this feel?

The first question is strictly observational, just the facts. The second questions puts meaning or emotional charge into the observation and this becomes your reading.


In the case of our spread.... and this is only one way of looking at it

What is happening? A man wearing a crown sits on top of a wheel. He holds a red sword. Below him two people (?) seem to struggle as they work their way to this top position. There is a red sword in front of them and another red sword behind them. The red sword behind them pierces through a crown.

Then we describe how this might make us feel

It's a good system as it avoids getting bogged down by too much detail, something I personally have a hard time avoiding. At least now I can focus on a just few elements and put them together in a meaningful way. I can always add more later using additional elements

try it out... it really works
 

Herzog

Looking at the spread some more, this is really a beautifully interconnected series of images. I am interested now in the "creature" on the right of the Wheel. He is traveling down the Wheel and seems very concerned over that sword which seems to loom before his eyes.

I'm not sure if I would focus on this in a reading, but just looking at it now I am finding the image a bit disturbing. He has no hands or feet. This may suggest helplessness. Going a bit further with this idea, the King is behind him with a raised sword. Is the creature running from this man? The beast on the right moves upward toward the King in a way that suggests he may be trying to intercept the King and help the other "beast". His friend, perhaps?

So there's a sense of danger mixed with the loyalty of friendship.

Swords cut. They are used to attack or to make a strong point. They are also used defend.


I'm wondering if it might be a good idea to list a few attributes of "real life" swords -and the other suits as well when they appear- This may help us understand their purpose in a reading.
 

Le Fanu

HerzogIsGod said:
When looking at a spread of cards ask the following:

1. What is happening?

2. How does this feel?
Very good advice. It is important to break this down. Describe and then think about what instinctively comes to mind.
HerzogIsGod said:
I'm not sure if I would focus on this in a reading, but just looking at it now I am finding the image a bit disturbing. He has no hands or feet. This may suggest helplessness.
I think there is something about this three card spread which suggests helplessness or things rotating out of our control, of outer fixed point and - certainly - the juxtaposition of things moving and things fixed. I think on the spur of the moment we would know which interpretation would be best to go with, but you could argue that there are so many of them! I'm quite agog at just how much there is in this image. Just describing what we think is happening. Even before we think of;

a) what this might mean in a reading
b) numerology. We haven't touched on numerology which is always the grand touchstone of pip card reading.

As for Swords; they pierce, they slash, they stab, they knight (that's a nice one!) they cross, they symbolise something else (like valour, like ownership, like status), they decapitate and emasculate and I'm sure you can think of many more!
 

Herzog

I find that just voicing a factual description automatically conjures up feelings and story lines to weave your tale with in a reading.

By saying, "A man raises his sword and looks into the past. There are other "people" around him," I already get ideas about someone who may be protecting or guarding something important.

the hard part for me is isolating and expanding on what's important and disregarding what isn't. In the current example, those swords JUMP out. They are a key element to use in the "story line" of a reading.

As you mentioned, there are so many ways to go when interpreting. For all I know this spread may have more to do with the "beasts" than the King and his sword. This is why a question is so important as it anchors down the images and sets up parameters. Riffing as we are doing here is great practice, though.

The way you noticed that blue cuff as an extension of the blue base was so perfect. I don't think I would have noticed that but once you said it, all these ideas came up. Of course, I thought. And who holds the sword? The king. This is the Kings hand! He's saying something important, or severing ties with the past, or emasculating or knighting someone or... well, you get the idea :)

Even though we are riffing, I believe these are very important first steps
 

Le Fanu

HerzogIsGod said:
Even though we are riffing, I believe these are very important first steps
I just wonder whether all combinations will offer this much scope and substance? It will be interesting to see. These three cards seem particularly vivid to me. I couldn't have chosen three more dramatic cards.

Or maybe they're all dramatic in their own way.
 

Herzog

Do you think I should post the next spread tomorrow? or should we try and squeeze another day out of this one? Personally, I think we have one more day in us :)
 

moderndayruth

If looking from right to left, the 'King' on the Wheel seems to have grabbed the big red sword from behind his back and had it placed in the middle of the circle that other two swords are making, as if they are holder , base, for the red sword.

I think one would need a big deal of precision to do execute such movement, and what i thought of was skillfulness and practice that preceded it.

Also, the crowned guy on the top of the wheel looks very confident to me, as if he knows exactly what he is doing - as if he wanted to make a point and managed to do it in a very concise and most direct way.

:bugeyed:
(I have no idea how i came up with this...)
 

Le Fanu

Well done MDR! Very impressive :) (interesting what others see...)
HerzogIsGod said:
Do you think I should post the next spread tomorrow? or should we try and squeeze another day out of this one? Personally, I think we have one more day in us :)
Let's see if anything new hits me when I wake up tomorrow, I think I have sussed out how I see it, though there are always others' perspectives to make us rethink.

Otherwise I'm ready for a new one!