Death As The Gateway

I develop a LOT of spreads and tinker with them until I get them like I like them. This is perhaps my favorite -- or at least close to it. I just did a reading and would appreciate reactions.

The subject is a man whose finances have been very, very bad. In part it is due to taking care of his 90 year old father, which has put him in some difficulty. He has problems with other debts, including the last few months of what he owes in child support which he has been unable to pay because of keeping his father from losing his place in an Assisted Living area. When I spoke to him, he was planning to do a few things -- sell some items to get a bit more cushion (ground level) in finances, get more direct control of his budget/spending, and more. In other words, he's at a crisis point and is wanting to move forward.

Here is the way the spread I developed is done .... it treats these kinds of problems as the Hero's Journey. I do not read reversed, per se, but determine the nature of the cards in the spread.



xxxx4
xxx3xx5
xx2xxxx6
x1xxxxxx7

1 Recent Past
2 Present
3 Hopes or Fears
4 The Gate
5 Obstacles or Support
6 Which leads to
7 The Return (Prize gotten or Lesson learned)

In this spread:

1 Recent Past - 5 of Coins
2 Present - Hermit
3 Hopes or Fears - Sun
4 The Gate - Death (2 clarifying cards drawn - 3 of Swords K of Coins)
5 Obstacles or Support - Ace of Swords
6 Which leads to - Emperor
7 The Return (Prize gotten or Lesson learned) -- Ace of Cups


I see this as a reading which, ultimately, is very, very hopeful. In the recent past, there has been poverty and suffering, worry about money and about making ends meet to the point of being out of money entirely. Now, the person has summoned his forces and is focused, step by step, shining the light on things that have only nipped at him from the dark.

His hopes? The Sun. Solid, in place, all as it should be.

Ah, the gate? Death. The only way out of this is through a big change, and when asked what that change might be, it came up the 3 of Swords and then the K of Coins. I take this to mean sorrow and it will probably involve his father, which is the K of Coins. The father's passing may be the next big gateway or may be an offshoot of some of the changes that are coming.

What supports or stands in his way? That would be the Ace of Swords, which signals a new beginning of ideas and a rebirth, as it were of the intellect and of motion. This leads to the Emperor, or to a more solid, disciplined rule in his life, something that would be very welcome after the trials shown by the first card!

What the person brings from all this -- the Ace of Cups -- is another new beginning or flowering of emotion and the creative/mysterious.

In other words, he has a voyage to continue, one that is taking him from poverty and concern to some strong changes which lead to a vastly improving set of circumstances.

By the way, the reading was done last night. I spoke to him just a moment ago while I was doing this forum entry and he very happily told me he received a phone call that some money was coming to him from a semi-family source who had been asked, hadn't responded, but then called to enthusiastically agree to help out and end the short term crisis. At the same time, he is more confidently moving forward, selling items and building up a nestegg as he redoes his finances as dramatically as possible to improve the situation.

I would certainly appreciate any reaction to the reading or, of course, to the spread I developed.

DrMojo

Hi, DrMojo

First of all, I must say I do like the spread you've created. I might even try it out on a few friends, if you don't mind?

So, the thorny subject of the Death card. To me, it seems perfectly appropriate, given his father's age - you may well be looking at one of the rare times when Death really does signify a physical death - I have had this happen myself. I imagine it certainly wouldn't be surprising in the circumstances. 90 is definitely a very good age. I agree with you that the clarifying cards would seem to support this - the 3 Swords indicating the pain of the loss and the King of Coins could signify the fact, not that his son is waiting for an inheritance, but that he holds the pursestrings in the sense that that is where your friend's money is being tied up. In this scenario, I see the 3 Swords as also representing guilt - your friends is obviously very fond of his father and when the time does come, he is very likely to feel guilty and that he hasn't done enough, even though what he has done has been above and beyond what a lot of people would be prepared to give. I see it as his natural reaction after being his father's main financial provider.

However, from what you say, your friend had already decided that something seriously had to change - as you know, another aspect of the Death card.

I see the Ace of Swords in the "support" sense as your friend having a very sharp intellect. When he puts his mind to things he is normally extremely successful.

To me, the Ace of Cups indicates the freeing up of his emotions after everything he has gone through. I don't think he's allowed himself very much in the way of emotional release recently (that Hermit) - he's been too busy trying to keep it all together. And it's pretty much exhausted him (5 Coins) and there have been times when he's wondered if he was going to make it through.

Apart from that, I'd say you've got this reading pretty much covered. I agree with you that it moves into being very upbeat in the last few cards and hopefully he's going to see that played out in his life in the not-too-distant-future.

Hope this helps.

Scorpion:

What a wonderful and supportive posting and I appreciate it!

Yes, I'm publishing the reading here because I do think it's one of the times things worked very well and, coincidentally, one of the first times I've done a reading without any reversals. That's experimentation after having done it the other way for 25+ years!

As for the Hero's Journey -- the adventure, the gateway one must pass through, and the inevitiable return home (classic motifs thanks to Joseph Campbell) -- I also thought it was time to see if the spread I created did well for others, too. So, yes, please feel free to use the spread and I only ask that you (or anyone else who wants to try) is kind enough to let me know the results of your readings with it.

Brian "Dr. Mojo" Robertson

Thank you posting this spread. Tried and found it very telling.

Wonderful Spread

I feel that this is a wonderful spread and also a wonderful reading by you DrMojo and I also tend to agree with Scorpian in regards to the Death card that it may be well the case that it does actually mean death considering the querent's father's age and the clarifying cards.