Facing east or looking to the past?

browneyes

I read somewhere that the man in the 9 of Wands is facing east (Aquarian, Morgan-Greer and RW decks) - looking to a new dawn and reinforced determination. But I've also read that they are looking to the past which would not imply a new dawn. The same with the 2 of Wands.
Then I wondered about the Knight of Wands and the Knight of Swords. They're both facing the past/east.
Should they be viewed as looking eastwardly or to the past? And what would looking to the past actually mean?
 

Grizabella

No card always means the same thing, so it depends---at different times, they could mean either of those things---or neither of them. It all depends on the question, the sitter, the reader and the context of the cards around them in the spread.
 

AJ

Some things we need to choose for ourselves, like positions in a spread.

I always see right facing as toward the future
left facing as toward the past.

And then blend that with whatever the other cards are showing me.

Sort of like if you are going to do yes/no questions, you need your choose your recipe and then stick with it.
 

Morwenna

I never thought of the figures on cards as facing towards the past or the future.
 

nisaba

Depends how your table is laid out, if they're facing east or not. Likewise, cards with orange streaks in the sky: it just depends on the individual reading whether you see that as "dawn" (hope) or "sunset" (endings).
 

Sinduction

I always look to what other cards it's facing. Why is that Knight staring at the Tower? :D

There are tons of different ways to do it.
 

Aladdin

I have to agree with AJ and Sinduction on this question.
 

browneyes

I'm beginning to find tarot is getting really complicated.
I started off by sort off understanding what it's about, but the more I read the more confused I get.
I can lay out some cards, get what I think they could mean, but then other interpretations jump into my head and I lose all sense of any of the meanings!
 

BlueDragonfly

Journal about it, leave the cards out, consider the situation.

The Tower crashing down, could be a sign of progress in making room to build something new, or disastrous in a "many were hurt or killed when the tower fell" type of situation.

Like Griz stated, there will be different perspectives on the same meaning at different times.

Learning to decipher these different interpretations just takes time and practice.

Tarot can be(is) a rewarding lifelong learning experience.
 
the sun and timing How Often Do We Need to Read Ourselves?