My first Celtic Cross and I don't get it and I am afraid!

[Pietra]

I just received the 78 Degrees by mail and I did my first reading using minors. I asked about my current situation in life and I thought about this huge attraction I felt in my recent past towards this older man. But, I am married and I moved country, just five months ago. I understand the general meaning of each card, but, I cannot figure out the overview...I just can't get which is the message from my cards! Is it positive or negative? What's the advice?
1- 7 Pentacles
2- Ace Swords
3- 7 Cups
4- The World
5- The Chariot
6- Queen of Pentacles - reversed
7- 8 of Wands - reversed
8- King of Wands
9 - The Star - reversed
10 - 10 of Cups - reversed

Well, for me it sounds bad! As if I am dissatisfied with my life, unhealthy, dreamind and doing nothing to change and even worse there is no hope for my current situation! I don't know if I want to try again. I guess I am afraid of my cards!

 

[cheekyminx]

Celtic Crosses vary, so can you add what each position means? Also you need to add a bit more information, what if you add a few words after each card?

The reading isn't a bad one, I don't believe in bad readings.....

 

[Nevada]

Since I'm not sure of the position meanings, this interpretation is based on the combination of cards:

It could just be that you're having trouble adjusting since your move. Two 7 minors, along with the Chariot, could have to do with the change in situations, a need to expand your perspective and be creative about how you settle in. Perhaps you feel that something you put effort into for a long time has been upset by relocating? Maybe as soon as you settle in, make new friends, and get to know your way around, you'll feel more at home. But that feeling won't come to you on its own as quickly as if you take action to make it happen. You need to be like the hermit crab (Chariot -- Cancer -- crab), knowing that you carry your true home in your own heart.

Nevada

 

[euripides]

Maybe the Celtic is a bit much for you just yet? I did try it quite a few times when I started, and it usually swamped me. I also changed the allocation of a couple of positions in my standard Celtic spread to ones that made more sense to me.

Slow down and try some two or three card readings until you get to know the cards better. Focus on a day at a time!

I usually read intuitively first, then get a book or look online to find some more layers of meaning. I think its also easier for people to help with suggestions for interpreting one or two cards in relation to a question than a whole big spread.

What I've found is that with a negative card, it can be a warning to keep that thing under control or might suggest that you have negative feelings to deal with.

7 pents - suggests to me that you are stepping back to consider your position. possibly at some sort of crossroads. Interesting that you feel that you are stagnating (the fact that you have interpreted the spread that way reaveals that, I think) - and this card could be seen that way. But now you are aware of the feeling and able to act on it. Standing back mentally and emotionally to look at your situation is a good thing, sometimes.

Ace of Swords - is the card of intelligence and reason. As the obstacle card, it suggests to me that you aren't being logical. Use your reasoning to cut through the emotional fog. Sure, trust your instinct, but consider your options and your motivations carefully. The ace also suggests fortitude and inner strength: you shall overcome.

7 cups - the third card is the foundation of the issue. Perhaps that man in your past is part of some 'castle in the air' fantasy? (Or is your current situation caused by foolish dreams, or perhaps indecision?)

The World - the 4th card is the immediate past. Does this card represent your marriage, with the sense of union, joining together? It seems at odds with your aparrent dissatisfaction. Perhaps someone else will shed some light on this.

The Chariot - the outcome card. Seems very positive to me! If you master your emotions, you can come out on top. You must assert yourself. This card says, "Who are you, REALLY?"

6, the next step: Queen of Pents reversed - to me this is a warning not to neglect your responsibilities. To me she is the earthy mother type, organized, in control of her household but effortlessly so - she isn't a fuss-pot. Warm and dependable. Perhaps you need to focus more on the simple pleasures of life. Enjoy nurturing those around you. Do you need to get more in touch with nature, perhaps? You also need to remember that you are not the only one affected by the situation.

That's my best attempt, but I'm not very experienced, so I hope I haven't said anything inappropriate.

warmest wishes
Euri

 

[Pietra]

Ah! Ok! I forgot about the positions! There you are:
1- Centre - basic influence or general situation
2- Crossing - opposition situation or second influence
(They form, acording to Pollack, "The Small Cross")
3- Basis - a event that helped form the current situation
4- Recent past
5- Possible outcome
6- Near Future
7- Self - It is the way I am contributing to the situation
8 - Environment - or the influence of others
9 - Hopes and Fears - how my attitude will affect the working out of events
10 - Outcome
That is, again, based on the book 78 Degrees...

 

[Pietra]

Thanks, Euripides...It helped. I will try "smaller" readings like you said. Well. I guess it wasn't so bad, after all...All the best!

 

[zach bender]

my take:

you are experiencing a change of direction, which is causing you to take stock or re-evaluate your situation, ace swords suggesting that this is primarily a mental exercise for you. you have been confronted with perhaps too many choices, but at the moment you made a very significant decision, everything seemed to make sense. but now it seems that practical concerns are a bit overwhelming, too much is happening at once. someone, perhaps not yourself (king wands, strong willed) seems to know what to do, and to be doing it, though maybe his actions do not sit comfortably with you, and you are sensing uncertainty that the "outcome" will be satisfying for you.

zb

for myself, though the celtic cross seemed a bit much at first, it is pretty much the only spread I have used consistently, from the beginning, and it has seemed to me that three or four card spreads tend to require additional, explanatory cards anyway . . . though they do have the flexibility of assigning positional meanings impromptu . . .

 

[Bridget]

I agree with euripides - the Celtic Cross is probably the first spread everybody tries, but it's actually pretty complicated for a beginner. Don't get scared your first time out! It will take a while to get comfortable with the cards and the positions.

I'm taking 7p to mean you feeling dissatisfied with your current situation. That's your inner state. You reflect that outwardly in the As. Aces often indicate something new, and you mentioned this man - but it's not the Ac, which is usually the card for new romances. To me, the As indicates that the attraction is real, but that you're only thinking about pursuing it because you're dissatisfied. 7c fits that as well - you're dreaming of something new, but it's a fantasy, not a real plan.

I think the World represents your recent move, and that you're finding it hard to adjust, which is why you're dissatisfied. 8w Rx represents you, suggesting you feel pessimistic and lack energy. That could be why your hopes/fears card, the Star, is reversed - you don't have much hope for happiness in this new place. I think that's a self-fulfilling feeling, and that's why your outcome card, the 10c, is reversed.

But think of this - your outcome isn't the Tower, a catastrophe. It isn't the 6s, suggesting you'll move back. It's the 10c reversed. A reversal often means there's a block that's stopping you from getting the upright card. And the 10c is a great card. It seems like you could have that, but you need to remove the block.

 

[zach bender]

looking a little further, seven pentacles and seven cups are paired, and suggest (7) chariot. (21) world is also a multiple of seven. over to the right, the pips are eight and ten, which are a different set of numbers -- multiples of two, suggesting (2) priestess, and specifically the fourth and fifth multiples, eight wands reversed, thus reflecting also (4) emperor, reversed, and ten cups reversed similarly (5) hierophant, reversed. note that all four suits are represented, but that pentacles and wands include courts -- a reversed queen and an upright king.

tying all this back to my earlier post, you are being asked to focus on the question of having made a choice, and the relationship of that choice to the idea that everything would come together for you. over to the right, we see the influence of (2) priestess, who operates on an intuitive level we can only talk about, versus reversed cards having to do with someone's (again, not necessarily yours) practical mastery of something . . . and the notion of "should," which may have something to do with why the queen is reversed.

zb

 

[euripides]

I was thinking a little about spreads while I was out.... as Zac and others have said, the Celtic IS a good one - and yes, I do often draw additional cards when doing shorter spreads.

One thing I found helpful (I don't know if this is standard teaching, or if it was one particular book that I found it in...) was to turn each card one at a time, think about it in its position first. Then, once they are all out, you look for relationships between various cards, elements and so on.

I still tend to read card-by-card, while I notice some people have picked up on themes that run across the cards. I guess that comes with time!

A reader I met recently said 'well, you have to listen to what the cards themselves are saying' - often we get too tied up in trying to read deeply into things (looking for the worst? or for what we want to see?) and miss their obvious message.

How do you find the 78 degrees?