awww crap. I just wrote a long reply and accidentally hit a button on the mouse that I don't know what it does. I now know it refreshes the screen and looses all my typing
ManifestDestino said:
From the lack of response I am asssuming practically nobody uses this spread. It's a shame, I really like it, and it seems the most practical way to use EDS in a spread, to me...
Yeah that seems to be the case. The spread was discussed a few times and each time it seems there are a very few people who have tried it, and almost none who use it regularly. I think Closrapexa was one of the few who used it. I suspect its not used in part because its fairly complex to learn the process, and also because the idea of spreads with built in tests and signs to abandon the reading are not in common usage.
ManifestDestino said:
Your interpretation is interesting, Similia, as it's exactly how I interpreted it. It seems that section could also be titled "motivation".. probably by the ego.
Yeah I think that is probably a better way to put it. I thought of it rather like the base card in a Celtic Cross spread, its the thing pushing from the background, directing the querants interest in the topic of the reading.
ManifestDestino said:
what made you consider that influence more than the planet that is in 9D gain?
It wasn't a conscious decision, but dissecting it with hindsight... I guess the other two cards, the Empress and the 9D, seem to work as a pair to me. The Empress says "this is a Venus issue" and the 9D Venus in Virgo says "yes, but its in the world of disks". So in combination I felt they said it was mostly financial or material. Had it been Empress and 2 Cups (Venus is Cancer) I would have said "Oh this is an emotional issue, probably regarding the mother" or something like that. Its kind of like I saw the 9D as making the Empress's meaning more specific or confined to the world of Disks.
Because of that, the 9W stands out as different to the other cards and deserving lots of attention. The firey 9W is compatible with the earthy 9D, so its still a strong factor, it does't stand out so much that its made less by conflicting ED's.
ManifestDestion said:
Actually, what makes you associate even the principle of change with the moon and this reading as opposed to emotional ability or susceptibility?
I guess in parts its a bias from the doom and gloom financial talk and the current recession. Everyone seems very much like the guy in the RWS 9 of Wands at the moment, beaten, bruised, and bracing for more to come. The Thoth 9W I always think of as being similar, but not injured (usually) because of the flexibility the Moon brings. And because the 9W is such a clear illustration of the middle pillar, I usually think of this as quite a positive cards.
If the reading was to say to me an emotional issue, I would have expected a different card than the 9W. But only because I don't usually see the 9W as being about emotion, I see it more related to change and resiliance. Though were it to be next to a different card that is related and also about emotion, I would change that opinion for that reading. Though looking again with both minors being a 9 and hence Yesod & Moon, maybe I should have thought more about the emotional aspect.
ManifestDestino said:
What's your process for attributing the planets/decans into ED spreads period?
I've not really given it conscious thought before, but I guess that is what I'm doing. Looking at what in the cards is the same or complementary and what is different. The same as reading a chart really. Multiple Venus cards in this case, seems the same to me as saying "Venus is strongly placed" in a chart. Had it been the Empress next to Emperor I would see them as complementary and sparking off each other, like a tight aspect between Venus and Mars in a dual/relationship chart (meaning good interaction, passionate etc.), however Empress next to Tower I might see as conflicting and more negative, even though in both cases its Venus and Mars.
Perhaps I'm seeing the cards as describing the planets and energies in a very simple way (Empress = Venus) and then using the images and common interpretations of the card to modify the meaning, the same way as aspect or dignity would do in a chart?
It sounds a bit thought out, but really I just say the first thing that comes into my head when I see the cards