Barleywine
I've just started reading Anthony Louis' Beyond the Basics, recommended to me by some astute people here (thank you, Rodney!). I was delighted to see that, over his career with the Celtic Cross spread, he has adopted many of the same tweaks and twists I did back in the 1970s (and still use). While there is much of Waite in it, I see in his method the bones of Eden Gray's approach, much as it underlies my own. A few examples:
The only "cross" he sees in the left-hand portion of the spread is the one formed by the "covering" and "crossing" cards. He acknowledges Waite's "sign of the cross" or "papal blessing" structure but doesn't use it, opting for a "wreath" around the central pair instead. I prefer a "wheel" metaphor myself because I like the idea of "movement-over-time," but Louis reads in the same clockwise manner from the bottom (or "foundation") card.
He also considers the "crowning" card to show possibilities and emerging trends, and in some cases treats it as the "present" when read as a triptych with cards 4 ("recent past") and 6 ("near future"). I generally read it as the "present," or the realm of possibilities and opportunities where the querent has options going forward.
He reads cards 6 and 10 as a pair, with the latter showing the "unfolding" of the former. I see this as a "maturing" or "ripening," but also that the querent still has an opportunity to steer the final outcome from the "near future" vantage point. One Louis innovation I like is reading cards 5, 6 and 10 together as a set, with card 5 as a kind of "preconditioning" or "stage-setter" (my words, not his) for future developments.
He views card 7 mainly in the Waite mode of "the Self." I've evolved more from Eden Gray's idea of "What holds him back" (aka "fears"), but have come to see it as the "deepest part of the Self" since we are often our own worst enemy; so I often view it as psychological blocks or obstacles to accepting the outcome shown by card 6. Since it sits at the bottom of the vertical "staff," I sometimes think of it as the "psychic basement."
He retains the "hopes and fears" paradigm for card 9, but I've decoupled "fears" as noted above and have just left hopes, aspirations, goals and objectives, wishful thinking, etc, in that position. More importantly, I see it as the querents "stake in the matter" and the last chance to make a "mid-course correction" affecting the final outcome.
That's pretty much it. If you're new to the Celtic Cross, you could do a lot worse than considering Anthony Louis' method.
The only "cross" he sees in the left-hand portion of the spread is the one formed by the "covering" and "crossing" cards. He acknowledges Waite's "sign of the cross" or "papal blessing" structure but doesn't use it, opting for a "wreath" around the central pair instead. I prefer a "wheel" metaphor myself because I like the idea of "movement-over-time," but Louis reads in the same clockwise manner from the bottom (or "foundation") card.
He also considers the "crowning" card to show possibilities and emerging trends, and in some cases treats it as the "present" when read as a triptych with cards 4 ("recent past") and 6 ("near future"). I generally read it as the "present," or the realm of possibilities and opportunities where the querent has options going forward.
He reads cards 6 and 10 as a pair, with the latter showing the "unfolding" of the former. I see this as a "maturing" or "ripening," but also that the querent still has an opportunity to steer the final outcome from the "near future" vantage point. One Louis innovation I like is reading cards 5, 6 and 10 together as a set, with card 5 as a kind of "preconditioning" or "stage-setter" (my words, not his) for future developments.
He views card 7 mainly in the Waite mode of "the Self." I've evolved more from Eden Gray's idea of "What holds him back" (aka "fears"), but have come to see it as the "deepest part of the Self" since we are often our own worst enemy; so I often view it as psychological blocks or obstacles to accepting the outcome shown by card 6. Since it sits at the bottom of the vertical "staff," I sometimes think of it as the "psychic basement."
He retains the "hopes and fears" paradigm for card 9, but I've decoupled "fears" as noted above and have just left hopes, aspirations, goals and objectives, wishful thinking, etc, in that position. More importantly, I see it as the querents "stake in the matter" and the last chance to make a "mid-course correction" affecting the final outcome.
That's pretty much it. If you're new to the Celtic Cross, you could do a lot worse than considering Anthony Louis' method.