Thus sayeth the Marigold Tarot today. A wild weird reading for sure. Eight out of 10 cards are Major Arcana, i.e., archetypal symbols of transcendent, not personal, energies. Lots of big things going on around me. But I honestly don't know exactly what all these big things are. The seven card style reading with the trad Rider Waite is interesting, too. Unpacking the Marigold reading: The Hierophant is the archetype of conventional, institutionalized tradition; marriage, religion, formal doctrine, academia in the sense of the legacy and lit review, tried and true methodology and theories. It's also the archetype of teaching and mentoring. This symbol is in the first position, which is how I perceive the situation, or what is up for me. The second position card, the 8 of rings (pentacles), is in the position of the current challenge, obstacle, or difficulty. The card meaning is: apprenticeship, practice, learning new skills, moving from apprenticeship to mastery, being disciplined to making improvements. It does feel like a time of unrelenting labor, moving away from the PhD toward professional skills. It is challenging, especially due to also having a job. Temperance in position 3 is the past, The Hermit in position 4 is the near future. Both of these are fairly self-explanatory archetypes. They make sense. Positions 4 (top) and 5 (bottom) are The World and Judgement. This is some of the heavier, wilder energy in the reading for sure. Position 4 is the card of the goal, the highest possible outcome. The World is the archetype of a combination of completion, accomplishment, freedom, and travel. The end of a major cycle and the benefits that result from completion. Position 5 is the foundation or root cause of the current situation. Judgement is the archetype of rebirth, following one's inner calling, being freed of the past in a completed and healed way. Between these two cards, there's a ton of release, liberation, freedom from responsibility, new opportunities, and creative power. Position 7 in the Celtic Cross is sometimes read as advice. In that case, Death would be advising me to close the door on everything I was, everything I thought I knew, and everything I have fallen back on in the past in order to survive, and truly open up to new things, new ideas, new possibilities. Significant transformation is possible and is actually being advised. Other systems of the Celtic Cross generally think of the 7th card as self-perception, or how I perceive my situation. This doesn't really resonate as much, although there must be some reckoning with the overall idea of profound transformation, since Death is also the outcome of the 7 card reading in the Rider Waite, which I'll get to. Card 8 is The Tower, which is the archetype of sudden change, upheaval, radical destruction of rigid structures, etc. The eighth position is events and influences which are out of my control. So, situational and whatever the reality is, one just has to go with it. I can see this for sure. It ties in to Death, The World, Judgement. Lots of change, lots of uncertainty. In addition to the wild and sudden upheaval of an outer situation, it can also mean sudden insight, revelation, epiphany. The 9th card is the card of hopes and or fears, in this case the 6 of pentacles. which is a card of giving, receiving, generosity, charity, and material wealth that is shared. It is true that a lot of what is on my mind lately and for the past months has been these themes of giving and receiving in the material world. I have managed to pay off $12,000 in high interest revolving debt since August, for example. There is also a delightful physicality and mutual generosity in my new relationship. But I have had a lot of fears also, around survival, the new job, the economics of my future, etc. The 10th card is where the current situation is headed, in this case, The Devil. The Devil is the archetype of shadow work, addiction, sexuality, restriction, darkness. The fascinating attachment and erotic energy with M is an example of Devil energy for sure, as is my intense yearning to get out into the wilderness for a while (which fortunately I will be able to do soon). There have also been a lot of darker thoughts on my mind around my recovery/addiction path, and I've been removed from aspects of active recovery for a while. I'm also feeling that job is already restrictive and counter to my true purpose in some ways that cannot be aligned (by necessity), and with a possible return to in-person instruction, it's bound to get even more restrictive. There's definitely some mystery whenever The Devil shows up in a reading. It's a good cautionary note when it's the outcome. Since I practice free will tarot, it's as much a warning as it is a delightful prospect. But always to be treated with as much consciousness and intention as we are able to bring to it. As is often the case when I do simultaneous readings, the 7 card spread echoes much of the Celtic Cross. Repeated cards include the 6 of pentacles, Temperance, and Death. Essentially, the 7 card reading is providing a clearer picture that my actual situation is more positive than I think it is, but that major changes are on the way, or at least an opportunity for deep transformation. I'll be sitting with these readings a lot and seeing what other insights come up. A major aspect of what is going on currently is a panicky, ill-planned, confusing, and risky push to return to in-person teaching at my school. I think a lot of the energies in the above cards are at least partly related to that jumbled situation, and the very real risks that remain for everyone involved. In particular, the way it is being handled seems to have created a deep rift between faculty and administration, and my initial impression of the school was that it was a real functional team. That trust seems to have been destroyed. I also took a look at the I Ching, asking specifically why the readings have a kind of intensity to them. The I Ching says hexagram 7, The Army (Collective Force), changing to hexagram 46, Advance. I often refer to James DeKorne's Gnostic Book of Changes, for extremely detailed insight into these hexagrams and changing lines. In my throw of hexagram 7, the changing third line is particularly relevant: Psychologically interpreted, this line describes one of the most fundamental, yet least recognized truths of human consciousness -- the fact that "unity" of awareness is mostly illusory. Indeed, the whole goal of the Work is to actually attain this unity which we think we already possess. Legge's metaphorical equation of "corpses" with "inefficient leaders" is not always apt -- in its most neutral interpretation, the line can depict a situation of (as Liu says) "sudden mourning" or overwhelming grief. Man has no individual I. But there are, instead, hundreds and thousands of separate small I's, very often entirely unknown to one another, never coming into contact, or, on the contrary, hostile to each other, mutually exclusive and incompatible ... And each separate small I is able to call itself by the name of the whole, to act in the name of the whole, to agree or disagree, to give promises, to make decisions, with which another I or the whole will have to deal. – Gurdjieff A. Are you in charge of your thoughts and feelings, or do they make your choices for you? B. Be on guard against inferior elements within yourself or the situation. C. Suggests dead weight, useless baggage (beliefs, etc.) LOTS to think about. Here's a pretty picture: