When life is at its most challenging, it can be difficult to make decisions, leave the house or even get out of bed. Your present situation, while seemingly overwhelming, eventually will shift. In the meantime however, you may need help in navigating your day, let alone your path. The intention of this reading is to look at what underlies your present reality to look beyond the story. Using tarot and oracle cards as a medium, Sadhana will lay out your story in pictures identifying past events and issues, looking at past and present influences and illuminating the steps you need to take to move through your present reality to one that is easier to navigate. This can be an alternative first step or an enhancement to on-going therapy. Sadhana will also offer supporting meditation or mantra practices if you so choose.
Here is one of my spreads for working with grief or trauma. This is how I lay out the cards and what the positions mean. If you are a card slinger, here are the instructions for the layout. If you are interested in the reading (my interpretation of the cards), scroll down to the reading.
Preparation: Prepare sacred objects to support the intention of the reading. Clear and shuffle a tarot and oracle deck that feels supportive of your situation - decks that stir a sense of healing. For the purpose of this reading, Sadhana has chosen The Linestrider Tarot by Siolo Thompson and Oracle of Echoes by Ana Tourian.
Layout:
1. After cutting the tarot cards or performing your usual ritual, lay the first two columns (cards 1 - 6) top to bottom.
2. The six cards for the chakras are placed bottom to top in columns 3 and 4. 3. Column five is for present body, mind spirit. Lay these cards bottom to top. 4. The final three tarot cards are in the shape of an arrow moving forward. 5. From your selected oracle deck, choose two cards to help clarifying the on-going work. They may be placed above and below the key or to the right of it.
Reading the Cards
As I shuffled the cards, I invited love and light to bathe all those who are challenged with on-going trauma. To all the first responders whose energy is in need of deep healing, to all the women who have spontaneously miscarried, given up a child for adoption or lost a young child, to all those grieving from death or divorce and to all those who live in the grey clouds of mental illness, may this reading give you the courage to ask for help and know that you are not alone.
UNRESOLVED PAST EVENT, UNDERLYING CAUSE & ASSOCIATED EMOTION (Six of Wands, Five of Cups, Knight of Pentacles): The victory and resulting success of a past achievement never sat well with you. All that was lost and all those who were hurt in the process were not given due consideration. You were embarrassed by the recognition but may not have had the courage to speak up at the time - to let others know how you truly felt. Your empathy towards those who did not share your success still haunts you to this day and so you have found yourself moving more carefully, almost plodding along overcautiously should anyone else be burned in your wake.
IDENTIFYING THE PATTERN, ON-GOING EMOTIONS, UNDERLYING ROOT OF YOUR MISERY (Two of Cups, Six of Cups, The Sun): This combination of cards would give anyone cause to celebrate, but not you. You are afraid that if you win, if you receive all that is coming to you, that others will suffer on your behalf. What you must understand is that controlling the karma of others is not your burden to carry. The next six cards will help you to better understand why the underdog is so close to your heart or why you have such a difficult time accepting recognition with grace. Did you lose someone very close to you, your best friend or childhood sweetheart when you experienced the success in the past?
ROOT CHAKRA, SACRAL CHAKRA, SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA (Ace of Cups, Ten of Wands, Temperance): You highly value balance and equanimity (Temperance). You know how to achieve the balance of will with power in your own life. You also come from a wonderful family where you were well-loved and learned from healthy role-models. You feel a tremendous amount of love and gratitude for the kind of family you grew up in. Somewhere along the way however, you either went overboard in playing the field or your passion lead to some kind of addiction. It really took its toll on your health. This is how you numbed your pain or your fear of experiencing joy and living life to the fullest.
HEART CHAKRA, THROAT CHAKRA, THIRD-EYE CHAKRA (Page of Wands, Wheel of Fortune, Five of Wands): Your fiery youthful exuberance may have burned through many relationships and this causes a lot of mental anguish to this day. You likely find it very difficult to still your mind and frequently replay your past errors in judgement over and over again. The throat chakra (Wheel of Fortune) is the mirror of the sacral chakra (Ten of Wands). The purification and healing can happen by speaking your authentic truth. With the Wheel of Fortune card there, many things are coming up for me. Do you have verbal diarrhoea? Do you often regret opening your mouth? Is it difficult to know how much or how little to say? Is this perhaps in reaction to not speaking up in the past so now you just say whatever you are thinking? You definitely have the potential to heal. I want to encourage you to slow down to move closer to the centre of the wheel where you will feel more in balance.
PRESENT BODY, MIND, SPIRIT (Nine of Pentacles, Judgement, Two of Swords): There is a disconnect between your physical body, mind and spirit. I sense that you are doing fairly well in healing your physical body, that you are learning to eat well and to be more connected to the earth. You are so hard on yourself though. You definitely would benefit from some forgiveness practices. It is time to learn to let go of all those things that haunt you and move forward clearer and freer.
HEALING & KEY (Six of Pentacles, Two of Pentacles, The Hierophant): Whatever you are doing as far as eating well and staying more connected to the earth is going to help more than you know. I see you eating a plant-based diet and sharing your healing journey - even becoming a mentor to others. These three cards are talking to each other beautifully. Find balance through giving and receiving. You will be learning from others as well as mentoring or even teaching others. Trust in the wisdom of the teachers who are in your life now or keep your eye out for a workshop or class that inspires you.
SUPPORTING | CLARIFYING THE KEY (Hope, Rest): The butterfly is about transformation and yours is already underway. The process of self-care and self-healing requires that you take time for adequate rest and sleep. Be patient and kind to yourself. You have every reason to remain optimistic that you will get through this.
If you are reading this post and any of this reading is resonating with you, I want you to go back to that painful event that changed everything for you. Please forgive yourself and everyone that was involved. With the Five of Wands at your third-eye chakra, you would benefit from some mindfulness practices - breathing practices or guided meditations. Whatever is going on in your life presently is a similar pattern to whatever happened all those years ago. Learning to speak authentically without harming others is a practice - so practice.
For more details about this reading or your own personal reading, please use my contact form or leave a comment below.
As a sidenote, I have found that many clients come to readings during challenging times and would benefit immensely from some pre-reading reflection. In going through the "readings menu" on my Etsy Shop @SadhanasHealingRoom, I hope that you will be able to refine your question or concern so that you will get the best reading possible. Please also know that the menu is meant to inspire and help me create a spread just for you and your unique situation if necessary. Sometimes the art on a particular deck resonates more than another, so let me know about that as well.
Namaste and stay well, Sadhana
Integrative Healing with Sadhana offers instruction and guidance as a full healing package or you can choose individual practices such as Yoga, Meditation, Reiki, Space Clearing or Intuitive Readings in Gibsons BC. Either way, you will be met exactly where you are at and together, we will adapt practices to fit your individual needs improving your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being.