So it wasn't my intention to blog two days in a row, but here we are! 🙂 This morning's daily three-carder, quite unusually, produced another fab example of using elemental dignities instead of reversals, and I wanted to share it. 

Now, I don't use standard reversals in my spreads. In other words, I don't shuffle a deck which contains certain cards upside down, which are then read as reversed when dealt. I used to, when I first began reading many moons ago, as that's how I thought you did things, but over time I found that I was overthinking the whole shuffling / reversing process and it was giving me all kinds of mental blocks. 

So, instead, I shuffle and deal all my cards upright, and use the elemental dignities beloved of the Golden Dawn et al to determine how strongly or weakly aspected each card is, based on the cards surrounding it. I'm using an RWS deck - in fact, the Radiant Wise Spirit. I use the astrological associations of Major Arcana to determine their elemental correspondences, and they factor into the dignities. 

The dignities rely on flanking cards - you focus on the card in the centre, and then refer to the card immediately preceding and immediately following to determine if the central card is read "neutrally" (ie as-is), whether it's strengthened or "boosted", or whether it's weakened or even reversed. If a card is strengthened, I usually move it upwards out of alignment to show this (see yesterday's blog post), and if it's "reversed", well, I physically turn the card upside down and read it reversed. 

That happened this morning. I have the Page of Pentacles (and Earth card) in the "present" position, flanked by the Lovers (Gemini, so an Air card) in the "past" position, and Justice (Libra, so also an Air card) in the "future" position. Air opposes Earth, so the Page of Pentacles finds itself so weakened (by two Major Arcana, no less!) that it's reversed. I physically turn the card upside down, as shown in the pic. 

Now to the reading. Looking at the Present first; I'm currently scatter-brained, unable to focus, clumsy, absent-minded. Usually my Significator is the Queen of Cups, but today the reversed Page of Pentacles is me to a tee; I have a major anniversary of a terrible personal event on my mind today, and the past week or so has seen me frequently beset by brain fog. But, more widely, it's also symptomatic of my current overwhelming and constrictive work and life overload (as seen in yesterday's boosted Devil in the Present position). Yesterday's spread said it would pass. Today's spread agrees. 

But first, the Lovers in the Past position. This is very true; not only am I in a new marriage, I'm also in a spiritual and creative partnership which is deep and consciously appreciated. It forms the background to everything that's going on in my life right now. 

Which leads to Justice in the Future position. Cosmic justice, natural justice, social justice. In this context, it forecasts the just recompense for your efforts, once again indicating that the conscious, intentional, well-directed work done now will pay off as hoped. 

I find reading the elemental dignities like this to be very satisfying; it feels less arbitrary than simply reversing cards in the mix, as if the spread itself was imposing a coherence to tie all the cards together into a narrative. It also gives you a lot of room for intuitive manoeuvre, as today, having an Earth court card surrounded by two Major Arcana Air cards. Big forces indeed!

Blessed be, 

S x

#ElementalDignities

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