Choosing A Significator

[Jaimie]

Hello Everyone-

This morning was the first time I have ever used a significator...The reading was on behalf of my husband, although I asked the question...I have always felt that choosing a significator was strange. But, over the years that I have been studying Tarot, I have begun to associate a specific card with my husband, It personifies his personality and thus I choose the 10 of Wands. My question is this: Has anyone personified a particular card to an actual person that isn't a Court Card? TIA

[FindYourSovereignty]

Hello @Jaimie,

 

Welcome to the community! It is a wonderful place to enhance and hone tarot reading skills.

 

This is an interesting question. I do use significator cards on occasion and invite the sitter to look through the whole deck to pick the card. They don ‘t always choose a court card. Even though I think of the minor arcana as action cards or verbs, I still feel their energy describes how someone relates to another. For example, the 6C in RWS could remind someone of a person that has been kind to them or the 2S could remind them of the person in their life that can never make a decision. I’ve not felt a need to suggest the significator has to be a Court card.
 

Are you experiencing the 10W in most of your readings to be your husband? I am wondering how you are viewing this significator in a reading and how you discern if it is representing your husband or actually the 10W energy.

 

Edited August 28, 2023 by FindYourSovereignty

[Jaimie]

Hi Kristine!

 

Thanks for your response! The 10W consistently shows up when I read for him...and he is usually mentally preoccupied with his job. He embodies the energy of the card with his job and everything else. Has to be in charge. Will not delegate. Bit of a control freak. My MIL, however, is QP. But she doesn't embody the energy of the card (perhaps in reverse, she does) but mostly she shows up close by the 10W and she's the one holding the purse, so I just made that link to her.

[FindYourSovereignty]

Hmmm… interesting! If she holds the purse for you and your husband, maybe that is the burden. Just an idea. 😊

 

I think it is very common for any card in a reading to connect to the person that is being read for or about.

 

Have you done a reading about why the 10W continues to present in readings for your husband? What the message is that the card wants you to embrace. 
 

When a specific card shows up repeatedly it is often referenced as a Stalker card because it is trying to get your attention and be heard. It has a message for you. 

Here is a suggestion from an earlier post on how to get information from a Stalker card, if you are interested. 
 

https://www.tumblr.com/resonance-of-libra/130494005281/why-are-you-stalking-me-tarot-spread-its

 

 

[Raggydoll]

I think it might be a good idea to consider the 10 of wands as reflecting a specific situation or a behavior rather than an actual person. People change all the time and there are so many facets to us, so determining a set significator can be limiting. Also, this will depend on your personal beliefs and practices, but I would be careful about selecting a card like the 10 of wands to represent a person. Words are, in my opinion, powerful and by making certain choices we risk perpetuating energies. I am assuming that your husband doesn’t want to feel like the 10 of wands? If so, it might be a good idea to not solidify that type of energy further by actively choosing it as a significator for him. I’m sure it isn’t what his core energy is like, independent of situational context. And like I said before, there are many aspects to every person. That’s also why I’m not really a fan of pre-picked significators. Instead, I let the cards show what is happening in each situation and how people are behaving. If I want to ask about a very specific aspect/situation I just make the question quite specific, I don’t need a visual example of the situation in order for the reading to be relevant. But that’s just me, take it for what it’s worth. 

[Jaimie]

@Raggydoll Thanks for your response! You're correct; I'm sure he doesn't want to be associated with the 10W, but with his constant need for control and belief that if he doesn't do it himself then it will never be done correctly....it's kind of his default mode. And to prove your point; I can see my own idiosyncrasies in each of the 78 cards...I can see him too. The thing is, I stopped reading for him directly, but I read on his behalf now. All of his questions usually have to do with his job. When he's silent, I get perturbed.

[Misterei]

I need to define "significator" to answer this question intelligently.

There are different types of significator spreads for example.

 

In the classic method AE Waite taught ... you would pick a Court card if the question was about a person in a law suit ... but you would pick the Justice card if the question was about the law suit itself (if memory serves. Been a minute since I read Pictorial Key).
 

So that is 2 different ways of using a significator according to Waite.

 

Rana George teaches a LeNormand method ... that I was using for Tarot for many years before I read her book. But credit where credit is due.

In this method you activate a card to signify a person or thing. (Frex Ace Coins for a new job)

Then you shuffle and fan through the deck looking for that activated card. Your spread is the cards closest to the significator.

I imagine in this case you could pick a Court to represent the person generally, or another type of card to represent the person in the situation.

Really just paraphrasing Waite here.

 

Sometimes it arises organically for me.

I don't choose a significator ... but in a reading it becomes obvious a certain card represents a certain person. The card might be a Court, a Major, or a Pip. This is an organic process ... so no rules.

[Scandinavianhermit]

When I use tarot, I use the Pope if I read for a man, the Popess if I read for a woman. The French have been using that method since the 1780s.

 

When I use playing cards, I use a suitable court card.

[akiva]

3 hours ago, Scandinavianhermit said:

When I use tarot, I use the Pope if I read for a man, the Popess if I read for a woman. The French have been using that method since the 1780s.

 

When I use playing cards, I use a suitable court card.

I never knew the Pope was used. I thought it was The Magician that represented the male querent and The Pope was an older man/doctor/someone who provides assistance? 😯 

 

I used to do the querent card for piquet by hair colour, and prior to that I'd use a joker (in some french methods it's common to use a blank card for the querent), but recently I decided to just choose the K❤️ or Q❤️ as it's easier. 

[Scandinavianhermit]

1 hour ago, akiva said:

I never knew the Pope was used. I thought it was The Magician that represented the male querent and The Pope was an older man/doctor/someone who provides assistance? 😯 

Nah. Under the influence of Minchiate Francesi, Etteilla reinterpreted The Pope or Jupiter as "Chaos", The Rod bearer as "Illness". "Chaos" is used to represent the client, if he's male. "Repose", which is Etteilla's reinterpretation of The Popess or Juno, is used to represent the client, if she's female. The Emperor, reinterpreted as "Fishes and Birds", provides assistance. There is a wedding scene on Etteilla's reshuffled Trump number 13,  "Marriage", which has occasionally, but erroneously, been mixed up with the traditional "Pope" trump, but Etteilla's No. 13 is his take on the trump traditionally numbered 6: "The Lover", not his reinterpretation of Pope/Jupiter.

[akiva]

3 minutes ago, Scandinavianhermit said:

Nah. Under the influence of Minchiate Francesi, Etteilla reinterpreted The Pope or Jupiter as "Chaos", The Rod bearer as "Illness". "Chaos" is used to represent the client, if he's male. "Repose", which is Etteilla's reinterpretation of The Popess or Juno, is used to represent the client, if she's female. The Emperor, reinterpreted as "Fishes and Birds", provides assistance. There is a wedding scene on Etteilla's reshuffled Trump number 13,  "Marriage", which has occasionally, but erroneously, been mixed up with the traditional "Pope" trump, but Etteilla's No. 13 is his take on the trump traditionally numbered 6: "The Lover", not his reinterpretation of Pope/Jupiter.

Oh right, this is Ettiella's ideas! The stuff I'd read was based on more modern french TdM reading, using only the 22 Arcana. 

 

I never realised Chaos replaced The Pope. I need to deep dive into his Trumps and really learn them properly 😊 

[Scandinavianhermit]

17 minutes ago, akiva said:

Oh right, this is Ettiella's ideas! The stuff I'd read was based on more modern french TdM reading, using only the 22 Arcana. 

 

I never realised Chaos replaced The Pope. I need to deep dive into his Trumps and really learn them properly 😊 

It's like this:

 

1. Etteilla/Questionnant (Before creation, Chaos, Aries) = trad. V. Pope/Jupiter
2. Eclaircissement/Feu (1st day of creation, elemental Fire, Taurus) = trad. XIX. Sun
3. Propos/Eau (3d day of creation, elemental Water, Gemini) = trad. XVIII. Moon
4. Dépouillement/Air (2nd day of creation, elemental Air, Cancer) = trad. XVII. Star
5. Voyage/Terre (6th day of creation, elemental Earth, Lion) = trad. XXI. World
6. Nuit/Jour (4th day of creation, Virgo) = trad. III. Empress
7. Appui/Protection (5th day of creation, Libra) = trad. IV. Emperor
8. Etteilla/Questionnante (Repos/7th day of creation, Scorpio) = trad. II. Popess/Juno
9. La Justice/Le Légiste (Sagittarius) = trad. VIII. Justice
10. La Tempérance/Le Prêtre (Capricorn) = trad. XIV. Temperance
11. La Force/Le Souverain (Aquarius) = trad. XI. Strength/Fortitude 
12. La Prudence/Le Peuple (Pisces) = trad. XII. Hanged man/Traitor
13. Mariage/Union = trad. VI. The Lover(s)
14. Force Majeure = trad. XV. The Devil (the often seen translation "major force" is slightly nonsensical. "Force majeure" is used in the insurance business, referring to natural disasters not covered in insurance)
15. Maladie = trad. I. Bateleur/Rod bearer/Mountebank/Magician
16. Jugement = trad. XX. Judgement/Angel
17. Mortalité/Néant = trad. XIII. unnamed
18. Traitre = trad. IX. Hermit (unlike Gebelin's positive evaluation of the Hermit, Etteilla associate him with a hypocrite)
19. Misere/Prison = trad. House of God/House of the Devil/Tower
20. Fortune/Augmentation = trad. X. Wheel of Fortune
21. Dissension = trad. VII. Chariot

[akiva]

7 minutes ago, Scandinavianhermit said:

It's like this:

 

1. Etteilla/Questionnant (Before creation, Chaos, Aries) = trad. V. Pope/Jupiter
2. Eclaircissement/Feu (1st day of creation, elemental Fire, Taurus) = trad. XIX. Sun
3. Propos/Eau (3d day of creation, elemental Water, Gemini) = trad. XVIII. Moon
4. Dépouillement/Air (2nd day of creation, elemental Air, Cancer) = trad. XVII. Star
5. Voyage/Terre (6th day of creation, elemental Earth, Lion) = trad. XXI. World
6. Nuit/Jour (4th day of creation, Virgo) = trad. III. Empress
7. Appui/Protection (5th day of creation, Libra) = trad. IV. Emperor
8. Etteilla/Questionnante (Repos/7th day of creation, Scorpio) = trad. II. Popess/Juno
9. La Justice/Le Légiste (Sagittarius) = trad. VIII. Justice
10. La Tempérance/Le Prêtre (Capricorn) = trad. XIV. Temperance
11. La Force/Le Souverain (Aquarius) = trad. XI. Strength/Fortitude 
12. La Prudence/Le Peuple (Pisces) = trad. XII. Hanged man/Traitor
13. Mariage/Union = trad. VI. The Lover(s)
14. Force Majeure = trad. XV. The Devil (the often seen translation "major force" is slightly nonsensical. "Force majeure" is used in the insurance business, referring to natural disasters not covered in insurance)
15. Maladie = trad. I. Bateleur/Rod bearer/Mountebank/Magician
16. Jugement = trad. XX. Judgement/Angel
17. Mortalité/Néant = trad. XIII. unnamed
18. Traitre = trad. IX. Hermit (unlike Gebelin's positive evaluation of the Hermit, Etteilla associate him with a hypocrite)
19. Misere/Prison = trad. House of God/House of the Devil/Tower
20. Fortune/Augmentation = trad. X. Wheel of Fortune
21. Dissension = trad. VII. Chariot

Thank you 😊 I've saved this for when I get the deck out again! 

[Scandinavianhermit]

Etteilla put the Fool as No. 78. Good luck.

[Barleywine]

Interesting subject. I gave up using a significator with the Celtic Cross years ago because I didn't think it added anything to the narrative when I already had a "talking significator" sitting across the table from me.. I sometimes create spreads that use a significator, but it is likely to be a "topic" card related to the situation rather than a "person" card (aka "court card").

[Raggydoll]

2 hours ago, Barleywine said:

I sometimes create spreads that use a significator, but it is likely to be a "topic" card related to the situation rather than a "person" card (aka "court card").

That’s something I like to do as well! 

[Guest]

It's a bit traditional, but when I use significators I simply get the Golden Dawn court card correspondence for the querent/subject's birthday. If that info is unknown, I use The Fool if they're young (<30) or The Magician/The High Priestess if they're older, depending on their gender. 

[Barleywine]

5 hours ago, Akhilleus said:

It's a bit traditional, but when I use significators I simply get the Golden Dawn court card correspondence for the querent/subject's birthday. If that info is unknown, I use The Fool if they're young (<30) or The Magician/The High Priestess if they're older, depending on their gender. 

I once created a workplace-dynamics spread that had the Fool in the center as "the Boss" and other cards around the outside as the subordinates. But I added that "I can also see using this spread in non-work-related circumstances with the querent as the Fool facing a host of interpersonal challenges and opportunities."

[Morwenna]

I stopped using significators long ago because I preferred to have all the cards available for the actual reading. If I have to have a designated significator because of the type of spread, the first card I draw will be it.