Readings with All Majors

[Trogon]

So, I was doing my usual daily reading on my eating problems (daily struggle with over-eating). Granted, it is only a 3-card reading (Issue - Blockage - Contemplate), so statistically, having all 3 of the cards come up Majors shouldn't be all that unusual. But, it really doesn't happen very often. Going back through my notes on self-readings; I started picking up my Tarot decks this past May and have done readings about this topic on most days. Counting today, there have been only 3 readings in which all 3 cards were Majors. Two of them have had The Star and two had The Chariot.

 

Just for the sake of the discussion, the 3 today were (Thoth Tarot); XI Lust, XVII The Star-rx, and VII The Chariot-rx. However, this is not about this specific reading, rather about having all Majors.

 

So, I am wondering, when you get a reading with all Majors, what are your thoughts when you see it? Do you always treat it the same way when it happens, or is your impression/your intuitive response altered by the topic of the reading and/or the cards which do come up?

 

In my case, in this reading, when I looked at the cards, my first thought was "today is going to be a pivotal day for me" in regards to my diet and health. (Note; generally, when I'm laying out the cards, I don't really look at the cards until I've laid them out - letting my eyes remain unfocused till they are.) In this reading, I got a very strong intuition on it being important. The last couple of my readings have been reminding me that I'm slipping lately, and this one really looked like a kick in the pants.

 

As I mentioned, I have had a few other readings that have had all majors, and I've been like; "oh! I need to pay special attention ..." or "these cards are telling me a lot - it's a more in-depth reading than normal ...".

 

So, what are your thoughts on readings with all, or a majority of Major Arcana cards?

[Onaorkal]

I'm not a mathematical nerd enough to calculate the statistical probabilities of getting 3 majors in a 3-card reading, but I think it's still unusual enough for me to give it some attention.

 

I mean, I will always give more weight to a Major Arcana in a reading, so 3 Majors will 'weigh' equally, but all of them should still weigh 'more' than a Minor Arcana. Some people will see the Minors as talking about more 'mundane' stuff, while the Majors are true life archetypes, so I think you are doing it right when saying that a 3-Majors reading might be dealing with a pivotal moment.

[chongjasmine]

When it is all majors, I tend to pay more careful attention to it.

However, since majors mean it is likely to happen anyway, maybe paying more attention to it won't mean much.

[EmpyreanKnight]

When I get majors in all (or a good majority) of the cards I draw in a spread, it usually means that the issue the querent consulted about would be a fateful one, and that the levers of destiny has been turned and the outcome may be out of his hands. That's not to say that he's essentially trapped. It's just that he has to pay particular attention to what the cards say so that he can explore the most effective means to avoid an awful situation, to reap the rewards of a bounteous one, or to solve his pressing concern. It would take much effort tho.

[EmpyreanKnight]

Onaorkal presented an interesting question.

 

In an average Tarot deck with 22 major out of a total of 78 cards, the probability of getting a major on the first draw is 22/78. From the remaining 21 majors out of the 77 unpicked cards, the probability of drawing a major in the second position is 21/77, and it's 20/76 for the third. Hence the probability of getting all majors in a 3-card spread is

 

22/78  X  21/77  X  20/76  =  0.02024 or around 2%.

 

This means that for every 50 3-card spreads conducted by readers, 1 of them would be all-majors. It is not very rare.

 

To put a perspective on Trogon's experience, he said that he drew 3 all-majors since early May until September 24th. He only drew on most days tho, so if I peg his total number of reads from around 110 to 130 total 3-card draws, 3 all-majors would still be statistically within the norm.

 

[Onaorkal]

Thank you for doing the math EmpyreanKnight!  :o The calculation was somewhat simpler than what I thought it would be haha!

 

Also interesting answer. 2% chance is still a somewhat low probability when looked from the "present reading" perspective.

For the fun of it, I would be tempted to calculate other statistical probabilities like that. (yeah I'm Virgo)

[EmpyreanKnight]

Lol I just couldn't resist, Onaorkal. And hey, I'm a fellow Virgo too! Belated Happy Birthday to you. ;D

[sandrang123]

I usually do the Celtic Cross formation as my standby, but I always note, after laying the cards, if there's an abundance of major vs minor arcana, as that helps me focus the reading. I also note if there is an abundance of one suit, as that helps me hone in on the central issue at play as well. I would pay particular attention to three trumps, yes. I like that you document your readings. I used to but I got super lazy at some point. Still, it's so helpful to have a log/journal!

[katrinka]

Majors, IME, are generally more closely aligned with causes. Minors, with effects.

This isn't meant to imply that if you asked why something is happening and got all Minors, that the Minors can't be causes. In that scenario, they obviously are causes.

 

But without that context, it can be helpful to think of Majors and Minors this way.

[Trogon]

Thanks all for the input! And thanks for the maths EmpyreanKnight! And 2% all Majors for 3-card readings, does put those into the realm of possibility. And, using your formula, having all Majors turn up in a 5-card reading, would be about 0.00125, 0.1%. And I have had that once or twice. As far as I can remember, I've never done a reading with more than 5 cards where all have been Majors. I was going to start thinking about the odds of an all-Majors reading where the two cards repeated ... but my head exploded. ;D

 

I liked your thoughts re; Majors/causes and Minors/effects, katrinka.

[EmpyreanKnight]

No prob, Trogon! Yup, that means that in 800 5-card readings, only one of them would turn out all-majors.

[Samual_Jennings]

I consider it a sign that you need to pay special attention to this reading.

 

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