Unearthing the Gift

A few days ago on Instagram @arrowinflight shared a spread as part of “New Spread Saturday”. The title of the spread is “Story of my life” and I was immediately curious to try it.

The idea of our lives being a story that we are actively shaping, whether conscious of it or not, has always been a common thread in my life, from the classes I was drawn to in college to everything else really that has interested me so far, including the tarot.

One of my dreams/aspirations is to be a writer. I say it’s a dream because although I am a writer (since a writer is just someone that writes, and here I am writing!) I am still working on developing the discipline and courage to really take my own writing seriously. This is something that I have struggled with for a long time. So as someone who aspires to be a writer, a story teller, the idea that the human experience is a story and we are the writers, protagonists, and supporting actors (in other people’s lives) is very interesting to me. I hope to write another posts to share some of the experiences I’ve had and how I started to notice that many things in my life were taking me in a certain direction. For today I wanted to share my reading using this wonderful spread.

For this spread I used the Stretch Tarot, by J.E. Stretch. This is the deck that I used to connect with my spirit guide, and even though it’s an odd little deck, it’s always trying to get my attention.

Card 1: Front Cover-What do People Notice About  Me First?

In this position I pulled The Hierophant card. This Hierophant is very different than all the others I’ve seen in other decks. For one, it is a woman, usually the Hierophant is a male,

sometimes thought of as the counterpart of the High Priestess. The Hierophant is a card about knowledge, study, discipline, structure and institutions. When I think of the Hierophant I think of the Pope, a leader of organized religion. Some people are not fond of him, I don’t mind him so much, I value the message he brings about knowledge and discipline. Education and knowledge are very important to me, and the people that know me know this about me.

The Hierophant in the Stretch Tarot brings a completely different feeling to this card. The woman pictured appears to be a wise woman, a healer, a witch. There are bones lined up next to her, a lock and set of keys below her. This card exudes mystery to me. This card for me bridges the male organized structures of knowledge and wisdom with the more feminine and intuition based belief systems.

In terms of the question for this card, I think that what people notice about me is not much, I am someone that is very reserved and don’t share myself right away. I feel a little weird saying this, but something else that people probably notice about me is that I am smart and that I value wisdom and knowledge. And now that I have started to explore the tarot and different belief systems, maybe that is also something that some people might pick up on.

Card 2: Spine-What Gives My Life Form and Structure?

For this position I pulled the 7 of Cups, which is the card of temptations, illusions, and maybe a little of over indulgence. Lately I have been over indulging in some crystal and rock shopping. I wonder if that’s what this card is trying to tell me… I think what gives my life form and structure is me trying to find balance between all the things that are pulling me in so many directions all the time. This card might also be a warning that I should be mindful of where I am investing my energy, balance doesn’t mean that all things get equal time and energy, just the that most important things get their rightful amount of time and energy.

Card 3: Table of Contents – How Can I Stay Organized?

For this position I pulled the 4 of Swords. This card usually means rest, or slowing down. Interesting that the way to keep organized is not to do more, but to just take it easy.

Card 4: Main Story-What Is My Life Really All About?

For this question I pulled the Empress. When I first saw the card I thought I had pulled Temperance, and I thought the them of the reading was coming together. But the Empress threw me for a loop. I don’t usually get this card. Because I feel that this has a much deeper meaning than I can get into right now I will not go into details, just that this card is a big sign for me.

Card 5: Back Cover-What Protects Me From Harm?

In this position I pulled the Knight of Wands. This card came out for one of the days of the Spirit Guide challenge, it was the day that asked how I view myself at this stage of my journey. What protects me from harm is my ability to continue to create, explore, and move forward. Just being who I am brings a lot of protection, when we are being our true selves we are closer to the Light than when we are pretending and stuck in the shadows.

Overall I really enjoyed this spread and it  gave me some things to explore more and keep an eye out for. Thank you Steve for creating this wonderful spread!