TdM Reading Group: Merrick reads for RachelCat

[Merrick]

Hello there RachelCat! I’m looking forward to doing this reading with you. Please let me know what question you have or what topic you’d like me to cover. I will be using my trusty Flornoy Noblet deck for this reading.

A reminder on the spread for this month:

This month, we'll tackle a full-deck version of the French Cross spread. I call this the Australian Cross because it appears in the LWB of "Granny Jones' Australian Tarot."

Also notice that the order of the card layout is different from most French Cross spreads. Here, the center card is card 1, not card 5.

Granny Jones' Australian Cross

.........2..........

5........1.........4

..........3..........

1. a toi (to you) - things personal to you, happening now.

2. a la tete (at your head) - your thoughts, dreams and hopes.

3. aux pieds (at your feet) - things you least care about. You know they are there, but they are not a problem. Things past or already dealt with, or things you can afford to ignore.

4. a cote (by your side) - your support or opposition, depending on the cards.

5. ta surprise (your surprise) - things you least expect to happen.


Additionally, I sometimes draw extra cards at the corners in order to illustrate the relationships between the cards. For example, I may put a card in the Northwest corner, between cards 5 and 2 to show how this surprise event will affect how your dreams and hopes could manifest themselves. Or at the SE corner, between cards 3 and 4 to explore how the past and/or what you're ignoring will influence the present.

[Rachelcat]

Hi there! Looking forward to it! But, as always, it's hard for me to think of a good question. I'll work on it and let you know shortly!

[Rachelcat]

Ok, I’m back. I’m going to go with my tried and true question, the one I always ask and never heed the answer and ask again. At least when I read for myself. Maybe I’ll listen to you better than I listen to myself!

What is going on with my tarot projects? I have one that I’ve been working on for many years and has been stalled now for just as many. And of course I have others in various stages of beginning. (None are in stages of completion!) Is now a good time to haul them out and work on them? What’s holding me back? Should I abandon the more accomplished one and go on to work on the newer? I would love some good advice as well as reasonable prediction.

I hope this works as a question for you. Let me know! Thanks for offering to read for me!

[Merrick]

Thank you for trusting me with such an important question! I will do the reading soon and get back to you.

[Merrick]

Ok, I’m back. I’m going to go with my tried and true question, the one I always ask and never heed the answer and ask again. At least when I read for myself. Maybe I’ll listen to you better than I listen to myself!

What is going on with my tarot projects? I have one that I’ve been working on for many years and has been stalled now for just as many. And of course I have others in various stages of beginning. (None are in stages of completion!) Is now a good time to haul them out and work on them? What’s holding me back? Should I abandon the more accomplished one and go on to work on the newer? I would love some good advice as well as reasonable prediction.

I hope this works as a question for you. Let me know! Thanks for offering to read for me!

Hi RachelCat,

Here is my reading for you. This one wasn’t the easiest reading for me to parse out so please let me know if this was helpful.



1. a toi (to you) - things personal to you, happening now: Three of coins, an indication of new projects becoming manifest. There is a flourishing here, indicated by the growing foliage on the card, that says to me this is the right time to work on a tarot project.

2. a la tete (at your head) - your thoughts, dreams and hopes: Eight of coins. The foliage in the three of coins leads to full bloom, the growth becomes plenty. The dream here is to have some of these projects completed and ready to send out into the world.

3. aux pieds (at your feet) - things you least care about. You know they are there, but they are not a problem. Things past or already dealt with, or things you can afford to ignore: 10 of Swords, the previous struggles you’ve had finishing these projects. They may have worn you out before but the time you’ve spent away has led to a rejuvenation of the creative spirit. You no longer need to worry about any prior struggle on these projects that may have led you to put them to the side.

4. a cote (by your side) - your support or opposition, depending on the cards: The Sun. At first I thought this was clarity, but the more I look at the image on the card itself, the more I’m inclined to believe that this is as literal as it is figurative. Go outside, connect with someone you know well and trust. This may be a partner, or a close friend or relative, someone who understands your love of tarot and your desire to contribute your own vision to the tarot world. Stay safe with the pandemic of course but the outdoors will get you out of your head, help nourish your inner muse and give you a boost of energy to make headway.

5. ta surprise (your surprise) - things you least expect to happen: Ace of Cups. Often aces are read as beginnings, but you already have beginnings. In the Marseille in particular, I see the Aces as the unification of the suit, the ultimate expression of the suit. The 10 of Cups is not a card of unification in the TdM, with its multiple rows of cups and one big cup turned over. So if the Ace is both beginnings and culmination and unification, and this is the position of surprise, I’m going to suggest that this card is saying to unify the best aspects of your older and newer tarot projects into one that offers the best of both worlds.

I also pulled the corner cards and got this:


I find it fascinating that the two upper diagonals are mirroring cards, The Empress and Justice. Both are powerful feminine forces, both staring straight out at us (two of the few cards that do in this deck). The Empress in this deck is a take no prisoners kind of gal. She’s there to give you the steel you need to take this surprise of unification and bring it to fruition. Justice helps you balance and discern the insights you gain from the Sun to also get you to your goal.

The Magician tells you that you do have the tools to overcome the malaise and deadlock surrounding the projects and bring them to the light of the Sun. The Seven of Cups is, as I’m seeing it, the collection of ideas and project beginnings that need to be unified.

I hope this was of some value to you. I mulled over these cards for quite some time because I didn’t feel the answers they provided were entirely immediate or obvious. If you are viewing them differently, I would love to hear what you think.

On a side note, thank goodness for the smaller size of the Noblet deck for a larger spread like this!

[Rachelcat]

Hi! Thanks for the reading! Here’s some feedback.

1. a toi (to you) - things personal to you, happening now: Three of coins, an indication of new projects becoming manifest. There is a flourishing here, indicated by the growing foliage on the card, that says to me this is the right time to work on a tarot project.

Sounds good, yes I very much like 3 coins as something becoming manifest!

2. a la tete (at your head) - your thoughts, dreams and hopes: Eight of coins. The foliage in the three of coins leads to full bloom, the growth becomes plenty. The dream here is to have some of these projects completed and ready to send out into the world.

Going from 3 to 8 is a good sign! And I like you saying sending out into the world. I think that is my real goal now. I’ve done the creative work, I just need to get it into a shape where I can share it.

3. aux pieds (at your feet) - things you least care about. You know they are there, but they are not a problem. Things past or already dealt with, or things you can afford to ignore: 10 of Swords, the previous struggles you’ve had finishing these projects. They may have worn you out before but the time you’ve spent away has led to a rejuvenation of the creative spirit. You no longer need to worry about any prior struggle on these projects that may have led you to put them to the side.

Hmmm, I also see 10 of Swords as what people think. It’s not that I don’t care what people think, but I’m over being overly critical of writing style, etc. I’m more focused on getting the ideas across.

4. a cote (by your side) - your support or opposition, depending on the cards: The Sun. At first I thought this was clarity, but the more I look at the image on the card itself, the more I’m inclined to believe that this is as literal as it is figurative. Go outside, connect with someone you know well and trust. This may be a partner, or a close friend or relative, someone who understands your love of tarot and your desire to contribute your own vision to the tarot world. Stay safe with the pandemic of course but the outdoors will get you out of your head, help nourish your inner muse and give you a boost of energy to make headway.

Well, with the Sun on my side, it can’t be bad! But great advice, getting outside, and getting outside help and feedback. With the spring progressing, I think I will be increasingly able to be inspired and refreshed by nature. And I often thought if I could just explain to a real person what I’m trying to do, it would be easier to articulate. Both very good sense!

5. ta surprise (your surprise) - things you least expect to happen: Ace of Cups. Often aces are read as beginnings, but you already have beginnings. In the Marseille in particular, I see the Aces as the unification of the suit, the ultimate expression of the suit. The 10 of Cups is not a card of unification in the TdM, with its multiple rows of cups and one big cup turned over. So if the Ace is both beginnings and culmination and unification, and this is the position of surprise, I’m going to suggest that this card is saying to unify the best aspects of your older and newer tarot projects into one that offers the best of both worlds.

Hmm, unify. Maybe work on both at once, and they each can help me see into the other.

I find it fascinating that the two upper diagonals are mirroring cards, The Empress and Justice. Both are powerful feminine forces, both staring straight out at us (two of the few cards that do in this deck). The Empress in this deck is a take no prisoners kind of gal. She’s there to give you the steel you need to take this surprise of unification and bring it to fruition. Justice helps you balance and discern the insights you gain from the Sun to also get you to your goal.

Powerful forces of creation and balance, what I need to get the job done.

The Magician tells you that you do have the tools to overcome the malaise and deadlock surrounding the projects and bring them to the light of the Sun. The Seven of Cups is, as I’m seeing it, the collection of ideas and project beginnings that need to be unified.

Magician as the just do it card. And yes, I like 7 as all the various projects and plans that need to be sorted and worked on.

Thank you again so much! This is a very positive reading, and it’s encouraging me to get back to work! I know I will be much happier when something good comes from all my noodling and work.

This is a lovely deck, by the way. And sometimes I like the smaller ones, but not too small for my aging eyes.

Thank you! See you around the boards!

[Merrick]

Glad I could be of help! And I think the Noblet is the perfect size, I’ll never get used to the standard size for tarot cards

[dodalisque]

This one wasn’t the easiest reading for me to parse out

I really enjoyed that. As usual, very imaginative and persuasive. I just have a technical question. I am used to seeing you doing a 3 card line where there is lots of potential for narrative interaction between the cards, and often an implied past/present/future timeline. Do you prefer that to this kind of reading where single cards are more separate and deal with different fixed aspects of the question?

[Merrick]

Yes, thank you for the question! I do prefer a three-five card spread without fixed positions where I’m more free to build narratives, look for eye rhymes, etc. However I appreciate the practice on spreads like this because it’s good to train ourselves on multiple ways of reading, and you never know when a particular spread or method might become a favorite.