Bare With, Bare With ...

If you've seen the comedy Miranda, today's title will make you smile. In this context, I am asking you to bare with me as I play out some ideas I put together this afternoon. Of course, they won't suit all, but I enjoyed experimenting for an hour. I have had really bad tooth pain for a week and need to register with a new dentist tomorrow, but while I was playing with the cards, my mind was taken away from the pain for an hour at least.

I really liked Titania Hardie's idea of using twelve of the court cards as people, presenting a person of both gender for each of the zodiac signs. So for example, a reversed Queen of Swords would make a Virgo male. I read a review of her writings on Amazon and the usual hoo-ha about which astrological sign should be assigned to which court figure ensued, so I closed the window. As long as they are all covered, I don't care so much about how they are assigned; that could be debated and argued until the cows come home, but if I believe and trust the arrangement I am using, then that is enough for me. I wasn't getting so much from the minor cards in Titania's deck, so I pulled out another set to use, and with my cup of tea, learnt who was what by going through them and then testing myself. Surprisingly, I committed them to memory pretty quickly.


Now as you know, I like to mix things up a bit. I always think it's good to draw what works from here and there. I have often spoken about the sequence in three-card playing draws that was offered in the book Personal Prophesy by Deborah Leigh. It's always worked well for me, even if it is hard to explain. I thought I would take a moment to show how it works when mashed up with Titania's astrological court system. So as Tilly would say as she scans the messages on her mobile phone, 'Bare with, bare with ...'.

When Leigh looks at a three card spread, she imagines herself at the left of the three cards. Her system is pretty difficult to explain, so I think it is best to try and lead through examples. Some of you are probably wondering what happens to the four court cards left out. Titania's system only deals with the kings, queens, and pages, each holding a different astrological sign. The four knights regard thoughts in her system, but I prefer to see them as movement. I always saw so many similarities between the rank of page and knight, and king and queen, that using them in this way feels more water tight for me.

So, let us take a look at the first set.





The court here is the Page of Cups. In this example, the card is reversed, so becomes a female Pisces. Because I would see myself in the imaginary space to the left of the reading, this female and I share the 5 of Cups. This card contains it's traditional meaning of loss, so the reading could be about a fall out between myself and this woman. I am a Pisces, so I can kind of relate to her. Maybe she is off dreaming somewhere. She tries to be grounded and dependable, but that does not always come easily for her. I don't know much about astrology, but having a female friend who is a Pisces, I can see how more knowledge about the signs of zodiac could really flesh out these readings and tell us who is in the cards more directly. Behind the woman is The Hermit. This is what belongs to her. It explains how she has become withdrawn in some way of late. Maybe she has been feeling down or needed to take some time out of the fast lane. Is she seeking knowledge or studying? These are the reasons why my relationship with this woman has dissipated.



A court card once again sits in the centre of the second trio. This queen is assigned to Scorpio and since she is right side up, the card represents a female (she'd be male if reversed). I don't know any Scorpio females, I don't think. Because the knights are movements in my version of the system, the Knight of Swords is about brisk change which can sometimes be overwhelming. This is what the queen holds. She has the ability to breeze into my life and rock things up. With Death being the card we share, it is enough to put an end to something. I'd hazard a guess that it is the end of our friendship.



In my last example, our king sits at the beginning. This means that the two cards behind him are that which he wishes to share. This King of Wands depicts a male Aries. This would be the card that stands for my boyfriend. Behind him is the scary Tower. Now, this card does not always need to be a big anxiety. When mixed with a card like the Knight of Cups, it may very well indicate an emotional surprise. Maybe this Aries male is planning to propose to the person he loves or is preparing some kind of surprise party.

I hope that I have explained all of this well enough. Sometimes, tarot can confuse the hell out of me. I wonder who is who and what is what. While developing these ideas today, I felt as though I had come up with a system that ironed out the creases that bit more.


Illustrations from The Cachet Tarot by Kudos