Integrating the Five Components of Circumstance into Tarot Practice An Intermediate Course in Tarot...

Integrating the Five Components of Circumstance into Tarot Practice

An Intermediate Course in Tarot

Instructor: Benebell Wen

Robin Wood Tarot

F O R E D U C A T I O N A L P U R P O S E S O N L Y

Public domain stock photography. Attribution unavailable.

yī mìng èr yùn sān fēngshuǐ sì jī yīndé wǔ dúshū

Yi: Ming. Er: Yun. San: Feng Shui. Si: Ji Yin De. Wu: Du Shu.

Growing up in the Chinese culture, especially in a family connected to East Asian metaphysics, this

phrase will have come up…

It expresses a traditional Chinese cosmological principle…

Success in human affairs is based on five circumstances:

(1)Fate(2)Luck(3)Feng Shui(4)Karma(5)Education

Traditional Chinese sycee or lucky gold ingots

Yi: Mìng. Er: Yùn.San: Fēng Shuǐ.Si: Ji Yīn Dé.Wu: Dú Shū.

What does this maxim

mean?The maxim

is a

cornerstonetenet in

manyEast Asian

esoteric schools.

1. Fate: The circumstances you were born with. Ex. Being born into a wealthy family in the Northeast.

2. Luck: The degree to which events align with your objectives. Ex. A speeding car collides into your parked car…five minutes before the most important interview of your life.

3. Feng Shui: Aligning and harmonizing your personal energy with the energies of your environment and surroundings. Ex. Arranging your home in a way that allows optimal flow of Qi to bring in the optimal flow of opportunities to you.

4. Karma: The accounting of your past acts and the consequences, positive or negative, on your present and future. Ex. Helping out a stranger in a parking lot, which triggers a chain of events that leads back to a different stranger helping you out in your time of need.

5. Education: The knowledge and experiences you acquire that empower you and enable you to make better life decisions. Ex. Teaching yourself how to read tarot and using tarot for optimized use of your intuitions.

THE FIVE COMPONENTS

1: FATE is an important concept in Eastern thought.

• Some are born kings.• Some are born paupers.• You are born with certain talents

and gifts and your fate is to apply those talents and gifts to accomplish a greater purpose that will help complete the design of the universe.

2: LUCK determines the ease or difficulty of manifesting your Fate.

• Fate is what you are born with, but not what will happen for sure.

• Luck plays a critical role in whether you accomplish your greater purpose.

• The motions of others and that interplay with your life could yield good luck to expedite you toward your goal or bad luck to further hinder your progress.

• Hit with bad luck, a king can become a pauper. Hit with good luck, a pauper can become a king.

• Fate is fate. It is Luck that forms the terrain of our life path.

Art by Lun Tan. Source: sooxue.com

3: FENG SHUI is the theory of how well your environment supports you.• The many physical forces affecting the earth will in turn affect your person.

Understanding those physical forces will help you navigate life with the wind behind your back, rather than sail against the wind.

• Note that feng shui is an entire body of science that warrants its own focused study. For the scope of this course, feng shui is simply the compatibility between the Querent, his or her environment, and the Querent’s objectives.

4: KARMA scores your conduct. It is the series of cause and effect. • Give good, receive good. Give evil, receive evil.• You can tweak your own luck by creating good in the world.• Compassion, benevolence, and acts of kindness help to change your luck for

the better. • In a sense, luck and karma are directly proportional.

Alishan Mountains, Taiwan

5: EDUCATION is considered the most important of the five components.• Knowledge plus action overtakes fate, luck, feng shui, and karma.• Tarot practice is education. Learn how to make adjustments in your

life with tarot as a tool for calibrating your personal five components formula. Knowing the formula is knowing what it takes for you to accomplish your goals.

Photo Credit: Matthew Hine

The meaning of the Five Components principle is this:

There is a specific formula for success that is deeply personalized according to how the five components of circumstance align in your life. Achievement is based on how well you have applied that formula.

I Ching Dead Moon Tarot by Luis Royo

Applying the Five Components to a Tarot Reading

Tarot Illuminati by Dunne and Huggens

Rider Waite Tarot by U.S. Games Systems

Note that basic RWS card interpretation and the Celtic Cross spread will not be discussed, assuming intermediate tarot proficiency.

To illustrate the Five Components application, a case study will be used:

The Celtic Cross spread is used to minimize explanation, since it is widely familiar. Only the technique of identifying the Five Components in a tarot spread is explained in this course. Five Components analysis supplements a

tarot reading.

In the course of a Reader’s regular reading, an integration of insights into a Querent’s (1) Fate, (2) Luck, (3) Feng Shui, (4) Karma, and (5) Education can enhance a reading.

Begin by studying this spread. Which cards, based on face and positioning, seem to denote the Querent’s Fate?

1. Fate2 of Cups, Rev: Neglecting personal relationships, tensions in marriage due to intense focus on advancing career or professional position.

Note: Ace of Swords blocking the 2 of Cups and pointing straight for the Emperor. The Emperor suggests a desire to overthrow current powers to become seated as that power. Querent is highly ambitious.

3 of Wands, Rev: Fear of carelessness, plotting every detail for perfection.

9 of Pentacles: Strong focus on career and neglect of people is due in part to Querent’s fundamental nature: a solitary individual who pursues development of personal economy rather than development of personal relationships.

[The Hierophant: Also denotes Education. Here, fate intertwined with a traditional academic upbringing. Querent is one born to work with the mind, rather than the body or heart.]

ORANGE marks the cards most insightful about the component at hand.YELLOW marks the cards that overlap with other of the five components.

NOTE:Under most interpretive schools, the Wheel of

Fortune is often associated with the concept of Fate and

Karma. While that interpretation here is also correct, I’ve interpreted it, based on positioning and

spread context, to be more indicative of Feng Shui,

though its purpose here also overlaps with messages

about the Querent’s Luck and Karma.

Two Approaches to Examining Fate

Fate is represented by the linear, chronological path Querent has walked, the reconciliation of past, present, future.

Fate is revealed in the current cross-section of Querent’s life, the manifestation of decisions made to date.

One Approach

Alternative Approach

2. Luck

Ace of Pentacles: Fortuitous enough in past to receive gainful offers. Presented with great opportunities right from the beginning.

Ace of Swords: Conquest. Ace points straight at The Emperor, reversed.

The Emperor, Rev.: Overthrow of incumbent authority figure. Querent herself will become the authority figure.

[Wheel of Fortune: As referenced earlier, here the card denotes Feng Shui (because of card positioning in the Celtic Cross, i.e., Querent in environment), but it also reveals insights into the Querent’s Luck and Karma. Here, her Fate is intertwined with a traditional academic upbringing (suggested by the Hierophant) and a somewhat more conventional or standardized way of thought. Querent is one born to work with the mind, rather than the body or heart. Querent is one more likely to work with the norm than work against it.]


Reader: What is your ultimate goal in life?Querent: Career success. I want to ascend to the highest echelons of my profession.

+-

• Emperor, Rev.: Overthrow current boss• Ace Pentacles: Lucky opportunities• 7 Pentacles: Work ethic• Sun: Glory, success, high attainment

Reader: Success comes to you like second nature. All five components are well-aligned to assure accomplishment.

FATE & LUCK

Scenario #1, Q&ASay that in the course of the reading,

the Reader asks the Querent what her ultimate goal is. The purpose of asking is to use the tarot spread and Five Components to determine how

far or close the Querent is to achieving her goal.

If it could be quantified,

Querent’s Fate and Luck

factors for her goal are

auspicious.

Reader: What is your ultimate goal in life?Querent: I want to find true love.

- +

• 2 Cups, Rev.: Marriage tensions; work-life imbalance; Neglecting spouse

• General lack of domestic sphere cards

Reader: When it comes to love, Fate and Luck are not on your side, so you have to reposition yourself constantly to attain the success you want. Too much emphasis on work life will bring career success, not romance. Strike a balance and devote more of your energies to nurturing relationships.

FATE & LUCK

Scenario #2, Q&AWhat if the Querent’s goal is not career success, but rather she is

looking for love?

In Scenario #2, Fate and Luck are not

supportive of Querent’s goal. She must nurture Feng Shui, Karma, and Education to improve her chances at finding

love.

3. Feng Shui

For Career Goals:

For Love & Romance:

FENG SHUI EFFORTS

Miniature Rider Waite Tarot by U.S. Games Systems

Wheel of Fortune: Position here denotes environmental factors. Feng shui factors favorable: serendipity. Querent’s personal Qi and the universe’s cosmic Qi align.

2 of Cups, Rev.: Neglect of personal relationships. Tensions in the domestic sphere.

Ace of Swords: Covering the 2 of Cups, Querent’s cutthroat ambitions have an adverse effect on her love life.

In Scenario #1, Querent need not make any major adjustments to

her environment. She is already on the fast track to

achieving her goal.

However, in Scenario #2, Querent needs to make

significant adjustments to her environment to enhance feng shui

harmony. Otherwise she will be hard-pressed in

achieving her goal of love.

4. KarmaFor Career Goals:

For Love & Romance:

KARMIC ACCOUNTTO CASH IN FOR ACHIEVEMENT

-

-

+

+

Past acts of Querent paved the way for attaining career goals, but not in love.

Cards here suggest neglect of personal relationships overall, not just romantic. Note how Querent’s spread is sparsely populated. Where are her friends and family? Nurture positive karma with friends and family to improve position for attaining the goal of love.

7 of Pentacles: Past diligence and

toil results in promotion and

harvest.

9 of Pentacles: Prosperity and

material well-being, but solitary

enjoyment of it.

POSITIVEBALANCE

NEGATIVEBALANCE

5. Education 3 of Wands, Rev.: Past experience of

failures, albeit minor ones, taught Querent to be highly attuned to details. Querent nurtured herself into a perfectionist.

The Hierophant: Traditional education. University educated, perhaps higher degrees obtained. Also suggests a Querent who sticks to the norms. Motivated by societal approval.

The Sun: Gaining recognition and accolades. High achievement. Toils denoted in the 7 of Pentacles will be rewarded. In this card position, denotes fierce ambition. Motivated to educate herself because Querent hungers for success.

[Ace of Pentacles: Also denotes Luck and Karma. Here, it is related to Education because Querent seized the opportunities presented by Luck and Karma to otain the needed knowledge and experience leading her down the path of the Ace of Swords and Emperor.]

[7 of Pentacles: Here, it is related to The Hierophant: Querent must be someone studious, intellectual, academically gifted, and has worked hard in her university studies.]


If the goal is Career, Querent is at the peak

of her educational development.

But if the goal is Love, Querent still has much to learn. Querent lacks

experience.

If the goal is Love, Querent has yet to

experience and answer for herself: What is

Love?

The Five Components is a framework for interpreting a tarot spread. Thus, it can be applied to any spread at all, and can even be used to analyze one-card readings.

FATE

LUCK

FENG SHUI EDUCATION

KA

RM

A

My interpretation will differ from

yours. Be guided by your own

intuition when applying the Five

Components.

These cards tend to

suggest that matters of Fate are at

issue.

Not groundbreaking.All very intuitive.

Just different vocabulary.

Thoth Tarot

Improving your vocabulary

improves your ability to express the full range of your ideas and

emotions.

The Five Components framework enhances the reader’s tarot approach

by pinpointing the strengths and

weaknesses of a Querent’s variables of

success.

Assessing a Querent’s

FIVE COMPONENTS

Through Signifier

(or Significator) AnalysisBefore a reading has even begun,

broad insights based on a Querent’s Signifier (or Significator) card can shed light on the Querent’s Five Components formula.

The Rider Waite deck by U.S. Games Systems

The Five Components & Court Cards

Fate: Fire personalities are born leaders, hunters; the planners and architects of society. Innovators.

Luck: For those governed by Fire, finding balance is a constant struggle; prone to extremes.

Feng shui: Fire or Wood personalities. • When Fire: Supported by Wood. Conflicts with

Metal and dominates. Conflicts with Water, but Water dominates.

• When Wood: Supported by Water. Conflicts with Earth and dominates. Conflicts with Metal, but Metal dominates.

Karma: Give and take by creation and destruction. Builds others up, but can also tear them down.

Education: Creative fields, artisans, working with hands, shop trades, healthcare, agriculture.

WandsFIRE

Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

NOTE that these are broad generalizations about FIRE signs.

Analyzing the Signifier per the Five Components sketches the outline only.

Fill in the personalized details later with the First Operation and the reading spread.

Feng shui analysis is an entire study beyond the scope of this course. Here, its indications are based on the Wu Xing, the five (instead of four) metaphysical elements that the Chinese believe the universe is comprised of. Here, the broad indications of feng shui for the Signifiers is based on the Signifier’s compatibility with the other elemental signs.

The Five Components & Court Cards, cont’d.

Fate: Hero complex. Deeply nurturing of others. Strives to save souls and change the world.

Luck: Divine intervention. Strong influence from the spiritual or supernatural world.

Feng shui: Water personalities. Supported by Metal. Conflicts with Fire and dominates. Conflicts with Earth, but Earth dominates.

Karma: Give and take through personal contribution. Invests with heart and emotion. Economic exchange is often through relationships.

Education: Humanities; liberal arts; social work; social justice; counseling; spiritual or pastoral work.

CupsWATER

Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

Fate: Born warriors. Prone to lack focus, fight tooth and nail for independence, and engage in dissent.

Luck: Prone to conflict. Encounters adversity with more frequency than others.

Feng shui: Metal personalities. Supported by Earth. Conflicts with Wood and dominates. Conflicts with Fire, but Fire dominates.

Karma: Give and take on ideological grounds; exchange of ideas and information. Contributions of the mind and intellect.

Education: Analytical careers; technical or highly specialized fields; communications; professions in pursuit of public influence.

SwordsAIR

Gemini, Libra, Aquarius


Fate: Prone to set down roots and opt for the familiar. Born conservators. Great trendsetters. Risk is a constant point of consideration.

Luck: Flips his or her own luck. Can transform uncertainties into certainties.

Feng shui: Wood or Earth personalities. • When Wood: Supported by Water. Conflicts

with Earth and dominates. Conflicts with Metal, but Metal dominates.

• When Earth: Supported by Fire. Conflicts with Water and dominates. Conflicts with Wood, but Wood dominates.

Karma: Give and take through the material world.

Education: Business, finance; corporate management, administration; commerce, banking, fashion; entrepreneurial.

PentaclesEARTH

Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn


Visconti-Sforza Tarot, Restoration by A. A. Atanassov (Lo Scarabeo) Rider-Waite-Smith card facsimile

Marseille card facsimile

When Majors are used as the Signifier, apply the broad Five Components analysis per the elemental essence of the card.

Ex. The High Priestess is Water; The Empress would be Earth.

The Five Components Analysis of Signifiers from the Major ArcanaREFERENCE GUIDE

The Goddess Tarot by Kris Waldherr

The Five Components &an Adaptation of the

First Operation

Adapting the First Operation from the Opening of the Key to Examine a Querent’s Five

Components

FIRST OPERATION: CRASH COURSE

Traditional First Operation:Pile that signifier appears in will reveal

nature of Querent’s inquiry.

Five Components Method: Pile that signifier appears in will diagnose

Querent’s Five Components.Also: Top-most card of each pile

will beread in a Five Components

analysis.

H V H I

Cut the entire

tarot deck into two

piles,right to

left.

EARTH AIR WATER FIRE Finances Social Love Career

From the left-most pile, cut to form the final fourth pile.

From the first pile,

cut to form a third pile.

The four piles correspond with the four constants of the Supreme Being, the four divine elements, and the four quadrants of the human condition.

Th

e G

od

dess

Taro

t b

y K

ris

Wald

herr

Sift through the four piles one by one to locate the Signifier. The pile the signifier appears in is the area of life the Querent must focus on in the present and be proactive about nurturing with Feng Shui, Karma, and Education.

WORKAmbitions, Projects,Career, Professional

Goals

RELATIONSHIPS

Love, Romance, Family, Children, Domestic Sphere

SOCIETYQuerent’s Social Sphere, Greater

Ambitions, Controversies

ECONOMYWealth, Money

Matters, Property, Assets, Finances

The Goddess Tarot by Kris Waldherr

The Five Components & an Adaptation of the First Operation

But before proceeding with the First Operation analysis, begin by discussing the broad generalizations associated with the Querent’s Signifier.

Let’s say the Prince (Knight) of Pentacles is the Querent’s Signifier card.

In this example, the Signifier appears in the last pile, corresponding with “H2.”

The Goddess Tarot

The Five Components & an Adaptation of the First Operation

Fate: Prone to set down roots and opt for the familiar. Born conservators. Great trendsetters. Risk is a constant point of consideration.

Luck: Flips his or her own luck. Can transform uncertainties into certainties.

Feng shui: Wood or Earth personalities. • When Wood: Supported by Water. Conflicts with Earth

and dominates. Conflicts with Metal, but Metal dominates.

• When Earth: Supported by Fire. Conflicts with Water and dominates. Conflicts with Wood, but Wood dominates.

Karma: Give and take through the material world.

Education: Business, finance; corporate management, administration; commerce, banking, fashion; entrepreneurial.

GENERAL SIGNIFIER ANALYSIS:

Five Components analysis through the Signifier paints a broad picture.The First Operation adaptation begins to fill in the outline with

personalized details.

The Goddess Tarot by Kris WaldherrECONOMYWealth, Money

Matters, Property, Assets, Finances

Let’s say the First Operation is performed on a Querent with the Prince (Knight) of Pentacles as his Signifier. The pile the Signifier appears in will indicate where greater focus on Feng Shui, Karma, and Education is needed at this time to improve that sector of the Querent’s life.

For the Five Components analysis (differing from the traditional First Operation), turn over the last card in each of the three other piles. This will shed insight on the Five Components as applied to these three corresponding areas of the Querent’s life.

WORKFate and Luck not on Querent’s side at work. Many stumbling

blocks obstructing professional development. Increase good

Karma and pursue more Education to help clear the

blocks.

RELATIONSHIPSQuerent’s significant other is his best

friend. Five components align favorably in Love. Also, his personal relationships are highly supportive of his endeavors

and he should turn to them for aid.

SOCIETYFate has a lot in store for Querent. He has influence over his community and should use it to make a difference. Feng shui is

supportive of his endeavors.

Assess each of the Five Components one by one against the upturned cards. After the First Operation, proceed with a reading spread.

Tell Querent to focus here for the time being.

1. FATE• Business or

commerce. See Signifier analysis.

• Good with money.

• Circumstances he was born into do not bode favorably for career advancement.

• Innate “lover not a fighter” personality.

2. LUCK• Lucky in love.

See 2 of Cups in H1.

• Not as lucky in career. Must work hard for every career opportunity. See 10 of Swords in I.

3. FENG SHUI• Environment

aligned favorably. See Gaia (The World) in V.

• Green, yellow, and neutral tones

• Nature-oriented• Need separate in-

depth feng shui analysis

H2 V H1 I

4. KARMA• Insufficient information

provided in First Operation. (Proceed with full reading.)

• 10 of Swords: Personal lessons learned after strife and struggle—have hurt others

5. EDUCATION• Gaia (The World) suggests

travel and communications.• Nurture knowledge in finance

and business to optimize Fate• Lack of Wands card suggests

lack of Fire energy, or motivation, persistence, passion. Tendency to get lazy or lethargic. Passivity issues.

The Signifier card is grounded in one of the four essential elements, which can offer general insights into the Five Components for the Querent.

Next, an adaptation on the First Operation can begin to fill in personalized details of the Querent’s Five Components formula.

Then proceed with the Reader’s choice reading spread. Read as you normally would, but keep the Five Components in the back of your head and in your analysis, identify how the cards in the spread apply to the Querent’s Five Components formula and where he is in terms of progress.

1. Fate2. Luck3. Feng Shui4. Karma5. Education

1 Fate

2 Luck

3 Feng Shui

4 Karma

5 Education

Thoth Tarot

THE FIVE COMPONENTS

• Generalizations can be made based on the Querent’s Signifier

• Analyze the First Operation results to flesh out the generalizations

• Read a tarot spread through the Five Operations framework

SUMMARY OF POINTS:

FIVE CARD SPREAD FOR SPECIFIC ANALYSISOF THE FIVE COMPONENTS

You can use your go-to tarot spreads, proceed per your ordinary reading routine, and simply add and integrate Five

Components analysis into your reading…

Or try this simple five card spread for a reading focused entirely on

Five Components analysis. Shuffle and lay out five cards, right to left.

1. FATE

The circumstances Querent was born

into. Innate talents, strengths, or

weaknesses. God-given.

2. LUCK

How well external conditions align with

Querent’s goals. Clear path or rocky road

ahead?

3. FENG SHUIWhat kind of

environment has Querent nurtured? Is it helping or hindering

Querent’s objectives?

4. KARMA

Querent’s past and how that past affects

the present and future, positively or

negatively.

5. EDUCATION

Knowledge and experience accrued

to date, and education needed to

advance forward.

PRACTICE:HYPOTHETICAL FIVE COMPONENTS READING

5. Education 4. Karma 3. Feng Shui 2. Luck 1. Fate

Querent: Jenny

D.O.B.: 10/01/73

Gender: Female

Jenny is the Querent. She wants a general reading to get a sense of her life’s progress to date. You, the tarot reader, draw the above 5 cards. After you commence the reading, Jenny has follow-up questions that she hopes the cards might answer:1. She has been thinking about a career change and wants to get her

broker’s license and become a real estate agent. What do the cards say about this?

2. Lately her relationship with her teenage son has been strained. Why? What can she do to fix it?

1. FATE

If Jenny decides to change careers, she’ll be valiantly successful. High potential for success in the new field. Plus, she will find it intellectually rewarding.

2. LUCK

Life of plentitude and abundance. In her times of need, she must have felt divine intervention, because there are angels looking down on Jenny.

3. FENG SHUIJenny’s environment is Earth dominant right now. Venus governs. She is positioned in a way that supports fruition. In terms of her son, follow maternal instinct: they’re right on.

4. KARMA

Aggression, retaliation: karmic tensions between Jenny and her son need to be played out. Some deceit. Be patient with him. When she yields, he will finally yield.

5. EDUCATION

Jenny has been contemplating many vocational options for some time. Good omen: she’s found the right one.

NOTE: There is, of course, no set way of answering Jenny, the Querent. The art of tarot comes from each individual reader’s personalized interpretation of the cards, the card positions, and how they apply to the Querent. The answer provided here is only one of many ways to answer Jenny’s questions.

Image source: www.andpop.com. Attribution unknown.

Five Little Fearful Scared Kitties

Escape

Need a mnemonic to help you remember the Five Components?

Fate Luck Feng Shui Karma Education-

The contents of this self-guided course are free for you to use, share, and reproduce, but please provide proper attribution to the author.

This presentation may be used for educational purposes only. Images herein fall under the fair use doctrine.

Thank You!

BENEBELL WEN is a long-time practitioner of tarot, the I Ching, and feng shui analysis. She is a certified tarot master through the TCBA and a member of the American Tarot Association. Her book Holistic Tarot: An Integrative Approach to Using Tarot for Personal Growth will be released in Fall, 2014 by North Atlantic Books. Wen is also a California and New York attorney who practices corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and serves as legal counsel to venture capital firms.

Contact

Email:[email protected]:www.benebellwen.comTwitter: tarotanalysis

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Integrating the Five Components of Circumstance into Tarot Practice An Intermediate Course in Tarot...

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