by Henry Ho
After cutting the cards, turn each stack over to reveal the card faces. Then you start the work of reading the cards.
There is a discrepancy between sources on how the cards are cut into four stacks. Namely the directions that the cards are cut in. In Israel Regardie’s The Golden Dawn, the instructions show the cards being cur from left to right. However in The Book of Thoth, Crowley tells the reader to cut the cards from right to left, the opposite direction to Regardie.
Cutting from right to left is my preferred method as it is consistent with the right to left assignment of the four stacks to YHVH. Also it is congruent with how Hebrew is read. When you cut the cards from right to left, and read from right to left, you can visualise that you are in fact reading the whole deck of cards from the bottom up.
Four Aspects of the Question
This interpretation of the four stacks emerged organically through my use of the spread. It is also based on the four elements, but applied differently than how it is presented in traditional Golden Dawn sources. The idea is to have each of the four strings representing different aspects of the same question being asked, rather than four separate aspects of our lives as is traditional.
Fire: Energetic/Spiritual influence
Water: Emotions regarding the matter
Air: Mental/logical influence
Earth: Physical circumstances
These attributions are much more focused on the questions at hand, as opposed to the Golden Dawn method. For example, rather than have the Water string be representative of all relationship matters in general, if this reading is about a querent’s love life, I will have the Four Strings represent how his love life is manifesting in terms of the four elements.
So, the Fire stack will show how motivated or excited he is regarding love. The Water stack represents how he feels on the matter. Air shows his thinking patterns that influences his love life. Finally the Earth stack reveals how things manifest on the physical realm, and what concrete actions he is taking or should be taking.
This can be applied to any question whatsoever. I find these attributions to be much more relevant to a querent’s question on the whole. The Golden Dawn attributions are great for general readings, but leaves room for disconnectedness with regard to readings with specific questions. For example the significator can show up in the Earth pile relating to money, when the querent has asked for a love reading!
The Element of Time
Paul Hughes-Barlow uses a past, present, future approach to the four strings. Fire being the past, Water and Air as the present, and Earth as the future. I theorise that these attribution arise from the sequence of manifestation of the four elements. Fire being the initial spark, going through Water, Air, and finally culminating in the final form of Earth.
In my experience I have found that the element of time organically emerges due to the fact that the four stacks are read chronologically. The first card (Fire) naturally sets the tone for the reading and the subsequent cards show a natural progression as the narrative unfolds. This culminates in the Earth card as an outcome card.
Four Shamanic Worldviews
Magicians reading tarot cards may find it useful to attribute the four stacks to different planes of existence. This is very useful as it informs magicians what kinds of magic would be most effective to create desired changes.
Qabalists would likely use the Qabalistic Four Worlds as their model. I use a model of existence taken from Changing Reality by Serge Kahili King that is similar to the Qabalistic Four Worlds, but more relevant to my own magickal practice.
This model posits that existence can be categorised into four planes:
Earth: Objective World
Air: Subjective World
Water: Symbolic World
Fire: Holistic World
The Objective World
Going at this from bottom up, we first have the world of Assiah at Malkuth. This is the Objective World. This is the level of consciousness that the secular world lives in. All things are separate and independent. That only what we physical sense can be determined to be true “reality.”
This is represented by the element of Earth.
What this means in practice is that if your significator is found in the Earth pile, then what you should be focusing on to deal with your problem is physical actions. So if you are looking for a job, write a better CV. If you want a relationship, go out and meet people. Or ask that person out for a date, etc.
In short, the Earth pile deals with the physical world we live in.
The Subjective World
This is the Etheric Realm, and it relates to man’s psychic abilities. Where we pick up each other’s thoughts and emotions. It relates to the part of us that feels, gets psychic hits and even project our own energy onto others. This is the invisible world around us that interpenetrates the physical. The level where we are dealing with auras, energies and thoughtforms. Franz Bardon calls this the Mental sphere.
If your significator is found in the Air pile it means that the point of focus is on your own mind. Your internal thoughts and feelings. As well as what energy you are projecting onto others, our auric fields. We are always radiating whatever is happening inside of us. So perhaps things aren’t going well because our thoughts and feelings are in a negative state. So we must fix that in order to deal with the problem.
Another possibility is that to solve your problem you need to be working at a subconscious level. Say for example the reading is about the negative environment at work, where everyone is grumpy and short tempered. If your significator is in the Air pile it could mean that you can deal with the issue by radiating acceptance and love to your co-workers in order to diffuse their own negative energy.
A potential remedy for problems in the Air pile is to charge a talisman for yourself or the querent which will act on them on an energetic level to help them manifest what they want.
The Symbolic World
This is the realm of symbols, archetypes and the unmanifested world. I see it as analogous with Briah but I may be wrong about that.
This is a deeper level of the Astral realm (otherwise known as the imagination), whereby everything you experience has a symbolic equivalent in your subconscious. Or in your dreams.
All your experiences, whether physical or internal, can be represented by a symbol in the imagination. We can see this in Jung’s theory of our dreams. Whereby everything in a dream is a representation of an aspect of ourselves, or our lives.
If your significator is in the Water Pile, it is a sign to that the issue needs to be dealt with in the Symbolic or dream world. This can be done via astral projection or pathworking. You ask your subconscious to give you a symbol of the problem, and then you change that symbol for the better. By doing so the effects will treacle down the Subjective World to manifest in the Objective World. Perhaps you need to enter the astral sphere of your client in order to make some changes in their subconscious mind. Sometimes a shamanic vision quest is in order in order to reclaim a lost part of our spirit.
This is the realm where most magick takes place. We see the mechanics of manifestation in the symbols of Chokmah and Binah, Energy and Form. With our thoughts we create a form for an idea. When we are consciously performing magic, we give a form to our desired goal. Then we energize that desire with focused intent or Will. Once enough energy has been imbued in the symbol, it will manifest itself in our lives. This is the essence of magick.
The Holistic World
The Holistic World is analogous to Atzulith on the Tree of Life. This is the highest spiritual realm where the Universe is experienced as one being. In this level of reality, we see our external and internal worlds as one collective whole. For this reason, what this means in practice is that by changing yourself, you could also change the world around you.
In practice this involves things like affirmations or any technique that changes the magicians themselves. I attribute this to the practice of invocation. If your significator is in th
e Fire pile it is a sign for you to enact a change in yourself.
You can invoke the energies of elements, planets, gods or whatever. Many practices fall into this category. You can do pentagram or hexagram rituals. The practice of Grokking or the assumption of Godforms also falls under this category.
For those who are inclined towards worship and prayer, the act of worshiping a deity is in fact a practice for changing oneself. Worship a God as a kind of role model to aspire to. In doing so you take on attributes of that deity in yourself.
Enochian Magick
For those who work the Enochian Magickal system, the First Operation can be used to inform your rituals. In the Golden Dawn version of Enochian Magick, the Four Watchtowers are assigned to the four elements, and so it is an easy translation into the OOTK spread. Where your significator is located can indicate which Tablet you should work with for example. And the prominence of various cards can show you whether to work with the angels of the subelements, the Kerubs or the planetary Seniors.
Concluding notes
I use both the Four Worlds and the Four Aspects attributions to the First Operation at the same time. I find that they are compatible to be combined in this way, and don’t feel the need to clearly predefine which system I’m using prior to the reading. Usually I either get an intuitive hit as to whether a reading is referring to the element (as in the four aspects) or the plane of existence (the four worlds), or the reading itself gives me clues as to which one it is.
As always, if you have another system that fits in your personal cosmology, feel free to customise the attribution of the four stacks. New attributions would crop up as you develop in your practice. It can even spontaneously emerge in the middle of a reading!
First Operation Example
I did not ask a question for this example reading. I trusted the cards to come up with what I need to hear at this time.
Yod: Prince of Swords
My thoughts cloud my sense of direction. The Airy nature of the Prince of Swords disperses my Fire even as it strengthens it[5]. I have been really active with trying to find a sense of higher purpose, to no avail.
Heh: Knight of Swords
My heart and desires will power my thoughts. By tapping into my feelings or intuition to gain a sense of direction. Thus far I have been putting the cart before the horse. Trying to think of a higher purpose through rationality does not work. I have to feel into what my purpose is and let that guide my thoughts. Be open and receptive.
Vau: 3 of Wands
Having received my inspiration from my HGA (note the solar attribution of this card) my mind will be active in a constructive and driven way. Uncertainty will be gone.
Heh: The Magician
If I am successful at this then I will be able to start stirring up some magick and manifest changes according to my Will.
My Story
Here’s a little bit of background to understand the narrative of this reading. For around two years now, I have been searching for a worthwhile goal to pursue. Soon after getting married I found myself at a loss as to what I want to do with my free time. I spent a lot of time reflecting, trying to figure out my life’s purpose. Gradually the insight came to me, and whilst I now have a limited understanding of my True Will in an abstract way, I wanted something more concrete.
Around two weeks ago since writing this passage, I decided to just let go of wanting to consciously know what my True Will is and just let life reveal itself to me whenever I’m ready. Stop trying to overanalyse things too much and just consciously feel into what excites me, and what activities feel truly fulfilling. I’ve been asking myself: what activities do I intrinsically enjoy, rather than grind through to achieve an arbitrary goal that only serves to soothe my ego?
As clichéd and New Age as this sounds, this has been working for me. All the thinking and reflecting in the world got me stuck in the same mental state for two years. Now that I’ve let go of that obsession, I finally feel that I’m making progress.
Tip
I usually lift up the top card of each stack and look at the card underneath it for my interpretations. Having a second card to interpret adds an extra layer of depth that I’ve found to be invaluable.
Analysing the String
Before we get to Card Counting and Pairing we can get more information from the string by analysing its broader patterns. What is the elemental balance of the String? Is there one element that is dominant? Is there three or four cards of a particular number? These are just some of the areas we can look at to extract more information from the cards.
When I started using the OOTK spread I analysed the overview of each string all the time. I was mainly reading for myself and therefore I could take as much time as I wanted. Going through every single aspect of just the First Operation would take me a whole hour. However most readers would not want to spend that amount of time for most readings. This also presents a challenge when giving a short reading to a client.
Generally I do not use this technique any more except for more important readings, and even then only for myself. I find that whilst the insight gained may be valuable, the relative value of these nuggets are small compared to the amount of effort gone into tallying up all the different types of cards. Having said that, analysing the patterns of the string really helps to form a context or lens through which to interpret the reading.
Typically when using the First Operation I will cut the cards, and read the top cards before proceeding to Card Counting from the significator towards the left. Generally I stop there, and the whole process takes me ten to fifteen minutes. Sometimes when I feel the need for more clarity I will also count towards the right from the significator. I tend not to analyse the string or look for unaspected cards unless I’m reading for myself or my client has paid for a full hour long reading. And even then I only do that when the reading is of significant importance to myself or the querent.
The reader is recommended to experiment with every technique to find which ones work best for you and develop your own unique combination of methods into your personal style of the OOTK.
THE GENERAL SIGNIFICATION OF THE MAJORITY OF A PARTICULAR SUIT AND OF THE PARTICULAR SIGNIFICATION OF EITHER 3 OR 4 CARDS OF A SUIT IN A READING
A majority of Wands: Energy, quarrelling, opposition
A majority of Cups: Pleasure and merriment
A majority of Swords: Trouble and sadness, sickness, or death
A majority of Pentacles: Business, money, possessions, etc.
A majority of Keys: Forces of considerable strength, but beyond the Enquirer’s control
A majority of Court Cards: Society, meeting with many persons
A majority of Aces: Strength often; aces are always strong cards
4 Aces: Great power and Force
3 Aces: Riches and Success
4 Kings: Great swiftness and rapidity
3 Kings: Unexpected meetings, shows news
4 Queens: Authority and influence
3 Queens: Powerful and influential friends
4 Knights: Meetings with the great
3 Knights: Rank and honour
4 Knaves: New ideas and plans
3 Knaves: Society of the young
4 Tens: Anxiety and responsibility
3 Tens: Buying, selling, commercial transactions
4 Nines: Added responsibility
3 Nines: Much correspondence
4 Eights: Much news
3 Eights: Much journeying
4 Sevens: Disappointments
3 Sevens: Treaties and compacts
4 Sixes: Pleasure
3 Sixes: Gain and Success
4 Fives: Order, regularity
3 Fives: Quarrels, fights
4 Fours: Rest and Peace
3 Fours: Industry
4 Threes: Resolution and determination
3 Threes: Deceit
4 Deuces: Conference and conversations
3 Deuces: Reorganization and restarting of a thing<
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The Keys are not noticed as above, by threes and fours.
Note
This list has been included in pretty much every Golden Dawn treatise on the tarot. It give us clues as to what we should be looking for.
Elemental Balance
The first thing we should do is count all of the cards in the string, and then tally up how many cards of each element there are. The elemental balance of a string tells us the overarching theme of the reading.
We can also combine this with the element of the actual string itself in order to come up with a more complex interpretation. For example a majority of Air cards in an Earth string would suggest financial trouble. Or a majority of Fire cards in a Water string could denote a very passionate relationship.
One way to interpret the elemental balances is to view imbalances as the causes of problems. So when Fire is lacking there is a lack of energy, for Water emotions etc. This can inform the reader on what to prescribe for the querent. What element to invoke in order to achieve elemental harmony in their lives.
Balance of Arcanas
Next we count up the type of cards and examine their balances. The original instructions seem to look at absolute majorities, which is a functional method. However if we bear in mind that a tarot deck is not split evenly between Majors, Courts and Minors, some readers may prefer a more relative method. Just because a string of cards can have mostly Minor arcana does not necessarily mean that it dominates the reading. After all there are more Minor cards than Majors or Courts! So the comparison is unfair.
Roughly speaking the ratios of these three categories to a full deck are 3:2:5.
