Yesterday we introduced the four Elements. I asked you to practice two main techniques. The first one was to simply recognise what Element applied to what Tarot card. The second technique was to add a keyword to that Element, and to work on reducing the time it took for you to deal a card, name the card and two keywords or DMs associated with that card; and also the Element along with a keyword for that Element.
In this post we will add one or two new concepts to the Elements and then apply that to a two card Tarot reading.
Do you remember when I mentioned that the four Elements were like the glue that holds the Tarot together? I want to take a moment to expand on that point before I introduce some new concepts on the Elements.
The four Elements bind the Tarot together and provide it with its structure. Philosophically, they actually provide the whole Universe with its structure and the Tarot simply symbolises this. However, if it was possible for the four Elements to completely bind together, then nothing in the whole Universe would be able to move, or change for that matter. This is a very important point that I would like you to think about over the next couple of days.
There are two really important dynamics that the Elements bring to a Tarot reading. First, they are constantly trying to achieve a perfect balance and like I mentioned before, should they succeed, everything would cease. The second important dynamic is that they cannot achieve perfect balance because some of the Elements are not compatible with each other. This constant tension or flux helps to ensure a slight separation between them and also allows things to change, progress, go ‘backwards’ and so on.
Check out the relationship the Elements have with each other:
- Fire and Water are enemies; they weaken each others influence
- Air and Earth are enemies; they weaken each others influence
- All other possible combination’s are friendly to each other
- Fire and Air are active, dynamic influences
- Water and Earth are passive influences
When you read the words, “…are enemies of each other”, you might come to the conclusion that this sounds like an unnatural dynamic. On the contrary, as I mentioned above, this very dynamic is what allows change to be brought into your life; for surprises to be brought into your life. This dynamic is what prevents the four Elements from ever achieving perfect harmony or balance.
What I want you to recognise most of all is the tension or flux that exists between the Elements; that this tension, in some senses is what drives the Whole Universe, it provides the force to overcome that which cannot be overcome. They are constantly seeking a perfect harmony and are never able to achieve this. It is a paradox and a tension that exists within every moment of our lives and within every Tarot reading you will ever do.
In a Tarot reading, we will always look at the Elemental make-up of the cards first, before ever looking at the DMs. We will do this for two reasons: Firstly, we want to know how the Elements are trying to achieve a perfect harmony within the client’s life. We want to know this because we want to see were the Elements are having problems compensating from a lack or excess of a particular Element. This will provide us with valuable information on how to ‘predict’ future trends.
For example, imagine a 10 card Celtic Cross spread (I will be explaining how to use a Celtic Cross spread near the end of this tutorial series) that has only 2 Fire cards and 1 Air card. We know then, that the other 7 cards are passive influences. We can see at a glance that the passive influence within the spread is excessive and we know the Elements will be trying to compensate for this lack of balance through the influence of the 2 Fire and 1 Air cards. Without even looking at the DMs of the cards, we know that within the clients life change is needed; we know that the situation has probably been like that for a while and that things are unlikely to change in the short term. We might also suspect a negative mental attitude or a type of depression at work.
The second reason we look at the influence of the four Elements within a Tarot reading is to see where the point of change occurs. The reason we can find that point of change is because this is the point of Elemental tension and flux I talked about earlier (this technique really comes into its own with the Opening of the Key spread). We simply have to find the point in which we think the Client will start to visibly notice change brought about through this tension.
Remember, although the Elements can never achieve a perfect harmony, they can come very close. Naturally, because the relationships between the Elements don’t allow things to remain still for any length of time, these situations are relatively short lived; the only constant in the Universe is change.
Let’s look at the same set of cards we dealt out when we first practiced doing a two card Tarot reading, and see how the influences of the Elements can change the ’story’ we tell the client.
Example Two Card Readings Using The Four Elements
Last time, I said these two cards represented profound debt. Let’s take a step back and look at what influences the Elements are having and what information we can gather from that alone. Firstly, we know that Air and Earth are enemies of each other. We know that they weaken each others influence and provide a neutralising effect. This means that no action, because the combined Elements are now neither Active nor Passive, will be taken by the client. Essentially this combination of Elements represents nothing changing. Also, we can use our imaginations and say that Air is being trapped by Earth; it wants to break free but can’t – the landscape won’t allow it.
How are the four Elements trying to achieve a perfect harmony?
The missing Elements are Fire and Water; Fire brings change and Water brings enjoyment and life to a situation. The lack of these two Elements suggests that this is how they will try and re-balance themselves. The lack of Fire, in other words, the lack of anything changing, will place the client under enormous strain to change their circumstances; it could also imply that things outside of the clients control will also be subject to this influence. This could be the ‘outside’ help that will assist the client. The lack of Water, in other words, the lack of enjoyment or (water is what allows life to exist) the lack of ‘life’ the client will have suggests an unbearable, and depressing situation. Notice how the Elements are placing the client under enormous strain, how enjoyment of life has been removed. This is the pressure point that the Elements are using to try and achieve a perfect balance.
Last time, when I combined these two cards I said, marriage!
Elementally, this is a good combination. The Elements are friendly to each other and the influence of Earth (Hierophant) provides a grounding and supportive platform for the changes the Fire Element wants to bring. Interestingly, we have an active Element and a passive Element. This suggests that nothing major will change or happen. However, when we combine the DMs with the cards we could imagine a situation where this is the culmination of past efforts. Also, with the Earth providing that supportive and stabilizing influence, we could imagine a situation that will be very enjoyable for some time – nothing major is changing at this point.
Last time, I said that this person will be moving abroad.
Again we have two Elements that have a neutralising influence on each other. However, this is one of those times when the Fool can represent the influence of Spirit as opposed to Air. In this sense, this combination of Elements will breathe new life into the clients future.
Last time I said I would be inclined to say we cannot trust this man in matters of love.
Elementally, we have a neutralising influence again. This is an interesting combination because it involves a Court card. I usually attribute the cards next to a Court card as defining that person to some extent. In this sense we can see that Air defines his Watery nature. This implies somebody who either needs to use their minds to think through how they feel or how they feel influences how they think. The very nature of this combination implies mixed signals. They are mixed because Elementally, this person is still working them out. When we combine that with the DMs of the cards we can see that this person is using the Seven of Swords to help him think things through. This card is deceitful, combined with the Elements we have a person who relies on deceitful methods to get what he wants from a relationship.
Last time, I said this combination might indicate a new found independence.
Here we have two Active cards. This implies change and unpredictability (change is often unpredictable). The Air could be guiding the actions of Fire; it will also be providing it with the oxygen to keep the flames burning bright. However, notice the lack of Earth as fuel. This implies that this action will burn itself out eventually. When we add in the DMs to the picture we get the sense that this person will achieve what they are looking for before the fuel is gone. A good set of cards but the lack of Water suggests that the person will be ignoring how they feel, and perhaps the feelings of others as they achieve what they need to.
Last time, I mentioned risk taking behaviour and betrayal. The Water and Air Elements produce a neutralising influence where no changes will occur at this time. Air and Water often lend themselves to viewing the cards as representing an ‘inner psychology’ of the client, or the people around the client. In this case, we see Air thinking about how they feel (Water). Certainly, this would indicate negative thought processes and reckless actions. The lack of change I mentioned above is related to the fact that this ’set of behaviours and thought process’ will continue for some time. The overall feeling will be unhappiness, and an inability to feel settled.
Last time, I said “The Four of Swords indicates somebody who has retreated from the world and the Eight of Wands indicates rapid events. Perhaps we are seeing somebody who is being forced from their isolation.”
The Air and Fire combination is a very active and changeable influence. Things will not stay the same and when ever we see this combination we must expect changes, both in terms of how the person sees things and in terms of their circumstances.
I know this is a lot to take in but if you can try and take a step back and just use the few keywords and associations that we have learned, these techniques will begin to provide strong foundations for your future career as a Tarot reader.
Tomorrow we look at reversed cards in a Tarot reading and over the next couple of posts we will be building up our understanding of the Elements and seeing how they influence our client’s life.
In the meantime, I’d like you to continue the practice sessions we have already put in place but, if you feel ready, start interpreting the influence of the Elements first, before you look at the influence of the DMs.
This post is part of the Beginners Tutorial To Reading Tarot Cards.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I noticed that you mentioned before in your Air and Fire example how they didn’t have Earth to provide the fuel and it got me thinking. Obviously, you are doing a two-card reading here, so it is impossible to get more than two elements at any given time. Do you think there are instances where two cards might not be sufficient? I’m just wondering this because it seems to me that the lack of certain elements in a spread definitely means something, but with only two cards there will always be at least two elements missing. I guess I’m just thinking this would drastically alter the reading as opposed to something like a Celtic Cross spread. Or do you think you would get similar results? Sorry for the long question, I’m trying to wrap my head around a lot of these concepts. Thanks much for the great articles!
HI Dan,
Yes, most of the time two cards are not enough. It’s a good question, and I think the fairest way to answer it is by simply saying that more cards allows for more accuracy. Don’t do a two card reading. The minimum would be three. Three cards allows you to look for missing or excessive elemental influences, that when factored into a Tarot reading, adds a lot of depth.
I would advise that you practice with two cards because it really does help to develop your understanding of the Elements in Tarot. The same goes with Three cards.
Check out this post, Two card Combination – Elemental Dignities Compendium, for a look at how to use two cards, or rather, two Elements at the end of a Tarot reading. The basic idea is to pair the cards from whatever spread you’ve been using (the Celtic Spread as an example) at the very end of the reading.
I hope that helps, and thanks again for your kind words