Readers Studio (2010) Foundation Reading

One of the wonderful traditions of the Readers Studio is the “Foundation Reading” of the opening day wherein we pair up to do a reading for each other.  The intention is that we will repeat this reading with our partners at the end of the three-day event so that we can see the results of what we have learned.  Unfortunately, my reading partner was not available when we did the follow-up readings at the end of the event, so I only have available the reading done at the beginning.  Nevertheless, it’s an interesting one that I will share with you here.

My partner was Teressena Bakens and we used the deck that she and her husband created, The Fifth Tarot, which includes a fifth suit to represent the element Ether.  (No cards from the new fifth suit came up in our reading, however.)  My question was “How can I make my Tarot practice more successful?” and Teressena used an elemental spread.  The positional definitions, the cards dealt, and Teressena’s interpretations are as follows.  (Note that I have included the names of the cards as given in the Fifth Tarot deck along with their traditional analogs where they differ.)

1  (Fire) Elementor of Feathers (King of Swords)

Try to be more flexible so that you can breathe new life into your practice. Also, become more attuned to Divine Mind.  Think outside the box more.

2  (Earth) Nine of Fire (Nine of Wands)

There is something in your practice that is about to “erupt” with a lot of creative potential.  When it does, allow it to take its course.

3  (Air) Seven of Feathers (Seven of Swords)

Rely more on your intuition to solve business problems and less on logic.  Go with your gut feelings.

4  (Water) Strength

Something is about to be “birthed” so rely on inner strength to help that process.  Also, don’t second guess your intuitive guidance.  (Note that this advice echoes that of the prior two cards.)

5  (Ether) Ace of Fire (Ace of Wands)

This is a card of new beginnings. It recommends spending time gaining a vision of where you want your practice to go, and then access the energy to go there.

In general, there is a lot of fire (as well as air) in this reading. It says beware of burning out on new ideas, but do allow your creative self to be your guide.

Addendum:  A huge THANK YOU to my friend Marieke for scanning in an image of these cards and emailing it to me:

You can see more about Martien & Teressena Bakens’s deck, The Fifth Tarot, at their website.  Here are a few more images from that deck: