A Major Method: Chaining Houses in the Tarot
So, I’ve done so much blogging and re-blogging about magic and pop polytheism lately, I thought I’d give a good ol’ tarot post. This is a method discovered from Facebook and it is based on the Grand Tableau used in Lenormand and Lenono readings. All you need are your Major Arcana cards...
Concentrate on your question.
Lay the cards out in the Chaining Spread, as shown above.
Identify which Major closely ties in with your question [ie, if you wonder about your love life your Major may be the Lovers; if you want to know about how to balance your home life versus your work, Temperance may be the one for you], this is your Filter Card.
Find your Filter Card Position in the spread [if your Filter Card is the Lovers -Numbered 6 (VI)- your Filter Card Position is 6]; flip the Filter Card.
Begin to Chain: Look at the Number of the Major you flipped up, the next part of your reading is in that card’s house. Go to the position of that card and flip up the card resting there.
Continue Reading until you feel your question is answered or either the Fool or the World are brought face up.
An example, by Colin Robertson of Tarot Rebels:
“The idea is to try and use the Tarot Majors in the format of a Lenormand Grand Tableau. As the picture shows, the spread positions/houses are the 22 Major Arcana cards. The majors are shuffled and placed face down in the spread order 0 - 21.
Now we assign themes... for example - My first question is work related. The problem is I have 2 'jobs'. My day job provides the means to live and keeps me grounded, while my Tarot activities are becoming more demanding of both time and energy. How do I balance them out?
Once I know what I'm asking, I need to decide which card would represent my query best. I'm thinking Temperance - a foot in both worlds, energy being transferred between both. My question is, How/where do I find the right balance. I turn the card in position 14(XIV - Temperance). It's The Moon (XVIII). I'm being very simplistic here, but what might come to mind is that I'm not seeing the full picture.
So, I go to the card in position 18, asking What do I need to be aware of, that's currently obscured? It's 2 - The High Priestess.
I could continue this chain until I feel that I have a complete answer. The same spread can then be left out for a different question. If they haven't already been revealed, cards 0 and 21 can be consulted at any point you feel they're relevant.”
What to look for to help your reading:
The direction figure are facing, either towards or away from one another
Which cards are on top or below other cards
Which cards are side by side
Which cards knight each other [think of a Chessboard, two cards over and one card up in any direction]