>>>Timing is a very intuitive thing with the tarot cards<<<

Very true. It all depends on the reader. The cards say to you what they say to you. They might say something completely different to someone else, but if you are the one doing the reading, it's what they say to you that counts.

As for timing, we can pin it down to approximately a ten-day period if we use the small cards to determine the sign and decanate. For reference, the suit references are as follows in the traditional teaching found in ceremonial magick: Wands, Fire signs; Cups, Water signs; Swords, Air signs; and Pentacles, Earth signs. The numbers of the small cards determine the precise sign and decanate. In wands, numbers 2, 3 and 4 in the suit cards are associated with Cardinal Signs and the decanates, in order, are respectively 1st, 2nd and 3rd. So a 3 of Wands indicates, Cardinal Fire, Aries and the second decanate, Mar. 31 to Apr. 10. The small cards numbered 5, 6 and 7 indicate the Fixed signs of the element with the decanates of that sign indicated by the 5 = 1st decan, 6 = 2nd and 7= 3rd. So the 5 of Pentacles gives us the 1st decan of Taurus, Apr. 21 through April 30. And, of course, the 8, 9 and 10 represent the 3 decans of the Mutable sign in the element of that suit. For Mutable Water, the sign is Pisces, So the 9 represents the 2nd decanate of Pisces, Mar. 1 through Mar. 10.

For those who don't have the signs memorized by Mode and Element--whatcha waiting for; this is your key to answering your querent's inevitable question, "When is all this going to happen?" So here's a table for you.

Cardinal Fire, Aries the Ram
Dec. 1: 2 of Wands, the Lord of Dominion, Mar. 21 - Mar. 30.
Dec. 2: 3 of Wands, the Lord of Virtue, Mar. 31 - Apr. 10.
Dec. 3: 4 of Wands, the Lord of Completion, Apr 11 - Apr. 20.

Fixed Earth, Taurus the Bull
Dec. 1: 5 of Pentacles, the Lord of Worry, Apr 21 - Apr. 30.
Dec. 2: 6 of Pentacles, the Lord of Success, May 1 - May 10.
Dec. 3: 7 of Pentacles, the Lord of Failure, May 11 - May 20.

Mutable Air, Gemini, the Twins
Dec. 1" 8 of Swords, the Lord of Interference, May 21 - May 31.
Dec, 2: 9 of Swords, the Lord of Cruelty, June 1 - June 10.
Dec. 3: 10 of Swords, the Lord of Ruin, June 11 - June 20.

Cardinal Water, Cancer the Crab
Dec. 1: 2 of Cups, the Lord of Love, June 21 - July 1.
Dec. 2: 3 of Cups, the Lord of Abundance, July 2 - July 11.
Dec. 3: 4 of Cups, the Lord of Luxury, July 12 - July 21.

Fixed Fire, Leo the Lion.
Dec. 1: 5 of Wands, the Lord of Strife, July 22 - Aug. 1.
Dec. 2: 6 of Wands, the Lord of Victory, Aug. 2 - Aug. 11.
Dec. 3: 7 of Wands, the Lord of Valor, Aug. 12 - Aug. 22.

Mutable Earth, Virgo the Maiden.
Dec. 1: 8 of Pentacles, the Lord of Prudence, Aug. 23 - Sept. 1.
Dec. 2: 9 of Pentacles, the Lord of Gain, Sept. 2 - Sept. 11.
Dec. 3: 10 of Pentacles, the Lord of Wealth, Sept. 12 - Sept. 22.

Cardinal Air, Libra the Balances.
Dec. 1: 2 of Swords, the Lord of Peace, Sept. 23 - Oct. 2.
Dec 2: 3 of Swords, the Lord of Sorrow, Oct. 3 - Oct. 12.
Dec. 3: 4 of Swords, the Lord of Truce, Oct. 13 - Oct. 22.

Fixed Water, Scorpio the Scorpion
Dec. 1: 5 of Cups, the Lord of Disappointment, Oct. 23 - Nov. 1.
Dec. 2: 6 of Cups, the Lord of Pleasure, Nov. 2 - Nov. 12.
Dec. 3: 7 of Cups, the Lord of Debauch, Nov. 13 - Nov. 22.

Mutable Fire, Sagittarius the Archer
Dec. 1: 8 of Wands, the Lord of Swiftness, Nov. 14 - Dec. 2.
Dec. 2: 9 of Wands, the Lord of Strength, Dec. 3 - Dec.12.
Dec. 3 10 of Wands, the Lord of Oppression, Dec. 13 - Dec. 21.

Cardinal Earth, Capricorn the Goat
Dec. 1: 2 of Pentacles, the Lord of Change, Dec, 22 - Dec. 30.
Dec. 2: 3 of Pentacles, the Lord of Work, Dec. 31 - Jan. 9.
Dec. 3: 4 of Pentacles, the Lord of Power, Jan. 10 - Jan. 19.

Fixed Air, Aquarius the Water Bearer
Dec. 1: 5 of Swords, the Lord of Defeat, Jan. 20 - Jan. 29
Dec. 2: 6 of Swords, the Lord of Science, Jan. 30 - Feb. 8.
Dec. 3: 7 of Swords, the Lord of Futility, Feb. 9 - Feb. 18.

Mutable Water, Pisces the Fishes
Dec. 1: 8 of Cups, the Lord of Indolence, Feb. 19 - Feb. 28.
Dec. 2:: 9 of Cups, the Lord of Happiness, Feb. 29 - Mar. 10.
Dec. 3: 10 of Cups, the Lord of Satiety, Mar. 11 - 20.

And that completes the round of the year. I know it looks a bit complicated and daunting at first, but it becomes much easier if you break it down into the factors, Mode: Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable. Element: Fire, Earth, Air, Water. Decans: 1, 2, 3. Once you uinderstand this thoroughly, it is relatively simple to determine the placement of each small card in terms of the time indicated. And remember, the cards and the decans overlap from the previous month to the principal month. So the 5, 6 and 7 of Wands refer to August prmarily, but the first decan of of each series falls into the end of the previous month, Leo in this case.

I hope this makes it clearer. I have found this very useful in determining dates of events and it has never failed me. In fact, I have given people dates on future events and had them tell me the date was impossible for various reasons, then come back later to confess that it came out just as predicted, but in a way they hadn't thought of at the time

With love under will,

Bob, Adastra,
The Wizzard of Jacksonville

>>>That's really not a wise way to use the cards<<<

Very true. I once did a reading for a woman at work who wanted to know if she should open a small sandwich shop. The reading suggested that such a project would require lots of help from her family and that the help simply wouldn't be available due to outside circumstances. She insisted that the whole family had promised to help her with this. Two weeks later, her husband had a heart attack that required a quadruple bypass. The entire family found themselves unbelievably busy for quite a long time. The querent was glad she hadn't taken on such an important project at that time.

A few days later a skeptic asked me if the reading had shown that the husband would be having a heart attack. When I answered, "No, it didnt'," she triumphantly asked my why it didn't show up if there was anything to Tarot. So I told her that knowing in advance about the illness would have been irrelevant, since the querent couldn't have done anything to prevent it. The only relevance was to her desire to start a business and, in that context, the answer had been sufficient. Sometimes a bit of common sense is required. If we want the answer to a specific question, we needn't ask about everything in store for the next six months or a year.

With love under will,

Bob, Adastra,
The Wizzard of Jacksonville

I wish I could remember what the spread said....sometimes I write down answers like I did last week about a really important decision about participating in a clinical trial. However, for the spread I am refering to in this question, I only remember card 6 and 10. The Hermit which lead to the Sun. The 2 of cups was in there in position 8 or 9, I believe. I didn't record it because I guess I didn't take it to heart. I believe in the tarot, but sometimes, I am a skeptic. They don't go together, I know! :)

Hi again dandy! OK, 2 things. 1, why is it so awful to ask this type of question about a loved one? Will the cards give false answers? And 2, I do remember what the cards 8-10 were for this reading. 8-2 of cups, 9-10 of wands, and 10 Ths Sun. And obviously 6 was the Hermit. Wish I could remember what 7 was. Thanks!

and thanks, Adasrta, for that astrological info
this is something I might look into
have resisted the idea that something we might actually sense
would come from such remote sources
but as you say, reading with skepticism can be enlightening
you can think you see the guideposts faintly lit
but you also recognize it may be an illusion

zb