Secondary Triads
We’ve already gleaned a lot of information from the original nine Tarot cards in my reading, but wouldn’t it be great if we could actually pinpoint the trouble zones in more detail?
We can do just that with Secondary Triads. These are essentially the triads that are not in any linear formation – hence their shapes are triangular. They tell a more detailed story not so easily found through regular Tarot reading.
In Part Two of this Tutorial Series, I highlighted the main triads so you could apply elemental dignities to them and enrich your Tarot reading. In this post, Part Three, what I really want to do is show you where the remaining triads are and how you can use them successfully to zoom in on any particular area or card in your reading that you want to examine further.
In Part Two, the spotlight fell on the central card in our reading, the Six of Cups. In this post, we will examine the dreaded Tower in greater detail using secondary triads and elemental dignities. We will also be looking at timing this Tower event so we can have a greater idea of the when, not just the what. First things first though – let’s look for those triads.
Locating the remaining triads in my reading
The first place we will look is at the centre of the layout and reading. Check all triads whose centres fall on the centre card – card number eight…
…there are four of them, and they are…
7 – 8 – 5
2 – 8 – 7
9 – 8 – 2
5 – 8 – 9
…check the triads whose central cards fall onto the outer corners…
…there are four, one for each corner…
7 – 4 – 5
2 – 1 – 7
9 – 3 – 2
5 – 6 – 9
…and finally, the biggest set of triads – those with their centre card in the middle position of the outer edges. What’s interesting about these triads is they each have one modifier that is the very centre card of layout – card number 8…
…there are eight of these in total, and they are:
4 – 7 – 8
1 – 7 – 8
1 – 2 – 8
3 – 2 – 8
3 – 9 – 8
6 – 9 – 8
6 – 5 – 8
4 – 5 – 8
Some of you may be wondering about the necessity of this amount of analysing. I will reiterate at this point, that the purpose of this post is to make you aware of all the possibilities so you may quickly assess the cards. Remember we will have already performed our tarot reading, and at this point, we will be seeking to add some extra meat to the bones of that reading by making sure we’ve covered every angle. This can help if there’s one card in particular that you want to examine further, you now know you can and by all of its possible configurations.
Why it’s Helpful To Check Everything – Examining the Tower
I have championed the need to check all possible triads and while that’s not always practicable, it certainly has its uses if you want to examine one particular card further. Let’s do that now with the Tower.
It’s involved in six triads and is weak in three of them, neutral in two and strong in only one. It’s a central card in only one triad, the one it’s strong in – it’s a modifier in every other situation, something else to down play its significance. We still cannot ignore it or its influence though – it will no doubt deal me a dramatic blow, but it looks less likely to be quite as devastating as I had first interpreted.
For a clue as to where the Tower might bring me trouble, we need to look at the triads where it’s strongest.
The following illustration shows the Tower in its strongest triad, and the one of most interest to us. The reason being simply that these cards are having the biggest effect on each other because of their location to each other. The cards connected to the Tower through those triads tell the story of where the Tower has the most influence.
This is an interesting triad and I’m glad it contains contradictory cards as it gives us the chance to examine this phenomena a little further. Elementally, the Tower as central card, is support by both modifiers.
The Princess of Disks (earth) is neutral to the Tower (fire), not really affecting it at all, while the Six of Wands (fire) is strengthening it. The contradiction comes from the Victory of the Six of Wands and the destructive nature of the Tower – how can they be supporting each other?
It’s important to remember that elemental dignities seeks to determine the significance of the central card, and so elementally, the Six of Wands is giving significance to the Tower. The Princess of Disks is neutral to it – imagine her taking a back seat and saying “yeah, whatever.”
Bringing in the divinatory meanings
In a divinatory sense, all these cards are still significant as a combination and this is where you will no doubt feel the contradiction the most. So as a combination, what could we say about them? Try these on for size:
- Success comes after making drastic personal changes to your plans
- A catalystic event that creates better opportunities in its wake, revealing a more conducive atmosphere for creative growth
- A personal tragedy or dramatic change of circumstances that you overcome, giving you the strength and impetus to succeed
Any one of those interpretations could be ahead of me, and there are of course, others. Either way, something is going to change for me, or something has to, or I will be faced with some form of personal or professional tragedy or upheaval. It’s all still a little vague though, isn’t it?
Let’s have a look at the neutral triads to see if we can get closer to finding out where or what this dramatic event may be.
Well it’s plain to see that the only money cards in my reading (Disks, Pentacles, Earth), are in these two triads – with the Tower. It’s also necessary to say that the Tower is only a modifier in each case. However, as I’ve said in the other posts, when a Tarot card appears in your reading, it’s there for a reason.
I think it’s now safe to say my troubles are connected to money, or as more appropriately noted now, the lack of it or the loss of it. That certainly seems true when you consider the Seven of Disks can mean a delay in reward/payment. The money comes eventually (Six of Wands) but is it too late for me financially? Does the Tower indicate some form of other employment in the mean time until my business plans begin to pay off? The other money/business card is the Three of Disks. More concerned with the work itself, does this also mean, in a more indirect manner, that I have to change my working life or patterns for now?
The Princess of Disks certainly suggests I will overcome all of these issues, but ultimately, does it take too long? The Tower doesn’t look so scary now – in fact, it looks to me like a friend telling me like it is. If I haven’t been paying attention to other warning signs, I’m listening now.
On a more empowering note, the most important triad for me is the this one:
This triad gives me the most hope during my reading, where the Tower’s concerned. It’s less about the cancelling effect from the Six of Cups (fire and water respectively) and more about the power of the Princess of Disks, because in this reading, she represents me. She triumphs during the whole reading, but is particularly owning her stomping on the Tower, keeping it firmly in its place – she does indeed represent me overcoming my fears and challenges, and coming up with creative and effective solutions to all that I will face. Which is the kind of outcome I like.
Timing the Tower Event
Timing is something that I deliberately left out of the first two parts of this Tutorial Series, as I wanted to show you the mechanics of using the Signature Spread and the Magic Square to its full advantage. After such deep examination of my Tarot reading in this post, the next natural step would be to look at what timing is being shown in this spread.
Using the Golden Dawn system of astrology and the 36 decanates of the Minor Arcana, my initial private interpretation was:
- I actually put my plans into action in around the New Year (Three of Disks: Dec 31 – Jan 9 / 10-20 Capricorn)
- It’s a while, May in fact, before I see a satisfactory return for my efforts (Seven of Disks: May 11 – May 20 / 20-30 Taurus)
- My plans finally begin to pay off and I’m seeing excellent returns for my personal investments in August (Six of Wands: Aug 2 – Aug 11 / 10-20 Leo)
That is all totally feasible, but what about the Tower? It isn’t associated with an astrological zodiacal sign like other Major Arcana cards to give an indication of time, so how can we work this out further? Well, one thing we do know about the Tower is it’s actions are usually swift and occur pretty quickly – any time soon. That doesn’t help though, but we can find the answer with the Six of Cups.
Throughout the reading, the Six of Cups presented itself as the outcome card, which is great news! Only its astrological timing is not close to the time line I initially decided upon with the Three of Cups, the Seven of Disks and the Six of Wands. In actual fact, its astrological time frame is pretty close to us now:
- Six of Cups: Nov 3 – Nov 12 / 10-20 Scorpio
If I’m going to experience the happiness of the Six of Cups soon, and the Tower event is going to happen before it, then my ‘Tower moment’ is imminent – it will be before November 12th!
Now before I let myself get carried away and get the valium ready, I must keep this in perspective as this Tower moment is followed by happiness, a period of time when I will be able to relax a little and enjoy good times once again. Perhaps it’s this Tower event that prevents me from actually putting my plans into action until the New Year; but once I have my new direction, so dramatically given to me by the Tower, I can then watch the initial time frame unfold. It’s still a long time before my blog is supporting me, but at least I got the obstacles out of the way allowing for a smoother ride.
Final Thoughts on the Magic Square
What may seem like a lot of work initially, with practice, checking individual cards in this manner will become second nature. The process becomes unconscious – you will find yourself doing this anyway! I spent only a few minutes quickly analysing this reading using elemental dignities.
The beauty of this exercise was the extra information that we gathered about the Tower and it’s forthcoming effect in my life. In the very first reading in Part One, the Tower looked ominous and really put a negative vibe on the plans I’ve been making to monetize my blog and build my online business. Now while I will still experience ‘a Tower moment’, I now know it’s restricted to my finances, so I will be paying more attention to that area of my life and my plans.
I also know that this Tower event will happen before November 12th and will be over as quickly as it started. In some senses, I’m kind of excited about it – something significant is going to change: these surely are exciting times!
Now as brilliant as the Signature Spread is, we would never have gleaned this information from the original reading. Elemental dignities adds an another dimension to your Tarot readings that I feel enhances them incredibly. By singling out the troublesome cards, in my case the Tower, and what area of my life it will affect me, I have also been able to pinpoint the timing of this event. Pretty awesome eh?!
Also remember that you can start your reading using the Signature Spread and if there’s a particular card you want to examine further, just move the ninth card to the right to create the Magic Square, this will allow you to dig deeper into yours, or your client’s situation, providing them with a detailed and thorough Tarot reading that will impress them time and again.
Thank you for taking this journey with me – presenting and examining the Signature Spread and the Magic Square has been great fun for me – I hope you enjoyed it too :)
The Signature Spread Tutorial Series Index
- The Tarot Elements Signature Spread
- Having Fun With The Magic Square© – The Tarot Elements Signature Spread©
- The Magic Square©: Secondary Triads and Timing
