Inspired by the last two Month of Spreads‘ posts, I came up with a combo spread called the Evolving Self. It aims to give you a deeper look at your personality and point you in the direction of improving your life. Thanks, Tarotprose!
The first thing you need to do to read the Evolving Self spread is choose a temporary significator. (I picked the Lady because it usually refers to me in my readings.) After that, clear and shuffle your card until you are satisfied. Pull the top and bottom cards of the deck. These became your outer self and shadow self respectively. Finally, turn over the deck to look for your significator. The card on your left becomes what you need to let go of, with the card on your right becoming what you need to embrace.
Here’s what I got for the Evolving Self Spread, combining the Lenormand and Tarot meanings inherent in each card:
Outer Self – The Child – Knight of Swords – a good speaker; communicative; willing to speak up spontaneously and share my opinion at any time, sometimes even when it’s not wanted; eager; playful, open to new ideas
Inner Self – The Book – 10 of Pentacles – studious; dedicated to knowledge, secrets, and the occult; truly need personal space; works well alone
What I Need to Let Go – The Anchor – Nine of Swords – anxieties and insecurities that keep me anchored where I don’t want to be, stuck in a nightmare I choose not to leave because it is become the stable norm
What I Need to Embrace – The Tree – Seven of Cups – dreaming of the future; thinking of the long term; planning for my legacy
Read as a triplets:
Anchor + Lady + Tree = “A stable self endures.”
Child + Lady + Book = “A playful self knows.”
Summary –
If I was reading about someone else, I would say this is someone who comes off as being playful and funny in public but must then retire for time alone. The image of the Child playing with his hoop and the Wizard in his library are that different in tone to me. This says being able to play with a crowd well, but then sometimes kicking myself for what I say or commit to during that play, or for the gap between my dayside and nightside persona.
Perhaps it’s that gap that brings up the anxieties mentioned with the Anchor / Nine of Swords. It’s hard to have a secure self when you are afraid of showing your face, right? These cards suggest that I stop letting these anxieties hold me back and think about my long-term legacy instead. How do I want to be known? How do I want people to speak about me?
In reality, the personality that people describe will be a combination of the both my outer self that they sense consciously and the shadow sense that they sense only in half-formed and often ignored vibes. Sounds a lot like the First Impressions Spread I came up with a couple days ago. As I said in that entry, you could flip that spread around to take a look at your own personality. The Evolving Self spread hopefully explains how to do that.
Yet just because many people dismiss their intuitions doesn’t mean I have to discount mine. Perhaps we are only truly tuning into our highest selves when we can manifest the gifts our unconscious has to offer in day-to-day life.