SPREAD: R.S.V.P. Spread

I did a web course about professional business writing. There was a series of questions that really leant themselves to a Tarot spread. The questions were simple.

• What is the situation/problem?
• Why is this document needed?
• Who is going to read it?
• What do those readers need to know?
• What action does the writer want the reader to take?

So I translated them into a spread to do when you aren’t sure about becoming involved in a situation. This goes back to my current theme of “just because someone invites you to an argument, you don’t have to go” which is a paraphrase from Bill Crawford, Ph. d.

In fact, the next time someone invites you to an argument, you might just send them a note: “Sorry, I can’t make it… to busy living life. Feel free to start without me.”

The R.S.V.P. Spread

First card: What is the situation/problem?
Second card: Why do you need/need not to respond to it?
Third card: Who will be affected most by your response (or lack of response) to it?
Fourth card: What critical information needs to be conveyed?
Fifth card: What response do you want from those who will be most affected?
Sixth card: Bottom line, do I RSVP yes or no?

My students, Meetup fellows and clients will all tell you that I don’t really like yes/no questions. It’s rather unusual for me to have one, but for this spread, I felt it was a necessary piece. When faced with this type of question, sometimes I still want a definitive answer.

I did this spread for a situation that is ongoing in my life. It was whether or not to take someone on who keeps, as they say in some parts of my world, gettin’ all up in my grill.

I’m using M.M. Meleen’s 2011 independently published Rosetta Tarot. It’s a deck that blends Rider Waite with the Thoth system. The art work appeals to me.

So my first card was the Queen of Cups. I see a woman staring at a reflection of herself. This makes me think of the Aesop’s fable where the dog carrying a yummy bone sees his reflection but thinks it is another dog. He decides he wants the other dog’s bone so he barks. Of course when he does, he loses his bone. This seems to say that the situation is an emotional person’s unfounded jealousy of me. From the LWB, “indicates the need to look at what the intuition is revealing, and decide if it is true or a projection.” Which is in keeping with my original thoughts about this issue.

Card number two is the Devil for the reason I need/need not to respond to this situation. I would hvae to say this serpent-wearing fella surrounded by mushrooms is a clear “need not” response. He holds a mirror in one hand and an hourglass in the other. I see him as uber-focused on himself and his own stuff. Plus all the mushrooms make me think of drug addictions! From the LWB, There may be ambition, desire, lust for power, and craving. Oh yeah, baby. That’s a true statement. Everything points to a jealousy issue here and someone who perceives themselves as powerless around me.

Then the third card addresses who will be most affected by my lack of response since I saw the Devil as a definite indication of don’t engage. Here I get the 10 of Wands which is Oppression in this deck (a definite nod to the Thoth system in the Minors here.) With the sharp items in this card and the dragon-headed spears, I am seeing …well, not much. I’m a bit stumped here. So is it my question or the card? LWB says, Optimism is crushed by authority, and one takes on a burden that feels stifling. Hmmm. I think this says that I am the one who will be most affected by my lack of response. By not responding to this individual, I do minimize the ripple damage effect but I take a lot of it on myself. And it is stifling. I do feel as if I am about to crack at times. I just want to lash out and give back what this individual has put out.

So what critical information needs to be conveyed? The fourth card says Valour, the 7 of Wands. Interesting to see two Wands in a row. I see this as my maintaining my victorious position. Geez, that makes me sound big-headed, doesn’t it? But I think it is my knowledge that my personal methodology of seeking joy in all things is what’s keeping me out of this person’s cesspool. From the LWB, We must find courage within ourselves to prevail. So I think that means that I keep silent and keep documenting. I can do that.

We return to Cups for the fifth question of what response do I want from those who will be most affected. Well, if I am right and I am the wone who will be most affected by my lack of response, then the Prince of Cups is a lovely answer. He is in the Knight’s position with the Thoth court system. I see a young person who is controlling their own emotional response (the serpent in the cup) by maintaining their work on their own enlightenment (lotus in the right hand). So basically, I need to focus my emotional journey on my spiritual self. From the LWB, the need to recognize feelings (water) and express them through words (air). Huh. That is hand-in-hand with my thoughts. Liking this deck more and more. The artwork and symbols work for me.

For the last question of the bottom line, I get the Prince of Disks as the sixth card. So two knights in a row, eh, Rosetta? Here I see a young man in a chariot. The bull seems to be going one way but the chariot wheels are going another. Looks like someone better focus on the task at hand. So that seems to be a definite no since I am already on the “radio silence” frequency with this person. From the LWB, as a situation it shows a perisistent potent impulse, a pragmatic path and consistent progress which makes a bit more sense than my interpretation on this one but still says no is the right answer.

So, do you have any invitations that you need to investigate? Are you wasting your energy RSVPing for situations that would be better for everyone if you just said no? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Feel free to do this on your own blog. I would appreciate a link back here of course. I don’t want to issue you an invitation to a discussion about copyright. 😀

Check out the Rosetta Tarot. I know why it was the Aeclectic top pick of the year.