Integrating the Five Components of Circumstance into Tarot Practice

1. F O R E D U C A T I O N A L P U R P O S E S O N L Y Integrating the Five Components of Circumstance into Tarot Practice An Intermediate Course in Tarot Robin Wood Tarot Instructor: Benebell Wen

2. Public domain stock photography. Attribution unavailable. Growing up in the Chinese culture, especially in a family connected to East Asian metaphysics, this phrase will have come up… Yi: Ming. Er: Yun. San: Feng Shui. Si: Ji Yin De. Wu: Du Shu. yīmìngèryùnsānfēngshuǐsìjīyīndéwǔdúshū

3. What does this maxim mean? The maxim is a cornerstone tenet in many East Asian esoteric schools. Traditional Chinese sycee or lucky gold ingots • It expresses a traditional Chinese cosmological principle… • Success in human affairs is based on five circumstances: • Fate • Luck • Feng Shui • Karma • Education Yi: Mìng. Er: Yùn. San: FēngShuǐ. Si: JiYīnDé. Wu: DúShū.

4. THE FIVE COMPONENTS • Fate: The circumstances you were born with. Ex. Being born into a wealthy family in the Northeast. • Luck: The degree to which events align with your objectives. Ex. A speeding car collides into your parked car…five minutes before the most important interview of your life. • FengShui: Aligning and harmonizing your personal energy with the energies of your environment and surroundings. Ex. Arranging your home in a way that allows optimal flow of Qi to bring in the optimal flow of opportunities to you. • Karma: The accounting of your past acts and the consequences, positive or negative, on your present and future. Ex. Helping out a stranger in a parking lot, which triggers a chain of events that leads back to a different stranger helping you out in your time of need. • Education: The knowledge and experiences you acquire that empower you and enable you to make better life decisions. Ex. Teaching yourself how to read tarot and using tarot for optimized use of your intuitions.

5. 1: FATE is an important concept in Eastern thought. • Some are born kings. • Some are born paupers. • You are born with certain talents and gifts and your fate is to apply those talents and gifts to accomplish a greater purpose that will help complete the design of the universe. • 2:LUCK determines the ease or difficulty of manifesting your Fate. • Fate is what you are born with, but not what will happen for sure. • Luck plays a critical role in whether you accomplish your greater purpose. Art by Lun Tan. Source: sooxue.com • The motions of others and that interplay with your life could yield good luck to expedite you toward your goal or bad luck to further hinder your progress. • Hit with bad luck, a king can become a pauper. Hit with good luck, a pauper can become a king. • Fate is fate. It is Luck that forms the terrain of our life path.

6. Alishan Mountains, Taiwan • 3: FENG SHUI is the theory of how well your environment supports you. • The many physical forces affecting the earth will in turn affect your person. Understanding those physical forces will help you navigate life with the wind behind your back, rather than sail against the wind. • Note that fengshui is an entire body of science that warrants its own focused study. For the scope of this course, fengshui is simply the compatibility between the Querent, his or her environment, and the Querent’s objectives. • 4:KARMA scores your conduct. It is the series of cause and effect. • Give good, receive good. Give evil, receive evil. • You can tweak your own luck by creating good in the world. • Compassion, benevolence, and acts of kindness help to change your luck for the better. • In a sense, luck and karma are directly proportional.

7. Photo Credit: Matthew Hine • 5: EDUCATION is considered the most important of the five components. • Knowledge plus action overtakes fate, luck, fengshui, and karma. • Tarot practice is education. Learn how to make adjustments in your life with tarot as a tool for calibrating your personal five components formula. Knowing the formula is knowing what it takes for you to accomplish your goals.

8. I Ching Dead Moon Tarot by Luis Royo The meaning of the Five Components principle is this: There is a specific formula for success that is deeply personalized according to how the five components of circumstance align in your life. Achievement is based on how well you have applied that formula.

9. Applying the Five Components to a Tarot Reading Tarot Illuminati by Dunne and Huggens

10. To illustrate the Five Components application, a case study will be used: Note that basic RWS card interpretation and the Celtic Cross spread will not be discussed, assuming intermediate tarot proficiency. The Celtic Cross spread is used to minimize explanation, since it is widely familiar. Only the technique of identifying the Five Components in a tarot spread is explained in this course. Begin by studying this spread. Which cards, based on face and positioning, seem to denote the Querent’s Fate? Five Components analysis supplements a tarot reading. In the course of a Reader’s regular reading, an integration of insights into a Querent’s (1) Fate, (2) Luck, (3) Feng Shui, (4) Karma, and (5) Education can enhance a reading. Rider Waite Tarot by U.S. Games Systems

11. ORANGEmarks the cards most insightful about the component at hand. YELLOW marks the cards that overlap with other of the five components. 1. Fate • 2 of Cups, Rev: Neglecting personal relationships, tensions in marriage due to intense focus on advancing career or professional position. • Note: Ace of Swords blocking the 2 of Cups and pointing straight for the Emperor. The Emperor suggests a desire to overthrow current powers to become seated as that power. Querent is highly ambitious. • 3 of Wands, Rev: Fear of carelessness, plotting every detail for perfection. • 9 of Pentacles: Strong focus on career and neglect of people is due in part to Querent’s fundamental nature: a solitary individual who pursues development of personal economy rather than development of personal relationships. • [The Hierophant: Also denotes Education. Here, fate intertwined with a traditional academic upbringing. Querent is one born to work with the mind, rather than the body or heart.] NOTE: Under most interpretive schools, the Wheel of Fortune is often associated with the concept of Fate and Karma. While that interpretation here is also correct, I’ve interpreted it, based on positioning and spread context, to be more indicative of Feng Shui, though its purpose here also overlaps with messages about the Querent’s Luck and Karma.

12. Two Approaches to Examining Fate One Approach Alternative Approach Fate is represented by the linear, chronological path Querent has walked, the reconciliation of past, present, future. Fate is revealed in the current cross-section of Querent’s life, the manifestation of decisions made to date.

13. ORANGEmarks the cards most insightful about the component at hand. YELLOW marks the cards that overlap with other of the five components. 2. Luck Ace of Pentacles: Fortuitous enough in past to receive gainful offers. Presented with great opportunities right from the beginning. Ace of Swords: Conquest. Ace points straight at The Emperor, reversed. The Emperor, Rev.: Overthrow of incumbent authority figure. Querent herself will become the authority figure. [Wheel of Fortune: As referenced earlier, here the card denotes Feng Shui (because of card positioning in the Celtic Cross, i.e., Querent in environment), but it also reveals insights into the Querent’s Luck and Karma. Here, her Fate is intertwined with a traditional academic upbringing (suggested by the Hierophant) and a somewhat more conventional or standardized way of thought. Querent is one born to work with the mind, rather than the body or heart. Querent is one more likely to work with the norm than work against it.]

14. Scenario #1, Q&A Say that in the course of the reading, the Reader asks the Querent what her ultimate goal is. The purpose of asking is to use the tarot spread and Five Components to determine how far or close the Querent is to achieving her goal. Reader: What is your ultimate goal in life? Querent: Career success. I want to ascend to the highest echelons of my profession. FATE & LUCK If it could be quantified, Querent’s Fate and Luck factors for her goal are auspicious. - + • Emperor, Rev.: Overthrow current boss • Ace Pentacles: Lucky opportunities • 7 Pentacles: Work ethic • Sun: Glory, success, high attainment Reader:Success comes to you like second nature. All five components are well-aligned to assure accomplishment.

15. Scenario #2, Q&A What if the Querent’s goal is not career success, but rather she is looking for love? Reader: What is your ultimate goal in life? Querent: I want to find true love. FATE & LUCK In Scenario #2, Fate and Luck are not supportive of Querent’s goal. She must nurture Feng Shui, Karma, and Education to improve her chances at finding love. - + • 2 Cups, Rev.: Marriage tensions; work-life imbalance; Neglecting spouse • General lack of domestic sphere cards Reader:When it comes to love, Fate and Luck are not on your side, so you have to reposition yourself constantly to attain the success you want. Too much emphasis on work life will bring career success, not romance. Strike a balance and devote more of your energies to nurturing relationships.

16. 3. Feng Shui 2 of Cups, Rev.: Neglect of personal relationships. Tensions in the domestic sphere. Ace of Swords: Covering the 2 of Cups, Querent’s cutthroat ambitions have an adverse effect on her love life. In Scenario #1, Querent need not make any major adjustments to her environment. She is already on the fast track to achieving her goal. Miniature Rider Waite Tarot by U.S. Games Systems FENG SHUI EFFORTS For Career Goals: Wheel of Fortune: Position here denotes environmental factors. Feng shui factors favorable: serendipity. Querent’s personal Qi and the universe’s cosmic Qi align. For Love & Romance: However, in Scenario #2, Querent needs to make significant adjustments to her environment to enhance fengshui harmony. Otherwise she will be hard-pressed in achieving her goal of love.

17. 4. Karma KARMIC ACCOUNT TO CASH IN FOR ACHIEVEMENT POSITIVE BALANCE For Career Goals: 9 of Pentacles: Prosperity and material well-being, but solitary enjoyment of it. - + For Love & Romance: NEGATIVE BALANCE - + Past acts of Querent paved the way for attaining career goals, but not in love. Cards here suggest neglect of personal relationships overall, not just romantic. Note how Querent’s spread is sparsely populated. Where are her friends and family? Nurture positive karma with friends and family to improve position for attaining the goal of love. 7 of Pentacles: Past diligence and toil results in promotion and harvest.

18. ORANGEmarks the cards most insightful about the component at hand. YELLOW marks the cards that overlap with other of the five components. 5. Education 3 of Wands, Rev.: Past experience of failures, albeit minor ones, taught Querent to be highly attuned to details. Querent nurtured herself into a perfectionist. The Hierophant: Traditional education. University educated, perhaps higher degrees obtained. Also suggests a Querent who sticks to the norms. Motivated by societal approval. The Sun: Gaining recognition and accolades. High achievement. Toils denoted in the 7 of Pentacles will be rewarded. In this card position, denotes fierce ambition. Motivated to educate herself because Querent hungers for success. [Ace of Pentacles: Also denotes Luck and Karma. Here, it is related to Education because Querent seized the opportunities presented by Luck and Karma to otain the needed knowledge and experience leading her down the path of the Ace of Swords and Emperor.] [7 of Pentacles:Here, it is related to The Hierophant: Querent must be someone studious, intellectual, academically gifted, and has worked hard in her university studies.] If the goal is Career, Querent is at the peak of her educational development. But if the goal is Love, Querent still has much to learn. Querent lacks experience. If the goal is Love, Querent has yet to experience and answer for herself: What is Love?

19. The Five Components is a framework for interpreting a tarot spread. Thus, it can be applied to any spread at all, and can even be used to analyze one-card readings. KARMA FATE LUCK These cards tend to suggest that matters of Fate are at issue. FENG SHUI EDUCATION My interpretation will differ from yours. Be guided by your own intuition when applying the Five Components.

20. Not groundbreaking. All very intuitive. Just different vocabulary. Improving your vocabulary improves your ability to express the full range of your ideas and emotions. The Five Components framework enhances the reader’s tarot approach by pinpointing the strengths and weaknesses of a Querent’s variables of success. Thoth Tarot

21. Assessing a Querent’s FIVE COMPONENTS Through Signifier (or Significator) Analysis Before a reading has even begun, broad insights based on a Querent’s Signifier (or Significator) card can shed light on the Querent’s Five Components formula. The Rider Waite deck by U.S. Games Systems

22. The Five Components & Court Cards • Fate: Fire personalities are born leaders, hunters; the planners and architects of society. Innovators. • Luck: For those governed by Fire, finding balance is a constant struggle; prone to extremes. • Fengshui: Fire or Wood personalities. • When Fire: Supported by Wood. Conflicts with Metal and dominates. Conflicts with Water, but Water dominates. • When Wood: Supported by Water. Conflicts with Earth and dominates. Conflicts with Metal, but Metal dominates. • Karma: Give and take by creation and destruction. Builds others up, but can also tear them down. • Education:Creative fields, artisans, working with hands, shop trades, healthcare, agriculture. NOTE that these are broad generalizations about FIRE signs. Analyzing the Signifier per the Five Components sketches the outline only. Fill in the personalized details later with the First Operation and the reading spread. Feng shui analysis is an entire study beyond the scope of this course. Here, its indications are based on the Wu Xing, the five (instead of four) metaphysical elements that the Chinese believe the universe is comprised of. Here, the broad indications of fengshui for the Signifiers is based on the Signifier’s compatibility with the other elemental signs. Wands FIRE Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

23. The Five Components & Court Cards, cont’d. Fate: Hero complex. Deeply nurturing of others. Strives to save souls and change the world. Luck: Divine intervention. Strong influence from the spiritual or supernatural world. Fengshui: Water personalities. Supported by Metal. Conflicts with Fire and dominates. Conflicts with Earth, but Earth dominates. Karma: Give and take through personal contribution. Invests with heart and emotion. Economic exchange is often through relationships. Education: Humanities; liberal arts; social work; social justice; counseling; spiritual or pastoral work. Cups WATER Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

24. The Five Components & Court Cards, cont’d. Fate: Born warriors. Prone to lack focus, fight tooth and nail for independence, and engage in dissent. Luck: Prone to conflict. Encounters adversity with more frequency than others. Fengshui: Metal personalities. Supported by Earth. Conflicts with Wood and dominates. Conflicts with Fire, but Fire dominates. Karma: Give and take on ideological grounds; exchange of ideas and information. Contributions of the mind and intellect. Education: Analytical careers; technical or highly specialized fields; communications; professions in pursuit of public influence. Swords AIR Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

25. The Five Components & Court Cards, cont’d. • Fate: Prone to set down roots and opt for the familiar. Born conservators. Great trendsetters. Risk is a constant point of consideration. • Luck: Flips his or her own luck. Can transform uncertainties into certainties. • Fengshui: Wood or Earth personalities. • When Wood: Supported by Water. Conflicts with Earth and dominates. Conflicts with Metal, but Metal dominates. • When Earth: Supported by Fire. Conflicts with Water and dominates. Conflicts with Wood, but Wood dominates. • Karma: Give and take through the material world. • Education: Business, finance; corporate management, administration; commerce, banking, fashion; entrepreneurial. Pentacles EARTH Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

26. Rider-Waite-Smith card facsimile Visconti-Sforza Tarot, Restoration by A. A. Atanassov (Lo Scarabeo) When Majors are used as the Signifier, apply the broad Five Components analysis per the elemental essence of the card. Ex. The High Priestess is Water; The Empress would be Earth. Marseille card facsimile

27. The Five Components Analysis of Signifiers from the Major Arcana REFERENCE GUIDE

28. The Five Components Analysis of Signifiers from the Major Arcana REFERENCE GUIDE

29. The Goddess Tarot by Kris Waldherr The Five Components & an Adaptation of the First Operation Adapting the First Operation from the Opening of the Key to Examine a Querent’s Five Components

30. Cut the entire tarot deck into two piles, right to left. FIRST OPERATION: CRASH COURSE H V H I From the first pile, cut to form a third pile. From the left-most pile, cut to form the final fourth pile. The four piles correspond with the four constants of the Supreme Being, the four divine elements, and the four quadrants of the human condition. EARTH AIR WATER FIRE Finances Social Love Career Traditional First Operation: Pile that signifier appears in will reveal nature of Querent’s inquiry. Five Components Method: Pile that signifier appears in will diagnose Querent’s Five Components. Also: Top-most card of each pile will be read in a Five Components analysis.

31. Sift through the four piles one by one to locate the Signifier. The pile the signifier appears in is the area of life the Querent must focus on in the present and be proactive about nurturing with Feng Shui, Karma, and Education. SOCIETY Querent’s Social Sphere, Greater Ambitions, Controversies WORK Ambitions, Projects, Career, Professional Goals The Goddess Tarot by Kris Waldherr RELATIONSHIPS Love, Romance, Family, Children, Domestic Sphere ECONOMY Wealth, Money Matters, Property, Assets, Finances

32. The Five Components & an Adaptation of the First Operation Let’s say the Prince (Knight) of Pentacles is the Querent’s Signifier card. In this example, the Signifier appears in the last pile, corresponding with “H2.” But before proceeding with the First Operation analysis, begin by discussing the broad generalizations associated with the Querent’s Signifier. The Goddess Tarot by Kris Waldherr

33. The Five Components & an Adaptation of the First Operation GENERAL SIGNIFIER ANALYSIS: • Fate: Prone to set down roots and opt for the familiar. Born conservators. Great trendsetters. Risk is a constant point of consideration. • Luck: Flips his or her own luck. Can transform uncertainties into certainties. • Fengshui: Wood or Earth personalities. • When Wood: Supported by Water. Conflicts with Earth and dominates. Conflicts with Metal, but Metal dominates. • When Earth: Supported by Fire. Conflicts with Water and dominates. Conflicts with Wood, but Wood dominates. • Karma: Give and take through the material world. • Education: Business, finance; corporate management, administration; commerce, banking, fashion; entrepreneurial. The Goddess Tarot Five Components analysis through the Signifier paints a broad picture. The First Operation adaptation begins to fill in the outline with personalized details.

34. Let’s say the First Operation is performed on a Querent with the Prince (Knight) of Pentacles as his Signifier. The pile the Signifier appears in will indicate where greater focus on Feng Shui, Karma, and Education is needed at this time to improve that sector of the Querent’s life. SOCIETY Fate has a lot in store for Querent. He has influence over his community and should use it to make a difference. Feng shui is supportive of his endeavors. WORK Fate and Luck not on Querent’s side at work. Many stumbling blocks obstructing professional development. Increase good Karma and pursue more Education to help clear the blocks. Tell Querent to focus here for the time being. RELATIONSHIPS Querent’s significant other is his best friend. Five components align favorably in Love. Also, his personal relationships are highly supportive of his endeavors and he should turn to them for aid. ECONOMY Wealth, Money Matters, Property, Assets, Finances For the Five Components analysis (differing from the traditional First Operation), turn over the last card in each of the three other piles. This will shed insight on the Five Components as applied to these three corresponding areas of the Querent’s life. The Goddess Tarot by Kris Waldherr Assess each of the Five Components one by one against the upturned cards. After the First Operation, proceed with a reading spread.

35. H2 V H1 I • 1. FATE • Business or commerce. See Signifier analysis. • Good with money. • Circumstances he was born into do not bode favorably for career advancement. • Innate “lover not a fighter” personality. • 3. FENG SHUI • Environment aligned favorably. See Gaia (The World) in V. • Green, yellow, and neutral tones • Nature-oriented • Need separate in-depth fengshui analysis • 2. LUCK • Lucky in love. See 2 of Cups in H1. • Not as lucky in career. Must work hard for every career opportunity.See 10 of Swords in I.

36. 4. KARMA • Insufficient information provided in First Operation. (Proceed with full reading.) • 10 of Swords: Personal lessons learned after strife and struggle—have hurt others • 5. EDUCATION • Gaia (The World) suggests travel and communications. • Nurture knowledge in finance and business to optimize Fate • Lack of Wands card suggests lack of Fire energy, or motivation, persistence, passion. Tendency to get lazy or lethargic. Passivity issues.

37. The Signifier card is grounded in one of the four essential elements, which can offer general insights into the Five Components for the Querent. Next, an adaptation on the First Operation can begin to fill in personalized details of the Querent’s Five Components formula. Then proceed with the Reader’s choice reading spread. Read as you normally would, but keep the Five Components in the back of your head and in your analysis, identify how the cards in the spread apply to the Querent’s Five Components formula and where he is in terms of progress. 1. Fate 2. Luck 3. Feng Shui 4. Karma 5. Education

38. THE FIVE COMPONENTS Fate Luck Feng Shui Karma Education Thoth Tarot SUMMARY OF POINTS: • Generalizations can be made based on the Querent’s Signifier • Analyze the First Operation results to flesh out the generalizations • Read a tarot spread through the Five Operations framework

39. FIVE CARD SPREAD FOR SPECIFIC ANALYSIS OF THE FIVE COMPONENTS You can use your go-to tarot spreads, proceed per your ordinary reading routine, and simply add and integrate Five Components analysis into your reading… Or try this simple five card spread for a reading focused entirely on Five Components analysis. Shuffle and lay out five cards, right to left. 1. FATE The circumstances Querent was born into. Innate talents, strengths, or weaknesses. God-given. 2. LUCK How well external conditions align with Querent’s goals. Clear path or rocky road ahead? 5. EDUCATION Knowledge and experience accrued to date, and education needed to advance forward. 4. KARMA Querent’s past and how that past affects the present and future, positively or negatively. 3. FENG SHUI What kind of environment has Querent nurtured? Is it helping or hindering Querent’s objectives?

40. Querent: Jenny D.O.B.: 10/01/73 Gender: Female PRACTICE: HYPOTHETICAL FIVE COMPONENTS READING 5. Education 4. Karma 3. Feng Shui 2. Luck 1. Fate Jenny is the Querent. She wants a general reading to get a sense of her life’s progress to date. You, the tarot reader, draw the above 5 cards. After you commence the reading, Jenny has follow-up questions that she hopes the cards might answer: She has been thinking about a career change and wants to get her broker’s license and become a real estate agent. What do the cards say about this? Lately her relationship with her teenage son has been strained. Why? What can she do to fix it?

41. 4. KARMA Aggression, retaliation: karmic tensions between Jenny and her son need to be played out. Some deceit. Be patient with him.When she yields, he will finally yield. 1. FATE If Jenny decides to change careers, she’ll be valiantly successful. High potential for success in the new field. Plus, she will find it intellectually rewarding. 2. LUCK Life of plentitude and abundance. In her times of need, she must have felt divine intervention, because there are angels looking down on Jenny. 5. EDUCATION Jenny has been contemplating many vocational options for some time. Good omen: she’s found the right one. 3. FENG SHUI Jenny’s environment is Earth dominant right now. Venus governs. She is positioned in a way that supports fruition. In terms of her son, follow maternal instinct: they’re right on. NOTE: There is, of course, no set way of answering Jenny, the Querent. The art of tarot comes from each individual reader’s personalized interpretation of the cards, the card positions, and how they apply to the Querent. The answer provided here is only one of many ways to answer Jenny’s questions.

42. Need a mnemonic to help you remember the Five Components? Image source: www.andpop.com. Attribution unknown. Five Little Fearful Scared Kitties Escape Feng Fate Luck Shui Karma Education -

43. The contents of this self-guided course are free for you to use, share, and reproduce, but please provide proper attribution to the author. This presentation may be used for educational purposes only. Images herein fall under the fair use doctrine. Thank You!

44. ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR BENEBELL WEN is a long-time practitioner of tarot, the I Ching, and fengshui analysis. She is a certified tarot master through the TCBA and a member of the American Tarot Association. Her book Holistic Tarot: An Integrative Approach to Using Tarot for Personal Growth will be released in Fall, 2014 by North Atlantic Books. Wen is also a California and New York attorney who practices corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and serves as legal counsel to venture capital firms. Contact Email: benebellwen@live.com Web: www.benebellwen.com Twitter: tarotanalysis