Hi Totoro,
Thanks for such a great answer to my queries.
First, I agree with your approach to the lay-out issue and the question and answer format. I have looked at that type of thing in various books online and only get confused. The question and answer format is the logical way to go from my standpoint. I also instinctively sensed why there was a sudden 90 degree turn there (as it seemed natural to do that in order to clarify a point), but wanted to get your confirmation.
I love the artwork from the Rider-Waite deck, but my instincts in terms of which version to use gravitates to the earliest ones (such as the Marseille Tarot Trumps). I have mostly read about the Tarot Trumps in the context of a possible Cathar connection and think there is a chance that this exists. In this regard, they would have functioned like learning cue cards with each card standing for certain doctrinal points or ideas. However, their meaning and the exact way they might have been presented or laid out (from a pedagogical standpoint) by the Cathars is not clear, though there are some intriguing theories and ideas out there. The numbering gives a big clue on the latter, but doesn't necessarily mean that they formed a simple sequence.
Anyhow, there is about a century from the extermination of the last known Cathars in Italy and the beginning of the Tarot decks, but that would not be inconsistent with the idea of a connection, as the imagery could have been developed by those remnants hiding in deep stealth to try and hold onto their own teachings in a way that would not arouse suspicions of anything but sloth and related vices in the eyes of ecclesial authorities--i.e., disguised as part of a deck of playing cards. Ok, that was a long digression.
So, back to the topic--
Second, how do you use the major vs. minor arcana? (Remember I am a neophyte in terms of using them for "divination" as I have mostly been studying theories related to a Cathar connection). The ordinary cards greatly outnumber the trumps. So I would have expected them to predominate if you were drawing from a simple mixed deck. However, you only have one number card vs. five trump cards, so I suspect you are doing something different. Do you just separate them out and draw from one deck or the other as you feel guided?
Third, you have just described what is often referred to as Mid-life crisis, though that term doesn't really do justice to the variation in onset, duration, intensity or content involved, nor does it bring in the gender issues discussed. For some this crisis seems to be intense but short lived = acute. For others (like me) it is a chronic condition with early onset and continuing impact. It fades into the background for a time (especially when very busy or driven by need) but always seems to come roaring back sooner or later (to one degree or another) and is in many respects just a continuation of issues going back to childhood and continuing to accumulate over time (whoever said that "a rolling stone gathers no moss" is wrong
). However, I will say that some issues are fading with the years though others have become even more intense.
Fourth, I love your approach to interpretation:
"The six of pentacles usually has connotations of giving, charity, repayment and can often be related to past lives, as that's one of the interpretations of the scales (other than literal fairness, justice and so on). To me, the meaning was readily apparent: you got what you asked for. I "just knew" that, but for a more technical explanation, I would say there's no reason to make any assumption about the characters on the card. With all of that stripped away, it's simply a case of one person asking something of another and them then receiving what they asked for. And so I got what I asked for, this is what I wanted." I also admire your own "tough love" approach to your situation. People often talk about "tough love" with others, and then hypocritically fail to apply it to themselves. I am, I must admit, also in the latter category.
(Cont'd)
