Ankh Spread

Difficulty: Kind of tough
The Ankh Spread is for questions about the causes behind trends. It is similar to the Celtic Cross and Secret of the High Priestess spreads, but it covers the reasons behind the circumstances in question differently, perhaps giving a better explanation of why things are the way they are.
The loop of the upper section of the ankh reveals the spiritual background and causes of the situation, while the stem of the base focuses on prospects for the outcome.
The first two tarot cards represent the two parent causes of the situation. They will either complement each other or show two opposing sides of a conflict, depending on how they relate. These are the significator cards of the Ankh spread.
3. This tarot card shines light upon the early causes of the trend in question.
4. Pinpoints the causes that triggered the current situation.
5. Reveals the spiritual perspective of the subject at hand.
6. This card examines the reasons why this course of action had to unfold, as a means to this end.
At this point, it is good to pause to soak in the meaning of the first six cards before moving forward to the last three cards. The last three reveal prospects for the future.
7. The Next Step gives clues about the immediate future.
8. Surprising Experiences encountered en route to the result.
9. This represents the result.
Your Ankh Reading
| Early Causes | Higher Perceptions ![]() Prince of Swords |
Triggering Causes |
![]() 5 of Disks – Anxiety |
Necessary Conclusions | ![]() The Beast |
| Significator #1 | ![]() Adjustment |
Significator #2 |
![]() 7 of Swords – Futility |
Next Step | ![]() 9 of Wands – Great Strength |
![]() Knight of Disks |
||
Surprising Experiences ![]() Princess of Wands |
||
Outcome ![]() 7 of Wands – Valour |
Significator #1
7 of Swords – Futility
Moon in Aquarius
Six swords descend upon one large sword. The six moons have mutinously ganged up on their master. The battle seems hopeless. Even with the strongest blade, the numbers may be overwhelming.
Meaning:
Fighting a hopeless battle in vain, with no prospect of victory. Partial success by stalling through lack of energy when victory is achieved.
Significator #2
9 of Wands – Great Strength
Moon in Sagittarius
Great Strength. Eight arrows have been collected and are now under the authority of a headmaster arrow. They have been completed by this arrangement and the addition of the moon-heads. The driving force that empowers them is the sun.
Meaning:
Great strength, tremendous force, power, competition, warrior spirit, focused rage. Change is stability.
Early Causes
5 of Disks – Anxiety
Mercury in Taurus
Sparks fly as five gears grind away. The nervous energy of the element of air has descended upon the earth plane, creating an atmosphere of great friction.
Meaning:
Intense strain accompanying a period of inactivity. Anxiety, loss.
When well-dignified: construction, building, labour, cultivation.
Triggering Causes
The Beast
Leo
Also known as Lust or Strength. The carnal experience. The whore rides the great beast of the apocalypse. She knows one way to tame the beast.
Meaning:
Strength, courage, energy, control of vital forces, resorting to magic, love affair.
Higher Perceptions
Prince of Swords
2:00 – 4:00 Male
Aquarius
The Prince of Swords rides the sky in his cloudy chariot of air, pulled by three young men representing his thoughts and ideas. He symbolises purity of the intellect, but also instability. As he pushes forward with his sword, he is frustrated. His thoughts are all over the place. In his left hand he holds a sickle, symbolising his tendency to destroy his creations as quickly as he makes them, perhaps overly critical of his own ideas.
Meaning:
A pure intellectual, clever but unstable of purpose, a mind full of various contradictory ideas and opinions.
Necessary Conclusions
Adjustment
Libra
Justice. Balance is achieved through adaptation. You may need to take a look at the book.
Meaning:
Justice, balance, equilibrium. A pause in the action to achieve balance.
The Next Step
Knight of Disks
Virgo
The Knight of Disks rides the pale horse. His horse is in fact a unicorn, a symbol of Virgo. Bearing the sickle, he has come to reap the harvest. The shield radiates waves of energy that symbolise his connection with the sphere of earth. He is concerned primarily with material values.
Meaning:
Agricultural proficiency, skills regarding material concerns, perhaps preoccupied with material concerns and therefore dull.
When ill-dignified: a petty, jealous, small-minded man.
Surprises
Princess of Wands
A robust young woman stands on the mountain firing arrows. Her arrows represent the other Wands courts, Sagittarius, Aries, and Leo. She is a passionate, brilliant, and independent young woman. The tiger is a symbol of the lower animal nature that grounds her.
Meaning:
An individualistic energetic glowing young woman, impulsive in matters of love.
When ill-dignified: superficial, shallow, gossiping, unreliable, cruel, domineering.
The Outcome
7 of Wands – Valour
Mars in Leo
This card shows an uphill battle. The snake-rods have come alive. Six of them are doing battle against one.
The central snake however is the strongest, as god is with him.
Meaning:
Struggles, obstacles, difficulties met with courage. Small victories.
When ill-dignified: quarrelling.