Tarot Spread: An Uncertain Harvest
My previous two minor arcana-inspired tarot spreads focused on cards that can be confusing to see in a reading mostly because they are good and bad. Most tarot readers I know don’t have much difficulty reading Pentacles, but I personally find the 7 of Pentacles to be a bit of a mixed bag. And when I draw it, I often want some clarification or greater insight into the nuances.
Ask a fan of the Smith-Waite imagery, and they probably associate the 7 of Pentacles with hard work and commensurate rewards. But if you ask a fan of the Thoth system, they’ll bring up the 7 of Disks’s title as Failure and the broader problem of 7s. And that’s because, astrologically, it’s Saturn in Taurus, or restriction in the realms of material work and rewards. But Saturn is also about work, responsibility, and long-term harvests.
If you use both systems, it’s hardly surprising that you’d see it as confusing, which I sometimes do. I find it helpful to look at the Golden Dawn title for the card, the Lord of Success Unfulfilled.
The Golden Dawn titles are the basis for the Thoth’s single-word title (Failure in this case), and the minor arcana pips are all “Lords of” something.
“Success unfulfilled” doesn’t necessarily mean failure, at least not yet. It just means that the work’s not done. That fits with a traditional Smith-Waite interpretation, but it also allows for the possibility that things could very easily still fail, which feels very Thoth. It’s very fitting for the astrological correspondence of Saturn, which can often seem like a jerk but only when we aren’t willing to be adults about our situation. Such potential is confusing and sometimes frustrating, but it’s also empowering, so I wanted to create a spread to help get a better understanding of that potential.
As with the previous two minor arcanum spreads, Toward a Distant Shore (6 of Swords) and Into a Dark Night (8 of Cups), the layout of An Uncertain Harvest draws inspiration from Pamela Colman Smith’s artwork in the Smith-Waite deck, but it works across systems. The spread is designed to help understand the placement of the 7 of Pentacles (or Disks or Coins), but it can also of course be used on its own for anyone wanting to look into a long-term project.
Dreaming of the Harvest: What is the outcome that I think I want?
The Farmer: What should I know about my role in this uncertainty?
Unripened Promise: Where can I focus my attention to greatest effect?
Work Left Undone: What do I need to do there?
The Roots: What are the foundations of this situation, controlling potential (5) and limitations (6)?
Rotting on the Vine: What needs to be cut out lest it ruin your hard work?
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