The Tempest Spread

“…our dead are only weights on our backs when we won’t let them walk besides us, when we try to pretend they are not ours or they are not dead.”

The Space Between Worlds, Micaiah Johnson

One of the things I appreciate about the Tarot is the ways it supports me in gaining clarity and integrating my experiences, sometimes in quite surprising ways.

For the past 12 years, the second week of September has revealed a different face of grief to me. Another anniversary, another layer. There are so many emotions I experience, ones I don’t have words for but can feel. This year, I went to my deck for support in a different way.

I went through Cristy C. Road’s The Next World Tarot deck one card at a time; I pulled out the cards that called to me, allowing myself to respond to the imagery and the tug it created in my heart. Then I made the shape that felt right. The deck answered the questions I didn’t have words for.

Container Protectors:

Temperance, The Hermit

Eye of the Storm:

Suspension

Winds, Rains, Dust:

The 6 of Swords— Passage

The 10 of Swords— Ruin

The 5 of Cups— Loss

The 4 of Cups— Reevaluation

The 9 of Swords— Despair

The 5 of Pentacles— Survival

The 8 of Cups— Abandon

Looking at them together, I felt a sense of relief, of being understood by myself in a way that brought together my mind, body, and spirit. I made room for myself and heard what I needed to hear.

Perhaps this “spread” could be a tool for you as well.

(Fire didn't show up for me, but I'd call that element representation Lightning.) If you try this spread and want to share what you pulled in the comments or via email, I would love to see.