Chaos Tarot Spread 6 4 By J.M. Berger Note: Page down for instructions on deriving a correct i-Ching hex from the Chaos Tarot layout. A useful image of the layout is contained in the Pack folder; I suggest using it as the background image for the reading. Set the image to "tile." The Chaos Tarot Hex layout is a very complex spread designed specifically for the Chaos Tarot. The Golden Dawn layout can be substituted with little difficulty by those who wish to use a simpler approach. Most other spreads can be used with the Chaos Tarot. Cards do not reverse. The position readings are detailed according to each card in the image at right, and in the background image included with this deck. The reader should also intuitively inspect the layout for geographical correspondences. Since the fractal shapes often have a marked direction, look for relationships that "point" toward each other. Circular or spiral cards can be seen as a nexus for the surrounding cards (especially in light of yin and yang waves, below). Another frequent geometrical feature of a reading is symmetry. Look for places where cards and positions seem to reflect each other. More details on the Hex Layout, updates and some discussion of the layout's underlying theory can be found at www.chaosdancer.com. Once the positional readings (as noted card by card) have been performed, the reader should calculate the i-Ching hexagram for the spread. This may be done first, in order to inform the reading, or in reverse. The order is not important since the hex accurately reflects the structure of the reading. To calculate the correct hexagram from a Chaos Tarot layout, you have to figure the elemental dignification of the lines. The hex is a straight correspondence to the layout. Top (yang) trigram: Top line: r, q, p o, n, m l, k, j Bottom (yin) trigram: Top line: i, h, g f, e, d c, b, a The dignification of the lines is similar to the Golden Dawn layout. Fire is ill-dignified on the same line as water. Earth is ill-dignified on the same line as air. All other combinations are well-dignified. See the end of this text for a guide to how the Majors translate into elemental values. Lines that contain an ill-dignified pairing are rendered as yin (broken line). Lines that are well-dignified are calculated as yang (solid line). Once you do all six rows, you have an I-Ching hexagram that correctly corresponds to all the elements in the positional reading. If you're an advanced I-Ching reader, you can designate lines containing two or more major arcana as transforming lines. You can also get a feel for the positive or negative connotations of whether the calculated line corresponds to the "correct" yin and yang for each line. If the line is "incorrect," you can presume a negative cast on the cards dealt. The correct values as seen running across the entire layout would be: YANG TRIGRAM yin yang......yang yin..........yin yang YIN TRIGRAM The correctness calculation also yields two long lines, as seen above connected by a dotted line. These can be read as units, the "Yang Timeline" and "Yin Timeline," for additional insights into how each of those properties are reflected in the reading. The major arcana correspond to primary gua, and subsequently to elemental associations as follows: Heaven Trigram=Air: Fool, World, Moon, Sun, Star, Progenesis Thunder=Fire: Magician, Hanged Man, Intemperance, Wheel, Tower, Eschaton Mountain=Earth: Shaman, Between Worlds, Watcher, Devil (Ascended Individual), Death, VALIS Lake=Water: Priestess, Hermit (Introspection), Strength, Lovers, Balance, Emergence Note that each Major Arcana Grouping also indicates a progression from Individual to Universal, in the order listed here. This may be helpful in context, especially in a reading which shows a sequence of Major Arcana. Yin and Yang Waves: The tai chi (yin-yang) symbol provides a map for how events unfold in non-linear time, which can be traced along the Chaos Tarot spread. The black part of the tai chi represents a wave of Yang that propagates and increases clockwise around the diagram. The white part represents a wave of Yin. Technically, the Yin wave propagates counter-clockwise, but it may be read as clockwise for purposes of easier comprehension. The amount of white or black over any given card position, as well as its shape, velocity and momentum, are representative of the position's yin and yang qualities (flexibility and firmness). Positions with strong yang are events or situations which cannot be easily changed. Positions with great yin are highly changeable. While the positional meanings include comments on the amounts of yin and yang affecting any given card in the spread, the intuitive reader should also view the cycle and wave diagrams with an eye toward root causes and effects outside of linear time, and the action of yin or yang increasing or decreasing, or cresting. By examining these aspects (particularly the roots of the waves), the Chaos Tarot offers the skilled reader insights that are simply unavailable using any other method of tool-based divination. Linear Timeline (Past, Present, Future): A more traditional Tarot linear time path of "past, present, future" can also be traced by drawing a line from the white dot in the diagram to the black dot and examining the card positional meanings (above) for two sets of four cards on the time scale indicated by the line (below). (C) 2002-2004 J.M. Berger 5 3 120 0 a) Future time, physical environment (major yang, very firm) 4 3 120 0 b) Past time, physical environment (major yang, very firm) 3 3 120 0 c) Present time, physical environment. (minor yang, minor yin, somewhat flexible) 5 2 120 0 d) Future time, health or body (major yang, very firm) 4 2 120 0 e) Past time, health or body (major yang, very firm) 3 2 120 0 f) Present time, health or body (major yang, major yin, somewhat flexible) 5 1 120 0 g) Future time, process or action (major yin, minor yang, flexible) 4 1 120 0 h) Past time, process or action (major yang, major yin, somewhat flexible) 3 1 120 0 i) Present time, process or action (major yin, very flexible) 2 2 120 0 j) Present time, things known or secrets unknown (major yang, very firm) 1 2 120 0 k) Future time, things known or outcomes unknown (major yang, major yin, somewhat firm) 0 2 120 0 l) Past time, things known or secrets unknown (major yang, minor yin, firm) 2 1 120 0 m) Present mental/spiritual state (major yang, major yin, somewhat firm) 1 1 120 0 n) Future mental/spiritual state (major yin, very flexible) 0 1 120 0 o) Past mental/spiritual state (major yin, very flexible) 2 0 120 0 p) Present understanding or intention (minor yang, minor yin, somewhat firm) 1 0 120 0 q) Future understanding or intention (major yin, very flexible) 0 0 120 0 r) Past understanding or intention (major yin, very flexible)