I asked the cards how we were doing, not only in my country England and the UK, but also in the world in a general sense.

We have, after all, been in this particularly crazy and trying situation for nearly two years now, together. Are things getting better, clearer, or not?

For this question I used my own 7 card spread, which I call the ‘7 day week spread’. It’s not actually about 7 days but rather I’m using the 7 known traditional ‘planets’, including the Sun and Moon, as delineators for important areas of our national and international lives.

For example card 1 at the centre is my Sun (ie Sunday) card, which represents authority, government, monarchy, general well-being. Moon and Saturn days are self explanatory, but Tuesday is Mars, Wednesday is Mercury, Thursday is Jupiter and Friday is Venus. Think of the days of the week in French and you’ll get there.

For this reading I’m using one of my favoured Tarot de Marseille decks, the Ancient Italian Tarot by Lo Scarabeo.

So let’s start with the centre Sun card, which in this spread is La Papessa, or the High Priestess in the Rider-Waite decks. It is card 2 of the major arcana, indicating a feminine energy and perhaps a split or duality (2) in the situation right now. At the same time I think divine help is at hand and if we ask sincerely we can find out what’s been going on with all of our governmental institutions. Creatively too, it is time for self help, to look more deeply and not take everything at face value.

Card 2 is the Moon card on the top left of the spread, in this case the 7 of Wands, which for me is the first decanate of Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter. The Moon represents emotion, feeling, the masses, family. I think we are making good progress here with our own discernment, we know our feelings have been played with and we are beginning to see with more clarity that certain strategies won’t work, whilst some others will. I think the ball is now in our court and we can come through in a much more positive forward thinking fashion.

Card 3 is the Mars card (Tuesday) on the top right of the spread – the Sun. Mars represents individual energy, drive, industry. The Sun shows that things are looking more positive, that we can project and make changes, begin to force our own futures for the better. New ventures should generally prosper from now on so long as they are grounded in sound principles.

Card 4 is the Mercury card (Wednesday) on the very top. Mercury is all to do with the mind, communication and the media. Here we have the Chariot, a very positive sign that things are changing. We will have freedom of movement and choice locally, we will be able to organise on a more local basis. I think we can look forward to a change in the media too, the way it is presented as ‘news’. This is likely to be quite radical, but may begin quite slowly. The sun will begin to shine in areas that have been dark for too long.

Card 5 is the Jupiter card (Thursday) at the very bottom. Jupiter is long distance travel, higher education, religion, spirituality and justice. The Hanged Man here shows that long distance travel will continue to be problematic for a time but will get easier in its own time. I think we are all going to be shocked at certain legal issues too, yet find that certain outcomes were absolutely necessary and justice will come in due course.

Card 6 is the Venus card (Friday) on the bottom left. Venus is our relationships, where we feel good about ourselves. Here we have the King of Coins or Pentacles, which to me represents Taurus. I think it’s suggesting that it’s time to reconnect to the earth, to nature and to simple things. It also shows that we are due some good news in regard to all this, which might even involve the issue of money and its usage.

Card 7 is the Saturn card (Saturday) on the bottom right. This is my longer term card, or possible outcome. Here we have the Ace of Wands, which is a very positive card indeed in this placing. All is about to be renewed, it would seem, from the ground up but most especially in a spiritual sense, for this card represents the beginning of spring, the first decanate of Aries ruled by Mars. It may even suggest that by next spring, 2022, we will be well on the way to recovery and forging new lives and communities for ourselves, beyond any limitation authorities can impose upon us. Let’s hope so.

Copyright Francis 2021