As Above, So Below

I first encountered this spread on page 150 of the companion text to the Heaven & Earth deck. Over time, my use of this method has evolved somewhat. Here’s how I use this spread if you’d like to try it:

The power of this spread is to inform us:

Where am I coming from? (blue cards),
What is trying to come into being? (red cards), and
Which energies facilitate the transformation? (purple cards).

If I feel more confident about where I am coming from, I start by laying out the blue cards. Sometimes, I don’t really know where I am but know where I need to go, in which case I lay out the red cards first.

Once I have chosen my starting point (blue or red) and have an initial read on the painting presented by those cards, I shuffle the remaining cards and set out the opposite (blue or red) painting. After getting a feel for that painting, I reassess the starting point to see if that image has evolved at all. NOTE: If you don’t care for the painting method, or the cards seem to be doing the First Word, Expansion, Clarification thing, then go with your gut!

Finally, I set out the path (purple cards) to show how the transformation will occur.

You may have noticed that this is similar to scrying: Initialize a point, set a destination, and explore the path between them. That’s exactly right!

Using “As Above, So Below” to Read for Others

Do one reading for yourself and one reading for someone else. If you need someone to read for, you can always read for Dan!

Here are some tips and tricks for reading for someone else:

You will likely be most effective if you consider yourself a translator of tarot symbolism, not a life coach.
Ask them some questions to determine whether they are starting with an “I am here” or “This is where I want to go” mindset. Your questions may be essential to clarifying the question in their mind, so take your time on this part.
- They may want to describe the situation to you in detail, and they may not. That’s fine! You don’t need to know.
Ask them to cut the cards as the last step of the shuffle before you lay out a picture. If they are not physically present, visualize them clearly in your mind’s eye as you cut the deck one final time. If you don’t know their face, hear their voice in your mind as you cut the deck one final time.
Describe your process of interpreting each sub-reading and the interplay of its symbols. Avoid offering any “concrete” divinatory meanings. Just describe the details of the picture that strike you. If you are doing a live reading, leave the meaning up to them for now and let them tell you what it means to them after you’ve finished scrying the three cards.
Repeat this process for each section, allowing each new card to evolve your understanding of the total picture. If live, continue listening to what it means to the person you are reading for as they are willing to share.
Finally, make a summary story out of the whole spread.

A note on live readings:

Being read to can be a profound experience that requires time to process. Honor and acknowledge that this is their divination process. You facilitated their connection to the deep subconscious that you have become familiar with from working with the cards for yourself.

I have done readings where the person sat silently through the entire process. A few times, they left abruptly, and it wasn’t until a follow-up session that I heard the impact of the reading. Sometimes, after the entire reading was complete, the client suddenly gushed about all sorts of things; it’s essential to listen and, as needed, refer back to the symbolism of the cards.

Be careful not to step outside of tarot and into specific counseling, coaching, or therapeutic capacities unless you have the appropriate qualifications and gain consent from the client.