My Celtic Cross Practice Session
Alright, so today I figured I’d actually sit down and really try doing a full Celtic Cross spread for myself. Heard it’s good for digging deeper, you know? Grabbed my trusty, kinda-battered Rider-Waite deck. Usually do three-card pulls, so this felt like jumping into the deep end.
First thing: cleared off the kitchen table. Yeah, not some fancy altar, just the everyday table. Wiped the crumbs off, felt the table wobble a bit – gotta fix that leg sometime. Sat down, took a few deep breaths. Honestly, my mind was buzzing about work emails still, so it took a minute to kinda shake that off.
Started shuffling. Man, I shuffled forever. Felt like I needed to really mix those cards up good. Knocked a couple on the floor – clumsy, right? Scooped ’em up, kept going. Decided I wanted insight on handling some freelance stress I’ve been having.
Focused on that question while shuffling: “What’s the real deal with this work stress and how can I manage it?” Laid out the first card right in the middle. Flip! Three of Swords. Oof. Straight to the heartache. Made sense, been feeling overwhelmed.
Next, the card that crosses it. Knight of Pentacles, reversed. Plonked it right over the Three of Swords. Felt that combo instantly – that slow-moving, stuck energy (reversed Knight) totally crossing up my situation, maybe making the stress worse or pointing to burnout. Yeah, resonated.
Kept placing them:
- Below: Seven of Wands. Underlying all this? Feeling defensive, always battling.
- Behind: The Star! Relief. Something hopeful recently.
- Crowning: Ace of Swords. Best possible outcome? Mental clarity? Sounds good!
- Future: Ten of Cups. Future position looking positive? Family/happiness vibes.
Then the vertical line on the side:
- Self/Self-perception: Five of Pentacles. Wow. Felt vulnerable, like I was outside looking in on stability.
- Environment: Seven of Cups. Foggy! Too many options? Indecision?
- Hopes/Fears: Page of Cups, reversed. This one tripped me up. Fear of immature emotions or creative blocks? Hmm.
- Final Outcome: Judgment. Major Arcana! Signaled a big realization or calling.
The biggest “aha” moment was seeing that Five of Pentacles in the Self position sitting across from the Ten of Cups outcome. Like, here I am feeling lack, but the potential outcome is total emotional fulfillment? Got me thinking I need to bridge that gap.
Tried to just look at the pictures and feelings first, before diving into any book meanings. The Judgment card opposite the reversed Knight of Pentacles? Felt like a kick: stop the slow slog (reversed Knight), time for some big reckoning (Judgment) to reach that nice Ten of Cups future.
Totally wrote all this down in my messy notebook – scribbles, arrows pointing between cards, question marks everywhere. No rocket science here, just trying to see what stuck out. Made me wonder: is the reversed Page of Cups me being scared to express myself about the stress? Probably. Felt heavy, but that Star card behind me gave hope. Finished feeling like maybe I need a solid plan (Knight of Pentacles vibe, but upright this time!) and to stop just defending constantly (Seven of Wands). Will see how it plays out. Probably need to do another one soon to see if things shift!
