Today's Tarot for Pamela Colman Smith

	The Cross and Triangle spread is a powerful means of understanding complex situations, developed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. This spread is rich in occult and mystical symbolism, and one of our favorites here at Facade. The Sola Busca Tarot is a color embellished reproduction of the only known extant 15th century Tarot deck engraved on metal. It is the choice of purists and those seeking a direct channel with the dawn of Western occultism.
	The first card, the significator, is placed in the center of the cross. This card represents the prime energy manifest in your life. 7 Mazze (Valor), when reversed: Failure to stand up for your beliefs in the face of a hostile majority. A self-fulfilling fear of failure or embarrassment. Great challenges met with cowardice. Quarrels, perplexity, and indecision at a crucial moment.
	The second card, placed above the significator, represents Air. It describes your spirit, process of thought, and the influence of reason. Carbone (The Hanged Man): Pausing to reflect. Surrendering to an experience. Adjusting to new ideas through sacrifice. Opening oneself to intuition and enhanced awareness. Letting go of past patterns and growing beyond them. Inner peace, faith, and serenity.
	The third card, placed to the right of the significator, represents Fire. It describes your motivations, creative energies, and the influence of passion. 10 Mazze (Oppression): Success and gain, leading you to take on a burden greater than you can carry. Noble leadership transformed, through lack of restraint, into tyranny. The crushing weight of ultimate responsibility. Having spent their fuel, the engines of creation grind to a halt.
	The fourth card, placed below the significator, represents Water. It describes your emotions, meditations, and the influence of love. 1 Mazze (Ace of Wands): The seed of a new venture - perhaps as yet unseen. An opportunity to be met with boldness, vigor, and enthusiasm. The herald of birth, invention, or entrepreneurship. An innate and primal force released. May suggest a surge of vitality, creativity, or fertility that can set things in motion.
	The fifth card, placed to the left of the significator represents Earth. It describes your physical presence, position in life, and the influence of the material world. 3 Dischi (Works), when reversed: Delays in the commencement of business, commercial transactions, or employment. Holding back or failing to use one's abilities to their full potential. Shoddy workmanship and lack of attention to detail. Being hamstrung by convention, or failing to temper artistic fancy with an understanding of reality.
	At this point the cross is complete and the triangle is formed. The sixth card, placed on the bottom left of the triangle represents one of two opposing forces. Regina di Mazze (Queen of Wands), when reversed: The dark essence of fire behaving as water, such as steam: The natural embodiment of passion and sensuality, who will do anything to the be the center of attention. A seducer who calculatingly dons the guise of what others desire. A cocky and domineering person, who pushes anyone or anything aside to get what she wants. One who is vengeful and quick to take offense without good cause. May indicate infidelity and contempt for a relationship.
	The seventh card, placed on the bottom right of the triangle represents the force that opposes the bottom left card. These forces may be external, but they are frequently one's own inner archetypes in conflict. Catone (Death): A major change or transformation, possibly traumatic and unexpected. Freedom from the shackles of the past. A new beginning. Death coupled with rebirth, usually related to consciousness and lifestyle.
	The eighth card, the reconciler, is placed below the cross in the third vertex of the triangle. This is the force that will resolve the conflict between the bottom left and bottom right cards. By meditating on this force and bringing more of it into your life, you can bring the matter at hand to a swifter conclusion than would naturally occur. 2 Anfore (Love), when reversed: Instability in romance, friendship, or business. A deep infatuation that excludes existing friends. A false promise or premature commitment. The entanglement of male and female interpreted in the broadest sense. The profaning of the sacred through the introduction of base desire. Folly, depletion, and waste. May suggest conflict, divorce, or a severing of ties.
	The ninth and final card, placed in the center bottom of the triangle, represents the final outcome unless you change course. Nerone (Justice): The achievement of balance and inner harmony after a great trial. Agreements, contracts, or treaties concluded justly. Things set to rights. Karma restored. A turn for the better in legal matters.