Eilat Tarot - Four Worlds Spread

I’m testing a new spread to see if the entire Eilat Tarot deck can be used to answer questions like these. The card images are from the Tarot of the Abyss by Ann Tourian. The card meanings are from the Eilat Tarot, The Little White Book.

I call this the Four Worlds Spread. This spread can be used to explore identity, direction, or a particular life question. I drew two cards for each of the Four Olomot: Aẓilut (Emanation), Beriah (Creation), Yeẓirah (Formation), and Asiyah (Action). The first card answers, “How are you present in this world?” The second card answers, “What is being asked of you in this world?"

Aẓilut - Emanation
Essence, orientation, the deepest level of identity

Who you are at your soul-root: 
The Emperor - (Hei/Aries) Order and structure. Authority and boundaries that protect what may endure.

What you are called to embody or align with: 
Mother of Cups - Sustaining and protecting life. Creating conditions where others can endure and grow.


Beriah - Creation
Inner life, values, and meaning

How you understand yourself inwardly: 
Nine of Pentacles - Earned autonomy, self-worth, and quiet serenity.

What is being formed or invited within: 
Ace of Pentacles - A gift of physical life. The seed of embodied blessing.


Yeẓirah - Formation
Energy, relationship, and becoming

How your life-force is taking shape: 
Ace of Wands - A gift of vitality. Creative life-force waiting to be shaped.

What is being developed, built, or carried forward: 
Ten of Pentacles - Stability and inheritance. What endures beyond a single life.


Asiyah - Action
Behavior, circumstance, and lived reality

How you are acting and responding in the world: 
Seven of Swords - Strategy under pressure. Survival through concealment or risk.

What is required in concrete terms: 
Mother of Swords - Mature discernment. Seeing clearly and choosing what must be spoken.

This is the heart of the reading: I am someone who is organized and capable of holding a project. I have already built some independence and now I'm carrying a genuine creative beginning. My task is to proceed with care rather than structure alone, to receive new forms of material grounding and support, to shape this creative beginning into something that endures, and to move from guarded strategy into clear and inspired action.

A Glimpse into the Eilat Tarot: The Son of Wands

Son of Wands
Kindler of Flame
Son (Air) ⭑ Wands (Fire) ⭑ Air of Fire ⭑
Beriah (Creation) ⭑ ENFP

Moving with vision. Risking action to test desire. - The Little White Book

Essence

This is fire in motion. Not the first spark, but the moment it pushes outward and begins to act.

The Son moves. What began in the Daughters is no longer only felt. It is tested. He steps forward, not because the path is clear, but because something within insists on movement.

Wands belong to Fire, the force of desire, courage, and direction. Fire does not stay contained. It reaches, spreads, and seeks expression.

As Air of Fire, this movement is guided by vision. Energy begins to take shape through thought, possibility, and belief in what could be. There is direction here, but not yet stability.

In Beriah, form begins to emerge. Distinction appears. What was only sensed is now chosen and acted upon. Purpose is no longer only a feeling. It is something you begin to live.

This is the moment when you act before you are ready, and discover what your energy is for by using it.

Imagery

This knight wears armor partially covered by a yellow tunic decorated with salamanders, creatures long associated with fire. His horse rears upward, full of restless energy, while the red plume of his helmet streams behind him like a flame. In his right hand he holds a budding wand, not yet fully grown, suggesting potential rather than completion. His left hand steadies the reins, though the horse resists stillness. Only one foot is visible in a stirrup, emphasizing motion rather than stability. In the distance, pyramids rise on the desert horizon, visible only because of the horse’s stance. The entire image conveys forward thrust, intensity, and the challenge of directing powerful energy before it becomes uncontrolled.

Integration

This card is titled Kindler of Flame because it marks the moment when vision becomes action. The fire is no longer only felt. It is carried forward.

One way to understand this energy is through the lens of ENFP, a temperament drawn to possibility, movement, and the quick recognition of what could be. This is not a fixed identity, only a way of noticing how some people move toward life with enthusiasm and imaginative force.

In Musar, this stage reflects ometz lev, courage of the heart. Not the absence of fear, but the willingness to move despite it. It also calls for zerizut, the discipline of directing energy so that it does not scatter or burn out.

Rabbi Nachman taught that “the whole world is a very narrow bridge, and the essential thing is not to be afraid.” The Son of Wands has stepped onto that bridge. He does not wait until he feels steady. He walks, and steadiness begins to form through the walking. This energy is not only personal. It appears wherever people choose action over passivity, stepping forward even when the outcome is uncertain.

Interpretative Possibilities for Divination

Upright:

• Acting on vision despite uncertainty
• Courage to initiate and take risks
• Movement driven by conviction or purpose
• Inspiring action in oneself or others
• Testing desire through lived experience
• Energy directed toward something meaningful

Reversed:

• Impulsive or reckless action without direction
• Burnout from unmanaged intensity
• Scattered efforts without follow-through
• Acting from ego rather than purpose
• Frustration when results do not match expectation
• Avoidance of commitment by constant movement

If this card appears, you are being called to act. Not recklessly, but without waiting for perfect clarity. Something within you is ready to move. The question is not whether you feel prepared, but whether you are willing to begin. Direct your energy toward what matters, and let the path reveal itself through your steps.

Reflections

This card reflects movement guided by conviction. The Son of Wands acts because something within him will not remain still.

At this stage, energy becomes directional. Desire is no longer only felt, but expressed through action. This can bring new possibilities into being. It can also inspire others to move.

Courage here is simple. It is the willingness to begin.

But this movement is not yet stable. What begins as courage can become restlessness or force. Energy can outrun meaning. Action can continue even after its purpose has been lost.

The task is not only to act, but to remain aligned with what gives the action meaning.

In its highest form, this energy is not driven by impulse alone, but by commitment to something beyond the self. Action becomes a form of loyalty: to a people, a place, or a shared purpose. What is kindled here is not only personal ambition, but a willingness to stand with others and to take part in what must be carried together.

To carry fire is to accept both its power and its risk. What is begun here can illuminate, or consume.

A Living Example

This kind of courage is not only personal. It appears in the life of a people, in the choice to stand with others and to share responsibility for a place.

The Druze are a small and ancient people of the Levant, bound by a tradition that values loyalty, restraint, and devotion to community. Though their spiritual teachings are largely hidden, their way of life reflects a deep commitment to unity, responsibility, and the dignity of service.

In the Land of Israel, the Druze have chosen a path of partnership. They have stood alongside the Jewish people not only in word, but in action, taking on the responsibilities of citizenship and the risks that come with it. Their presence is not incidental, but woven into the fabric of the society that has been built again in the Land.

This relationship is not only lived, but formally affirmed. It appears in shared work, in mutual protection, and in the everyday bonds formed between neighbors. It is marked by familiarity, respect, and a recognition of what is carried together.

To honor the Druze is to recognize a form of courage that is steady rather than dramatic: a commitment to people, to place, and to a shared future. It is also to acknowledge that the life of the Land is not held by one people alone, but by those who choose to care for it together.

Journaling Prompts

• Where in my life am I being called to act, even without certainty?
• What desire or vision feels alive in me, and how am I responding to it?
• Am I moving with purpose, or simply reacting to energy as it arises?
• Where has my courage led to growth, and where has it led to imbalance?
• What am I committed to beyond my own immediate wants or fears?
• How can I direct my energy in a way that serves something larger than myself?

Closing Thoughts

The Son of Wands teaches that clarity often follows action, not the other way around. To wait for certainty is to remain where you are. To move is to discover what is true. What is kindled here must be carried with care, but it must be kindled.

HaYom Yom Rishon...

Tonight’s simple solo seder was not as powerful as my Covid seder, but it was adequate. I focused on God being the one who redeemed us, the one who heard us. And I took note that Esav (my favorite biblical figure) was given land in Seir… the red hills of Edom… while Jacob and his children went to Egypt and eventual slavery.

God has redeemed me many times... and abandoned me too, or at least that's how it seems. Hester Panim…

For the counting of the Omer, today, day one, is Chesed in Chesed, Overflowing Love (before it becomes a feeling in Gevurah) and I remembered the strange ecstasy that I felt most of the day, stopping to raise my arms or dance. Maybe that was Chesed prior to being shaped by Gevurah. What was its source?

After the blessing for counting the Omer, I considered the fact that I often catch myself saying, "I want love" but then I quickly respond with the words, "You're never getting any, so stop wanting it."

Is my enslavement the desire for love or is it my certainty that I'll never get any? I don't know. Sometimes I think my purpose is to give love and not worry about getting any, but that seems unfair even for someone as ugly as I am.

Tonight was not about feeling connected… it became a meditation on self-worth and the absence of love.

Under the Same Stars

In this reading, I first used the RWS deck and considered an RWS interpretation of the spread. Then I interpreted the card futher by using the Eilat Tarot.

This layout draws one card from each arcana:

• World Cards and the Aces - What path or energy is opening before me?
• Time Cards - What sacred practice will sustain me?
• Soul Cards - What inner posture or attitude will help me meet the moment? I shuffled each pile separately and drew one card from each to answer the following questions:

What path is opening before me?
The Star

The first word that comes to mind is hope. Perhaps hope itself can be a path: trusting in divine guidance and goodness. The card often represents healing after upheaval, quiet renewal, and the restoration of trust. The image shows a woman pouring water from two jugs, one onto the land and the other into a body of water (one returning to the cosmic waters and the other branching into five channels of life). Is she “separating the waters”? Why does she have two pitchers? Is she purifying herself or nurturing the earth? Is she making an offering while kneeling naked on the ground beneath a starry sky? The eight-pointed star glowing in the darkness overhead may suggest divine guidance, and eight is a significant number in Jewish mysticism. Is she sharing spiritual teachings? What path does this card describe? Since this card follows the Tower in traditional decks, perhaps it suggests a path of gentle restoration and renewed trust. The tree and bird in the distance may represent divine order and the soul.

In the Eilat Tarot, this card is called Tzadi - The Path Between Compassion (Tiferet) and Restraint (Gevurah). That path suggests learning how to hold hope without excess and discipline without harshness. Healing may require both gentleness and limits.

The letter is associated with Aquarius, the water-bearer, reinforcing the imagery of the woman pouring water as an act of restoration and blessing. In the Sefer Yetzirah, the guiding function assigned to this letter is Taste (לְעִיטָה), the capacity to discern and savor sweetness. After the shock of The Tower, the Star invites the soul to rediscover the sweetness of life and the quiet nourishment of faith.

The Little White Book summarizes the card as “Gentle hope and renewal. The sweetness after storm.” If this card truly represents the path before me, then the work of the moment may not be striving or struggle, but learning how to trust the quiet return of hope. 

What practice will sustain that path?
Nine of Swords

The first thing that comes to mind is “nightmares.” The usual advice associated with this card is not to become overwhelmed: take one sword down from the wall at a time until none remain hanging over your head. But the figure in bed could also have awakened in the dark of night to pray; his hands cover his eyes, perhaps to focus on the words of the Shema. Perhaps the practice is to confront anxieties directly, speaking to God about whatever is troubling you, as Rabbi Nachman teaches. (It is a prayer technique that can transform one’s perspective.)

In the Eilat Tarot, this card is called Nine of Swords - Night of the Mind and corresponds to the ninth sefirah, Yesod (Connection). Yesod gathers and channels the forces of the Tree of Life's upper sefirot into lived experience, which may explain why anxieties often surface here. Thoughts that have been ignored during the day emerge at night, demanding acknowledgment.

The suit of Swords (Air) links the card to the realm of thought and speech. The month of Sivan, when the Torah was revealed at Sinai, reminds us that clarity can emerge from struggle and questioning. Gemini, the sign of duality and conversation, suggests dialogue, perhaps even dialogue with God.

The Little White Book describes the card as “Fear, anxiety, or mental unrest. Dark thoughts brought honestly to prayer.” In the context of spiritual practice, the card may invite honest prayer and the courage to bring troubled thoughts into the open.

Instead of avoiding anxiety, the practice may be to bring it into dialogue with God. 

What attitude will help me walk this path?
King of Wands

My first thought was, “He needs a shave.” He is rugged, intense, and fiery. This card often represents a visionary, someone who can see both the possibilities ahead and the obstacles. The king is clothed and seated indoors, in striking contrast to the naked woman beneath the open sky in the Star.

In the Eilat Tarot, this card is called Father of Wands - Bearer of Vision. As the Father of the suit of Fire, he represents Fire of Fire, a fully mature expression of creative energy. His task is not merely to feel passion, but to guide it responsibly.

The card belongs to Asiyah, the World of Action, where will becomes fully manifest. At the level of the soul, it corresponds to Ḥayah, the living vitality that animates vision and courage.

The Little White Book describes the card as “Directing passion with responsibility. Placing vision in service of something larger.” In this reading, the King suggests approaching spiritual struggle not with fear, but with leadership of the self.

If the practice involves confronting anxiety, the King of Wands reminds me to do so with courage and purpose rather than discouragement.

* * * *
According to the RWS deck, my path of spiritual development involves healing, renewal, and trust in divine guidance. The spiritual practice that may sustain this path is honestly confronting worries, fears, or mental unrest through contemplative awareness or prayer. I should approach this work with courage, authority, and vision.

The Eilat Tarot adds another layer to these meanings. The path of Tzadi suggests learning to balance compassion and restraint as hope returns after difficulty. The Nine of Swords in Yesod reminds me that anxiety often surfaces when deeper truths are trying to reach consciousness, and that prayer can transform worry into dialogue. The Father of Wands calls for courage and disciplined vision, guiding creative fire so that it serves something larger than the self.

Siren and Song

Incoming missile alerts sounded on my phone for several hours last night. (And continued into the morning.) Between those brief, jarring awakenings, I dreamed.

Maya and Agatha were preparing to light their Shabbat candles. Their home was dark yet saturated with color, like the ornate panels of the Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg, burnished gold, lapis blues, and deep crimsons. Shadows gathered in the corners like soft velvet curtains, yet everything seemed to glow from within.

At first I did not recognize the sound outside. It was the Shabbat siren, but it did not sound like a warning. It rose and swelled as if neighbors in the street had begun to sing, their voices braiding into one another, welcoming the entrance of Shabbat.

Maya lit her candles first. Agatha stood slightly to one side, hidden from me at first, as if waiting for her moment. Then she approached the table and lit her own candles. Mother and daughter sang the blessing, their voices low and full, and then they looked at me with such love that it felt like a benediction.

The four flames cast halos of honeyed light on their faces. They were dressed regally, their hair piled high like crowns. Their bearing was almost priestly, their necks steady and still, but eyes pouring out joy. Then they began to dance in slow circles, as if enacting the entrance of the Shabbos bride herself, grace entering the world because of their welcoming movements.

In the second part of the dream, the house I love had not been sold after all. I discovered it was only being rented for a year by a doctor and his partner. The loss I had already accepted was not final. In a year, I could make my offer again. The possibility felt like a door quietly reopening, a future not erased but postponed.

Then I was in Eilat, visiting Jude. The sky was clear and blue. We decided we would have our girls’ night at Arlan’s place, and with affectionate conspiracy we made him find somewhere else to sleep. The dream ended not in alarm, but in laughter and belonging.

When I woke, I stepped outside. Birds were already singing, the doves carrying the main theme. The sky was obscured by gray clouds, bundles of mistletoe were visible in the bare branches, the air was just slightly cool. I sat on the porch step listening to the symphony.

A musical night, a musical morning. In a few hours I will go see EPiC, a film about Elvis. Even the day feels scored.

Eilat Writers Guild

The website is now up! It's an exciting milestone!

Eilat Writers Guild, L.L.C.

Sacred Architecture: Cards and Concrete

Although I generally dislike oracle decks, I was seduced by the imagery of The Priestess Oracle Deck. It's one of the most beautiful decks of any kind that I've ever seen.

I usually feel that Oracle decks don’t carry the weight of centuries of cultural interpretation the way tarot does. They’re usually one or two people’s private cosmology, and readers at psychic fairs inevitably end up consulting the little book instead of reading the image and working with the client.

That said, this deck is more beautiful than I had expected, and the guidebook less incoherent than I feared. I tried one of the recommended spreads. I did, however, rewrite the questions to make them more grounded.

How do I resonate with my life’s purpose?
Anubis

Anubis is a psychopomp, a guide between states. He escorts souls across thresholds. I am in a transitional phase of my life, something familiar is ending and something unexpected is beginning. I need to stop clinging to a former identity and move deliberately through change, releasing what is outdated. This may be stressful, but it is simply a crossing, closer to the Six of Swords than to catastrophe.

How do I awaken my best nature?
Emerald Tablet

The right approach is awareness and acceptance, not force. This is Ḥesed balanced by Gevurah: expansion disciplined by structure. Alignment before action.

How can I connect with the Divine more easily?
Ankh

I can connect to Source through my body. Walking. Breathing. Eating consciously. Touching the physical world. Being fully alive in Asiyah. Connection is not abstraction. It is embodiment.

What guide or aspect of the Divine is around me now?
Diamond Dimension

Clarity. This card aligns with the Father of Swords energy that has helped me revise the deck and evaluate a home purchase. What matters now is discernment and refinement. Cutting away what is unnecessary. It is a search for precision, not ecstasy.

What message does this guide have for me?
Nile

Do not grip too tightly. Trust the momentum already carrying me. Stop micromanaging outcomes. Work steadily. Receive as much as I give. Let developments unfold at a natural pace. Abundance means flow, not frenzy.

What this reading relates to in my life now:

Finalizing the deck for publication
Proofreading the pamphlet
Purchasing a condominium near the synagogue
Forming a business and filing copyrights
Writing the companion book over the next nine months

What the spread is actually saying:

I am shedding a previous identity.
I am entering a more integrated one.
I should not rush the next phase.
I must remain physically grounded.
I should allow the work to mature at its own pace rather than forcing completion.

I am at a threshold and the correct posture is steadiness.

This reading did not confirm my usual resistance to oracle decks. It is a workable and meaningful system.

However, I still prefer tarot. Tarot is a language shaped over centuries; its symbols are stable enough to argue with. Oracle decks, by contrast, often arrive interpreted, inflated with metaphysical promises and cosmic flattery.

And yet, if you strip away the exaggeration and returned to image, symbol, and lived context, this one can be a mirror. Tarot trains the reader to think. Oracle decks tempt the reader to believe. In this case, I chose to do both. Discernment and receptivity are not opposites. I filtered the deck’s language through a little common sense, allowing the symbols to speak.

The Diaspora Dilemma Spread

This tarot reading (using both The Robin Wood Tarot and the Eilat Tarot) explores whether I should buy a house here in Texas. On the surface, home ownership offers the powerful appeal of finally having a place of my own and of paying property taxes rather than rent. But the risks feel serious, even existential.

I see more potential problems than advantages. With rising fears that it may soon (God forbid) become unsafe for Jews to live openly in the United States, I feel a need to stay financially agile. If I need to return to Israel, every penny will matter. And yet, paradoxically, I’d rather continue living in the U.S. and visit Israel regularly-- something home ownership might make impossible.

This reading is not just about real estate. It's about rootedness, freedom, fear, and longing. And whether it's wise to build a home in a place that may stop welcoming me even as the people I love most are an ocean away in Israel.

The King of Swords
My current grounding - What roots me right now

This is the court card that represents me for reasons beyond my understanding.

This is a king, so there's maturity and experience. This is a Sword card so there's intellect, clarity, discernment, and the ability to make tough choices.

Norma writes this is a stubborn and defensive person who needs to understand his emotions so he can show his beautiful self to others or trusting them. While this card indicates I am grounded in an ability to think clearly, my foundation is has become rigid and strategic. I am excellent at foreseeing danger, but less open to nourishment, home, or peace.

My keywords for this card upright are: Fair judge, clarity of thought, authority, boundaries, strong communicator, strategic.

My keywords for this card when reversed are: Stubbornness, tyranny, manipulation, misuse of power, rigidity.

In the Eilat Tarot, this card is titled Wielder of Judgment. The essence of that card is:

The Father of Swords is the fully developed intellect after a lifetime of experience. It is “intellect in action.” In the World of Asiyah, where intention becomes deed, he governs the realm of words, ethics, and decisions, especially in the face of emotional complexity. This figure’s power is the power to name, to discern, and to act. The paleo-Hebrew letters Yud and Vav, representing fir and air, evoke focused will and connection, the spark and its movement.

Due to its elemental associations, the Golden Dawn called this card “Wind: swift pressure brought to bear.” I titled this figure Wielder of Judgment to emphasize his capacity for decisive, clear, and honest decision making. He embodies mature thought and the courage to act on understanding, but may be vulnerable to isolation when intellect eclipses compassion. The sword indicates mastery of words and ideas, making him a good judge and a good advisor. He exemplifies necessary severity: capable of cutting through confusion with truth, even when it stings.

The Fathers as a group belong to the World of Action and the element of fire. They reveal responsibility, the ethical weight of what we do. The Father of Air rules through discernment, intellect guiding us toward right action.

The Wielder of Judgment (Father of Air) asks, "What truth are you wielding, and is it making space for grace?"

The Devil
What owning a home here would give me

Norma Cowie taught me that the RWS card means "the subconscious in control" and considered this an always negative card. It could mean that owning a home here could keep me in a state of fear all the time. Is there any way to interpret it saying that owning a home could satisfy this life long yearning for a home?

Norma writes that this represents someone caught up in their own feelings and no longer able to reason; he could free himself from a bad situations by exercising control in his life. Buying the home may not give me financial freedom; it might deepen emotional captivity, tying me to a place, to fear, and perhaps to a life that feels safe but also suffocating.

My keywords for this card upright are: Driven by unconscious instincts, in bondage to emotion, obsession, addiction, dependency, shame, false beliefs, self-doubt, lack of self-awareness.

My keywords for this card when reversed are: Liberation, breaking chains, overcoming temptation, seeing through illusions, reclaiming power, taking responsibility for choices, awakening from unconscious patterns.

In the Eilat Tarot, this card is titled The Path Between Compassion and Understanding. The essence of that card is:

Ayin, the sixteenth letter of the alef-bet, represents Capricorn, a symbol of yearning for control and structure. Its path runs from Tiferet (Compassion) to Binah (Understanding), an ascent from the heart into discernment. The Sefer Yetzirah keyword is Anger (רוגז), evoking the turbulence that clouds perception and binds us to reactive desire. The name Ayin means “eye” or “spring of water.” Vision can reveal truth, but it can also distort when muddied by envy, anger, or craving. The letter Ayin (eye) is a powerful entry point into both illusion and insight; as a spring, it suggests a hidden blessing for the clear-eyed. In the Eilat Tarot, Capricorn corresponds to The Devil. This path calls us to recognize the chains we fashion for ourselves and to reclaim freedom through clarity, compassion, and deliberate choice.

Ayin asks you to see clearly the emotional bonds (fear, desire, or pride) that drive your choices.

Eight of Wands
What owning a home might cost me

Energy, the ability to travel quickly. I've come to think that Eights in tarot represent faith and connect to the idea of reverence and gratitude, but I don't see how that fits here.

Norma writes that this card represents, "new ideas coming into reality." So maybe this means owning a home will prevent new things from entering my life? Owning a home might stall movement, growth, or opportunity. The "new ideas coming into reality" could be derailed or delayed. Owning a home here might limit my spontaneity, delay my ability to return to Israel, and cut off my openness to creative possibility.

My keywords for this card upright are: Opportunity, swift change, communication, travel, acceleration.

My keywords for this card when reversed are: Frustration, delays, sense of urgency.

In the Eilat Tarot, this card is titled The Line of Fire. I have only begun a draft describing the essence of this card:

The number eight means movement, refinement, consecration. The eight sefirah, called Reverence (Hod) means glory, but its deeper quality is reverence, humility before the sacred, and gratitude for what exceeds us. The suit of Wands can mean creative energy, will, vitality, creativity, sexual energy; egotism, aggression, reckless desire. The card corresponds to the month of Kislev, to the sign of Sagittarius (suggesting purpose, vision, direction) and to the tribe of Binyamin, the "ravenous wolf" in whose territory, between Ephraim to the north and Judah to the south, stretched from the Jordan River eastward to near the coast and intitially included the cities of Jerusalem, Jericho, Bethel, and Gibeah. The card corresponds to the decan that contains Chanukkah (loyalty and re-dedication of the Temple). The line of fire is purpose in motion. Its velocity can burn or bless, depending on reverence for the sacred task it carries.

The Line of Fire (Eight of Wands) asks if this decision will align your energy or dissipate it? Will the momentum of your life stall?

Ten of Swords
What staying flexible would give me

Death, an ending, having to accept that this is the end of my life. There may be a sunrise, but I won't be here to see it. That's a strange answer for a card that's supposed to indicate what I'll gain. Perhaps it suggests the ending of a belief in the illusion of stability.

The image suggests the realizataion of a harsh truth. Norma writes that this card represents the end of a cycle of problems. If so, then I should definitely remain flexible by not buying a home right now. Staying flexible may hurt. It may force me to surrender some identity, hope, or dream. But it could end a cycle of suffering, allowing me to gain clarity and be transformed.

My keywords for this card upright are: Defeat, collapse, betrayal, painful ending, rock bottom.

My keywords for this card when reversed are: Relief, letting go, new beginning, change through surrender.

In the Eilat Tarot, this card is titled The End That Speaks. I have only begun a draft describing the essence of this card:

The Tens correspond to Malkhut (also called Shekhinah), the final sefirah of spirit taking physical form. Malkhut in air suggests intellectual clarity or clear speech. Ten symbolizes both completion and return, a cycle that ends not in stillness but in transformation. The suit of Swords refer to thought, perception, truth, communication; deceit, harsh judgment, conflict. The month of Sivan is connected to this card as are Gemini and the Tribe of Zevulun.

The End That Speaks (Ten of Swords) suggests that letting go of the house may seem like death to a dream. It may, in fact, mark the end of a long cycle of suffering, ungrounded yearning, and fear. Being flexible could allow real clarity to emerge.

20 Judgment
What staying flexible might cost me

The chance for rebirth into a new life.

Norma writes that this card indicates that you must accept the "results of your decisions," which suggests that I may have some regrets about not buying a house now if I don't do so, FOMO (fear of missing out). I may someday wonder: What if I’d claimed my place here, instead of waiting for clarity that never came?

My keywords for this card upright are: Awakening, resurrection, truth revealed, revitalization, forgiveness, inner calling.

My keywords for this card when reversed are: Paying the piper, inability to move on, guilt, avoiding truth, missed awakening

In the Eilat Tarot, this card is titled Shin - The Path Between Understanding and Wisdom. I have only begun a draft describing the essence of this card:

Shin, one of the three Mother letters, represents the element of fire in the Sefer Yetzirah. Its path runs from Chokhmah (Wisdom) to Binah (Understanding), joining vision with form. The keyword I have chosen (based on the Sefer Yetzirah) is Illumination (ha’arah), for fire both reveals and transforms. The name Shin means “tooth,” an image of consuming and breaking down, yet also of sustaining life through nourishment. Fire has a double nature: it warms, enlightens, and purifies, but it can also burn, destroy, and consume without restraint. In the Eilat Tarot, Fire corresponds to Judgment, where awakening calls us to change, guiding passion toward clarity and purpose rather than conflict. The element of fire symbolizes illumination, passion, and transformation, but also destruction.

Shin - The Path Between Understanding and Wisdom suggests a missed awakening. Fire wants a hearth. Will I give my fire a hearth?

21 The World
My deeper fear about the future

Completion, wholeness. Having achieved what I was meant to in this life. This is usually a very good card, so it's strange that it appears as my fear. Maybe its a fear of completing the journey in the wrong place, or with the wrong identity, settling into a version of life that isn't mind. Or perhaps it’s a fear that the I won't complete the journey at all and I'll never have a sense of wholeness.

Norma writes, "advise your querent to be sure to accept what is and enjoy the state he is at because he will reach his Castle of Dreams and achieve what he wants as long as he stays in balance." This is difficult advise for me because I no longer know if any of my dreams were reasonable.

My keywords for this card upright are: Wholeness, understanding, fulfillment, attainment, freedom, mastery.

My keywords for this card when reversed are: Unfinished business, limitation, avoidance of closure, stagnation at the threshold.

In the Eilat Tarot, this card is titled Tav - The Path Between Presence and Connection. I have not finished writing about the essence of this card:

The letter Tav means a mark, a seal, a covenant; it is the signature of a life lived fully… Saturn symbolizes discipline and fulfillment… the netiv between Presence (Malkuth) and Connection (Yesod) suggests… the Sefer Yetzirah’s guiding functions of Grace and Ugliness indicate… Together, these elements suggest … completion in rootedness, not just transcendence

In the Eilat Tarot, the card Tav - The Path Between Presence and Connection reflects my fear of finishing life in the wrong place or never arriving. Tav seals the journey. This card reflects the existential fear that the final chapter may feel misaligned. It urges me to discern what wholeness really means and where my Castle of Dreams is.

Six of Swords
My deeper desire for a future

A journey to smoother waters and towards a refuge. Usually metaphorical, but it could be an actual journey. I really don't want to live in Israel again even though I miss the Land and my friends terribly. There seems to be a lot of death in this reading, so this could be another death card. Or maybe I don't want home ownership, but refuge. I want the option to escape a possible threat more than I want permanence.

Norma writes that this card represents someone who is working to resolve his problems and, because "he has accepted responsiblity for himself... will succeed in resolving problems and achieving goals." While on first glance, this card suggests escape, it may also mean grace through motion.

My keywords for this card upright are: Rite of passage, escaping danger, resolving problems, mental transition

My keywords for this card when reversed are: Difficult journey, speaking up, disrupting a long-standing situation, fear of change, carrying baggage.

In the Eilat Tarot, this card is titled The Quiet Crossing. I have not finished writing about the essence of this card:

The Sixes correspond to Tiferet (Compassion) at the heart of the Tree of Life, the harmonizing force that holds lovingkindness and discipline in sacred tension. Six symbolizes harmony, reciprocity, and reflection. The Star of David, two interlocking triangles, shows heaven and earth mirroring each other. In tarot, the Sixes often reveal blessing and grace.

The holiday of Tu b’Shevat, the new year of the trees, falls on the full moon, unlike other Jewish new years. It is a celebration of the Land and its produce. Tiferet in Air. The harmony of thought and the passage through transition. A time of quiet clarity, painful perhaps, but steady. Like a ferry crossing unknown waters, this card shows the mercy of movement and the promise of healing. Even in sorrow, the way forward is held in gentleness and grace.

The Quiet Crossing (Six of Swords) shows a passage, not permanence. I long for movement that leads to peace, not stagnations. This card speaks of a longing for refuge and a transition to further growth.

The Hermit
The spiritual lesson in this decision

Being an example to others. Completing a journey, perhaps a life journey, and looking back at the lessons.

Norma's interpretation of this card is fascinating. Your querent "needs to go within to discover the answer... he has to make a decision, or a move, which will bring about a contradition, so he is avoiding it... lead him to realize he doews know his own answers." My task is not to build a life others understand or respect. It’s to discern my own truth. Only by withdrawing from the world's noise can you hear your own soul and discern what my journey is.

My keywords for this card upright are: Reflection, introspection, solitude, discretion, wisdom gained through experience, patience, inner light, an example to others.

My keywords for this card when reversed are: Isolation, avoidance, burnout, resistance to connection, fear of being seen.

In the Eilat Tarot, this card is titled Yod - The Path Between Persistence and Compassion. I have not finished writing about the essence of this card:

Yod, the tenth letter of the alef-bet, represents a seed seed, all potential in smallest form. Its path runs from Netzach (Perseverance) to Tiferet (Compassion), joining endurance with the harmony of the heart. The Sefer Yetzirah keyword is Action (ma’aseh), a reminder that clarity must find expression in deed. The letter Yod is a single suspended point, the smallest of the Hebrew letters, suggesting humility, hiddenness, and the seed from which all other letters grow. In the Eilat Tarot, Yod and it's corresponding sign Virgo are linked to The Hermit, the seeker of wisdom who withdraws in order to see clearly, but whose light guides others as well. Virgo symbolizes discernment, service, detail, and humility. The Hermit’s challenge is to balance the way of the saint, who seeks solitary perfection, with the way of the sage, who acts within community. True strength lies not in seclusion alone, but in returning to bring compassion into the shared life of the world.

Yod - The Path Between Persistence and Compassion The contradiction of needing to choose between safety and truth can only be resolved by listening to my inner voice. This card does not say “don’t buy the house.” It says: choose as one who has found their soul’s light, not as someone grasping for shelter from the dark.

Queen of Pentacles
Guidance from ancestors / divine alignment

Accepting the limitations on your life. Being grateful for what you do have and nurturing others.

Norma writes that this figure "represents the attitude of being able to accep--and wait-- and enjoy the process." She can't have everything she wants right now, but if she has a positive attitude, she will be able to have and do everything she wants to. So this card advises me to be patient and accept limitation. Wait, knowing there is abundance in simplicity and nourishment in presence. Care is its own wealth. I will tend what I have now. This card advises deep acceptance, quiet nurturing, and humble gratitude.

My keywords for this card upright are: Practical, nurturing, down to earth, fortunate, resourceful.

My keywords for this card when reversed are: Accepting limitations, imbalance in service, overgiving, self-neglect, insecurity around worth.

In the Eilat Tarot, this card is titled Guardian of the Field. The essence of this card is:

Mothers are mature feminine characters who embody their suit’s wisdom. The Mother of Pentacles is both grounded and caring. The suit of Pentacles indicates embodiment, work, resources, and grounded presence, but also materialism, inertia, spiritual dullness. The elemental attribution of this card, Water of Earth, suggests nurturing and groundedness. The Mother of Earth is someone who provides, protects, and tends, often giving more than she receives. Practical, reliable, sustaining, sometimes self-sacrificing, but with a gift for care and creating abundance. She also represents the world of Yetzirah (Formation); she nurtures both body and soul. Pentacles are about practical matters like making a living and caring for your family, and acceptance of limits. She is patient and trusts in the divine. She shares qualities with the ISFJ personality type, which is mine.

Guardian of the Field (Mother of Earth) advises me to tend what is already growing. The wisdom of this guardian is quiet and gratitude. Don’t chase completion. Sit in your field. Wait. Nourish. Let what’s truly yours root and rise in its own time.

After reviewing this reading and considering my future, I realize that some part of me really wants to return to Israel. Which means I am very unrealistic about what will make me happy. I'm caught between two kinds of pain: living in the diaspora or living in the Land.

So what is the message of this tarot reading? It didn’t give me a clear yes or no. Instead, it asked me to pause, reflect, and listen more deeply to myself. Waiting, and listening to my soul, may yield clarity, grace, and self-understanding. Then I can choose not from fear, but from trust.

Incense and Inner Silence

If I ever felt a mysterious inner prompting to adopt a new religion, where would I go?

Catholicism holds little appeal—except for the rosary! That would be the perfect meditative technique for me. It keeps the brain busy in two ways (by reciting prayers and by reflecting on moments from the life of Jesus) making it possible to reach the deeper silence beyond all the alien voices in your head. And the Church has some great women mystics. I've read Teresa of Ávila and Julian of Norwich and have listened to Hildegard of Bingen's music. I'd like to read Hadewijch and to learn everything there is to know about the Beguines.

What other religions?

Protestants study the Bible. That is appealing to me.

The one Greek Orthodox service I attended was intoxicating. The liturgy felt like a meeting of the Book of Psalms and the Greek Magical Papyri. The mind-altering incense deepened the sense that Parashat Acharei Mot was unfolding before my eyes.

"Intoxicating Incense" generated by ChatGPT
Zoroastrianism and Yezidism are ancient, mysterious, and intriguing.

Hinduism's glorious plethora of divine beings, stories, philosophies, yogas, and rituals feels less like one religion and more like a living library of spiritual possibility.

And of course, there’s Buddhism. If there is a “true religion,” it’s Buddhism. I sometimes wish it were for me. Maybe in some future, more evolved lifetime.

I’m not looking for a new religion. I have an all-encompassing religion, one I can practice in my kitchen, in a study hall, during evening minyan, in the women’s section at the Kotel, on Shabbat, or at work.

To call Judaism a religion misses everything. Judaism is more than a faith. It is an indigenous people cleaving to their heritage. It is culture, memory, and the refusal to forget. It is scholars in conversation with other generations of scholars. It is every new drash on a parasha we’ve read once a year for thousands of years. It is lived experience preserved and examined, because we don’t assimilate and forget. It is realism, not idealism, because our founding myth is slavery, not paradise. That’s why worldly suffering never surprises us. We don’t expect the world to be just. But we strive to make it just.

If some mysterious inner prompting ever nudged me away, I would listen. (But eventually I would return home.)

Whatever path we choose to walk, I hope we travel it with open eyes and grounded hearts.

The Tree at the Crossroads, A New Year Rite of Vision and Release with Hekate

Hekate dances before a tree too immense to fully see.

I place three candles on the earth and light them.

I light these flames at the roots of the world tree.
Flame of the crossroads. Flame of the soul. Flame of the future.
Hekate Enodia, Hekate Phosphoros, Hekate Trimorphis.
Help me understand these messages.

I place The Hermit card (reversed) before the white candle and invoke Hekate:

Enodia, show me where I resist stillness.
Help me hear the wisdom that lives beneath the silence.

I place the Two of Cups (reversed) before the red candle and invoke Hekate:

Aglaos and Vrimo, illuminate the wounds I must heal.
Why is love withheld? How may I open to connection again?

I place the Knight of Pentacles before the black candle and invoke Hekate:

Psychi Kosmou and Hthonia, show me the gate that opens.
How shall I plant and nourish the seeds of growth?

I place a pomegranate, a key, and an offering cup near the candles.

I place the Four of Swords before the pomegranate and invoke Hekate:

Fruit of the Underworld, sealed and sweet,
I will not force the path.
Let the hidden potential ripen in silence.
Let me lay down the sword and welcome sacred rest.

I place The Magician card before the key and invoke Hekate:

Hekate Klidouchos, Keeper of Keys,
May I find what I need.
Teach me to use what I already carry.
Let will and wisdom meet.

I place the King of Pentacles before the offering cup and invoke Hekate:

I return the gifts that once helped me.
Help me release control.
Let my spirit grow where fear once ruled.

I inscribe a circle on the ground.

I place the Ten of Pentacles within the circle and invoke Hekate:

Show me what will take root.
What vision is ready to come into form?

I place the Death card within the circle and invoke Hekate:

Hekate of Many Faces,
Show me who I must become.
Guide me through the shedding.
Let the old self die with grace.

I await a vision...

I kindle fire in the cauldron and pour water into the basin.

I pass the Two of Wands (reversed) through the flames of the cauldron and invoke Hekate:

Cauldron of transformation,
Receive what I must release.
Hekate, help me name what is false and what I fear,
and give me strength to cast them into the flame.

I pour water from the basin over the Five of Pentacles (reversed) and invoke Hekate:

Water of life, water of mercy.
Hekate, show me what must be cleansed.
Let this basin carry away sorrow, shame, and isolation.
Let resilience and grace take their place.

I pour water on my hands and splash my face. Then I offer thanks to Hekate:

The flame returns to the root.
The path returns to silence.
The goddess remains.
May what was seen unfold in time.
Hail and farewell, Hekate,
Light-bringer, Key-holder, Guide through shadow.

Postscript

When I performed this rite, the visualization came quickly and vividly. I saw Hekate dancing before the World Tree which, in the darkness, was vast beyond sight. I recited Hekate's mantra and felt the damp earth and warm air around me. The candles flickered over each card. The pomegranate, key, and cup were real. I inscribed the circle with white chalk and felt Hekate communing with me.

When I laid down the Death card, I asked what part of me must die so I can live more fully. But then I noticed: The Ten of Pentacles had come first. Perhaps transformation isn't a prerequisite for change; perhaps change will begin to take root before I fully understand who I must become.

The Five of Pentacles, washed in water, offered hope. I saw the possibility of returning to a place of light, of finding a new home, within myself or elsewhere.

I gazed at The Two of Cups, its candle still burning brightly even though it had became shorter, and I asked Hekate to help me find love and connection and to heal whatever has kept me distant from others.

Something shifted. I felt a quiet turning and heard the beginning of something. Now I wait in stillness to understand the rest.

New Year's Tarot Spread

This morning, I began the year by performing a tarot reading using Arith Harger’s The Altar of Hekate - Rune Divination Method, a spread that invites reflection, transformation, and the wisdom of the liminal goddess. The cards are read in ten sacred positions, each one symbolically tethered to phases of ritual work at an altar.


Opening the Crossroads

Card 1 - White candle, new moon, our inner temple. Asking Enodia for advice and wisdom regarding the next cycle.

The Hermit reversed suggests that I'm resisting stillness and failing to listen to my inner guidance, that I'm not embracing the isolation and silence I currently need. I'm seeking sensible action and external answers when I should be seeking higher wisdom.

Card 2 - Red candle, red moon, the sacred flames of Aglaos and Vrimo. Illuminating the path to regeneration and helping defend against blocks to your potential.

The Two of Cups reversed suggests that I've never really accepted that no one will ever love me back. I'm not seeking romantic love, but the love with those around me who make up the fabric and melody of a meaningful life. I've never figured out what makes me so vile and unlovable. I've just had to accept that only a few people care and that the love I give is what I should focus on. This absence of connection must be healed in some way.

Card 3 - Black candle, dark moon. Purification of home and self before transition to next cycle; Psychi Kosmou and Hthonia reveal which gate will open for you.

The Knight of Pentacles indicates responsibility and duty, and the satisfaction of being responsible and dutiful. These qualities reflect who I am, but the other cards suggest I may need to redirect my energies. It may indicate continuing with my current situation, but tending it differently so sprouts of new life may begin to cover that ploughed field. I dreamed of a home last night and the night before. It may be time to nest and make a home in which I can grow.

Descent to the Inner Temple

Card 4 - Pomegranate of Hthonia to find yourself. Revealing the hidden fruit of the Underworld, your potential; don’t force yourself onto a path you’re not suited for.

The Four of Swords suggests that my potential can't be found through action now. I must lay down the sword and accept this period of dormancy. The pomegranate, symbol of the underworld, and this card ask me to be still, rest, and let the fruit ripen in silence.

Card 5 - Keys of Kliduchos. Revealing the keys to your soul, your journey, your hidden potential.

The Magician suggests I have access to all the keys and tools I need even if they feel distant now. Perhaps they will become visible to me in this season of stillness.

Card 6 - Offering cup. Releasing gifts that might prevent the unfolding and growth, unveiling the next cycle to gain confidence in it.

The King of Pentacles suggests that my attachment to material control and outward stability is a shield, but that it now cages me. I don’t need to give up security, but I must let go of my fear of losing it. I need to seek spiritual growth.

Vision from the Deep

Card 7 - The magic circle, active part of the altar. Obtaining a concrete image of what to expect in the next cycle.

The Ten of Pentacles suggests I will find a situation in which to become rooted and strong and giving. I will establish a foundation, reconnect with tradition, claim a place within a community, and gain a sense of belonging that will bless both me and others.

Card 8 - Hekate of many epithets. We are too fluid to be the same person throughout our lives; this rune or card shows the identity we must embrace for this cycle.

Death suggests that my old self is dissolving while a new one is rising. Hekate as psychopomp will guide me through this transformation. Like the figures in the card, I should surrender and welcome this transformation. My old identity cannot accommodate the future that is arriving.

Release and Return

Card 9 - Cauldron. Burn everything no longer needed on the altar, refine the vision you've gained, and keep that vision in the fertile silence of the Underworld for future use.

The Two of Wands reversed shows hesitation, fear of taking the wrong action. I should surrender doubt of this vision and wait trustfully in the fertile silence for the vision to come to fruition.

Card 10 - Water. Release the creative energies you invoked for this ritual, cleanse the altar and yourself. Dissolve the ritual circle and return to the flow of life and self.

The Five of Pentacles reversed represents emerging from scarcity, shame, and the ache of being out in the cold. It shows me reclaiming a sense of self worth. Let the water wash away old wounds and patterns of behavior that keep me isolated. Let resilience and self-trust flow into me, carrying me into a new future.

Turning the Reading into a Rite

How do I turn the lessons of this reading into a ritual. What ritual actions will solidify the vision in my mind and in reality?

• The Hermit asks: What kind of meditation will help me cultivate stillness and hear the voice of inner wisdom?
• The Two of Cups reversed raises the question: How do I face this ache in my character, this yearning for connection? Will it dissolve with the transformation that is coming?
• The Knight of Pentacles wonders: Would creating an altar space be sufficient to help me tend my life with more care and intention?
• The Four of Swords whispers: What kind of rest do I truly need, especially when illness has already taken so much time from gainful employment?
• The Magician echoes: What kind of stillness will allow me to recognize the keys I already possess?
• The King of Pentacles challenges: How do I transmute my desire for material control into a deeper search for spiritual growth?
• With the Ten of Pentacles and Death, I wonder: Is this transformation inevitable? Do I trust it to unfold, no matter what I do?
• The Two of Wands reversed urges me to ask: Is it truly possible to release fear? What symbol can I burn?
• And finally, the Five of Pentacles reversed asks: How do I release the old story of exclusion and scarcity that has shaped me since childhood? What symbol can I wash away?

Would candles, breath, and word be enough? Or is this a ritual that can only unfold in the astral temple, with Hekate guiding me and revealing the symbolic objects I must release?