Under the Same Stars

I wanted to do a reading for myself this evening. Nostalgia led me to Caroline Cushing’s Soul Practices Spread, which was originally designed for use with the Gaian Tarot. I used the RWS deck, considered an RWS interpretation of the spread, and then followed it with an interpretation using the Eilat Tarot.

This layout draws one card from each arcana:

• Letter Cards (and the Aces) - What path or energy is opening before me?
• Number Cards - What sacred practice will sustain me?
• Image 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

TThe 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 Restrant (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 simply as “Fear, anxiety, or mental unrest.” Yet in the context of spiritual practice, it 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 Yeẓirah, the World of Formation, where inner impulses begin to take shape in action. 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.