NMR ISSUE 19

Astrological Forecast 19
Crystals
Earth, Air, Fire and Water
Editorial
Giraffe
Growing Through Joy
Hermes, Guide of Souls
Letters 19
Magic and the Western Mind
On Distillation
Public Rituals & Children
Solitary Talk
Solstice Song for Summer
The Oldest Magick
The Principles of Magick
The Purpose of Being a Magician
The Significator
The Spirit of Shamanism
The Turning of the Ages
Two to Get You Mad
Understaning Your Dreams

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The Significator

By Craig Keene

The use of significator cards is a technique that Tarot readers either use regularly or ignore completely. I believe that many ignore it because they don't understand exactly how to use the significator. This is a technique that may be easier to use than to explain.

Many different spreads use a significator card. The most common examples are The Celtic Cross, the year long reading, The Wish Spread and any spread from Mathers, Crowley and the Golden Dawn. The significator is common to most older spreads.

Simply, a significator is a card that represents the querant, the person for whom the reading is given. The card chosen for this purpose may be almost any of the 78 in the deck. There are, however, a few traditional guidelines:

Since the court cards generally represent people, they may represent the querant. Kings would be for men who are older, secure or have a family. A King is a man who is established in his life. Queens are for women, specifically those who are older, have a family or economic security and independence. Knights represent young people. They are seekers or wanderers. They may be men or women, although traditionally they were only for young men. Because today, women are as assertive and competitive as men are, they belong in the same category. Pages represent children (immature people of any age) and those who have no control over their lives.

Each of the suits represents different people according to physical appearance. Swords stand for people who are dark—skin, hair and eyes. Cups are for those who are fair in all respects. Wands represent fair people with dark eyes. Pentacles are the happy medium, those who are neither fair nor dark. Do not consider the physical representations to be in any way absolute. There are too many different versions to claim one as a standard. Pentacles, for example, represent dark people in some systems and fair in others. A better method might be to choose a suit that corresponds to the querent’s personality.

It is not necessary to choose a card from the Minor Arcana. A Major Arcana card may be a significator if it represents the querant in a way that is more than superficial. For example, if the querant were a rash, opinionated man with more than his share of ego and who liked to be in charge of his life, then his card could be Trump IV, the Emperor. The problem with using the Major Arcana is obvious: there are only 22 of them. Since a card in use as the significator won't show up in the rest of the reading, this necessitates a lesser card coming up in its place.

Many use The Fool, as their standard significator. This trump is numbered 0 and is allowed to fall anywhere in the sequence of the Major Arcana. It is also the card of a seeker or journeyer. The Fool is a part of every other trump and at the same time a unique card. It almost seems to have been made to be the significator. We know that it was not, however.

The Waite-Rider deck includes a blank card. This may represent the querant. Since it is extra, none of the normal allotment will be missing from the reading—the necessary cards will be there. I believe the original purpose of the blank card was to protect the face of the bottom card in the deck from damage. Don't let this put you off. The extra card, with a little creativity, can be a unique and valuable tool for your readings.

When choosing a significator, the most important thing to remember is that the card must stand for the querant in the reading. Therefore, the card should be as close to the querant as possible. As an alternative to the above methods, I have allowed the querant to look through the deck and choose his own significator. If you try this (it's a fun technique), remember to allow the querant to choose whatever card he wishes; try not to prejudice him in any manner. Do not forget to read the significator card when you do the rest of the reading. It's not invalid just because some untrained, uneducated lout chose the card instead of you. The card he chooses will give you an insight into the rest of the reading—sometimes the key to the whole thing. As an aside, I want to point out that doing a reading for a querant is quite different from doing one with a querant.

There are two ways to use a significator card. The particular reading will determine which manner to use (if one is required at all). The first method is simple and straightforward. Choose a card using any of the above methods. Place it on the table in the position that the spread reserves for it. Allow the card to assume the place of the person in the reading and relate the other cards to it. Some cards will relate nicely to the significator while others will not. This tells you which events are affecting the querant and which are affecting the situation. Originally, the placement of the card helped the reader to determine what was happening around the querant by seeing which cards interact with the significator. In magickal terms, the use of a significator in such a manner assumes the level of sympathetic magick. Since magick—to see the future—was invoked from the cards and the future was connected to the querant, the querant had to be connected to the cards. If the querant were reduced, or represented, by his own card, then this would fulfill the requirement of putting the querant in the picture.

The second method of using a significator involves using it in the shuffle. The spread determines the number of cards used. When using the full deck (translation: a long reading), just insert the significator into the deck and shuffle as normal. Spreads using only part of the deck require an extra step. Shuffle and cut the deck into piles as you normally would. After you choose the pile that you want to work with, insert the significator into it and shuffle again. Remember to shuffle only the small pile that you're working with. Then throw the cards normally.

Somewhere, as you lay out the cards, the significator will show up. The placement of this card is like a meridian. It is the dividing line for pairs of contrasts: conscious and unconscious, past and future, forces against you and forces in your favor. The placement of the sides relative to one another and to the significator will often tell more than a straight reading of individual cards. Since each spread using this technique will have a different pattern, it is difficult to describe in anything more than general terms.

Don't get hung up on a significator. If, as the reader, you prefer not to have one, then don't. There are many valid spreads and readings without such a card. Consider the significator as a tool which helps you interpret the reading, not make it. Whether or not you use a significator, I leave you with the final imperative: Read.

Regnabo, Regno, Regnavi, Sum sine rengo