Review of the Sun Spread and the General Characteristics of the Houses.

Click on your Birth Card in the Sun Spread to highlight it in all 3 spreads.  Refer to the Ace of Spades page for the discussion on the designation of the houses in the Sun Spread, and to the Chakras & Astrology page for a reference regarding mapping the columns in the matrix to the chakras.  In the Sun Spread:

• If the house is colored yellow, the card is considered to be ascending, or rising. The general nature of the rising energy is looking outward ('Look what I just did').  As a generalization the individual radiates the rising force, often without need for compensation as they are fueled by their giving.  However, as the ego becomes inflated or self-absorbed, the desire for recognition will increase proportionally.
• If the house is colored blue, the card is considered to be descending, or redeeming. The general nature of the redeeming energy is looking inward, reflecting ('Why did this happen to me?').  As a generalization the individual radiates a reflection of the inner psychic force, often suppressing or rejecting the need for recognition.

Along with the general statements above regarding the sun spread, it should be noted that the chakra in which the birth card resides will further influence the individual. Refer to the evolution of 7 page for a discussion on how the lower 3 chakras balance with the upper 3 through the 4th (heart chakra). As a generalization, houses in the upper 3 chakras will have more of a psychic, passive inclination, while those in the lower 3 chakras will be oriented towards the outer, concrete world of objects.  Note that this discussion relates to the rising and moon spreads as well.

Review of the General Characteristics of the Rising and Moon Spreads.

Refer to the Karmic Wheel page for the discussion on the implications of the Rising and Moon Spreads.

• Generally, the Rising spread represents the configuration through which we work in an extroverted manner. It represents the active principal of our nature, where life unfolds in a visible, tangible way.  The governing rulers for the columns are those that rule during the day.  For instance, in the rising spread the 1st chakra is ruled by Uranus in Aquarius.
• Generally, the Moon spread represents the configuration through which we work in an introverted manner. It represents the passive principal of our nature, where the inner psychic energy reflects upon the outer world.  The governing rulers for the columns are those that rule during the night.  For instance, in the moon spread the 1st chakra is ruled by Saturn in Capricorn.

The Sun, Moon and Rising spreads and the 3 levels of mind.

Regarding the 3 levels of mind, I am referring to the me, myself and I.  Of these the one of primary importance is myself, what Jung calls the 'Self'. The self is a representation of the complete personality complex for the individual. With the cards, the self is identified with the Sun spread, where the cards are in the natural order.  This spread is always present, but in the background in such a way as to not be noticable other than through the integration of the competing and complementary spreads of the rising and moon.

The Rising spread is the one that usually takes on the most prominance as it is related to our activity in the concrete, material world of objects.  What I create in life is generally a response to the orientation of the rising spread and my place within it.  Naturally, the 'I' is prominant here, reflecting the active principal of nature.

The Moon spread is the one that represents the conditions of our passive psychic nature.  Being the subjective component of our makeup, the moon spread does not often take on the prominance that is afforded the rising spread.  The world in which we live requires concrete accomplishments if order for us to maintain a stable lifestyle.  Spending time in the subjective world of the psyche often gets in the way of that.  Yet without this component of mind we would never attain equilibrium.  The moon spread represents the configuration which defines the 'me' component of mind.  Generally a passive configuration, the moon spread becomes active when I question why something happened to me.

Follow the steps below to prepare for a reading.

First notice the house in which your card resides in all 3 of the spreads.  Click on your Birth Card in the Sun Spread to highlight it in all 3 spreads.

The column where the card resides will represent the arena within which the life activity will play out.  Notice the suit emblems below the columns in both the rising and moon spreads.  These suits represent the psychological functions that dominate.  Remembering from 'The 4 Functions' page, these symbols are grouped into pairs which we will discuss below.  Remember, the upper 3 chakras are reflective of the spiritual kingdom, whereas the lower 3 chakras are reflective of the physical kingdom.  The energy in these upper chakras is always a factor of the energy that is resonating in their counterpart chakra below (see the evolution of 7 page).

• The Perceptive functions; Sensation and Intuition:
• 1st chakra: The sensing body dominates here and coupled with the nature of dense physical reality, what plays out in this arena reaches far back into the beginnings of the individual soul. Some would say this is the arena of past life karma, others would call it our connection with karma of the collective unconscious.  Both would be correct.
• But given that the sensing body originates in the unconscious, the karmic details are not always apparent from the conscious perspective.  As a general rule, the 1st chakra types will have an outgoing, energetic attitude.  They live their experience and are often in their own minds, not always feeling able or willing to explain themselves.  When they are expressive, it is almost always from a self-serving perspective.
• 7th chakra: The intuitive body dominates here, reflecting our spirit and housing the subtle but profound blueprint which underlies our physical makeup.  The interaction of the 1st and 7th chakras represent the extreme difference between the realm of spirit and that of matter, and as the perceptive functions work previous to our conscious awareness of them, the work will be based in the unconscious.
• The 7th Chakra reveals our purpose in life, our original intention to incarnate.  Access to our purpose can only be achieved through the central channel (Sushumna), so ultimately it requires that we raise the kundalini from the 1st chakra (Root) to the 7th chakra (Crown).  The kundalini can only be lifted fully by having each intermediate chakra in balance (represented by the positive/negative forces therein).  Thus, it is the work of the ego to overcome the karmic patterning that the individual came in with in order to acheive this balance.. 
• 4th chakra:  Both the heart and the spade are operating here.  Dividing the 4th chakra is the veil; on the side of density we have the ego, and on the side of spirit we have the conscience or what I call the cherub.  The cherub bathes in the pool of love (which resides in eternal spirit), while the ego bathes in the pool of karma, a construct through which we contact each other.  This is the meeting ground of the Shiva/Shakti presence.
• To find a balance here, the ego must overcome the weaknesses that are inherent in the individual. To raise from the 1st chakra to the 4th, the spade must pass through the gates of desire and intention. This is not an easy task since the spade is predominately concerned with it's own endeavour, and to approach desire and intention requires the interaction with another.  Thus it is that the ego approaches the heart through a concern for others, a repatterning of the mindset where the concern for others outweighs the concern for itself.  The ego never fully evaporates into the presence of the cherub, but through the process of listening, it can take a back seat when it would otherwise act out of habit or reaction.  In this way, the ego can discover and rewrite patterns that are no longer useful or advantageous.
• The Judging functions; Feelings and Desire:
• 2nd chakra: The Feeling body dominates here, the arena where the tangible aspect of desire makes itself known most prominantly.  Though the desire spoken of here is considered to be the lower desire, this does not inherently imply that the desire is unhealthy.  Instead, it should be noted that the value of the lower desire is that it offers an avenue into the expression of unconscious feelings that are, like the 1st chakra, connected to past life karma, or to the karma of the collective unconscious.
• Sex is a major phenomenon here, along with all of the powers and distractions that are available through sexuality.  Desire draws through the 3rd eye (6th chakra) the impression of our sexual nature.  Based on the intention behind our motivations, a feeling wells up and evolves as emotion.
• 6th chakra: The divine feminine sets the tone for the underlying nature of the feeling body.  Like a sounding board, the 3Rd Eye reflects an imprint of the depth of feeling in the backdrop of the mind.  The resonance in the backdrop contains the original desire that was involved with requesting the current life stream.  Additionally though, as light enters and reflects off the 3Rd eye the dance of light reveals an image reflective of the intention driving the conscious mental constructs.  The dance itself is reflective of the divine masculine, though the image that is revealed is often taken as the component of importance.  It is not.  The real jewel is with the divine feminine in the backdrop, the original desire.  To gain access to this jewel, the intention must be set to make that of greatest importance, and with that committment begins the journey of heart.
• With the desire to integrate the opposites—male/female, yin/yang, ida/pingala—and the intention to do the work necessary, will the original desire become known.  Sexuality then becomes the avenue for this work.  Sexuality, and the desire to know God arrive at the same doorstep.  Through tantric exercises, the male and female counterpart can learn to experience the divine desire, that which is, in and of itself, sexual.  And as society as a whole projects the 'acceptable' way to express our sexuality, this tantric approach becomes even more valuable since it is based entirely on the premise of love. 
• The Judging functions; Mind and Intention:
• The 3rd chakra: This is the location of the concrete or rational mind.  By nature, the ego is self-serving in this chakra.  The self is far more important than the other.  Often, decisions are mode due to our conditioning or habitual nature of responding.  In many cases we do not even think when making a statement, but are compelled to respond in some way due to our make-up.  We develop patterns early in life when we are asked to respond to situations that arise.  These patterns play out without us even knowing, and often form the basis of who we think we are.
• Unfortunately, these patterns are not reflective of who we really are, but are formed in response to the environmental conditions and karmic makeup of our soul.  To repattern our mind, we need to first set the intention to do so.  Then the work becomes the task of listening.  This will set up a feedback mechanism where we will be able to hear what it is we are saying, and in doing so will be able to dicide if that is what we really want to be saying.  To do this we often need to forgive someone for how they are, or accept them for who they are.
• The 5th Chakra: This is the seat of the Soul, our spiritual counterpart.  But like the 3rd chakra, it is still evolving.  The soul retains the history or all of our experience.  It is an aspect of the creator that always remains alive.  Though our body will die, the soul retains the history of that life.  When we come into life, the soul makes a request of creator to have a body.  To do so, the soul will make a wager on what it hopes the body will accomplish in the life.  Along with the wager, there may be some debts to pay in order to accomplish the ulitmate goal. and so the body is born with debts that are due without even having the first breath. This is the individual karma.
• But the soul cannot be the mouthpiece for the body unless the ego agrees.  Ultumately the soul does have a voice, but it is that of the conscience, or the cherub.  If the lower mind remains blocked and judgmental, the soul will remain a phantom.  But when the ego does decide to pay attention to it's patterns, the soul in turn becomes enlivened.  The conscience then becomes the source of the intuitive languadge that the ego is listening for, and a bridge is built to connect the relms of spirit and matter.