365 Tarot Spreads: Revealing the Magic in Each Day - Sasha Graham 2014

Castle of Crossed Destinies’ Inversion Spread

On This Day

The Castle of Crossed Destinies is divided into two sections. The first takes place in a castle and uses the the Visconti-Sforza Tarot. The second, taking place in a tavern, uses the Marseilles Tarot.

The Castle of Crossed Destinies by Italo Calvino is published on this day in 1979. The characters in Calvino’s story have lost their power of speech due to traumatic events. Each character relates their tale using tarot cards instead of words. A narrator interprets the cards for them, but because the cards are open to interpretation, the story the narrator relates is not necessarily the story intended by the characters.

Summation of Spread

The entire major arcana can be read as the storytelling arc of initiation and is symbolic of the Hero’s Journey.

Ever notice how the same life event can be interpreted in different ways? Accessing the power of storytelling, this spread asks you to pull specific cards rather than randomly drawn cards to tell a story from your life.

Cast Your Cards

Use tarot to tell a tale. Think of a dramatic or poignant part of your life open for exploration. Select cards to represent the story and people. Add as many cards as needed for important details. After completing, ask a friend to interpret the story based on your cards, with no information from you. How close or far do they come to the truth? Do you discover something new in their rendition?

Consider the following when creating your spread:

· Who were you at the beginning of the story?

· Which people had the greatest influence on you? (Use the court cards for this.)

· What did you want?

· What actually happened?

· What did you learn?

· What was the result?