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

Pendulum Spread

On This Day

Golden Dawn member William Butler Yeats was a critic of Poe, finding his work vulgar. Yeats said The Pit and the Pendulum “does not seem to me to have any permanent literary value of any kind...analyze [it] and you find an appeal to the nerves by tawdry physical affrightments.”

Edgar Allen Poe published The Pit and the Pendulum on this day in 1845. Poe’s gothic story of torture at the hands of the Spanish Inquisition appeared in The Broadway Journal.

Summation of Spread

You can use a pendulum for a unique one-card tarot reading. A pendulum is a weight suspended by a freely moving pivot. Purchase one or easily make one by slipping a ring over a necklace chain to create a makeshift pendulum.

The razor-sharp Ace of Swords represents the genesis of a genius idea. Reversed or swung outward, the Ace of Swords becomes a deadly weapon, ready to slice its foes to shreds. It reflects the potential of any person to be brilliant or destructive, and if it appears for you, you should follow through on your most recent good idea.

Cast Your Cards

Prepare your pendulum as you see fit. Some practitioners cleanse it as they would a card deck. Shuffle the cards; prepare and state your question. Select seven cards, placing them face-down in front of you. The pendulum will begin swinging toward the card with the answer. Once you have determined which card, flip it over to discover your answer.

Ask any question you like and answer with one card.