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

Cleopatra’s Needle Spread

On This Day

Cleopatra’s Needle has no real connection with the queen of Egypt. The needle’s inscriptions by Ramesses II that commemorated his military victories were already over a thousand years old before Cleopatra’s lifetime. The needle was moved to one of her temples years after its creation.

Cleopatra’s Needle, an Egyptian obelisk, was erected in Central Park, NYC, on this day in 1881. Still standing today behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it is a reminder of the mystery and magic of ancient Egypt.

Summation of Spread

The Egyptian Book of the Dead explains the complex Egyptian concept of a human soul’s life after death. Grave robbing was considered a horrible crime in ancient Egypt. To do so robbed the departed’s chance to live in the afterlife. The Cleopatra’s Needle Spread uses Egyptian concepts of the afterlife to inform its questions.

The Egyptians describe a profound journey for the soul in the afterlife, just as the major arcana describes a metaphorical journey from the Fool to the World. Some interpretations claim the Fool’s pouch contains the four tarot symbols, which he must learn to use during his journey.

Cast Your Cards

Cast the cards in the shape of Cleopatra’s obelisk.

1. Ha (physicality): What is the state of my health?

2. Ab (consciousness/heart): What is my intention today?

3. Ka (vital force leaving the body): What makes me feel alive?

4. Sheut (the shadow): What lurks in my darkness?

5. Ren (name): What am I here to do?

6. Akh (transfigured spirit): What lives forever?

7. Ba (soul): Who am I?