Wheel of Virtues Spread and Method
A pseudo-historical method of fortune telling with the Tarot trumps!? Now what is the bloomin' point of that, you ask. Well, here we have a wonderful allegorical morality play via cards, the actual meaning of which mostly remains unknown in our century. Why not see if we can use some of the original meaning of the trump cycle in a fun and amusing way to delight and entertain? No need for heady esotericism or occult mythologies.
Let's travel back to the glorious paradiso that was 15th century North Italy. And of all the great visions of absolute beauty that we would encounter, perhaps the most delightful would have been the virginal daughters of the nobility.

(Of course I'm assuming
everyone has a thing for Catholic girls the way I do.)
No doubt, in 1444, as now, 14 year old girls would desperately want to find out who would be their one true love, and would figure out a way to "see the future" with the Trionfi cards. We'll call this the
14 in 1444 Theory. So, getting in touch with my inner 15th century feminine half slash inner child, I've attempted to recreate how I reckoned they would have done it.
OVERVIEW:
The
Wheel of Virtues Spread and Method is based on the TEMPLVM TRIVMPHE model. Only the 22 trumps are used. It is a 3 card spread +
the Virtue the querent needs to embrace in his/her given situation.
I sometimes like to compare the tarot trump cycle to the three act dramatic structure from Aristotle's Poetics.
ACT I -
Fool to Pope - Sets up the characters and location.
ACT II -
Love to Death - The problem which the characters must overcome.
ACT III -
The Devil to the World - The resolution of the problem.
And, of course we have the moral themes of
being just, having courage, and
being temperate.
This method takes one card from each 'Act' to determine our narrative, and then determines, by way of the TEMPLVM TRIVMPHE model, which Virtue is required for the querent. So, one of the cards from Fool to Pope will be a significator for the querent. One of the cards from Love to Death will represent his situation, or the quesited, and one card from the Devil to the World will represent how the querent and quesited interact, by way of the unseen celestial forces working behind the situation.
After we have our three acts, we look at the T.T. model and see from which vertical pillar the majority of the cards come from. If the majority are from the Sinister Pillar (left) then the situation requires Temperance. If the majority of cards are from the Dexter Pillar (right), then the situation requires Justice. If the majority of the cards are from the Center Pillar, then the situation requires Fortitude. If there is one card from each pillar, then I use the Virtue from the pillar of the card from the celestial tier (ACT III). Alternatively, one could interpret it as meaning ALL three Virtues are required.
METHOD OF CARD SELECTION
First remove the three Virtue cards, and arrange them in an inverted triangle, with Justice on the bottom, Fortitude on the upper left side, and Temperance on the upper right. This keeps their given order in the Tarot de Marseille pattern. I call this their 'neutral positions'. They will rotate clock-wise if needed.
After shuffling the remaining 18 cards, lay down three cards face up. If you have one from each Act, you're finished. If you have any one Act represented more than once you must continue until you have a card from all three Acts. For example, you have,
ACT II ........... ACT I ............ ACT I
In this case, you'd keep placing cards in the third position until you get a card from Act III.
Or, another example -
ACT III ......... ACT III .......... ACT III
Here you'd keep putting cards down in the second position till you get either a card from Act I or Act II. Then you'd put cards down on the third position until you get a card from whatever Act you don't have in the first two positions.
Once you have one card from each Act arrange them in an upward triangle, around the virtues.
Determine which Virtue is needed by looking at the pillars, and ROTATE the virtues clockwise so that the needed Virtue is placed between the querent, and the quesited. All three Virtues will remain visible, since all three are always needed in any situation, but one Virtue will be most needed.
A SAMPLE READING
The Querent asks,
"My teenage daughter has been staying out late, and has come home a few times smelling of liquor. What should I do?"
ACT I (The Querent) - Emperor
ACT II (The Quesited) - Time
ACT III (The Interaction) - Sun
Judgement -
The querent is well dignified as the Emperor, who represents honest and good leadership. The mother has been doing the right things, and can not be faulted. The daughter is neutral as Father Time. The daughter is going through 'a phase' and in time the situation will change. The Sun is also dignified meaning things will change toward the better. For now, Justice is required. The querent should be firm, but fair with her daughter, and in time the daughter will grow out of this behavior.
I often like to make a little verse for each reading, especially when I read at pubs and parties.
VERSE
The honest King, firm of stance,
Unmoved by Father Times advance.
Here he takes, There he yields,
The Sun doth rise on morrow's fields.
