Pulp Spiritual Direction: A Practical Methodology for Evangelization Through Contemplative Prediction

Pulp Spiritual Direction

A Practical Methodology for Evangelization Through Contemplative Prediction 

[Essay II of the The Compendium of Contemplative Temporal Engagement]

• Introduction

• Pulp Spiritual Direction: Guided Contemplation Via Visual Stimulation 

• Contemplative Prediction and Spiritual Direction

• Three Factors of Teleological Connectivity for Intuitive Development

• A Deck of Cards: Cosmology and Function

• The Contemplative Turn: Card by Card Analysis

• Operational Skills for Pulp Spiritual Direction

• Setting the Stage: Three Expansions 

• Three Primary Lines and the Domain of Volitional Control 

• Analytical Review: Four Auxiliary Lines

• Revealing the Focal Card and Wrapping Up

• Conclusion

Transversal Theology: Technical Glossary

Introduction

“When my dad died . . .” She said in a feeble voice.  But she did not finish the sentence before she began to softly cry.  We were sitting at a table in a dim lit room.  I had just turned a card with a picture of Saint Camillus, founder of the order “The Fathers of a Good Death” and told his story.  Cammilus was the last saint we were going to discuss, but our discussion had taken us through her father's death as well as a job that had exposed her to the violent death of several children. Personally, I lean apollinarian and don’t handle tears or outpourings of emotion well, especially in social situations with people I don’t know. But in this context, I was able to offer what I hope was helpful advice (it was well received) as good comfort.  This wasn’t a casual conversation about saints and death, the context was calculated ritual, sculpted to offer a chance to reflect on the deeper meaning or direction in life, and draw the participants into the effective flow of salvation history.

The purpose of this treatise is to develop and explore a ritual of dynamic popular piety we are calling pulp spiritual direction.  The aim is to offer insight and guidance concerning the use of image based meditation and contemplation in a relationship of charitable sharing and edification.  In the end, it is hoped that the studious reader will have a framework for use of image based meditation using decks of cards with the aim of a subtle evangelization of fulfillment.             

In the first section, we will attempt to explore the general practice of what we are calling pulp spiritual direction, a guided meditation using the skill of contemplative prediction via images, symbols, and mythic narrative.  We will discuss in detail the three factors the director uses to craft the art of this direction; knowledge of the deck itself, a good working relationship between director and querent, and the harmony of narrative appropriation and contemplative prediction.  We will also discuss how a deck of cards can function in a sacramental cosmology and in the life of the church as a “small ‘s’ sacramental” utilized in the practice of pulp spiritual direction as dynamic popular piety.  We will end the section by exploring the process of analyzing a card, which can be done individually or, more likely, as part of a pattern. This process involves an opening Rorschach, followed by the director’s analysis, a check in on volitional application, and finally a focal check in on the query and possible reinterpretation of the pattern thus far.  

In the second section, we will cover the basic operational skills for pulp spiritual direction.  We will start by explaining how the versatile contemplative pattern works according to a narrative format, subject, predicate, and object.  Next, we will explore how each of those initial cards are expanded by two in a series of in depth analyses of the primary cards.  These expansions seek to probe the flux of phenomenological time as well as the scope of the three tiered field of experience. Then we will discuss a line by line analysis of the base of the pattern in order to get a general overview of the situation being discussed.  Next, we will inspect a series of auxiliary lines and offer possible ways that they could illuminate aspects of the situation as it is discussed by the director and querent.  Lastly, we will discuss the Focal Card and how to use it to bring the entire patter together for either an existential effect or a skill set.     

Pulp Spiritual Direction: Guided Contemplation Via Visual Stimulation 

In this first section, we will cover the theory and purpose behind pulp spiritual direction and begin discussing its mechanics by exploring the process of analyzing a single card.  In the next section, we will explore the basic operational skills for pulp spiritual direction.  

Contemplative Prediction and Spiritual Direction

In the treatise Mythic History and Contemplative Prediction, we attempted an opening analysis of humanity’s complex relationship with the mystery of “time”.  There we laid out three differing methodologies for understanding the nature of time, measurement by standardized rhythmic motion, act and potentiality, and the matrix of phenomenological experience.  This analysis gave us an understanding of why humans feel an existential bifurcation due to our culturally dominant understanding of time.  That understanding led us to a possible solution by means of the temporal interpretive paradox in order to make “all time” serve a present encounter with God.  In that treatise, we tried to shift the understanding of history from etiological to narrative and begin a twofold recalibration of our relationship with time.  We framed the new relationship to extra-experiential time (the past and the future) as a potential gift of redemption, the gift of forgiveness regarding the past, and the gift of grace regarding the future.  We proceeded to attempt to reshape our view of history from etiology to a rhythmic teleological narrative or “mythic history”. We ended that treatise commenting on contemplative prediction, the skill that notices the mythic/archetypal rhythms of the cosmos and uses those rhythms to be aware of the moment, supply a theodicy for temporal suffering, and inform one's moral and spiritual attitude at the moment.

Near the end of Mythic History and Contemplative Prediction, we discussed Biblical prophecy as well as various extra biblical methods of queueing into temporal rhythms.  One method we discussed was the use of “oracle cards”  or what is popularly called Tarot cards. We noted,   

Superstitious fortune telling is marked as “evil” in the popular consciousness because “it doesn’t work”.  It is superstitious.  But as we noted above, that is actually not a moral problem, only a practical one.  Our question at the very end here is, can tarot, for example, be useful for contemplative prediction in a moral and effective way?  

If one is not channeling demons, but rather using tarot cards much like a psychological Rorschach meditation, there is the possibility that cards such as these can be put to quite good use.  It is not our purpose here to give a detailed illumination of the meaning of tarot cards.

The last sentence of that quote was true, but we went on to write three books that discuss particular decks and how to utilize them in meditation of contemplative prediction.  Those books were A User Guide to the Voices of Saints Deck, A User Guide to the Medieval Cosmology of Mantegna-Tarocchi, and A User Guide to R.M. Place’s Tarot of the Saints.  Each of these books is an explanation of the symbols and narratives of the deck as they would be used in spiritual direction through contemplative prediction.  Each work gives a card by card analysis and application. In each book, we noted that spiritual direction through contemplative prediction is an interpersonal skill and that the director must use a pattern that suits the deck and their methodology as a guide.  In this treatise, we are beginning to systematize practical methodologies for applied contemplative prediction.  This is a personally crafted methodology we are going to call pulp spiritual direction.  

As a practice pulp spiritual direction through contemplative prediction is much more of an art than a science.  The “pulp” refers to the paper decks that the director uses, but also to the malleability of the process and its conformity to the situation as opposed to sets of fixed rules.  Lastly, the “pulp” refers to the informal nature of the practice.  Pulp spiritual direction is a practice of dynamic popular piety.  Though it is a calculated ritual, it is not an official mode of spiritual direction that works on axioms of formal training and certification.  Therefore it comes with all the pluses and minuses of such an intuitive informal trade. 

The concepts of contemplative prediction contain a theoretical framework of temporal flux and our relationship to it as humans. The purpose of pulp spiritual direction is decidedly not to objectively predict the future and grasp at control of time.  Rather, in this framework, we are seeking to ritualize the process in a manner that can offer effective use of the concept.  In this calculated ritual, the effect sought is a sure turning toward alignment with the flow of salvation history.  That alignment will take place via a ritual object, a deck of cards with images offering symbols and implying narratives that the director will use to subtly steer the querent toward existential investment in, or moral exercise calibrated according to, the flow of salvation history.   

Very often religious actions of other traditions can be compatible with Christian action, if the intention is changed, especially if gory is shifted and aimed toward God, as opposed to a false deity, or to self.  The major restriction on this is that the action cannot be evil (for example human sacrifice).  But if the ritual is a neutral action (symbolic interpretation of images) used in an evil manner or with evil intent, it is subject to the processes of cosmic evangelization whereby the ritual is recalculated (or calibrated) to give glory to God.   Pulp spiritual direction as a ritual is developed out of the ritual use of oracle decks (especially for example Tarot readings) created by esoteric syncretism over the past few centuries.  The aim of pulp spiritual direction is to make this ritual work to the glory of God via the baptismal priesthood of the director.  

As an evangelical process, the deck works according to an evangelization of fulfillment, which utilizes a threefold process for effecting kerygma: recognition, edification, and excoriation. The evangelizer first recognizes the good of the target, then edifies, building out that goodness towards a better relationship with Christ. Lastly, after a relationship of trust is built, the evangelizer is able to cut away unhealthy beliefs and practices.  Thus the images symbols and stories on a deck maybe overtly Christian.  But they may also queue into myths and symbologies that operate outside of classical Christan presentation but are made compatible by the director as the opening gambit of a process of evangelization of fulfillment.  

The spiritual director works with a person as a guide to discuss their life and queue them into the mythic or archetypal rhythms that they find themselves emersed in.  Again, when working with a deck, the deck will be structured for a certain type of meditation, the director brings certain knowledge, and the querent brings questions concerning a situation to be considered.  The deck, in pulp spiritual direction, is not technology for predicting the future in an etiological understanding of time, nor should the director imply that the deck somehow directly accesses extra-experiential time.  As we will see the deck is a medium, not for demons or celestial beings, but a medium to facilitate the relationship between the director and the querent.

The ritual itself has three parts.  First, there is an introduction which sets both expectation and the foundational relationship.  Second, there is a query.  The last part is the reading itself, which has four basic parts.  It begins with a narrative, then presents an expanded analysis, an in depth linear analysis and lastly a focal meditation. 

Building the initial relationship in what is possibly, as Tyler Durden calls, a ‘single serving friend’ could be very difficult.  For the ritual to work well it comes down to immediate candor and honesty as well as natural approachability.  I begin by telling the querent that I am going to explain my process.  My introduction generally begins with something like the following disclaimer, “I am not going to tell you your future. At least not any more than anyone could by giving attention to common experience and applying simple deductive reasoning.  I am not a medium.  To my knowledge, I do not present or become possessed by ghosts, demons, or angels.  I’m not denying that there may be  people who are able to do these things, but I’m not claiming to be one.”  This candor in the initial introduction is comical but also lets the querent know that I am not trying to sell myself as something I am not. 

Next, I briefly explain who I am and what my process entails.  “I’m just a person who has studied a lot and been around a bit.  A wise man?” The question mark is important because one does not want to put on heirs.  “All I’m going to do is ask you your question and throw down some cards.  As I do, the cards are going to tell a story.  While they do, I’m hoping you are going to be telling me your story and we are going to sync the two together and see if we can come up with some advice or skills regarding your situation.”  This part is meant to let the querent know that this is not inexplicable or secret “magic”.  It is us talking together and helping each other.  The rest of this paper in conjunction with the two books mentioned above will let the reader here know that there is a bit more to the process than what was just said.  The director does need to bring a level of expertise.  But it is revealed as needed by process rather than up front by explanation for the purpose of self aggrandizement.  Cheap parlor “magicians” may need such confident boosts, but I would hope pulp spiritual direction would possess the humility of Christ and take no glory for their own.

The last part of my opening remarks is the gambit that usually pays off the biggest rewards for building the initial relationship needed for a successful director/querent inter-dynamic.  This part deals with payment for services rendered.  “I have what I call a ‘Three-Tier Donation Structure’. You pay as much as you think the experience was worth.  You can pay me,” I say. “And I will put the payment to use for my domestic church.  Or you can pay the same amount as a donation to your own faith community, whoever that may be, for its edification.  Or, since I am a Christian, you can pay Jesus himself for me.  You do this by approaching the next homeless person you see and giving them what you think this experience was worth.  You are, of course, also at liberty to diversify your portfolio and split your donation however you see fit.”
Does this mean that sometimes I don’t personally get paid? Rarely, but yes.  But those that don’t usually admit up front that they don't have any money.  I say, “it’s fine, there’s a three-tier donation structure”, I tell them their options again and assure them that I’m getting paid no matter what option they pick.  Personally, I engage in pulp spiritual direction so that I can help people.  The querent helping people as a result of a payment option simply furthers my personal goals.  To be willing to work for no money puts off any sense of covetousness or investment in mammon.  I certainly take any money offered.  But I do not require it, and I believe that garners respect.

After the opening spiel, I explain the three decks I use and ask the querent what they want to talk about.  I help them select the deck that will give them the best experience for the type of question and whatever they may expect out of the experience.  I shuffle the deck and have the querent cut it and we begin.  At this point, there are three factors at the table, the director, the querent, and the deck and they form an interplay that allows for a queue into a greater narrative.

Three Factors of Teleological Connectivity for Intuitive Development 

Despite my easy breezy introduction, if one were to review The Compendium of Contemplative Temporal Engagement one would see that I do try to bring a certain level of knowledge and research to jump off from concerning the images in the decks, their relationships with each other, and topics or advice they could impart. But knowledge of the deck in and of itself is only the culmination of preparation for pulp spiritual direction.  The first preparation one must have is a decent prayer life, both as a matter of course and directly before entering into the exercise of pulp spiritual direction.  

One may not need to be a spiritual master but, even speaking practically, if one is so self absorbed that one cannot attempt to extend to “the other” in the form of divinity, how does one expect to do so authentically in one’s neighbor?  Also, as a spiritual technique pulp spiritual direction requires a certain level of spiritual grounding.  I have definitely haphazardly gone into direction under prepared in this regard (meaning in an individual instance not expecting to and therefore not particularly prepared) and the results are less desirable than otherwise in my experience.  Some healthy form of spirituality is necessary for effective pulp spiritual direction because it so relies on relationships (including one’s relationship with God) and much less relies on mechanics and/or knowledge.

One’s prayer life is a continuing development (hopefully of growth).  Another life long learning development would be what we might call the ethos of pulp spiritual direction.  To understand the scope of this ethos it may help to know that pulp spiritual direction is as much a tool of evangelization as it is a method for coming into a relationship of discernment.  To use oracle cards speaks to a certain type of person.  That person would be a person who is intrigued by esoteric thought, paganism, synchronistic traditions, ect.  

Classic Rider-Waite Tarot Cards are imbued with a host of Catholic meanings and symbols, though most Catholics would not notice or admit this out of fear of the occult.  Thus the target audience may be catholic, but if so they are expansively so, not at all afraid of dynamic popular piety to the point of placing themselves on the verge of syncretism.  

But most of those I engage with are not Christian at all.  They are usually “spiritual but not religious”, though amiable to organized religion as a source of syncretistic fodder.  That being said, often these types are biased against Christianity as a source for their synchronism.  However, that bias comes from a belief that all Christianity is harshly judgmental in the particular manner of caricatured American “Evangelical Christianity”.  The Catholic tradition, especially outside of America, is much more forgiving of esoteric traditions.  Again, the decks I use are based on Christian symbology and I do not keep that a secret.  Once a possible querent realizes how open and candid I am as a person, they become interested and amiable to the symbology of my decks.  Their urge to niche’ synchronicity plays directly into their learning from me Christian narrative cosmology, scripture, and spirituality.  But a good director will not be afraid of other traditions, indeed they must be conversant with any traditions that may inform the symbols or narratives of the deck.

But in order to appeal to such people, the effective director must be steeped in three aspects of these traditions such that one can draw out meaning from the decks in ways that will speak to such people.  The effective director must be conversant with the scope of mythic-existentialism.  That is to say, the director must be able to deconstruct the existential backdrop of any given mystic genre according to standard Jungian archetypal construction and work with that meaning in real time as cards and narratives unfold.  The querent may be a person interested in any given niche spirituality.  The skilled director would be able to operate whether the querent is particularly versed in Egyptian paganism or chakra meditation myth.  No matter their interest, if they drop a name, or story, or technique, the director should know it, or not be afraid to ask about it so as to align the conversation in a more familiar way.  Once assessed, the skilled director will be able to connect its fundamental meaning or any deep truth it presents to some Christian counterpart in an amiable and edifying way.  But again, unpacking the complexities of mythic time is more of an art than a science.  The goal is to direct the querent into the course of salvation history.  Even if this is not manifest in the conversation, the portions of myth and symbol discussed would be compatible with the morals, modes, and meanings presented in salvation  history, which is their fulfillment.

In the treatise Mythic History and Contemplative Prediction we discussed the basic nature of mythic time from a biblical point of view,

[T]ypologies and scenes do rhythmically repeat, but each one varies from the last.  The variance comes out of each character as they experience or exemplify the typology.  Each one is a unique person, imperfect and striving with their will.  The linear aspect comes from the fact that these characters abide in physical time and live by the experience of phenomenological time.  Their acts of will as they present the typology gives variance, a thing abhorred when measuring physical time, which seeks standardized rhythms.  For mythic time  the variance is part of the beauty and a reminder of the linear aspect of the combination and our ability to willfully participate in the myth though our linear experience of conscious awareness in subjective time.  The repetitions of typologies themselves have a narrative trajectory that forms a crescendo of fulfillment in the narrative of the life of Christ. 

  

This rhythm is archetypally present in all ‘effective myths’, defined as such because they are aligned to revelatory truth, are also fulfilled in Christ.  Thus knowledge of a wide variety of myths and symbols would be of great value for a director.  This is definitely a field/skill-set that calls for continual education and humanity to ask if a querent in willing to explain.

For example, astrology is a very popular language for expression of mythic existential interpretation among this population. I have a basic grasp of the interrelation of the symbology, but consider myself having a woefully inadequate grasp of its complexities.  I am not, at present, undertaking an extensive systematic study of astrology.  But I am always open to learning haphazardly through conversation and incidental sources until I can make a more organized study.  This is not so I can “learn to predict the future or scientifically judge someone's personality through astrology”. Rather it is so that I can better communicate with a querent who may have legitimate existential identifications that they are able to communicate through that language.  If I am able to parlay on these grounds, I can successfully use, for example, how a planet in a house connects to a meaning in a parable and bring the conversation back to solid Christian principles and cosmology.

The ability to existentially deconstruct myths is key to pulp spiritual direction, but working in conjunction with that is the knowledge of the mythic narratives themselves that any given oracle deck one may use draws from.  To use the Voices of the Saints deck requires that one know the hagiography of the 78 saints presented in that deck.  It also helps to know the standard myths and heroic narratives of the wider world, such that one can plug, for example, the Saint’s archetypal presentation to one more familiar to the querent, who may have no knowledge of saints.  Those mythic narratives may be ancient or modern.  Key heroic themes will play across all ancient as well as modern myths and will present in the narratives of the Saints.  Thus virtues such as humility, sacrifice, focal fortitude, etc. can be related across a mythic existential spectrum.  There are also ancient and modern cultural narratives and virtues that run counter to Christian presentation.  These are helpful specifically for the juxtaposition and the ability to use that counter narrative as a warning to follow a wholesome path. 

Thus the paramount “myths and narrative” that the director needs to know is the scope of salvation history, and that and how it finds its culmination in Christ.  Having a good working knowledge of Judeo-Christan history, symbology and story will allow the directors to draw on them, at times explicitly, in order to draw the querent closer to a life in harmony with them.  The belief is that all the myths and narratives that offer true meaning or guidance in life do so because they somehow prefigure or typify salvation history and its culmination in Christ.  The implementation of this knowledge in a subtle and palatable way is a necessary skill of a director of pulp spiritual direction.     

The last aspect a director needs to be universally familiar with is artistic symbology.  There will be a specific symbolic communication present in the artistic nature of any given oracle deck.  On top of that, the director should be able to queue into a wider artistic and esoteric culture, especially as much as the querent may need them to be able to in order to translate meaning in their life in an effective way.  Lastly, the director would be wise to pay close attention to their own patience which will afford the querent to offer their own specific interpretations.  These could spring from the querent’s personal experience, from their dream life, from mythic or esoteric knowledge from their own study that they have found impactful.  Even if such interjection is not historically coherent, it is meaningful to the querent and therefore able to be used to help them proceed in the query.  Each of these various symbolic systems will work in concert with mythic narratives to convey meaning as direction is proceeding.

The querent’s perspective of the symbolic system speaks to our second aspect for teleological connectivity for intuitive development.  There must be a “working” relationship between the director and the querent.  When beginning the process of direction I always point out, “I can do the talking, but the more you talk the better the experience will be.  I’m not a psychic or a clairvoyant, I can’t read your mind, or see into the future.  So the more you talk the more I know.  It’s probably best in this thing if you are talking as much as I am.”  Again, the candor allows the director to build rapport with the querent in order to develop that trust into a fruitful relationship of sharing and aid.  

In order for this to begin, as we said, the director must have a life that centers on “the other”.  This is one reason a habitual prayer life is necessary, and why a director should pray, petitioning for grace, attention, perception, and charity, directly before entering a situation of direction.  Being “other focused” allows the director to listen with the depth it takes to look beyond their own perspective and notice the patterns of mythic time that are aligning on the cards as well as the querent’s life as they tell it.  Being other oriented also allows the director to notice the querent’s particular way of engaging symbology and may lead to good use of dream symbology if the director has such skill.  The dream world is where the mythic symbology will manifest directly for the querent, thus a direct question about dreams at just the right time may yield a trove of symbolic interconnection and offer a personal coloring to the intuitive landscape.

In the end, the process of pulp spiritual direction is not about the director impressing people with their abilities. It is about getting the querent a perspective or skill that is useful to their situation.  That said, a difficult opening gambit for the process of pulp spiritual direction is helping the querent frame their query.  The reader can probably guess that a question that seeks particular information concerning the future is not appropriate.  As we noted in Mythic History and Contemplative Prediction, time belongs to God.  Only God is its master.  Therefore a director should never allow a querent to believe they have any sort of mastery over time.  Nor should a query be a “yes or no question”.  Again, this sort of certainty is not afforded most people and is not suited to the methodology of pulp spiritual direction.  A “yes or no question” seeks a certain type of information implies that one is seeking to control, cheat, or exploit destiny and that is not the modus of pulp spiritual direction. The deck is not a “technology” that in any way accesses extra-experiential time.

The methodology is completely querent focused.  Whatever is going on during direction is the result of three things, the perception of the querent, (things supplied from their memory, deduction, etc.), the wisdom of the director, and the random archetypal presentations of the cards and their positions.  To aim the information from the cards beyond these things breaks the character of how we are defining “pulp spiritual direction”.  Once I had a querent who was accustomed to getting Tarot readings.  I flipped a card and was narrating the life of a saint.  The querent immediately said, “That’s my husband”.  I remember being slightly jolted and it took me a second to realize why.  Her direct equivocation of the card and a person outside of the situation began her own speculative/interpretive quest to informally garner “objective” information concerning this person from the cards until I picked up on the problem noted that everything going on on the table was her and I’s perception and point of view.    

Given the methodology of pulp spiritual direction, the best types of questions concern the querent’s perspective of the situation and/or garnering skills regarding the situation.  Those skills could be psycho-spiritual, introspective, or interpersonal.  The querent and director may simply seek to gain introspective insight, to better organize their thoughts and feelings about the situation.  The querent could also approach the director in the process as a person of wisdom who has advice.  The cards can often be interpreted as psycho-spiritual facets that can be leaned upon or should be steered clear of.  Under this interpretation, the querent and director can discuss how useful these skills would be applied to the situation.  

Often the querent comes with a very specific question, but typically the more general the question the better the reading is.  In such a case it is possible to steer the conversation more generally.  For example, the querent may come with the extremely typical question “I want to know about my love life.”  When asking this the querent probably wants to know specifically whether, when, and who they will find true love with.  Again, this type of question is seeking to use the cards as technology that accesses extra-experiential time.  At this point, I would not berate the querent (even if they asked after I explained that I am not a psychic).  Making them feel stupid serves no purpose.  Rather, I would simply reframe it a little more generally, “So we are looking for skills in seeking romance?”  From there the process itself could easily lead simply to interpersonal skills in general.  One way to avoid over specificity is to frame their ability to ask the question from the outset.  Instead of asking “What’s a question?” the director can subtly set conditions.  “What is your situation?” “Is there some insight you’re looking for?” after guiding the querent to the correct kind of question then the director can reiterate by framing the type of answer being sought. “So we are looking for skills concerning …”  “So we are looking for insight around …”  This sets the expectations in the proper mode from the beginning.  Sometimes, however, a querent will have no expectations.  They will not have any express notion or query at the beginning.  In this situation, the third card (as we will discuss next section) becomes extremely important for calibrating the direction of the conversation.   

Once the process of pulp spiritual direction begins, there is an interplay between the three elements in the process, the querent, the deck, and the director.  The job of the director is to weave the narratives expressed by the querent in conversation concerning the query and clarifications made throughout, with the narratives expressed by the cards, their position, and their meaning.  As the director relates and synchronizes the two elements of narrative they are able to give meaning by the subtle introduction and use of the concept of mythic time as rhythmic narratives of meaning that manifest in the human experience.  The concept of mythic time is essential for the process of contemplative prediction.  In the treatise, Mythic History and Contemplative Prediction we discussed the narrow view of data driven history as opposed to the wider view of mythic time,

To presence meaning and redemption through a historical lens recognizes’ God’s promise of redemption through history. To be true to the historical data is to recognize the sacramental nature of time and space.  But the lack of certainty regarding history allows for legitimate creative crafting of history that can take many forms.  It can be near caricatured focus and downplaying.  It could be an exploitation of the necessary vagary of language to a poetic end.   A culture or person that does this type of history will better facilitate a healthy ritual life with intuitive ritual investment because narrative appropriation is easier.   

Creation of mythic history could be a focus on symbolic connections to the detriment of data.  It could be the addition and exaltation of any number of unseen factors in reality that do not pass “historical” muster.  If these embellishments come off as bothersome, remember our goal.  It is not to record data for the sake of recording data.  It is not to record data for the sake of predictive analytics.  It is also important to remember just how limited a view of our current regard for data driven history is.  It does not take into account the waking world as opposed to the physical world.  It does not take into account the dream world, where symbology is the mode as opposed to causality.  It does not take into account the confluence of all of these as phenomenological time. Lastly, such worry does not take into account that both the past and the future are extra-experiential time, history itself is as inaccessible as the future.  The only gift God has given us is the present.  That gift is for use according to a purpose.  The rest is auxiliary.

Mythic time and its assumption of thematic rhythmic meaning is the temporal matrix that allows for contemplative prediction.  A director is not using the deck as technology to analyze and get data for predicting the future.  The director is seeking to help the querent recognize these rhythms in their life and make choices in the moment that will synchronize their the querent’s story with the great rhythmic stories of humanity in a healthy way.  If a director is advanced in his relationship with a querent, maybe even in a way that seeks to be consciously in harmony with divine will.  We distinguished this technique from other techniques which seek control the future via alienating objectification and existential discord in the treatise Mythic History and Contemplative Prediction,

The difference between contemplative prediction and predictive analytics comes down to two things.  First predictive analytics assumes a soft determinism.  Second predictive analytics is cosmologically manipulative, it seeks control of the cosmos as an object.  The cosmology of contemplative prediction assumes both cyclical and linear time coexisting.  That mutual tension allows for free will within the phenomenological matrix of existence. This is possible because even though the physical world presents an environmental rhythm of causality, phenomenological time presents it to the observer as linear. The beatitude of contemplative prediction is one of cosmological acceptance and cooperation with both God and nature as God constructed it. 

   

So contemplative prediction is at times able to “predict the future” but not by magic, demons, angels, or even deduction of causal factors.  Rather, it predicts via the rhythm of meaning and the interplay of archetypal human narratives.  Once one has a narrative framework, one can place themselves in it and notice other players in their narrative.  How the other players act will also line up with the stories, because we all live human stories and humans are not that complicated, our stories often repeat with only small but beautiful variance.  With this knowledge, the querent is now able to take stock in the moment and begin to choose to make their story edifying, constructive, moral, beautiful or destructive, meaningless, and discordant.  These great narratives are presented in the querent’s life but are brought to the forefront of consciousness by the cards themselves if the deck is well constructed and well used by the director.  Understanding that, the choice of a deck turns out to be an important step for a director and it may help to discuss the deck as a tool in general before explaining the layout.

A Deck of Cards: Cosmology and Function

There is a specific aversion to things like ouija boards, tarot cards, particularly inscribed medallions etc. in Catholicism.  Cosmologically a stock aversion makes sense because Ancient Christianity takes material reality seriously.  In the treatise Sacramental Cosmology,

we discussed how such a cosmology understands that physical reality conveys divine grace.  As a cosmology, this understanding is expansive, it is certainly true of the seven rituals, but it is also operable via the primordial sacrament of creation.  All of physical reality has the potentiality of conveying grace as auxiliary sacral matter (all of physical reality that is not fundamental sacral matter) to receptive sacral matter (human bodies).  We further discussed how this interplay works in the treatise On Promotion of a Theocentric Ecological Consciousness.  In a sacramental cosmology, there cannot be “evil” objects.  Evil according to the most succinct Christian cosmologies takes the cosmological paradox into account. The cosmological paradox assumes a motion of expansive growth of goodness into a “space” that allows it to grow. As Saint Paul says, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body”  The “space” is a situation of lacking of perfect or full goodness.  In classical Christian thinking, this void is what we call “evil”.  Evil does not have an ontological status (I hesitate to say it is not “real” because the effects of the lacking are certainly real).   

Counter to this cosmology, there are Catholics who believe that there is such a thing as an evil object, evil item, or evil tool.  For example, given my world view, it would be easy to say the nuclear weapons are evil objects.  This is because my cultural context cannot allow me to see how they can be used for good.  On this planet, all they can do is destroy human life in massive quantities and ruin ecological systems through disordered use of power (physical and social).  But this is not in line with the cosmology described above.  According to Genesis 1, Everything God made is good.  The worst that can happen is corruption, but there are not physical things (even configured physical things) that are wholly evil.  Contemplate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.  It is not an evil thing.  It is the thing that allows for operable human free will in the Garden.  It allows for truly loving persons as opposed to pleasure based automatons. As we pointed out in the treatise Calculated Demonic Attunement, the snake is the same.

But a belief in evil objects is a belief, at least unreflectively, in a cosmological materialistic dualism, that there are created things that are good, and created things that are evil.  I say unreflectively because a culture can shape the use of objects in such a profound way that it is hard to see past how such technology could be used for good.  But material reality is not the problem.  In Mark’s Gospel Jesus, “summoned the crowd again and said to them, ‘Hear me, all of you, and understand, Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person, but the things that come out from within are what defile.”  Poor use of something can have evil effects, but it is our will, attitude, and how we use our knowledge as individuals and a society that causes sin.  

Let's return to nuclear weapons.  I cannot see how they could ever be good, but I think on the scale of this planet.  The Sun is a huge nuclear reaction that causes life, not harm.  In the vastness of the universe, one could conceive of nuclear weapons that save our planet from an asteroid on a collision course or being used to safely mine minerals deep within a distant dead planet.

Regarding the likes of Tarot decks, ouija boards, and scandalous medallions the issue is the same.  It is conveniently lazy to imply that material objects are in and of themselves evil in order to steer people clear of the predominant actions that surround them.  There is an American culture of youth that seeks to scandalize their parents’ generation by adorning themselves with demonic artifacts.  In this context, it is not bad advice to simply make a blanket assertion, “stay away from that stuff”. But the reason is not that the artifacts are evil, the reason is that they are being used as a communication of an interior disposition that is evil, rebellion through sacrilegious scandal.  Trust me, Jesus and the Church give us plenty of religiously authentic means by which to rebel against the generation without resorting to such affectation.

The problem with this contextualized advice is that it allows one to believe that the objects themselves are evil.  Even if one obtained ritual objects that are used to summon demons and perform sinful actions, the objects as material realities cannot be evil because in their material existence they have being and are therefore corrupt at worst, but not evil.  As corrupt, they have the very real possibility of reformation and use toward good.  If someone claimed, “NO! Nothing used in such evil rituals can ever be good!” then let's take stock, sacrificing cats or goats?  Cats and goats are not evil.  Use of a coin with a pentagram?  “Love of money is the root of all evil” but not the coin itself.  Nor is the shape of the star evil, it is often employed in Christian art.  And let’s not forget that to perform a black mass, the satanist community needs to get their hands on a consecrated host, this “demonic material” is obviously not wholly evil.

What is evil is how we use material objects as symbols in the complex human communication system called culture.  In a certain cultural context, a deck of cards could need to be eliminated, temporarily, because its use has become so stabilized as to become intuitively toxic.  Let’s not dwell on the esoteric, but rather, my upbringing in Alabama.  There, decks of cards that are seen as wholly evil.  In Alabama, if one were to assert this no one would even consider a deck of Tarot cards, their evil is beyond consideration.  In that context, one would be speaking simply of an “ordinary” pack of Bicycle Playing Cards.  The cards are seen as evil in a context of cosmological materialistic dualism.  But the reason derives from the harmful effects of gambling situated in a certain American context.  The clever pastor may even draw a line from the moral evil of gambling to the esoteric evil of Tarot because standard playing cards do derive from the basic structure of the Tarot deck.  This historical fact can lead to an investment in a cosmological materialistic dualism, because the predominant spirituality in rural Alabama already lends itself to a cosmological dualism, the cosmic warfare between Jesus and the Devil as symbols of ontologically equal principles of Good and Evil.  In this microculture, playing cards are an evil trick of the devil disguised as a toy sometimes distributed during the devil’s own festival (Halloween).  They necessarily lead men down the path of sinful destruction.

Frankly, gambling can do this.  It can be that absolutely destructive.  But that does not make pieces of paper objectively evil or place them under the domain of the devil.  As we noted in the treatise Calculated Demonic Attunement demons have no power to take you to hell or damn your soul.  Only you have that power.  We can add here that according to the principles of a sacramental cosmology and standard Christian theodicy, demons do not have the power to make physical objects “evil”.  No one has the ability to do that, you only have the power to use it sinfully.

To counter the rural evangelical I can point out that my own children have derived hours of joy (a Christian virtue) playing card games with the exact same deck.  Most of American culture allows for the reality of both experiences and sees it not as a problem of a deck of cards, but an internal disposition and how one uses the cards.  They do not interpret a deck of Bicycle Playing Cards as objectively evil as a physical reality.  Is the same dynamic available concerning cards constructed as “oracle decks”?  First, are they objectively evil in their physical presence?  Well, hopefully, the reader can see now that this cannot be the case according to Christian cosmology.  Are they so culturally corrupt that they are dangerous to engage with?  Well, much like gambling, an oracle deck can be used in extremely unhealthy ways, especially concerning one’s relationship with time.  If the deck is viewed as technology that accesses extra-experiential time, this would facilitate existential bifurcation and be extremely unhealthy.  But as we described above, our intent in pulp spiritual direction is to reinterpret or repurpose an oracle deck in such a way that now it is a useful technology.  Not one that is technology that accesses extra-experiential time, but one that is a spiritual Rorschach that facilitates edifying conversation.  We also noted our methodology concerning use of such decks for evangelization.  Our methodology familiarizes unbelievers with the narratives of Christ and his saints, as well as Christian cosmology, anthropology, morality and Christian concepts of virtue.  Most of the esoteric syncretists I encounter are not overwrought by a need to use oracle decks as technology for accessing extra-experiential time.  They have always nodded in agreement when I say “I am not going to tell you your future.”  They never seem to overly expect that I would be able to.  

  It is often said that the greatest secret of the Catholic Church is its social Justice doctrine.  The implication is that if people only knew about it, they would flock to the Church because it is so accessible to the type of person (secular humanist) who would be suspicious of the Church.  I believe that social justice doctrine does have great power to sway, even in the population of esoteric syncretists.  But an even greater kept secret, one that has massive appeal in my opinion, is the sacramental cosmology of Ancient Christianity.  This cosmology makes plain the relationship between ultimate divinity and each person’s experience of grace via physical reality.  When explained it is extremely appealing to the esoteric syncretist, who is looking for a niche’ spirituality to cohere their hodgepodge of unorganized beliefs.  In pulp spiritual direction, the deck is a “small s” sacramental of dynamic popular piety, formed from auxiliary sacral matter.  This should not be systematically explained to an esoteric syncretist up front.  Rather, they should experience it as such in the process, and as the conversation unfolds the assumptions of the sacramental cosmology can lead, after time, to more clear explanation as is found in the treatises Sacramental Cosmology and On Promotion of a Theocentric Ecological Consciousness.

But here we may discuss the sacramental nature of the deck as it is used in pulp spiritual direction.  Again, this is an exercise of dynamic popular piety.  It is not a sanctioned or certified process.  So it may help to give a little background as to how it can be legitimate.  This ritual or process is obviously not one of the Seven Sacraments.  So when we say it is a small s sacramental, we mean that a well constructed deck, as it is constructed of auxiliary sacral matter, has the ability to put one in good disposition to receiving the sacraments.  As an evangelical tool, that could mean the sacrament of baptism or confession (each of which is available to them) or if they are a “lapsed Catholic” who happens to be an esoteric syncretist, it can be a strong invitation to revisit their stomping ground.  For an inter Catholic practice, it can be a great centering technique if introspection as they approach any particular sacrament, or discern the practice and choices of their baptismal priesthood as discussed in The Manifold Priesthood of the Catholic Church.  All of this must be guided and facilitated by a skilled director. 

Some Tarot decks are in no way conducive to the task of serving as proper tools of pulp spiritual direction.  The imagery is over dramatically satanist or objectifying sexual, and this makes it distracting to the archetypal queue-in to Christian fulfillment.  It would take a greatly skilled director to pull these decks back around. The images on the deck are meant to guide the director and the querent in conversation through evocation of myth, narrative, meaning, and navigation of virtue and vice.  The images are the most powerful aspect of the small s sacramental.  Thus to have to take so much time reinterpreting and excusing harsh imagery is not a good use of the director’s time.  

Most decks are neutral and could be used with a skilled director for a particular audience.  For example, themes of witches, vampires, fairies etc. may seem off putting, but one attuned to the narratives and mythology could easily practice effective pulp spiritual direction with querents also interested in such myths.  The subjects may be broken or unfulfilled, but so are all subjects in postlapsarian reality.  The trick is to find the core truth sought by the querent and direct by means of the myth toward a message in harmony with Christian life.  

Then there are a host of decks that are just thematic in absolutely neutral ways, centering around kitsch culture, movies or TV series, and many other of a number of pop culture themes.  Then there are the deeper esoteric decks.  They revolve around old myths and gods as well as a symbolic structure of esoteric born out of and systematized over the past two centuries.  These tend to be very useful for pulp spiritual direction if the director is skilled at cosmic evangelization by conversion.  In the treatise Cosmic Evangelization we noted how this technique can be used to garner disciples for other faiths via making the celestial beings of those traditions work for Christ as the conqueror.  Again, this takes some skill, but the skill needed is the skill typical of pulp spiritual direction.  A director needs to know the mythology and meaning behind the deck they use.  These myths are ancient and very often speak to the deep yearning of humanity for some contact with transcendence.  They present the human condition, and thus the symbology in a deck is useful for pulp spiritual direction.

The last types of oracle decks are those that are overtly Christan in their symbolism.  They use angels, principalities or powers, biblical imagery, ancient Christian symbols or they are composed of holy cards of saints.  The original Tarot de Marseilles was of this variety.  The concept of the oracle deck cannot be much older than Christianity because the wide availability of paper and the ability to print it was not present until the 16th century.  Then the decks made were stepped in Christian symbolism.  The imagery of Tarot de Marseilles is not always objectively Catholic, but the book Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism demonstrates an ability to see how they can project the Catholic worldview.  The Classic Rider Waite deck illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith in the early 20th century is much more illustrative of Catholic symbology. She converted to Catholicism shortly after illustrating the deck, a fact that I believe points to the slow but building power of the symbology and the myth involved in pulp spiritual direction.  These two generative decks shape an original tradition of esoterica that is grounded in Christan symbology.  

There are three decks that I use for pulp spiritual direction.  The first is suited as an introduction for someone more comfortable with esoteric syncretism.  That is “The Tarot of the Saints” deck by Robert M. Place.  It is structured like a standard Tarot deck, with all of the major and minor Archana arranged by suits adorned with simple but rich imagery.  The operation of this deck would be familiar to one interested in esoteric syncretism, but the images are all composed of material concerning saints, scripture, and liturgical symbology.  This deck is a perfect introduction to pulp spiritual direction for one who is used to any other method of reading.  They will be familiar, but the imagery lends itself to comfortable evangelization.  A director who uses this deck will need to know the saints and stories but also be steeped in traditional tarot symbology and usage in order to converge the narrative of the querent with the presentation of the cards.  The director must also be willing to invest in this deck.  It is rare and expensive for an oracle deck. We discussed this deck in the book A User Guide to R.M. Place’s Tarot of the Saints.

The second deck I use is the Mantegna-Tarocchi oracle deck.  This deck is made of images etched in the mid  15th century, and they present the entire scope of medieval cosmology as a pageant for pulp spiritual direction.  We discussed this deck in great detail in the book A User Guide to the Medieval Cosmology of Mantegna-Tarocchi. This deck will be accessible to esoteric syncretism because it presents cards that image Apollo and the Muses, as well as various other key Greek and Roman Gods especially connected to astrology.  However, in keeping with its renaissance nature, it assumes these gods have undergone cosmic evangelization by conversion and are in harmony with the cosmic dominion of Christ.  This is a very useful deck for situating oneself cosmologically as well and advancing the practice of the three tiered integration of the self.  Again, such a deck will take knowledge of classical mythology as well as ancient and medieval cosmology for a director to make effective use of it for pulp spiritual direction.

The last deck I use is the Voices of the Saints deck.  This deck is a series of 78 holy cards.  Its appeal to the esoteric synchronist is that the director is using an “oracle deck” but it is in no way particularly esoteric.  When I describe the decks I point to the first and say “this one is more esoteric”, to the second I say “this one is cosmological” and to this last one I point and say “This one is more existential”.  That billing gets many people to pick it.  And it’s true, the dek is very existential.  The director must know the hagiography of each saint.  Each card has a death attached to it that is overcome by the holy life and cooperation with grace that allows one to be a saint.  It is a difficult deck to use.  The director must weave a motley crew of conformers and misfits all presented in the style of late 18th early 19th century piety together to form a cohesive presentation that syncs with the querent’s own situation.  It is completely narrative based and deeply human in its effect.  In short, the deck is fun and at the same time a powerful tool for evangelization.  Again the reader can learn more by reviewing our book A User’s Guide to the Voices of Saints Deck.

The images of each deck converge in differing ways and the artistic representations emit different stimuli to differing effect.  The cards can be considered sacramentals of dynamic popular piety.  They are not “significant” sacramentally.  As the reader knows, a sacramental sign is a physical reality that presences or gives access to the mystery that it signifies.  For example, the species of the Eucharist actually give access to the body and blood of Christ and the grace made available by the Paschal Mystery.  Sacramentals are not sacraments and objects defined as “sacramental” do not operate “significantly”.  At best they are evocative and/or symbolic.  That is to say, the pictures inspire through aesthetic beauty and/or connect cognitively via symbolic and analogical interpretation.  But they do not, as objects, convey grace.  However, if properly used, a sacramental better disposes one toward reception of the sacraments.  In this case, cards are helpful to prepare one as guides to spiritual experiences.  But that experience is actually facilitated “Significantly” through the relationship between the director and the querent.  The significant factor in this relationship is (at least the director’s) baptismal priesthood and facilitation of Christo-analogical interchange employing an analogy of teacher and student, master and disciple etc.  

The cards themselves simply evoke aesthetic and cognitive resonance because they queue into an accessible cultural milieu and allow for that interchange.  But one should not quickly brush off the power and effect of such symbology.  As we noted in the treatise Intuitive Ritual Investment and Conscious Ritual Investment the symbols and narratives employed in ritual (such as pulp spiritual direction) have a deep resonance in the human psyche.  They manifest archetypally across the culture and individually in the dream world.  The ability of a director to successfully channel that power can well dispose someone to receive the sacraments, even as a long term evangelical strategy.  The general picture of “dispose to reception” is “I did or utilized a sacramental according to official popular piety now when I go to mass this week I will be in a better situation.”  But, utilizing certain decks for certain people over time and getting them in tune with how Christ fulfills their life as they understand it better disposes that querent to the possibility of accepting the or returning to the Church.

The cards help because even though the director is not a “medium”, channeling spirits in their physical person, the deck is a mediating factor between the director and the querent.  The knowledge and use of a deck by a director almost immediately builds a certain trust by the querent.  If the querent is used to “typical readings” they may even have a little “awe” or “fear”.  Such dispositions should be neutralized as quickly as possible while retaining the trust that comes with it.  In my experience querents who are fairly close to the vest in casual conversation quickly open up as their stories are subtly related to the archetypal stories of humanity.  This is a relationship that is precious and it bears reminding a director of the necessity of a strong prayer life and moral compass so as not to abuse it.
All this together sets up a helpful relationship when one starts laying cards on the table and conversing about the complex issues of life.  As each card is turned it is an opportunity to engage and discuss issues that usually take long and deep relationships to begin to hash out between two people.  The help of a well developed deck can archetypologically frame a conversation “out of the blue”.  This allows the two people to immediately jump into such conversations without the feeling of awkwardness that may come if one does this with a stranger if that conversation was entered into too hastily.  The cards themselves stand in as a scapegoat for our eagerness to discuss the deep meaning of life with our neighbor, an eagerness that is often stifled by conventional norms. We can now proceed to a methodology of card by card analysis before proceeding to the next section where we will have an in depth discussion of the pattern utilized in pulp spiritual direction. 

The Contemplative Turn: Skills for Card by Card Analysis

In a well constructed deck, each card can individually be an object of contemplation.  As it is turned one can view it, engage in speculation, and seek insight through meditation.  The process of pulp spiritual direction uses a pattern of cards that interrelate.  But before going over that pattern, it will be helpful to offer guidance on how to analyze a single card.  This process can be done for each card in a spread before the card is related to other cards already present.  This will involve four steps for each card.  First, the director should garner the querent’s raw perspective on the card.  Second, the director should impart their expertise concerning the particular card and relate all the preceding information to the position in the overall pattern.  Third, the director should check in with the querent on their level of control concerning the aspect of the situation that was discussed concerning the card.  Lastly, the director should review and reassess everything that came before in the pattern in light of the new discussion with the card.  We shall now take each step in turn before moving on to the next section where we will discuss the versatile contemplative spread. 

The first thing a director should do is perform what I like to call a “spiritual Rorschach” assessment.  When I first turn a card I have already explained the position in the pattern, but before I launch into an explanation of the image on the card itself I turn it toward the querent and let them look at it from the upright point of view.  “What do you see? Does anything jump out at you, do you notice anything in particular?”  The querent’s responses are many and varied.  Some are familiar with the medium, so for example, if they know the standard Rider-Waite deck and we are using Place’s Tarot of the Saints, they will immediately launch into their own interpretation.  Some people know symbology in general well enough to offer interpretations even without “esoteric knowledge”.  This is often more fruitful because it comes from the querent’s own psycho-spiritual engagement as opposed to a pre-packaged system they are delivering (perhaps even simply to impress).  Some will focus on aspects of the picture, things or actions presented, colors, or even the emotive atmosphere.  

The Rorschach is helpful for getting the querent comfortable with talking during the process of pulp spiritual direction.  It lets them know at the beginning of each card that they have an important part to play and that this process is not subject to the director’s secret psychic power to predict the future.  Rather it is a process of conversation about the querent and about life.  The director simply directs the conversation with experience.  Once a pattern is in play the director can use the querent’s own interpretations of the card as valuable supplemental symbology to the interconnectedness of the narrative.  So, for example, if a querent notices a certain symbol (a flower or a sword or a book) and they discuss what that means to them, it is at least valuable because they are communicating a system of meaning as they understand it, and this is a large part of what pulp spiritual direction revolves around.  Also, as the same symbol might repeat, a director can work with the querent to discuss how that meaning presents in an interconnected way in the different parts of the querent’s life as indicated by the patter. 

The Rorschach as an opening gambit also offers the best opportunity for probing for the querent’s experience of the dream world.  As we implied in the treatise Somnium Spirituality, the mode of the physical world is causality.  But the mode of the dream world is symbology.  Thus, the application of somnium spirituality as lucid waking is perfectly suited to an exercise of contemplative prediction.  In Somnium Spirituality and Intuitive Ritual Investment and Conscious Ritual Investment, we applied lucid waking to classical ritual.  Pulp spiritual direction is a ritual where conscious interpretation is part and parcel of the exercise.  But it is not just symbolic interpretation atomistically.  The application of intuitively connecting the symbols and giving them a frame of meaning in one’s life is well served by an exercise of lucid waking.  Thus the director may, if it seems appropriate, question the querent concerning their dream life.  If the querent is aware of how that symbology work, it offers more fodder for interpretive connections.  If they are not, the director can engage speculatively with the querent and perhaps discover some useful information.

After the querent has driven the conversation, it is time for the director to take control.  Once the Rorschach seems to have played out, the director can begin to analyze the card.  This will begin with an “explanation” of the card as it is presented upright.  If the card places reverse, that explanation will follow because the reverse position is a commentary of or relational to the upright position.   These explanations must be contextualized by everything that has proceeded from the proclamation of a query to the Rorschach conversation to the place in the pattern, to what preceded in the pattern.  Whatever the director may “know” about the symbols, narrative, meaning of the card should be revealed only inasmuch as it applies to the relationship at the table.  The point is not to show off one’s knowledge.  The point is to make useful connections in the querent's life. It is during this part of the analysis that the director can begin in earnest connecting the card to other cards, the meta-narrative, and the narrative of the life of the querent in order to invest the card teleologically or pragmatically.  These connections may become brainstorming in advance of the fourth stage of the interpretation of the card. In any event, the “story” or meaning of the card needs to be told. But it is told in relation to a series of meta-narratives or meanings that are present, the meaning of the pattern, the meaning of the querent’s life as it is being discussed, etc.  As the director relays this information, to the best of their ability, they should be making these connections or seek to in common with the querent.

As an evangelical exercise, the director may judge it a good time to bring in one more narrative, as applicable to the card or the reading thus far, and that is the narrative of salvation history.  This should in no way be a mechanical introduction, but an introduction that sheds some kind of light on the situation makes some kind of connection or illuminates some kind of choice.  If a director wants to be successful in their evangelical attempts, they would need to gauge how receptive the querent would be to this, especially concerning the regularity of introducing frames from salvation history.  A person attracted to “a reading” may not in any way be attracted to Christianity, they may even be mildly hostile to their perception of it.  But the reader will remember that salvation history presents all of the archetypal narratives in the controlled form of revelation.  Also, Christ and his story is the fulfillment of salvation history, and therefore the fulfillment of all archetypes, typologies, meaning, truth, and effective choice.  In short, there will be Judeo-Christian applications to the cards, the pattern, and the querent’s life.  How the director presents them must be palatable to the querent so as to be received and internalized in a way that at least makes them more amiable toward Christianity and more willing to accept Christ as some sort of authority or savior.  If they are not overtly presented, how the director presents the meaning of the card should be framed as a typology of salvation history in the director’s mind.  This way, even if they don’t know its source, the querent is garnering sound advice.

After these connections are explored and some sort of lesson or meaning is derived it is a good time to check in on how the querent’s volition links into the expression of the card.  How is the querent able to choose, act, and effect whatever information was discussed during the analysis?  Are these things out of the querent’s control as a matter of objective reality? Does the card speak to situations that are out of a person’s control (For example an A or E class card from the Mantegan deck might suggest this).  Some things that are possibly in one’s control are “rendered determined” for many reasons, habit, character, trauma, social restrictions etc.  Brief conversations on the interface of freewill and anthro-determination are a helpful in a process of contemplative prediction because it helps one set one's attitude toward, sheer will or cooperation (with grace), fortitude or acceptance, etc.  The implementation of the basic message of the serenity prayer is often useful during the reading, the acceptance of the things we cannot change, the courage to change what we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.  As the possibilities are discussed, this guidance is useful for the querent.

The last thing to do concerning a particular card is to step back real quick and look over all that has happened, review, and reassess.  First, the director should make sure that the direction of the conversation, interpretation to interpretation, did not take the conversation off topic to the query.  This is very easy to do given the methodology and the fact that the millue (the interface of myth and personal history toward meaning and action) is fascinating.  The director should make sure all useful information is integrated toward the query.  They should set the rest aside in their mind.  It may be useful later, but maybe not.

Next, the director should observe the scope of the pattern thus far. Pulp spiritual direction is not a mechanistic application, but an interpretive art.  Therefore, as more information is discussed, revision will probably be needed.  Looking over and revising meaning, advice, interpretation etc. should be commonplace during a session of pulp spiritual direction.  This process does not offer “certain” knowledge.  Only the best help that the director and querent can offer each other.  Once these wrap ups are complete, the table can move to the next card.  Card by card the images develop a pattern that itself will weave a narrative or context that should will have much to offer in terms of how the two people at the table frame the query.  The pattern we have developed is called the versatile contemplative pattern.  

In this section, we have attempted to explore the general practice of what we are calling pulp spiritual direction, a guided meditation using the skill of contemplative prediction via images, symbols, and mythic narrative.  We discussed in detail the three factors the director uses to craft the art of this direction; knowledge of the deck itself, a good working relationship between director and querent, and the harmony of narrative appropriation and contemplative prediction.  We then discussed how a deck of cards can function in a sacramental cosmology and in the life of the church as a “small ‘s’ sacramental” utilized in the practice of pulp spiritual direction as dynamic popular piety.  We ended the section by exploring the process of analyzing a card, which can be done individually or, more likely, as part of a pattern. This process involved an opening Rorschach, followed by the director’s analysis, a check in on volitional application, and finally a focal check in on the query and possible reinterpretation of the pattern thus far. In the next section we will explore the basic operational skills for pulp spiritual direction according to the versatile contemplative pattern.    

Operational Skills for Pulp Spiritual Direction

Transversal Theology: Technical Glossary

         

In this first section, we covered the theory and purpose behind pulp spiritual direction and begin discussing the mechanics of pulp spiritual direction by exploring the process of analyzing a single card.  In this second section, we will cover the basic operational skills for pulp spiritual direction.  We started by explaining how the versatile contemplative pattern works according to a narrative format, subject, predicate, and object.  Next, we will explore how each of those initial cards are expanded by two in a series of in depth analyses of the primary cards.  These expansions seek to probe the flux of phenomenological time as well as the scope of the three tiered field of experience. Then we will discuss a line by line analysis of the base of the pattern in order to get a general overview of the situation being discussed.  Next, we will inspect a series of auxiliary lines and offer possible ways that they could illuminate aspects of the situation as it is discussed by the director and querent.  Lastly, we will discuss the Focal Card and how to use it to bring the entire patter together for either an existential effect or a skill set.  Below is a reference chart demonstrating each aspect just mentioned.  The rest of the treatise will move concept by concept to explain how to employ the skill related in each image.  

 

Setting the Stage: Three Expansions 

For pulp spiritual direction there are three things at the table, director, querent, and deck.  The function of the cards in the deck is to carry meaning as they present and drive the conversation.  But as the process plays out, the cards are not presented randomly.  Typical of popular card readings, a pattern or layout helps the conversation take a certain direction.  As we noted above, one can simply draw one card and meditate on its meaning as applicable to the situation. But to add cards almost necessitates a framework for how those cards interact so that symbols and analogies can emerge, develop, and be shaped into useful interpretations.  So our task for this section is to convey a useful patter than is extremely generally applicable.  We will have called the pattern the versatile contemplative spread.  It will consist of ten cards that form a pyramidal or “Pythagorean” triangle.  

  The versatile contemplative spread is designed to help foster contemplative prediction, thus it is narrative geared.  The entire process usually takes me somewhere between 45 minutes and three hours, depending on the relationship between the director and the querent and the complexity of the situation.  The pattern begins as all stories do with a subject, verb, and an object.  This is a three card spread and is extremely common in oracle deck readings.

Such three card spreads often set the conditions of the relationships of the cards.  As the reader knows, the direction of the cards sets the meaning as well.  A card that is upright presents what is innate to the presentation of the card.  Whereas upside down card can be interpreted as negatively intensifying the meaning of the card.  A reverse position could also be interpreted as a reversal of the meaning of the card.  Or lastly, it could be seen as spectrally balancing the initial meaning of the card.  

The most common frame for the three card spread is past, present, future to contemplate the nature of temporal flux.  This pattern is often used by those who bill themselves as masters of predictive analytics, who imply that they can use the cards as technology to access extra-experiential time.  But the foundation of contemplative prediction is set in a narrative matrix, “mythic history”, so beginning with a narrative milieu will be most helpful for this task.  The Subject Card (or Querent Card) is interpreted as the querent themself.  It is used to discuss attributes, skills, or dispositions they have related to the situation.  These aspects may be beneficial or detrimental in the situation.  This card is used to calibrate their point of view in the situation as the process unfolds.  

The second card is the Predicate Card.  It is used to discuss the card of flux, motion, development, motivation, or even the relationship between the subject and the object.  It often steers the conversation specifically to these intangibles that bind the querent to the situation or urge them toward it.  This card could also be used to discuss how the querent and situation develop together via reciprocation as a result of outside influence.  

The third card, the Object Card, is used to consider the situation itself.  As it presents it could be interpreted as a situation, a goal, an interest, and experience.  For example, as an experience, it may present as an experience of a thing or person.  

Again that language, especially for these last two cards, is important because the cards are not giving objective information about the relationship, motion, or situation.   They are evoking contemplation at the table where the direction is happening.  They can only present meaning in that context.  I usually lay these three cards out together and explain quickly how the Narrative Line works.  Then we begin discussing each of the cards in turn.

After both parties are happy with the conversation regarding the first three cards the director begins “expanding” each of the cards.  An expansion happens by attaching two cards to a primary card in order to get a deeper dive into the original subject.  So we begin with the subject card.  Underneath the subject card, the director places two cards; one on each side left to right.  This is called the Querent Expansion.           

I describe these two cards primarily as “Latent and Manifest”.  On the left, the Latent Card can be described or interpreted as some hidden aspect of the querent.  It could be the querent’s unconscious reality (hidden from themself).  It could be the querent's interior life which is hidden from the world.  That would be all or aspects of their psycho-spiritual life, desire, emotion, cognition, etc.  Or it simply could be any way the querent “is” as opposed to how they seem.  

The second card of the expansion, on the right, is the Manifest Card.  How it is interpreted is somewhat dependent on how one interprets the Latent Card.  If the Latent Card is unconscious, then it stands to reason that for cohesion one would want to interpret the Manifest Card as conscious.  This dynamic works down the line of meaning; interior psycho-spiritual relates exterior even how one manifests corporeally.  Or how one is perceived, “seems”, or seeks to present themself.  

With these two cards displayed it is a good time to remember that this is not a tool that measures objective reality.  A freeing factor of that is that reinterpretation is possible, useful, and in my experience often necessary.  As I often say in direction, “This is our game, we can play how we want”.  And by “how we want” I mean we are not worried about predicting an objective future or facts.  We are interested in creating a cohesive narrative framework for garnering insight, meaning, and skills.  And if that means, upon analysis of the Manifest Card, that we are going to reinterpret the Latent Card from unconscious to conscious, so be it.  The meanings are not fixed in pulp spiritual direction, only pragmatic for use of edification in the situation.

I lay these cards out together and briefly explain the duality involved before analyzing them individually and re-applying them to the generative “subject” card.  This expansion is great for opening a querent up to talk about themselves (most people’s favorite subject) and the director can obviously garner valuable information about the querent’s self perception.  The Querent Expansion can be referred back to often in the reading as a calibrator for point of view in the situation.  

The next expansion is the Predicate Card.  The “Flux (or Dynamic) Expansion” will give the participants an opportunity to discuss changing elements in the situation and how they are effecting those involved.  The director lays two cards over the predicate card left to right.  These cards are generally referred to as “Potential” and “Act”.           

The reader will notice the medieval categories for temporal flux.  It seems that these are the best labels for the cards because they may not simply indicate the passage of time.   As we noted in Mythic History and Contemplative Prediction, “act and potential” are medieval categories that allow for flux in reality while considering that God sees all reality, including all time, at once.  They are how medieval philosophers framed the change involved in the flow of time, motion, growth, etc. 

Potentiality indicates anything that has the possibility of manifesting in reality but has not yet manifest (it may never…).  Act is the manifestation of a potential reality. These terms together are indicative of any flux or change that may be experienced.  Time is a good interpretation because phenomenologically it is the matrix for flux and change.  Thus the cards could easily be “earlier and later” or “deep past and recent past”.  In as much as this is considered, these cards can be a reflection on historical circumstances that effect the situation.  The cards can be interpreted as “past and future” with the implication that the future is speculative based on common sense data analysis.  Given this is a process of contemplative prediction, the temporal analysis of the future may not simply be casual, but may especially concern the rhythms mythic history.  Interpreting the cards this way allows one to connect deeply to the narratives and symbols already present in the spread and begin to notice thematic rhythms that may be present in the querent’s life.  It can be pondered whether these rhythms are in the querent’s control or not and from that an adequate response can be assessed.  Apart from time, the two cards can simply be interpreted as “Cause and Effect”.  Under this interpretation it is less likely the querent’s volition will come into play, but insight here may offer avenues of understanding for choices that need to be made.

I lay these cards out together and briefly explain the duality involved before analyzing them individually and re-applying them to the generative Predicate Card.  The Flux Expansion is great for discussing all of the instigating and causal factors in the situation.  The director can obviously garner valuable information about the circumstances and motivations in the situation in general.  The predicate expansion can be referred back to often in the reading as a calibrator for variables in the situation.  

The third and final expansion is of the Object Card.  The Object Expansion has mostly to do with the reciprocating relationship of effect between the querent and the situation being discussed.  The director lays down two cards below the object card.  From left to right these cards are “Regard and Reciprocating Effect”.

             

The Object Card is the card where it is easiest to let one’s self believe that the card is conveying objective information from beyond the personal relationship at the table.  Since the card indicates the “situation” as an “object” it is easy to say “this card is my spouse” or something like that.  Again, the assumption of our methodology is that the card is not going to give you any objective information regarding spouse, friend, job prospects or anything else not sitting directly at the table with the director and querent.  It is hopefully going to awaken ideas, concepts, and connections regarding that situation.  The way the Object Expansion is framed is meant to drive that point home.  

The first card, on the left, is the Regard Card.  It is framed to ponder and construct the point of view of the querent on the object or situation.  With this card, the director and querent can discuss how the querent regards, uses, or effects the object in any general or particular way.  The dynamic then reciprocates with the next card.  The Reciprocal Effect Card offers a meditation on how the object effects or changes the querent or how the querent “needs to be” or “should be” in relation to the object.  The cards in these positions are used to ponder the back and forth between the querent and the object from the perspective of the querent.  This helps probe the relationship between the two especially as that relationship regards the object.  

I lay these cards out together and briefly explain the duality involved before analyzing them individually and re-applying them to the generative Object Card.  This expansion is great for introducing the application of the golden rule, as well as existential regard for the situation  (the ability to choose your regard to the situation).   The director can obviously garner valuable information about how the querent regards and assesses the situation in general.  The object expansion can be referred back to during the general overview as a calibrator for point of view in the situation.  

Once these three expansions are complete there is only one card left to reveal and that is the Focal Card.  However, cautious review, revision, and recalibration are often helpful throughout the process. In order to aid that, there are a series of related lines that can be analyzed before revealing the Focal Card.  Reviewing these lines helps the director to look for symbolic, analogical, archetypal, and narrative connections. So before we end with the Focal Card we need to discuss the process of line analysis in pulp spiritual direction.         

  

Three Primary Lines and the Domain of Volitional Control 

Once the foundational pattern is set there is a chance to pause and get a bigger picture.  At this point each card thus far has been analyzed, at least some connections have been discovered across expansions, and more than likely a few reinterpretations have happened.  A helpful way of big picture analyzing is by use of the lines we have created, what they are, and how they interact.  The first line, as we already discussed, is the Narrative Line.    

Now one can go back and get a sense of how the general narrative as presented in this line relates to all the information and connections discussed thus far.  With this revisit, the director and querent can take a second to look back and make sure they are staying on track.  Sometimes as the conversation progresses (at least in my experience) connection can lead to connection as the director and querent make free association symbolic interpretations.  This can easily lead away from the starting point and lose sight of the original query.  A quick reassessment here can bring the conversation back to the goal and often can make what on the face seems like disparate details come into harmony.  

The next line is the Development Line.  This line is simply the flux expansion revisited now that the foundation is complete.

 

A quick reassessment of this line can be helpful for the same reason.  It is now focused not just on change and flux, which were the operable concepts in the microcosmic analysis of each card.  Now the line takes on a stronger place in the narrative of the entire situation as a whole.  As “development” the flow of motion or flux is put into the context of the entire foundation.

The last line we have not yet developed.  It is called the Extension Line.  It shows an expansion from the deepest self to furthest personal extension of self.  This line runs along the bottom of the triangle, from the latent self, extending outward to the manifest self, further outward to the self regarding the object, and beyond to the object reflecting back to the self.  

In a certain way, the line seeks to manifest the three-tiered integration of the self, an expansive giving of self to the “other” in a way that is binding, even to an ontological level.  It does this by running the scope of the three tiered field of experience from the querent’s point of view.  This exercise allows for better application of the golden rule if the “object” is another person.  If the object is a situation or relationship, it allows one to honestly assess the relationship between the object and the whole self from a variety of vantage points.

Looking back on this line allows one to check in on the inner/out relationship as it aligns with the object.  It refocuses the entire pattern on the connection between facets of self and facets of how the self relates to the situation.  It is also a good chance for the director to get a sense of the querent’s understanding of interconnectivity if probe whether that is applicable to the situation.

The three lines give a good chance to reassess in overview form and reconnect disparate elements of the reading if possible.  From them, the director can then begin to discuss what can be “done” in the situation before the revelation of the Focal Card.  To start this conversation the director can turn their attention to the “Domain of Volitional Control”.  This is an inner triangle that is as of yet to be assessed.  It runs from the Predicate Card to the Manifest Card to the Regard Card.

      

One will notice that these are the cards that, no matter how they are meaningfully situated in the patter, the querent has the most control over.  Beginning with the Predicate Card.  If the card is action, the is moving from the querent outward, the motion is initiated by, or at least in some way under the power of, the querent’s own will.  If the motion is coming from the situation toward the querent, then the querent has the ability to react.  The Manifest Card is the card where the querent makes themself known to the exterior world.  Even if the Latent Card is the subconscious, the manifest will still be the conscious realm and therefore controlled after a manner. Last is the Regarding Card, which reminds the director of Victor Frankel’s famous methodology of Logo-Therapy, one can always at least seek to choose the attitude one has toward a situation.

These three cards together situate the contemplation in the most aggressive realm of personal volition.  Reviewing this reminds the querent that there are things under their control regardless of any other factors that are not.  This is comforting if the reading has tended to play out in an extremely deterministic way because of the symbols or the querent’s own worldview.  This triangle is also particularly helpful if the querent holds onto a sense that this process is somehow a “psychic reading” after the manner of predictive methodologies.  Lastly, this triangle is a good possible place to at least brush upon moral reflection with the querent.  The director can seek a sense of how the querent morally calculates, uses their will, and offers edifying advice if needed.

Analytical Review: Four Auxiliary Lines

With the three primary lines and the Domain of Volitional Control reviewed, the reading is beginning to wind down.  All elements that are necessary have probably been discussed and assessed.  However, the process of pulp spiritual direction is contemplative, thus it lends itself to repeated reassessment.  So here we come to a point of deciding whether or not it is worth looking over a set of four auxiliary lines for any other possible connections.  This constant reassessment may seem tedious in writing, but in practice, it may only take a few seconds.  However, it may yield something that can be discussed at great lengths.  Any detail may awaken a strand or mode of thought previously not considered and worth developing.  So now we can turn to the four auxiliary lives.  I call these lines running “up the mountain down the mountain”.  For me, in a way, they symbolize the multiple paths one must take to get a clear focus in a situation.  As the reader will see they will take us literally up the base and down the base of the triangle.

The first auxiliary line is the line of Profound Generation.  It runs from the Latent Card through the Subject to the Potential Card.

              

A quick analysis of this line shows the deepest generations of the spread.  The latent and the potential cards are generative for the subject of everything that is being considered.  Their hidden self and the root causes of the dynamism in the situation are working together to create whatever it is that is being considered by the querent.  It is worth glancing at this line to see if there is any thus far undiscovered relationship concerning the three.   

This line is helpful to dig out deep motivating factors and how they may have played out in generating the situation.  They can also be used to reassess how the querent’s unconscious may be playing into how they are interpreting the causes of the situation.  These cards together offer a glimpse at the foundational issues of the query itself. 

The second auxiliary line is the line of External Consequences.  The line runs from the Manifest Card through the Predicate to the Act Card. 

 

This auxiliary line runs the querent edge of the querent end of the Domain of Volitional Control.  It finds its expression in the act or full development in the situation.  It is totally focused on the external and active element of the pattern thus the insight it brings revolves around the querent’s most direct involvement in the situation.  The line demonstrates how the querent presents or utilizes their manifest self and the consequences of those actions.  

This line is helpful to get a quick revision of the investment the querent has in the situation and revisit where the life of the querent immediately touches upon the situation.  Having ascended up the mountain from the querent’s position, the last two lines take the contemplation down the mountain to the object's position.  This motion runs from the left hand side of the pattern, which is intimate to the querent to the right hand side of the pattern which is object oriented.    

The third auxiliary line is known as the line of Contextualized Point of View.  This line runs from the Potential Card through the Predicate to the Regard Card. 

  

The line analyzes from the Potential, which is often the past that sets the conditions for the situation or relationship to the object.  It could also be interpreted as the causal factor in an etiological chain concerning the object.  This card contextualizes the query and as the line moves it proceeds through the simple dynamism of the situation, the matrix of action, to the regard the querent has for the situation. This line is an excellent chance to reiterate point of view regarding the situation, especially as it concerns how one has been conditioned by the context (past and action) of the situation.  It is also a good line to seek an understanding of how your previous actions contextualize how you perceive the situation.

The fourth and last auxiliary line is the Predictive / Contingent line.  It runs from the Act Card through the Object Card to the Card of Reciprocating Regard.  

This line is the situation furthest from the querent.  This line is especially useful if the Act Card is future oriented, which as extra-experiential time does not even have the benefit of memory.  It is object oriented, which according to the three tiered field of experience is the “furthest” field from the subject.  Lastly, it regards how “the other” effects the querent, thus, the only this intimate is not immediately in the control of the querent.

This line is sometimes useful for creating a framework for grappling with the unknown, the contingencies, as they relate to how the object effects the querent. This line can also be used to analyze how the Act Card combines with the Object Card to form an amorphous unknown that has effects on the querent surmised in the Recipricateing Effect Card.  This effect could be dread, joy, hope, or many other dispositions.  If the Act Card is interpreted as the effect of a cause, then it could be consequences (future?)  in which case the object is seen as dealing consequences that are having an effect on the querent.

The auxiliary lines are not absolutely necessary to analyze, certainly not all of them.,  depending on how the interpretation has gone thus far, a quick review of them may yield some helpful insight.  But if they are not helping, then they are simply not useful this time and are easily ignored.  With the base completely analyzed the director can proceed to the Focal Card and begin to wrap up the reading. 

Revealing the Focal Card and Wrapping Up 

The last maneuver of the versatile contemplative spread is the Focal Card turned in the tenth position.  Before turning this card I usually provide a little bit of prep work.  It is wise to slightly downplay the card before turning it.  In a “psychic reading” that seeks to utilize the deck as technology for accessing extra-experiential time, this card will be a revelation of heretofore secret knowledge and it is expected that it will give objective insight into how to make a choice or a path.  The goal of pulp spiritual direction is to give this insight as well, but not via paper based technology.  Rather the insight comes via the relationship between a director, who is hopefully wise enough to offer good advice, and a querent who is wise enough to work with a director.  The cards are a medium for that relationship.  So whatever is about to be “revealed” by the Focal Card is probably intimately connected to everything that has been discussed previously.  It will certainly be framed in the context of the entire discussion of the base of the pattern. I usually say something to the effect of “sometimes this card is a fizzle…”  Not because it often is, but because I don’t want the querent to place all their eggs for the experience of the process in this one basket.  Pulp spiritual direction should be a holistic experience of the entire pattern together.  It is called the Focal Card because it is used as a binder for the pattern if possible.  When it is turned the director follows the four steps of analyzing a card, Rorschach, interpretation, volitional check-in, and review and reassess.  The only difference is that the reassess for this card is the last reassessment that will be done, so there is a finality to the card that is not present for the rest of the pattern.

The ideal application of the Focal Card is as a lens card that will cohere all the information to thus presented to the best of the director and querent’s ability.  As a position in the spread, it offers “something to notice” about the situation, or perhaps some guidance.  What this could be is usually framed up in the first two steps of the card analysis.  The hope is that by the end of those three steps some sort of teleological conclusion or some skill has been evoked to aid the querent.  Again, the immediate practical purpose for pulp spiritual direction is to either mitigate existential angst or find such a skill to help in a situation.

As a point of focus, the card can serve as either a point of gratitude or as a warning depending on the meaning.  If the analysis of the card yields a cosmically benevolent meaning a primary skill is the exercise of gratitude.  Particular skills aside, gratitude for existence is the foundation of any mature moral sense, and thus the director should look to the opportunity to help the querent practice this virtue.

If the analysis yields cosmically negative connotations, then the card serves as a warning.  At this point, the director may turn the discussion to the struggles of the situation, especially those that the querent has volitional control over (moral struggles) and use the card as a warning in order to foster fortitude in the situation.  Whatever the card seems to be indicating in the querent’s own life, it is to be regarded with care and seen as a point of spiritual development for the querent.  

After the analysis comes the volitional check in.  This is the point where the director will want to surmise the skills that have been discussed throughout the reading and focus on the overarching one or two that seem most pertinent after the entire process has played out.  The strategies could be proactive or reactive.  They could be dynamic or passive.  That is to say, they could be actions that the querent should take regarding the situation or they could be dispositions to be garnered regarding the situation (presumably because certain factors are out of the querent’s control).

At this point, it is time to wrap up the reading.  The end is how each card would end.  Make a quick check to make sure that whatever conclusions you just discussed actually related to the original query and were helpful regarding it.  After this I usually make a sweeping glance over the pattern one more time just to make sure nothing jumps out at me, a symbolic connection I missed, or an aspect of a story that I didn't relay that actually, now, is relevant.  Then, if everything seemed to click, I usually say, “I’m pretty happy with this if you are.”  This gives the querent a chance to make one last assessment.  Sometimes there is a caveat to that, “I’m pretty happy, though I wish we could have made better use of XYZ card” or something like that.  This gives the querent one last chase to give any info that may do just that.  But sometimes that imperfection is just how it goes.  Again, this is an art, not a science or mechanism.  After this, I mix the pattern into a pile and shuffle them back into the deck. Fin  

In this first section, we covered the theory and purpose behind pulp spiritual direction and began discussing the mechanics of pulp spiritual direction by exploring the process of analyzing a single card.  In this section, we covered the basic operational skills for pulp spiritual direction.  We started by explaining how the versatile contemplative spread works according to a narrative format, subject, predicate, and object.  We then explored how each of those initial cards are expanded by two in a series of in depth analyses of the primary cards.  These expansions seek to probe the flux of phenomenological time as well as the scope of the three tiered field of experience. Next, we discussed a line by line analysis of the base of the pattern in order to get a general overview of the situation being discussed.  Next, we inspected a series of auxiliary lines and offered possible ways that they could illuminate aspects of the situation as it is discussed by the director and querent.  Lastly, we discussed the Focal Card and how to use it to bring the entire patter together for either an existential effect or a skill set. 

Conclusion

  

I teach world religions at a catholic school and every year I begin with the same question, “Why study the world religions in a religion class at a Catholic school? If you are going to study world religions here, why not in a sociology, anthropology or history class? Why are we studying it in a religion class?”  I have two answers to that question that I give.  One is progressive and the other is conservative.  The progressive answer is that we can actually learn about our catholicism by studying the other world religions.  By seeing how we are incompatibly different we can sharpen our understanding of the faith.  By seeing how we are the same we can approach the truths Catholicism presents in fresh and new ways from different perspectives.  Lastly, there are a host of compatible ways that we are different, and in this, we can actually expand our understanding and practice of the Truth we received.  

But this treatise does not speak to the progressive answer.  Despite the fact that tarot reading is approached with trepidation by conservative and pious Catholics, this treatise is the result of my conservative answer to the question.  The conservative answer is evangelization.  We are commanded to spread the gospel to all nations. If one wishes to take The Great Commission seriously, then they must study the world religions.  It saves a great amount of time and misunderstanding if one knows where one’s interlocutor is coming from. To know someone’s tradition allows the evangelist to skillfully draw someone to the truth, even through their own tradition.  This was the tactic of the greatest Christian evangelizer Saint Paul (all things to all people).

When Pope Francis says, “beware of the idolatry of Tarot” he is correct in his condemnation.  If one is using cards to give the impression that they have mastered the flow of time or extort money from the vulnerable, then the cards are dangerous.  But a skilled director uses pulp spiritual direction to bring people into amiability to the truths revealed through salvation history and specifically through the incarnation of the Son.  It is often after the manner of Paul, “I planted, Apollos watered, God gives the growth.”  Just using the cards to instill amiability toward Christianity plants the seed that can grow into the kingdom within that person.  In this way, study of the myths, symbols and archetypes of the cards can be extremely helpful to the goal.  The process simply takes a ritual recognizable to the esoteric syncretist and turns it to the evangelizers advantage.