THE DECK
I bought the Osho Zen tarot deck back in 1997 when I was in a deck-collecting frenzy. I even used this one for a while, unlike many of the other decks I’ve collected over the years. At the time, I was very active in the American Tarot Association, attended many conferences, and, like many others, was always on the lookout for the “next great deck” to collect.
It was also during this time that I did a lot of tarot readings for myself, so much so that I finally had to stop. I was asking too many questions and not really listening to the answers. Or I was getting answers that I didn’t want to hear.
Fast forward 20 years later, and I have picked up the cards again (well, I never really put them down completely). Not only am I doing readings for myself AGAIN (not too often though), I’m also reading for others and writing about tarot.
The Osho Zen tarot is a 78-card deck (+1 – The Master, unnumbered) based on Zen Buddhist philosophy. According to the guide that comes with the deck, this philosophy is all about awakening the inner Buddha or higher self wisdom and focuses on building awareness of and attention to the present moment in order to allow that wisdom to come through.
So while it uses the Rider-Waite-Smith structure of major and minor arcana, the card images (which are absolutely stunning!) and delineations are more reflective of the teachings of the Indian sage, Osho, as interpreted for the deck by one of his disciples, Ma Deva Padma.
THE SPREAD
The “spacious present” is a concept used in nondualistic philosophies like Buddhism and Vedanta and the science of quantum physics in which past, present, and future occur simultaneously.
So even though the reading appears to move in a straight line from past, through the present, and into future, it actually reflects what’s going on in the querant’s (the person getting the reading) life right now.
It can be used to answer just about any question you might have about yourself and what’s currently going on in your life. For my reading, the focus was on how to unblock the flow of money coming into my life.
In the above pictured spread, the cards read past, present, and future from left to right like a typical “PPF” spread. However, this isn’t a predictive spread. As I said, its focus is on what’s going on in your life RIGHT NOW, what recent past influence has lead you to where you are in the present, and what’s the most likely outcome you’ll experience in the near future.
The central card of the spread is the “Present” card (although the two majors are pretty powerful influences), with the Past and Future cards providing more information on what brought me to where I am and where I’m headed respectively.
I typically draw an additional card from the bottom of the deck for insights based on subconscious knowledge that I’m not aware of (card on the right below the main spread).
And thanks to a suggestion from @seedsofshakti on Instagram, I added the card on the bottom left, chosen from the middle of the deck. I interpret it as subconscious knowledge moving towards the surface of consciousness. It’s what I’m slowly becoming aware of or what I already know but perhaps haven’t been paying enough attention to.
THE READING
The message for me is that I need to pay more attention to my inner guidance which I haven’t trusted enough in the past.
I also need to stop living my life burdened by the guilt of past mistakes and failures. I also need to stop basing what I do on other people’s “shoulds,” “shouldn’ts,” and expectations. That only brings exhaustion and stress which can lead to illness (I had a flu-like cold in July along with weird neuromuscular pain and muscle cramps in my legs and feet).
Even though the card symbolizing my letting go of others’ expectations is in the future position, I’ve already started doing this (hence the reversal – those suckers are falling off my back!). But clearly, there’s more I need to release because I am starting to recognize how damaging stress is to my immune system.
This letting go will be therapeutic, enabling me to regain clarity via intuitive guidance, strengthen my immune system, and allow my creativity to flow, all of which will lead to more financial security.
READING SPECIAL
I’m currently offering email readings based on my Spacious Present spread, using the Osho Zen tarot deck. My 5-card spread readings are usually priced at $67.
But I’m offering this spread (and all other 5-card spreads) for the special price of $49. I’ll even throw in some astrological insights based on your natal chart and current transits (I’ll need your birth data for this).
You can order your reading HERE. Click the “What’s Going On?” 5-card spread option on the Services page.