The Lion
The Lion is a five-card spread for making the best of a hard time. Strength lies face up above it, and when you’ve read the cards, their numbers add up to one more card: a way to approach the whole situation.
Before you draw, Strength is laid face up above the row: a woman calmly holding a lion’s jaws. It sets the tone for the whole reading: calm, patience, holding your ground without force. Then five cards in a row: 1 the present situation, 2 how the lion roared (the cause), 3 what to release, 4 what to hold on to, 5 the outcome.
Card 2, the cause, explains how you got here. Read it without blame. A Tower might be a sudden shock nobody chose; a Five of Wands might be a long run of small conflicts. Knowing the cause helps you see which parts of the situation are yours to handle.
Cards 3 and 4 are the heart of the spread. Release is what to let go of: a worry, a habit, a grudge, a plan that has had its day. Hold on to is what still serves you: skills, people, values, hope. Read them as a pair, because letting go is easier when you know what you’re keeping.
Then add up the numbers. Majors count as their number (the Fool is 0), Aces as 1, the numbered cards as their number, Pages 11, Knights 12, Queens 13, Kings 14. If the total is more than 21, add its digits together until it’s 21 or less. The Major with that number is a way to approach the whole situation.
The Outcome, card 5, shows where things are heading if you follow the release and the hold. In a hard time, it’s often modest: a little calmer, a little further on. That still counts.
Your exercise
Practise the Lion’s total: add up five cards and find the Major that sums up the situation.
Key takeaways
- 1Strength lies face up above the row: calm, patient strength.
- 2Present, cause, release, hold on to, outcome.
- 3Read release and hold as a pair.
- 4Add the numbers (digits until 21 or less) for the Major that sums it up.
- 5In a hard time, a modest outcome still counts.