Every so often we all encounter situations where we’re stumped  by the meaning of a particular card in a particular reading. A common practice is to pull more cards to clarify the interpretation, but I prefer to take my cue from A.E. Waite’s Pictorial Key to the Tarot and use the problem card as the “Significator” in a new reading with the purpose of shedding light on its role in the original spread. Here is a spread that brings elemental dignities and the “quintessence” technique to bear on the resolution of these baffling scenarios. It can also be used as a stand-alone spread when a situation can be described in advance by a specific topic card.