7 cards in a line, or a gentle arc if you want to make it look purty.
[1] – [2] – [3] – [4] – [5] – [6] – [7]
[1] Recent Past (The Setup)
[2] Present (The Here and Now)
[3] Internal influence(s) (From Within)
[4] External influence(s) (From Without)
[5] The Challenge and/or Lesson (The Gate)
[6] Near Future (First Repercussion)
[7] Far Future (Second Repercussion)