When I say “too much personal influence”; I’m talking about the times that either I myself have influenced another reader’s interpretation, the personal influence when reading for those close to me and the personal influence that sometimes prevents me reading for myself objectively.

To explain why I think there is even a point for discussion here, let me give you an example… A good few years ago a lovely tarot reader was recommended to me by a friend. She is brilliantly accurate, has a lovely caring personality and I’ve found myself growing really fond of her over the years. Whenever I have a major issue I go to see her for some much needed guidance.

Now although she is a talented professional with years of experience, I’ve found that since we have become friends and therefore more familiar with each other, I have unwittingly influenced my readings with her. Like the time I was offered what appeared to be a great business opportunity and considered leaving my full time job. I was so excited that I’d already half made up my mind when I went for the reading and was really just looking for confirmation that I was making the right decision.

I was so enthusiastic about my new venture that I’m sure I made it difficult for my tarot reader – who was now my friend – to burst my bubble. I could kick myself; I remember her telling me that she saw disappointment next to the ace of pentacles and that she saw me out of work, but every time I heard that or anything else that was even a tinsy wincy bit negative, I would just find some kind of explanation as to what that must mean. I just kept throwing other things into the mix and confusing things. Instead of allowing my reader to go with her gut instinct I made her ‘think’, reconsider her interpretation and soften the blow.

What I should have done was keep my mouth shut and let my dear friend sucker punch me with the truth. To cut a long story short; the fantastic business opportunity turned out to be a complete nightmare beyond anything that I could have ever predicted. I’d left my job and  found myself out of work, disappointed and feeling very sorry for myself.

My tarot reader agrees that she had allowed me to influence her interpretation and that even after her 30 years of experience she was still always learning. Now when I go for readings I say only the bare minimum, I don’t ask questions I just take in whatever tarot wants to tell me.

Since I’m both a client to other readers and a reader myself; I have seen this problem from both perspectives. As a reader I can honestly say that I find it easier to read for complete strangers whose lives I know nothing about. When you read for a stranger you cannot think or consider the individual’s circumstances, you only have your tarot skills and your intuition to go by. When you are reading for a friend or family member it’s very difficult (but not impossible) to eliminate all you know about that person. For example, you read for a friend who you think is single yet the spread is full love cards. Would you gravitate towards another interpretation of a card that would appear to be more relevant to their situation, or do pretend you know nothing of their situation and talk about the wonderful relationship that you see blossoming? Obviously you have to go for the latter, you can’t assume you know everything – maybe your friend does have a relationship blossoming but s/he just hasn’t broadcast it yet. Never ‘think’ too much, just trust your cards implicitly and they won’t let you down.

Then there’s that thing about delivering bad news to someone you care about. It’s tough, but I’ve learnt (sometimes the hard way) that honesty is the best policy; whether you’re delivering or receiving a bit of a blow. Otherwise you’ll be doing a disservice to yourself and others.

Then the last point; reading for yourself. For me this is my biggest tarot challenge yet. I read my own cards daily, I try and try to be objective, forget who I am and be open to whatever the cards are telling me. Sometimes the messages are blatantly obvious or support how I’m currently feeling, but put me in a situation were I’m confused or emotionally attached and then give me cards I don’t like the look of  and I’ll be straight on the phone to my reader. How can you be objective about your own life? I know there are readers out there who are quite happy reading for themselves. Maybe they have evolved to a level of inner calm that I haven’t yet managed to achieve, who knows?

Have you ever faced an issue where either you or someone else has had to much influence on a reading?

The tarot court cards are a tricky lot, aren’t they?  Judging by the feedback I’ve had recently, it seems they could be one of the biggest challenges that beginners face.

When it come to deciding if a court card represents yourself, another individual or an ‘energy’; there is no book or post that can decide that for you. As a beginner this may seem a bit disheartening.

The thing is, it’s not a struggle because you haven’t yet read the right book or found the secret formula. The only difference between knowing what a card means and not being sure, is your confidence in your own intuition. This is something that will come with experience.

The best advice I can give when it comes to ‘deciding’ which way to read a card is this:

Look at your spread as a ‘big picture’ first and consider all the cards as a whole. Look for patterns. Are you dealing with emotions, love, career or finances? If you’ve asked a specific question then you’ll already have a good idea anyway. Then use the cards to build a story; make connections and form relationships between them. Once you have a basic ‘storyline’ it will be much easier to see where the court cards fit in to it all. You’ll find that other cards that seemed a little ambiguous will suddenly throw clues at you and the whole thing will start to make sense.

Sometimes it just doesn’t fit for a court card to represent another person, the story doesn’t make sense. I would then assume that the card represents the person I’m reading for or myself (if I’m reading my own cards).

Pages

Every reading is different but in my experience I generally see pages more as energy than individuals, unless children and family are integral to the ‘story’. Two pages together in this scenario might make me feel I’m with two children, and if one was the page of cups, or the empress was nearby then another could be on the way. The page of cups quite often screams pregnancy at me, although I feel it can also represent someone who is getting back on their feet emotionally, rebuilding their confidence and self esteem; especially if I saw it with the devil, tower or 5 0f cups, 4 of swords, etc.

Since the pages were messengers way back in the day they are often associated with the receipt of news and communication. For me this is especially true of the page of wands and swords. If I saw the page of wands next to a negative card like 10 or 3 of swords or the tower etc, then I’d assume that the news is not going to be good. However, next to the sun, star, 3 of cups, 6 of wands or any other positive card then I would assume the news will be good.

These neighbouring cards can also indicate what the news is about specifically. Page of wands with 6 of wands can indicate good exam results are about to arrive, with 4 of swords perhaps you’ll hear that somebody is unwell and so on.

The page of swords represents communication, it can indicate that someone will be in touch or or even warn that communications need improvement. If this page is paired with another court card say a king of swords, then perhaps tarot is telling you who this communication will be with. I often see the king of swords as an intellectual and  professional type of guy, therefore conversations with a doctor or lawyer may take place.

The page of pentacles is concerned with material and earthly matters, he prepares and plans for the future. See him with the hanged man and obstacles could present themselves or sacrifices may have to be made.

Knights

The knight of cups nearly always represents a guy to me, especially if I’m reading a relationship spread and particularly if I see evidence of a new relationship (ace/two cups, lovers, etc). He would be the guy with the invites, the one saying all the right things at the right time.

The same goes with the knight of wands; amongst relationship cards he would be the love interest, only he would be a little more cock-sure of himself and more difficult to pin down. If you see him next to pentacles or other wands cards especially then it’s more likely he will be a colleague or business partner.

If a story is looking more like the personal journey of an ambitious individual then it’s likely the knights represent the spirit of the individual. It could indicate their state of mind or next course of action.  The action will be motivated by either; money/security (pentacles), ambition/competition/creativity (wands), love/affection (cups).

I find the energy in the knight of swords to be somewhat erratic and scattered. As an individual he’s a bit of a slippery fish. In a relationship he confuses the women in his life no end.

Kings and Queens

In my experience the kings and queens almost always represent people; whether it’s the person I’m reading for, myself or someone else – but that’s just me. If I see all the kings in one spread I think of important meetings with influential people. All 4 queens can indicate a dispute or gossip.

The king and queen of cups side by side would indicate a couple with deep loyalty and a tight bond. Two queens side by side or close to each other can represent friendship but if one is facing away from the other then there could be a quarrel or disagreement.

I hear alarm bells when I see the queen of cups next to the seven of swords could this be the woman who’s trying to steal your man? Be careful of the queen of cups near any cheating cards. The king of pentacles next to seven of swords – is this guy as successful and wealthy as he says? Just don’t give him your pin number! The king or queen of wands near the seven of wands could be telling you that a friend is competing with you.

It’s really important to consider the surrounding cards as they will tell you much more about who or what the court represents. For example; if a reading generally looks positive, except for a rogue tower that’s sitting smack bang next to a court card, then you have to consider that maybe the tower won’t directly affect the person you’re reading for.

At the end of the day, tarot is an art not a science and the court cards mean whatever it is that you believe them to mean. Just fill your mind with all their many associations, talk to other readers and read as many books as you can. Once you start to trust your intuition you will pull out the relevant information as and when you need it and sometimes you won’t even know how you did it!

So what do these two cards mean when they appear together?

When I see the five of cups I see sadness; I see someone feeling very disappointed and let down. Things haven’t worked out they way they’d planned or hoped, or maybe they’ve been victim to an act of betrayal. I often see this card when one partner has discovered the infidelity of the other but is still trying to make the relationship work. They attempt to repair the relationship, forgive and forget, because they don’t want to lose what they’ve invested in.

It doesn’t always have to be related to infidelity though, it could just as easily be a friend or family member, or even a colleague. The common denominator here is that it hurts. Whoever it was, has done or said something that has had an effect emotionally.  This can be down to disbelief at the thought that someone we like or care for could let us down like that, or because we’ve lost something we dearly wanted.

If I consider the meaning of the five of cups with the two of swords beside it; I start to wonder how easy the journey to true forgiveness will be. The two of swords represents a state of tension. There is balance here; but it’s fraught with opposing energies and therefore quite fragile. Although there is a desire to move forward sometimes it just isn’t possible. Or maybe it is possible,  just not for long. Situations like this can stunt our growth and create stagnation. Eventually we’ll be forced to either find it in our hearts to truly forgive or break away.

Not a particularly nice thing to think about, nevertheless, in my experience cheating is something that’s often on people’s minds.

Whether it’s a love cheat, a con-man or an untrustworthy friend; nobody likes to think that there’s stuff going on behind their back and so they often turn to the tarot cards to help find answers. In this post I’m going to touch on a few cards and card combinations that I feel can indicate ‘skullduggery’ – I love those Old English words.

Let’s start with the moon; if the notion of cheating is already on someone’s mind it’s likely their intuition has already picked up on it. However, the moon is a card of undercurrents and contradictions so this intuition could be blurred. It’s like you know that something isn’t quite right but you’re so involved emotionally that your feelings have become distorted and confused. It could be that you’re heart won’t allow intuition to do its job for fear of what it might find. The clues are there but you refuse to see them.

When I see the moon I also look for the high priestess. Whatever is done in the dark, she will bring to light. To see her would give me confidence that the clouds will soon clear and the truth will be uncovered. Secrets will no longer remain secrets. The moon’s influence will pass and you will soon learn to trust your intuition implicitly.

Another card to look out for is the lovers; essentially this card is about choices but it also has connotations of third party involvement. To see this card near 7 of swords, the moon, high priestess, 5 of cups, queen of cups or 7 of wands would set my alarm bells ringing.

The 7 of swords can warn us about unknown enemies, dishonourable intentions and underhand dealings. It’s a sneaky card which can often confirm dodgy dealings going on behind your back, hidden behind deception or evasiveness. See this next to the 5 of cups or the lovers and think illicit affairs, next to pentacles then be careful who you trust in business and financial affairs.

The 7 of wands next to queen or king of cups can raise my suspicions too. The 7 can represent rivalry and competion, throw in the moon, lovers or 5 of cups and someone may be trying to steal your man/woman.

Other cards to look out for in combination with those above are 3 of swords (separations & heartbreak), the tower (break-ups) or 10 of swords (painful endings). Some of the most feared cards in the deck; if they pop up amongst any of my ‘cheating cards’ then…. well I’m sure you can piece it together. It’s not good!

There are many, many ways to detect skullduggery and this by no means an exhaustive reference. As I always say; let your intuition be your guide!

Yikes! Let’s face it, the sight of the tower in a reading is enough to send shivers of panic right through to your very core. It’s got a bad reputation; people nearly always gasp and take a deep breath when they have to contemplate what it might mean. The immediate worry is obvious; the tower has the potential to knock us for six, suddenly and with force. It’s destructive and relentless in its mission to tear down anything that lacks substance or is surplus to requirements.

The threat of devastation is a scary prospect. However if we consider past events where we may have experienced similar loss; with the benefit of hindsight we will often see that whatever it was we lost was never meant to form part of our future anyway. We just couldn’t see it at the time, and that’s where the pain comes into it.

If you look at the tower from a different perspective its positive qualities begin to emerge. Although I would prefer never to have to lay eyes on the tower again, I’ve learned to embrace it. Sometimes we can be so wrapped up in something, so deeply involved that we cannot recognise if that thing is even good for us in the long term. If this is the case; we’re on the wrong track but can’t see it, then surely the forceful tower is somehow necessary. See it as an act of cleansing. You can be sure that anything that remains standing after these catastrophic events will be real, the deadwood will be stripped away and falsehoods eliminated.

Bear this energy in mind when contemplating the message in the heirophant. The heirophant is card of establishment; religion, institution and tradition all fall under his remit. To me the heirophant represents who or what it is that we belong to, what our values and beliefs are. To see this card may indicate a need to find where we belong spiritually, a period of souls searching, seeking spiritual guidance.

If you consider the energy of both these two cards in combination they are opposing. Does the crumbling tower wall represent the walls of establishment? You could look at this from a few different viewpoints. Could this mean that the very thing we feel we are a part of , whether it be a religion, organisation or way of life is flawed in some way? Are we looking for something else to feed our soul because we’ve lost faith in our current belief system? Or maybe the walls of establishment have become a form of confinement and restriction and are holding us back from realising our real pontential?

Whilst we’re contemplating that, what about the ace? The ace of wands beholds a powerful energy that’s fall of promise. It isn’t sitting next to the heirophant so its unlikely that this energy will emerge from the confines of establishment. This energy is much more free flowing, it has no order or refinement just yet as it’s still in its raw form. Any confining walls will be torn down so we can spread our ambitious wings.

These three cards as a combination are telling us that we need to break away from that which poses restrictions. Maybe it’s time for a change in values, a reassessment; maybe our current beliefs are misguided or our loyalties misplaced. This is a challenging combination but it offers positive change in the long term. The fact is, if we don’t realise our restriction and break free voluntarily, the tower will do it for us.

There’s definitely no shortcut to learning how to read tarot cards. However, if you are in tune with your sixth sense and class yourself as intuitive then it needn’t be as daunting a process as you think.

The biggest task will be to learn all the different meanings for each tarot card. There are no hard and fast rules to what each card means. The more books you read from different authors, the more you’ll  notice the variations in their interpretation. Your relationship with your tarot cards is very personal and it’s what a card means to YOU that is paramount.

The more time you spend establishing your own associations with the cards, the faster you’ll learn. That means practice, practice and practice. Like anything the more you do it the more confident you’ll become. I believe that having that confidence and trust in your own intuition is one of the biggest challenges a beginner will face. If you can achieve that then you’re 90% there.

Practice on your friends and get as much feedback as you can. If you had trouble reading a particular card, then following up to see how the story unfolded can help you to better understand what it might have meant.

Record your practice readings and listen back to them months later. Sometimes you’ll find that your friend was so focused on one point that they didn’t pay attention to anything they considered to be irrelevant to it. When you listen back it’s often the little, seemingly meaningless things that are said that turn out to be the most poignant. Getting these confirmations and assurances will go a long way towards helping you to achieve that confidence and trust your intuition implicitly.

Remember; if it pops into your head then spit it out, even if it makes no sense – you’ll be surprised how relevant it is.

To learn more about learning to read tarot, including tarot card meanings and combination interpretations, check out Tarot for Beginners for a no nonsense approach.

Continuing on from the wands court cards; today’s post is about ‘cups people’. Cups people are ruled by water and are therefore ruled by their emotions. They feel, they love, they sense and they nurture.

If we consider the nature of their astrological references we can get a much better understanding of these water people:

• Cancer: Caring and nurturing; their family and home life are paramount.
• Scorpio: Passionate lovers. Intense and secretive.
• Pisces: Romantic, sensitive and highly intuitive.

Obviously there is a lot more to each of these astrological character types than I’ve mentioned above, so it would be well worth getting hold of a good astrology book. I’ve always loved Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs but there is plenty of information available online. I’m by no means an astrologer but my keen interest over the years has helped me no end to understand the court cards.

Here are some of the general associations I have the the cups court cards:

Page of Cups

• A child or teenager – sensitive and maybe a little shy with artistic talents.
• New beginnings, new confidence and love of self.
• Pregnancy/conception
• Good news about matters close to your heart.

Negative

• An insecure and over emotional child or teenager
• Letting a lack of confidence hold you back

Knight of Cups

• A romantic young man who is in touch with his emotions.
• An intense and passionate lover
• A sweet talker who knows how to treat the ladies
• A slightly effeminate young man
• Invitations, dates wining & dining, courtship

Negative

• A promiscuous young man
• Jealous, insecure and over emotional
• A daydreamer with his head in the clouds

Queen of Cups

• A sensitive, compassionate and intuitive woman
• A caring woman with a strong maternal instinct
• A woman who understands the needs of men, sensual and passionate.
• Getting in touch with your own emotions and sensuality.

Negative

• A needy and insecure woman
• A promiscuous woman with underlying emotional issues
• The other woman in an illicit affair
• Using sexuality to manipulate a person or situation

King of Cups

• A laid back, sensitive and compassionate man
• A man who offer advice and understanding
• The man we are romantically involved with
• A romantic soul who loves and understands woman

Negative

• A promiscuous man who manipulates woman
• A man who is so laid back he doesn’t get things done
• A man with emotional baggage

In my experience I have only come across a handful of tarot card readers that don’t read reversed meanings. When I very first started reading tarot I did too! I didn’t take me long to realise that it wasn’t necessary to reverse the cards; that I could give a perfectly good reading without doing so, and so I stopped.

I recently posted a Facebook poll and asked the question: Do you read reversed tarot meanings? Yes? No? Or sometimes? I was the only person who clicked no, and the third option was removed. I assume that it wasn’t considered to be a valid answer and I left it with just the two yes and no options.  However, there was a valid reason for including that option.

A while back I did a tarot Q&A with some of the best readers out there; including Mary K Greer. Ironically, it was her answer to the same question that inspired the third option in my poll. Mary answered: “You don’t have to read reversed cards. I don’t with some decks and for some kinds of readings, although I usually do read reversals now.” In fact only one of the six experts I interviewed said that they didn’t read reversals and two basically said sometimes.

It’s quite clear that reading reversals is common practise. However, if you’re a beginner and you’re feeling under pressure to do so just because everybody else does, I’d say don’t worry an iota about it. It’s not necessary. In my opinion, time is better spent learning how to understand the dynamics between pairs or groups of cards.

To me, tarot cards are so multidimensional and intricate that they contain both positive and negative energy anyway. I use the influence of surrounding cards to determine which way the energy is flowing. The ace of wands next to the sun or the world denotes a completely different feeling to me than if it was next to the devil or the five of cups.

Once you’ve mastered how to interpret the relationships between different cards then you’re half way there, the rest is down to your ability to tune in and gather the clues that aren’t so obvious. Once you accomplish this, deciding whether or not to read reversals will be easy.

Aces embody a very powerful energy; like a highly potent dose of the suit in question. When I ‘feel’ an ace I feel a rush of excitement than can sometimes be quite overwhelming.When I see two aces it’s like taking a double dose of the stuff.

The aces are the seeds of our success; in love (cups), ventures (wands), career (pentacles) and challenges (swords). When we see an ace in a spread it’s telling us that new stuff is about to ‘happen’ and exciting opportunities are about to emerge.

The ace of pentacles promises new opportunities on the work front. Whether it be securing a new job, closing a business deal or earning a second income a new money source will become available. The influence of the ace of swords suggests that this opportunity won’t just fall into our laps by chance, it’ll be a challenge but it’ll be one that we’re prepared for. We’ll be strong and fearless, a force to be reckoned with. Nothing will get in the way of obtaining that new pentacle.

We’re not talking about bully tactics here, we’re talking carefully calculated, meticulously thought out, ready and prepared for action. If there’s material gain to be attained it’ll be through merit and strength of character.

Another thing which often pops in my mind when I see a pair of aces is moving home, a totally fresh start. Sometimes we need to make big changes in order to capitalise on new opportunities. For instance, being offered a dream job in another city or country. It would require a huge amount of bravery to uproot and move your life somewhere else, but the potential for great success cannot be ignored.

Three random cards chosen and another queen appears. This time it’s the fiery Queen of Wands sandwiched between two iffy sevens. Generally sevens present challenging times, out the four suits the wands and swords are probably the most challenging.

So who is the Queen of Wands? In this instance she seems to be showing her fiercely competitive side, this woman knows what she wants and she has the determination to make sure she gets it. The influence of the Seven of Wands reinforces this aggressively ambitious side of her character, so much so that she’s thoroughly enjoying every minute of it.

The Seven Swords can indicate that’s she’s a shrewd individual, who uses intelligence and strategic thinking to carefully hatch a master plan. If this woman is not the person you’re reading for, then person you are reading for needs to prepare for battle. The Queen of Wands is a force to be reckoned with, under the influence of the Seven of Swords she may even be at risk of employing underhanded tactics.

This queen is ruled by fire; Leo, Sagittarius and Aries. The fire signs are a dominant force, they’re pioneers, leaders and adventurers they like to win and relish the limelight. Healthy competition is a good thing, pursuing a dream and striving to be the best we can be is also great. It’s the lengths that this queen might be willing to go to to achieve her ambitions that’s the worry.

Maybe she’s just omitting a few details and playing her cards close to her chest. However, depending on her level of integrity she could become slanderous, cunning and dishonest.  Stuck between the two sevens I feel she’s treading a  fine line between clever, strategic thinking and outright deceit.

In this tarot card combination we’ve got both major and minor arcana plus a court card.

The Queen of cups could represent your client or lady around them. When I first looked at this combination I immediately felt that this lady is quite troubled emotionally. The Queen of cups feels; she’s sensitive, caring and compassionate which are all positive traits, but she can also have a tendency to be needy and insecure. The influence of Moon is disrupting the queen’s efforts to balance her emotions, so they’ve become erratic and irrational.

The Moon is a powerful card, it gets right into the psyche and plants seeds of doubt. It plays with the mind; gives hints and clues but never reveals the whole truth. For someone like the Queen of Cups, The Moon can create emotional havoc. Clarity is lost, things become blurred and uncertain. This queen is intuitive so if there are things going on beneath the surface she will pick up on them, with The Moon in the mix these signals can become confusing.

If we then throw in the Nine of Swords the whole situation becomes quite worrying. The lady that the queen represents could be losing sleep; tossing ad turning, unable to rid herself of all the conflicting thoughts and feelings going on her head and heart.

It’s not unusual for a woman to sense deception, even if they don’t have all the facts. For the Queen of Cups who is so finely tuned, this is particularly true, especially when it comes to relationships. The trouble is; sometimes our intuition and feelings conflict. For example, a woman who is deeply in love can choose to ignore her hunches if they point to something she doesn’t want to believe.

These hunches can’t be ignored for long though, the doubt won’t just go away, hence the sleepless nights and disturbing dreams. Whatever it is that is hidden needs to come to light. The queen needs to regain clarity and begin her quest for truth even if she doesn’t like what she might find.

Today I’ve seen a great example of the Six of Wands in action! A dear friend of mine had been looking for a job, unsuccessfully, for the best part of the last two years. She’s a talented individual who had fallen victim to these tough economic times. After many challenges, obstacles and let downs, today my friend finally landed a fantastic new job! Through sheer determination and perseverance, she has finally emerged victorious.

Victory is the essence of this card. It’s about overcoming obstacles, completing challenges and accomplishing your aspirations.This moment of great achievement can mark a turning point, a sharp turn in the the right direction

You could liken the Six of Wands to gaining a qualification and passing exams with flying colours, or receiving an honour for an act of bravery. This achievement isn’t just handed out on a plate, it has to be earned. Whether it’s studying for hours on end, courageously fighting for what we believe in or just a hard slog against the odds, the Six of Wands is the pay off. If we’re talking about a new job, then obviously the pay off can be literal. However, the sense of pride that’s felt isn’t really measured with numbers.

If you’re are a creative, artistic type then the Six of Wands could represent a final show or exhibition after a long time of preparation. A time when all your hard work culminates into one big display or performance, on show for all to see. The recognition that can be gained at such a time can stand you in good stead for the rest of your career, open doors and present amazing opportunities.

This is a welcomed card, beautiful and inspiring, savour the sweet taste of success that it offers and enjoy the moment as it’s truly wonderful.

So here we have three Minor Arcana cards working together to tell a bitter sweet story. There’s a certain sadness present in both the Five of Swords and the Eight of Cups. Both of these cards have a sense of ‘letting go’ or ‘giving up’ about them. The five can represent a feeling of resignation or surrender. Like the moment when it finally dawns  on us that a certain situation just isn’t working, and no matter how hard we try to fix the problem our efforts are in vain.

It’s a moment of acceptance and it may be a hard pill to swallow. We may have to swallow our pride too and admit that any personal investment so far has been in vain. If this card stood alone it I’d sense more of a loss or defeat, like the cold harsh truth of finding out that feelings are not reciprocated. However, the presence of the Knight suggests that the problem is borne from a desire of our own, to seek greener pastures and broaden our horizons.

In a relationship scenario, this could relate to one party who feels as though they’re missing something, maybe they’ve outgrown the relationship and are now feeling restless. They’ve continued with the relationship to maintain the status quo at the cost of stifling their ambitions and desires.

The Eight of Cups symbolises the point at which we walk away and turn our back. The realisation has hit home and action must be taken, things cannot continue any longer. There’s a moment of sadness and sentiment but the choice has been made. The fiery energy in the Knight of Wands is too powerful to subdue.

On a career level, these three cards together could indicate a work situation that hasn’t lived up to expectations. What we thought was a great opportunity has now become mundane or intolerable and we’re drawn to seek other opportunities. The Knight of Wands thrives on adventure and craves excitement, therefore he’s always looking for the next challenge or conquest.

Since the Knight is a court card, if he doesn’t represent us ourselves, then it’s possible that a fiery and creative young man is at the center of the situation. Someone who’s charming and charismatic, ambitious and a real go-getter!

Whatever the situation is, it’s unlikely it will continue. The decision will be our own. Often the right thing to do is the hardest thing to do, but if we draw on the energy from the knight, then we’ll find the courage and live to fight another day.

It’s the Eight of Swords that jumps out at me here, it suggests that someone could be in a bit of a pickle. The Six and Two of Cups indicate that we’re with emotions and relationships.

Since the Six represents the past and the Two can suggest reunions it’s likely that an old flame has shown up to rekindle a past relationship. It would be straight forward if the Eight wasn’t present but since it is is may present a dilemma of some sort. Maybe there’s a tug of war between the heart and the mind.

Taking time to reflect and contemplate as symbolised in the Six could bring back bad memories. It could be that there’s a great deal of chemistry and attraction but practically it just doesn’t make sense.

The Eight can represent indecision and procrastination, being to afraid to make a decision because there’s no obvious right move. Courage is needed to make the decision that makes most sense and not be ruled by our heart.

It’s possible that even if the past relationship was unhealthy or dysfunctional, there are now declarations of love and devotion, perhaps even proposal.

Our paths our guided by the decisions we make so we should never make rash decisions. However, a state of indecision is both non-productive and non-progressive.

I’ve been receiving many emails from students who are having trouble reading Tarot cards in combination. This seems to be a sticking spot for most beginners so I’ve decided to start a new ‘Tarot Card Combinations’ category and this will be my first post of many on the subject.

Since there are waaaay too many possible Tarot combinations to list, especially with card groups of three I’m simply going to choose three cards at random and give an interpretation. Obviously there is no one meaning for any one card or group of cards so other readers will interpret the cards differently. In fact I myself might read the same three cards in another reading but give a completely different interpretation depending on other cards in the spread and where my intuition wants to take me.

I wholly believe that this is the best approach to take with Tarot reading. Tarot is an art, it isn’t rigid, there are ethics and fundamentals but there aren’t really any rules as such. The sooner a Tarot student can stop relying on books to interpret meanings and garner information primarily using their intuition, the better.

Anyway, back to the first example combination.

So if I saw these three cards together I’d immediately be a little concerned about the relationship my client was involved in. The Devil is a very sexual card so my feeling would be that this couple were bound together by lust and passion rather than an emotional bond. There’s an imbalance of power and control which could suggest than one party is more submissive while the other is very much in control.

The appearance of the nine here amongst to negative cards implies emotional fulfillment that has little substance, it’s like living in a bubble. The interplay between these two cards suggests denial, refusing to face up to the truth. Ignorance is not bliss in this instance.

Another thing that is screaming at me here is that there are two cards (Devil & 9 of Cups) that can indicate a dependency on drugs or alcohol. The energy in the nine is so blissful it’s almost intoxicating so to me the 9 can represent intoxication literally, like a merry or high state of mind. The Devil as we know indicates a state of bondage or willingness to be controlled. Drug and alcohol dependency is an apt example of control from an external force. It’s possible that drink and drugs could actually be fueling the relationship.

The presence of the 10 of Swords is a warning. This unhealthy situation cannot and will not continue. It’s inevitable that this couple will separate, any emotional investment so far has been wasted. Although this is a painful ending it is necessary.

The 10 Swords to me is such a painful card that the wounds can actually be physical rather than emotional. It could be that the separation is brought about by an aggressive tirade of abuse or violent act. The 10 of Swords is a very loud and nasty wake up call but once you’ve woken up, smelt the coffee and faced facts then a new cycle can begin.

All in all quite a heavy combination for the first example!

The Lovers card represents important choices in love. It can indicate uncertainty about our current relationship and suggest a battle with temptation.

The Lovers can represent that time when we’ve just met someone we really like and they give us butterflies in our stomach. It’s early days but the attraction is so strong it’s intoxicating.

The energy in the Lovers card is passionate and electric so it can represent fantastic sexual chemistry and physical attraction.

We may have to choose between two lovers or even sacrifice love to pursue a career. Whatever the choice is it will be of great significance and emotional concern. If a card such as the Moon or Seven of Swords was to appear next to the Lovers card it could indicate a secret love affair.

You yourself could be in the middle of a tricky love triangle either as the third party or the one who has to choose. Secrets can’t be kept forever so eventually a choice will have to be made.
When you see the Lovers card in a reading you need to follow your heart, make choices based on your instincts and be careful not to confuse lust with love.

However, since this card has a sense of bonding and union, depending on surrounding cards the Lovers can also be a good sign for an engagement or marriage.

Keywords: Relationships, choices, love triangles, love affairs, proposals, indecision, lust, attraction, falling in love, passion, sexuality, bonding, connection, temptation, dilemma, doubt.