A two card reading that got me thinking!

This was a two card reading that reminded me that half the magic of tarot is not only the fluidity of meaning but how meaning is elicited in a visceral and oblique way, but that I mean, you end up having a very interesting conversation with yourself, ideas come to you, which you follow, but at the end of the day you still can’t quite name the full meaning.

A classic example. When I picked the 8 of Swords as a contemplation card for the day I was feeling very buoyant about life and expected a card that would reflect that in some way, or talk to that, a card of encouragement with added nuance or focus. But no, staring at me was the 8 of swords which shows a woman who has tied herself up in knots with 8 swords and the tide already coming in and around her feet.  Or has it gone out? She’s clearly a long way outside the boundaries of a distant castle.

One interpretation I came to of this two card reading……don’t lose your nerve, take control of the situation, make sure your mind is working at its best…

The 8 of Swords is a card of ‘self sabotage’!  So my immediate question was ‘how might I do that, or how was I doing that already today?’  The first thought was about an important event I had that evening? Reading tarot for a private business dinner in a restaurant for a team of about 30 who had flown in from around the world a strategy week. Up to then I was feeling excited and confident about it. Now I started questioning how I might I self sabotage myself?  By loosing my confidence?  

I definitely needed a clarification card, or a card that gave me a bit more of an idea what the first was referring to.  I pulled the King of Swords.  A card I don’t have any affinity with being someone who is scared of authority figures.  The King of Swords is the King of the mind, he’s intelligent and logical and he’s always right.  He does things by the book.  He’s a leader and takes control of life using his intellect.  He has authority and can be tough.

So is the 8 of Wands, losing one’s nerve,  in relation to needing to take control?

Or the 8 of wands about becoming intimidated by people in authority. After all this was a crowd of super business beings with super brains.  

Or was the way I might sabotage the even by being too controlling or logical myself? 

I spent the rest of the day till my event pondering this duo , being on the alert for any way that I might self sabotage.  I decided not to go on a shopping trip but to give myself the time for a rest and to do everything that I needed for the event in a leisurely and logical fashion.

I also wanted to check out a spread Annabelle had mentioned that she used when doing quick readings for groups.(We had done an event together the Sunday before for a wedding show in the Savoy hotel) I had scribbled it down on a piece of paper and was intrigued by it.  Could I find that piece of paper?  And how determined did I become with that 8 of swords in the background, to find it! I literally got to the front door and went back a final time and found it, on my bed.

 As it turned out the five card spread, rather like a mini celtic cross, which is always a good starting place, with Annabelle’s added take, was grounding spread of the evening.

The 8 of wands has a lot to answer for and certainly alerted me to take a couple of actions that may have made all the difference!

I am writing about this because I still can’t quite put my finger on what the meaning of that two card reading for me, there’s no doubt visceral affect of them did alert me to the potential of self sabotaging the tarot event, and the more I think about it, the King of Swords was saying take control, especially with the high powered people I would be reading for.

I can only say thank you Tarot, even though the combination slightly alarmed me, because the evening was a resounding success.  With the King of Swords perhaps, head of the team congratulating me, especially thanked me for her reading. As well as the head of the London team who hired me. 

So sometimes it’s a combination of meaning and a feeling you can’t quite put your finger on that gives a message your spirit ‘gets’ indirectly.

Do come and have a reading with me in Battersea or online and I encourage you to bring your imagination and creativity to follow a hunch about a card, as undoubtedly your response will be more important to you than anything I say!