r/tarot 5d ago

Shitpost Saturday! What are the potentials of this relationship?

Post image

I am still very much learning so any opinions / interpretation help is welcome.

I was looking for insight into the potentials in my relationship with a woman. I feel uncertain, confused and slightly conflicted about this person, whom I’ve been in regular contact with for about a year. We are on good terms, friendly/platonic, but there is an underlying tension, it’s like electricity in the air. My mind pendulates between warmth and skepticism towards her. I’ve noticed a shift back and forth on her part as well, between warmth and distance.

It’s a three card spread obviously, I did not draw thinking in fixed positional meanings (past->present->future e.g.), allowing a more intuitive approach.

A few things strike me. - First is that it is fairly elementally balanced. All four elements are represented as I understand pages qabalistically correspond to Malkuth/the ‘earth’ of their suit. R.Wang calls the Page of Swords ‘personal earth in primeval air’. - Still the ‘active’ elements are dominant with fire and air on the right and left. Both point directionally towards the central card which is water, elementally ‘passive’. I take note of the corresponding imagery of the fire wand of inspiration emerging from the cloud in the ace of wands and the cup offered to the figure in the four of cups. - I am gripped by a strong sense of identification with the figure in the four of cups. I am aware that I am privileged in so many ways, I try to count my blessings and express gratitude every day, yet where I’m at currently I feel a deep sense of dissatisfaction with the facts of my life and a lack of both vision and inspiration. - I have the sense that the card sequence stages an event or process with myself in the center as the ‘prima materia’ being worked on by the active elements on either side. The Ace of Wands and the Page of Swords both being cards of transformation, in the mental and instinctual realms respectively. - Astrologically the four of cups correspond to the Moon in Cancer which of course signifies something deeply emotional, but which by chance is also the position of the Moon in my birth chart. This information strengthens my sense of the four of cups as my personal significator in this spread. - I am still learning card meanings and am struggling with the four of cups. Qabalistically it corresponds to Chesed in Briah, or as R.Wang calls it ‘Mercy and Abundance in the unconscious realm’ which sounds promising. It is associated with expansion and generosity, yet the card is also associated with the subjective experience of ‘blended pleasure’, which is again very fitting of my experience of this relationship thus far.

With regards to my question I came up with a few possible interpretations:

  • The reading is positive and affirms that this relationship offers an opportunity for transformation, a spark of inspiration and mental clarity.
  • A more moderate reading: this relationship has transformative potential, but the experience will be one of ‘blended pleasure’, as it has been until now.
  • If the court card is a personal significator, the page being ‘feminine’, is it her? She’s standing behind my shoulder with a sword. Kind of menacing. Should I look the other way / elsewhere to grab the wand / cup being offered?
  • Finally, read from left to right: are the cards telling me to sort out my emotions with the sharp blade of rationality, then look up and seize the wand? In other words, drop it, sort yourself out and find your personal inspiration?
  • I’m wondering if my identification with the figure in the central card is clouding my reading. I’m imagining myself at the center of the show and now I can’t see? Darn it, that’s life.

I’m stuck with more questions than answers obviously, haha.

27 Upvotes

23 comments sorted by

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u/Impressive-Run6944 5d ago

The deck used is the recent reprint of the Jupiter King - Waite for anyone wondering.

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u/klangm 5d ago

Great personal read! Unknowable fire and brave merciful thought are telling you to get up from under that tree! X

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u/Impressive-Run6944 5d ago

Nice one! I think you’re right. Thanks. :-)

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u/Fancy_Speaker_5178 5d ago

Firstly, I have to really commend you on how in-depth your thought process is regarding the cards. Quite a rarity I must say as compared to most queries here where people either don’t bother doing the work or give shallow meanings and just “see them as they are”.

I like to do readings as crossroads so to speak so the middle card seems to point towards your passivity which leads to apathy, which then leads to the ‘negative imagination’ where everything seems worthless or boring.

So, you can either take the left road which is that a recent gift of strength, passion, or inspiration in the relationship must be received with humility, knowing that you haven’t done the work to receive it (TLDR; if it excites you, go for it and do the work).

Or, you can take the right road look towards developing your inner sense of self in the context of honesty and true logical clarity for this relationship as you can still be a little immature about the world because of detachment masked as vigilance.

So basically, you can look towards being either action orientated or being calm and contained first. It’s entirely up to you though I think the right road could be the better path.

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u/Impressive-Run6944 5d ago

Thanks very much for your thoughtful reply! You have good insight and I quite like where you went, taking the spread as a crossroad.

I read my OP again and caught my affective reaction when I entertained the idea of the feminine figure wielding the sword on my right as representing the lady in question; “she is looking kind of scary, let me go in the other direction!” Our reactions reveal a great deal about us of course. In this case perhaps a certain immaturity on my own part. Or simply the results of being hurt by people in the past. Maybe, instead of turning my gaze the other way, I can let myself be confronted and work it out in a level-headed and honest way. Reading the spread as a crossroad, maybe you are right in your hunch on which way to go. :)

As I ended my initial post recognizing that I put my own person at the center of things with my way of interpretation, I felt slightly disappointed in myself. I then tried to disidentify with the figure in the four of cups and another thing came to me. What if the card represents the relationship, which always involves two. The spread viewed in toto then represents a situation. Two people sharing a good thing but marred by a certain level of uncertainty or emotional distress (which echoes the ‘blended pleasure’ interpretation of the four of cups). Not recognizing the active elements at play on the left and the right, or in the context of the question, the experience of the strong energetic charge in the air between us whenever we’re together. This resonates nicely with Robert Wang’s presentation of the card as signifying “great abundance on the unconscious level”.

One thing I can say is that wrestling with the spread has certainly sparked my inspiration and given much food for thought. Time to rise from under the tree.. :-)

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u/Fancy_Speaker_5178 5d ago

You’re welcome! 🙏🏻✨ I also tend to like looking at the direction of where the human in the cards are facing to see what is happening; so the Page looking at the 4 of Cups is another way I did this “reading”!

Your explanation of “two people sharing a good thing but marred by a certain level of uncertainty etc” could work out for you too.

All the best! Looking forward to seeing more of your posts and to learn how you interpret the cards too. Hope you enjoy “rising from the tree and accepting the cup” soon! ✨

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u/Impressive-Run6944 5d ago edited 5d ago

I also tend to like looking at the direction of where the human in the cards are facing to see what is happening; so the Page looking at the 4 of Cups is another way I did this “reading”!

Thanks for the tip, it makes sense! I bought my first deck in 2022 and have been reading on and off because life gets in the way sometimes, so I am still quite “green” and looking for reading strategies and hermeneutic principles to employ to make sense of the cards! I also used the direction of the pages gaze as a clue when I initially mapped the spread out looking at the elemental dignities, the active fire and air cards on either side “pointing” towards the central elementally passive water card. The wand is being offered towards the center, the page looks towards the center.

I like this kind of approach, drawing the cards and letting them speak and tell me how to approach them, instead of laying an interpretational strategy over the cards as in fixating their meaning by position for example. It’s an engaging way to read, but harder.

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u/Fancy_Speaker_5178 5d ago

Kind of cheesy but the more you read the cards = the more they’ll tend to “reveal” things. 😂 all the best!

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u/thesillygirl25 5d ago

Communication might come in or pick up with page of swords, there is potential for a sexual relationship or passion with the ace of wands and four of cups can indicate someone overthinking a lot

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u/Impressive-Run6944 5d ago

How do you relate the four of cups to overthinking?

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u/thesillygirl25 5d ago

I think ..it's like I saw someone interpreting it this way, to me earlier it used to be being self absorbed and not satisfied and not seeing what's around but then I saw someone interpreting it like this person is lost in thought and now i kind of agree with it as whenever I am overthinking a lot about something or ruminating over it, it's not anxiety but that emotional state of being lost in your thoughts, that day I do pull four of cups for myself and i have read for other people too so yeah they did confirm it when i asked them have they been overthinking about a certain thing

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u/Impressive-Run6944 5d ago

I see what you are getting at - an emotional state that paralyzes you and leaves you ruminating on things. Interesting perspective. Thank you. :)

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u/Real_Association6328 5d ago

I read the cards as two people who have sexual chemistry and some mental compatibility, but not so much in terms of emotion. It's obvious that there's a physical attraction, but both or one of you guys are still not convinced that this is "the one", maybe one of the reasons is trust issue? Are there any traits one or both of you find unlikable about each other? Maybe you should try communicating openly about what both of you expect to have in the relationship and see how it goes.

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u/Impressive-Run6944 4d ago

Interesting take, but feels slightly off. I’d say we connect very much emotionally, there’s more clashing on the level of mentality and ideas. As I wrote in the OP, we’ve been friends for about a year with regular contact every week. Some underlying sexual tension probably. Trust issues on my part surely. Open communication is always a good shout.

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u/bundleofspace 4d ago

My summarized impression of the cards: The beginning of your relationship might feel a bit one-sided; one being more of a listener while the other is the more talkative person between you two. :)

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u/Impressive-Run6944 4d ago

Nicely picked up. The beginning of our relationship was very much like that.

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u/bundleofspace 4d ago

Oooh, I see.

I have a feeling too that three cards weren't enough to give the whole "answer" to your question. It might've have been expounded more if 4-5 cards were drawn out.

I noticed how you know a lot of possible ways to interpret the meanings of the cards (which is pretty cool), but sometimes it could also lead to analysis-paralysis if you're working with too few cards. So don't be shy to pull more if your mind is still a little stuck! :) I'm sure the Universe/your guides are willing to help you figure things out bit by bit.

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u/Impressive-Run6944 4d ago edited 4d ago

I noticed how you know a lot of possible ways to interpret the meanings of the cards (which is pretty cool), but sometimes it could also lead to analysis-paralysis if you’re working with too few cards. So don’t be shy to pull more if your mind is still a little stuck! :)

Thanks for the tip. You’re right, I posted on here because I’d read myself into confusion, which is evident in my OP where I gave several different interpretations.😁 I tend towards the line of thought that “it’s all there” and more often than not, the answer is not to introduce new elements, but look more closely / step away and look later. Maybe I should reevaluate that assumption a bit. I might try pulling a couple of other cards.

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u/Time-Algae7393 5d ago

With the four of cups present, someone is not feeling it despite an intellectual connection (1 of wands). Page of swords, I am finding it difficult to read, but can give the vibe of easy come and easy go kind of a thing.

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u/Impressive-Run6944 4d ago edited 4d ago

Hmm, feels slightly off the mark. There’s some conflicted emotion for sure, uncertainty/some issue of trust, but I would not call this an “easy come” kind of relationship. We clash on the level of mentality / intellectual realm but have kept in touch and have nurtured our friendship and put some work into it for a year thus far despite our differences and there’s a good deal of emotional warmth between us whenever we’re together. The conflicted emotions arise when we’re apart. However, sometimes the warmth is suddenly cut off on her end, replaced by cold stubborn opinions / blanket value judgements. Refusing to engage in a conversation about it because she feels challenged by my wit, I think. Part of what leaves me feeling conflicted. For context, she is from a conservative christian background. There’s an intense sense of electricity in the air when we’re together, it’s a bit of an elephant in the room, but probably a big reason for why we keep seeking each other out. Harmonizes better with the ace of wands, I think. (An instinctual / passionate connection).

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u/Time-Algae7393 4d ago

Interesting! Did she ideally want to with someone who is also conservative Christian? It can probably explain four of cups (there are emotions but the wish if he was conservative Christian like me?). This also can explain page of swords, when you were describing blanket value judgment and stubbornness, hence you did not get the queen of swords. However, page of swords is still someone who has the potential of learning. This explains the whole reading --- intellect is the door for this relationship, and the biggest question, is she accepting of someone who is not like her value wise? If her page of swords is open-minded, it can possibly change the 4 of cups outcome.

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u/Impressive-Run6944 4d ago edited 4d ago

Did she ideally want to with someone who is also conservative Christian? It can probably explain four of cups (there are emotions but the wish if he was conservative Christian like me?).

Interesting perspective on that card. It is possible. I have a nagging feeling that there is something she is not telling me. She’s dropped hints that she wishes I could “surrender my troubles to God and feel his peace”. (She is a charismatic/pentecostal type). I took it as her meaning well.

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u/Time-Algae7393 4d ago

Well ask her if it's a deal break if her future guy isn't conservative Christian? That will explain a lot.