Sometimes a reading is just too much.
This was the case last night when my wife and I decided that I would use the cards to have a looky-look into something that involved and concerned us. I asked the question and cut the cards. I decided to go old school and do a Celtic Cross.
My eyes crossed and I felt anxious looking at everything in front of me. Seven out of the ten cards were major arcana and the remaining three minors were the most unhappiest of pips. The majors contained, of course, most of the really frightening ones. She asked me what I saw and all I could say was “Too much.” We knew something was up but we weren’t getting anywhere in seeking information via the usual channels, which is why we consulted the cards.
I flipped the deck over to see the underlying card. The card at the bottom of the deck will more often than not show the undercurrent or underlying activities associated with the question being asked.
It did not disappoint. I flipped the deck over to find the 7 of Cups. This isn’t a blog post about this card specifically but I will say that when this card appears the person or people concerned don’t know what they want or what they’ll choose. Its presence in a reading indicates confusion. There’s too much in front of them so they shut down. In some cases, those in question run off and hide.
In cases like this, where the original reading is just an oracular dump of mystical gobbledegook, taking the card at the bottom of the deck and using it as a signifier is appropriate. Gather up all the other cards and reshuffle. Before reshuffling, sit down with a pen and paper, to clarify a more appropriate question. I started my statement off with “OK Universe, one thing at a time please…..” before continuing on with my question. Then I laid them back out in a Celtic Cross, using the 7 of Cups as “card zero” or “the significator”.
This time the cards made much more sense. A lot more sense than the infodump I had received earlier. So I gave my wife my interpretation last night. Later on that evening she had a conversation with someone who (unknowingly) filled us in on the fuzzy parts of that reading, but also confirmed what I saw in both card pulls.
I will also point out that it doesn’t matter what spread you use. If your spread of choice doesn’t have a signifier position then just place it on the table and deal your new reading below it. So if you find yourself scratching your head over a reading that doesn’t make sense, try this.