Now let's repeat the back-to-front experiment, but this time we will do it together. We will have a go at tackling the most popular question put by any Questioner to any Tarot Reader anywhere in the world: “How and when will I meet my future partner?” Of course, the Questioner could be a person of any gender asking about the possibilities of finding a future partner, but for the sake of this example, we will suppose that our Questioner is female and interested in a male partner. Answering the “when” part of this question is very tricky, so I will leave this for now and tackle it in the chapter that deals with the timing of events.
There are many cards that could suggest an important man coming into a woman's life, but the following three are as good as any: King of Cups, The Lovers. and Two of Cups.
As you read through the overlay stories it will be up to you to select cards that complete the back-to-front readings. It would be a good idea to pencil in the names of the cards you choose in the overlapping circle.
Lea Stone works in a shop; her regional manager is both pleasant and single. A friendship between them develops gradually over a period of about a year, then one day he comes into the shop when the other two staff are out sick. Perhaps the fact that this is the time of year for the annual inventory has something to do with the absence of the other two. Taking inventory is dirty and exhausting work, especially in such an old and dirty shop. The manager stays on to give the Questioner a hand, and it's while they are sitting on the floor behind the counter and laughing at the state of their clothes and their dirty faces that they begin to realize how much they like one another. He finds her easy to talk to, and she is thinking how nice and kind he is and what a nice smile he has.
She goes on vacation with her best friend. The vacation is great fun and they meet plenty of young men of all nationalities, but neither of them clicks with anyone. Now she is on her way home. During the inevitable delay the airport, she finds herself chatting to a young man from her hometown. Before the flight leaves, they exchange numbers and agree to meet a week or so later. She is so pretty with her tan and sun-streaked hair. His freckles almost join up over his nose and his reddish hair glows from the effects of the sun. They find many common interests and share a sense of the ridiculous.
She is a successful businesswoman. She manages her high-powered job as a buyer in a large electronics firm as well as her suburban home and her two attractive sons with great flair. It's now three years since her divorce and she would dearly love to meet someone special. Her friends are in the habit of inviting her to dinner parties where there is always a “spare man,” but these men always seem to have the air of the loser about them. The Questioner would rather remain alone than compromise.
One day, one of her friends asks her to help out at a local fundraising gala, telling her that she should bring the children along to help. Goodness knows, she is tired enough at the end of a hard week, but for the sake of the children and in order not to offend her friend, she agrees. The guy who is managing the event sends her friend and her children off to help set up the booth while our Questioner is directed to help with putting up a marquee. She finds herself working alongside a tall, curly-haired chap who knows as little about tents as she does. They get into a terrible mess, but eventually get the awful thing put up. Her companion suggests a drink to cool off, and while they are enjoying a much-needed drink, they begin to talk. He has been divorced for some years and has custody of his younger daughter.
Now you not only get to choose the cards, you write the story as well!
She crashes her cart into his outside the local supermarket.
She goes to her friend's company party.
He is a member of an archery club that her children belong to. One Saturday, they drag her along to see the championships.
She joins a teacher-training course and falls for the lecturer.
If nothing else, this chapter should teach you the very valuable lesson that you must use your imagination. Soon we will try some storylines the right way around (that is, cards first—story after) and you will see how valuable it is to be able to weave a story out of the cards in front of you. It will feel, at first, as if you are making the whole thing up, but don't worry and don't stop; just follow your imagination because it will inevitably lead you to the right interpretation.
The mechanism that makes this work is very simple. As you relax and allow your mind to reach for a story to fit the cards, your spiritual guides will gather near and nudge your brain and tongue into giving the right answers. You are never alone when reading the Tarot.
In this section I will tell you a sad tale and allow you to follow the plot through the cards that I have selected as an illustration. Let's assume that a Questioner is asking us about the future of his marriage that appears to be on the rocks. Once again, we won't use a special spread, just a group of cards that we will choose to tell the story.
| Nine of Swords | Worry, fear, sleepless nights. |
| Five of Coins | Loss, financial worry. |
| Five of Cups | Loss, sadness, regrets, and looking backwards, but considering what is left with which to start a new life. |
| Five of Swords | Quarrels, strife, conflict, anger, rage. |
| Death | Major change, transformation is imminent. |
| The Tower | Collapse of previous way of life. |
| Ten of Swords | Collapse of way of life, a complete ending. |
| Three of Swords | Separation. |
| Two of Coins | Separation of assets. |
| Eight of Cups | Turning away from something, walking away. |
| Justice | Legal matters (also a fair outcome). |
| Judgment | End of a situation (this card also has legal connotations). |
| King of Swords | A lawyer. |
| Seven of Swords | Legal advice, also moving on and making a fresh start. |
If you use negative or reversed cards in your readings, all the cards relating to love and forming a relationship can be used to denote the ending of one. Therefore, the Two of Cups, Three of Cups, and The Lovers in the reversed mode can be used for this, as can many other cards.
In the following exercises, I will suggest some situations and you must choose the cards to fit them. If it helps you to make a note of the reason for your choices, you may do so. You can use a separate sheet of paper if you don't want to scribble all over your book.
Now try the following: