Getting more than one “type” of card is something to pay attention to in your Tarot readings. Particularly if these cards come out next to each other, take special note. See below:

From Tarot of the Boroughs.

From Tarot of the Boroughs.

 

This is a standard three-card reading with no specific question asked. Normally, I read these as Past-Present-Future. In the past, the Knight of Coins encourages slow, steady action. But look! She’s running right into the Knight of Cups in Reverse. There are a few ways to look at the Knight of Cups Reversed. On its own, this card in the reversed position urges emotional restraint. Next to the Knight of Coins, it may be choosing the practical over the sentimental. It’s springtime. It’s time to clean out the old stuff. Do you really need to hold on to the dress with the severe grass stain you wore five years ago at a concert in the park and you wiped out right as your lost your mind at your favorite song? Does the dress really hold the memory? Or does your heart hold the memory? Knight of Coins says maybe it’s time to part with it, if you don’t wear it anymore. Knight of Cup Reversed says the memory is deep within you already. Make the practical choice.

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But it’s not only about the independent meanings of the card. It’s helpful to take notice of how the cards are arranged. The Knight of Coins and the Knight of Cups Reversed means these two Knights are heading directly at each other. Could this reading mean that work and love are about to meet in the middle? In a love reading, the patience and steady pace of the Knight of Coins and the position of the loving, romantic Knight of Cups looking directly at her could mean that a slow-to-grow love affair is about to bloom. In work, it could mean an enthralling opportunity is about to appear.

If you get two knights together and you’re not sure what they’re knighting about, drawing a clarifying card can be helpful:

 

With clarifying card: 5 of Cups, Reversed.

With clarifying card: 5 of Cups, Reversed.

5ofCupsThe 5 of Cups is typically a mourning card. In Tarot of the Boroughs, we designed it to mean “Country Music Required.” In the RWS deck, many people call it the “crying over spilled milk” card. When it’s in Reverse, I read it as “Don’t cry.” If it’s over a situation in which it’s tough if not impossible to keep from weeping, this card encourages that emotional release under the right circumstances.

To me, this whole reading encourages a few things: 1.) focus on work, health, the projects at hand. 2.) let emotions take a backseat for the time. 3.) *Or* bring emotion to the practical in a healthy way, not one that overwhelms things. This is the difference between fanatically focusing on the latest task your boss gave you, channeling sadness and/or anxiety into making it the best damn project you’ve ever done. What it does encourage is restraint if someone criticizes it, hijacks a meeting by talking over you, etc. You may be tempted to throw a stapler. You may even be justified in throwing said stapler. But this reading says to triumph in the situation with your own work and strength.

In a love reading, this may mean keeping emotions in check while working through the sometimes dirty-work of relationship maintenance. It’s not as important to be right as it is to find a reasonable solution that benefits all parties.

But wait! There was another card in this reading! 

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The final card in the reading is the Chariot, Reversed.

The Chariot is usually a card that urges forward action. However, when in Reverse, it can encourage restraint. Looking at these cards–the card furthest to the left (Knight of Coins) encourages slow and steady action. The Chariot Reversed on the far right also encourages restraint. The two cards in the middle are both about withholding emotions. If this were my reading (and…OH SHIT! IT IS!), I would take it as a message to count to twenty, rather than ten, before speaking if I get rattled. But also, I’m paying attention to the position of the Knight of Cups and the Knight of Coins. In my desires to exercise practicality over emotion, I don’t want to miss the opportunity to embrace love. The Knight of Cups has lots of love to give and it’s right there for all the taking.

What about you? What do you see?

P.S., my new book Tarot for One is now available for pre-order!

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