Oh, yes. It’s happened to every Tarot reader!
You do a reading on whether the girlfriend is ready to commit. One reading said yes. The next reading said no.
Or, you asked the Tarot if you would get a promotion. One reading said “probably.” The other reading said “probably not.”
UGH! How are we supposed to make sense of the Tarot if it contradicts itself???
If this happens to you (and if you read Tarot for as many years as I have, it WILL happen to you…), one of three things is happening:
1.) You unconsciously asked the question differently each time.
Let’s say it’s the girlfriend question from above. Perhaps, prior to the first reading you asked, “Is she ready to commit?” and the cards said “Yes.” But the second time, you asked “Is she ready to commit to me?” and sadly, the cards said “No.” Because in truth, the girlfriend is ready for a committed relationship in general, but she’s not ready for a committed relationship to you. hugs.
2.) Something changed in the situation.
Using the promotion question above, the “Probably” answer came when you did the reading after a great conversation with your boss and an excellent interview with the management team. After both of those encounters, they are strongly considering you for the promotion. However, after the encounters and the reading, you started talking smack about someone in the lunchroom and the wrong person heard it…or…they brought in one more courtesy candidate who just so happened to blow them away. Either way, you’re no longer the shoe-in that you thought. Oops….
3.) Both readings are correct.
In my experience, most contradictory readings are all correct, but they are looking at the situation from different angles. See example below:
Hypothetical question: “Is my friend mad at me?”
One Reversed, Two Upright: Probably, but not completely.
Queen of Cups – Deep feelings, possibly hurt feelings.
The Hierophant -Structure and tradition. They may be at odds over a belief.
8 of Pentacles Reversed – The Reversed card in this spread is the outlier. Because the 8 of Pentacles can indicate serious work, the 8 of Pentacles Reversed can mean something isn’t serious. The friend, although they may be bunched about something, also recognizes that it’s probably not a big enough deal to warrant addressing.
The querrent does the reading an hour later (nothing has changed between the two friends).
Two Reversed, One Upright. Probably not, but there’s a catch.
King of Swords Reversed: When upright, this card often represents anger. Being Reversed, it’s unlikely that the friend is truly angry.
Page of Wands Reversed: When upright, this Page indicates starting something—a project, or even an argument. When Reversed, that “something” is unlikely to happen at this time.
The Hanged Man: Something is held up. It’s possible that the friend may feel “stuck” on something, but may not be ready to address it yet.
So, which is it? Are they “probably” mad, or “probably not”?
In a situation like this, the contradictory readings are likely reflecting a complicated situation, where someone has layered feelings about a situation. It’s also possible that the friend in question may be irritated about several things, and some of them are more pressing than others.
A good next step for the querrent would be to pull a single clarifying card to ask the question, “What is my best course of action with this friend?”
I want to hear from YOU!
Comment below: How do YOU handle contradictory readings?