Reading in Pairs

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 Aug 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Kiama	05 Aug 2003
Hi all, Astra raised this topic in a thread posted by M-Press in Talking Tarot, where M-Press was asking if he/she could use his/her unfinished deck in a reading. Astra said that if he/she was worried about not getting enough detail due to lack of some cards, maybe he/she could try dealing the cards in pairs and reading the two cards together. I thought this was a very intriguing concept, and started to explore it. In readings I often find myself dealing more than one card for each position anyway, since sometimes I think a little more detail is needed. For instance, some cards can be very ambiguous. Death: "Change is on its way." That is quite difficult to apply to the reading properly, so I often find it easiest to have another card next to this one, giving some indication as to what kind of change, or at least giving something extra to go on. I have found this seems to work very effectively for 'fortune-telling' readings, e.g - "I want to know what will happen in the next 6 months", possibly because it isn't really a question one can fcus on and apply the cards to. For instance, if I got the Death card in a reading about a relationship, I could easily apply it to the question. Death: "Change is on its way, and because of your question I think the change is that the relationship will possibly end, or somebody in this relationship desires change." But Death, in a reading for the next 6 months, just says 'Change'. So, I find that having 2 cards for each position really helps. Death and Lovers: "In March you may find that a relationship you are in will start to change, maybe even end." Does anybody else do this? If so, what have been your experiences? Do you think it helps/works? Kiama

Trogon	05 Aug 2003
Hmmm... never thought about it before, Kiama. It does sound like a very interesting idea. It sounds like you're basically drawing a card and "clarifier" together. I'll have to watch for an opportunity to try it out. Do you deal the two cards together - lay them in pairs? Or do you deal the first set, then go back and deal the clarifiers?

Umbrae	05 Aug 2003
I gotta step in here. Folks, we are professional’s…do not try this at home. I have used 2 cards in each position for many years. When they are flipped, one card covers the other (but not enough that you cannot see what it is)…it obscures or occludes the card (There is an obscure pun there). The blocked card denotes unconscious or buried attributes, and the visible the obvious. It is not the same as a clarifying card (Icky poo!) To clarify is something you do with broth, not Tarot. Death covering the Lovers may read something like: ‘you have been dragging your feet, not making choices, well the poop is about to strike the oscillating air circulator.’ Make sense?

Kiama	05 Aug 2003
Trogon: It depends on the reading. Most of the time, especially for 'What's gonna happen in the next 6 months' kind of spreads, I deal the cards together. However, sometimes I'll get a card in a reading, and just need to get a bit more specific, so in that case I'll draw another card after I've already laid out the initial spread. Umbrae: I like the idea of buried and visible for each card. However, I have to say that I'm only human, and as such I need clarification every now and then. What's wrong with clarification? If it makes the reading clearer, thereby helping the querent more, surely it's a good thing? Otherwise, all we can use is guesswork, and that's not what I do. Kiama

Astra	05 Aug 2003
Hmm - my idea has had kittens, I see. What I was actually suggesting was that, rather than a card and a clarifier, one would lay two cards and look for a single meaning for the pair. Actually I'm not sure there would be a great deal of difference between what I was suggesting and what's already been said, but it's more about combining two equal cards, I think. Just for instance, I pulled two cards from the Robin Wood deck and got the Queen of Cups and the 8 of Wands. I'm looking at a concept that combines urgency and nurturing, which suggests to me that perhaps I need to pay a bit (or a lot) more attention to the caretaking I'm currently doing for my mother.

Umbrae	05 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Astra ...rather than a card and a clarifier, one would lay two cards and look for a single meaning for the pair. In some of my spreads, that is the goal. However sometime you look at the cards and know...that it's a two card answer. Sometimes you look and you know it's a one meaning answer.

cricket	05 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae ...the poop is about to strike the oscillating air circulator.’ *insert hijack* Old joke I got from an ex that was in the army: What sound does poop make when it hits the fan? Marine! :D *ducks and runs, then ends hijack* This idea is actually much like what happens in my favorite spread, the Romani Star. The cards are laid out then read in pairs, each card in the pair complementing the other and combining to give a clearer picture. It's gotten to the point that I've used that spread so much it's hard for me to NOT use two cards per position in any other spread.

The Reading in Pairs thread was originally posted on 05 Aug 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.