3 of pentacles jumped out in a reading...

[nondairyrogue]

I was doing a reading today (little background-reading done for a young woman about to enter college using the Motherpeace tarot deck) and the 3 of pentacles jumped out at me. It literally would not go back into the deck. So I included it in the reading. But I wasn't sure where to put it (using past-present-future type spread, ended up using about 12 cards + 3 of pents.) I read it as being something she needed to focus on (hard work even when she doesn't feel like it) but I'm not sure that was the correct place for it. I'm still a beginner at reading cards, and this was the first day I've read for anyone other than myself. Can anyone give me some advice about what to do when a card demands to be part of a reading?

 

[Grizabella]

Good grief! That's some deck of cards! I've never experienced a card that refused to go back into the deck. Hung onto the edges tooth and toenail screaming, did it?

But I'd just lay it aside, then, and do the regular reading as I'd intended to do it. After reading the spread, read that card to see what it might add.

When a card falls out, I just consider it my own clumsy shuffling. That's easy to do with a round deck, anyway. And I've never had any problem just adding a card back onto the bottom or the top of the deck instead of trying to put it into the middle, so you might try that if it would make it easier to incorporate the card back into a reading. Just shuffle some more once you've re-situated it and should work out fine unless you want to start considering cards "jumpers" and reading them as a separate message.

 

[nondairyrogue]

This is the first time I've ever had a card not go back in the deck. I dropped it out while shuffling, put it back in, it dropped out again, then it fell out when she was cutting the cards. I just gave up at that point and figured it probably wouldn't hurt anything to include it somewhere in the reading.

 

[Grizabella]

This is the first time I've ever had a card not go back in the deck. I dropped it out while shuffling, put it back in, it dropped out again, then it fell out when she was cutting the cards. I just gave up at that point and figured it probably wouldn't hurt anything to include it somewhere in the reading.

Some readers like to use what they call shadow cards. It's the card from the bottom of the deck. You might choose to read a card like that if it comes out of the deck separate from the layout. Or you could just consider it to be the first card of the spread. I think I might just do that---consider it card #1 for the spread.

I think others lay out the spread and then read the "jumpers" separately as part of the spread. It's just what you find works best for you.

 

[nondairyrogue]

It's good to know this happens to other people I was beginning to think something weird was going on!