Repeat cards in back-to-back readings

[Milamber]

I encountered quite the pair of readings for myself, both with the Gilded Tarot. The first was a few days ago, a daily spread of: The Hanged Man Rx / Wheel of Fortune Rx / 3 of Cups Rx / The Devil / 6 of Swords.

The second, last night, was the Dark of the Moon spread: 6 of Cups / The Hanged Man Rx / 3 of Pents Rx / The Lovers Rx / 8 of Swords / The Devil Rx / Wheel of Fortune

Three repeat majors, pretty significant, and really telling of my situation which seems negative at first but is loaded with opportunity to turn things around and come out ahead in life. The combination of the Wheel, Devil and Hanged Man cards made an interesting study for me, to say the least! (It's so odd to see The Devil twice in a row and know it's good cause to be thankful! lol) Each spread also had a 3 and a 6 (two 6's counting The Lovers in the latter spread), although, I've never really looked into reading into the numbers themselves as such.

Anyway, it all made me want to put some questions out there to kind of kick off a discussion.

How often do you see repeats, and how much significance do you put in them? What other trends do you notice in your draws? (Suits, numbers - ones you see a lot, or ones you rarely ever see.) I also wonder: How many are out there that get really balanced readings overall?

 

[Grizabella]

Well, I certainly learned the hard way what getting the Tower repeatedly meant to me. It wasn't pretty. As it turned out, looking at the overall picture for a time period of almost two years, it's been a positive experience but it was miserable to go through it at the time.

I read a lot so I probably see a lot of repeats but the ones for myself that I take special note of are the Majors. I've learned through the above experience that it pays to take heed to those, especially. Repeats of any cards, though, carry a message we should pay attention to.

 

[Luinbariel]

How often do you see repeats, and how much significance do you put in them? What other trends do you notice in your draws? (Suits, numbers - ones you see a lot, or ones you rarely ever see.) I also wonder: How many are out there that get really balanced readings overall?

I see repeats fairly often, but even saying that does not mean much in my case, as I don't usually read for myself nor do I read back to back. I don't even really read often enough generally these days to remember what I've seen and I don't keep a journal on it.

When I do see back to back, however, I give them a fair amount of significance. I think that if the message is important enough to repeat twice I should be paying attention. To me, even if the card has moved positions a bit, I think it is still significant. If the card has moved from the position I previously read for it, I usually take this to mean that my awareness of the situation has changed how I view it, and thus is has moved to a new place which then represents how I now see it.

Other trends that I notice are that I almost always get the same or similar face cards to represent me in my readings for myself; the Moon shows up at least 90% of the time and tends to slip out of my deck the most often. I also notice that I get many major arcana cards in readings for myself rather than the minor, though I don't really know why that would be.

My readings are usually quite balanced, at least in my opinion, but I think this is partially due to the nature of the deck I use (the Mythic Tarot). It tends to ignore reversed cards (I never read with inverse) as the interpretations that were packed along with this deck are already quite two-faced, which works for me somehow.

 

[Milamber]

I also notice that I get many major arcana cards in readings for myself rather than the minor, though I don't really know why that would be.

I actually tend to notice the same. I was originally going to mention that I'd seen 8 majors in 15 cards over my last three draws, but realized the triple repeat was the cause of that, and overshadowed it. Even looking back though, I see a lot, and have wondered if this is common among readers reading for themselves, considering the majors speak of life's journey.

With court cards we differ though -- I rarely ever draw one in any of my readings. Not sure what the significance of that may be, if any.

 

[Glass Owl]

The other night I did several readings using different spreads and decks and yet several cards kept jumping out and showed up in all of the readings.

 

[Luinbariel]

I actually tend to notice the same. I was originally going to mention that I'd seen 8 majors in 15 cards over my last three draws, but realized the triple repeat was the cause of that, and overshadowed it. Even looking back though, I see a lot, and have wondered if this is common among readers reading for themselves, considering the majors speak of life's journey.

With court cards we differ though -- I rarely ever draw one in any of my readings. Not sure what the significance of that may be, if any.

I was thinking a little on it in the tub (ha) and I came to this thought. What if readers tend to see major arcana cards for themselves because they are simply more spiritually and personally aware than the average client?

 

[Grizabella]

Luinbariel, that bathtub thought is interesting, but I don't know if I'd say it's probably true or not. I don't think readers are more spiritually and personally aware than sitters, although they could be in some cases.

 

[nisaba]

I was thinking a little on it in the tub (ha) and I came to this thought. What if readers tend to see major arcana cards for themselves because they are simply more spiritually and personally aware than the average client?

That's a dangerously arrogant thought. Totalitarian dictatorships arise out of that style of thinking when it occurs in the political arena. Brutal suppression of the poor arises from it when it occurs in financial circles. I'm a reader. I've been reading for years. What makes me so special? No, I don't see that one.

 

[Luinbariel]

That's a dangerously arrogant thought. Totalitarian dictatorships arise out of that style of thinking when it occurs in the political arena. Brutal suppression of the poor arises from it when it occurs in financial circles. I'm a reader. I've been reading for years. What makes me so special? No, I don't see that one.

I didn't mean it to be arrogant, nor do I think that I am special in any way. I'm not saying it is or is not true. I had the thought, and I put it out there.

What I meant was that perhaps having been reading for awhile helps one better understand themselves and thus leads to different spreads. That repeated contact with the cards has taught us something and that perhaps that is reflected in a reading, not that we get special cards because we are somehow a better or different person.


I was just expressing a thought I'd had in the tub for the purposes of conversation. Next time I suppose I'll just keep them to myself. :/

 

[Milamber]

Let me extrapolate on the bathtub thought then. What if readers tend to see major arcana cards for themselves because they are simply more spiritually and personally aware of themselves than of their average client?

Rather than spiritual superiority, it's possibly more about self-knowledge; we know ourselves better and more intimately than we know our clients.