Sample reading: legal case

In Bronze Age China, diviners would use fire to crack turtle shells or bones, interpreting the shape of the cracks to foretell the future.  Fortunately for those of us interested in history and archaeology, they began to record the questions, predictions, and outcomes of the divinations, which has allowed us to learn a lot about what issues were most important to their society, as well as how the divination system worked. 

In that same spirit, this is the first of what I hope will be many sample readings, done by me and reproduced with permission of the querent.  I find that sample readings are one of the best ways to see the possible interpretations of cards in different contexts.

This reading concerned a lawsuit.  The querent--I'll call her "Judy"--had already received an unfavorable verdict and as a consequence was going to be required to pay a lot of money, although she was innocent of the claim against her.  Judy had been assured that she would win her case, and was confused by the outcome; she also wondered whether it was worth appealing the verdict, or whether it would be better to just give in and stop fighting it.  So she asked for an overview of the situation with an eye to how it would develop in future.

I chose a 7-card "horseshoe" spread for the question, as it gives a thorough but nicely concise picture of the situation.

The layout looks like this:

(One thing to note here is that if you're reading for yourself, you already know what your hopes and fears are, so you can let that card stand for something else.  That goes for any spread.  In this case I let Card 6 be a more open-ended advice card.)

1. The World reversed
2. Ace of Swords reversed
3. The Star reversed
4. Ace of Cups reversed
5. 6 of Cups reversed
6. 8 of Pentacles reversed
7. The Moon reversed

The first thing that jumps out of this layout is the fact that every single card is reversed, which is to say that none of them is free to express its particular energy in this situation, and that suggests that Judy feels similarly constrained.

The reversed World (card XXI of the Major Arcana) in Position 1 suggests that Judy had had high hopes for the outcome of this situation, but was well aware of many obstacles to be faced.  Now, with the verdict already established, she found herself very confused.  She had done everything she was supposed to do, she believed she was in the right and had a strong case, yet the outcome was worse even than what she had feared.  The task seemed too big.  There was a sense of bafflement, of not having enough information, and being afraid to act because of it (reversed Ace of Swords).  What went wrong?  What could/should she do next?  The fear here was that all her hard work would be for nought (8 of Pentacles reversed). 

The Star (card XVII) in its upright position is all about rekindled hope and the promise of a better day, but, being reversed here, the querent couldn't see any cause for hope.  That doesn't mean it's not there, but she did not feel optimistic.  In this case I would not encourage her to get her hopes up about a possible appeal.

Aces generally presage new beginnings, but a reversed Ace of Cups is again suggesting that Judy not get her hopes up.

The reversed 6 of Cups often indicates nostalgic clinging to the past, especially childhood or some other time of perceived innocence and simplicity.  For instance, we could be comparing the present to some idealized vision of the past to which reality could never live up.  That didn't seem to pertain to this querent's question too well.  Instead, I think the crux of this card, in this situation, was innocence.  And since it was reversed, that means that basically, Judy's innocence in this matter was irrelevant--I would say this was one of those cases where the verdict was about adhering to the letter of the law rather than real justice.  After all, that is the way the law generally works.

The reversed 8 of Pentacles suggests, to me, that no amount of hard work is going to salvage this situation.  It's not about knowing more or doing more, because there is nothing to be done.

Finally, the outcome suggests a lessening of the confusion and some improvement in the clarity of the situation, and hopefully there will be a lessening of what the querent perceives as danger (the Moon, card XVIII, reversed).  And that is really all that can be hoped for here.  After many months of legal wrangling, sometimes it is a relief just to have it done, and not be left twisting in the wind.

And on that note, in order to hopefully shine a little more light on the situation, I did a 3-card, past-present-future spread.

1. 9 of Swords reversed
2. 7 of Pentacles
3. The Tower reversed

Sure enough, Judy had been experiencing great anxiety--worries which were, as it turns out, well-grounded--and had reached a point where she must decide how best to move forward (7 of Pentacles)--hence the tarot reading.  Now, considering the Tower (card XVI) reversed in relation to the reversed Star and reversed Moon from the previous spread (the cards in the "future" and "outcome" positions), we see a very poor outcome, but the shocking catastrophe represented by the upright Tower is mitigated by reversal.  It's almost like the cards are saying, "Well, it could be worse."

So, not a positive reading but hopefully one which shows some potential ways of reading reversed cards.