Riffing off of Little Red’s post on the good-and-bad-card thing (her post is here).
…And then there’s the position issue in a spread. I had a reading recently which was very complicated, indeed, because I got a really “positive” card in an “obstacle” position (Ace of Wands) and vice versa (Two of Swords as an opportunity). Made the reading interesting, but it showed me all too well, as Little Red’s longer reading on vacation did, that context is so important, and that the cards can be positive or negative, or more likely some gradation between, depending on the question and if used, the spread position.
Context, context, context.
This is why I love the relating of cards to each other, as well, rather than focusing on each one’s “message” by itself. The relationship of these two cards with their partners in the draw (The Tower preceded the Ace of Wands in the obstacle part of the spread, and the Page of Wands preceded the Two of Swords in the path-to-success part of the spread).
A tale of “opposites” in the same positions!
So, I dug into all the facets of these two cards to see how to apply them in these positions to the question of where to move in a career and what might be holding the person back. I had some things I told the querent based on all four cards, but now looking at just the Ace of Wands and Two of Swords together, I definitely get the feeling of “wait, your best bet is not to run forward into the new thing but sit tight, hold your position” (maybe because of The Tower as the first card as in waiting until the “fallout” stops, and also waiting for that message from the Page of Wands first).
As you can see, though, trying to see the Ace of Wands as a problem and the Two of Swords as the way ahead can be a bit tricky.
If you have another take on this combination (Obstacles as Tower and Ace of Wands, Path to success as Page of Wands and Two of Swords), let me know. 🙂
That’s an interesting post Joanne (as was the diversion over to Little Red’s… thanks!) I agree with your take on those cards… It does feel to be a curb your urge and bide your time as you don’t want to toss the baby out with the bath water kind of thing…
I often think of cards (particularly trios) as musical notes that strike a chord… I don’t know if you play an instrument or not but if I think of those cards as being the opening sound on a piece of piano music…it certainly sets an atmosphere…
Ah, musical metaphor = very good. Yes, I used to play piano, so I get the relationship. I will have to remember that chord thing with my three-card free readings, actually. Thanks!
Oh good! I’m glad you understand that… I did think it would sound a bit bonkers to someone who didn’t get it! lol ba-dah!! 😀
I’m a great believer in cards always having good and bad aspects. In terms of obstacles, the Ace of Wands could also indicate that things are still just at the spark of an idea stage, with nothing to back them up. Or that the person is so gung-ho with energy that they’re not really seeing what’s going on. Or that they’re being distracted by a different passion, no matter how much they think they want to be focusing on their career right now… 🙂
I think in this case, Chloe, the querent was quite gung-ho to start and was feeling a bit deflated as time was going by and nothing cool was happening. The big question was whether to think of the Two of Swords as a call to take off the blindfold and take action (maybe that would be a reversed interpretation), or a call to sit tight and wait (maybe for that Ace of Wands to develop).