PCO: I want love, pero ni tanto.

A few days ago I did a relationship reading for a divorced woman near her fifties. Actually, I did two. One of them was about their love life in the present (and the reading showed with poignant clarity that right now she was more concerned about taking care of her business than looking for love. So I did another, using the Cat Spread taught by Ana Cortez in the book of the Playing Card Oracles.

The point of this spread is to use the deck as the calendar that it, in fact, is. The deck has 52 cards – a lunar year has 52 weeks. It also has 4 suits, just like the year has 4 seasons, Each suit has 13 cards – each season, 13 weeks. Therefore, each card of the deck represents one week. These are some of the many correspondences between the calendar and a deck of playing cards.

The purpose of the Cat Spread is to find, within a one-year period, when something of significance (related to the sitter's question) will happen. And the cards show how it'll (or won't) happen. Why one year only? Because the deck is a one year calendar, so it cannot see beyond that. It can only see up to 52 weeks from the present.

So, I did this reading to know if she would find a partner within the next year.

The timing was seven lunar months and two weeks from the date of the reading (which happened last weekend). So the reading is indicating, approximately, the second week of September.

"September???", my sitter cried. "That's almost an year from now!"

I told her that she's welcome to challenge this reading, for not everything is written on stone. What most of readings show is a tendency, change your present path and you may also change the outcome of the situation.

These were the card for her reading:

Head (♦/Fire): 4♦

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Throat (♣/Air): 11♣

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Torso (♥/Water): 6♠

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Feet (♠/Earth): 13♥

First of all – wow, what a balanced reading. One card from each suit and two of them in their assigned positions – Diamond in the Head, Clubs in the Throat - only the Spades and Hearts have exchanged places, but that's okay because their elements (earth and water, respectively) do get along together. I think her life will be organised than it is now (and now it's pretty chaotic). She'll be feeling more balanced, with everything (or almost) where it should be.

Since this is a love-life reading, the position I looked at was the Torso – the third card in the column. Six of Spades – The Ruin. It does not look pretty here, although we have a Heart card just underneath it. The fact that it is in a position ruled by the element Water, it's meaning is softened – it loses a bit of it's Earthy harshness. Still, isn't the best card for this question - the name "ruin" says it all, but let me describe it for you: a snowy landscape, a cloudy sky and rising towards it, an abandoned, ruined castle. The horizon is clearer – Spring will come. Things will be reborn. But, for now, it's winter, in all it's glorious dormant beauty.

Now, look, this card here in important: because it shows that, although there two men in this spread (one Jack and one King), the sitter's heart lies dormant. It does not look ready yet to receive love. It's still covered in snow, maybe feeling empty and abandoned thanks to past deceptions. It does not mean it's dead, it's just... hibernating.

Lets move on from here. The Head of the spread is another important position, for it usually gives the "atmosphere" of the reading. And here's our dear trickster wind, the South Wind (4♦). It blows and tries to lift our skirts... it tells us of something unexpected coming, something that will disturb our sitter. I think this disturbance is directly related to the two men in the reading - Lancelot (11♣) and Nicomiah (13♥). Suddenly, new people will appear in her life – or superficial acquaintances will come closer. In any case, it'll surprise her, disturb her, and maybe she won't even really like them at first – like "is fate playing a joke on me?". Here, it might.

I won't dwell too much on the two guys – I think Nicomiah (13♥) here is probably a man of her age, not exactly what she loves in a man (she told me that when I described him) but, being him in a position ruled by Earth, he is a bit strengthened here – maybe not as soft and as compliant as he could be in other positions. The earth gives shapeless Nicomiah a form.

As for Lancelot (11♣), it's not the first time I see him in a reading done for this sitter. He is in the throat position, in which his already impressive characteristics are enhanced – personally, I think he becomes too "dream-like" here. Too perfect. I am not so sure here, but I think Lancelot is her dream man – the man that she talks about when she says she wants a partner. Young, intelligent, sensitive and constantly moving around. When I described him, she said: "That's it – that's the guy I want". She doesn't want a new husband, she wants a guy she can have fun with... but, as we can see, her idea of a "good enough man" can be daunting for some guys.

I never posted a Geomantic analysis here before, so here it is: Acquisitio + Carcer = Fortuna Minor. The Geomancy here confirms what we saw in the cards – the opportunity will come, but because the sitter is still feeling "locked", unable to open up and accept it fully, the result may not be as good as it could.

And this is it, at least for this year – hopefully, in the next, her inner spring will have arrived already.

PCO + The Pentagram Spread

Here's the reading I did for another person, in one of the Aeclectic Tarot reading exchanges, using the PCO with a spread called The Pentagram Spread.

................5♣.............

..................................
....13♠................14♠

..................................
........11♠.......13♣.....

Your reading is full of earth – almost the entire Earth family is there (Morgana, Mardoc and Pampero). Are your an Earth sign, like Taurus, Capricorn or Virgo? That might explain the amount of earth cards! The five cards are black suits - the can mean that you have been feeling more introspective as of late, or more serious. Or even a bit melancholic.

There's a lack of Diamonds and Hearts, which are the more impulsive and spontaneous elements. Maybe you are lacking of spontaneity right now, or energy (real life can be a vampire sometimes). You don't have to become crazy and hyper, not at all. Just look for people and environments that make you feel more comfortable, so you can loosen up a bit when you are more tense.

1. The Place of the Inner Flame: King of Clubs ~ Sol
Sol is the king of the Air realm. Air and Fire are friendly elements, so I say that your intuition receives great support from the side your your mind that is more rational. You enrich the power of your intuition through studying and learning. You don't oppose your intellectuality and your spirituality.
I get the feeling here that learning is an important part of your life, and that future achievements will be the result of your dedication in perfecting one of your skills.

2. The Place of the Well: King of Spades ~ Mardoc
Mardoc, the king of the Earth realm, is a kinda cold and collected guy. You have been keeping your feelings more to yourself. Is not that you don't feel or are heartless – water and earth are friendly, so Mardoc in this position isn't bad –, but maybe you've been trying to protect yourself by holding your feeling at bay. Some people may perceive a certain melancholy in you, even if actually you're just serious, not sad. In the matters of heart, you tend to the pragmatic view.

3. The Place of the Sword: Queen of Spades ~ Morgana
Morgana is the queen of the Earth realm, Mardoc's divorced wife. This is very significant - somehow, you tend to separate your heart from your mind. They are two sides of the same coin, but in you, they are divorced.
Your mind is sharp, and nothing escapes your eyes. When you need to rationalise, you can do it very well. I wonder if you have some interest in magic and in the occult beside the tarot – Morgana, as we all know, is a sorceress. Again, I see a tendency to focus be pragmatic regarding thoughts and ideas. You are not satisfied with wondering how things could be – you want to turn them into something practical.

4. The Place of the Stone: Jack of Spades ~ Pampero
Your body is very, very strong, and so is you health – even when you complain of a pain here, and itch there, that usually isn't serious. our body hardly ever lets you down or keeps you from doing what you want. It's your reliable companion!
Your body can be easily disciplined. If for any reason you are unsatisfied about it, or thinking that you should exercise more, do more healthy things, know that your body will adapt quickly to it. Moving your body will do you good, just like turning over the earth with a shovel aerates the ground and make it better for the plant.  If you already keep a healthy lifestyle, then you must know that already!

5. The Place of the Spirit/Soul: Five of Clubs ~ East Wind
The "East Wind" is a gentle, constant force. It's not the power of the immediate change - it's the water that wears down the rock. Slowly, it changes things. It has no hurry.
Exercise your patience. Learn to be like this wind, that works everyday towards a goal. Set your mind to your dream and go after it, one step at a time. Don't hurry. Think before acting, wait for the facts and the developments of the situations before jumping to conclusions. Give yourself time to meditate.
The life outside might be a marathon; but within yourself, in your spirituality, you have all the time you need.

Feedback: Yes, my sun sign is Taurus :). But these days, I'm also concerned with becoming more grounded/stable, finances, and some minor health issues. [...]  My internship has run into some obstacles that have left me feeling all of the above, in addition to a recent relationship breakup. [...] This was a really good reading, Marina, and gave me a lot to think about. Thank you!

(Note: The feedback was card-per-card but I only posted a part of it. The reading didn't deal with excessively private matters or any sticky subjects, but I didn't feel comfortable with sharing the entire feedback.)