I felt it was time to reach into the mailbag once again, and answer a question from a reader of the column using the cards.

The submission selected is from Alvin, and it bears a similarity to the previous column, in which I used Sibilla to answer Gayle’s question.

What’s the similarity? Instagram.

I’ll let Alvin tell you, in his own words…

The Situation: Is Love in the Cards?

Hey, James,

I’ve been checking your daily card posts on Instagram, and lately, I’m finding them really spot on.

That led me to take a chance and submit for a reading in one of your columns. I’d like to find out if I’m either ready for a relationship or better off on my own.

And if going back to a past relationship would be detrimental or not.

If you pick my submission, would you be willing to use The Art of Love Tarot? I saw your post when you first got it and I really like the look of it.

Thanks,

Alvin

What Tarot Has to Say about Love Being in the Cards

Hi, Alvin,

First, I want to thank you for following the posts on my Instagram feed. I’m happy to hear that the posts have been resonating with you.

In reading your submission, I see three questions here:

1. Am I ready for a relationship?
2. Am I better off on my own?
3. Would going back to a past relationship be detrimental for me?

My intuition led me to pick one card for each of these aspects of your larger question, and as per your request, I’m using The Art of Love Tarot (by Denise Jarvie and Toni Carmine Sarleno, and published by Blue Angel Publishing).

Addressing your question about being ready for a relationship, I pulled the 8 of Hearts.

Hearts is the suit of feelings, emotions, and relationships, so this aspect of the card fits with your question (relationship).

Tuning into the card, my impression is that it’s suggesting you might not be ready for a new relationship because of a previous relationship.

You may still have unresolved feelings for this person, even if the relationship was unhealthy for you (the card has the keyword Co-dependency on it).

This may also be addressing that past relationship you’re considering re-entering.

The next card I pulled, addressing your question about being better off on your own, is the 9 of Trees.

Tuning into this card, it says to me that it’s important for you to grow into a more independent and self-sufficient person.

The 9 of Trees says you might want to consider being on your own for a while (the card has the keyword Refinement on it).

It would be helpful to see what the previous relationship taught you, so you’re more aware going into the next one (when you’re ready).

For your concern about getting back into a past relationship, the card I pulled for you is the 9 of Hearts.

The first thing that catches my attention is that we have another card from the suit of Hearts, again pointing toward feelings, emotions, and relationships.

Also, the number 9 is being repeated; the 9 is a number that, for me, suggests gain and attainment, wisdom gained from experience.

Given the context of this particular aspect of your question (prior relationship), the 9 can represent “unfinished business.”

The 9 of Hearts is the “wish” card, suggesting wish fulfillment (a wish being granted/coming true), and a situation that’s emotionally satisfying.

The appearance of the 9 of Hearts here suggests that this is someone’s wish to resume the relationship (either you, the other person, or both of you).

And this would make sense if the relationship I talked about with the first card (8 of Hearts) is one and the same.

If it is, the image on the card offers some additional information. The tree is a symbol of growth and development, suggesting that’s what happened for each of you while apart.

The tree can also symbolize healing (and with Hearts, emotional healing), and that this could potentially be a more healthy relationship this time around (circling back to the keyword Co-dependency on the 8 of Hearts).

All the hearts suggest that the love is still there, despite the change in relationship status (an additional meaning of the 8 of Hearts).

The star on the tree, for me, reinforces the “wish” aspect of the card, if you consider the phrase “when you wish upon a star.”

And then there’s the keyword Stability, suggesting a relationship that could be more rooted and grounded.

I would typically round out this reading here, Alvin, but an interesting thing happened when I pulled the third card: Another card came out with it. So, The Art of Love Tarot wishes (that was intentional) to give you more information in connection to the 9 of Hearts.

The card is the 6 of Angels.

The keyword for this card is Transition, and can suggest a situation that began as challenging and difficult is now becoming easier, that things are changing for the better.

The 6 of Angels could suggest that is what you’d (or the other person would) be hoping (and wishing) for, that this relationship would be easier this time around than the last.

So the questions you’d have to consider, Alvin, are:

• How do you feel about getting back with your ex?
• Is that something you’d want?

Wrapping Things Up

Summing up, Alvin, I encourage people to remember why they broke up with an ex, because those same issues could show up in the relationship again. And if and when they do, it’s a matter of you showing up (in terms of your reactions and responses) differently than you did the last time.

Alvin, thank you so much sharing your question with me. I look forward to you circling back and letting me know your thoughts on what The Art of Love Tarot had to say.

And, just as I hope it has been helpful to Alvin, I hope you found it informative as well. I would love to hear what you think. You can share your thoughts in the comments section below.

If you have a question or concern and would like to gain some insight using Tarot, send me your submission, via e-mail, to james@jameshimm.com.

 

 

 

Update on “Is Love in the Cards?”

After the reading was posted, Alvin circled back and shared this with me:

“Thanks for the reading, James!

“I wanted to touch on the questions you posed to me about getting back with my ex. I’m open to that possibility.

“When we broke up, it was mainly because I needed to be more independent, which you mentioned.”

I encouraged Alvin to think about how important his independence is to him, since it was highlighted with the second card (9 of Trees).

Alvin replied that he felt more independent than he did in the past, as well as realizing he could go further in working on his issues.

Alvin also shared that it seems his ex has changed. They’ve remained friends after the break up, and Alvin said he never imagined his ex would ask him to consider getting back together.

I told Alvin that the cards were making me feel that he shouldn’t rule out the possibility altogether, that he might want to give it some thoughtful consideration.

Overall, I felt Alvin’s cards were suggesting he find a way to manage being independent within a relationship, especially if he wanted to be in one again at some point–whether it’s with his ex or someone else.

That last point gave Alvin some food for thought, as it offered him a perspective he hadn’t considered before.