I recently received a request for a Tarot reading through email, from a woman who had gone through a breakup. We will call her "Kay" (not her real name). The breakup happened a few months ago, and she wanted to know if the time was right to try to rekindle things. Kay asked a few questions, including what the cards had to say about her feelings towards her ex, his feelings towards the relationship, and if she should contact him. I agreed to do the reading and sat down with my cards. I pulled a few cards, looked at them, and did a tiny gasp. A few of the cards were what could be considered "negative" cards: The Devil, The Tower. Now, I don't believe that there are any "bad" cards in the Tarot - I see it more as lessons, trials, and opportunities for new beginnings. But these cards were not necessarily going to be what she wanted to hear. So I did something out of curiosity - I put the cards back in the deck, reshuffled, and pulled again.
I pulled the exact same cards. Damn. The Universe was not kidding around.
Kay's spread generally said that her ex saw the relationship as over, that he saw her as a potential for trouble and anxiety when they were involved romantically, and that they probably both needed some time to grow before she should consider trying to rekindle anything romantic with her ex. But the card that I was most interested was The Devil.
The Devil card came up in response to Kay's feelings towards her ex and their relationship, and my immediate thought was, uh-oh. She is addicted to him. Girl needs to get herself outta there for a while. The Devil card can mean addiction, obsession, and even staying in situations that are bad for you or against your will. It can relate to hopelessness, material or physical things and turning a "blind eye" to a bad situation.
My quick assessment just from this card was that their relationship was very physical and possibly relied on physical attraction, that one or both of them was a bit obsessive or protective, and that the relationship may have been strongly focused in, existing in it's own bubble. They needed some time to calm their inner spirits and be true to themselves for a while.
This may seem harsh, but the cards don't lie - and remember they were broken up and not speaking, so clearly something didn't work out between them.
What I'm trying to explain is that when you do a reading about your relationship, and The Devil card is involved, don't freak out - but definitely evaluate your situation. Have you or your partner been sweeping problems under the rug or ignoring them? Are you too obsessed with each other? Is some kind of addiction keeping you apart emotionally? Is jealousy making you or your partner overreact? It might be time to talk things out. The good thing about the Devil card is that the Lovers in the card can always take off their chains - meaning, you can always break free of your problems and move on to happiness, whether separately or together.
Is there a Tarot card you want to learn more about? Let me know in the comments for a future edition of Tarot Diary.