AUTHOR’S NOTE: Here I’m using my new cartomantic spread to explore present and future developments in a long-delayed initiative. There are a couple of ways to read these cards, but the one that is uppermost in my mind is the prospect for resurrecting my public divination practice that went dormant with COVID and my cross-State move. I’ve added brief interpretations in the form of key words and phrases to each position to reduce the need to write a “wall-of-text” analysis.

The two red Nines book-ending the reading seem to foretell success. A pair of Nines in a spread typically means “attainment.” The 9 of Hearts is self-explanatory and the 9 of Diamonds I’m interpreting as “satisfaction” that in this context is more personally gratifying than monetary.

The only real “sticking point” here is the 3 of Spades. In my normal approach to divination the number Three represents expansion and growth, but in the suit of Spades any movement is more likely to be in the direction of curtailment. I came up with “A Turn for the Worse” as a summation of all the negative connotations it embodies. But it appears in the “Initial Outlook” position so it isn’t the “last word” in the answer, which is delivered by the Queen of Clubs, who should be more than capable of overcoming its travails.

I’m reading the 10 of Clubs in its mode of “ambition and achievement,” which I’m translating into an opportunity to make a “shot on goal,” if not exactly a “hole-in-one.” The Tens represent “completion” in the affairs of their suit, which is taken to signify a “turning point” that sets the stage for the Ace of the next suit. While there is no consensus in the literature regarding the order of the suits, it seems common for the Spades follow the Clubs, so with the Ace of Spades on tap the next step in the “situation as it stands” could be encountering an important decision or a major life-change.

The two Queens are in a position to facilitate the objective, and I read encouragement in them. A brace of Queens often indicates a “sharing of confidences,” but I think in this reading the pair portrays two sides of the same person, who starts out reserved and becomes more ardent over time (although she may have to convince herself to loosen up). I know a couple of entrepreneurial women in my region who ply the mystic arts, and who might fit the description. But the Queen of Diamonds along with her face-card companions in that suit can also mean a “relative by marriage,” which would put a different spin on this projection.

The cautious uncertainty of the 8 of Diamonds in the early going looks like it is ultimately banished by the 9 of Diamonds aided by the Queen of Diamonds in the same column. It starts out as a tentative “tightrope walk” but then gains confidence and momentum.

Overall, there are slightly more red cards here than black ones, and they seem to carry the day. One cautionary note is that Kapherus describes the 8 of Diamonds and 3 of Spades in combination as “not seeing clearly” which I would view as figurative rather than literal in this reading (even though one definition of the 8 of Diamonds is “person wearing glasses”). Since 8D follows 3S there may be a “cause-and-effect” implication that contributes to the need for watchfulness with the 8 of Diamonds (as in “watch your step”). Once again, though, the Queen of Diamonds looks like she can handle the disorientation as she wrangles it into the 9 of Diamonds.