AUTHOR’S NOTE: For this reading I’m using my Celtic triskelion “Mind/Body/Spirit” spread to examine a hypothetical relationship situation. The guidance has changed slightly from my last post using this design.

Choose a card to represent either the querent or the situation itself. Leave it in the deck.

Shuffle the deck while concentrating on the question, then deal the cards sequentially, face-up, into the triangular pattern shown in the image below. Stop when the Significator card appears. If it is among the first twelve cards pulled such that there aren’t three cards under it, either shuffle again or pick a different spread for the reading.

When the Significator is found, spread out the three cards directly beneath it into a line and set the rest aside.

Calculate the “numerical essence” summary card as explained below, using the face values of the four cards. (I include the court cards as 11-through-14 and subtract reversed-card numbers.).

Read these cards as a narrative describing the situation and the projected outcome for the client’s consideration.

The theoretical client is a married man who wants to know the intentions of another woman who has shown an increasingly bold interest in him. The Queen of Cups was selected as the Signficator to represent the emotional thrust of the situation. (In retrospect the Queen of Wands may have been a better option due to the woman’s assertiveness but this card is primarily a “pointer.”)

The Queen of Cups appeared in the “Body” sub-pack, so the focus of the reading is physical.

The “What?” position indicates her modus operandi and overall strategy in the matter. Art (aka Temperance) suggests that she is sure of herself and will orchestrate the situation with consummate finesse to get what she wants. I’m thinking of the witches’ chant in Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “Double, double toil and trouble.”

The “Why”? position shows her rationale for pursuing the chosen path. Adjustment (aka Justice) reversed implies that she wants to avoid judgement for her acts by prudently “flying under the radar” with her efforts.

The “How?” position conveys her tactics. With the 7 of Cups (“Debauch”) as sultry Venus in sneaky Scorpio there is no ambiguity. She clearly wants to seduce him.

To reveal the “end of the matter,” I performed the “numerical essence” calculation for the four-card layout and came up with “34-8=26; 2+6=8,” Adjustment upright. The upshot seems to be that she will receive her “just desserts” after all. Accountability might be dodged once, but twice is asking too much after her intentions are known. It could also mean that both of them will “feel the lash” of social condemnation. Perhaps there will be lawyers involved.