Card Groupings
This exercise is a great way to practice weaving several cards into a unified idea or message. Whether you’re new to Tarot or stuck in a bit of a rut, one of the things that can happen is reading a card in isolation or struggling to connect it with the rest of the reading. This exercise’s deliberate focus on reading a group of cards as a single concept can help to shake things up and give you some extra practice with reading card interactions.
Let’s jump in with some examples. I like to shuffle the deck and do trios of cards because 78 is divisible by 3, therefore I can go through the entire deck if I desire.
Trio 1: King of Coins, 7 of Swords, Knight of Swords
Concept/interpretation: Plagiarism
This trio has strong visual cues. It looks as if the Knight is pursing the thief in the 7 of Swords as he takes his spoils to the King. To me this illustrates someone stealing another person’s ideas (swords) in order to present them to someone else for their own personal gain (which would be a handsome reward considering the wealth and prestige of the King of Coins). This could be about plagiarizing someone’s work, sharing damaging information that was supplied in confidence, or anything else of that nature.
This is, of course, only one potential interpretation for this trio. If you read more strictly left to right, or utilize different systems or reading methods, you may arrive at a different theme. For example, if you use elemental dignities, you can see that there is one earth card and two air cards. Earth and air are antagonistic to one another, so even without looking at the specific card themes, there is a sense of tension and bluster that overwhelms the grounded nature of the King – which could, again, be the result of deceit or foul play. A more traditional approach that utilizes elemental dignities would look at how the elemental qualities of the left and right cards modify the center card. The earthy King would diminish the 7 of Swords, but the Knight of Swords would supply it with more strength, making it a card of moderate importance within the overall scope of the reading (this is often called a “bridge” triad). Perhaps the practical, gentle nature of the King is influenced by the temptation to increase his gains by unsavory methods – which could very well go back to the theme of plagiarism.
Trio 2: 6 of Cups, The Chariot, The King of Wands
Concept/Interpretation: Maturation
In this trio there is a progression. The 6 of Cups shows children, the Chariot shows directed movement, will, and mastery, and the final result is the adult King of Wands. On a macrocosmic level, we see a person who leaves his childhood home, masters skills, and becomes a confident and successful individual. Taking this concept and applying it on a more microcosmic level could show the progression that one experiences with learning a trade or working through any number of challenging circumstances. Whatever the case – maturity, growth, and capability are evident.
Interestingly, if we use astrological and elemental correspondences to decipher this trio, or add to its interpretation, an interesting pattern emerges that bolsters the theme of maturation. The 6 of Cups and the Chariot are both associated with water (Scorpio and Cancer respectively). The King of Wands is a Fire card, but he also is associated with Scorpio – just like the 6 of Cups. The themes of the Chariot involve mastering opposing forces, and the King’s associations with fire and water show that he has those forces under control. The dual Scorpio associations make this fire and water fusion even more compelling. Once again, this is just one possible way to unify three cards into a single message.
Trio 3: The Hierophant, 3 of Coins, 3 of Cups
Concept/Interpretation: Collaboration
Numerologically and visually this trio emphasizes 3’s. Teamwork, communication, and productivity are seen in all three cards, and there are three people in each card as well. This set of cards is especially interesting because each one isn’t a different piece that clicks into place to create the overall theme or story. This time, different aspects of a single concept are described in each card.
The Hierophant shows the importance of respecting the wisdom of another person who has additional experience or insight. The 3 of Coins shows the importance of asking and answering questions and allowing everyone to provide input. The 3 of Cups illustrates equality, goodwill, and the success that comes from cooperation. Threes are about creation – and this trio shows how to make that creation possible and have healthy collaboration.
I hope you found these examples useful. As you can see, I employed different systems depending on the cards I drew. Sometimes the visual cues were very strong, other times a system, such as numerology, helped me to arrive at the core message of the cards. Often the different systems help to corroborate initial impressions, like in the second example. One of the great things about this exercise is that it is easy to test drive different reading methods to see what works best for you and how various methods and systems can work together to bolster your insights, or how they can supply contrasting ideas to ponder.
Decks utilized in this post:
Original Rider Waite Tarot
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