I’ve been reading Tarot for decades and love relationships has never been my fav reading topic. However, relationship readings, especially breakups, is my number one requested reading topic. Therefore, I developed this 7 Card Moving On From A Breakup Tarot Spread to accommodate these requests. And I utilize the versatile horseshoe shape in this spread.
What the Querent Really Wants to Know
My resistance to relationship spreads is that I dislike giving my Querent (one requesting the reading) bad news. For very often what the Querent really wants to know is; will they get back with their Ex? Or at least, does their Ex still love them and want to reconcile? Then there is the underlying very touchy question regarding if their Ex has moved on with someone new.
Ethics in Relationship Readings
The above questions would require me to peer into their Ex’s thoughts, feelings, and intentions. And the Tarot will hint to these answers. But I believe it’s unethical and an invasion of privacy to read a 3rd party who has not given permission.
Therefore, I always let my Querent know my boundaries around 3rd parties. Then I reconfigure 3rd party questions to bring the power back from the 3rd party to the Querent.
Besides the 3rd party questions, the Querent also often has prediction and timing questions for their relationship reading. But the future is never written in stone. For anyone in a situation can make a change that will affect the future outcome. Therefore, I don’t use If, Will, or When questions in my readings.
Instead, I use the more empowering What and How questions. And I work with my Querent to co-create an empowering reading. For the goal is mining for insights into their former relationship and for their path forward without their Ex.
7 Card Moving On From A Breakup Tarot Spread
First, shuffle and lay out the drawn cards in the below 7 positions from left to right in a horseshoe shape. Second, turn over all the cards and take in the entire reading. Finally, commence reading the story in the cards from left to right.
- What went wrong in the relationship?
- What worked well in the relationship?
- How did my partner contribute to the breakup?
- How did I contribute to the breakup?
- What outside influences contributed to the breakup?
- What do I need to let go of to move on from the relationship?
- What lessons from the relationship do I take into the future?
Card 1 – What went wrong in the relationship?
This is a prolific question because any number of things could have gone wrong in the relationship. Was there a big argument or colossal misunderstanding and then a dramatic walk-out? Or, was there just a gradual loss of the initial physical spark?
Perhaps, there was a substantial event around an addiction or obsessive behavior involved in the breakup. Or was one of you caught in a dishonest and/or compromising situation?
Or timing could have been a contributing factor. One partner may have been ready for the relationship to move forward to the next step, but the other wasn’t.
Card 2 – What worked well in the relationship?
What attracted the two of you to one another? Did you share similar culture, beliefs, interests, hobbies, friends, outlook for the future, etc.?
Or was a dynamite physical chemistry between you the attracting factor? Great sex can definitely be considered an item that worked well in a relationship. Lol!
Card 3 – How did my partner contribute to the breakup?
This is a loaded question because it stirs up all sorts of hurt. Such as infidelity, betrayal, disloyalty, dishonesty, disrespect, disregard for your feelings or your time, and finally abandonment.
Often, partying too much with friends or spending too much time on work or hobbies contributed.
Or did your partner drag their feet ending their former relationship due to some benefit they are receiving. Perhaps, they were reluctant to sever an old relationship due to losing access to their home, children, pets, and/or finances.
Finally, if they cheated on you with another, this is a non-negotiable. After all, don’t they say “once a cheater, always a cheater?”
Card 4 – How did I contribute to the breakup?
It will only help you if you’re honest here. For they say “it takes two to tango” and it’s true. Were you untrusting jumping to pre-conceived conclusions? Were you over-critical? Were you clingy not wanting your partner out of your sight.
Or did you never actually verbalize your personal needs and expectations? For it’s a myth that our partner should know what we want without telling them. Since our partner is not a mind reader, we must tell them what we want and expect to receive.
Card 5 – What outside influences contributed to the breakup?
Outside influences are the most troublesome of contributions to a breakup. Especially, if the breakup was influenced by another person(s). It could have been friends’ or family’s disapproval or interference that caused the split. Or perhaps single friends encouraged one of you to join them in nights out partying. Even more painful, another may have stolen one of your hearts.
Perhaps, distance in location prevented the desired closeness from time spent together. Long-distance relationships are tough to keep going. For absence doesn’t always make the “heart grow fonder, ” instead it can make the heart forget.
Card 6 – What do I need to let go of to move on from the relationship?
A broken relationship can leave us devastated and doubting our worthiness, desirability, and deserving of happiness. It can leave us with anger, disappointment, disillusionment, and a steeled heart.
We need to forgive yet not forget how our Ex has hurt us. And we must let go of the need for them to be “sufficiently sorry” for their part in the breakup. For it’s likely they are moving on without us just fine.
Card 7 – What lessons from this relationship do I take into the future?
We can always find a lesson in any situation. Even if it’s only to either do or not do a particular thing next time. Or to just look out for particular warning signs exhibited in a prospective new partner. And from jump, we must explicitly express our needs and non-negotiables and ask our partner for theirs.
Final Words on 7 Card Moving On From A Breakup Spread
I tend to think of relationships as gathering data for what we do want by discovering what we don’t want.
First, we should know what we want. Second, we should not allow others to waste our time if they either can’t or are unwilling to provide it. And if a prospective partner doesn’t measure up, no worries, “Next Please!”
Moreover, what’s important, is that we remember the lesson and let go of the pain.
I hope you will give this spread a try for those troublesome relationship breakup readings. For I find it effective for gaining insights into lessons gained from a former relationship and how to move on. Happy Taroting!
Note: To book a professional Tarot reading with Jeannette see our Book a Reading page.
Leave a Reply