Are you in a karmic relationship?
If you have ever had that instant connection with someone and just know that they are someone you have past life history with, this Karmic Relationship Tarot Spread is for you. Chances are that you crossed paths again because there is a karmic bond between you and you were meant to meet up again.
Karmic bonds are taken into consideration when souls plan for their next incarnation. Scenarios are created to help both parties resolve their karma, whether it be for recompense, retribution or simply to finally let someone go. I wrote an article about more types of personal karma and how to read on it with the Tarot last week.
I feel that often, there is a need to go more in-depth with relationship karma than with the simple spread I created last week, so I have adapted another Tarot spread I like to use for relationships to include karmic markers. But before we get into that, I would like to give you a few pointers about karmic relationships in general.
Common signs that the person you are inquiring about is a karmic soulmate:
- Instant recognition
- Knowing things about the other person that they have not yet told you
- Tingling in your aura, especially the crown chakra
- The other person acting as a catalyst for great changes in your life
- A strong need to be near the other person
- Either feeling as if anything is possible if you two could just be together OR an urge to get as far away as possible yet at the same time being irresistibly drawn to them
In Astrology, a karmic relationship where the other person has the ‘upper hand’ is shown by their Pluto aspecting one of your inner planets. Harsh aspects between their Saturn and your Sun (or vice versa) is usually a sign of tough karmic lessons.
While Astrology is GREAT for showing us how people are linked karmically, I feel the Tarot has the upper hand when it comes to pointers about how to work this karma out… so let’s have a look at an in-depth Tarot spread I have created for that very reason. My preference is to work with mixed oracles for this spread but feel free to try it with only Tarot if that is all you have.
I used three cards from Past Life Oracle because it is spookily accurate and one card from the Higher Intuitions Oracle – a favourite for positive transformation of any situation. The Tarot cards are from the Waite Smith Tarot deck.
NB. Only use the Karmic Relationship Tarot Spread when you are absolutely certain that you have a karmic bond with someone. Bear in mind that this is quite an advanced way of reading the cards so don’t despair it is beyond your reach if you are a novice reader. Persevere and you will get there!
How to lay the cards out:
Start by laying out the three Past Life Oracle cards. Study them carefully and make note of any intuitive thoughts and feelings that emerge.
The Karmic link card tells you how you usually connect with the other soul and possibly why you have come together again in this life-time. Your Past Life Oracle card tells you something about your role in a key past life and theirs gives you insight into their role back then.
Then lay the Tarot cards out beginning with the top three cards.
The trajectory of the relationship
You can read this group of cards intuitively. These cards tell you how you connect here and now as well as how things are likely to progress (read from right to left). The key is to allow the cards to tell you a story rather than trying to decipher individual card meanings. Feel the flow of energy in the Tarot cards. Here (The Devil followed by the 2 of Swords) we have a feeling of blocked sexual energy, for instance. This is a friendship but these two could have been lovers in a past life.
Place one Tarot card on either side of your Past Life Oracle card and do the same for theirs. Now you have two groups of three cards each. They tell a story of which portion of personal karma that you are dealing with in this connection. In the sample reading above, you will note that the person (person number one) to the left was probably male and in a leadership position. S/he could be someone who hired the other person for artistic entertainment. S/he is also the one to most acutely be aware of a past life connection thanks to the presence of two of the karmic cards on their side of the spread.
Resolving Karma
Finally, place the Higher Intuitions Oracle card below the central Past Life Karma card for advice on how to make the most of the dynamic you have in this lifetime. Then place one tarot card on either side of this card to see what you can learn from each other. The card on your side tells you what you can learn from them and the card on their side tells them what they can learn from you.
Raven from the Higher Intuitions oracle brings a message of patience and there is a sense of things developing organically as the karmic pull is strong enough to unfold events without either party having to do much. It is interesting to note the sequence of numbers in the Pentacles for person number two. The 8 of Pentacles reflects the lesson person number one must learn. You get a sense of person number one being better able to hone their skills and person number two developing leadership skills thanks to this connection.
I recommend leaving the spread out for a while and coming back to it several times as things can gradually begin to make more sense. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for a bit of help from the Angels. Call on your own Guardian Angel and on that of the other person, as well as Archangel Jeremiel who is the Angel of Past Life Reviews.
Check out the Angelorum Love and Relationship Tarot Spreads!
Comments 43
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for all your good work!
I did a much simpler ten card spread on a karmic relationship that I’m trying to find peace with (before I found this one- thanks again). I intend to let that reading settle before I embark on this comprehensive one.
For the simpler one, though, there were two of what I think of as “umbrella” (big picture) positions: one for our past life(s) together, and one for the purpose of our relationship in the present lifetime. I drew the World for our past life, and the Ace of Wands for our present purpose.The remaining eight cards (all dealing with the present lifetime) revealed a strong theme of co-dependency. The “advice” to me (5 swords) was surrender, and his advice (9 swords) was to face fears.
I’m curious, though, how I should interpret the umbrella cards with respect to this reading. I’d typically take the World card to mean that things were completed in our past life. But does the pairing with the Ace Wands mean that we’re starting all over?
Any interpretations you have would be welcome. Thanks!
Author
Hi Mel, The World corresponds with Saturn. I always read the astrological aspects with the cards and ESPECIALLY for past life readings since the blueprint of our natal chart is dependent on our past life karma. I’m not surprised to hear that there is a co-dependency theme with THE Saturn card showing the bigger picture. In synastry, harsh aspects of inner planets to Saturn can reveal karmic links. The Ace of Wands shows that you are passionate about getting it right this time… AND that the way you are ensuring that you get another shot is to have the strong chemistry in place. All the best! Lisa
Oh God, I’ve been meaning to do this spread for a long time and I finally did it. I’ve never had a tarot reading be so nerve-wracking before and a lot of karmic cards came up. I’m not sure what to do with this information.
Author
Hi Angelica, it sounds like you need a reading done by a professional since there is so much emotional attachment with this. Blessings, Lisa
Wow! Thank you for this spread. I just did this spread on a 20 plus year karmic relationship that has run it’s course in this lifetime. So accurate! So much of the what and why of that relationship now makes sense. Thank you.
Author
You’re very welcome – glad it helped! 🙂
Hi Lisa, I did this spread yesterday for a guy I’ve been involved with for over a year. We met just two weeks before he moved abroad but since we instantly clicked and had insanely strong connection, we’ve been in touch almost 24/7 and I’ve been to visit a few times. Not everything has been running smoothly, yet we are constantly drawn to each other. We are currently trying to be ‘just friends’ as relationship seems impossible, though the feelings and longing are still there and no idea how this situation will ever get resolved. We are both convinced that we are soulmates and met for a reason as we are both from completely different parts of the world, met in the strangest circumstances possible, both have been having countless dreams about each other (sometimes 2-3 per night!) even while we are together, events just seem fated and things have been intense. I’ve been looking for information on how to recognise and clear this karma that is, so we can eventually move on in our spiritual lives together or apart. Apologies for the long intro!
I only used Tarot cards for the spread and the deck I have is the Crystal Visions Tarot by Jennifer Galasso.
For our karmic link I pulled The World. I see it as to say that we connect fully and completely on all levels, as well as reference to our different cultures and backgrounds, all the travel that’s been involved etc. I guess in past lives we’ve been in similar situations. Also, I see this card as a confirmation that this karma should be resolved in this life and we’d finally learn the lessons?
My past life cards, from left to right, are The Star, 8 of Cups and The Page of Wands. His are 9 of Swords, Ace of Swords and 8 of Wands. I get the feeling that I was the free spirited, optimistic extrovert, maybe a performer of some kind and perhaps he was in the army? Maybe he decided to cut the ties with me and end the relationship as this was the most rational thing to do. I guess I accepted his decision and moved on to better and happier things and people, while he was left frustrated and with nagging thoughts, regretting his actions and decisions.
What I find really odd is that in this life, our situation is pretty much the same. He was the one ( being a rational Gemini) first to suggest to end the relationship and just be friends as it was too difficult overseas. That was a few months back and I felt heartbroken so deleted and blocked him from contacting me for over a month. I couldn’t move on though so got back in touch, we were both regretting almost losing each other in this way. I went to visit again as a friend and that’s how we are trying to keep things now, although we are still in touch all day long and want to spend more and more time together.
The top cards, signifying our story and relationship in this life are Ace of Cups, The Hanged Man and The Moon. This part of the reading is what I don’t seem to completely understand and would really appreciate some guidance and advice! I see the Ace of Cups followed by The Hanged Man to represent our situation quite precisely. There is love and strong feelings but somehow distorted and twisted, not easy and straightforward. There’s this hanging and waiting around, delays and just everything being upside down. I am very much in touch with my inner self and spirituality, while he is religious in quite traditional way, trying to live by words of the Bible and feeling deep guilt etc if he doesn’t ‘follow the rules’. So we both take time to reflect on life and the world around us a lot. The Moon as the final card to me point to not a very happy ending, which I guess I’m not surprised about at this point. However, how does its meaning relate to the other cards? That nothing is what it seems, we’d be lying and deceiving each other or be delusional forever and never end this circle? Surely at one point or another, either we’d end up together or with other people, which would lead to us losing our ‘friendship’? Or does it just mean to follow our intuition? I also read on your blog that The Moon represents a karmic relationship that’s ancient and this is probably one of the last lives together. I’m a Pisces and write so it might represent me as well…
The advice card is the Seven of Wands, so I’m getting the message that I/we should fight for what we believe in and what’s right. Could it mean to flight for the relationship and the connection we have instead of just walking away from it all, like I seem to had done in the past (8 of Cups)?
I pulled The Emperor as the lesson I’d learn from him and the Seven of Pentacles as the lesson he’d take from me. Maybe I should learn to be stronger and organised, rational like him and in control of my emotions and actions, while he should learn to appreciate what he has and feel content with it or just not being so hard on himself all the time.
Thanks so much for your time and any insight or advice you might have would be highly appreciated!
Love x
Author
Wow, that was long! I really don’t have the time to address all of your questions or give full commentary here, so I will jump straight to your main concern, The Moon… in the future position it simply means that your strong astral connection will last your whole lives. Blessings, Lisa
Hi Lisa,
I have been practising tarot reading for a while, and recently came to this spread after trying to figure out a relationship with a guy whom I have known since last August in 2015, but only started dating in March/April this year. I always felt this strong connection with this person, and feel irrevocably drawn for one reason or another, despite his quietness of character.
In the reading, what I had (on my Ukrainian stack) for how we connect in this lifetime was from left to right: The Master (similar to the hierophant but he seems to be the master of all the minor arcana of cups, pentacles, swords and wands), King of swords and 10 of pentacles. Mine side were The White Stone/Horse of Happiness, and Knight of Swords, while his were Queen of Cups and Integrity/Throne of God. The bottom row of Karmic resolution seems confusing for me, because from left to right, it runs across as 8of Swords, The Emperor, and 5 of Cups.
If you are able to shed any light on this, I would be really thankful.
Author
Hi Hyeon, first I need your interpretation of the karmic relationship and then I need you to tell me why you feel the bottom three cards don’t make sense please. Then I can try to help make sense of anything that is unclear. It is extremely difficult to try to read on a reading in the first instance and completely impossible whent he other person is using a non-standard deck. I have no idea how to read the White Stone and Horse of Happiness cards as I have never come across them before. Cheers. Lisa
Hi Lisa, I understood the connection as a karmic connection partially because it was simply a case of ‘love at first sight’ when I met him. Sure, I had seen his pictures before, and I was not exactly feeling anything per se in response to the pictures and email or phone communication, but in real person, there was a somewhat electrifying experience on the very first occasion, in which my heart felt as if it had skipped a beat on meeting him. There was a rather deep dream which I had during that very first night of the meeting, in which I saw a box with winding coils around a keyhole, and while the coils of that keyhole were unwinding by themselves (without a key inserted in), there was a strange sensation–congruent with this–in which my heart felt as if two hands were pressing it from both sides. When the box’s keyhole finally opened, that feeling of oppression disappeared, and then, I saw the inner contents of the box, a vast expanse of darkness like a chasm, in which a key fell in first, followed by him. This dream has lingered in my memories for the last one year and I have told friends, including two of them who are practising psychics about this, with one of them saying that I might want to explore the nature of that connection between me and him for me to experience that dream.
Hope that it helps clarify things. Actually the White Stone is the same card as the Horse of Happiness. I will check out that Ukrainian stack’s directions to see what it actually represents.
Author
I still don’t know what the White Stone card means. It was the reading I needed you to outline for me (card by card, position by position), not your feelings for this guy and the dream has only added to the general confusion… Perhaps you are better off consulting your psychic friends about this reading…?
Thank you
Is it possible to do this reading with only Tarot cards or other cards if we don’t have/ can’t afford other decks?
Author
Yes.
Thank you!
Hi Lisa,
I pulled 3 cards for my friend. She broke up with her ex. I didn’t use a spread. I asked what would happen next with there relationship. I pulled judgment, the lovers and queen of cups. Something that came to my attention was the judgement card. Does the judgement card mixed with the lovers indicate they have/had a karmic relationship? Something strange has been happening to her. Since they broke up she claims she keeps seeing his name everywhere. Ex: on tv, in books wherever she looks. I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this?
Author
Did your friend ask you to do this reading for her? Otherwise, I’m not sure it’s a good idea… as for seeing someone’s name everywhere when you’ve just broken up, please assure your friend it is completely normal. It’s the same psychological phenomenon as seeing pregnant bellies everywhere when you are trying to conceive – a kind of fixation which makes us notice what was always there. You were reading on what will happen next, so I wouldn’t take these cards as karmic indicators.
Yes, she asked me to pull cards for her. When I was reading up on the cards I read judgment and lovers could mean karmic relationship. I wanted to check with you to see if it had any meaning to her cards. As for her seeing his name everywhere, I’ll tell her that she’s not going crazy & that it’s completely normal lol thank you.
Author
What’s your own interpretation of the cards in the future sense?
Hmmm, maybe judgment could mean luck is on her side, possibly an apology. Maybe she’s going back & fourth on the pros/cons of the relationship & it’s her choice “the lovers” if she wants to make it work..& the queen of cups could be telling her to trust her own intuition about the situation or it could mean if she goes back the relationship could grow.
Author
Based purely on ‘What will happen next?’ and how this energy meets the energy of the three cards thrown down (not being able to see the images) I would say this means that the situation is being influenced by a love rival and is still up in the air. Judgement indicates the need for a choice to be made.
I really appreciate your help 🙂 hopefully one day i can become as good as you with my cards. And you said a love rival, very interesting. That makes sense. His ex started contacting him. That is part of the reason for the break up. Could the queen of cups after the lovers represent my friend? Is it telling her to trust her intuition on the matter?
Author
You should ALWAYS trust your intuition – I don’t feel that is the message of the Queen of Cups here. The Queen of Cups is usually Pisces or Cancer or shares many of those traits. I picked up on a love rival thanks to her so I don’t think she is your friend here. Here she is the ex, trying to emotionally manipulate him to come back. The Queen of Cups is really good at that shit.
Damn queen of cups! I knew it, I felt it was bad news from the moment she told me his ex was trying to contact him. Thank you so much. I will tell her this info ASAP.
Thanks Lisa for your insight.
For me I notice, 5 of swords clarified by 6 of pentacles.. Situation is 2 of swords. The combination of all 3 cards Indicated karmic energy. Notice both cards has 3 persons. And one was stealing in past life, this life one is repaying.
Read for a client who fell in love “again” with her business acquaintance. The feeling is reciprocal but the love is forbidden cos both got partner.
To me the cards tell me. Someone is in debt. It ties them together till the debt is clear.
What she owes him. — six of swords and ten of cups.
What he owes her. — justice and emperor.
It makes me think he was the one who took away the sword in past life, not her. She compromised. But I can’t explain to her much.
Author
It is against my reader’s ethics to read on relationship questions when the Seeker or the other person is in a committed relationship with someone else, so I won’t comment on this. Blessings
Hello Lisa,
I think this spread is absolutely beautiful!
I’m currently looking at my cards and am a little confused about my past karma cards. First off, our karmic link card is the lovers. What exactly does that entail? I have the ace of cups, death, and then 7 of swords as our past cards. I can’t decide if they’re saying our love was taken from us by each other or from an outside influence. Maybe a death? The death card is front and center, right above the lovers card. Your thoughts?
Author
There is always an element of deceit connected with the 7 of Swords in a relationship reading.
also, a follow up question, should we read all cards in this tarot spread Right to Left to read the story of the cards? Or just the top three?
Thank, Lisa!
*many blessings*
Author
I read all cards from left to right, as you would read a normal sentence… but whatever works for you! I look at the individual groups as paragraphs… then I weave the story. If you can’t find the flow in the story you need to leave the spread for a while and come back to it. Blessings
Hi, Lisa! My apologies I must have misunderstood! I read a tidbit about you getting married and thought you would no longer being running the website, but I am happy to be mistaken over this!! Your website has provided me so much guidance over time!
Ok – I understand your policy on re-interpreting readings. I just became stuck on a few cards when I did this spread. Notably, there were a plethora of major arcana cards – the Hierophant, the Sun, the Hermit, Justice, and the Magician, the Lovers, the Empress, Judgment, and the Moon. I was using the whole tarot deck and have never pulled so many arcana cards in one spread before! This felt significant to me.
The Karmic link between us was the “four of swords” however – and this perplexed me..
And additionally, “how to resolve the karma” showed the Moon – which I interpreted as “have faith” and things may not be as they seem? it felt difficult to interpret as an action to resolve the karma… anyways, would love to hear you insights! Congratulations on your recent nuptuals!
*many blessings!*
Carole
Author
Thanks Carole. Yes, that is a LOT of Majors and very typical for a past life relationship. The 4 of Swords is Jupiter in Libra so that’s good in the sense that your karma shouldn’t be the cause of any disruption. Jupiter in Libra expands in the direction of peace and harmony. The Moon is a sign that you need to look deeper… under the surface of the conscious mind… and also, possibley, that there may be nothing to resolve. You could have no karmic debt between you – just a deep and lasting emotional bond across the space/time divide which keeps you connected in dream-time etc. The Moon is Pisces and connects us strongly with the astral plane.
Thank you, Lisa! This helped me tremendously! <3
Author
You’re very welcome, Caroline!
Hi Lisa,
I am interested in consulting with your over the results of this card spread and would be willing to pay for your guidance! I understand you are no longer running your website but would love to discuss the cards in my spread with you if this were at all possible!
Thanks,
Carole
Author
Hi Carole, I’m not sure about what you mean by ‘I understand you are no longer running your website’ – I am running this website, Angelorum, and have consolidated my other sites into this one site. All that I offered before – and MORE – is on offer. I do not read on (re-interpret) readings but I am happy to do you a karmic relationship reading. Alternatively, if you are stuck on a particular card, I am happy to answer your question here in the comments. Blessings
This reading was powerful for me, I asked about me and my mother, we are close but not emotionally more mentally, although it can be volatile and we always seem to clash, so I wanted to know more about our connection. The Greco-Roman card fell out at the beginning, she was my Father and I received the Food and Hunger card with Ten of Pents on the left and Death on the right of this card, she had Seven of Wands and Two of Cups, so these cards being related to the past life I took it to mean that I had died of hunger, with the Seven of Wands from the Legacy of Divine Deck to me is a Spiritual Card of going it alone and defending your beliefs, there must have been a soul lesson there. The Karmic Card was Writing, she is an English teacher with a Journalism degree and I struggle to keep my Journal up to date or clear my Throat Chakra especially when it comes to the relationship I have with her too much or not at all. Anger came up which I need to let go of, it helped to understand the dynamics in that life of why I may still be holding on in this life. The top 3 cards Ten of Wands, Wheel of Fortune and Five of cups! We do have similar lessons in this life together I can see that in these cards. I used the Energy Oracle deck and received Garden of the Gate Reversed which spoke about making a living from Spiritual matters which she does not believe and has affected my beliefs in myself. The Ten of Cups on my side and Six of Cups on hers. Lots of good emotions we need to develop going forward and an understanding of each other in time is the hope for me. Thank you for the Spread, I love working with the Tarot but so far struggle to come up with spreads of my own. I will need to work on Writing more often and expressing my emotions that way, it is not the first time I have been informed that writing is a big part of my future. Blessings.
Author
Thanks for sharing, Sophie, and I’m please to see you got so much out of this spread! Brightest Blessings
This is an amazing spread Lisa, thanks for sharing it. I’ve got a question that I hope makes sense; you’d talked about the reasons for “divining short” in a post last week, but when it comes to karmic relationships is it possible or easier to divine on a longer time scale? Is there more of a predestined element to karmic relationships or is free will just as important a factor? Or do both go hand in hand? Really interested to know your thoughts. 🙂
Good question! I would still divine short as not even where karma is involved is the future set in stone. Yes, you were meant to cross paths but what you actually end up doing about it is still down to free will. Also, outside influences and circumstances fluctuate whatever you and the other person decide to do… Ask yourself which way of reading is more empowering. Always strive to set the most empowering time frame as well as asking the most empowering questions.
Good answer! 😉
Thanks 🙂