This example reading describes an imaginary situation involving a negotiation between a man (the “offeror”) and a woman (the offeree”). Because the objective is to show whether the participants “have luck on their side,” either jointly or separately, I performed the spread twice, once for each party; I selected the Queen of Cups as the Significator for the woman and the King of Cups for the man. I used the Waite-Smith Centennial Pocket Edition with reversals. Because I neglected to record the cards underlying the Queen of Cups, I did not “make a story” out of either “significator stack.”

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The Queen of Cups landed in the worst-case “No” position, clearly indicating that the time is not right for her to make any binding agreements. Temperance as the quintessence card for the Queen’s “stack” advises her to wait him out in hope of getting a fairer deal.

The King of Cups appeared near the middle position of the “Declining Trend” arc of the spiral, implying that hope is fading for his chances of reaching accord. The quintessence card was the Emperor, telling him to remain steadfast and resolute but not to overreact. It looks like “Sit down and shut up” to me.

The bottom line for this scenario is that neither party to the negotiation is in a favorable position to strike a deal at this time, so the dialogue should be suspended until a more propitious opportunity presents itself. Additional information regarding the reasons for this impasse could have been obtained from the supporting cards in each stack if I had been more attentive. Although it’s not a formal part of the reading, a case could be made for the visible cards in the woman’s spiral as showing that she is feeling “squeezed” by the personal dynamic between herself and the man, while his spiral suggests a certain “fatalism.”