TwoFold

Chapter 2- The Oracle

Anisa sighed wistfully. She had always wanted to have a gift for fire scrying, if only because she was nosey and wanted to have the inside scoop. That might have been exactly why Verina possessed the ability and Anisa didn't. Verina was much more cautious of the things she saw.

"Alright, Emmaline, do you prefer a specific layout?" Verina asked as Casimira took a seat in the opposite corner of the room, giving them some level of privacy.

"Dealer's choice," she replied amiably, not knowing enough about tarot to form any kind of opinion on it. She usually used pendulum dowsing if she was feeling the need to do any divination herself. Tarot is such a complex skill, one that she had little experience in firsthand.

"Well, Anisa mentioned just getting an overview, so no focused questions. If that's what you'd like, I recommend a seven-card horseshoe spread."

"Yeah, just an overview is good for now. Just some general guidance or direction, I guess, would be what I'm looking for."

"Perfect. I want you to take the deck and shuffle. Keep going until you no longer feel the need to do so. Afterward, cut the deck once, and I'll go from there."

Emmaline took the deck from Verina. The cards looked well-loved, frayed around the edges, but the artwork was still bold and unfaded. She shuffled with purpose, clearing her mind of all outside distractions, much the same as when she used her pendulum. With all magick, focus and intent always made a difference, so she focused her energy on shuffling with the same seriousness as any other magick she performed.

After cutting the deck, she looked to Verina, who laid out seven cards face down. She took a moment to flip each card, looking at the full scope of the reading, before she began her analysis.

"It looks like you're at quite a crossroads right now. How exciting! I'll go over each card and my interpretation of it. Feel free to stop me if you have any questions, okay?"

"Sounds perfect," Emmy nodded, smiling over at her friend, who looked even more excited than her.

"This first card represents your past. The Two of Swords generally represents a stalemate or uncertainty, which is most likely the case here. In the past, you've been unsure of where you were going. You've felt you were missing a piece of the puzzle. It's as if you had a ball in the air, but you didn't know where or when it would drop. Sometimes that can lead to a struggle, but I don't get that impression with the rest of your reading. Luckily, your 'go with the flow' attitude was probably the right choice because you WERE missing a critical piece of information that will help guide you soon."

Emmaline nodded as Anisa drummed the sides of her thigh in excitement. That much seemed spot-on so far.

"This next card represents your present. The Six of Swords is the perfect companion for the Two of Swords next to it. This is the moment of change. This is the forward movement you were looking for in the past but needed more time to prepare for. You're ready now. This is a card of progress. There's no guarantee that the tough times are all behind you. In fact, based on the rest of the reading, some obstacles are definitely coming your way. Still, you are finally in a place where you can start your journey to where you truly want to be."

Verina smiled at Emmaline, patting her hand in a very maternal way, and pointed to the next card in the layout.

"This card is a hidden influence. It's something you don't know about yet, but you will know about it soon. It's interesting because it's the first of two major arcana cards in your reading. In this type of spread, it's common to have one or sometimes no major arcana at all. Usually, having multiple only happens when major, life-altering events come into play. The minor arcana is more calm, day-to-day stuff, but having two major arcana is typically an indication of major change!"