Never Overlook the Obvious

A couple of recent readings reminded me of an incident that happened a few years ago, when I was a relatively inexperienced reader. A woman phoned me, very distressed that she had been dismissed from her job, over an incident where she claimed someone had framed her for something she said she hadn't done - theft from the company she worked for. The Eight of Swords came up in the "near future" position.Very reluctantly, I suggested to her that although I thought the ultimate outcome would be a good one, that in the short term she should prepare herself to be arrested, because I couldn't get it out of my head that this card is called "the Prison Card" and something was telling me to take it literally. I hated saying it, because if I was wrong, I would have alarmed her for nothing.

The next day she rang me back to thank me. "If it wasn't for your warning, I think I would have died of fright," she told me. "About 10 minutes after I talked to you, there was a knock at the door, and the Police were there to take me down to the Police station and charge me." She was really grateful that she had been mentally prepared for it.

The story had a happy ending. She was acquitted of the charge, the real culprit was found, and she got her job back. But it was a good reminder that although the cards have lots of esoteric meanings, we should never overlook the obvious!