I asked my friend to do a reading for me she did the Horseshoe Spread and got the below cards, she was a little sketchy about the reading and I wanted to know if anyone could, do me a new reading or take a look atm this one and just help me!! to to understand what is going on here.


After years of a violent relationship, I met this man out walking, we are just friends atm but we get on so well and I feel we could be soul mates,as we just seem to get on so well, the problem is he has a casual girlfriend he does not see much of her as she has other commitments, and I don't think he is that happy.  

I feel so drawn to him and its strange but silly events keep making us met again and again, really the daftest of things!   I did this reading asking if there was any hope that we could become more than friends and I got this spread, I'd really appreciate someone taking a look for the 1st time in 14 years I have found a man that I don't feel scared of, due to my past violent relationship its been so hard for me.

I asked if anything more would come of the friendship and I got this.

The Magician
The Sun    
The Empress
Strength
Two of Cups
The High Priestess
Judgement


I'd like to thank anyone that helps me with all my heart xx

Hi Venus.

You didn't mention the meanings of each position for the horseshoe, but as far as I'm aware, the most common meanings for each position run as follows:

1. The past.
2. The present.
3. Hidden influences.
4. Obstacles.
5. Environment.
6. Action to take.
7. Outcome.

Now, normally when beginning a reading, I will first pay attention to the Major cards, if any, that turn up, as these will usually give us the theme of the reading, but in this case there are so many Majors!

With so many Major cards afoot, it seems that this man is set to be a powerful influence in your life, something huge has brought the two of you together.

There is only one Minor card, which is the Two of Cups, so perhaps we should focus here to begin the reading as it stands out. This card falls in the position which relates to your surrounding environment, and so refers to others, and especially him. There is such great potential for love to develop between the two of you, soulmates indeed! You ask if there is the potential for anything to come of this, and there most certainly is.

For the past you have The Magician, which as a past event may show the meeting between the two of you, and The Magician suggests that there is something magical about this encounter. It's as if your meeting was arranged by some higher intelligence. The funny thing is that you met as a chance encounter while out walking, but The Magician is so very decisive and willfull, and leaves nothing to chance, so I feel that there is in fact great purpose to your meeting and that this event was not as random as it seemed.

For the present time, you have The Sun, so do not fear that your hopes for as romance between the two of you are misguided, because with The Sun, everything is made crystal clear, so do not doubt yourself. The Sun is the source of light and life, so your current speculations upon what may happens between the two of you are very right. This is such a wonderful card, and promises clarity of vision in the way that you are looking at things now.

For hidden influences, The Empress turns up, and The Empress represents women in general, and so may show his current casual girlfriend, but do not worry about this, because in light of such a good set of cards I do not feel that this can be so negative, as 'hidden influences' in this case may show that this casual girlfriend may stay in the background, but see to it that this does not mean that he is keeping women secret.

For suggested action in the midst of this situation then you have the Priestess, which is the opposite type of woman to the Empress. It is therefore perhaps suggested that you remain chaste and precautious for the time being, keep your feelings simmering away to yourself for the moment and don't reveal too much about how you feel, and don't jump into bed with him just yet, until you know more about his motives and circumstances, and what is going on with this other woman.

As he hides an Empress, see to it that you hide your Empress also for the time being.

Should this action be followed, then you have Judgement, which is a summary analysis of the situation. If you manage to hold back for the time being, keep quiet and just observe the situation unfold, then you will come to some summary conclusion about this issue, you will make informed judgement about this man, and perhaps the reason you are warned to have some reserve in your involvement may be because you could end up being hurt otherwise - it depends what it is that you are set to discover about him which will allow you to judge him fairly.

Having said this, should these precautions be heeded, then I believe that there is great potential for you to have a deeply involved relationship, and it seems that there are undoubtedly some major spiritual lessons to be learned from each other.

Hope this helps.  

Thanks so much for helping me to understand that reading!  I lost the link to the forum and had to wait until I saw my friend online so I could find you all again.   lol

Wow - all the major arcana images are absolutely awe-inspiring!

The only minor arcana card present is the 2 of cups - which is an amazing number and suit to get for this kind of question!

The Magician with the sun in front of it screams "destiny" to me which also speaks to your intuitive hunches about him being meant for your soul's destiny or journey in this lifetime.  The Sun is one card that can only mean goodness and it is positioned between the magician and the empress - how wonderful!  The magician looks more and more like your ideal man who makes things happen for you.  If a man were inquiring about romance the ideal archetype for a (heterosexual) man would be the empress.  Goddess of fertility and the earth and the good use of feminine powers - there is a sunlit connection between these two archetypes... in fact this whole reading is archetypal and mythical even in the reality-based 2 of cups - as they are watery and indicative of love...

The Sunlit Empress is stregnthened moreso by the card that follows: Strength.... wow.  Man the healing you will recieve from the light of this wonderful magician.  The 8th Major Arcana (which is subject to debate but I go with it being #8...)- Strength also carries the energy of this number 8 which lends to a cyclical nature - perhaps following patterns of subconscious cyclical behavior but always returning back to the center like a figure 8 - note the infinity symbol above the magicians head as well... with the sun and empress central in your reading it is like you are returning to your true core with the stregnth to endure what you have already left... note that there is not a single sword in this reading.  not even some distant past card.  this man is a wonderful blessing in your life and for your subconscious healing as well as emotional ability to give and receive love...

which is what the 2 of cups portray - the two people in the picture are sharing their cups - and there are 2 which supports the needs of both parties - this is a healthy give and take - unlike the take you may have previously been suffering.  This card is a blatant sign of a new love relationship coming into your life.

The high priestess' nature of being able to probe the subconscious is brought out forcefully and positively next to this watery card.  She is also an ideallized female figure who a man or (more often) a boy would look to as his dream woman.  It is almost as if the two of you will embark on a sense of healing together - emotionally sharing in ways neither of you have but both of you have always wanted to.  You, in particular will find ways to learn about your "relational self" as you are able to connect spiritually here.  With such archetypal major arcana influence over your reading this spiritual connection is so strong I can not even enforce this point enough.  I must say though, that the high priestess is a watcher and a waiter and is patient and intuitive - so you must hone these skills if you tend towards risky or irrational sudden moves.  This would be especially important if this man is a sensitive one.  With such positivity and soul connection here I feel like you will have the better sense of when the time is right to advance this and right now you will begin to tune into the more emotional aspects of yourself and of this man.

Lastly, you have Judgement.  You have broken with the past.  (This would be in your future) As the events here unfold - (with major arcana it is hard to depict timing and with the high priestess it is basically a matter of feeling it out cautiously and intuitively) - you will finally come to a place where you finally feel like you deserve to receive from the cup of unconditional love that has been sucked dry by other(s) in the past.  You will discard the old outmoded behaviors that have driven you away from your sun your center and your inner empress and you will regain the strength you may remember from the child inside of you that was able to love without fear and give freely without fearing that she would receive none in return... soon you will know that you can give love and that you will be deserving of the beautiful love you receive in return.

If this man is not the Mr. Wonderful this reading seems to suggest then he will be an INVALUABLE friend in getting you through this process...

wow - the best to you, my dear!

Thanks so much for that, I still have that feeling about him being right for me and things I hope are moving slow but sure.  thanks xx