“I agree,” Gabriel whispered.
Drew took the card and inspected it. He seemed lost in thought for a moment, and Gabriel let him sit with whatever his thoughts were.
“Ready for the next one?”
“I’m not sure if I’d say I’m ready, but let’s do it.
Gabriel flipped the second card. “This is the Hermit, reversed,” he said.
“Reversed because it’s upside down?” Drew asked.
“That’s right.” Gabriel handed the card to Drew. The artwork on it resembled a fantasy wizard in a gray robe, holding a staff and a lantern. “When the Hermit is reversed, it can represent a time of isolation that may have gone too far. It can mean that you are lonely, or refusing to face the truth about some necessary changes that need to happen in your life.”
“This is eerie.”
“Is it resonating with you?”
“Almost too much.”
“What do you think it means, so far?” Gabriel asked.
“You’re the one reading, aren’t you? Do you have an interpretation?”
“I do, but I want to hear what you think first.”
Drew looked down at the cards. The Three of Swords and the Hermit, reversed. Heartbreak and isolation.
“I think it tells me that Ididhave my heart broken. What Quentin did hurt, and I think I rightfully needed to take some time to heal from it. But I also think, like I guess the Hermit is saying, I may have gone too far in isolating myself while I’ve been trying to heal. Maybe in coming here to let myself heal, I wasn’t thinking about fixing my problems, but about avoiding them.”
Gabriel placed the card on the table next to the others. He liked Drew’s interpretation of the cards, and he didn’t think Drew was too far off. It was hard to be “wrong” with your reading of Tarot cards, because they were so largely based on your intentions and the energy you brought to the deck. Some people thought that made the cards inaccurate or fake, but Gabriel thought that it made them more powerful.
“I think that’s a good interpretation,” he said. “You’re getting the hang of Tarot. It’s pretty straightforward, isn’t it?”
“I guess it is,” Drew said. “I like it. It’s very interesting, though I’m not sure I believe in it.”
“It’s a hell of a coincidence if it’s not true, and I don’t believe in coincidences,” Gabriel said firmly.
“Don’t you?”
“No. I believe there is something more powerful out there than chance. I think there’s Fate, or that the Universe itself has power.”
“Interesting,” Drew said. Gabriel could tell Drew didn’t fully buy it, but he also wasn’t throwing out the whole idea. “Let’s see what my future holds.”
Gabriel flipped the last card and smiled to himself. Whenever he did a reading, especially one like this, he felt a thrill of inexplicable energy. It was a confirmation for him of bigger forces working in the Universe, forces that he couldn’t understand, but he could appreciate.
“Oh, Drew,” he said. “This is a good reading. This is the Fool.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“It is, trust me. You could say that the Fool is the main character of the Tarot. The Fool is going on a journey, basically. When he appears in a reading, it usually represents some form of new beginning. It basically means a blank slate. You’re starting over, and whatever is next has the potential to be better than what came before. Drawing this card encourages you to embrace the unknown, whatever it could bring.”
Drew nodded slowly. “Well, shit.” He looked at the three cards set up on the table. “So, taking these three together, what would you say this reading is saying to me?”
Gabriel frowned at the cards, thinking it over. “Because the first card was about heartbreak, I think it’s safe to say that this is a love reading.” His heartbeat quickened as he said it. “You had your heart broken recently and needed to take some real and justifiable time to heal. The Hermit Reverse tells us, though, that you may have gone too far in withdrawing to heal, and that you might now be isolating yourself from new opportunities—new opportunities that the Fool encourages you to embrace. Your journey begins at the end, with the Fool, which is the first card in the Tarot deck, appearing at the very end. You’re starting a new beginning here, Drew, and I think you should embrace it.”
His cheeks flushed as he said it. He hadn’t embellished or changed anything of what he had read. Though he had his own reasons for wanting Drew to embrace a new beginning, he hadn’t let that guide his thinking or his words. That would’ve been dishonest, and Gabriel respected the occult too much to do anything dishonest with it. His intentions were pure, and he hoped that Drew saw that.
“The Fool is about new beginnings,” Drew whispered.
