Almost everyone will experience a love triangle in their lifetime. With so many wonderfully appealing spirits in the world, it’s to be expected that sometimes, romantic interests will overlap. But in our society of nuclear families and mainstream monogamy, most love triangles are unsustainable in the long-term and carry the risk of dire personal consequences, including broken hearts and tarred reputations. Fortunately, the Tarot is laden with wisdom whenever you find yourself vying for the attention a conflicted paramour (although there’s plenty of guidance when being pursued by equally matched suitors, too). Here are some cards to watch for when you’re reading on a tricky love triangle at home or with a psychic advisor, each representing a person or dynamic in your unique situation:
Knights are typically high-energy thrill-seekers that attract you with their money, love, wit, or creativity. A continent-hopping startup CEO, a serial monogamist searching high and low for her future husband, a fledgling actor with cutting charisma, or a local artist working on a national reputation are possible Knights you know—what these characters have in common is their mutual love of the questing life. The difference between Knights and Kings of the Minor Arcana is that Knights are consumed by their missions, and that makes them hard to keep in a love triangle for long. If you and a rival are competing for the affection of a Knight, expect him to wander off in pursuit of his personal goals without ever making a choice.
Pages are young, creative souls. When you’re around a page, you’ll typically feel like the doting parent of an adorable thirty- or forty-year-old child. The page likes to be fawned over, so you might find yourself sparring with someone else to play responsible adult. When this happens, ask yourself: is this a role you really want? Are you in love with the Page, or just how they make you feel like a savior and provider? Sustaining an airy soul like the Page who doesn’t feel bound by the stuffy principles of paying rent, showing up on time, and eating with a fork gets old, fast. If you’re not as patient as a pre-K teacher, drop out of the contest.
Kings and Queens are more mature than Knights and Pages. They know what they want and they’re masters in their own domains. In a Tarot reading about a love triangle, whenever two of the participants are represented by a King and Queen, they’re a natural pairing. Unfortunately for you, the dynamic will eventually be wrested in their favor. So if you find yourself odd man out in a court pairing, you might be a fun diversion, but don’t expect to hold sway for long. The gravity of their innate attraction will soon displace you.
The Two of Swords represents a person who can’t choose between oatmeal and eggs for breakfast, let alone who she wants to spend the rest of her life with. When you’re vying for her attention in a love triangle, don’t expect her to choose from her suitors without a seriously seismic kick in the pants. Get comfy or move on, because you could be waiting in limbo until the sun dies.
The Chariot card depicts a skilled jockey being pulled along by two tamed horses (or sphinxes, depending on the deck). Does that sound at all like your love triangle? When The Chariot appears, it can not-so-subtly suggest that the object of affection at the top of the triangle is savoring the attention and even using it to further their finances, career, reputation, or ego. If this sounds right, stop giving the Chariot driver any more unreciprocated freebies. Maybe you can even team up with the other “horse” to topple this hierarchy once and for all.
The Three of Cups card shows three maidens dancing in the moonlight with full chalices raised skyward. This isn’t such a bad triangle to be in—they’re all contributing and benefiting equally. Perhaps the mutual tension inspires you each to new heights of artistic or personal expression. Love triangles aren’t known for their long-term stability (outside of polyamory), but this could be a rare and magical case where the Power of Three shouldn’t be underestimated.
The Five of Wands means your love triangle is at a complete standstill. The forecast for resolving this love triangle is dire (ruined marriages, tarnished reputations, and years of resentment from the injured parties) and everyone has too much to lose to advance their interests. Remove yourself quietly from this arrangement, if you can, and the Gordian Knot will unravel naturally.
The Four of Cups represents a person that’s never happy with what they’ve got. If this card comes up in a tryst with a married person, it’s a fair warning that you’re unlikely to find permanent security and peace by their side. The situation isn’t the problem, it’s their character. Even if you were able to oust their spouse and assume the marital position, you’d be the next unwitting victim of their inherently self-absorbed, ungrateful ways.
The Tarot is rich with nuanced symbolism, and can illuminate the motives of each player in a love triangle and suggest the outcomes you risk by proceeding. It can be especially challenging to interpret the tangled web of meanings in a multiple card spread, though, because the interpretation of each card is contextual—the neighboring cards in a spread influence one another immensely, just as the various personalities in your romantic life shape one another’s behavior. Thus, the guide given here is limited in scope and cannot replace the insight of a gifted reader. If you’re struggling to interpret your love triangle Tarot reading at home, KEEN advisors are on call to straighten out the details for you.
Are you in one corner of a love triangle? Understand your situation with a Tarot reading from a KEEN advisor.
