Relationship mirror and boundaries spread

Positions

1. My stance

What am I bringing, protecting, or avoiding in this relationship?

2. My assumption

What story about the other person needs to be checked rather than treated as fact?

3. The exchange

What pattern of giving, receiving, speaking, or withdrawing can I actually observe?

4. My boundary

What limit or request is mine to communicate and maintain?

5. Direct conversation

What can be asked or said respectfully instead of inferred through cards?

Read each position as a question or viewing angle. A card does not erase the position, and the position does not reduce the card to one keyword. Write the link between them in a complete sentence.

When to use it

Use this spread to prepare for a conversation, review your participation in a recurring dynamic, or distinguish empathy from over-responsibility. Keep examples of observable behavior close to the cards.

Before shuffling, name who the question is about, what evidence you already have, and when you will revisit the note. That frame gives the spread a boundary and makes later reflection more honest.

When not to use it

Do not use it to surveil a partner, diagnose abuse, prove infidelity, decide whether somebody is safe, or bypass consent. If you are concerned about harm or coercion, seek appropriate human support and evidence rather than a reading.

Use it with a physical deck

1. Write only the part of the relationship you have permission and capacity to examine.
2. Lay five cards in a gentle arc, keeping your stance and boundary at the two ends.
3. Use first-person language for every note; circle any sentence that claims another person’s inner state.
4. Rewrite circled claims as questions for evidence or direct conversation.
5. Choose one boundary or request you can state without making the cards responsible for it.

Use it with Tarot Sidequest

The browser app does not currently preconfigure this spread. Use the guide with a physical deck or adapt the positions within your own notes; the link to the app starts its existing reading flow rather than silently changing its controls.

Open the private reading app when you want its current card chooser and browser-local journal. The app does not send your question or reflection to a remote interpretation service.

Close and revisit

End with one sentence that begins “I can test this by …” or “I want to notice …” Avoid converting ambiguity into certainty. On the revisit date, compare the note with what happened and add a follow-up instead of rewriting the original response.