Past Life Lover Tarot Spread

Have you ever wondered about your past life lover? Was there ever one person who was the other half of you? Perhaps that person is with you today and you have maintained a soulmate or twin flame connection down the years. This past life lover tarot spread might help you pin down some elusive memories. At the very least, it will open up some more questions to explore.

When reading a past life spread, it is really important you are in the right frame of mind. It’s also important to keep a record of the reading and be prepared to revisit it over time. As you move through your life, more information will be revealed and you can add it to the original reading and refer to it to see if you have gained a deeper understanding. We advise you to not to repeat the reading more than once or twice in your lifetime. This past life lover tarot spread is a one-off.

Should you be looking for a comprehensive past life general spread, we recommend this one by Mark McElroy: Using Tarot to Access Past Lives.

Preparation for Past Life Lover Tarot Spread

Create a safe and sacred space. Make sure there won’t be any interruptions. Turn off your phone. Have you deck in front of you and feel free to create the right atmosphere with candles, music, low light and incense, if you wish. Ensure you have enough light to see the details on the cards.

Breathe deeply and think about what and why you want this information. Is there someone in your life you suspect you might have an across-lives connection with? Do you have dreams about one person often? Ask spirit/the universe to provide the information that will help you understand. When you are ready, shuffle your cards thoroughly. Make the shuffling be part of this meditative preparation. Feel your heart rate slow a little. Allow yourself to relax. Feel your mind opening to all possibilities.

The Past Lover Spread

There are nine cards in this spread, four for the past and four for the present, and one card that links the two together like a bridge through time.

The left group of four represents a past life. The right-hand group of four cards represents the present.

• Card 1. Who you were.
• Card 2. Who was your past lover?
• Card 3. Your relationship.
• Card 4. A significant and critical event.

• Card 5. The bridge: the connection between then and now.

• Card 6. What energies have followed you into the present.
• Card 7. Is your past lover with you now, and in what form?
• Card 8. What do you need to understand?
• Card 9. Do you have a future together in this life?

Look at the relationships between the cards. Try to form a narrative.

Past Life Lover: Sample Reading

There’s no way we can make this as detailed as your own reading, but it’s good to have an example. Remember, keep a record. Take photos. Journal about it. Meditate on the reading and review it as often as you can. Sometimes, a card will be confusing, but when you look back on it next year, it will make perfect sense.

Annie met David 18 months ago. She felt an instant connection and they fell deeply in love. Lately, they’ve been going through a difficult time and Annie has been having some weird dreams where she seems to be trying to control another woman. In fact, in her dreams she’s a bully and suspects she might be a man, though it’s difficult to know. In the present, David seems less invested in the relationship and Annie feels like he’s looking for a reason to end it.

Annie’s Past Life Reading

Card 1. Who Annie was then: King of Swords
Card 2. Who was her past lover then: Six of Wands
Card 3. Their relationship: The Empress
Card 4. A significant and critical event: Eight of Cups

Card 5. The bridge: the connection between then and now: Four of Cups

Card 6. What energies followed Annie into the present: Three of Cups
Card 7. Is her past lover with her now, and in what form? Strength
Card 8. What does Annie need to understand? Queen of Wands
Card 9. Do they have a future together in this life? Ten of Swords

Past Life Lover Stared Interpretation

It seems that Annie’s suspicions that she was a man are completely correct. The King of Swords suggests that she was either a professional man or perhaps of the ruling class. The King of Swords can be authoritative, so again, the cards confirm her dream

Who her lover was, is represented by the Six of Wands. So perhaps he was a victorious soldier returning from war? There’s nothing to say this wasn’t a same-sex relationship though Annie’s recurring dream seems to point to her lover being of the opposite sex. Maybe the Six of Wands represents a strong, independent woman whom the King of Swords tries to control according to the custom.

Their past relationship is shown by the Empress card, which is often the card of earthly delights, passion and even pregnancy. It’s possible there was love between these two people, but the customs and behavior of the time appear unacceptable to modern-day Annie in her dream.

The significant event is well illustrated by the Eight of Cups. It appears that a decision to part occurred, and one of the partners walked away.  It appears it was a choice made for reasons beyond the couple’s control, and that they sacrificed their love for it. There is a lot of deep emotion here. Annie would do well to think about it and meditate on it.

The bridge between the past and the present is represented by the Four of Cups. This could mean that there were opportunities to make a connection in subsequent lives, but they were ignored or simply not noticed.

The energies that Annie has carried through her previous lives are shown by the Three of Cups (notice the run of Cups cards here). It means that her hopes have been kept high, her friendships are important to her, and she has a general lightness of spirit which has kept her going.

Is her past lover with her now? This is represented by Strength. Annie needs to work out who is her rock. Who gives her strength? Who encourages and persuades her in a positive way? It might be David, but it likely isn’t. This is the key card which shows her the elusive past life connection. Reincarnation doesn’t follow defined patterns, so someone who was a lover in a past life, could be a parent, or a friend in her current life.

What does Annie need to understand? The Queen of Wands represents who Annie is today. She can take the energy of this queen and apply it to herself. She could immerse herself in the study of the Queen of Wands (and the King of Swords) to get to know the herself better.

Do they have a future together. ‘They’ being Annie and David. The Ten of Swords indicates that the relationship will end. And suddenly by the looks of it. Yet, the Ten of Swords can also mean a rebirth and renewal. They may connect with each other again… in another life. In this card, there is always a brighter future up ahead.

Summary

Annie made a link with her past through her reading. It appears that her dream about a past lover is not connected to her current one. There could well be someone in her life now who was in her life back then. Something to explore. Meanwhile, she may have to prepare herself for an imminent break-up with David.

Do let us know if you tried this spread and if it was helpful, if it opened up more questions and if you learned anything from it.

The cards used here for illustration are from The Mystical Tarot, pub. Lo Scarabeo.