So I’ve been reading tarot for about a year now, and someone asked me to do a reading about their partner possibly cheating.
I drew the Moon, Seven of Swords and Two of Cups reversed. That’s basically screaming infidelity, right? What cards suggest infidelity and cheating in a relationship reading?
Is it even okay to read about this stuff? I felt weird about it. I’m not sure if I should be looking into someone else’s business without them knowing.
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When my ex cheated, I pulled those exact same cards in a self-reading. The deck was basically spelling it out for me.
The Moon especially kept appearing in every spread I did during that time. I also kept getting Three of Swords reversed and Five of Cups - they seem to pop up a lot in cheating situations.
About the ethics thing - I think it’s fine if you’re reading for the person asking. Just don’t go snooping on the potential cheater without their permission.
Just did a reading on relationship trust issues today. The cards you pulled (Moon, Seven of Swords, Two of Cups reversed) are pretty telling; they’re pointing to deception, hidden stuff, and emotional disconnect.
The Moon’s about illusions, Seven of Swords is sneaking around or lying, and that reversed Two of Cups shows partners who aren’t connecting emotionally anymore. When I’m reading about possible cheating, these cards pop up a lot.
Three of Cups reversed (someone else involved), Five of Swords (betrayal), High Priestess reversed (keeping secrets), Nine of Swords (guilt keeping them up at night),
The Fool reversed (bad decisions), Ten of Swords (trust is gone), but these same cards could mean other stuff too, maybe they’re hiding money problems, drinking too much, or just pulling away emotionally.
You really need the whole context. About the ethics part, I see tarot as shining a light on what’s already there, not snooping. Ask yourself why you’re doing the reading. If you’re trying to help someone deal with something tough, that’s different from just wanting juicy details. When you do these sensitive readings, look at the whole spread, not just individual cards.
Trust your gut, but don’t jump to conclusions. And if you have to deliver bad news, be kind about it. These are real people dealing with real pain. The cards show what needs to be shown when the time is right.
The Moon (or any single card by itself, for that matter) doesn’t automatically mean betrayal. Sometimes it just means things are unclear.
What I do is calculate a quint from the spread. Justice or the Devil, as the quint usually points to deeper problems worth discussing. Certain card combos stand out, too: 4 of Pentacles + 2 of Wands often shows someone keeping backup plans, while 6 of Swords + Hermit can mean they’ve already mentally left.
If it feels uncomfortable doing this kind of reading, you could ask a different question, like ‘What truth needs to surface?’ The Sun card can help point toward transparency.
Context and combos matter way more than individual cards. For spotting deception in relationships, I notice patterns like Seven of Swords + The Moon, or The Devil with reversed love cards.
Five of Swords comes up a lot, too. Three of Swords is heartbreak, sure, but paired with the reversed Knight of Wands or Queen of Swords? That’s when someone’s probably lying about their romantic life. Mary K. Greer covers this in her reversals book, how reversed cards in relationship spreads expose secrets.
The cards tell a story when you read them together. Get deception cards, then walking-away cards like Eight of Cups? Pretty obvious what’s happening there. Reversed Court Cards are big red flags, too.
Reversed Knights and Pages usually mean someone’s being immature or dishonest about love stuff.
Three of Cups reversed definitely points to infidelity issues.
Context matters, though. Sometimes it’s just about needing boundaries with friends, not actual cheating. But pair it with Seven of Swords or The Moon? Yes, that’s usually a sign that someone’s being unfaithful.
If you’re getting the Wheel, that betrayal might be karma coming back around. It could be old relationship patterns repeating.
With the Hanged Man there too, that card’s all about hanging upside down until you see things differently. Perhaps the truth requires that kind of unusual perspective.
Important point! The Seven of Swords doesn’t always mean someone’s being unfaithful - I’ve had readings where this trickster showed up because someone was hiding a surprise birthday party or secretly saving for an engagement ring.
Plus cards like The Moon is the queen of confusion and unclear vibes. Sometimes she’s just saying ‘you can’t see the full picture yet’ rather than ‘your partner’s definitely cheating.’
Not quite as simple as there being a single card that always means cheating.
I agree that Three of Cups reversed gets misread as cheating too quickly without considering those other factors you mentioned. The card’s really about disrupted group dynamics, so it could be in-laws causing problems or jealousy over friendships instead. Reading it in combination with other cards rather than isolation prevents jumping to worst-case scenarios.
The Seven of Swords is basically the cheating card, comes up almost every time in my experience.
Two of Pentacles often means someone is juggling multiple people but they might not always consider it cheating if they don’t think they’re exclusive so it can just be a sign to have the conversation.
The Devil major arcana usually points to secrets and unhealthy stuff going on. For commitment issues, the reversed Knight of Wands shows hot/cold behavior and reversed Six of Pentacles means someone’s holding back emotionally.
Your gut was right about those cards. Though yeah, reading on someone without them knowing can feel off.
Some of the Cartomancy cards are a sign as well.
The 2 or 3 of clubs (wands in tarot) shows someone shopping around.
7 of spades is straight up the deception card, same as 7 of swords.
Queen of clubs (Queen of wands) often shows up as the other person in relationship spreads.
3 of hearts (3 of cups) suggests they’re out having fun without you but that doesn’t always mean cheating of course.
9 of diamonds (9 of pentacles) is someone who likes being unattached, and Jack of hearts (page of cups) is what we call the young lover card.
Just remember that the Tarot is… complicated. Full of nuance and that’s where the real guidance from the cards comes from to begin with.
Plenty of cards could point to cheating depending on your question. If you specifically ask and pull the Jack of Diamonds (page of Pentacles), there’s an attraction forming. Jack of clubs (page of wands) means they’re already pursuing it. Queen of clubs suggests an ongoing thing.
The loyal cards would be stuff like the hermit, 4 of spades (4 of swords), or 7 of clubs (7 of wands). Those mean you’re good.
3 of cups + 3 of swords = third party situation every time. That would be the sign of cheating for me. It might just be emotional cheating, but a third party getting involved in some way, shape or form.
Different decks show it in their own way. RWS has the three figures partying in 3 of cups, and Shadowscapes shows those sneaky-looking dancing fae. Put that next to the pierced heart, and you get the picture; there’s a crowd where there should just be two people.
The Wild Unknown deck is brutal with this combo. That broken heart image paired with cups hidden in branches says it all, really.
I really appreciate this perspective on reframing uncomfortable questions. There’s wisdom in shifting from ‘Is my partner cheating?’ to something like ‘What do I need to see clearly in this situation?’
This approach respects everyone’s free will while still providing meaningful guidance. It also puts the focus back on what the querent can actually do with the information - whether that’s having an honest conversation, examining their own intuition, or recognizing patterns they’ve been avoiding. That said, sometimes people need direct answers to direct questions, and there’s value in honoring that too. The key seems to be matching your reading style to both the situation and your own comfort level. If a particular question crosses your ethical boundaries or makes you feel like you can’t read clearly, reframing it isn’t avoiding the issue - it’s being responsible about what you can authentically provide.