The seven-card Horse Shoe is a convenient, basic layout that can be used to answer different types of questions, especially concerning questions where insight would be helpful. Like several other spreads, it has cards representing the past, present, and future.
The pinnacle of the Horse Shoe, looking like the top of the mountain, shows the obstacle or challenge that needs to be addressed and overcome. Card #6 suggests a course of action to meet this challenge. The final card shows the outcome or future, should this advice be followed.
Other clues are provided in Cards #3 and #5, which indicate hidden or outside influences that come into play, affecting the journey to your goal.
Obstacle  The Lady |
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Hidden Influences  The Clouds |
External Influences  The Rods |
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The Present  The Park |
Suggestion  The Birds |
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The Past  The Bouquet |
The Outcome  The Letter |
The Past Card represents past events that are affecting the question.
The Bouquet
A gift, love, friendship, celebration, high spirit, success, and upbeat emotions. The Bouquet signifies forming a positive attitude. This attitude gradually builds your confidence, leading to more and more success.
The Park
Society, connection, peace, lack of worries, multi-faceted feelings, gatherings, and parties. The Park indicates you'll have loyal friends to share good times with.
The Clouds
Doubts, secret fears, worries, and weakness. A negative period of time on the horizon. It is suggested that you use this period of down time to your advantage by contemplating your situation and meditating on possible ways to fix the issues that may have caused the problem.
The Lady
The Lady represents you if you are a woman. All cards in your spread are interpreted by their distance to this card.
If you are a man this card represents a strong woman with good intent who will have a positive influence on you: a friend, wife, significant other, girlfriend, love. Could also indicate intuition, passiveness, instinct, or patience.
The Rods
The Rod represents family quarrels, arguments, heated debate, domestic trouble, strife, cleansing by fire, consequences, and the number two and duality. This card indicates the need to make some significant changes in your domestic situation.
The Birds
Meditation, fantasy, further education, also two older people, perhaps a couple. Butterflies and nervous excitement. The Birds may indicate social fear and subsequent flight.
The Letter
Shallow, not deep. Something is new, perhaps it is information, an idea, or a message from your inner voice. The Letter indicates that you may receive news soon, but you have to open it before you'll know if it's good news or bad news.