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Repeating Tarot Cards and How to Interpret Them - A Tarot Spread

By Tina Gong

Published April 02

One of the more curious things you may have encountered on your journey with the tarot is the phenomena of the same card appearing in your readings multiple times. It may feel like a certain card is following you around, which is why I sometimes jokingly refer to them as stalker cards. It can be unnerving how many times you see them, and how they can appear in readings that relate to the same topic, or completely unrelated readings entirely.

Most of the time, these cards represent something that needs to be addressed, something that requires your attention. In what way? You’ll have to follow your intuition to get a better picture of how this card is affecting you and how to address what it means for your life.

In this article, we’ll also give you a short little spread that may give you a little more insight into that card. That’s right, you can use the tarot to read about the tarot - meta, no?

Repeating Tarot Cards Mean You Need to Stop Asking the Same Question!

I’ve found that many times, no matter how much I shuffle, that if I ask questions that are all related to the same core situation, I will get the same card again and again. Sometimes, no matter how much I try to not ask the same question, my anxiety gets the best of me and I find myself asking the same question over and over again in a different form: “How do I resolve situation X?”, “What am I meant to learn about situation X?”, “What can happen with situation X?”.

I talk a lot about asking the right kinds of questions for the tarot, but when I get stuck in patterns of fear, it’s hard to follow my own rules. As a consequence, many times, I end up getting the same card over and over. The answer is already there, asking again won’t change what it is I need to reflect on and learn.

A Repeating Tarot Card Means You Need to Integrate It’s Message

Most of the time, a repeating card signifies a message or lesson that you have not fully absorbed. That card may be deeply significant in some way to you or the querent, a message, that when understood, can shift the situation you’re asking about dramatically. But for whatever reason, it is not being heard.

For example, I personally have been haunted by the 10 of wands card at several points in my life, especially during the times when I push myself too hard, give myself too many responsibilities without care for how I’m feeling. I have a tendency to take on so many tasks, only to burn out, and find myself completely unable to do anything other than sit at home on the couch and watch Netflix. It’s somewhat of a vicious cycle, that I still am learning how to break out of. The 10 of wands is a reminder of the lesson I need to learn: how to focus on what is important, and how to ask for help when I need to.

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A Repeating Tarot Card Spread

In case you need a little more than some careful thought about the card that’s following you around, here’s a short spread you can do to give you some insight. First, you’ll have to pull out your stalker card from the deck, and place it in the first position.

The Stalker Card: What do I need to learn? - What is the message that I am finding so hard to learn?
What blocks me from understanding this card? - What is standing in the way of my ability to receive the message of this card?
How do I progress past this? - How do I conquer this obstacle? What guidance do I need to finally hear the message?
Unconscious / Hidden Factors - What is something that is unseen that affects your perception of this message?