🔶 Yellow Flag Communication Spread

Communication is the lifeblood of every connection, romantic, platonic, or professional. Sometimes it’s not the big blowups that shift relationships, but the subtle yellow flags, the moments of misunderstanding, silence, or assumptions that quietly build walls.

This spread is designed to help you tune into those quieter signals and see where clarity, care, and listening can bring you back into balance. Think of it as a gentle mirror: not to criticize, but to highlight where small adjustments can create deeper harmony.

Remember, if something here doesn’t land or feels out of place for you, let it go. Take only what resonates and leave the rest, if it dosent apply let it fly, this spread is here as a tool, not a rule.

Card 1: The Signal: Where communication stands now

Five of Wands + Ten of Cups

What it shows: Right now, there’s a tug-of-war between harmony and conflict. On the surface, you both want connection and family-like ease (Ten of Cups), but the Five of Wands shows friction, small clashes, and a sense of talking past each other. The tone may shift quickly sometimes warm, sometimes competitive.

Practical prompt: How would someone describe the feeling of our communication if they couldn’t hear the words? Would it feel like tension with bursts of affection?

Shadow/Lesson: Avoiding conflict doesn’t erase it. It just leaks through tone, silence, or defensiveness. What truth am I avoiding by holding back or overcompensating with “everything’s fine”?

Card 2: My Voice: How I express myself

Justice Reversed + Eight of Cups Reversed

What it shows: Your words might not always land as fair or balanced (Justice rev). At times, you may avoid walking away from emotional entanglement (8 of Cups rev), so instead of clean expression, things circle back. This can sound like either withholding clarity or speaking from a place of trying to justify rather than simply state.

Practical prompt: What am I really trying to say that I keep softening, disguising, or looping around?

Shadow/Lesson: Editing yourself too much can lead to communication that feels skewed. Ask: Am I afraid that being direct will cause rejection so I stay unclear instead?

Card 3: The Mirror: How I listen and receive others

King of Cups

What it shows: You strive to listen with emotional maturity. You want to be the calm anchor in storms. But sometimes this can lean into “containment” absorbing rather than openly engaging. Others may not always know what you feel because you process silently.

Practical prompt: When someone speaks to me, do I listen with genuine curiosity, or am I quietly preparing my own response?

Shadow/Lesson: True communication is co-creation. Being the calm one is beautiful, but don’t confuse control with presence. Let yourself be moved as well as measured.

Card 4: The Block: What creates misunderstanding

The Hierophant

What it shows: Miscommunication may come from different “rulebooks.” Each of you may assume shared values or unspoken agreements, but those assumptions create gaps. Tradition, expectation, or rigid roles can color how messages are interpreted.

Practical prompt: Where do I rely on unspoken “shoulds” in communication, rather than saying what I actually mean?

Shadow/Lesson: If you expect others to follow your unspoken code, you rob them of the chance to meet you in authenticity. Misunderstanding grows in silence.

Card 5: The Bridge: How to improve expression

Four of Swords Reversed + Two of Cups + Sun Reversed

What it shows: Healing comes from re-engagement after withdrawal (4 of Swords rev). The Two of Cups is the heart of it: approaching communication as partnership, not a test. The Sun reversed says clarity is possible, but you must be willing to reveal what’s hidden even the small shadows.

Practical prompt: What’s one vulnerable truth I can share that brings me closer to partnership instead of distance?

Shadow/Lesson: Clarity sometimes means exposing what feels messy or uncomfortable. But intimacy is forged not in hiding, but in revealing.

Card 6: The Deeper Truth: What lies beneath words

Ace of Coins Reversed

What it shows: At the root, there’s a fear of missed opportunities a sense that conversations don’t quite “land” or build the stable foundation they could. Beneath the words is a longing for security and reassurance that communication will actually lead somewhere.

Practical prompt: What deeper need (safety, belonging, reassurance) am I hoping my words will fulfill?

Shadow/Lesson: If I expect others to “just know” what I need, I deny them the chance to truly show up. Clear words create real ground.

Nine of Cups Reversed

What it shows: Addressing the communication gap won’t immediately look like easy wish-fulfillment. Instead, it will highlight where old habits of settling for “almost enough” exist. But facing that opens the door to deeper satisfaction in the long term

Practical prompt: What would shift if I stopped aiming for “good enough” conversations and leaned into clarity, even if imperfect?

Shadow/Lesson: The work isn’t about making communication feel instantly gratifying it’s about making it honest and sustainable.

Bottom of the Deck: The Tone: My underlying communication energy

Queen of Coins Reversed

What it shows: The undercurrent may feel a little insecure or ungrounded. Others may pick up on energy of over-giving without reciprocity, or of trying to “manage” rather than relax into trust. The tone can sometimes feel like nurturing with strings attached.

Practical prompt: What silent message do my pauses, sighs, or body language communicate before I even speak?

Shadow/Lesson: Energy carries louder than words. If I lead from depletion or control, others feel it no matter what I say.

🌻 Closing Thoughts:🌻

This spread highlights communication not as a red flag of collapse but as a yellow flag an invitation to pause, notice, and adjust. There’s real care, emotional maturity, and a shared longing for closeness here (King of Cups, Two of Cups, Ten of Cups). But there are also patterns of avoidance, assumption, and unspoken rules (Justice rev, Hierophant, Ace of Coins rev) that leave words wobbling rather than anchoring.

The medicine is simple but not always easy: speak your truths without editing them to death, listen with curiosity instead of assumption, and let clarity matter more than comfort in the moment. When you do, communication becomes the bridge it’s meant to be, bringing not only understanding, but the deep connection you’re seeking.

If this reading resonated and you’d like to go deeper into your personal energy, you can book a personal reading here:

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You can also reach me directly on Instagram @emc4life11 send me a message and we can discuss.

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All my love

Liz

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