Name: Surprise
Italian Name: Consolante Sorpresa (lit. Consoling Surprise)
Playing Card: 6♣
Polarity when Upright: Positive
Core Meanings: the Present, Quickly, Shortly | Money | Luck, Surprise | Receiving, Getting, Picking up, Harvesting
Polarity when Reversed: Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: Not getting, Not receiving | the need for great effort to reap small results | Downfall, Ruin of a project due to miscalculation

Card Description: a young fisherman pulls up the net he has cast, only to be pleasantly surprised by a bag full of money.

Suit and Number: all sixes have to do with time, and the Club suit interpets this by showing the present. It is a quick card. From here most other meanings derive.

UPRIGHT 6♣

General: as said, it relates to the present and tends to shorten the timeframe of the spread. From here we have meanings connected with suddenness and surprise and, because we are in a positive suit, of receiving good things. There is a general sense of flourishing to this card, and of reaping more than you have sown. The Six of Clubs represents a difference between what you expect to get and what you do get, usually in the sense that you expect less than you actually get. It therefore shows results that exceed expectations.

Love and Relationships: the concept of surprise is the one that applies more often to this topic. Often the card shows unexpected turns of events, mostly of a positive nature, such as receiving unexpected messages from the ex you’ve been waiting for or from a loved one. It also shows the flourishing of a relationship, and that not much work needs to be put into it to make it work because. This in turn tends to imply that two people see eye to eye and have common interests, which makes it easy for them to bond. It shows ease around people, and being in a good environment.

Work and Money: definitely positive in this regard. It shows receiving money, income, etc. Unless strong positive cards come up, it does not represent huge amounts, but it does show relative ease in obtaining it. More broadly it is a card of flourishing, positive outcomes, unexpectedly good turns of events, etc. When follow by cards of blockage, though, it shows difficulties receiving money, or even unemployment. The Six of Clubs can signify quick money, investments that yield dividends, etc.

Other: it shows someone with a positive mindset, possibly one who knows on a subconscious level how to be in the right place at the right time in order to thrive. Spiritually it can show reaping the rewards of your actions, mostly in a positive sense. The card is strongly connected to the concept of getting, harversting, receiving, picking up, etc. In this sense it is neutral. The Surprise card is also connected to hobbies, things done “just so”, simply because you like them, things that you do not expect to make a living at (but you may be surprised).

Important Combinations:
6♣ + 9♠ = unemployment (lack of income) or not receiving something
6♣ + 2♦ = an unexpected message
10♥ + 6♣ = reaping the rewards of your effort

REVERSED 6♣R

General: much more negative. When upright, the Surprise card shows all situations where you get more than you expected to get, where the difference between your effort and your reward goes to your advantage. When reversed, it’s the opposite: a lot of work will need to be put into something.

Love and Relationships: it shows a situation where two people need to put an excessive amount of effort to keep the relationship going, a sign that they have grown apart due to lack of common interests. Together with other negative cards it therefore shows a breakup due to it. If a person is waiting for Mr. or Mrs. Right or a message from someone, they won’t arrive, or not without considerable delay or effort. Because it shows a situation of lack of common interests, this card usually represents that two people won’t be together, or if they do, it’s not due to love.

Work and Money: it stands for unsatisfactory situations where one needs to work a lot for little to no reward. If positive cards attend, though, it just shows delays and a need for effort. Remember that a core concept of the Surprise card is that it represents a difference between what you expect and what you get, and that the reversal makes you get less than you expect. Therefore the card can show unrealistic expectations, and if negative cards follow, the downfall of a project or venture due biting off more than you can chew.

Other: psychologically it represents ambition, usually baseless. It also speaks of someone who misses opportunities or is in the wrong environment or place at the wrong time.

Important Combinations:
6♦ + 10♣ + 6♣R = recklessness leading to downfall
A♥ + 6♣R = not getting along | a disappointing talk
4♥ + 6♣R + 5♠ = the end of love due to growing apart
7♥ + 6♣R = miscalculations | lack of talent for something (with positive cards, you make up for it by working hard)
9♣ + 6♣R = it can signify growing apart with your friends, or counting your chicken before they’ve hatched

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Sixes