That's something that happens to some people -- always in a context where strong emotions are involved. I know two people who can't get accurate readings about employment; both of them have strong emotional patterns that get stomped on by questions dealing with getting or keeping a job. In both cases, too, it's the same pattern you had: seemingly favorable readings that never pan out. Since geomancy has had to be reconstructed form texts -- the living tradition in the Western world was broken off at the end of the Renaissance -- I don't know why this happens, but it's clearly an issue to watch out for.