How to Lay Out a Tarot Card Spread
Whether used for divination or entertainment, tarot can provide personal insights for yourself and others. Just as you must learn the meanings of the major and minor arcana in order to read tarot correctly, it is important to learn a basic spread to give the positions of each card significance. There are many spreads you might choose, but two of the most common are the Three-Card Spread and the Celtic Cross.
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Instructions
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Three-Card Spread
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Ask a question or state a desire for clarity on a given subject. Shuffle your deck and then cut it into two or three piles, letting your intuition guide you. Reassemble the stacks into a single deck. If you wish to protect your cards from becoming soiled, cover your work surface with a square piece of fabric.
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Lay out the top three cards from your deck in a horizontal row in front of you. You can choose to lay all three face up or down; if you lay them face down, turn them right side up from left to right as you interpret each card's meaning.
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Read the meaning of the cards, within the frame of the question asked and the cards' positions. Most three-card spreads are read from left to right as past, present and future. The first card would be the indicator for something in your past that directly relates to your question. The second card would represent your present. The third card would reveal the outcome or the next step along your path, coming up in the near future.
The Celtic Cross
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Begin in the same manner as in the Three-Card Spread: after asking a question, shuffle and cut the cards, and then reassemble the deck.
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Lay out the first card from the top of the deck in a central position in front of you. This card shows your, the questioner, or the situation in which you find yourself. Place a second card across the first in a perpendicular fashion. This card usually signifies an obstacle or challenge that you must overcome to reach your goal.
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Imagine the first two cards as the center of a compass. Place the next four cards in a clockwise fashion, starting from the position above the first two cards. On a compass, this would mean starting in the north and moving to the east, south and west. The third card signifies the foundation of the issue at hand, and the fourth card is the past influence affecting the present situation. The fifth card can be interpreted as your current state of mind or your focus, while the sixth represents the very near future or an aspect coming into play within your life.
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Place four cards to the right of the cross' first six cards in a vertical column, starting from the bottom and moving upward. The seventh card you lay out is how the current situation influences you or how you perceive it. The eighth card represents the influence or perception of others regarding your question. The ninth card, depending on your own interpretation, can represent your hopes or your fears. The final card in the spread is a potential outcome or resolution should you continue following your current path.
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Tips & Warnings
Once you are comfortable with these two spreads, look for more layouts or create your own. Select a deck based on your affinity for its artwork and interpretations.
Avoid letting a negative spread affect your mood; the information you receive can be useful in helping you make different choices to prevent an undesirable outcome.
References
Resources
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