This is a big spread – both in terms of numbers of cards and its subject-matter, which is a pretty comprehensive life path spread. The layout is given together with the positions, which are fairly self-explanatory.

1 – Who am I?

2 – Soul purpose, soul contract

3 – What energies do I need?

4 – What is my highest dream?

5 – What stops me getting it?

6 – How do I see myself in the future?

7 – What’s my greatest gift?

8 – Strengths, hidden resources

9 – What I need to release

10 – Ancestral or past life issues

11 – Blind spots

12 – Male-female energy

13 – Money, the material world

14 – Anything I need to do now

15 – Long term love/partnership issues

16 – What’s still missing?

17 – Benevolent energies

18 – Fate, apparent problems (may be your greatest gifts)

19 – New paradigm choices

20 – The unexpected

21 – A last core issue to be processed

22 – What I will pass on to the world

Tarot Spreads – the Spiral Life Spread is a post from: Tarot Card Meanings - How They Can Help You Today

Tarot Spreads – the Spiral Life Spread is a post from: Tarot Card Meanings - How They Can Help You Today

Learner readers set great store by different spreads, but in fact the more you read, the more you’ll find that one or two spreads will do. You can also create your own spreads – as long as you identify the positions clearly (and remember them), the cards will fit those positions. As with so much of the tarot, it is all about conscious intention.

As a professional reader, I mainly use two spreads – the Celtic spread (both full and truncated), and a three card spread, the positions of which are identified beforehand (usually covering relationship, career, family or health). I’ll then add to those three cards by drawing a card for ‘anything you need to do here’; and a third layer to look at ‘what will help you’.

I use the Celtic spread for invaluable background information on the main issue or issues the client brings to the reading. I use the short version for 1/2 hour readings, and the full version for hour readings, followed by the 3-card spread shown above so the client can have a look at current questions in more detail. (The full version of the Celtic spread was shown in an earlier blog – below). Herewith the truncated version:

There are of course thousands of other spreads. I’ll be giving a few different ideas in later posts, but meanwhile a good one for relationship issues is shown below (adapted from one at www.aeclectic.net/tarot/spreads/relationships.shtml). I’ve added two cards at the end as a suggestion for possible actions, as in my view there’s not much point in knowing that your relationship is in trouble (well, hey, you probably know that already if you’re asking the question); you need to know what, if anything, you can do about it.

This spread will work best if the two people involved are drawing cards together. However, that’s the ideal. Person A can draw all cards, trying to avoid too much projection or wish fulfilment; or the reader could draw B’s cards.

Tarot Spreads is a post from: Tarot Card Meanings - How They Can Help You Today

Tarot Spreads is a post from: Tarot Card Meanings - How They Can Help You Today

Readings are laid out in Tarot Spreads, which you can use to help focus your own intuiton. Positions such as ‘yourself at present’, past influences’, ‘hopes and fears’ all help to focus your own judgement. As you grow more confident, you can invent your own intuitive spreads, examples of which will be posted over the coming weeks.

As you work with the cards you will find you favour certain spreads. Don’t worry if you don’t wish to try formulating your own intuitive spreads, but prefer to work with tried and tested layouts. I often begin with the Celtic spread to give a general overview of the issues at hand, and follow up with an intuitive spread to focus in on a specific situation where required.

The Celtic Cross is an old and trusted spread which gives a good background to a second spread.

Card 1 – the central issue (what’s uppermost in the client’s mind at present.)

Card 2 – Crossing card (what’s blocking or unhelpful in relation to the central issue)

Card 3 – What lies below is the foundation, or background of the central issue. Can lie quite far in the past, or be quite recent.

Card 4 – What lies behind – the influences now receding into the past

Card 5 – What lies above – possibilities. This may not happen, depending on the client’s actions.

Card 6 – What lies before: influences coming into the client’s life now.

Card 7 – The client him or herself – the main qualities at the moment

Card 8 – The environment, world around the client

Card 9 – Hopes and fears, desires

Card 10 – Outcome

This spread can be followed by the Three by Three spread – which I use to offer the client a choice between specific questions, or different aspects of his or her life. I’ll post the Three by Three in my next post on Tarot Spreads.

Tarot Spreads – The Celtic Cross is a post from: Tarot Card Meanings - How They Can Help You Today

Tarot Spreads – The Celtic Cross is a post from: Tarot Card Meanings - How They Can Help You Today

With the Three by Three Spread, people often will place three cards down and read them as Past, Present, Future.

Alternatively you can – as I have done in the following illustration – use these three cards to identify what is going on in specific areas of the client’s life – sometimes it will be along the lines of relationship, work, family, travel, health.

The second row will be ‘Anything you need to do right now about your relationship, or your work’ etc.

The third row can be ‘Helpful influences’, or ‘what you should not do now’, or anything relevant to the client – use your discretion but make the intention clear before you draw the cards.

Extra rows can of course be added in if you think of other aspects of the question… In the diagram (above) I’ve given two alternative rows 7,8,9, but nothing is fixed in this spread, just go for it.

Tarot Spreads: Three by Three is a post from: Tarot Card Meanings - How They Can Help You Today

Tarot Spreads: Three by Three is a post from: Tarot Card Meanings - How They Can Help You Today

I have been going through my old tarot emails and came across this one from a while back:

‘Yesterday I had a client who works out in the Middle East, arranging tours. At the end of his reading he despairingly asked me why, as humans, we behave the way we do.

I decided it was too big for me to answer and drew a card … The Devil.

So then I asked what could be done about it – and got Justice.

Sometimes they totally amaze me.’

I’d be interested in your own examples of this sort of thing!

Amazing Tarot: a Two Card Spread is a post from: Tarot Card Meanings - How They Can Help You Today

Amazing Tarot: a Two Card Spread is a post from: Tarot Card Meanings - How They Can Help You Today