Tarot Card Spreads
Below are some spreads I commonly use in my readings. On the blog page I write about readings I do for clients or myself that incorporate these spreads, so I posted this page as a reference.
The word ‘spread’ in tarot refers to a specific card layout of cards in which different card positions have associated meanings. For example, in one of my simplest spreads, one card is the direct ‘answer’ to the question asked and two other cards are clarifiers. In other spreads, there are positions relating to past, present, near future and distant future.
There is no limit to the number of spreads a tarot reader can employ and positions can be completely assignable. There are some well-known spreads like the Celtic Cross (which I rarely use) or the Kachina Knife (which I use often) in which tarot readers tend to employ standard card positions, but in general, spreads are highly customizable.
Table of Contents
Three-Card Pyramid
The Three-Card Pyramid is my go-to spread for simple yes/no questions. I use it more often than any other spread because, thanks to its elegance and simplicity, I find it to be very powerful and enlightening. The top card is the ‘answer’ card and the bottom two cards are general clarifiers. You can decide in advance if you want one (or both) of the clarifiers to serve as ‘advice’ cards, or you can leave it open to interpretation, like I do, and let the universe speak more broadly.
As in all spreads, the card positions are assignable, but I recommend always letting the top card represent the direct answer to your question. In my tradition of tarot reading, an ace is always a ‘yes’ to a direct yes or no question, so an ace in the answer position is quite powerful.
Kachina Knife
Some popular card readers use the Kachina Knife as their go-to spread for almost every question. I learned it from Janine Morigeau, one of my strongest influences, and even though I do not use it as often as some readers, it retains an honored place. It is also very useful when you want both a querent card and a card that reflects the present situation in the context of the question at hand.
Card Positions
1) Querent. This card represents the person or thing (company, organization, government, church, etc.) the question is about.
2) Situation. This represents the overall condition with respect to the question. It is easy to over-interpret this card. Remember that in this spread, the card’s meaning applies only to the context of the question. For example, a painful love situation does not necessarily indicate a problem with finances.
3) Past. This can be recent past or distant past. Don’t assume the cards are talking about one or the other.
4) Present. The ‘present’ can be this immediate moment or possibly even the near future.
5) Future. This can refer to a week ahead, or several years. The cards are seldom clear when it comes to time.
6) First Clarifier. This clarifies the whole spread, but it refers mostly to the cards above it and beside it.
7) Second Clarifier. This card exerts the weakest influence in the spread. It mostly aspects the cards above and beside it.
Seven-Card Pyramid
I learned this spread from Janine Morigeau, a very powerful and well-known tarot reader of indigenous Canadian descent. I came to appreciate its predictive power over years of use for many, many clients. It is one of the most useful spreads imaginable.
Card Positions
1) Past. This can be the immediate past or the more distant past.
2) Present. The present speaks of the situation in which the querent now operates.
3) Future. This position represents the near future.
4) Hidden Influence. Here is where this spread really shines. The hidden influence speaks of unseen forces that shape potential outcomes. It is truly a ‘see behind the veil’ card.
5) Main Clarifier. As in all spreads, the clarifiers allow the universe to provide more detailed commentary about the situation at hand. These are not powerful positions in terms of predicting outcomes, but they speak eloquently of people’s true motives or concealed feelings.
6) Second Clarifier. Think of this card as providing commentary on the commentary. This position is considered to be of weaker influence in the spread than the main clarifier.
7) Potential Outcome. This card position represents the long-term future. As with all predictions, this card speaks of probabilities, not guarantees. Also, remember that tarot cards are not good at predicting when events will happen. The ‘long-term’ future could be two years from now, or just two weeks.
Remember that clarifiers can be taken for this (or any) spread. I usually take two if I need them, and I place them at the base of the pyramid.
Star Spread
The Star Spread (named for the way the position of the cards resembles a five-pointed star) is useful for identifying a querent’s relationship with a specific situation. When using this spread, I generally ask ‘What is the querent’s relationship to the situation in question?’ I learned this spread from a book by master tarot teacher Ashala Yardley, available from her website.
Card Positions
1) What the querent brings to the situation. This is a very general query and can refer to mentality, disposition, attitude, physical resources or other matters.
2) What the querent is stepping toward. This can refer to the overall outcome or a transitory situation in the near future.
3) What the querent has to offer in this situation. This is what how others can benefit.
4) What the querent gains in this situation. This is the benefit or loss. Keep in mind this card position does not always speak of positive things. The querent can receive pain and heartbreak.
5) Optimal next steps. This refers to what sort of strategy or tactic should be deployed.
6) Sum of energies. This can be thought of as an outcome, but is best seen as a card that sums up what the client can expect from the situation as a whole.
Five Card Wheel
I designed this Five Card Wheel spread myself, and I find if very useful when asking questions about how the outcome of a decision or an event might affect various aspects of a querent’s life. I use five standardized card meanings that work well in most situations. You can use these, or you can assign your own meanings to the cards. It is very important that you assign these positions before the suffle.
Card Positions
1) Intellectual. How will this decision or situation affect the querent’s mental and intellectual well-being?
2) Emotional. How will the querent’s emotions be affected, or how will the querent feel about the situation?
3) Financial. Does the client gain or lose financially?
4) Social. What happens to the querent’s social life or social standing?
5) Overall Outcome. This represents the sum of all energies. Don’t be surprised if this card contrasts with some of the other cards in the spread. Some decisions lead to varied outcomes.
Alignment Spread
The Alignment Spread speaks about how well aligned a situation is with the querent’s life and goals. It is a four cards spread designed to be very simple and provide insight into how things are aligned, or not. This is very useful for querents asking about how well certain plans or aspirations might fit. These aspirations might relate to jobs, relationships, travel plans, living accommodations, courses of study or any other aspect of life.
Card Positions
1) General Alignment. How well does this situation align with the querent’s life, values, aspirations, etc?
2) The Deeper Truth. What truth must the querent hold on to in regard to the situation and her or his fit with it?
3) The Shadow or Blockage. What is standing in the way of making this happen, or making it fit?
4) Potential Outcome. What ultimately happens if this connection moves forward?
Karmic Ripple
The Karmic Ripple spread is great for understanding the potential implications of entering some kind of relationship at a karmic level. This can be a friendship, a romantic relationship, a business venture, or even a relationship with an institution. I have most often used this spread to answer questions about potential lovers, but its potential in other contexts should not be discounted.
What I love about this spread is that is acknowledges that the ‘outcome’ and the energetic consequences of that outcome are not the same and may contrast one another.
Card Positions
1) What is the other person’s intent? This refers to what the other party is hoping to get out of the relationship. Be very cautious when ‘bad’ cards like The Tower or The Devil show up here.
2) Upside exposure. What does the querent gain in this relationship?
3) Downside risk. What risk is the querent taking in this relationship?
4) Potential long-term outcome. What energy will characterize this relationship down the road?
5) Karmic Ripple. What effects will ripple out to (and back from) the universe?
Three Card Cascade
What makes the Three Card Cascade spread so useful is that the card meanings are fully assignable. It is a cascade because the answer to one question informs the answer to the next. There is no reason why this has to involve only three cards. You can use as many cards in the cascade as you like, and even have two cards in place of one if facing an either/or decision for that question.
Card Positions
1) Where is his attention now? This question asks what is going on in the mind of the potential lover relative to the querent.
2) Has he turned a corner emotionally? This card asks if the lover has let go of the querent, or if he still dwells on her. Notice how the meaning of this card necessarily depends on the card before it.
3) What role does the querent play in his inner world? When the potential suitor thinks of the querent, how does he feel? What box does he put her in. Notice how this card is strongly informed by the two before it.
Remember that these cards are all assignable. If I had a male client who was sizing up a female lover, I might as 1) will she sleep with him, 2) will she blow up his life and 3) what is her intent? Notice how in this case the initial question defaults to what is most relevant for a man. If the answer to the first question is a resounding ‘no’ (i.e. the woman won’t sleep with him) the other cards answer questions that don’t really matter. That’s why this spread is a cascade.
One Card Draw
Use a one-card draw when you want a ‘straight answer.’ The universe will respond with a single card that answers the question as succinctly as possible, no finessing the matter and no BS. This is the simplest possible spread in tarot reading and I resort to it often. I highly recommend it, but be prepared for the hard truth.
I need to stress here that there is no reason you can’t draw clarifiers. If you do, this becomes like a Three-Card Pyramid. However, there is another way to handle this, and I find myself using this technique more frequently in my readings. After you take this card, leave it on the table and ask a specific question, then shuffle the deck and draw the clarifiers. This works best if there are two or more perspectives relating to the situation. Just be sure to specify whose perspective is represented by which clarifier before you draw.
Left and Right Tarot Spread
The Left vs Right spread is a simple and straightforward way to gain insight into a situation that resembles the proverbial ‘fork in the road.’ You are staring at two options and you have to make a decision between A or B. You simply assign one path to the left and one path to the right and ask your question.
The question itself is important, as always. You can ask, “What should I do? A or B – A is left, B is right?” I like to ask “What will be the result if I do A, left, or B, right?”
Just remember, while I am fond of ‘picking the low-hanging fruit’ in tarot reading, a good in either place card does not promise the outcome you want and a bad card does not always warn you away. It is quite possible to get to very bad cards, one for each position. If this happens, consider looking for a third path, or possibly ask about possible compromises.
Two-Way Decision Tarot Spread
The Two-Way Decision spread serves the same purpose as Left vs Right. It gives you insight into what will happen depending on what road you choose. I used to use this often, but recently I more often default to the Left vs Right spread because of its simplicity. However, the Two-Way Decision spread, with its additional three cards, offers more detailed commentary.
The top card represents where you are now in relation to the decision at hand. The second level represents how you get to the respective outcomes (either the method that is most suitable or events that intervene before the outcome is clear). The bottom cards represent the potential outcome of each decision. Be prepared for contrasting and potentially counterintuitive cards to show up on the second level.
Scales of Destiny Tarot Spread
When you are facing a major choice in life and you want to ask the universe for a very detailed explanation of the pros and the cons of each, the Scales of Destiny is a useful spread. Each side represents the pros, cons and outcome of each option.
This is one of the more challenging spreads to interpret and practitioners will often see counterintuitive cards coming up for the pros and cons. When this happens, think about what each card is speaking about rather than whether the card is ‘good’ or ‘bad.’
Card Positions (repeat for each option)
1) Pros. The good aspects of this choice.
2) Cons. The disadvantages of this choice
3) Potential Outcome. Where this choice will ultimately lead you.
4) Clarifier. What the universe is trying to tell you aside from pros, cons and outcomes.
Zodiac Tarot Spread
The zodiac spread is considered by many card readers to be the ‘ultimate’ prediction spread. Many tarot readers use it as a starting point with a new client as a way to see what’s going on in that person’s life. I do this, and I also use it at pivotal moments like birthdays or New Years (traditional or lunar) to see where things are going for the querent. This is my ‘look ahead for one year’ spread.
I caution my clients that the cards in the zodiac spread represent aspects of a person’s life. Some readers like to use it to represent what to expect for different months of the year, but I believe that tarot cards are horrible when it comes to predictions relating to time.
Card Positions
1) Ares. Ego, self-image, identity and personality.
2) Tarus. Money, security, resources, and the nature of what the querent values at this time.
3) Gemini. Ideas, plans, strategies and tactics, messagers and communication.
4) Cancer. Family life, upbringing, ancestors and lineage, roots and personal origins.
5) Leo. Opportunities, creativity, self-expression, romance, fertility, fun and pleasure.
6) Virgo. Health, habits, lifestyle, service to others.
7) Libra. Contracts and formal agreements, marriage, legal matters, long-term relationships.
8) Scorpio. Transformation, sex and sexual power, death and change, inheritance, taxation.
9) Sagittarius. Travel, adventure, formal learning, philosophy, culture, religion.
10) Capricorn. Life path and greater purpose, career, success, responsibility, ambition.
11) Aquarius. Reputation and social standing, community, charity and altruism, friendship
12) Pisces. Dreams, the unconscious, limitation and blind spots, hidden motives, intuition.
13) Outcome. This is the one-card representation of where everything seems to be heading.
Watershed Moment Tarot Spread
Sometimes you take an action in life that becomes a ‘watershed moment.’ This is an action after which there is no going back, like quitting your job under hostile conditions, signing divorce papers or declaring yourself to a lover.
Think of a watershed like a roof. If a drop hits the right side, it runs down to the right. If it hits the left, it runs to the left. The peak of the roof is the ‘watershed’ that divides the water that falls onto it. This spread is designed to identify how things changed as a result of the watershed action, and fears that you or others may have regarding the implications of the watershed action.
Card Positions
1) The situation before the watershed moment. This can be a tangible situation or a state of emotion.
2) The situation after the watershed moment. This specifically refers to how the situation changed as a result of the watershed action.
3) Fear associated with leaning into decision A. What is blocking this path.
4) Fear of leaning into decision B. What is blocking the other path? Note that there can be more than two paths. If there are more potential paths, you can use more cards, but try to keep it simple.
5) What the querent or subject wants to happen? This can refer to a desired outcome, or an action the querent or subject wants to take, or wants others to take.
6) The likely outcome based on the current trajectory. What will happen if things go as they currently are? This does not refer to the trajectory caused by the watershed action. If you get a bad card here it doesn’t mean the querent or subject messed up. It refers to the result if there is no intervention by someone who matters as a result of the watershed action happened.