Tarot spreads
Tarot spreads: how to lay out the cards
A spread is the shape of a reading: how many cards you draw and what each position asks. The right one depends on your question and how much time you have.
Every spread is a set of questions in a fixed order. When you lay a card in a position, the position tells you how to read it: as the past or the present, as the heart of the matter or the thing that crosses it. That’s why the same card can say something quite different from one reading to the next.
Lanterndeck uses three spreads. Start with three cards for most questions; use one card for a quick theme or a yes or no lean; and save the Celtic Cross for a question you want to look at from every side.
The Celtic Cross
10 cards
The deep reading: ten positions, from the heart of the matter and what crosses it to hopes and fears and where things lean. For a question that matters, when you have time to sit with it.
- The heart of it
- What crosses you
- Foundation
- Recent past
- What you aim for
- Coming into view
- You
- Surroundings
- Hopes and fears
- Where this is heading
The three-card spread
3 cards
Past, present and future, or five other ways to read three cards. Quick, clear and the best place to start.
- Past
- Present
- Future
One card
The simplest spread of all: one card, one theme to sit with. It’s how today’s card works, and how yes or no tarot gives a lean on a decision. One card can’t tell a story, but it can give you a single, clear prompt for the day.
Choosing a spread for your question
Choose by the question, not by the number of cards. A focused question (“How can I approach Monday’s conversation?”) suits three cards. A tangled one, with history, other people and mixed feelings, is what the Celtic Cross is for. If all you need is a nudge, draw one card.
Whatever you choose, write down your question before you draw, and what struck you afterwards. Patterns across readings often say more than any single spread.