Which tarot spread should I use?

Match the positions to the parts of your question. One card for a daily focus, three for a situation with a past and a direction, and a comparison layout when you are weighing two options.

What is the three card spread for?

Most commonly past, present and direction, though the same three positions are often used for situation, obstacle and advice. Decide which version you are using before you draw.

Can I make my own spread?

Yes, and it is a good exercise. Write the positions as questions, keep them to five or fewer, and make sure no two positions are asking the same thing.

Does the position change the card meaning?

It changes the emphasis rather than the meaning. The card brings its theme, and the position decides which part of that theme is being asked about.

How many cards is too many?

Once you cannot summarise the reading in a sentence, the layout has outgrown the question. That is usually somewhere past seven cards for most questions.

Should I use reversals in a spread?

Optional. They add a second register of blocked or internal versions of the same theme. Reading everything upright is a perfectly traditional choice.

Can I save a spread I have drawn?

Yes, to your own device through [my report](/my-report). Nothing is sent to us and there are no accounts.

Do spreads predict outcomes?

No. They organise your thinking about a situation. Nothing here is a forecast or a substitute for professional advice.

Spread library

28 tarot spreads, with every position explained

Pick the layout that fits the question. Each spread tells you what every slot stands for, how to read the shape as a whole, and which dream symbols and signs cover the same ground.

Draw a reading

28 spreads

Single card1EverydayOne card for today, or for a single question you can state in a sentence.Past, present, future3EverydayThe classic three card line for how a situation is moving.Situation, action, outcome3DecisionsPractical three card spread when you need to decide something this week.Five card cross5EverydayA fuller picture with what helps, what blocks and where it lands.Celtic cross10EverydayThe full ten card reading for a complex question with history behind it.Horseshoe7EverydaySeven cards arched from past to outcome, lighter than the Celtic cross.Relationship mirror6LoveSix cards showing both sides of a connection plus the space between them.Stay or go5LoveFive cards for a relationship, job or living situation you keep circling.New connection4LoveFour cards for something early that you do not want to over read.Reconciliation5LoveFive cards for a rift you would like to repair.Career path6Work and moneySix cards for direction rather than a single job decision.Money flow5Work and moneyFive cards on earning, spending and the belief underneath both.Business decision7Work and moneySeven cards for weighing two concrete options.Shadow work6Shadow workSix cards for the pattern you keep repeating.Inner child5Shadow workFive gentle cards for an old wound that still steers you.Fear and courage4Shadow workFour cards when something is stopping you and you cannot name it.Year ahead12CyclesTwelve cards, one for each month of the coming year.Seasonal wheel4CyclesFour cards for the quarter ahead, one per season of your own cycle.New moon intention5CyclesFive cards to set an intention at the dark of the moon.Full moon release5CyclesFive cards for the peak of the cycle, when what was hidden surfaces.Birthday spread7CyclesSeven cards for the personal year that starts on your birthday.Dream decoder4EverydayFour cards to read alongside a dream you cannot shake.Sign of the day3EverydayThree cards for a sign, omen or coincidence you noticed.Yes or no3DecisionsThree cards when you want a clear answer and a reason with it.Two paths6DecisionsSix cards laying both roads side by side.Mind, body, spirit3EverydayThree cards for a general check in rather than a question.Block clearing5Shadow workFive cards for a project or habit that will not move.Spiritual guidance4EverydayFour cards when you want direction rather than prediction.

Coverage

What the spread directory covers

Every layout on the site with its positions written out, the question it suits and a draw button so you can try it immediately.

Everyday spreads

One card and three card layouts for daily use, quick decisions and questions you can say in a sentence.

Browse everyday spreads

Love and relationship spreads

Layouts that separate what you want, what the other person is doing and what the situation itself is asking for.

Check compatibility too

Work, money and decision spreads

Layouts built around choices: two paths side by side, the cost of each, and what is being avoided.

See the calculators

Year and cycle spreads

Larger layouts for the turn of a year or a birthday, read alongside your personal year number.

Find your personal year

Getting started

Choosing and using a spread

1
Start from the question
Pick the spread whose positions answer what you actually asked. A layout that does not match the question produces cards you then have to argue into place.
2
Count the moving parts
Two options means a comparison layout. One situation over time means past, present and direction. More positions is not better.
3
Read the positions before you draw
Knowing what each slot is asking changes how you read the card that lands in it, and stops you reading every card as a general mood.
4
Draw in order and leave them
Lay the cards in the sequence the spread gives and resist rearranging. The order is part of what you are reading.
5
Look at the spread as a whole
Suit counts, repeated numbers and the balance of major and minor arcana usually tell you more than any single position.
6
Write one sentence of summary
If you cannot summarise the reading in a sentence, the spread was probably too large for the question you asked.

In depth

How spreads change a reading

The layout is not decoration. It decides what each card is answering, which is most of the interpretation.

Position is meaning

The same card reads differently depending on where it falls. The Three of Swords in an obstacle position describes what is hurting; in an advice position it says the honest conversation is the way through. Neither reading contradicts the other.

This is why choosing the spread first matters. Once the positions are set, the cards have a job, and interpretation becomes a matter of matching image to job rather than free association.

Small spreads outperform large ones

A ten card layout looks impressive and is usually harder to read honestly, because there is enough material in it to support almost any conclusion. Three well chosen positions leave nowhere to hide.

Use the large layouts when the question genuinely has that many parts, typically a year ahead or a long standing situation with several people in it. Otherwise keep it short.

Reading the pattern, not just the cards

Count the suits before you interpret anything. A spread heavy in cups is emotional whatever the individual cards say; a spread heavy in pentacles is practical and slow. Several major arcana means the situation is larger than your daily choices.

Repeated numbers matter too. Three fives in a layout is a reading in itself, and the numerology behind them lines up with the numerology library if you want to follow that thread.

Where to go from a spread

Each spread page here lists the positions, the question it suits and a way to draw it straight away, plus the dream symbols and everyday signs that carry the same theme.

If you want to practise the layouts rather than read for a live question, the tarot games cover the same ground with scoring, and the card library holds the upright and reversed meaning for all seventy eight cards.

Questions

Questions people ask about tarot spreads

Choosing a layout, reading positions and knowing when to stop.

Keep reading

Tarot readingPull a spread in your browser with every position written out.Tarot card meaningsAll 78 cards upright and reversed.TarotReadings, spreads, card meanings and practice games.Tarot insightsSuits, numbers and the major arcana sequence explained.Spiritual meaningsSymbols, signs and objects with their traditional readings.Search the libraryOne search box across every entry on the site.