Tarot Card Layouts

Tarot card layouts can vary based on the experience of the reader or the purpose of the reading. There are many types of tarot card spreads, from one card and three-card spreads to more complex, mandala or Celtic cross shaped spreads. You can even create your own spread, provided you follow certain guidelines. Here are a few spread ideas to get you started.

The three card spread is very simple, yet very effective in helping you focus on a certain issue and seeing it in the context of its emergence and in the perspective of its outcome. The three cards are spread out from left to right, in a straight line. The first card on the left will represent the past, or the context of your problem, the one in the center will represent the present, or the actual center of the problem and the third card will represent the future or the possible outcome.

A four card spread is another one of the very simple tarot card layouts that can offer amazing insight into the evolution of a certain issue. After the careful shuffling of the cards, these are picked from the top and placed in a straight line going from left to right. The first card will signify the past, the second card will signify the present, the third, the future and the fourth the possible outcome of the current situation if all things remain unchanged.

In some tarot card layouts versions of the five card spread, the cards will be laid out in a cross shape. The first card will be the one in the center, the second card will be the one on its left, the third, the one on the right of the first, the fourth, the one at the bottom and the fifth the one on top. The first card will symbolize the present or the focus of the question. The second card symbolizes the past, or the context of the issue in question. The third card represents the future or the possible outcome. The fourth card reveals the motivation, either for going ahead with the object of the question, or for not pursuing it. The fifth card represents the potential of the combined situation.

Tarot card layouts comprised of 9 cards can be realized in many complex shapes. The simplest way to set a 9 card spread is by creating three rows, each containing three cards. This type of spread is created for more general readings, as the top row represents the past, the center row the present and the bottom row the future.

You can create your own customized tarot card layouts, but you must make sure to determine all the elements and the way each card reports to one another. You must first create an axis past-present-future and decide what position that axis will have in your final spread. Then, you must proceed in a cause-and-effect pattern. Since everything is connected in our lives, they also must be in your tarot spread. You must also pay attention to the revealing order of each card in your spread, based on the same causality methods.