Tarot enthusiasts, beginners who are intrigued by Tarot and are just getting started, and even advanced readers will enjoy these fun and insightful spreads, which can provide both clarity and guidance in our daily lives.
Read on to discover more.
Your top 5 essential tarot spreads
1. Daily Tarot draw with 1 card
We all like to have some information about what kind of day we are going to have. Will it be a good day? A bad day? Somewhere in between? Is there anything special you should pay attention to?
When it comes to daily Tarot card spreads, there are two good questions to focus on:
- What will my day look like?
- How shall I respond? my day today?
It all depends on whether you want to spend the day reactively or neutrally. This is a good spread for beginners because it only consists of one card – but one card can provide a wealth of knowledge! It is also very good to forewarn ourselves of what is to come – preparation can make a world of difference in our daily lives.
What must we do:
Shuffle the cards and concentrate on your question. When it feels good to stop, place the cards face down and cut the stack twice with your left hand, creating three stacks. Stack them again from the pile on the right to the pile on the left.
Draw the first card from the top and turn it over. Using a combination of intuitive reading and knowledge of the map (or whatever works best for you), analyze the map to see how your day will go.
Remark: Of course, you can shuffle whatever works for you, but for anyone who isn’t sure how to do it, you can definitely try the method described above.
For example:
Let’s say I draw The Hermit as my daily card. If I had asked, “What will my day be like?” this tells me that my day can be quite lonely, and there may be time for a lot of reflection on a topic or topics. There may also be a man who exudes hermit-like qualities that can have a significant impact on my day. I may need to give someone guidance, or vice versa.
If I had asked, “How will I respond to my day today?” the cards can advise me to be thoughtful and reflective in response to my situations. This could indicate that things may be challenging throughout the day. It can be a bit tough, and the cards may advise me to take time for my well-being.
2. Positive and negative points 3-card spread
We might want to know a little more detail about what our day (or week) will look like, so a spread of positives and negatives can be very helpful. This is a three card spread. The best question you can ask is:
What will be the positives and negatives of my day/week?
What must we do:
Shuffle the cards and cut them as normal. This time, take three cards from the top of the shuffled deck. Arrange them like this:
- Card 1: Positives
- Card 2: Negatives
- Card 3: Advice for me
For example:
Let’s say I drew the page of Wands for the positives, the King of Pentacles for the negative, and the Ace of Wands for advice.
The page of wands could mean that I have a lot of creative energy and enthusiasm on the day/week I asked about; there could be a positive message from someone regarding my creativity – or even a message from someone who is attracted to me/that I am attracted to. I may feel particularly energetic, which can lead to better health and exercise. Or someone could come into my life who is very Page of Wands-esque and somehow help make things better for me.
The King of Pentacles could negatively represent a man, perhaps an older man who is well off financially, who could have a negative impact on my life. Or it could mean that my own finances could become particularly shaky. Some instability is suggested.
The Ace of Wands advises me to be brave and fearless and not to let fears weigh me down (especially financial ones, as indicated by the King of Pentacles). Because Wands’ energy comes through in both the advice and the positives, this tells me that a specific kind of energy will be required of me and I am encouraged to go for it and not hold back.
3. Past, Present and Future 3-card spread
A reading from the past, present, and future can give us greater insight into how our current situation may be affected by the past and how it may manifest itself in the future. This spread allows you to ask any question, whether it’s related to work, relationships, health, finances or just general.
What must we do:
Shuffle the cards as normal and cut them out. Place three cards as follows:
- Card 1: Past
- Card 2: Present
- Card 3: Future
For example:
Let’s say I asked: “What will my love life be like in the future?”
In the past I got 6 cups. Currently I have 10 swords. For the future I got 10 cups.
What this reading would tell me is that I may still be holding on to a past relationship (6 of Cups) and still suffering the pain of the breakup (10 of Swords) to the point where I find myself in limbo in terms of relationships, unable to move on or move forward, possibly because of unresolved issues or because of a wound that lies deep within me. The future points to 10 of Cups, a card of happiness and joy in relationships – but I would also consider this card a warning.
As a Cup, there is nothing tangible or real about this future; It could be me who always dreams of the perfect future relationship, which I may never achieve unless I face the problems of my past and heal the wound in my present.
4. Major Arcana Major decisions 3-card spread
For this spread, you would need to remove all the Minor Arcana cards and keep only the Major Arcana. This is an interesting type of spread. Major Arcana cards can give us insight into the deeper themes that run through our lives and also let us know what is coming next that we have no control over. As with the previous spread, any question can be asked here.
This is the type of spread you can use for questions that may be larger scale in nature, as opposed to day-to-day questions. For spreads that also include Minor Arcana, a daily question would be: “What will my working day look like?”
For a Major Arcana spread like this, the following questions would be appropriate:
- What is the underlying theme of my relationship?
- What will happen to me in the next three/six months?
- What happens if I choose a new job?
- How can I overcome my fear of money?
- What is the cause of my low self-esteem?
What must we do:
Shuffle the cards as normal. Draw three cards from your deck. Place them all in front of you, next to each other, in a row
For example:
Let’s say I asked a broad question, rather than a specific question. “What will happen to me in the next three months?”
I pull the Wheel of Fortune, Death and Power.
All three of these Major Arcana cards indicate change. The Wheel of Fortune represents a change in circumstances; the Death Card is a major change that will happen no matter what I do or don’t do; The Power Card represents the inner strength that may be required of me to bring about this change.
This may seem/feel negative to some (people usually don’t like change), but it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, the Wheel of Fortune (upright) in a spread often indicates a fortunate change in circumstances. I would read this as possibly being stuck in a current situation that is making me unhappy, but from which I cannot escape.
The Death Card and Power would be the universe that would make me ‘liberated’, while the Wheel would represent my change in fortune and circumstances as a result.
5. Romantic feelings 6-card spread
This is a 6-card spread and slightly more advanced. Once you’ve mastered the others, you might want to try this one out. This is a spread of romantic feelings, so if you are interested in what your loved one or partner thinks about you, this is a good choice.
What must we do:
Shuffle the cards and arrange them as follows, so that it resembles an inverted pyramid:
- Cards 1-3 (side by side): How they feel about me
- Cards 4-5 (side by side): How they see me
- Card 6: What I have to do
For example:
Let’s say I drew the Knight of Wands, the Ace of Cups, and the 10 of Pentacles because of feelings.
Then I pull The Empress and Queen of Wands.
Then for the last card I draw the Ace of Wands.
I would consider this spread a positive! The Knight of Wands is said to represent physical/sexual attraction, the Ace of Cups, arousing emotional feelings, and (perhaps most importantly) the 10 of Pentacles, which to me says the person is interested in something long-term.
Of course, for the sake of argument, we can always turn this around and say that the 10 of Pentacles indicates that even though they are attracted to me, they themselves are already in a committed relationship, which could apply to readings based on people we don’t know. know it too well or admire it from a distance; intuitive reading would help here, but if you’re still unsure, it’s best to do an enlightening spread asking what the 10 of Pentacles means in this context.
The Empress and Queen of Wands for how they see me – very positive, an attractive and vibrant person who stands out from the crowd for them. This is an excellent combination for understanding how someone sees you.
The Ace of Wands while advice screams: “Go for it!” The Ace is all about potential, and the Wand is all about fire energy, so the best advice here would be to ask them out, get their phone number or just strike up a conversation.
Lots of tarot reading!
If you’re new to Tarot, you can always use one of our Tarot readings to get some practice, or check out our dictionary of Tarot card meanings if you want to look further into a specific card.
Related article: What is the Tarot trying to tell you in a love reading?
