Tarot enthusiasts, beginners intrigued by Tarot who are just starting out, and even advanced readers will enjoy these fun and insightful spreads, which can offer both clarity and guidance in our daily lives.
Read on to discover more.
Your Top 5 Essential Tarot Spreads
1. Daily Tarot 1-Card Draw
We’d all like a little guidance as to what sort of day we’re going to have. Will it be a good day? A bad day? Somewhere in between? Anything in particular you should look out for?
When it comes to daily Tarot card spreads, there are two good questions to concentrate on:
- What will my day be like?
- How shall I respond to my day today?
It depends entirely on whether you wish to go through your day with a reactive or neutral approach. This is a good spread for beginners as it only consists of one card – but one card can provide a wealth of knowledge! It’s also very good for pre-warning us of what’s to come – preparation can make a world of difference in our daily lives.
What to do:
Shuffle the cards and focus on your question. When it feels right to stop, place the cards face-first down and cut the deck twice with your left hand so it makes three piles. Re-stack them from the pile on the right through to the pile on the left.
Pull the first card from the top and turn it over. Using a combination of intuitive reading and knowledge of the card (or whatever works best for you), analyze the card to see how your day will go.
Note: Of course, you can shuffle however works for you, but for anyone unsure of how to do so, you can certainly try the method as written above.
For example:
Let’s say I pull The Hermit as my daily card. If I had asked, “What will my day be like?” this tells me my day may be quite solitary, and there may be time for lots of reflection on a subject or subjects. There may also be a man who expresses Hermit-like qualities who may have a significant impact on my day. I may be required to give someone guidance or vice versa.
If I had asked, “How shall I respond to my day today?” the cards may be advising me to be thoughtful and reflective in response to my situations. This could point towards things possibly being challenging throughout the day. Things may be a little heavy, and the cards may be advising me to take time out for my well-being.
2. Positives & Negatives 3-Card Spread
We might like to find out a bit more detail in regard to how our day (or week) may pan out, so a positives and negatives spread can be very helpful. This is a three-card spread. The best question to ask is:
What will the positives and negatives of my day/week be?
What to do:
Shuffle cards and cut as normal. This time, take three cards from the top of the shuffled deck. Lay them out as follows:
- Card 1: Positives
- Card 2: Negatives
- Card 3: Advice for Me
For example:
Let’s say I pulled the Page of Wands for the positives, the King of Pentacles in the negative, and the Ace of Wands as advice.
The Page of Wands could mean I may have plenty of creative energy and enthusiasm in the day/week I have asked about; there may be a positive message from someone in regard to my creativity – or even a message from someone who is attracted to me/that I am attracted to. I may feel particularly energetic, which could lead to better health and exercise. Or someone could be coming into my life who is very Page of Wands-ish and help improve things for me somehow.
The King of Pentacles, in the negative, could represent a man, perhaps an older one who is financially well-off, who may have a negative impact on my life. Or it could mean that my own finances could become particularly rocky. Some instability is suggested.
The Ace of Wands, as advice, tells me that I should be bold and fearless and not allow anxieties to weigh me down (particularly financial ones, as indicated by the King of Pentacles). Because Wands energy has shown up both in the advice and positives, this tells me a specific type of energy will be required of me and I am encouraged to go for it and not hold back.
3. Past, Present, & Future 3-Card Spread
A Past, Present, and Future reading can give us greater insight into how our current situation may be affected by the past and how it may manifest in the future. You can ask any question with this spread, whether it be related to work, relationships, health, finances, or just general.
What to do:
Shuffle the cards as normal and cut. Lay out 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?”
For the Past, I got 6 of Cups. For the Present, I got 10 of Swords. For the Future, I got 10 of Cups.
What this reading would tell me is that I may still be clinging to a relationship from the past (6 of Cups) and still suffering the pain of break-up (10 of Swords) to the point where I find myself stuck 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 indicates 10 of Cups, which is a card of happiness and joy in relationships – however, I would also take this card as a warning.
As a Cup, there is nothing tangible or real about this future; it could be me always dreaming of the perfect future relationship, which I may never attain, not unless I face the issues of my past and heal the wound in my present.
4. Major Arcana Big Decisions 3-Card Spread
For this spread, you would have 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 running through our lives and also let us know what is to come, which is out of our control. As with the previous spread, any question can be asked here.
This is the type of spread that you can use for questions that may be on a grander scale, as opposed to day-to-day questions. For example, with spreads including Minor Arcana as well, a day-to-day question would be, “How will my day at work be?”
For a Major Arcana spread such as this one, the following questions would be appropriate:
- What is the underlying theme of my relationship?
- What will happen to me within the next three/six months?
- What will happen if I choose to go for a new job?
- How can I conquer my money anxieties?
- What is the root cause of my low self-esteem?
What to do:
Shuffle the cards as normal. Pull three cards from your deck. Lay them all out in front of you, side by side, in a line
For example:
Let’s say I asked a broad question as opposed to a specific one. “What will happen to me in the next three months?”
I pull the Wheel of Fortune, Death, and Strength.
All three of these Major Arcana cards point to change. The Wheel of Fortune represents a change in circumstances; the Death card is a sweeping change that will happen no matter what I do or don’t do; the Strength card represents the inner strength that may be required of me to see this change through.
This may look/feel negative to some (people usually don’t like change), but it doesn’t have to be at all. In fact, the Wheel of Fortune (upright) in a spread often points towards a fortunate change in circumstances. I would read this as possibly being stuck in a current situation that makes me unhappy but which I cannot seem to break free from.
The Death card and Strength would be the universe setting me ‘free’ while the Wheel would represent my change in fortune and circumstances as a result of that.
5. Romantic Feelings 6-Card Spread
This is a 6-card spread and a little more advanced. Once you have mastered the others, you may wish to try this one out. This is a romantic feelings spread, so if you are interested in how your crush or partner feels about you, this is a good one to do.
What to do:
Shuffle the cards and lay them out as follows so it looks like an upside-down pyramid:
- Cards 1-3 (side by side): What they feel for me
- Cards 4-5 (side by side): How they see me
- Card 6: What I should do
For example:
Let’s say I pulled the Knight of Wands, the Ace of Cups, and the 10 of Pentacles for feelings.
Then, I pull The Empress and Queen of Wands.
Then, for the final card, I pull the Ace of Wands.
I would take this spread as a positive one! The Knight of Wands would represent a physical/sexual attraction, the Ace of Cups, the stirring of emotional feelings, and (perhaps most importantly) the 10 of Pentacles, which says to me that the person is interested in something long-term.
Of course, for argument’s sake, we could always flip this on the head and say the 10 of Pentacles represents that they themselves – while attracted to me – are already in a committed relationship, which could apply to readings based on people we don’t know too well or admire from afar; intuitive reading would help here, but if you are still uncertain, it is best to do a clarification 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 individual who stands out in the crowd for them. This is an excellent combination to get in terms of how someone sees you.
The Ace of Wands as advice screams, “Go for it!” The Ace is all about potential, and the Wand is fire energy, so asking them out, or for their phone number or just striking up a conversation would be the best advice here.
Happy 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’d like to look further into a specific card.
Related article: What is the Tarot Trying to Tell You in a Love Reading?