Different Types of Tarot Spreads

Tarot spreads are how the cards are laid out for a reading. Each card position has its own meaning. You use the position meanings to interpret the cards in relation to your question.

This lets you intuit each card’s meaning by taking its face value and the meaning of where it is placed in the spread all into account. The meaning of a reading is directly influenced by the spread you have chosen.

Card position meanings give your interpretations of the cards some context. When you look at card meanings you’ll find they can have several interpretations.

The Eight of Wands as an example – great haste, great hope. Advancing too quickly. Hasty communication. Approaching a goal. Journey by air.

Which one is correct? Taking into account your question and the tarot spread that you’ve chosen, you can look at the position meanings and they will help you with your answer.

What Type of Tarot Spreads To Use?

There are a lot of different tarot spreads to choose from and more come up every day. So how do you decide which type of spreads would work best for you?

You can start with your question.

Think about what you really want to know. What advice would help you the most.

Figuring out how to phrase your question to get the best answer may take a bit of practice, that’s ok. Often you will get your answer and realize you want more information. In that case a more complex spread could give you that information. Simply choose another spread and ask your question again.

Other times a simple answer will work just fine. A simple spread can add in just enough information to have your answer nicely rounded out without complicating the reading. You don’t always need a complicated spread.

Each spread, the simple ones and the more intricate ones, all have their uses in reading tarot. You don’t need to use the more complicated ones to get your answer, though.

Break Down Your Question

Break your question down so you understand what you really want to know. In that way you can probably get a fair idea if a more detailed spread would work better for you.

Once you have your question clear in your mind, you can consider the card placement meanings.

Each tarot spread will have a meaning for each placement of a card. How do these meanings fit in with the answer you need? This will let you know what information the cards could reveal for you.

The position meanings of the cards, can influence how your reading will turn out which is why you will find so many different spreads.

Different Types of Tarot Spreads

Three Card Tarot Spreads

Three card spreads are popular because they give you a fair bit of information while staying simple. You can probably find any variation on the position meanings to fit any of your questions.

In most of the 3 card spreads the cards are read in sequence with the position meanings as a guide to help you interpret the reading.

The three card spread is the perfect spread to start with when you’re beginning with tarot. It’s not complicated and it still gives you a detailed reading.

The tarot is much more than predicting the future, it can be used in every aspect of your life.

Don’t get hung up on finding the exact, perfect tarot spread.

Tarot spreads are one of the first aspects of tarot reading that you will be looking into to get a good grasp of tarot reading.

Try different spreads. You may find yourself gravitating toward just a few, and that’s perfectly fine. You don’t have to learn them all.

You will come across some tarot spreads that you find intriguing or that have a pattern that you just have to try.

There may be a spread you just feel a connection to. By all means, go with your intuition. Intuition is a big part of tarot, and you’re not likely to go wrong by following it.

There are no wrong tarot spreads, or must use spreads. You are looking for the spread that works best for you. That one is the right tarot spread.