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There are many different layouts for the Tarot. Perhaps the best known and most widely used is The Celtic Cross layout. It is excellent for getting information on the next few months of your life and what may be occurring and what it is most important for you to know at that time. This is the primary layout that I use. I have found that it can be a wonderful adjunct to an Astrology reading and the two give a most thorough picture of the months to come. Further, I use additional cards to determine information on specific issues. However, it is a great reading in and of itself.
The 12 positions for a Celtic Cross reading are:
1. The Issue (aka the significator) -this is the most important card in the layout as it gives the topic to be discussed. All other cards in this layout relate specifically to this card and what it represents.
2. The Cover-this card gives additional information about the issue card, clarifying how we hold or see the issue. It also helps us to clarify what aspect of the issue card we are to focus on.
3. Cross/Bridge-this is the only horizontal card in the reading and indicates our resistance to the issue at hand. It can also be that once we accept the energy or lesson of this card it can be our bridge from the past to the future, or that which helps us to grow and move along.
4. Crowning position-this is the "best that can be achieved in this matter". If we work with the energies indicated in the reading, we can thus achieve the message or gift of this card once we have completed the phase indicated in the reading.
5. Base of the Matter-this is the energy that set up the current issue. It can be helpful to know just what brought us to this point.
6. The Past-this is the card that indicates what transpired just prior to this time that had a significant influence on the issue at hand. It is often helpful to remember this and keep it in mind so as we do not have to repeat it again.
7. The Future-this is the next step or phase as it relates to the issue. A key card in getting a feeling for what is around the corner and will help to bring in the next phase of the issue.
8. The Self-this card is one of two cards that represent the self in this reading/matter (the other being the Ego card.more on that later). This position is the inner self. That part of us that is often just below our conscious awareness, but that once we hear about what this card represents, we recognize this aspect of ourselves. It helps us to understand how we personally relate to the issue at hand.
9. The Home/Environment-this card indicates what is going on in our home and/or environment as it relates to the issue of a reading. It gives information about the impact of the issue in our environment.
10. The Hopes and/or Fears position-this is a most telling placement of this layout as it gives insight into how we are relating to the issue from a more mental perspective. I have found that what we think about something is a most important component to dealing with it, and that we have either inner hopes for or fears of the issue represented in the reading (hopes being a more positive card and fears being a more challenging card).
11. The Outcome-this card gives us an indication of where things are going with regards to this issue, especially at the end of the time period for the reading. It is helpful to get a feeling for the direction things are moving towards. It is also an indication of the next cycle and what we might expect at that time.
12. The Ego-this is the other self card. While the Self position mentioned above is our inner, more subconscious Self, the Ego card represents the part of us that we do have a fuller awareness of. We often easily relate to what this card is telling us. It is also how others see us as it relates to this issue. I find that by incorporating both of these energies, we can get a good picture of how both your inner and outer selves are relating to this issue.
Other Layouts
As I mentioned, there are many other Tarot layouts. Two others that I frequently use are:
Issue Reading. Here, we are looking at a specific issue, such as work, relationships, finances or health. An Issue Reading can address virtually any aspect of life, giving insight and information for better understanding the dynamics surrounding the issue.
Daily Spreads
A way for you to become familiar with the Tarot is to pull
five cards daily to represent the day ahead. To do this,
sit quietly at the beginning of the day with your deck. Shuffle focusing
on the coming day. Then fan our your deck, holding it in your right
hand. Then with your left hand, pull a card that represents your highest
focus for the day. Then, pull four more cards, one for how your body,
mind, spirit and emotional self will support that focus. I suggest
to people that at either the end of the day or the beginning of the
next when you do that day's readings, you write some brief comments
about what happened that day. If you want to, you can have a Tarot
book at hand and read what each of the cards means. However, you may
also use your own knowledge of symbols, as they are Universal in nature,
or your own intuition as to their meaning. Over time, you will see
patterns develop that can be very helpful in gleaning information
about yourself and what is going on at the subtler aspects of your
being. This is, in fact, one of the best ways to use the Tarot for
it is a perfect tool for bringing aspects of Self to our conscious
awareness.
NOTE: two things about the above reading. One is that if doing it daily is too much, it is alright to do it weekly. Just be sure to do it on the same day each week. Next, while I say to hold the cards, fanned out, in your right hand and choose with your left, this would be the opposite for you lefties.
