Easy Tarot Spreads for Beginners & Pros: The Ultimate Guide!

Curious about reading Tarot? Wonder how it works? Ever heard of Tarot spreads? They’re like creative card arrangements in Tarot readings, revealing unique patterns and stories.

Every tarot reader uses different ways to connect with those seeking guidance.

Imagine a shuffled Tarot deck of 78 cards ready to unveil secrets. As they mix, you focus on your question or intention. And voila! The Tarot spread appears, guiding your interpretation.

Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, these patterns fit everyone. Ready? Let’s explore some card Tarot spreads for beginners and seasoned Tarot readers that uncover it all.

Key Takeaways:

• Begin daily with a single-card practice, inviting daily insights and guidance from a higher place.
• Feel the magic of connections through three-card, five-card, or ten-card spreads, revealing the secrets of relationships.
• The Horseshoe and Astrological Tarot: These layouts go beyond the ordinary, unveiling deep truths and cosmic messages that resonate with your inner self.

Tarot Spreads for Beginners

In the early days of Tarot reading, a reliable standard, along with a Tarot journal and workbook, can build confidence. The most common ones include three-card Tarot spreads. Once you experiment with these, try a five-card tarot spread to add more detail to your readings.

Feel overwhelmed? Then start with the easiest Tarot spread: the daily one-card Tarot spread.

One Card Tarot Spread

We all live busy lives, and sometimes more cards aren’t better. KISS (keep it simple stupid) also works in the case of doing a reading for most tarot beginners. Of course, doing a multiple-card spread is better if you want to go more in-depth or search for more detail.

You can ask any questions and get immediate answers within a minute—perfect for our modern busy lives. With this one-card pull Tarot practice, you have no excuse for missing your daily tarot ritual!

Here’s How To Do a Tarot Spread With One Card:

Think of any question that can’t be answered with a yes or no on, such as:

• What should I do about….?
• How will I….?
• Where do I find….?
• How should I …?

Then, take your Tarot cards in your hands, and knock or tap the pile of cards a few times to spread your energy into the deck.

Think of your question while holding your cards; try to feel it deep inside.

When you’re ready, you can shuffle the cards. Shuffle the cards as long as you want or until you feel it’s time to stop and spread out the cards.

Choose the one card you’re drawn to. Sometimes, one or more cards will jump out of the pile during shuffling. If you feel that’s the card for you, take any of those.

Consult a guidebook and always use your intuition.

The card you picked will give you the answers and guidance you need that day and forward!

Three-Card Tarot Spread

The three-card spread is relatively simple, which makes it ideal for beginners. Not only is it a classic, but it’s also adaptable to many questions. It provides enough information for deeper insights without overwhelming a reader or a querent.

Thus, the three-card tarot spread continues to be a favorite for seasoned practitioners.

You can invent your own three-card Tarot spreads as you become more comfortable with your cards. Until then, borrow or adapt one of these tried and true three-card tarot spread patterns:

Past-Present-Future Tarot Spreads

In the past, present, and future Tarot spread, the first card pulled represents elements from the past affecting present events. This can give you some clues about themes. A Minor Arcana suit alone can guide your interpretation.

For instance, a Cup card reveals a feelings-driven question, while a Pentacles card may suggest underlying ideas about material gains or security.

The second card, in the middle of the line-up, shows the nature of the Tarot question or the querent’s current position.

Generally speaking, a Major Arcana card in this position suggests a period during which the querent must humble themselves to larger forces.

Meanwhile, a Minor Arcana card in this position indicates that the querent has more control.

Finally, the third Tarot card represents the likely outcome. Meditating on the past and the present Tarot cards can show you how the future card fits in.

If the future is undesirable, meditation can also help you make better choices for the given circumstances.

Situation-Obstacle-Advice/Outcome Tarot Spreads

This spread is especially useful to help understand a conflict or resolve the tension. The first card pulled for the situation often represents the querent’s role. Then, the obstacle card in this Tarot spread crosses the first card to show what elements are causing the conflict or tension.

The final card can be flexible. Perhaps it reveals a likely outcome, or it can offer advice for the querent: how should they act to make the most of the situation?

Mind-Body-Spirit Tarot Spreads

Mind, body, and spirit Tarot spreads can help readers understand what is needed to balance a querent’s life. For this reason, consider using it for general lessons or impressions. Depending on the querent’s needs, each card may represent the current state, approaching energies, or advice for alignment in each realm.

Five Tard Tarot Spreads

While the three-card Tarot spreads offer plenty of information, a five-card Tarot spread can help answer the question, “Why?” Try one of the two formations below to help someone get to the heart of the matter!

Five Card Tarot Spread – Cross Formation

A five-card spread can be structured as a cross, which builds on the three-card formation. In this spread, a middle row may consist of three cards showing Past, Present, and Future.

One card is placed beneath these three to reveal a core reason for the existing circumstances. Another card is drawn and placed above the three-card row to show the situation’s potential.

While it may not be the actual outcome, it shows the brightest or darkest possibility hidden within the state of affairs.

Five Card Tarot Spreads – Rectangle Formation

In Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Tarot, a well-known comprehensive guide, a five-card tarot spread is also used to explore a theme and variations. The theme card is placed in the center of the other four cards, which form a rectangle around it. It’s usually pulled last.

Some readers prefer to interpret the four surrounding cards loosely, but you can also decide what each position will represent beforehand.

For instance, the cards might represent fears, desires, conflict, another person’s perspective, a tool to use, or a lesson to be learned.

Tarot Spreads for a Focused Question

Sometimes, you may use the cards to answer one focused question. This type of reading can seem daunting because you must interpret the cards concerning something else.

Of the two options below, the Yes or No tarot spread is better for beginners, while the Celtic Cross tarot spread is a great way to extend your knowledge as an intermediate or advanced reader.

Yes or No Tarot Spreads

Have you heard of Yes or No tarot spreads? They’re excellent for beginners because they’re simple. They involve a focused question and usually one card that represents the answer “yes,” “no,” or “maybe.” They’re stripped down, so experienced tarot readers may find this approach reductive.

Tarot has the power to add layers and nuance to a life story. Sometimes, asking a Tarot question with a single answer limits that power. Despite this, it’s a great way to practice card interpretation and read the energy of a specific situation.

This tarot spread doesn’t require deep knowledge of the cards; you will only need to know ahead of time which cards represent “Yes,” “No,” or “Maybe.” 

Yes or No tarot readings can also help you learn the cards.

Celtic Cross Tarot Spread

I don’t recommend the ten-card Celtic Cross spread for novices, but it’s a favorite for isolating issues in someone’s life. While it can be used for querents seeking general information, it’s also a great way to answer a specific question. The reading begins with a “cross.

1. The first card represents the theme or the querent’s role. The second card crosses the first and is a primary obstacle they must face as they address the issue.
2. Then, a third card is placed beneath the cross to show the foundations of the issue from the deep past.
3. The fourth card, to the left of the cross, is an event in the recent past affecting the current situation.
4. Above the cross, the fifth card reveals potential. The sixth card tells you about the concern that will happen shortly.

Notice how this creates a larger cross shape similar to the five-card cross formation described above! When the larger cross is complete, a column of four additional cards is created to provide additional information about the events.

These cards answer the following questions:

• Card 7: What are the querent’s previous experiences or attitudes about the theme?
• Card 8: How is the external environment affecting the situation, including the people around the querent?
• Card 9: What are the querent’s hopes or fears?
• Card 10: What is the most probable outcome?

To learn more about this well-known spread, check out my article about the Celtic Cross tarot spread. In this article, I explain the positions and the relations between certain positions.

Be patient when working with this tarot spread, especially when you’re fairly new to reading the tarot cards.

Tarot Spreads for Love

Many adaptations of each spread can be used to address questions about love and relationships. We’ve added the three most common love spreads. If you want to try out more tarot spreads for love, check out love spreads and relationship spreads.

Three-Card Love Spread

To learn more about the state of a person’s relationship, pull three cards to represent (1) the querent, (2) the other person, and (3) the relationship. Depending on the cards that appear, this spread could reveal the two parties’ desires, fears, or other motivations.

Five-Card Love Spread

It’s also easy to modify a five-card cross formation for love.

1. The central card, or the theme, will represent the present state or the issue between the querent and the other person.
2. Place the second card to the left of the theme card to represent the querent’s perspective.
3. Then, place the third card to the right of the theme card to show the other person’s place.
4. The fourth card, placed below the central card, is the foundation of the relationship or something in the past contributing to the current issue.
5. Finally, the fifth card is placed above the first to show the likely outcome.

Ten-Card Love Spread

Are you ready to dive deep into a relationship’s history and promise? One ten-card option begins with a row of five cards.

• Card 1: The distant past influencing the present moment
• Card 2: The recent past influences
• Card 3: The current state of the relationship
• Card 4: Influences that will appear in the future
• Card 5: Influences from the external environment (money, family, health, etc.)

This first row gives a detailed picture of the partnership, while the next five cards provide larger themes. Place the sixth card above the row to represent the querent’s beliefs about the relationship.

Below the row of five cards, place a seventh card that shows favorable energy and an eighth for what’s working against the relationship.

The final two cards will be placed above the sixth card. The ninth card gives hopes or fears, and the tenth card provides the likely outcome for the couple.

Tarot Spreads for Mental Healing

Mary K. Greer is a Tarot reader who borrows themes from Jungian psychology in her practice. One of her five card cross-formation tarot spreads can be used to learn more about our psychological projections or the attributes we observe in others but not ourselves.

You can use this when you notice yourself labeling or judging others more frequently than usual.

• Card 1 (bottom of the cross): What do I see in others that I can’t see in myself?
• Card 2 (left of the center card): What is the source of this projection?
• Card 3 (center card): What part of this projection can I reclaim?
• Card 4 (right of the center card): What feelings will I experience when I release this pattern?
• Card 5 (top of cross): What could I gain, like a skill or knowledge, by reclaiming this projection?

Tarot Spreads for More Advanced Readers

I suggest trying new shapes once you have experience with various tarot spreads, such as the Horseshoe and Astrological ones. Sometimes, a brand-new visual pattern can reveal new truths or breakthroughs. They’re both well-documented in Llewelyn’s Complete Book of Tarot. 

Horseshoe Tarot Spread

This reading is great for decision-making, especially when the querent feels unsure how to proceed. Pulling for this reading, you create a V-shape with seven cards. Traditionally, the V opens downward, but you can also flip the shape if you prefer that formation.

While you can assign your meanings, here’s one way to break down the reading:

• Card 1: Past influences 
• Card 2: Present issue
• Card 3: Future developments
• Card 4: Advice for the querent
• Card 5: How people around the issue affect the querent’s decision
• Card 6: Obstacles or hidden influences
• Card 7: Optimal action for resolution

Astrological Tarot Spread

This Tarot spread adopts a circular formation of twelve cards representing each zodiac sign’s energy. This can be a good reading to encourage personal growth or to set goals. In fact, if you complete this tarot card reading at the beginning of the zodiac cycle, each card can represent a period in the upcoming year.

This spread is a fun way for astrology lovers to bring zodiac knowledge to the Tarot. If you have limited knowledge of the signs, here’s a list of questions for each card placement. 

• Card 1 (Aries): How do you define or express your identity?
• Card 2 (Taurus): What traditions or authorities guide your values and dreams?
• Card 3 (Gemini): How do you incorporate what you love into your decisions?
• Card 4 (Cancer): How do you stay focused and safe to meet your goals?
• Card 5 (Leo): How do you confront conflict?
• Card 6 (Virgo): How do you regulate your emotions and access inner wisdom?
• Card 7 (Libra): What must you do to be fair to yourself and those around you?
• Card 8 (Scorpio): What must you release to move forward?
• Card 9 (Sagittarius): What areas of your life require more balance?
• Card 10 (Capricorn): What temptations may distract you from spiritual growth? 
• Card 11 (Aquarius): What is your heart’s desire?
• Card 12 (Pisces): What aspects of your shadow (positive or negative) should be highlighted? 

WHAT SPREAD IS NEXT?

On your journey to tarot fluency, keep a journal of the tarot spreads you use and your interpretations of them. You can even invent new formations, record them, or draw them out.

Over the years I kept so many tarot journals that I decided to combine my favorite spreads, readings, tools, and templates in a 50-page printable Tarot journal (for sale in our store) so you can enjoy it too and learn Tarot in no time!

Card Tarot Spreads for New and Seasoned Tarot Readers: Conclusion

On your journey to learning Tarot or becoming a better Tarot reader, keep a journal of the Tarot spreads you use and your interpretations of them. Additionally, you can invent, record, or draw your own spreads for a more specialized and detailed reading.

Over the years, I kept so many tarot journals that I combined my favorite spreads, readings, tools, and templates in a 50-page printable Tarot journal so you can enjoy it too and learn Tarot quickly!

What’s your opinion on Tarot cards? Do you have a favorite Tarot spread? Ever bought a Tarot deck? Share your thoughts and experiences below, and let’s chat about Tarot reading!