Making the Most Out of Your Tarot Spreads
**This article is especially for those who are still learning to read Tarot for themselves and for those why maybe still use guidebooks to help add meaning.**
When you begin using Tarot spreads for yourself, it can be difficult to steer away from traditional meanings and to understand how the card works within the spread. I’m mostly throwing this together because I sometimes see posts on insta where people see one card in a certain part of the spread and freak out when it’s actually a positive card in that position. This was also something I struggled with when I first began reading Tarot like 9 years ago and trying to make sense of the Celtic Cross Spread.
For those who are curious, I do still occasionally use tarot spreads, but I’m drawn to pulling cards and letting the cards dictate how I move through the reading. If you get a reading from me, chances are we’ll jump around and use a variety of divination methods, but we won’t use a spread. I’m more a question answer kinda person.
Mars Retrograde Spread
Where is my warrior energy most needed?
What goal should I relentlessly pursue?
What can help me cool my excess heat?
What area of my life most needs balance?
What are some ways you can make the most of a tarot spread?
I went ahead and put my Mars Retrograde spread up so that we can use it as an example.
First, try to forget the basic meanings of the cards initially. You’ll want to go more with the vibe of the card, the imagery, the personal connotations, etc. If you do refer to the guidebook, keep the question in mind first and foremost. I’m going to give some examples here to clarify what I mean.
Let’s say you’re looking at question two. “What goal should I relentlessly pursue?” and you pull the Devil card. Maybe you’re like, “ummmm what?” traditional meanings point to this card speaking about “addictions” or “being bound” or “restriction” or “sexuality” and you’re like “????????” This is why I’m saying it’s good to step back away from The Devil card.
Let’s analyze this card differently. Sometimes this card comes up in relation to things that you deem “bad” for you, but might not be. So this card could be telling you to pursue that passion that takes time away from your 9-5 job. This card does pop up in reference to Lucifer as well. So maybe, if you’ve considered working with Lucifer, this card pops up as a suggestion that “yes, you totally should work with golden Zaddy, Lucifer.” Or maybe this card is telling you to pursue the things that help ground you and give you a sense of pleasure. Maybe you’ve been working too hard, and this Mars retrograde, your goal should be to reconnect to self and the senses.
But we totally wouldn’t get all of these ideas if we didn’t step back from the initial meaning of the card.
Feel free to work with the questions and to veer away as needed. For example, yes or no spreads are incredibly difficult to answer with tarot when you’re first starting out. There’s so much room for variable, so I would suggest flipping the question if you have a spread that interests you but has a yes/no question. There are some ways, the further you go along in your studies, where you can gauge if a card is a “yes” or a “no” but I’d say re-word when you first start out, or use a pendulum alongside our tarot cards for a yes/no question.
3. Try to avoid pulling too many clarifying cards. I see this often, where the first card doesn’t make sense so someone pulls a clarifying card, only they do this for half the questions and that creates even more confusion. The more you work with cards the more you’ll understand how they create meanings together, but early on, it’s better to write your initial thoughts, meditate on the card, and see what insight comes within a few days versus pulling too many clarifying cards.
4. Feel free to pull specific parts of the deck. For example, with my fourth question “What are of my life most needs balance?” You can decide to answer this using only Major Arcana cards to get a broader idea. Or perhaps you decide to use oracle cards for this in addition to tarot cards. Like I have a Goddess Oracle deck I use often that could totally work with this question. If I pull Hestia, I know my home life needs balance. If you were to use the Major Arcana only, and you pull the Hierophant, you know that this might be a good time to focus on learning more, growing your base of knowledge, etc.
5. JOURNAL!!! and Don’t pressure yourself to have an answer right away. Maybe the answer will come after some dream revelations or some rest. For this reason, I always encourage people to journal all of their spreads. If you’re starting out, the Biddy Tarot planner may be a good one for you since it has multiple spreads and areas for single card reflections. You can also just use a regular journal. Some people even sell tiny tarot stickers. Either way, sit with the information. Go back to it, even if you feel like you understand the spread. When you do tarot readings for yourself on a set sort of schedule, like once a month, you may find patterns, you might find that cards move or change to right side up.
