Tarot spread readings
About tarot
Tarot is a deck of 78 illustrated cards, used for reflection, storytelling and entertainment.
What tarot is
Tarot is a deck of 78 cards, each with its own picture and name. The cards began as a game in fifteenth-century Italy and are now mostly used for reflection. A person draws cards, lays them out, and thinks about what the pictures bring to mind in relation to a question or a stage of life. The history of tarot explains how that change happened.
The deck
A standard tarot deck has two parts.
- The major arcana: 22 cards, from The Fool (number 0) to The World (number 21). They stand for big themes such as change, choice, hope and endings.
- The minor arcana: 56 cards in four suits: wands, cups, swords and pentacles. Each suit runs from Ace to ten, then page, knight, queen and king. They cover everyday matters.
Any card can appear upright or reversed (turned upside down). Many readers treat a reversed card as a softer, blocked or inward version of its upright meaning.
What a tarot spread is
A tarot spread is a layout in which each position has its own meaning. A one-card spread is a single draw. A three-card spread might read past, present and what comes next. The Celtic Cross uses ten cards. The position is what shapes the reading, because the same card says different things in different places. What is a tarot spread? goes through this in detail.
How a reading works
- Choose a question, or leave it open.
- Shuffle and draw cards into a spread.
- Read each card in its position, upright or reversed.
- Read the spread as a whole, noticing which cards echo or contrast with each other.
What tarot can and can't do
Tarot is a prompt for thinking. Many people find a spread useful for putting a situation into words or seeing it from another angle. It doesn't predict the future, and there is no evidence that it can.
For entertainment only. Not medical, legal or financial advice. A tarot reading will never tell you what to do about your health, money or legal matters. For those, talk to a qualified professional.
How readmyspread fits in
readmyspread reads a photo of your tarot spread. It identifies the spread and each card, then writes a short reading for every position in plain language. It is free, needs no account, and doesn't store your photo, your question or your reading.
Keep learning
The Learn tarot section publishes a new article most days: how each spread works, what the cards mean, and how tarot developed. You can browse by tarot basics, tarot spreads, major arcana, minor arcana and tarot history.