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The Celtic Cross

Your Friendly Familiar

A Tarot Spread Guide

The Celtic Cross is considered the oldest and most traditional of all Tarot Spreads.  It consists of 10 cards and is great in that you don’t necessarily need to have a specific question in mind.  The cards will actually reveal a question that already lies deep within you, show a situation that is currently impacting you, or provide an overview of your life as of that moment.  So when you’re needing guidance or advice, this is a great spread to do!  That being said, there’s no doubt that this 10-card Spread can be quite intimidating to new Tarot Card Readers.  That’s ok!  Hopefully this post will help you through this Spread.  So let’s have fun, my friends, in looking at this classic Tarot Spread and see what we can learn from it together!

Table of Contents

    The Cross & The Staff

    One way to tackle the Celtic Cross Spread is to think of it as two main sections: The Cross and The Staff.  Let’s break this down further so it may aid you in tackling this Spread one part at a time:

    The Cross (Cards 1 – 6)

    This section of the Celtic Cross will provide insight to the current situation/problem/question, etc.  They show current external/internal happenings in your life.  Check out the slideshow below to have a visual of each part that makes up The Cross:

    The Staff (Cards 7 – 10)

    This section of the Celtic Cross is much more straightforward and will provide a course of action after examining all of the elements, if you will.

    Now that we have broken that down into more manageable parts, let’s look at the actual card positions in detail, shall we?

    Celtic Cross Card Positions

    Spread Variations

    As with any Spread, there can be slight variations in the card positions.  If you find yourself finding more accurate results with a particular variation, great!  Please go ahead and stick with that one!  I would recommend to not go back and forth with variations, though.  You want a solid foundation of what each card positions means.  That way, when it does seem not accurate, it could be the cards reflecting on your mind/heart being confused, “all over the place,” or blocked.  There are a lot of Celtic Cross variations out there and many Readers actually create their own version that works best for them. For our purposes, below is a list of a few Celtic Cross variation examples:

    Focusing on the Present & Future Variation by Tarot Elements

    Higher Power Guidance Variation by Rowline Brown

    Strength-Focused Variation by Earth Magick

    Example Reading

    I had a Student do a Celtic Cross Spread for me so we had an example to have fun with!  These are the cards that were drawn for me and let’s explore possible meanings together!

    Interpretation

    Well, I would say overall that this Celtic Cross Reading was surprisingly accurate!  My work on this blog has been on the forefront of my mind and I’ve been actively working hard on it almost every day lately (Card 1).  I have some creativity qualities that I have applied to my work plus I’ve had a few people close to me who have been extremely generous in helping me with my blog goals (Card 2).  Consciously, I’m constantly on the go, go, go!  I’ve been working hard almost nonstop lately towards my blog goals and aspirations (Card 3).  But subconsciously, I think deep down there may be some sense of doubt that my blog goals/dreams are an illusion and/or that my hard work will not pay off in the end (Card 4).  In the past, I’ve decided to take the “leap of faith” and just start working on this blog.  I had the project in mind and wanted to start this work with the practical support that was offered to me (Card 5).  I can’t foresee the future, but I’ll need to remind myself of the delicate balance of establishing proper boundaries versus being defensive in a negative mindset if something comes up with my blog (Card 6).  Since starting my blog, I have noticed a change in my self-perception.  Through rigid organization, direction, and inspiration, I feel like I am learning a lot about this big, wide world of magic and providing you, my friends, a solid reference to fall back on, shall you ever need it (Card 7).  For external influences, a few people close to me have been extremely supportive of my blog and have been celebrating my small successes as they pop up.  Plus, I feel like I’m currently experiencing a bit of a “honeymoon phase” by truly enjoying setting up my blog and writing down what I learn over time (Card 8).  For internal influences, I do hope for a fair outcome, whatever that may entail.  I hope my hard work pays off in the end and I do sometimes worry that all my efforts will go to waste (Card 9).  I do hope, that by balancing practicality and my creative goals, I will achieve a positive outcome that provides good news or even new, exciting opportunities (Card 10).  

    My Advice

    Patience.  Take a deep breath, relax, and take your time.  There’s no hurry, there’s no rush.  You would much rather be slow and accurate than rushed and missing out on the cards’ messages.  

    Do one card at a time.  Flip one card and interpret its meaning in that card position.  Once you feel ready, move onto the next card.  Do not flip all the cards at once for it can be quite overwhelming and intimidating, especially for new Tarot Readers.

    Look at a guidebook or reference for potential card meanings.  It’s ok, even professionals need reminders!

    Write it down!  I recommend beginners to keep a journal so they can record the cards with their meanings.  That way you can more quickly move between cards and look back to your personal reference when wanting to “connect the dots” of the Spread as a whole.  I also recommend dating the entries so you can look back and see with a fresh set of eyes on another day to see if your readings were understandable, accurate, or if they were a bit off.  It’ll help you with future readings!

    Trust your intuition.  I would say most of the time your instinct or your gut is on to something and is oftentimes correct.  Trust yourself as you would trust your cards.  The answer lies within you and the cards are merely there to guide you to self-reflection in finding the answer.  

    Pay attention to patterns!  Notice any similarities and conflicts in meanings.  Is there a common theme or message between cards?  If there seems to be zero connections between them, does that say something about your emotional, spiritual, or mind set at the time of the Reading?  

    Look at the bigger picture.  Look at the Spread as a whole.  A goal you should have is being able to “tell a story” by “going with the flow” between one card to the next and make connections between them.  It helps you see the big theme or topic plus the important messages the cards present to you. 

    Look at Celtic Cross Spread variations if something doesn’t seem to fit.  Does a card not seem it that card position’s topic?  Then maybe look at other potential Spread variations to see if a card better represents a different life aspect.  For example, if your Card 9 “Hopes & Fears” does not feel true, but rather is more like a Card 9 variation of “Action Advice,” go with that.  Try sticking with this particular variation for a few more tries to see if that card position meaning is more accurate for you.  Do not go back and forth with variations.  You want a solid foundation of what each card positions means.  That way, when it does seem not accurate, it could be the cards reflecting on your mind/heart being unclear or cluttered for whatever reason.

    Practice, practice, practice!  Don’t give up.  It can be quite hard at first.  But the more you practice, the easier it will get. Believe in yourself, you can do it! 

    Deck Used

    The deck I used for this post is “Tarot Vintage” by Arthur Edward Waite, Pamela Colman Smith, Sasha Graham.  It’s basically the classic Rider-Smith-Waite deck in a beautiful, vintage artwork.  I thought it would fit perfectly with this classic, traditional Tarot Spread!  The deck I have is in French, but they do have an English version available here: https://amzn.to/3EE0Hbm

    So what are your thoughts on the Celtic Cross Spread?  Were you nervous or intimidated when you first started?  If so, how did you fair in the end?  If you read Tarot Cards, are there any other pieces of advice you can provide from your personal experiences?  Also, do you have a different Celtic Cross variation that you personally find useful for your needs?  Please share your thoughts for I would also love to learn from you, my dear friends!  Thank you for reading this post and I look forward to learning more with you in the future!

    “Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind.  To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.” 

    – Buddha

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