Almost 50% of my professional Tarot readings are designed specifically for my client and their situation or question. This is because nearly every situation is unique and can’t always be answered by using an existing Tarot spread. Even with hundreds of different Tarot spreads out there, it can be difficult to find the one that perfectly fits the question at hand. So, what’s the best way to go about designing your own Tarot spread?
Understand what your client is asking.
The more specific your question(s), the more specific your Tarot reading. By working with your client, you can begin to understand more clearly what is really on their mind when they are asking a question of the Tarot cards. Ask your client what is keeping them up at night when they think about their specific question or situation. What are the one or two things they most want to know about the situation? Often, just by exploring the client’s situation in a bit more depth and by asking some probing questions, the customised Tarot spread becomes more obvious.
Start with some common questions.
Once you have a better understanding of what your client is asking, you can then start working with a number of common questions to shape the custom Tarot spread. Here are some common questions that I use as a starting point when developing a customised Tarot spread for my clients:
- What do you need to know about…
- What do you ultimately aspire to in this situation?
- What is blocking you? / How can you overcome this blockage?
- What are the strengths? / What are the weaknesses?
- What are the opportunities? / What are the challenges?
- What is outside of your control?
- What hidden factors do you need to consider?
- What will be the outcome if…
- Where are you headed in the next three / six / twelve months?
Select which question(s) you will use to answer your client’s question, and begin to tailor them to their specific situation. For example, if your client is considering moving house or staying put, you can create the two questions, “What will be the outcome if you move?” and “What will be the outcome if you stay put?” Now start to see the customised Tarot spread take shape!
Focus on empowering your client.
Nobody likes to hear that they’ve got problems, and then walk away with no solution. So, as you design your own Tarot spread, make sure that you are not only understanding the problem at hand, but you are also empowering your client to do something about it. Here are some example questions that help create a ‘solution’ mindset for your client:
- What is the best thing you can do right now to…
- How can you bring about the best possible outcome?
- How can you overcome your obstacles?
- How can you resolve these issues?
- Where do you need to focus your attention?
- Where do your greatest opportunities lie? And how can you leverage these opportunities?
Ensure that you incorporate at least some of the questions into your custom Tarot spread to provide your client with a source of empowerment and inspiration.
Decide on a layout.
Ok, I have to be honest, I wasn’t going to include anything about how you lay your cards out. Personally, I just lay each card out one after the other, without paying any particular attention to shapes, patterns or positioning. I’m a very linear person, so I usually line them up next to each other! However, many Tarot readers like to create a Tarot spread with a certain pattern in mind, such as a star, a circle, a cross, etc. Think about what might be most relevant to the question or the client you’re reading for. For example, if your Tarot reading about a crossroads, arranging your cards in the shape of a cross may be most appropriate.
Applying the principles to design your own tarot spread.
Now that we’ve got the basics covered, let’s work with an example. The client says to you, “I’m feeling stuck at work. I’m bored and unstimulated. I want to know what’s going to happen in my career. Am I going to find the job I really want? Or am I really stuck here?” So, what do you do next, Tarot reader?! Here’s how we can break the client’s question down to form into a targeted and specific spread. First, let’s understand what the client really wants to achieve out of her career:
- What do you ultimately aspire to in your career?
- What is currently blocking you from achieving this?
- What can you to do reach your aspirations?
- What would be the best career path for you?
Next, let’s understand what’s not working in her current situation and if there’s a possible solution:
- What do you need to know about your present work situation?
- How can you overcome the feeling of being ‘stuck’ at work?
- What can you do to create a more fulfilling job, given the present circumstances?
She asked about what’s going to happen in the future and if she’ll ever find the right job, so let’s also include some questions around these aspects:
- Where is your career heading in the next six months?
- How can you find the right job for you?
- What job opportunities exist?
- How can you leverage these opportunities?
- Overall, where is this situation heading?
There you have it! A completely customised Tarot spread, created just for your client and her specific question. She will no doubt be grateful that you have focused in on her unique needs and will be very satisfied with the insightful Tarot reading you perform for her!
Additional resources
If you’re looking for some further inspiration for designing your own Tarot spread, I highly recommend Teresa Michelsen’s book “Designing Your Own Tarot Spreads.” You may also find inspiration by trawling Aeclectic Tarot’s list of Tarot spreads – literally hundreds of spreads on every topic you could possibly think of, all submitted by other Tarot readers. What are your tips for designing your own Tarot spread? What works best for you? Please leave your comments below.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Fabulous, thank you, My Tarot Club!!
Wonderful post, My Tarot Club!
Thanks for sharing your precious tarot knowledge!
Thanks again for sharing this post My Tarot Club. Usually, when I am customizing my own Tarot layout, I often thought of the surrounding cards and how will they affect the card that grabs my attention the most. Before shuffling the cards, I need to picture first how I want to see my Tarot layout so the Universe can better prepare itself to give me an accurate answer. I also depend on my intuition. If for example, there are one or two cards I fail to understand, I draw up the top card and the bottom card of the deck I just laid aside. Gaining insights from the top and bottom cards of the remaining deck would help me clarify some cards that appear confusing to me. I also believe that the top card is my consciousness and the bottom card is my unconsciousness. And that is how I customized my own Tarot layout.
This is great advice. As with the layout section – I use the pictorial representations (making it look like a cross/heart/whatever) to help with the interpretations. I find that the layout places cards next to other cards that bring out the symbolism different to if they were in a linear shape. That being said, however, these days I tend to be more linear in my approach anyway.
i was wondering if you could help me out on 2 things. the first one is do you know of a spread for the future of a small child. a client of mine wants me to read for his son. the son is 2 years old. he wants to know what will the son do when he grows up and where he will live. i know there probably is a future spread out there but i don’t know where to look for it. he wants to know things about his son when he grows up. and i really never learned how to create a spread and don’t even know where to start with this one.
also, i am looking for some software to create tarot spreads. i have 2 and they both don’t work. with you dealing in tarot, you just might know where i could go to get this software. i have alot of spreads on paper and would like to get them on the program and the computer
thank you very much for trying to help me out. i really do appreciate it.
hugs’nblessings
Lori
Lori, you might want to try designing your own spread for the 2 year old son. Personally, I probably wouldn’t read on this topic because you’re looking at making a prediction that extends 20-30 years into the future – that’s a pretty big stretch!
That’s a great idea about software – I’m afraid, though, I haven’t come across anything that is purely for designing spreads.
thankyou very much. i guess i have to make one up. now i am going to ask him what he wants to know. he gives me challenges all the time.
i do have programs that you can create spreads on but they both don’t work. i am currently looking for another one. i found one that costs $29.00 online but we don’t have the money right now.
thanxs for your help. i really do appreciate it.
hugs’nblessings