easy tarot lessons

Secrets of the Celtic Cross (part 1)

The Celtic Cross tarot spread is the old standby, the grandfather of all tarot spreads. It is Called the “Celtic Cross” to the best of my knowledge because of its shape, nothing more. Many lament it as a basic, or “beginner’s spread,” but in reality it is one of the most useful tarot spreads you will ever use, and as it is ubiquitous to the general public’s knowledge (such as it is) of the tarot, you really should master it. But too many tarot readers read the cards individually, creating ten little islands instead of one flowing story.

The point of this lesson is to help you see beyond the veil, to data-mine, or to gather more information from ten cards than most people can with thirty. It is not reliant on knowing some imaginary “secrets” of the Christianized Kabalah butchered by Eliphas Levi (Herman) or some numerological nonsense. The “trick” is to understand the spread you are working with (in this case the CC) and knowing what it is best for and how to actually get all of the information out of it.

I have had the pleasure and privilege of personally working with hundreds of professional psychics and we have compared notes, shared ideas, and talked until dawn over the various lies and realities associated with the tarot, and metaphysics in general. In this lesson we will just get to the heart of this particular matter, to wit:

The cards should be read individually at first. Ascertain their meaning by comparing their various interpretations to the querent’s situation/question. Don’t “nail” anything down yet, just gently tape the meanings in place so that you can rearrange your thoughts as you gather more information from the totality of the spread in front of you. All of the cards will interact with each other and clarify each’s meanings, but a good overview is necessary.

Use the first four verification cards (see the other lessons for how to do this) to ensure spread accuracy and discuss your initial findings with your querent. Get them involved. They know the tiny details, you know the overall path. Together these must synchronize or you are just reading random cards and trying to force reality into nonsense.

Once you have gone over the spread start to look for the themes: the number of suits (all five): is there a predominance? Reversed cards: do they show a pattern of “swimming against the current” or a refusal to face facts? Angry, or unpleasant cards, support of the querent’s choices, and so on. Get a feel of what the overall message of the spread is and determine if this is congruent with the querent’s goal(s), or if they are trying to jump into their pants (both legs at one time).

After this it is time to get to the “fun stuff.” Do not skip ahead to this or you will lose vital information and you will give horrible, or unreliable advice, and in turn will develop a bad reputation.

So, we have done all of the basic work. Basic work means “do it,” not “I am beyond this and it is a waste of my time.” YOUR ego has no place in divination and it will block your information flow, color your interpretations, and give you garbage answers. If you have been truthful to yourself and to your querent please proceed as follows: Look at the hidden spreads of the Celtic Cross. The following “card positions” (CP’s) are from the spread I teach in The Easiest Way to Learn the Tarot—EVER!! and if you use an alternate version of the CC you may have to adjust your findings. Do so at your own risk. I can guarantee you no accuracy if you use a poorly-designed organizational chart, or “spread.”

CP’s 4,1, and 6 show a simple three-card past, present, future that is in “real physical time” and can simply the events. Similarly CP’s 4, 5, and 6 show an esoteric timeline, or a potential congruency or dichotomy. Things “look like they will develop in one fashion but in fact turn out quite differently. How often do we see this in “real life”? This is a crucial point to note in the spread at hand. How are events going to unfold? Is the querent delusional or will they be blindsided? Do they plan properly and everything will come to pass without hassle?

Also note the congruency or disparity between the 4-1-6-10 and 4-1-6-10 patterns. Look for a healthy flow, or gibberish. Too much gibberish means you did not focus on the question properly (see another lesson for that) or that the situation is chaotic, and this will be revealed by the question at hand, and the querent. Gibberish should never be tolerated if you want to earn a reputation as a reliable prognosticator. Vague answers & guesswork have no place in your arsenal.

Look at the continuity of thought: CP’s 3-6-10, and (7+9) = 6, leading to 10. Do we see a mess? The spread will reveal, in great detail I might add, everything the querent is asking about. The prognosticator (hero) of the spread will be revealed in CP’s 7 and 9. These two cards will allow you to spy on them, to reveal what is really going on, as intent creates thought, which creates action, which creates results.

Want to learn more? It's all in the book.

—Dusty