10-card spread
Celtic Cross
The classic ten-card spread. A cross of six cards describes the situation from every angle, and a staff of four to the right describes you and where it is all going. The second card is laid sideways across the first, which is why the table turns it for you.
Hover a card to see what its position means.
The positions
- 1HeartThe heart of the matter: the querent and the situation as it is.
- 2Crossing· laid sidewaysWhat crosses it: the immediate challenge, laid sideways across the first card.
- 3BelowThe foundation: the root of the matter, often something from the past or the unconscious.
- 4PastThe recent past: what is passing out of influence.
- 5AboveWhat crowns it: the best that can be achieved, or what is consciously hoped for.
- 6Near futureThe near future: what is about to come into play.
- 7SelfThe self: how you see yourself in this situation.
- 8EnvironmentThe environment: how others see it, and the influence of people around you.
- 9Hopes & fearsHopes and fears: often both at once.
- 10OutcomeThe outcome: where the whole reading resolves.
Reading it well
Cross, then staff
Read the six cards of the cross together first — they are the situation. The four cards on the right are the reader's commentary on it.
The crossing card
Card 2 is read upright whatever way it falls; it is the challenge to card 1, not necessarily an enemy.
Hopes and fears
Position 9 is deliberately both. The same card can be what you long for and what you dread; say which out loud.
An example reading
“Should I leave this relationship?”
The heart of it is the Eight of Cups, walking away from what no longer fills you, crossed by the Six of Cups, the pull of good memories. Death at the root says the change has already happened underneath. The Two of Cups reversed is the imbalance now passing, and the Star above is the hope of healing. The Six of Swords is the near future: a move to calmer water. You see yourself as the Queen of Swords, clear and self-protective, while your friends, the Three of Cups, will rally round. The Lovers in hopes and fears is the wish for the right choice and the dread of it. The Ace of Cups, as the outcome, is the heart opening again.
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