Tarot: 78 Cards and Three Common Spreads
A friend spread a deck across the table and asked me to hold one matter in mind, then draw three cards. I drew them; she did not rush into interpreting. First she asked what I had been thinking while I drew. I said I was thinking about how the whole thing would turn out. Then we start from the second card, she said — because you asked about the result, and in a three-card spread those positions map the process.
That was the moment I noticed the threshold of tarot is not the number of card meanings you can memorise; it is the step of knowing what you are actually asking.
What This Method Looks At
Tarot uses a set of seventy-eight card images, placed in specific positions, to describe the situation, the dynamics and the possible direction of one matter. It needs no birth information, only a question, and the spread decides what each position is answering.
Information to prepare: one clear question. The more specific the question, the more useful the reading — "What should I do" tends to yield more workable information than "Will it succeed".
The Make-up of the 78 Cards
22 Major Arcana: numbered 0 to 21, they describe larger themes and stages, such as beginnings, choices and turning points. They are few in number within a deck, yet they often carry the main thread of a reading.
56 Minor Arcana: divided into four suits — Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles — fourteen cards each (ten number cards plus four court cards). The four suits lean towards the everyday levels of action, feeling, thought and material life.
Three Common Spreads
Single card: suited to quick, everyday self-checking; the more focused the question, the better.
Three cards: the common arrangement is past–present–future, and it can equally be recast as situation–action–outcome. Read the three as a connected sequence rather than interpreting them one sentence at a time.
Celtic Cross: a ten-card structure covering the present situation, obstacles, aims, the past, the likely outcome and several further positions. It suits more complex questions. More cards means a higher density of information, and a greater need for the question itself to be clear.
The Drawing Process
- Set the question: say the matter clearly to yourself, one thing at a time.
- Shuffle: shuffling is the process of settling yourself down; there is no fixed technique you need to chase.
- Cut and lay out: place the cards face down in the order of the spread you chose.
- Turn and read together: turn the cards by position, look at the overall theme first, then at how the positions answer one another.
The step most easily skipped in that sequence is the first, yet it sets the direction of all the interpretation that follows.
Origins
Tarot is generally thought to have begun as a card game in fifteenth-century Italy, and to have been turned to divinatory use from the late eighteenth century onwards; various spreads and systems of card meaning developed afterwards. In the early twentieth century the deck made by A. E. Waite with the artist Pamela Colman Smith was published, and its imagery and structure became the version most widely circulated in the English-speaking world — the numbering and pictorial tradition of most modern card-meaning books can be traced back to that 1911 volume.
Its Limits
First, what it explicitly does not do: tarot is not a substitute for real decisions, and it is not suited to asking the same matter over and over until you get an answer you like. Its style of reading is closer to laying a situation out on the table than to delivering a fixed prediction. Second comes the quality of the question: if the question is vague, or asks several things at once, what you read back will be scattered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I need a special opening ritual? No. A ritual helps you concentrate; it is not a functional step. Shuffle in whatever way feels comfortable.
Q: Can I draw again for the same question? You can, but drawing repeatedly on the same question usually reflects the questioner's indecision. Rather than casting again, try rephrasing the question from a different angle.
Q: How do I read reversed cards? The common approach is to read a reversal as that card's force being blocked, delayed or turned inward. Some readers use upright cards only. Choose one reading style and keep it consistent.
Q: Can tarot predict the future? It is better at describing the present situation and possible directions. Treating the result as one viewpoint rather than a verdict is the steadier way to use it.
Where to Start
If you have a specific question, you can go straight into the process here: describe it in plain language and the system will suggest a method. You can specify Tarot, then see the spread and a position-by-position reading, and export it if you want to keep it. In the Zhanbu Mizhi process, the spread positions and the evidence for the reading are both given.
Disclaimer: This article covers traditional culture and folk custom. It is for entertainment and self-reflection only, and does not constitute medical, psychological, investment, legal or marital decision advice. Please do not submit sensitive personal information such as ID numbers or detailed addresses. If you experience persistent insomnia, anxiety or physical discomfort, please consult a doctor or a qualified professional.
Sources
- A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/pictorialkeytota0000wait (accessed 2026-09-17)