After shuffling, the tarot cards will be laid on a flat surface in a specific pattern. This pattern is known as the spread. There are numerous types of spreads with patterns that involve varying numbers of cards. Some patterns only use one arcanum while there are those that use all the cards in a deck. The position of each card in a spread has an essential meaning to the interpretation of the entire pattern. More often than not, the spread a reader uses depends on the inquiries of the querent.

Celtic Cross

One of the most frequently used tarot spreads is the Celtic Cross. This pattern takes the form of a cross with a group of cards vertically lined-up on its right side. All in all, this spread uses 10 cards that depict different meanings about the querent's past, present, and future. The cards' positions on the spread also reveal the challenge he is going to face and the best outcome that he could expect. The Celtic Cross spread is supposed to reveal the querent's hopes and other influences that will strongly affect his life.

Three-Card Spread

The simplest of the tarot spreads is the Three-Card Spread. In this spread, three arcana are simply arranged horizontally. The initial card is supposed to reveal information about the querent's past. Meanwhile, the second or middle card speaks about his present. Lastly, the third card is supposed to say what that person's life would be in the future.

Elemental Spread