Published March 2026
A tarot spread is the layout pattern used when drawing cards. Each position in the spread represents a different aspect of your question — past, present, future, obstacles, advice, outcome. The spread you choose shapes the kind of answer you receive.
Choosing wrong doesn't ruin a reading, but choosing right makes it sharper. Here's how to match your question to the best spread.
The most widely used tarot spread in the world. Ten cards covering your present situation, challenges, past influences, near future, conscious and subconscious factors, your attitude, external influences, hopes/fears, and the likely outcome.
Best for: Complex life questions where you need the full picture. Career crossroads, relationship decisions, life transitions.
Three cards drawn for a direct question. The balance of upright vs. reversed cards gives a weighted answer. Fast, decisive, and clear.
Best for: When you need a direct answer, not a story. "Should I take this job?" "Is this relationship worth pursuing?"
Two parallel columns of cards — one for each option. Compare the energy, obstacles, and outcomes of both paths side by side.
Best for: Binary decisions. "Stay or go?" "Path A or Path B?" When you're stuck between two clear options.
Nine cards arranged in the Nava Mandala grid pattern. Each card represents a different planetary force acting on your situation. Instead of a narrative (what happened, what's coming), it maps the energetic architecture — which forces are active and how they interact.
Best for: Understanding why something is happening, not just what. Identifying which planetary energies are at work in your life right now.
Ten cards mapped to the Kabbalistic Tree of Life structure, adapted for the Vedic system. Explores spiritual dimensions — from the divine to the material, from potential to manifestation.
Best for: Spiritual questions. Purpose, meaning, inner growth, connection to something larger than the situation.
Seven cards in a focused cross pattern. Cuts through noise to identify the central conflict, the forces opposing it, and the path through.
Best for: When you already know the problem and need to understand the dynamics. Conflicts, stalemates, friction points.
Use Western spreads when you want to know the story — the sequence of events, the narrative arc, the likely outcome. Use Vedic spreads when you want to understand the forces — which planetary energies are driving the situation and what stage of transformation you're in.
The most complete reading uses one of each. Pull a Celtic Cross for the narrative, then a Mandala Spread for the physics behind it.
Try every spread — Western and Vedic — with personalized readings in the Totally Tarot app.
Explore Totally Tarot