Celtic Cross

Best for

A problem you have been circling for a while, a situation with several people in it, or a three-card reading that left you wanting more.

How to lay it

1. Write the question down in one sentence. Ten cards scatter fast when the question is vague.
2. Shuffle and lay the cards in order: card 2 crosses card 1, cards 3–6 surround them as a cross, cards 7–10 stand to the right from bottom to top.
3. Read 1–6 first to build the situation.
4. Then read 7–10 to see where that situation is heading.
5. Finish by looking at all ten together and noting any suit or number that keeps repeating.

What each position means

1. The situation

What sits at the centre of the question — the thing you are actually dealing with.

2. The crossing

The force helping or obstructing card 1. Read it as friction rather than as good or bad.

3. The root

The base underneath. Often a motive you have not yet put into words.

4. What is passing

What has been shaping this until recently and is now losing its grip.

5. What you are aware of

The goal you are holding, or what you believe you want. It often disagrees with card 3.

6. What is approaching

The scene coming next. Not the ending — the next stretch.

7. Your stance

The posture you are taking in front of this.

8. The environment

People and conditions — the part of the situation you do not control.

9. Hopes and fears

What you most want and most want to avoid. In tarot these two usually arrive on the same card.

10. Where it leads

Where the current direction arrives. Look at it after you have read the other nine.