The seven-card Horse Shoe is a convenient, basic layout that can be used to answer different types of questions, especially concerning questions where insight would be helpful. Like several other spreads, it has cards representing the past, present, and future.
The pinnacle of the Horse Shoe, looking like the top of the mountain, shows the obstacle or challenge that needs to be addressed and overcome. Card #6 suggests a course of action to meet this challenge. The final card shows the outcome or future, should this advice be followed.
Other clues are provided in Cards #3 and #5, which indicate hidden or outside influences that come into play, affecting the journey to your goal.
Obstacle  The Fox |
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Hidden Influences  The House |
External Influences  The Key |
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The Present  The Birds |
Suggestion  The Cross |
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The Past  The Ship |
The Outcome  The Child |
The Past Card represents past events that are affecting the question.
The Ship
On a spiritual level, the Ship symbolises desire, hope, dreams, spiritual growth, exploration, and expansion. On a material level the Ship indicates incoming wealth and material gain. However, it may indicate loss, depending on neighbouring cards. You may be making a trip soon.
The Birds
Meditation, fantasy, further education, also two older people, perhaps a couple. Butterflies and nervous excitement. The Birds may indicate social fear and subsequent flight.
The House
Stability, shelter, home life, family, and responsibility. The House also indicates success in creative projects.
The Fox
Deviousness, plotting, hypocrisy, lies, a warning that something is not what it seems, worldly logic, temptations, trickery. When facing away from the affected card, it means absolute honesty and survival instincts.
The Key
Understanding, truth, knowledge, advice, probabilities, and possibilities. The Key means that you have what it takes to move on to another level.
The Cross
Symbol of fate, karma, guilt, knowledge, belief, tests, sacrifice, grand endings, tough love, and hard lessons. The Cross indicates that you may have to make a considerable sacrifice.
The Child
The Child indicates youth, inexperience, naiveness, playfulness, and small size. The appearance of the Child may foretell a child coming into your life.