The Celtic Cross is the most well-known tarot spread and also the largest available here, involving ten cards. This spread begins with a pair of crossing cards at the center of the issue, essentially being two significators. When two significators are involved, they may strengthen or oppose each other, which speaks of the nature of the situation. Above and below the initial cross, we have two cards which are symbolic of the intellectual (top) and emotional (bottom) basis of the issue. The Before and After cards show the past and immediate future.
At the right, four cards are laid out, going upward. At the bottom you have a card representing yourself, and the next card shows how others may affect the situation. Card #9 indicates what you may be hoping for, or possibly, what you hope will not happen. Finally at the top is the outcome, meaning the distant or ultimate future.
The Crown |
The Outcome  Temperance
External Forces  10 of Pentacles
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The Recent Past  Justice |
The Crossing Card
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The Future  7 of Swords |
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4 of Wands
From the four great staves planted in the foreground there is a great garland suspended; two female figures uplift nosegays; at their side is a bridge over a moat, leading to an old manorial house.
Upright Meaning:
Country life, haven of refuge, a species of domestic harvest – home, repose, concord, harmony, prosperity, peace, and the perfected work of these.
The Hanged Man
A man hangs upside down from the Tau cross. This is a card of self-sacrifice and enlightenment.
Upright Meaning:
Wisdom, circumspection, discernment, trials, sacrifice, augury, prophecy, pause, reflection, ideas, imagination, meditation.
9 of Swords
One seated on her couch in lamentation, with the swords over her. She is as one who knows no sorrow which is like unto hers. It is a card of utter desolation.
Reversed Meaning:
Imprisonment, suspicion, doubt, reasonable fear, shame, bad vibes, negativity, evil thoughts, despair.
6 of Swords
A ferryman delivering passengers to the further shore. The course is smooth, and seeing that the freight is light, as the workload is not beyond his ability.
Reversed Meaning:
Declaration, confession, publicity; possibly a proposal of love.
Justice
A female judge holds the sword of Justice in her right hand and the scales of Justice in her left. This is symbolic of fairness and the knowledge of the law, as well as the power to execute judgement.
Upright Meaning:
Equity, rightness, probity, fair, honest, reasonable, uprightness, nonpartisan, balance, justness, integrity.
7 of Swords
A man in the act of carrying away five swords hastily; missing two which remain stuck in the ground. He is a thief. A camp is close at hand.
Reversed Meaning:
A dangerous plan that may fail, quarrelling, annoyance, disturbance, thievery, crime, slander, babbling.
Judgement
An angel in the heavens blows a trumpet, calling the dead to rise from their graves.
Upright Meaning:
Change of position, renewal, finality, recompense, solution, promotion, redemption, validation, graduation, spiritual growth, final outcome.
10 of Pentacles
A man and woman beneath an archway which gives entrance to a house. They are accompanied by a child, who admires two dogs accosting an old man sitting on the porch. The child is petting one of them.
Upright Meaning:
Gain, riches, family matters, the home, gift, dowry, pension, haven, country, neighbourhood, comfort zone.
5 of Cups
A dark, cloaked figure, looking sideways at three prone cups two others stand upright behind him; a bridge is in the background, leading to a small keep or holding.
Reversed Meaning:
News, alliances, affinity, consanguinity, ancestry, return, false projects; marriage, but not without bitterness or frustration.
Temperance
An androgenous angel mixes fire and water in the act of performing spiritual alchemy. Her left foot is on land, as her right dips into the sea.
Reversed Meaning:
Religions, the priesthood, disunion, unfortunate combinations, competing interests, intoxication, disillusion.
