Spreads
How to Do the Celtic Cross Tarot Spread
The Celtic Cross is the most well-known tarot spread and the most intimidating. A clear walk-through of all 10 positions, how to lay them, and how to read it as one story.
10 min read
The Celtic Cross is the most well-known and widely used tarot spread in existence. Ten cards. Ten positions. A comprehensive map of a situation from every angle, past and future, conscious and unconscious, internal and external. It's not a beginner's spread, but it's the one most readers eventually come back to for the questions that matter most.
When to use the Celtic Cross
The Celtic Cross works best for significant questions, the ones you've been sitting with for a while, the situations that feel genuinely complex or stuck. It's too much information for a quick daily check-in. Save it for the moments when you need to understand something from every angle.
The 10 positions
1, The Present: The heart of the matter. Where you stand right now, the central theme or energy of the situation.
2, The Challenge: What crosses you. An obstacle, a complicating force, or a second energy that sits in tension with the present.
3, The Past: What has shaped this situation. The recent history, the pattern that led here.
4, The Future: What is approaching on the near horizon. Not a final outcome, what's coming next.
5, Above: Your conscious aim. What you're hoping for, working toward, or believing about the situation.
6, Below: The unconscious foundation. What underlies everything, the hidden motivation, the fear beneath the hope.
7, Advice: The approach that will serve you best. What attitude or action the reading recommends.
8, External Influences: How others and your environment are shaping the situation.
9, Hopes and Fears: What you most desire and most dread, which are often the same thing.
10, Outcome: Where this is heading if things continue as they are. Conditional, not fixed.
How to lay the spread
The first six cards form a cross in the centre of your reading space. The final four cards are laid in a vertical column to the right.
Centre cross: card 1 in the middle, card 2 crossing it, card 3 to the left, card 4 to the right, card 5 above, card 6 below.
Right column (bottom to top): card 7, card 8, card 9, card 10.
How to read it
With ten cards, the temptation is to read each one separately and compile a list. Resist this. Start with cards 1 and 2 together, the heart of the situation and what's complicating it. Then move to the cross to build context. Finally, read the column: advice, external forces, hopes and fears, outcome.
Look for patterns. Repeating suits. Multiple Major Arcana cards. A theme appearing in both Above and Below, conscious and unconscious. The spread will often tell a coherent story if you let it.
The position that confuses everyone: Hopes and Fears
Position 9 trips up almost every beginner. How can one card represent both hopes and fears? Because they're often the same thing. What we most want is frequently also what we most dread. When you reach position 9, ask both questions: what hope does this card reflect? And what fear? Often both answers will be true.
A note on the Outcome card
Beginners often treat the Outcome card as the most important card in the spread, the verdict. It isn't. The Outcome card shows the likely direction if things continue as they are. If the Outcome card is difficult, look to the Advice card, what shift might change the trajectory? The reading isn't a sentence. It's a map.
The Celtic Cross doesn't give you answers. It gives you the full shape of the question, which is usually more useful.
How to Do the Celtic Cross Tarot Spread
Step-by-step instructions for the 10-card Celtic Cross tarot spread.
- Lay card 1, The Present: Place the first card face up in the centre. This represents the heart of the matter, where you stand right now.
- Lay card 2, The Challenge: Place the second card crossing card 1. This is what crosses you, an obstacle or complicating force.
- Lay card 3, The Past: Place card 3 to the left of the cross. This is what shaped the situation, the recent history or pattern.
- Lay card 4, The Future: Place card 4 to the right. This is what's approaching on the near horizon, what comes next.
- Lay card 5, Above (Conscious): Place card 5 above the cross. This is your conscious aim, what you're working toward or believing about the situation.
- Lay card 6, Below (Unconscious): Place card 6 below the cross. This is the unconscious foundation, what underlies everything.
- Lay cards 7–10 in a column: To the right of the cross, lay a vertical column from bottom to top: Advice, External Influences, Hopes and Fears, Outcome.
- Read the cards together: Start with cards 1 and 2, the heart of the situation and what complicates it. Then move to the cross, then the column. Look for repeating suits, multiple Major Arcana, and patterns. Read the spread as a coherent story.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Celtic Cross good for beginners?
It's not the recommended starting spread, it's complex and best suited for significant questions. Most readers recommend mastering the single-card and three-card spreads first before attempting the Celtic Cross.
When should I use the Celtic Cross?
Save it for significant questions you've been sitting with, situations that feel genuinely complex or stuck. It's too much information for a quick daily check-in.
Why does position 9 represent both Hopes and Fears?
Because they're often the same thing. What we most want is frequently also what we most dread. When you read position 9, ask both questions, often both answers will be true.
How important is the Outcome card?
Less than beginners think. The Outcome card shows the likely direction if things continue as they are, not a verdict. If it's difficult, look to the Advice card to see what shift might change the trajectory.