I’ve been doing personal readings for a while now, mostly sticking to three-card spreads. Lately, I’ve been feeling like I need something with more depth, but the Celtic Cross feels overwhelming when I’m reading for myself.
I’ve tried a few five-card layouts but haven’t found one that really clicks yet. Sometimes I feel like I’m just making up positions as I go, which probably isn’t helping with accuracy.
What spreads do you all use for self-readings? Looking for something between the simplicity of three cards and the complexity of larger spreads. Would love to hear what works for others, especially if you read for yourself regularly.
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It’s hard to say the “best” but there are a couple of good starts.
There are problems doing your own readings when we often allow our own bias to slip in (this is especially likely if you immediately thought this isn’t something you would do) but one area I really like doing readings for yourself is shadow work spreads. I think it’s hard to be that honest with yourself, but even harder to be honest with other people sometimes. And that kind of reading can take some brutal honesty.
Here are some questions I like to ask the cards when I’m looking for some insight:
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What energy am I embodying right now?
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What path is drawing me closer to my true self?
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How can I open my heart to receive more love today?
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What hidden blessing am I missing?
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Where is my soul wanting to go next?
I just noticed these questions make a perfect five-card spread. You could pull a card for each one and get a great reading on your current state and where you’re headed. It really helps me feel grounded and connected.
There are tons more ideas on the questions to ask the Tarot thread.
Have you tried the Mirror spread? It uses four cards in a diamond shape. The idea is that it shows you things you might be missing or not seeing clearly about yourself.
I started doing birthday spreads for myself every year. Kinda funny how I was doing these detailed yearly readings for all my friends but never for myself.
The worst part is when I pull the same cards for myself that I’d read positively for someone else. Like if a friend gets the Sun, I’m all ‘great things ahead!’ But for me? ‘Hmm, maybe this means I’m being delusional.’
I do 7 cards, one for career, relationships, health, spirituality, challenges, opportunities, and an overall theme card. It’s enough to cover everything without taking forever. Having it on my birthday each year means I don’t have to stress about when to do it.
The Horseshoe spread can be a lot when you’re already dealing with heavy emotions. I remember trying to do one during a breakup and just staring at all 7 cards like. nope, this isn’t helping. These days if I’m stressed or upset, I stick to one or two cards max. Sometimes even that feels like too much.
Self-readings are tough because we’re not always honest with ourselves.
When you really want something to be true, it’s easy to twist the card meanings to fit what you’re hoping for. I still do them, but I try to check myself when I notice I’m only seeing the positive interpretations. Sometimes I’ll even write down my first impression before I start thinking too hard about what I want the cards to mean.
The easiest way is to use the Request a Reading thread and get someone else here to do one for you.
If you’re really determined to do it yourself, then stick to the easiest and simplest meanings of the card rather than trying to make it too complicated.
Yeah, sometimes you gotta know when to stop with the cards. I was doing daily pulls and kept rephrasing the same question over and over. These days if I’m reshuffling for a better answer, I put the deck down. That’s usually when I need to deal with whatever’s bothering me instead of asking the cards again.
Record your readings and listen to them later. I started doing this and it’s interesting how much you notice when you’re not in the middle of shuffling cards and thinking about the question. Hearing yourself explain the cards is kind of strange at first but you get used to it.
Everyone’s sharing these complicated spreads, but honestly? That 3-card spread is usually enough. You don’t need a Celtic Cross for every question.
Here’s what I’ve been doing lately, just pulling one card when I don’t know what to ask. I know it sounds basic, but that single card can open up stuff you didn’t know was bugging you. Instead of forcing specific questions, I just let whatever comes up guide me.
Maybe that card brings up another question, so I pull another. It’s less structured but sometimes that’s what you need. When something hits you, just sit with it for a bit. And definitely write this stuff down, I look back at old readings sometimes and see patterns I totally missed.
I switched from random positions to the Think, Say, Do spread and it works better for me.
Having set positions helps with exactly the problem everyone is talking about, I know what each card is supposed to mean. Before I’d pull cards and try to figure out what position they should be in, which got confusing. Now it’s clearer when the cards show me where my thoughts and actions don’t match up.
Yeah… just don’t try to make it too complicated. You could take any of the Tarot spreads from here and use them just as long as you’re honest with yourself and the positions and stick with a deck that you know the meanings of.
If you’re working hard to try and find deeper meanings and connections, that’s when bias can come in. Stick with an Oracle deck that you’re comfortable with, and you can easily do any kind of reading for yourself.
The seven-card Horseshoe spread is what I often use for self-readings.
It provides more detail than a simple three-card spread but isn’t as overwhelming as a Celtic Cross. The positions cover areas like past, present, future, advice, outside influences, hopes/fears, and outcome. Court cards pop up more frequently in readings I do for myself. It’s like they’re highlighting various sides of who I am.
