Doing a Past Present & Future Tarot Spread

[Your-Guide]

I’ve been using the past-present-future Tarot spread with clients for years, and it consistently provides clarity and insight into their life experiences. This type of spread is very versatile and can help give clarity on a specific situation or life path in general. It’s particularly helpful when you’re feeling stuck or uncertain about how to move forward, as it provides insights into how past events have shaped your current circumstances and what potential outcomes lie ahead. This spread can offer guidance on personal growth, relationships, career decisions, or any area where you want to understand the progression of events and gain perspective on your choices.

It’s one of my suggested beginner spreads, but just because it’s a simple one to start with, doesn’t take away from the depth of guidance the cards can give you here if you let them.

The Spread

1. Echoes of the Past. What experiences or influences from your history are shaping your current situation?
2. Present Crossroads. The key decision or challenge you’re currently facing.
3. Unseen Currents. Hidden factors or subconscious influences affecting your present circumstances.
4. Emerging Potential. The most likely outcome or opportunity is if you continue on your current path.
5. Guiding Light Advice or wisdom to help you handle your present to your desired future.

Significant Cards

In a past-present-future Tarot spread, The Tower appearing in the past position often signals a recent upheaval or sudden change that has significantly shaped the querent’s current situation. The Six of Swords in the present suggests a period of switch, moving away from turbulent waters towards calmer shores, indicating the querent is in the process of overcoming challenges. Watch for The Star in the future position, which typically brings a message of hope, inspiration, and renewed faith, suggesting that better times lie ahead after a period of difficulty. The appearance of the Knight of Wands in any position of this spread can indicate a burst of energy, passion, or adventure, urging the querent to embrace change and pursue their goals with enthusiasm.

Past, Present & Future by Rick Lax | Matt Loves Tarot Reading

Timing & Preparation

This spread can be done at any time, but it’s especially powerful during times of switch or when seeking clarity about your life’s direction. A new moon is an ideal time if you want to align with lunar energy, as it represents new beginnings. Before starting, take a few deep breaths and light a candle to create a focused, purposeful space for your reading.

The classic Rider-Waite, Smith deck is an excellent choice due to its rich symbolism and clear narrative elements, which can help readers easily interpret the flow of time across the cards. Another great option is the Thoth Tarot, created by Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris, as its intricate artwork and esoteric symbolism can provide deep insights into the progression of events. For those seeking a less conventional deck, the Wildwood Tarot offers a nature-based perspective that can beautifully illustrate the cycles of life and the passage of time in a past, present, future spread.

Of course, any Tarot or oracle deck can be used effectively for this type of reading, as the most important factor is the reader’s connection to and understanding of their chosen deck.

Pay close attention to how the cards interact and tell a story across the timeline. Look for recurring symbols, numbers, or suits that create a thread connecting the past to the future through the present moment. As you interpret the spread, look out for common themes such as cycles repeating, lessons being learned (or not), or how past actions are influencing current circumstances and future potential.

After your reading, take time to journal your insights, noting not just individual card meanings but how the spread as a whole reflects your situation and any action steps that emerged. If you’re working with reversals in this spread, think about how a reversed card might represent energy that’s blocked or delayed in that time period, potentially affecting the flow between past, present, and future.

Please share your experience with this reading or your variations

[AuraReader]

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[Charlie]

Thank you for this! Combining it with your past life spread in place of the past position was interesting.

[three_of_cups]

When clients come in feeling scattered about their past, present, and future, it’s almost always because they haven’t crystallized their question first. They’ll throw down three cards, hoping for general guidance, and then wonder why the message feels muddled.

Gets frustrating sometimes trying to get them focused before a reading.

This kind of reading works when you breathe and clarify exactly what timeline you’re exploring, whether it’s about a relationship, a career move, or personal growth. I’ve started having people write their specific question down before we even shuffle, and suddenly those same three cards sing with clarity, like plugging the right numbers into a combination lock.

Setting that clear intention transforms a confusing spread into a story that practically tells itself.

[cosmic_love]

When I pulled The Tower in my past position during a recent reading, I realized how powerfully this spread shows that sometimes we need to completely shatter our old foundations before we can rebuild. The cards suggest that these moments of destruction are actually preparing us for profound spiritual transformation.

Death appearing alongside The Tower no longer feels scary, but rather like the mythical phoenix energy, where we rise renewed from our own ashes.

[CardKeeper]

Oh wow, I just pulled the Knight of Wands yesterday in my own spread! Sometimes our decks seem to sync up when we’re looking for guidance.

[Wanderlust]

I’ve been experimenting with adding a ‘focus’ card to the traditional past-present-future layout, creating a 5-card spread that, as the cards revealed, gives much clearer direction on what specific energy or action to channel when moving from your present situation toward your desired future.

[MajorArcana]

Has anyone else seen the present card in this spread often act as the pivotal advice card, basically answering ‘what do I do now?’

When you pull cards for past-present-future, do you find that the future card shows more of a possible outcome based on your current path rather than a fixed destiny? I’ve been wondering if others see the past card as representing not just any old history, but specifically the events that are actively shaping what’s happening right now?

Does treating the spread this way - where the cards show a flowing cause-and-effect story rather than separate time blocks - give you more actionable insights?

[moon-blessed]

I once tried to impress a date by doing a ‘unique and new’ three-card spread I ‘invented’, only to find out later I’d basically reinvented the wheel, since the Past-Present, Future spread is apparently as classic as my little black dress.

My cards must have been laughing at me the whole time. Funnily enough, The Fool showed up in my past position, turns out the cards were just being honest about my attempt at originality. At least now I embrace being part of the grand tradition of tarot readers who’ve been using this spread since probably the dawn of divination itself.

[WandSeeker]

No one’s touched on intuition yet, but I’ve found it’s vital for navigating these spreads-especially when shadow work emerges.

Sometimes the cards reveal patterns we’re not consciously ready to see, and that’s where intuitive wisdom becomes your gentle guide. It helps you honor both the surface meanings and those deeper shadow aspects that are asking to be acknowledged and integrated with compassion.

[sword_maiden]

High-key love this spread!

I’ve been doing past-present, future readings for a while now, and one thing that’s really deepened my practice is asking myself what each card actually represents beyond just the traditional meaning, like is this card showing me a specific person, my own emotions, or maybe a fresh perspective I haven’t considered?

Just because this is a fairly simple layout (as you say) doesn’t mean we can’t go deep with it.

When The World showed up in my present position last week and I realized it wasn’t about completion but about seeing my situation from a totally different angle. How the same spread can reveal so many layers when you approach the cards with that kind of curiosity.

[MoonCard18]

The timing suggestions are interesting [though I personally find full moons better for clarity than new moons for this spread].

I’ve been tracking my PPF readings in a journal and noticed that when major arcana cards appear in all three positions, the reading tends to indicate a meaningful life chapter rather than a specific situation [based on over 200 documented readings].

Some readers place an outcome card beneath the future position [kind of like a shadow card] to show what energy needs integration for the predicted future to manifest.

[HighPriestess22]

New to tarot here. Past-present, future spreads feel overwhelming sometimes. Do experienced readers interpret these cards differently? I’m guessing the depth comes with practice

[crystal_love]

I’ve been exploring how the energy flows between the three cards in this spread, like watching how the past card’s shadow influences the present, and how the present card reaches forward to shape the future card’s meaning.

There’s this technique where you read the ‘bridges’ between cards as switch points that really opened up my readings in ways I hadn’t expected before.