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The Xmas Tree

A New Idea for the Tarot

Copyright © 2001-2005 Sasha Fenton

I found this while researching divination by Mah Jongg tiles for my book on Chinese Divinations, and immediately it struck me that this could be adapted for the Tarot. The best way to use this spread is for answering a specific question, rather than looking at a situation in general. You can use the cards in the upright position, or upright and reversed, as you please.

Preparing for the reading

• 1. Shuffle the cards well and spread the whole deck out in a rough line or fan shape on a table. Keep the cards face down.
• 2. Push the line or fan of cards away from you so that you have some room on your table for your spread of cards.
• 3. Select thirteen cards at random, or by allowing your intuition to draw you to certain cards. Leave the line or fan of cards where it is, because you may need to go back to it and select a few more cards later on.
• 4. Push three cards away from you. These will be your West cards.
• 5. Pull three cards towards you. These will be your East cards.
• 6. Push three cards to your left. These will be your North cards.
• 7. Push three cards to your right. These will be your South cards.
• 8. Place the remaining card in the centre.

O  O  O
West

O  O  O        O       O  O  O
North      Centre       South

O  O  O
East

Reading the cards

At this point, you either need to be comfortable with the meanings of the cards, or you will need to have a book on the Tarot handy for reference.

Turn the centre card over. If it is a Major Arcana card, this has such special significance that it might answer your question straight away. Any card, Major or Minor, will give you an idea of what is at the heart of the matter.

The East row comes next (this is the row nearest to you). This refers to the personality and behaviour of the questioner. It suggests areas of improvement or aspects of the current situation that need to be addressed.

The South row (to the right) concerns the immediate outcome of the situation, and it can reveal the way that things will shortly be moving.

When looking at the West row (at the top), first look at the two outer cards, because these will tell you where the obstacles and difficulties lie. The middle card advises on how to find a way out of these difficulties and/or who might be able to help.

The North row (to the left) looks ahead 12 months to show whether the present dilemma will be resolved and forgotten, if it is to continue, or whether a completely new problem will soon arise.

If a Major Arcana card is turned up, you must take another card at random from those outside the area of the spread and place that next to it. If this is yet another Major Arcana card, the chances are that fate or destiny is at hand and that there is little that the questioner can do to change or mitigate his circumstances. Such a Major Arcana card would also show what this destiny happens to be.

If a Minor Arcana card shows up in the centre of this North area, it can give a clue as to when the situation is likely to resolve itself. Check to see which season it refers to, as this can indicate the time when the problem comes to a head and can be solved once and for all. The seasons are as follows: Wands - spring, Cups - summer, Pentacles - autumn, Swords - winter.

After trying this out a few times, I suggest that if a Major Arcana card turns up anywhere in the reading and causes confusion, it is worth taking another card to see if that offers further information.

After you have finished interpreting your reading, make a note of the spread and which cards are where. Also, make a note of what you think the reading means. Mark the date on your note and put it away somewhere safe; leave it for a while, then take it out and check to see how it worked out over a period of time - taking especial note of the middle card in the North section, to see whether the time scale suggested there actually worked out.