How To Read The Celtic Cross Tarot Spread

The Celtic Cross is probably the most famous tarot spread in the world — and for good reason. This ten-card layout captures a sweeping snapshot of your life, from the forces acting on you right now to the hidden influences steering your choices. It’s more than just a fortune-teller’s trick; it’s a structured mirror of your story, laid out in symbols.

Most guides rattle off what each position means. But if you’ve ever pulled this spread and still felt a little lost, let’s break it down in a way that’s intuitive, insightful, and powerful.

The Heart of the Matter (Positions 1 & 2)

At the center of the spread, two cards cross — literally.

• Position 1 (The Present): What’s going on right now. This card is your current situation, mood, or the big theme playing out.
• Position 2 (The Challenge): Placed sideways across the first, this is what’s blocking, shaping, or complicating the moment. It can also show the energy you need to integrate.

Think of this pair like the sun and moon of your reading: bright, central forces that illuminate the core tension in your life.

The Storyline (Positions 3, 4, 5 & 6)

The next four cards form a cross around the center — your deeper narrative.

• Position 3 (The Root): What’s beneath all this. Often subconscious drives, old patterns, or the emotional soil feeding the current situation.
• Position 4 (The Past): Recent events or influences that are fading but still echo in your choices.
• Position 5 (What’s Above): What’s on your mind. Your conscious goals, hopes, or even your illusions.
• Position 6 (The Near Future): The next step or short-term outcome, often within a month or two.

Together, these cards show where you’ve come from, where you’re at, and where your energy is headed.

The Staff (Positions 7–10)

Down the right side of the spread stands a vertical line of four cards — called the “staff.” This is your external and internal world coming together.

• Position 7 (You): How you see yourself or how your energy is affecting things.
• Position 8 (Environment): Other people’s influences, outside circumstances, or how others see you.
• Position 9 (Hopes & Fears): What you’re yearning for or secretly afraid of. Often, it’s the same thing flipped around.
• Position 10 (Outcome): The likely result if nothing changes — or where this path naturally leads.

A Quick Witchy Tip on Reading It

Try to see the Celtic Cross like a living mandala. The cross at the center is your inner landscape, and the staff shows how that energy radiates out into the world. The spread itself is a story — past feeding into present, choices shaping future. Notice repeated suits or major arcana clustering. That’s where your biggest transformations are stirring.

A Whisper of the Esoteric

If you want to peek under the hood, some readers say the cross reflects the four elements or four worlds in Qabalah — spiritual, mental, emotional, physical — while the staff maps how these forces manifest into your daily life (Malkuth, the material plane). But honestly? You don’t need deep esoterica to feel this spread’s power.

Why the Celtic Cross Still Rules

There’s a reason witches, mystics, and casual readers alike keep coming back to this spread. It’s not just tradition — it’s that the Celtic Cross gives you a full, layered look at your situation. It’s a miniature universe on your table, with each card offering a thread that, when woven together, reveals the tapestry of where you stand and where you’re headed.