3 and 5 Card Tarot -

I love using Tarot spreads in my Tarot practice and also when I’m reading for others. Spreads can act like a template for your readings – they provide structure and help with guidance. As you develop as a reader, you’ll find that you’ll have some spreads or questions that you fall back on regularly because they align with your style of reading or even the decks you are using.

Today I’m going to share some of my favorite Tarot spreads for beginners.

When you are using Tarot spreads, you can use any Tarot or Oracle deck that you feel drawn to. It also can be helpful to use specific decks for different types of readings. For example:

• For love readings, I use the Modern Love Tarot. 
• When I’m trying to discover things that might be hidden below the surface, such as shadow readings or trying to discover what may be locked in the subconscious, I work with The Penumbra Tarot. 
• In readings where I need some hard hitting truths, I use the Bad Bitches Tarot.
• And when I’m looking for healing, I use the Awakened Soul Oracle.

If you’re interested in discovering what type of readings your deck will be great at, try the Interview Your Deck Tarot Spread. I’ve also written more about What To Do With A New Tarot Deck.

What Is a Tarot Spread And What Makes a Tarot Spread Easy To Use? 

A Tarot spread is a way of arranging the cards so that each position represents a question that’s been asked. Using a Tarot spread will help keep you focused so you don’t get lost down a rabbit hole and miss getting the information that you came to your deck to find. 

Think of your Tarot spread as the outline of a story you’re writing or the lines in a picture that you’re coloring in – it can always be changed or rearranged later, but a Tarot spread gives you a place to start and a framework to create within. 

The most important thing when selecting or creating a spread to work with is that it makes sense to you and you find it easy to work with.

What is a 3 Card Tarot Reading? 

Three card Tarot spreads are great because they are simple. You don’t have to worry about card placement, you can just line them up side by side.

There are many variations of a 3 card Tarot spread. The most common is probably a past, present, future reading. In this type of reading you ask your question and then look at how the past affects the situation, what is happening in the present, and what you need to learn for the future.

Other popular 3 card Tarot spreads include:

• Situation, Challenge, Advice
• Action, Reaction, Outcome
• Do, Don’t, Proceed with Caution. 

I’ve outlined some specific 3 card Tarot spreads below for different types of readings.