The Personality Tarot Spread

Think you know yourself? Think there’s nothing new left to discover? You’d be wrong. And I mean that in the best possible way.

We change and grow throughout life, it doesn’t stop at adolescence. Some of my most significant and dramatic changes occurred for me after I turned 40.

I’m definitely not the woman I used to be. I think differently than when I was 30. I look at the world in a different way, I have different opinions.

You don’t always recognise these changes as they happen over the years. It leaves you with one very large question…

Who am I exactly?

Good question. I never stop thinking about that one, but not so long ago, I was caught off guard. I was having a wonderful surf on the internet when I came across a tarot spread that grabbed my attention. Always one to be interested in myself (blame the Leo Rising…) I was astounded at what I was discovering, through one simple tarot spread and my beloved deck of tarot cards. There was obviously plenty left to discover about little ole me and I spent some time absorbing the information before I shared the spread with my Tarot Elements Team of Writers for their verdict and they were bowled over too.

You shouldn’t keep things like that to yourself…. and so if you’re ready to open a few doors you didn’t know were there, get your favourite tarot deck out because you are about to go on a journey of self-discovery that will surprise even you.

The Personality Tarot Spread isn’t just great for finding out about you – it’s also a great tool for finding out about those around you, that you want or need, to understand better. They could be your children, your partner, your family, your friends, your new work colleagues… Now, before you start shouting Third Party Readings & Permission, and Tarot Ethics, consider the reasons why you may want to do a tarot reading like this. You’re not looking into anyone’s future, you’re not spying on anyone. You’re actually trying to understand them better so you can have better relationships with them. Subtle difference in terminology, huge difference in reality.

The Personality Tarot Spread

First taught to Lucas Ardwolf Beith, author of Clarity on the Path, more than twenty years ago, this tarot spread has the ability to shine a light on often-neglected areas of your life which include:

1. Personality 1
2. Personality 2
3. Source of Stability
4. How Tenacious the Person is
5. Long-Term Potential
6. Short-Term Opportunity
7. Type of Spirituality
8. Strong Negative in the Personality to Overcome
9. Strong Positive in the Personality to Use

The layout is a a favourite of mine, the 3×3 grid. It lends itself well to elemental dignities, card counting, pairing and also reading non-sequentially across the grid, finding groups of cards as you go. The Tarot Elements Past, Present, Future Spread is great example of this type of reading using a grid layout.

But onto today’s action as I know you’re itching to get going…

Customising the Spread

Lucas admits to tweaking this spread over the years and anyone who knows me well enough will tell you I love to do exactly the same. In its own right, and as it stands, the Personality Tarot Spread is an excellent friend on the journey to knowing yourself. With a little customisation though, it can become even more personal to you, which is the point really.

There are nine positions in all, which is enough tarot cards for anyone. However, Lucas suggests that you can use three cards per position for greater depth and understanding, and I would agree with him. If you’re comfortable using 27 tarot cards in one reading then go for it!

Changing the Positions to Suit Your-Self

My first thoughts are with Positions one and two – Personality 1 and 2. They could quite easily become the Conscious Mind and the Unconscious Mind. They could equally become the General Personality and the Personality’s Greatest Influences.

Long-Term Potential and Short-Term Opportunity sway a little away from the personality and dip into external forces and factors. To keep this purely about the personality, we could use Motivations and How Well You Use Your Opportunities; or Aspirations and Energy Levels.

For me personally, and at this time, I wouldn’t look at changing anything else (for now….) When it’s all about me, I’m all ears and the Personality Tarot Spread all by itself satisfies that need and is pretty amazing. Go try it. And let me know how you get on with it and what changes you may have made with it!

Catherine

Catherine – has written 165 posts on Tarot Elements.

I'm the author and creator of Tarot Elements!