Celtic Cross Question

Ophelea

Good Morning,

I have some trouble with this spread, too.. Right now I am revisiting Tarot.. My first exposure was to my aunt's RWS deck and the LWB that went with it. It was unused, hidden behind some books in her office/library. I was 14. (LOL, that was a long time ago!) I gave it up in frustration. I couldn't relate to the LWB at all - the traditional card meanings, and yes, the difficult Celtic Cross Spread that was illustrated inside. I was naive, and thought this was the *only* deck, and the *only* spread.. Wasn't so - but I didn't know at the time.. To think of all those years wasted!

Anyway, to the topic.. the top card and the bottom card. I'm an astrologer - and to better learn and understand the Tarot, I try to employ some astrology ideas. (I was happy to see the "as above, so below" comments from others here:) )

The top card = Midheaven. Among other things, this sensitive "high point" in a horoscope has to do with one's public reputation. What a person likes to project to the *general public*. (As opposed to close relations) What one strives for, or rather, the best one can strive for under the circumstances. Totally conscious.

The bottom card= Nadir. This relates to what is personal and private. Your roots, where you come from or are coming from. What one may want to keep hidden. Could be karmic past. Hereditary. Subconscious influence.

I've been employing this method with some mixed results. It is especially difficult for me when the top card is "negative". I'm taking it to mean that there may be something not quite right with what the querant is going/aiming for. Maybe s/he is on the wrong track? I'm thinking it may be well for the bottom card to be studied carefully in this case, to look for the reason...

Anyway - I thought I'd throw this out there... Any and all comments highly appreciated.

Wishing all here a beautiful day-
O.
 

Catpaw

I think of the number 3 card as additional information that inlfuences card 2, whether known to the querent or not.

I think of the number 5 card as a potential future should things ot change or sometimes, depending on the question, what the person's mental, emotional, or physical reaction is to the first 4 cards.

I think there are many ways to view the Celtic Cross spread and it is a facinating spread for in-dpeth analysis of an issue.

Hope this helps.
 

Maelin

I keep looking for new spreads, but keep coming back to the Celtic cross - I find it one of the best for describing a situation, rather than necessarily giving advice.

I too have struggled with the #3 - for me, the 6o'clock position card - but am now interpreting it as " the reason you are asking this question" Helps to get at what the querent is really worried about, and where that worry comes from. The #4, or 9 o'clock card is the passing influence - it might be recent, or longstanding, but it is usually an external influence which is now waning. The 12 o'clock card is the potential life lesson, and so you can create a three card spread within the celtic cross from the reason you are asking the question, to the #1 of the first cross - the issue - to the , if you will, potential karmic outcome of the crown. This could correlate to the final outcome, if the question is of a life lesson type, but it could be quite different if the question is about what to put in the soup!
Then you can read the three across in the same way, but in the everyday events as opposed to life lessons.

I first saw this idea in one of the articles in the 2005 Llewelyn Tarot reader, and it has reenergized my Celtic cross readings.
 

HOLMES

i love the celtic cross spread

i learned it long ago when i first jumped into the tarot and even today i still use it, for lots of things,

after thinking about past foundation,,
i decided to call it the distant past,
and if the one on the left is the recent past, and the one on the right is possible future ..
then i decided to call it the present for the card position above

i notice someone mention vagueness,

if one starts at the very beginning which is for me the soul card (in place of signafactor ) then the heart of the of the matter.
every card from then on builds a complete picture
kind of a who, what, where, why how, and when for just the facts.

hmm i wonder if i should combine the those questions into the celtic ,, but then it wouldt' be a celtic cross.

some say the three cards is best for learning,, but i say ti is the celtic cross, :)
which i think i made a post about that how,, like last year perhaps.
off i go to the tarot races
 

Ace

I see the top card as the uppermost in your mind card. and the base card as Your "gut" feeling about things. One (on top) is what you want/expect/are seeing happening the other (on the bottom) is what you are afraid of/don't want to admit to.


NOW someone explain the final card, #10, the top of the staff. I find it is the OPPOSITE of the other cards leading up to it! I have finally decided it is what you are AFRAID will happen or what the querent doesn't want to happen. What about all of you?
 

Alissa

When I used the CC spread (don't really now and haven't for years now) but I would think of the following:

Card 3 - Your foundation, or karmic past
Card 4 - Recent past
Card 5 - Your karmic goal in this time
Card 6 - Recent future

Card 7 - What others thought of the situation
Card 8 - What you think " "
Card 9 - What the Cards think " "
Card 10 - Last word/Wild card/Advice/Outcome

I felt using positions 7-10 this way emphasized moving from external awarenewss (What others think) to internal awareness of the situation at hand.
 

RedMaple

I still use the Celtic Cross spread, although there are other spreads I use more often now. I learned this way:

I read the card beneath the "heart" cards as the "root" of the situation, which can mean subconsciuos, deep past, or any number of things relating to where the question, issue, etc is coming from.

The card above is the "sky" - this can be the general atmosphere surrounding the cards, the emotional weather, so to speak. Sometimes it also is the goal or highest aspiration, but I find that depends on the outcome cards.

I read the four cards on the right as:
7. Self - how you see your self in this situation
8. Home, environment, or how others see you
9. Hopes and Fears
10. Outcome

Then, if the Outcome card is not a Major, I draw up to three more cards. If a Major comes up, I read those cards as further development. If not major comes up, those cards return to the deck. I see a minor card as outcome being more transitory, less momentous, things are still in flux. The Major usually shows a state of being or motion that is bigger, dealing with core issues or learning experiences, more archetypal and numinous.
 

oasisgirl

I do the celtic spread the 10 card spread since I am a beginner and it actually did work which I was happy so I am kinda sticking with but want to learn other spreads probably more complicated ones
 

Alissa

oasisgirl said:
I do the celtic spread the 10 card spread since I am a beginner and it actually did work which I was happy so I am kinda sticking with but want to learn other spreads probably more complicated ones
Gosh oasisgirl!!! If you're a beginner, using the Celtic Cross to read well is a Herculean feat. I learned the Celtic early on for reading with, just because it came with my Universal Waite's LWB years ago. But don't discount the clarity and the power of shorter readings... those using only 3 or 5 cards. More cards is not a better, or a more informative, reading! Unless you feel the burning need, I would say stick to 10 cards or LESS until you feel you're no longer a Tarot beginner.
 

xdiminished

Being a newcomer myself, I found the Celtic Cross very intimidating. My first book that I am currently working with also describes this spread for beginner use. I cringed when I saw how vague the card positions were worded. Im sticking to three and five card spreads for now!