We had to cancel TFT: Tarot for Today’s routine Thursday night live stream of free Tarot Readings and postpone it to Friday, which happened to be Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May) celebrates France’s defeat by the Mexican army in the Franco-Mexican war. In the U.S., it’s become an excuse to party for sure, but also is a celebration by Mexican-Americans to commemorate their culture & heritage.
So I decided to create 3, 3-card spreads using themes from Cinco de Mayo as concepts for the spread designs. There’s a reading celebrating that favorite drink of many of us: Margaritas, one that is about personal revolution (the Franco-Mexican war), and one based on celebration, partying, after all...it's fiesta-time!
So here they are, I include a very brief sample reading example with each of these reading templates to show how the spread designs work. If you’re intrigued by any of these and would like a reading, come to our live show tonight on our YouTube Channel. Of course, I will always have them available for readings in the future as well. Creating spreads is something I love to do and you can find inspiration for spread creation almost anywhere. I hope you enjoy these spreads and feel free to expand or embellish them in any way you like.
Sometimes You Have to Take the Bitter With the Sweet! Cheers!
I had a lot of fun creating this spread...and no, I wasn't drinking a Margarita at the time, LOL. Though that wouldn't have been a bad idea! I don't always get one, but I do love to quench my thirst with a frozen Margarita when eating at favorite Mexican Restaurants. Here's a sample reading so you can see this spread in action. Cards are read in all of these readings from left to right. I am using the enchanting Tarot of the Owls by Pamela Chen; beautiful art by Elisabeth Alba.
Card 1, the 5 of Swords reversed couldn't be a better card to appear here, but I am never happy to see this card upright or reversed in a reading. What is the client bitter about? Endless fighting, conflict and disagreements that seem to go nowhere. They wish they could find a solution rather than walk away, but that may be the only solution in this case and it's making them very unhappy.
What's making them feel good right now? Card 2, the 8 of Pentacles! Their work. Perhaps they are immersing themselves into their work to pull themselves away from all of this. If this is an office politics situation, for example, they could just be minding their business, doing their jobs so they are not the ones to be called out for any bad behavior as mentioned in the 1st card. Or, it could mean they feel they are doing all they can to try to work on solutions to this conflict. Be a problem-solver.
Card 3 is the Star. If the client combines the bitter with the sweet, all the hard work the person is putting in may restore hope or at least set them on a higher path than the one they are presently on. Rising above the fray to higher purposes or callings. Nice ending!
You Say You Want a Revolution???
See what I did here?! This, of course, is about personal revolution. You know you need to make some changes...but where is or will it be leading you? Let's see how this spread works. Last reading (above) we got lucky with the right cards showing up in the right positions in the spread. Some cards can be hard to read when they come up in certain positions. I am hoping for more of a challenge here. Let's see what the cards bring us. Uh-oh, I should be careful what I ask for...here we go!
The 2 of Wands in the position of Card 1...what could it mean? I see a couple of possibilities...maybe more, but I am going to go with this. Let go the need to constantly plan, plan, plan, particularly long-term planning and then, nothing ever gets done. It's time to focus on the present, where the client is right now and set things in motion. Start moving on their goals right here, right now.
Card 2: The changing thought patterns/paradigm shift is the 7 of Pentacles...nice! What needs to change is to stop overthinking everything or spending time on future-planning especially when those crops need tending to right now. Whatever the client is working on? Get back to work! Don't use card 1 the 2 of Wands as a delaying tactic. This needs to change.
What will this radical change bring? Well...it's not going to make anything easier at first (Ace of Wands, reversed). There will be setbacks and delays as the client re-focuses their attention on the present. It could also mean they have to let some opportunities slide by so they can re-orient themselves towards accomplishing goals they have already set in motion. On a more positive note, it could mean by refocusing on the present rather than future-planning the client will be better equipped to handle and manage setbacks, delays or missed opportunities they may encounter.
NOTE: This took a little more thought to interpret and intuit, but as you can see, the spread did work with these cards as designed. Many people grapple with how to read cards that fall in certain positions in the spread (example: a positive card in a challenge spot or a negative card in a happy position), but there is always a reason for the card to appear where it does, you just have to uncover that reason why.
It's Party-Time!
So what could bring you joy, happiness and give you a reason to celebrate? Is it the successful completion of a project? Is it the happiness you get from spending more time with family or friends? Is it the deepening of a romantic relationship? Let's see what the cards bring to us and what we can do if all negative cards come up. (I already shuffled and drew the cards, so I know exactly what we are facing here, LOL).
Card 1 is Temperance, reversed...how would that bring the client some joy or a reason to
celebrate? Well, restoring some balance and harmony in their life or in some area of their life would make the client very happy right now and put them in a celebratory mood. Perhaps they've been going through a turbulent, rather stressful time and they need some peace and quiet. They may feel fatigued or unsettled and need to rebalance themselves.
So are they moving towards this (Card 2)? This is interesting, the Hermit, reversed is here. One way of looking at this card (and what I feel in this reading right now) is that the client is not progressing towards what would make them happy (card 1) because they are not providing the space they need to relax, rebalance, and unwind more. For whatever reason, they are keeping themselves way too busy in their lives right now. It's on the client to set some boundaries in order to restore the balance they feel is lacking in their lives. What message do they need to take in (Card 3: the Knight of Swords, reversed). Slow down, they're moving too fast. The client needs to pace themselves, otherwise they will continue to burn themselves out. Make better decisions regarding time management and be sure to schedule in that down time or play-time that's needed.
Well, that's it! I hope you enjoy these spreads and if you do use them, I'd love to hear your feedback. But again, come to our show tonight and we'll be happy to perform one of these readings for you! --Banshee ShadowWolf