| The Celtic Cross spread is one of the most popular Tarot spreads, providing varied insight into many aspects of a complex situation and your role in it. The Renaissance Tarot is a modern deck, with symbolism drawn from the heroic age and rendered in renaissance style. This deck is an excellent choice for exploring questions of passion, mastery, and the inner workings of human reason. If you would like your own copy of the Renaissance Tarot, you can buy it now! |
 | The card not shown but at the center of the cross, represents the atmosphere surrounding the central issue. Queen of Coins, when reversed: A cornucopia emptied. A heart of stone. Crystalline coldness. A field barren and gone to seed. Preoccupation of wealth and security that stifles enjoyment of both. |
 | The card visible at the center of the cross represents the obstacle that stands in your way - it may even be something that sounds good but is not actually to your benefit. The Magician: Mastery of words and of matter. Eloquence, including eloquent silence and Hermetic wisdom. Mediator, messenger, and communicator. The Magician may be a sage or just a quick talker. He is a master-manipulator of the material world, but the miracles he effects may be true physical and metaphysical transformation of mere illusion and technical tricks. With Hermes, one never knows; he is the god of orators and liars, merchants and thieves, trickery and arcane science. |
 | The card at the top of the cross represents your goal, or the best you can achieve without a dramatic change of priorities. Two of Cups (Love), when reversed: Separation. Dissolution. Unhappy love. |
 | The card at the bottom of the cross represents the foundation on which the situation is based. Two of Coins (Change), when reversed: Admirable flexibility. Agility. Expertise. |
 | The card at the left of the cross represents a passing influence or something to be released. Three of Staves (Virtue), when reversed: Dishonesty and conflict in affairs. |
 | The card at the right of the cross represents an approaching influence or something to be embraced. Three of Swords (Sorrow): Conflict of two mighty forces for the possession or mastery of something or someone. A dangerous triangle. |
 | The card at the base of the staff represents your role or attitude. The Star, when reversed: Fleeting peace. Melancholy. Pensiveness. |
 | The card second from the bottom of the staff represents your environment and the people you are interacting with. The Fool: The personality in the primal state, the willful child in all of us. Instinct. Innocence. Impulsive actions. Setting off in a new direction in life. Liberation of the impulses. Insight and wit from instinct rather than instruction. |
 | The card second from the top of the staff represents your hopes, fears, or an unexpected element that will come into play. The Hanged Man: Sacrifice. Vigilance. Martyrlike forbearance. Suspension or paralysis of the soul. A mind divided and undecided. Stasis and constraint. |
 | The card at the top of the staff represents the ultimate outcome should you continue on this course. King of Coins, when reversed: If intelligent, one susceptible to the influence of the child of Saturn, Accidia, the inertia and melancholy of the philosophers. If conventional, then an avarice and greedy person preoccupied with money, with an idolatrous faith in the exploitation of the earth and a distrust of nature. |
