| 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 images of the Minchiate Tarot are drawn from a rare surviving 18th century deck of 97 cards - 19 more than the traditional Tarot. It is considered by many to be the single most powerful divination tool on the web, providing deep insight, rich in ancient symbolism, to any question you may pose. If you would like your own copy of the Minchiate Tarot, you can buy it now!
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 | The card not shown but at the center of the cross, represents the atmosphere surrounding the central issue. Prudence, when reversed: Using caution as an excuse for inaction. Endlessly pondering the circumstances, without setting a criteria for decision. Ignoring the problems with the current circumstance and focusing on the inevitable challenges of any solution. |
 | 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. Queen of Cups, when reversed: The dark essence of water, such as a deep and foreboding lake: Discomfort with the worlds of mind and matter, leading to a retreat to the spiritual. The embrace of negative relationships, driven by the desperate fear of being alone. Devotion to fantasies and daydreams, to the exclusion of practical skills or the pursuit of knowledge. Insecurity leading to dishonor, vice, and undue susceptibility to outside influences. |
 | The card at the top of the cross represents your goal, or the best you can achieve without a dramatic change of priorities. Pisces, when reversed: Escapism and blind idealism. Being crippled by your own beliefs. Vagueness and secrecy. Weakness of will. |
 | The card at the bottom of the cross represents the foundation on which the situation is based. Cancer, when reversed: Moodiness and passive aggression, easily triggered by obsessive territoriality. Behaving in an overemotional and clingy fashion. Inability to let go of people and things. |
 | The card at the left of the cross represents a passing influence or something to be released. Four of Coins (Power), when reversed: Using your power freely for your own enjoyment and the betterment of others. Coming to grips with progress and using your position to help it along. Finding security and identity someplace other than in the possession of material things. Letting go and encouraging others to find their own path. Being magnanimous and generous with your success. |
 | The card at the right of the cross represents an approaching influence or something to be embraced. Aquarius: A friendly humanitarian, honest and loyal to a fault. A perceptive communicator with strong intuitions about human nature. Independence and intellectual inventiveness, coupled with a drive towards the eccentric. |
 | The card at the base of the staff represents your role or attitude. Queen of Swords, when reversed: The dark essence of air behaving as water, such as a cold rain: A person gifted with both keen logic and natural intuition, giving them uncanny powers of perception and insight. One who easily sees the weakness in any argument, and savages friend and foe alike with biting sarcasm. Dry and vicious wit covering a hollow sense of isolation and dissatisfaction with life. |
 | The card second from the bottom of the staff represents your environment and the people you are interacting with. Knight of Coins, when reversed: The essence of earth behaving as fire, such as molten magma: One slow to action, even in the most urgent circumstances. A force of nature that cannot be diverted from the wrong path. The voice of duty and honor utterly divorced from reality. Lack of imagination and the complete unwillingness to try a different approach, even if the face of complete failure. Idleness and stagnation. |
 | The card second from the top of the staff represents your hopes, fears, or an unexpected element that will come into play. Ten of Swords (Ruin): Crushing defeat brought about by idle intellectualism divorced from reality. Sadness and desolation in the aftermath of a catastrophic and total collapse. A decisive conclusion brought about through the swift and merciless application of overwhelming force. |
 | The card at the top of the staff represents the ultimate outcome should you continue on this course. Eight of Cups (Indolence), when reversed: The realization that a matter thought to be important was actually of little consequence. Moving on from something in which you had invested great love and devotion. The start of an inner journey to find higher aspects of life. Reflection on what is truly fulfilling in life. |
