| 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. The Empress, when reversed: Stifling domesticity. Bourgeois limitations. High-handed matriarchy. Junoesque jealousy. |
 | 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. Five of Cups (Disappointment): Serious, but not irreversible mistake. A betrayal born of lack of faith. Beauty found and lost, where ugliness was expected. |
 | The card at the top of the cross represents your goal, or the best you can achieve without a dramatic change of priorities. Three of Staves (Virtue), when reversed: Dishonesty and conflict in affairs. |
 | The card at the bottom of the cross represents the foundation on which the situation is based. Wheel of Fortune: The intrusion of chance into affairs. Unlikely coincidence. "What goes up, must come down." The intercession of good fortune in life. A sudden opportunity that must be exploited deftly and promptly; according to Machiavelli, in The Prince, Fortune is "bald behind", that is, once she runs past, it will be too late to grab her, and so she must be seized as she approaches, "by the forelock". |
 | The card at the left of the cross represents a passing influence or something to be released. Four of Staves (Completion): Calm, pleasurable and perhaps amorous interlude. A playful balance of opposites, like the exchange made by Herakles and Queen Omphale. |
 | The card at the right of the cross represents an approaching influence or something to be embraced. Three of Swords (Sorrow), when reversed: Balance of forces in conflict. Rest from struggle. |
 | The card at the base of the staff represents your role or attitude. Four of Swords (Truce), when reversed: Cautious recommencement of activity. |
 | The card second from the bottom of the staff represents your environment and the people you are interacting with. King of Cups: A dignified and accomplished person, compassionate and intuitively accurate. A successful professional, humanitarian and idealistic. One who appreciates the Dionysian side of the arts and the wild, mysterious aspect of nature. |
 | The card second from the top of the staff represents your hopes, fears, or an unexpected element that will come into play. Knight of Cups, when reversed: Fraudulent emotion. A charming, but irresponsible person. |
 | The card at the top of the staff represents the ultimate outcome should you continue on this course. Page of Cups, when reversed: Emotional excess. Distraction. Seduction. |
