10 cards
Celtic Cross spread
Ten cards, the most detailed traditional spread. Rewards a specific question and punishes a vague one.
The positions
Card 1
Present
Card 2
Challenge
Card 3
Past
Card 4
Future
Card 5
Above — conscious aim
Card 6
Below — unconscious
Card 7
Advice
Card 8
External influences
Card 9
Hopes and fears
Card 10
Outcome
Use it when a situation has several moving parts and you want them separated.
How to read it
Lay the cards face down in order, then turn them one at a time and say what you see before reaching for a meaning. The image comes first; the book comes second.
Read positions against each other rather than in isolation. In a three-card spread the interesting information is usually in the gap between the first and the third — what has to change for one to become the other.
Reversals are optional. Decide before you shuffle, not when an unwelcome card appears.