Why the 3-Card Spread Will Never Go Out of Style (Plus 5 Variations to Try)

The 3 card spread is my go to.  It’s just so versatile!  It gives you just enough information without being too cumbersome or heavy-handed.  

I especially like to use it in tarot readings where I have a lot of people who want to be read.  For example, I read tarot for people at DragonCon for several years, and I would use the 3 card reading to keep things quick and snappy, but thorough.  And if you need more information, you can always draw clarifying cards.

The three card reading can be read a few different ways:

Past, present, and future spread.  This is the way I read the cards at events like DragonCon where there are dozens of people that need readings that day.  It gives you a great snapshot of the situation and its causes and potential outcome.

Yes or no spread.  This is an easy way to read a situation that just needs a yes or no answer.  If two or more cards are upright, that’s a yes.  If two or more cards are reversed, that’s a no.  You can then read the cards to see why or why not.

Quickie relationship spread.  You can read this for relationship questions involving 2 people, where the person on the left is the querant, the person on the right is the other person, and the card in the middle is the answer to their question, or how those two people can come together.

Future spread.  This is a great reading for someone who wants to look more into the future than the past, present, future spread will do.  For this reading, the first card is the situation, the second card is the near future (in the next few weeks), and the third card is the far future (a few months to a few years).  This can be handy paired with the timing cards from this article.

Past spread.  This works just like the future spread, where you look at the basis of a situation.  The first card is the distant past that is informing the current situation.  The middle card is the more recent past, and the third card is the present, with all the effects of the past.  This one can help you look at a situation and see why you’re dealing with it now.

There are a ton of other ways to read a 3-card reading.  Let me know your favorites below!

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