So last Tuesday I was digging through my dusty tarot decks thinking, hey why not try that Celtic Cross spread everyone talks about? Been doing simple three-card readings for ages but wanted to level up. Grabbed my most worn Rider-Waite deck, cleared off the coffee table (pushed aside like three half-empty mugs first, obviously).
The Celtic Cross Attempt
Started by shuffling like mad while thinking about my buddy’s career question. Laid out ten cards face down following some scribbled notes from a book. Took freaking forever to position them right – kept messing up past vs. future placements. Flipped the first card: Nine of Pentacles. Nice! Independent vibes. Next card? Seven of Swords crossed it. Ugh, deception or secrets. Already sweating because now I gotta interpret how these clash.
Halfway through, my cat jumps up and scatters position 5 and 6 everywhere. Took ten minutes to redo it all. Final card was The Tower – yeah, big shakeup coming. Felt like solving a giant puzzle with missing pieces. Wrote down notes with shaky hands saying things like “Possible job change BUT watch for backstabbing?” Felt super drained afterward.
Comparing Spreads Disaster
Next day I figured, how does this compare to my usual quick spreads? Tested three others with the same career question:
- Three-card spread (past/present/future): Done in two minutes. Simple but shallow – just said “Past stability, present decisions, future growth.” Missing all the juicy Celtic Cross warnings.
- Horseshoe spread (7 cards): Less overwhelming than Celtic Cross but still tripped over positions like “hidden influences” vs. “environment.” Ended up with three cards suggesting conflict. Which one actually mattered? No clue.
- Yes/No spread (1 card): Pulled The Chariot. “Yeah probably go for it?” Felt uselessly vague after Celtic Cross’s novel-length drama.
Biggest difference? Celtic Cross drowns you in details while smaller spreads leave you wanting more. With Celtic Cross I got analysis paralysis. With others I felt like I cheated. Neither felt “right.” My notebook just has angry scribbles like “WHY SO MANY SWORDS CARDS?” and “Position 7 contradicted Position 3??”
Epic Fail & Cold Coffee Reality
After four days of this? I realized I’m too impatient for Celtic Cross. It’s like trying to bake a wedding cake when you just wanted cookies. Yeah you get layers but dang it’s messy. Still haven’t fully cleaned the coffee rings off my Celtic Cross diagram printout. Maybe tomorrow. Or never.
