The Celtic Cross is a ten-card tarot spread: six cards form a cross on the left, and four more stand in a column, often called the staff, on the right. The cross describes the situation itself, and the staff describes you, the people around you, your hopes and fears, and where things seem to be heading. It's the best-known large spread in tarot, and it reads far more easily once you take it in pairs rather than as ten separate cards.

The ten positions of the Celtic Cross

Guidebooks vary a little in wording, but these are the positions most readers use, in the order Arthur Edward Waite gave them.

  1. The present. The heart of the matter, the situation as it stands.
  2. The challenge. Laid sideways across the first card. What crosses you: an obstacle, a complication, or sometimes a help you haven't recognized.
  3. Above: the aim. What you're consciously working toward, or the best that could come of this.
  4. Below: the foundation. What the situation rests on. Often something older or less visible.
  5. Behind: the recent past. An influence that's just passing.
  6. Before: the near future. What seems to be coming into play next.
  7. Yourself. Your attitude, or how you're showing up.
  8. Your surroundings. Other people, your home or workplace, the outside view.
  9. Hopes and fears. Often the same thing seen from two sides.
  10. Where it's heading. The likely direction if nothing changes. Not a verdict.

How to lay out the cross and the staff

Shuffle with your question in mind, then deal from the top.

Place card 1 in the center. Lay card 2 across it, turned sideways. Card 3 goes above the pair, card 4 below. Card 5 goes to one side and card 6 to the other, completing the cross. Then build the staff to the right, from the bottom up: 7 at the base, then 8, 9 and 10 at the top.

Which side is "behind" and which is "before" depends on the book. Waite tied them to the direction the figure on a chosen court card was facing; many modern readers simply put the past on the left and the future on the right. Some books also swap cards 3 and 4. None of these choices is wrong. Pick one version, write it down, and use it every time so your positions mean the same thing from reading to reading.

Some readers first choose a court card to represent themselves, called a significator, and lay the first card on top of it. That step is optional. Our guide to tarot court cards explained covers how people pick one.

Read it in pairs, not one card at a time

Ten cards is a lot to read in a line. Reading them in five pairs is clearer, because each pair is built around a contrast.

  • 1 and 2: the core. What's happening and what complicates it. Read these first and keep them in mind throughout.
  • 3 and 4: conscious and underneath. What you're aiming for against what the situation rests on. When these disagree, that gap is often the real subject of the reading.
  • 5 and 6: past and next. What's fading and what's arriving. Together they show movement.
  • 7 and 8: inside and outside. How you see yourself in this, against how your surroundings look. Useful for spotting where your view and other people's part ways.
  • 9 and 10: hopes and direction. What you hope or fear, against where things seem to be heading. If card 10 surprises you, look back at 9: the fear may be shaping the outcome.

Once you've read the pairs, look across the whole spread for patterns: a dominant suit, several Major Arcana, repeated numbers.

A Celtic Cross reading, worked through

The question: "How should I approach the decision about moving cities for work?"

  1. Present: Two of Wands. A figure on a battlement holding a globe, looking out. You're weighing a bigger horizon.
  2. Challenge: Four of Pentacles. Someone clutching coins. The pull of security, the fear of giving up what's solid.
  3. Aim: The Star. Hope and renewal. You want this move to feel like a fresh start, not just a promotion.
  4. Foundation: Six of Cups. Nostalgia and old ties. Much of the hesitation rests on attachment to where you grew up.
  5. Recent past: Eight of Wands. Things moved fast: the offer came quickly.
  6. Near future: Knight of Pentacles. Slow, methodical steps. The next stage is practical research, not a leap.
  7. Yourself: Nine of Swords. Worry that grows at night. You're thinking about this at 2 a.m.
  8. Surroundings: Three of Cups. Friends and celebration. The people around you are supportive.
  9. Hopes and fears: The Tower. You fear the move will upend everything. Part of you may hope it does.
  10. Direction: Six of Swords. A quiet move toward calmer water.

Reading the pairs: the core is ambition held back by security (1, 2). The aim is renewal, but the foundation is old attachment (3, 4), which explains the tension. Things moved fast and now want slowing down (5, 6). You're anxious while your friends are cheering (7, 8). The fear of collapse sits beside a direction that looks much gentler (9, 10).

In one sentence: slow the decision down, research it properly, and notice that the worst-case version lives mostly in late-night worry. That's a reading you can do something with tomorrow.

Where the Celtic Cross comes from

The spread became widely known through Arthur Edward Waite, who published it as "An Ancient Celtic Method of Divination" in his guide to the deck Pamela Colman Smith illustrated in 1909. Despite the name, there's no evidence it is ancient or Celtic; it seems to have circulated in the occult circles Waite moved in, and the name may simply reflect the shape. Our short history of tarot covers the deck and the people around it.

When ten cards is too many

The Celtic Cross suits a question with several moving parts: a move, a career change, a relationship at a turning point. For a smaller question, it tends to produce noise. Ten positions will always find ten things to say, and you'll spend the evening connecting dots that don't need connecting.

If your question fits in one sentence and has one decision in it, try three cards first. Our list of tarot spreads for beginners has smaller layouts, including a five-card cross that works as a practice run. For a quick three-card warm-up before you tackle the full cross, try a free pick a card reading.

Questions readers ask

Do you need a significator for the Celtic Cross?

No. The significator is a traditional extra step, and many modern readers skip it, partly because it removes a card from the deck before you shuffle. If you like the ritual of choosing a card to represent yourself, use one. If not, start with card 1.

What does the outcome card mean in a Celtic Cross?

Card 10 shows where things seem to be heading if nothing changes. It isn't fixed. Most readers treat it as the end of a sentence you can still edit, and look at cards 6, 7 and 9 for what you might change.

How long should a Celtic Cross reading take?

Give yourself twenty to thirty minutes for a first attempt, and write as you go. Experienced readers can do it faster, but rushing a ten-card spread is the quickest way to miss how the pairs connect.

Can I do a Celtic Cross with an online draw?

Yes. Any fair random draw works, as long as you keep the positions straight. Write the ten positions down, draw ten distinct cards in order, and lay them out in the shape on paper so you can see the cross and the staff.