AUTHOR’S NOTE: It’s a well-worn cliche that nothing presented in a tarot reading is carved in stone; any outcome is subject to adjustment by timely action (and, it must be said, negligent inaction) of the seeker. However, there are cards that lean toward a fortunate outcome no matter how ill-favored they are by surrounding cards, and those that are inherently difficult regardless of how well-favored they might be. It may not be “fate,” but it is certainly inclination. (Two examples are the Sun on one hand and the Tower on the other.)

Here is a spread that examines potential trends in two directions: upward to a “happy ending” and downward to a less-satisfactory conclusion. The idea is to imagine both the best-possible and worst-possible outcomes for the situation and intentionally choose cards to represent those extremes, placing them at opposite ends of the spread. In addition, a card to describe the current state of affairs or, alternatively, the querent’s stance in the matter, is to be chosen by the individual with assistance from the reader and placed in the center. This spread makes a valiant stab at acknowledging the impact of “good” cards in “bad” positions and vice versa.