Hi James is the name, I have problems reading for myself, I know it's sould not be done this way but can you see something in the following?
(celtic cross}

C1-  7 Pentacles
C2-  Hierophant
C3-  Ace of Wands
C4-  Tower
C5-  Devil
C6-  Strength
C7-  9 Pents
C8-  Page Pents
C9-  2 Swords
C10- 5 Cups

I have moved your request to a new thread.

Hi, James!

Not to worry: yours is a likely thing to happen if you have not read much for yourself. I am happy to tell you what I see.

Just bear in mind that there are a few versions of the Celtic Cross (with some of the position meanings changed from one to another) and also, that you may get different readings from different decks. It would help to know which deck you used.

However, I have your spread before me using the standard Rider White, which also has quite standard meanings. I will tell you the position meanings as we go, in case any differ from your version. I am also assuming you did not get any reversed cards (some of us use them and some not, so do not be concerned about that).

On the whole, I see you beginning to focus on career plans (studies or job) after a time of upheaval that left you feeling disturbed. You have great energy, discipline and good qualities on your side, even if at this moment you need to distance yourself from something or someone you love in order to pursue your career dreams.

1- What is happening to you, how you feel - 7 of Pentacles: You are in a stage in which you can stand back and watch the fruits of your labor: they will be there for you. They are well developed and will require a little less energy from now on.

2- Influences - The Hierophant: There could be a mentor or teacher working closely by your side, or maybe that is what you are to others. Watch out for excessive rigidness or dogmatic formula. Another possible meaning here is to work out a marriage problem.

3- Your unconscious, what you feel - Ace of Wands: You have a great flow of energy coursing through you, strength, power, love for life, inspiration, creativity. Ideal for new beginnings, and that includes a newborn or an idea for a new business.

4- Recent Past, no longer active- The Tower: A period of violent change, the destruction of old situations, a break in a relationship. It could derive from some impetuous act or taking risks with great valor. It is usually thought to be a beneficial crisis in the long run, even if that is hard to see while it is happening. Sometimes the upheaval is more of an inner experience, like a sudden flash of deep understanding that can change your viewpoints forever.

5- What you think may happen -  The Devil: You fear you will be tempted to desire something so much that you will be controlled by it. You do not like to feel chained in a relationship, but sometimes you find that hard to avoid. As we will see later, maybe you would rather lose someone or something than feel you have no power of decision.

6- Near future influences- Strength: You will soon feel enough inner strength to face any change or hardship with calm selfcontrol, to pursue a challenging project surmounting any emotional tension derived from it. Your intelligence will be up to your goals and you will feel emotionally stable, with great will and sincerity toward yourself and others. Make the most of this qualities, together with the energy from the Ace of Wands and nothing should be able to stop you.

7- Your present attitude- 9 of Pentacles: You are very conscious of what feels really important to you, the goals that merit your best effort. You have the inner assurance that you have done the right thing in order to lead an active and productive life. You are selfmade and you know it, able to sacrifice company and distractions in order to achieve your goals. This requires great will power, discipline, intellect and imagination, all now working on your side.

8- Influence on/from your surroundings- Page of Pentacles: This can be someone you admire, younger than yourself, or it can be the way others see you. It is someone careful, hardworking, a good organizer and administrator, honest, kind, a very wise and fascinated student, fully committed to his/her work, rather than the results from it.

9- Your expectations affecting the outcome- 2 of Swords: You are feeling very defensive lately, in an uneasy balance between fury and fear, avoiding any contact that you feel could hurt you. You are afraid of not being able to keep from blowing up, but you also hope for a return of peace, that balance and friendship can come out of the present conflict.

10- Possible outcome- 5 of Cups: You will suffer but accept the loss of emotional backing from a friend or lover. Once you come to understand it, you will also be able to fully appreciate what you still have with you. Maybe the loss will be your own doing, either through temerity or by taking it for granted. You will use your conscience and determination as a bridge to recover stability and continuity.


Your reading is very balanced, with Pentacles the dominating force, so that you are mostly reminded of your career drive. A bit confused and let down on emotional matters, but you have everything you could need to withstand that and so much more. You really seem in for a powerful time, as 4 Major Arcana out of 10 cards can testify.

I hope everything works out for the best and that my interpretation has been of some use. It would be great to have a little feedback from you, even if you need some clarifying.

Best wishes  

Hi Pirid,
     Thank you for your reading, I did use the Rider-Waite deck and the spread was a basic one; I normally do reading with the Golden Dawn spread or quick readings with an Astrology spread, but with the trouble of seeing clearly when reading for myself I use either the Celtic Cross or the Rose Cross (which as far as I know is one of my own.) Your reading was very accurate as far as either letting go (exploding) or holding back; it is in my nature to resist the urge to become neanderthal (with is my word for any emotional outburst which is uncontrolled.) The last few month have been rather stressful but these things had to happen in order for me to progress. If your into Astrology you may find my transits of this time rather interesting (11th April, 1958 Melbourne, Australia) as they tend to coincide with the what you have said. By the way, when I do a reading for myself I do not ask a question, I still my mind and only seek guidance.
Again thank you, and further correspondence would be great.

Hi, James!

I also love general readings best: just letting the cards point out what I should be really looking into at any one time.

When reading for others, I get a little tired of the eternal "love questions", since usually people are playing for much more urgent or even life threatening stakes. These do tend to come up, anyway, showing that people tend to ask about love as an escapist pastime, so they won't have to face the really important issues.

I did try to get into astrology for a time, but found it (and still do) way too complicated for my tiny mind. Every time I browse around the Astrology Forum, I come out feeling like I have attended a conference in some strange language. But I am glad you found some coincidences that you can link to.

I would like to know how you do your layouts (I am a bit of a "spread collector": I take note of any unusual layouts in the Tarot forums). I have a couple of so called astrology spreads, but they are far from "quick", that is why I am interested to see how you use them. But you really awakened my interest with that Rose Spread that I never heard of before: an original layout is always great to hear from.

If you want to learn any new ones, I can tell you about some Gypsy ones, others good for Decision making, the specific spreads for couples, the astrological ones that I know of, some nice and easy know-yourself 4 card spread... Then there are all those majestic spreads that use all 78 cards and are like one year long readings: some of these are also astrological, and the first I learned about was The Tree of Life, which I believe derives from Jewish Kabbalah (is that how it's spelled?).

Anyway, I also hope to keep hearing from you. Nice to meet you