| The Celtic Cross spread is one of the most popular Tarot spreads, providing varied insight into many aspects of a complex situation and your role in it. The International Icon Tarot renders traditional occult symbolism in Swiss iconography. It is a humorous and direct approach to divination, and one of our favorite new decks. If you would like your own copy of the International Icon Tarot, you can buy it now!
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 | The card not shown but at the center of the cross, represents the atmosphere surrounding the central issue. The Lovers, when reversed: Inner strife, frustration, suspicion, and disagreements in a relationship. Irresponsibility and indecision. Avoiding true intimacy in favor of lust. Unfaithfulness. |
 | The card visible at the center of the cross represents the obstacle that stands in your way - it may even be something that sounds good but is not actually to your benefit. The Fool: Fearlessness, imagination, open-mindedness, and an adventurous spirit. Freedom from cares and worries. Ideas, thoughts, and impulses coming from a completely unexpected place. Nonchalance at the threshold of gaining all or losing all. Extravagance and intoxication with life. The pure and undifferentiated power of creation itself, where ultimate knowledge and oblivion are unified. |
 | The card at the top of the cross represents your goal, or the best you can achieve without a dramatic change of priorities. Two of Pentacles (Change): Balance and harmony achieved in a time of upheaval and transformation. Taking two steps forward for every one step back. Shifting the importance of projects and priorities to keep everything on track. A change in occupation or location. |
 | The card at the bottom of the cross represents the foundation on which the situation is based. Death, when reversed: Stagnation or petrifaction. The refusal to let go of the past. Resistance to change because of fear. |
 | The card at the left of the cross represents a passing influence or something to be released. Six of Swords (Science): Trusting in intelligence and intuition and setting off into the unknown. Leaving an untenable situation and charting a new course. Passage from difficulty and progress towards a solution. The road to recovery. Travel and exploration. |
 | The card at the right of the cross represents an approaching influence or something to be embraced. Strength: Raw power. Health and physical fortitude. A surge of tremendous force. Recovery from sickness. Victory after apprehension and fear. The ability to face and overcome opposition brings the inner qualities of strength and forbearance. Delays and setbacks will be overcome. |
 | The card at the base of the staff represents your role or attitude. Queen of Cups, when reversed: The dark essence of water, such as a deep and foreboding lake: Discomfort with the worlds of mind and matter, leading to a retreat to the spiritual. The embrace of negative relationships, driven by the desperate fear of being alone. Devotion to fantasies and daydreams, to the exclusion of practical skills or the pursuit of knowledge. Insecurity leading to dishonor, vice, and undue susceptibility to outside influences. |
 | The card second from the bottom of the staff represents your environment and the people you are interacting with. Six of Wands (Victory), when reversed: Arrogance and dangerous overconfidence as the result of a past success. Impudence and false pride in meaningless achievements. Fear of failure coupled with false hopes. Frustration over indefinite delays and motion without progress. |
 | The card second from the top of the staff represents your hopes, fears, or an unexpected element that will come into play. Nine of Cups (Happiness), when reversed: Vanity, conceit, and smugness in romance, friendship, or other relationships. Achieving what you always thought you wanted. Overindulging in food, drink, or the pleasures of the flesh. A state of joy and abundance that is shallow and fleeting. |
 | The card at the top of the staff represents the ultimate outcome should you continue on this course. Six of Cups (Pleasure), when reversed: Closing your heart to the simple pleasures of life. Escaping realities by living in the past. Refusal to grow up and embrace the joys of adulthood. Contempt for acts of gentle kindness. May indicate immaturity or sexual insecurities. May indicate the departure of an old friend. |
