The Tirage Aux Croix Tarot SpreadThe Tirage Aux Croix Tarot spread is a great Tarot spread when one needs clarity over a choice or direction. It is best not to see the Tirage Aux Croix making the decision for you but rather drawing from within you the necessary insight to proceed with clarity.There are different ways one can look at the Tarot cards positions within the Tirage Aux Croix and with practice and experience you will discover how the cards work with each other to produce a natural synthesis. For example, some see the 1st card as positive and the 2nd negative. Some see the 1st card as the querent and the 2nd card as the situation and so on. For me I like the idea of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. This feels right and thus produces a better reading. Like I say, the more you use this spread the more you will discover the correlations in the positioning and the more intuitive it will become.Here is the layout with card order. For the Tirage Aux Croix I use the Trumps, or major Arcana. Of course, you can use all the Tarot cards for this spread but it becomes very powerful with just the Trumps as you are dealing with profound archetypal images. When you layout the Tarot cards, leave the 5th card, the quintessence, as that will be determined at the end.

Ok, thefirst Tarot card is the thesis. This is the card that sums up the purpose and motivation for the reading. This is an important card for it will also show where the querent is within themselves regarding the matter. It may also reveal deeper concerns that lie below the surface of the question. This can show a clearer desire, a more focused question and thus a more accurate Tirage Aux Croix reading.Thesecond Tarot card is the antithesis. This is not necessarily negative; this is simply an alternative to the question. It can be a block to a desire or reasons why not to go ahead. Think of this card as a contrast to the first card and an opposite perspective. For example, if the Tirage Aux Croix reading is about a house move, cards 1 and 2 can be seen as a pros/cons list rather than simply positive and negative.Thethird Tarot card is the synthesis. This is something created from the previous two Tarot cards. This is not just a third element but rather a combination of both to produce a synthesised whole. This card will take all the thesis elements and all the antithesis elements and from here, we can see an overall balance. This card can be very useful for determining the actual situation, which may not be exactly what the querent thought of at the beginning. For example, the querent may come with ideas of financial concerns but the synthesis may show that self-worth is the root of the situation.Thefourth Tarot card is the outcome. This is the flow of events as they are extending from the synthesis. This is possible outcomes based on current or modified behaviour. This may link directly to the first card, e.g the outcome of going ahead with the house move. Alternatively, it may extend from the synthesis card. So in our money example, the outcome may relate to the querents ideas of self-worth and how that can affect further results.Thefifth Tarot card is the quintessence. To get this card we add up all the numbers of the trumps so far. We then see if this number is higher than 22. If it is then we reduce that number by adding the digits together. This new number is then the Trump card which will be placed in the center. I use The Fool card as 22. For example if you have drawn The Tower, Judgement, The Lovers and Temperance we will have 16 + 20 + 6 + 14. Together this gives us a total of 56. We then add 5 + 6 to get 11. Thus the quintessence card is the 11th Trump which would be Strength. Obviously any number from 22 under will relate to a Trump with 22 being the Fool.Now this quintessence card is the unifying force field if you like. It is both a summation of the whole Tirage Aux Croix reading plus the 5th element, something that transcends the whole to offer a harmonious perspective. It is the energy that permeates the reading and the situation itself. If the quintessence card, once calculated, is a card that is already on the table then we have a clear indication of the dynamics of the situation. This can be see as the quintessence manifesting in that particular area and thus should be noted carefully.The Tirage Aux Croix is a wonderfully fluid spread. I find it best not to be too strict on the actual definitions of the positions. Use them as guiding lights that meet together to produce and overall reading but if during the Tirage Aux Croix reading it feels like a particular card or placement is calling to you then go with that instinct.Remember, these spreads are snapshots within time and space and in an instant they are gone.