The “Past, Present, Future” Tarot spread is a great one to use when you want to know how you got to a certain place and where you’re headed.  For example, say you had a bad day. It just seemed like everything happened at once. Perhaps you were late to a meeting because your computer acted up. Then you spilled coffee on your desk. Perhaps some important information was missed, resulting in an error for a project. You know those days, but why did it happen? What energy was at work to manifest such an awful day?

The Past, Present, Future Tarot Spread

This is a three-card spread, read left to right (or right to left if you prefer). For the sample reading the question is “What do I need to know about the bad day I had today?”

The first card represents what event or energy in the immediate past influenced whatever issue or question you brought to the Tarot. In this example, we have the Hermit. It suggests that I wasn’t fully present before the day started; perhaps it was a Monday and my head was still in the weekend. Maybe I’ve been working at home for the pandemic, living the Hermit lifestyle, and now I’m back at the office and need to get used to being around other people all day.

The middle card is the present. The Empress in this position suggests some self-love, or self-care, and nurturing are needed right now. In the context of the question perhaps I’ve spent too much time apart from others and now need to accept my feelings of anxiety and frustration as I try to integrate back into the “regular” world again.

The last card is the future. With everything I know right now, what does tomorrow look like for me? With the King of Wands in this position tomorrow looks to be much better! Now that I know what anxiety I was holding about returning to the office is mitigated simply by the knowledge of why I was feeling wound up. Tomorrow I can adjust and reconnect with the creative and spiritual energy that this job usually holds for me.

Beyond the Three Cards

Sometimes this spread won’t be completely clear in one of its positions. Usually, it is either the past or future positions. When that happens, I will just draw an additional card to clarify the vague card. For example, I wanted to clarify the King of Wands and pulled out the Wheel of Fortune. This indicates to me what happened was just a fluke. I should settle down, let the day go, and start fresh tomorrow. We have bad days and good days and I shouldn’t attach anything more to this particular bad day.

So there you have it! The three-card past, present, and future Tarot card spread! Let me know if you find this explanation useful, or if you’ve used it yourself. Or schedule a consultation and we can do this spread together!