| 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 Renaissance Tarot is a modern deck, with symbolism drawn from the heroic age and rendered in renaissance style. This deck is an excellent choice for exploring questions of passion, mastery, and the inner workings of human reason. If you would like your own copy of the Renaissance Tarot, you can buy it now! |
 | The card not shown but at the center of the cross, represents the atmosphere surrounding the central issue. The Emperor: Worldly authority. Professional success. Social power. The life of action and decision, especially in politics and business. Patriarch, clan leader, and pater familias. |
 | 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 Tower: Comeuppance. Setback. Disaster. Arrogance of pride cast down by Providence. Unforeseen event. Calamity. |
 | The card at the top of the cross represents your goal, or the best you can achieve without a dramatic change of priorities. Ace of Staves, when reversed: A beginning that is faulty from lack of conviction or from an excess of complacency. |
 | The card at the bottom of the cross represents the foundation on which the situation is based. Strength: Strength and fortitude. Moral resolve. Triumph over base instincts. Mens sana in corpore sana (Sound mind in a sound body). |
 | The card at the left of the cross represents a passing influence or something to be released. The Hierophant: The abstract, spiritual and intellectual side of the animus, or masculine nature of the soul. Spiritual authority. Religious tradition. Avuncular wisdom. The old order and the old school. |
 | The card at the right of the cross represents an approaching influence or something to be embraced. The Hanged Man, when reversed: Masochism. Self-imposed confinement. Potential release from bondage. |
 | The card at the base of the staff represents your role or attitude. Wheel of Fortune: The intrusion of chance into affairs. Unlikely coincidence. "What goes up, must come down." The intercession of good fortune in life. A sudden opportunity that must be exploited deftly and promptly; according to Machiavelli, in The Prince, Fortune is "bald behind", that is, once she runs past, it will be too late to grab her, and so she must be seized as she approaches, "by the forelock". |
 | The card second from the bottom of the staff represents your environment and the people you are interacting with. Eight of Staves (Swiftness): An explosion of movement and activity. A dramatic event. An unusual manifestation. |
 | The card second from the top of the staff represents your hopes, fears, or an unexpected element that will come into play. Three of Swords (Sorrow): Conflict of two mighty forces for the possession or mastery of something or someone. A dangerous triangle. |
 | The card at the top of the staff represents the ultimate outcome should you continue on this course. Queen of Swords, when reversed: Consuming fire; the flames of the martyrdom of Joan of Arc, Phaedra's misguided passion, Medea's jealousy, Lady Macbeth's ambition. Fire, if left to burn unchecked, can consume the soul. |
