Cross spread

The cross spread is one of the strongest Tarot de Marseille structures when it comes to analyzing a situation methodically. It is not meant to “see the future” in a simplistic sense. It is meant to organize a reading, distinguish the forces at work and then bring out an overall logic.

In the Tarot Nova method, the cross spread relies on four cards, laid out according to four distinct functions: the core of the matter, what hinders, what helps and the probable evolution.

To this structure is added a three-level synthetic reading: the current dynamic, the probable evolution and the global archetype of the spread. This articulation is what distinguishes a structured reading from a simple juxtaposition of meanings.

The Tarot Nova method does not stop at directly reading the four cards. It adds a synthesis process that makes it possible to read not only the positions, but also the logic circulating between them.

This method distinguishes three levels:

• • Current situation: calculated by adding cards 1 and 3 (core of the matter + what helps)
• • Probable evolution: calculated by adding cards 2 and 4 (what hinders + evolution)
• • Global synthesis: calculated by adding all four cards

This triple reading gives the cross spread particular depth: it makes it possible to distinguish what is active now, what pushes evolution and which archetype dominates the whole.

In Tarot Nova, syntheses are calculated from the arcana numbers. The principle is simple, but must be applied rigorously.

• • If the total is less than or equal to 21, the number is kept.
• • If the total is exactly 22, the synthesis becomes The Fool.
• • If the total is greater than 22, a theosophical reduction is applied.
• • If the final result falls on 13, 13 is kept as such.
• • 0 does not appear as a reduction result: it applies only to The Fool.

Example: 1 + 9 + 14 + 21 = 45. 4 + 5 = 9. The global synthesis is therefore The Hermit.

Reversed cards do not modify the numerical value used for calculations. A reversed card therefore keeps its number.

However, reversal acts on the tone of the reading. It nuances the expression of the card and the synthesis: tension, delay, interiorization, excess, resistance or difficulty in unfolding.

Thus the calculated synthesis remains stable in its archetypal structure, but its concrete expression may be more fluid or more constrained depending on the number of reversed cards.

As with any serious spread, the quality of the reading depends as much on the question as on the gesture itself.

• • take a moment of silence or centering;
• • formulate one single question;
• • avoid confused or multi-polar wording;
• • accept the spread as a reading, not as a sentence.

The cross spread is not meant to multiply hypotheses. It serves to clarify a dynamic. Its power comes precisely from this capacity to organize meaning.

A good question is neither too broad nor too poor. It must allow the spread structure to reveal an issue, a tension and an orientation.

The cross spread does not replace thinking. It helps structure it better.

1. 1. Read card 1 first: what is the true core of the matter?
2. 2. Then read card 2: what hinders or complicates?
3. 3. Read card 3: what resource is available?
4. 4. Read card 4: what direction is the dynamic tending toward?
5. 5. Calculate the mini-synthesis of the current situation (1 + 3).
6. 6. Calculate the mini-synthesis of the probable evolution (2 + 4).
7. 7. Calculate the global synthesis (1 + 2 + 3 + 4).

The final reading must hold together the four cards and the three synthesis levels. This coherence is what gives the spread its value.

Question: “What dynamic is running through my current situation?”

• • Repeating the spread until you get a more reassuring result.
• • Reading the cards in isolation without taking syntheses into account.
• • Believing the synthesis replaces analysis.
• • Confusing probable evolution with a fixed future.
• • Using a question that is too broad for such a precise structure.