Decision
When you are torn between two options, your thoughts often go round in circles: no sooner have you found an argument for A than one for B pipes up. The decision spread breaks this circling by laying both paths side by side. For each path there is one card that shows what it asks of you and one that shows where it leads. On top of that there is a card for you yourself at the point of choice. The tarot doesn’t take the decision off your hands, but it puts in order what is jumbled up inside you.
Stop the reel or choose from the circle: the moment you decide determines the card.
When to use this spread
The spread works when exactly two options are on the table and you can name them clearly: take the job or stay, move or not, seek out the conversation or wait. It helps when you feel you have long known both sides and still can’t move forward. It is less suitable when you don’t yet know what the options are; then the Horseshoe or the Celtic Cross will sort things out better. And it is no substitute for professional advice on health, money or the law. There, at most, it shows where you yourself stand on the options.
The positions
- Starting point – Where do you stand as you face the decision? This card describes your state of mind at the moment of choice: whether you are under pressure, waiting, torn, or have long since decided inwardly. It often explains why the decision is so hard. Read it first, because it colours how you perceive the two paths.
- Path A – What does it mean to take path A? The card shows the attitude this path demands of you and the experience it offers you: courage, patience, sacrifice, a fresh start. It doesn’t judge whether the path is right. It describes who you would have to be on it. That is often the more honest information.
- Outcome of A – Where does path A lead? Not a prediction, but the direction this path takes you in if you walk it with the attitude of the card above. Read the two cards as one sentence: “If I take A and am like this along the way, then this is what shows itself.” Check whether this outcome matters to you.
- Path B – What does it mean to take path B? The same question for the other option. Compare it directly with path A: do both ask the same of you, or do they challenge very different sides of you? Sometimes this card shows that B isn’t the comfortable option you took it for at all.
- Outcome of B – Where does path B lead? Here too a direction, not a guarantee. Put the two outcome cards side by side and ask yourself which of the two stories you would rather be telling in a year’s time. Often the question is decided less by the paths themselves than by which outcome feels right.
How to read the spread
Settle what A is and what B is before you shuffle, and write it down. Then begin with the starting point. Next, read one side completely: path A and its outcome, as a sentence in two halves. Then the other side in the same way. Only then do you compare the two columns with each other.
Pay attention to the balance of the spread. If both sides show similar cards or the same suit, the difference between the paths is smaller than it feels; then it is more about setting off at all. If the Major Arcana gather on one side, that is where the bigger life theme lies, not automatically the better path. Reversed cards on one path show that there you would be going against resistance or against yourself. A court card as an outcome can show the person this path turns you into.
And then the most important step: observe your reaction. Which column did you read first, which outcome card relieved you, which one disappointed you? This stirring is the part of the answer that isn’t lying on the table.
An example
Murat has an offer from another company (path A) and at the same time the prospect of taking on a new role at his current firm (path B). His cards from the Waite-Smith tarot: starting point Two of Swords. Path A Eight of Wands, outcome of A The Chariot. Path B The Hierophant, outcome of B Three of Pentacles. The Two of Swords shows a blindfolded woman holding two swords in balance: so far Murat has hidden the decision from himself, because standing still was more comfortable than looking. Path A, the Eight of Wands, demands speed and the willingness to get moving before everything is settled. The Chariot as the outcome shows independence and forward drive, but also the effort of steering two forces for the long haul. Path B, the Hierophant, stands for structure, mentors and established rules: staying means growing within a system. The Three of Pentacles as the outcome shows recognised craftsmanship and good collaboration. Both paths are viable; that is the first insight. The second: the question isn’t “Which is better?” but “Do I want speed or depth right now?”. Murat notices that the Three of Pentacles makes him calmer than the Chariot does. He hasn’t decided yet, but he now knows what he is deciding about.
Tips
- Name A and B in writing before you shuffle. Reinterpreting them afterwards makes the spread worthless.
- If both columns look heavy, ask about a third path: perhaps an option is missing.
- Never read the outcome cards in isolation, always together with the path above them.
- Sleep on the spread for a night before you act.