As human beings we live in an exact time and space.  Yet most tarot readings are vague as to specifics.  Spreads like the Celtic Cross can give a lot of background, which is well and good.  Yet what is often needed is a spread focused on timing. The Courtyard Spread does precisely this.  It orients the person coming to us, allowing them understanding of where they are,  just what they can expect and when.

The Courtyard Spread

I first learned of this spread many years ago at the start of my own tarot journey, and am pleased to introduce it with you now.

Once the question has been asked, have the person you are reading for (the querent) select a card that represents them.  Here’s one way to do this with little muss or fuss.  Shuffle the deck.  Have the querent draw cards one after another until they pick either a court card or a trump. Put this card, which we’ll refer to as the significator, to the side.

Now shuffle the remaining 77 cards.  Have the querent select 12 cards without looking at them.  Take the significator card and mix it with these 12 cards.  Next, starting from the top right, place the cards face down as shown in the diagram.

Think of this as a pathway through an old courtyard in the back of a forgotten medieval church. The cards are a map-like representation of what the querent has experienced, and will experience in relation to the question.

Start turning over cards beginning at the upper left, and proceeding in numbered order as shown on the diagram.  Stop when you have uncovered the card representing the querent. You have now everything you need to understand where the client is in relation to the question in time. If the person is in the seventh position, at the bottom of the chart, half has been resolved, and half will be resolved.  If you can identify the exact time when the situation began, you can estimate accurately how much time remains.  The cards uncovered prior to discovering the significator show events the querent has already experienced in the past.  Identifying these will allow you to pinpoint years, months and even days with exactitude.

Having so many cards to read can be daunting.  One way to handle the number of cards is to treat them as stories by grouping them into pairs or triples.  It’s also good to remember that cards, like people, have many levels on which we can relate. We don’t always have to go deep.

Update: You only need to draw one significator.  This spread uses a total of 13 cards.

Example of the Courtyard Spread

Querent: Tell me about the writing of my book

The card representing the querent is the Queen of Wands.  This is a person who knows how to do the work that is needed.  She has gone through all of the steps necessary for mastery.  But she is sitting back and not doing it for some reason. The spread will show us why.

The number of cards drawn before the court card or the trump can give you clues as to the level of enthusiasm, or difficulty, or hesitation involved in the question.  Therapists talk about this as resistance.  It can be extra information for you.  In this example, quite a few cards are drawn before the Queen of Wands was revealed. From the expression on my client’s face, it’s obvious she is not surprised.

Courtyard Tarot Spread Example

Significator in the Last Position

It’s immediately apparent that is going to be an exceptional reading. For one thing, the Queen of Wands falls in the last position.  This is rare.  In fact, it’s the first time I’ve experienced this in all the time I’ve been using this Courtyard Spread.

In this reading there are six trumps, out of thirteen cards.  In most readings you would expect maybe a quarter of the cards to be trumps.  If, as in this case, half the cards are trumps you can work on the assumption that the reading is a significant one. It may be that the client has never had their cards read before.  Often this first reading will have many trump cards revealed.  It may be that the information in the reading really needs to be heard and understood by the client.  In all such cases noting down the names of the trumps may be of use to the client in the future.

In the case of this reading, the querent indicates the issue is a loaded one for them, underscoring the presence of the six trumps,  I The Magician, IIII The Emperor, V Jupiter, or the Pope, VIII Justice, VIIII The Hermit, and VI The Lover.

Courtyard Spread – Example Interpretation

The effort at writing her book starts with difficulty and can not possibly succeed at that time¹. The client has much to give², and an strategic understanding, but is blocked. She goes back to the drawing board³, back to investigating, learning and studying.  The client pegs this part of the story as occurring 2 years ago.

A sense of wanting to go forward, but moving back⁴ leads to regained confidence⁵, and instruction and mentoring of others in the subject area of the book⁶. Some legal matter or other personal hardship⁷ put an end to the forward progress, leading to a pulling back⁸ and retreat. Increased sadness and pulling away⁹ with depression¹⁰ passes, resulting in a fresh outlook and youthful determination to get back to work on the book¹¹. The client reconsiders the tone, format, and audience, and chooses to follow her heart rather than write the book that she feels she “ought to” write¹². This brings her to the present moment, where she is needs only to move into action.  The book is before her.  It’s time to move.

Download the Courtyard Spread

You can download a free copy of the Courtyard Spread layout below.  If you do, please like this post on Facebook, or consider giving a cup of tea.  Thanks!

Courtyard Tarot Spread

A tarot spread for timing. Enter the regular price or 0.00 to get this item for free.

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1. 1 – Three of Swords [↩]
2. 2 – Queen of Cups [↩]
3. 3 – Page of Cups [↩]
4. 4 – I The Magician [↩]
5. 5 – IIII The Emperor [↩]
6. 6 – V Jupiter, or the Pope [↩]
7. 7 – VIII Justice [↩]
8. 8 – VIIII The Hermit [↩]
9. 9 – Seven of Swords [↩]
10. 10 – Ace of Swords [↩]
11. 11 – Page of Wands [↩]
12. 12 – VI The Lover [↩]

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