The Art of Tarot Spreads

Past, Present, Future by Barbara Moore

Move beyond simply laying cards on a table and discover the art behind creating tarot spreads that ask better questions, reveal deeper connections and transform the way you read.

We all have one.

That tarot spread we've used approximately nine thousand times.

Past. Present. Future.

Situation. Challenge. Advice.

And, of course, the mighty Celtic Cross.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the classics. They became classics for a reason.

But eventually, many tarot readers reach a point where they want something more.

The Art of Tarot Spreads by Barbara Moore is designed for exactly that moment.

Rather than simply handing you another collection of layouts to memorise, Barbara explores the thinking behind tarot spreads, helping you understand how spreads work, why their positions matter and how to choose, adapt and create layouts that genuinely suit the reading in front of you.

This isn't simply a book of tarot spreads.

It's a book about becoming a better tarot reader.

🃏 A Tarot Spread Is More Than a Pattern of Cards

A good spread creates structure.

It takes a question and breaks it into smaller pieces, allowing the cards to explore different aspects of a situation and the relationships between them.

But why does one spread produce an extraordinary reading while another leaves you staring at six cards wondering what on earth they're trying to tell you?

Barbara Moore encourages readers to look beneath the layout itself.

Through history, examples, practical exercises and contemporary approaches, you'll explore how the design and structure of a spread influences the reading that follows.

Instead of endlessly searching online for the perfect spread, you'll begin developing the confidence to recognise what your reading actually needs.

✨ From Following Spreads to Understanding Them

One of the biggest transitions in learning tarot happens when you stop asking:

"Which spread should I use?"

and start asking:

"What do I actually want these cards to explore?"

That shift changes everything.

The Art of Tarot Spreads helps you understand the mechanics behind layouts so you can choose existing spreads more effectively, adapt them when necessary and approach your readings with greater creativity and intention. Barbara uses stories, examples and hands-on exercises throughout to make those ideas practical rather than purely theoretical.

Why You'll Love This Book

🃏 Explore both classic and contemporary tarot spreads

✨ Understand why different layouts produce different reading experiences

🔮 Learn how to choose a spread that actually suits your question

🌙 Discover ways to adapt existing spreads rather than forcing a reading to fit them

📖 Work through practical examples and hands-on exercises

💡 Develop greater confidence and creativity as a tarot reader

🌿 Move beyond endlessly searching online for your next layout

⭐ Suitable for newer readers as well as experienced tarot practitioners

🖤 Written by respected tarot author and teacher Barbara Moore

The Reading Experience

This is the sort of tarot book that can change the way you use the decks you already own.

You don't necessarily need another tarot deck.

Steady. We said necessarily. 😂

Sometimes what your practice needs is a different way of approaching the cards.

A carefully constructed three-card spread can reveal far more than an elaborate twelve-card layout if its positions ask precisely the right questions.

And once you understand how those positions interact, spreads stop feeling like rigid instructions someone else created.

They become frameworks.

Something you can explore.

Adapt.

Experiment with.

And eventually make entirely your own.

Perfect For

• Beginner tarot readers ready to move beyond basic layouts
• Intermediate and experienced readers
• Tarot students
• Professional readers
• Readers bored with using the same spreads repeatedly
• Tarot journaling
• Developing intuitive reading skills
• Learning to adapt existing spreads
• Creating personalised tarot spreads
• Tarot study groups and courses

About Barbara Moore

Barbara Moore has been working with tarot for more than 35 years and has taught tarot internationally.

She is a prolific tarot author and creator whose work includes Steampunk Tarot, Good Fortune Tarot and Trick or Treat Tarot, amongst many other projects. Her extensive experience as both a reader and teacher gives her a particularly useful perspective on the practical problems tarot students encounter as their reading skills develop.

Product Details

Title: The Art of Tarot Spreads: Past Present Future
Author: Barbara Moore
Contributor: Jessica Roux
Publisher: Llewellyn Publications
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780738780405
Publication: 2026
Language: English
Subject: Tarot, Divination & Tarot Reading

A small note on page count: Llewellyn currently lists the book as 208 pages, while several UK trade records list the UK edition as 240 pages. Since your copies have physically arrived, I'd check the final numbered page/copyright information and use whatever is printed in your stock rather than trusting either database.

Why We Love It at Oneness Emporium

There comes a point in learning tarot when memorising another seventy-eight card meanings isn't necessarily what will make you a better reader.

Sometimes you need to learn how to ask better questions.

That's what makes this book particularly interesting.

Barbara Moore isn't simply providing more spreads for you to copy. She's helping you understand the architecture underneath them.

Why this card goes here.

Why that position matters.

Why changing a single question can completely alter a reading.

And once you understand those foundations, something rather wonderful happens.

You stop needing somebody else to design every reading for you.

Your tarot practice starts becoming genuinely your own.