Tarot: Quarter Ahead Spread

One of my favorite ways to read tarot is to use it to see the overall theme of the coming months.

This especially helps when you want to set quarterly goals. Both for yourself and for your clients.

The quarter ahead spread helps to take the year down into bite size chunks.

In the business world, we would call them “rocks”.

Rocks happen when you take a big business goal and break it down into smaller pieces.

The Quarter Ahead spread is best done at the end of the previous quarter before the next quarter starts.

If you’re breaking it up into a yearly cycle, the final quarter of the year would be October, November, and December.

The spread starts with only 4 cards, but you can expand as needed.

I’ll explain as if I’m reading for myself, but you can totally do this spread for someone else.

The first step is to pick a card before you shuffle.

This card will represent the theme you want to embody for the next quarter.

You’ll want to pick something that stands out to you.

Trust your intuition on this one.

If you know the tarot card meanings by heart, of course use that in your decision making as well. 

I recently led a workshop on this particular spread and had some very creative examples of what people chose.

One participant chose the High Priestess because she was full of color sitting between the black and white columns. 

Finding the balance between “black and white” situations was something they had been working on and wanted to really step it up in this next quarter.

Another person chose the Chariot because there was a lot of forward movement in the card and they wanted to focus on moving forward into the future.

I chose the Hierophant because I’m choosing to fully step into my role as teacher and guide. With my writing and leading workshops to teach other people how to help themselves.

(I was also using the Light Seer’s Tarot - the Hierophant in that deck is a man fully happy expressing his authentic self without a worry for what other people think. Another theme that I’ve been working on lately and want to continue to show up for in this next quarter.)

Again I’ll say, trust your intuition…

Even if you’re not totally sure why, it’s going to have a message for you.

Then when you’ve decided on that card, take a few moments to journal about it.

Some questions to consider - 

• What was your first impression of the card?

• What made you pick this card for your theme?

• What colors stand out to you?

• What symbols are jumping off the card?

• What’s going on in the picture on the card?

• Does the card trigger any memories for you?

When you’re ready, shuffle the rest of your cards together, leaving out the theme card.

Pull a card for each of the next 3 months. 

Spend a few minutes with each card one by one and write down all of the things that stand out to you.

DON’T CHECK THE BOOK!

Do this step fully based on your intuition.

Follow those same questions from before and see what your intuition has to say.

Even if it doesn’t make sense, write it down.

How could this card relate to the next month?

In my case, I got the Queen of Pentacles for October.

I’ve been working through some feelings of scarcity lately and this was a sign that my work was paying off.

This queen has a special air about her of quiet confidence and comfort within her surroundings. So I also took that to mean that I would continue my authenticity journey and feel comfortable in my skin.

She also has her eyes closed, which I saw meant there was a time for rest as well. And that abundance would still surround me while I took time off to recuperate.

Repeat for each of the cards, writing down any thoughts or feelings that come up as you go through them one by one.

Once you’ve finished all 3 months, take a step back and see how the cards interact with each other.

• If you were to pretend they were 4 panels in a comic book, what would the story be?

• How do the 3 cards pertain to the theme card you chose?

• How does the whole spread make you feel about the next quarter?

• Are there any warnings? Any rewards coming?

• Is it mostly minor or major arcana?

Anything your intuition points out, make a note of.

Once you’ve let your intuition run its course, now check the book.

Are there any keywords the author mentions that add depth to your reading? 

Does it validate your intuition? Or does it not make sense?

In all these cases, trust your intuition first, and let the book add more color to the story.

I always like to take a picture so that I can refer back to it throughout the next few months.

Especially when looking at the theme that I chose.

If I’m having a really rough day, I can remind myself why I chose what I did.

It helps to give me a little boost to get my energy back on track.

I prefer to keep my spread simple with as few cards as possible, so I leave it with these 4.

Some people like to get extra clarification on the cards, and that’s great as well.

I would suggest limiting it to one clarifier per month and even then, only if you have a real question on the card.

Take this spread and make it your own.

Maybe you pull one card for the theme of the month, and then a second card for each month on what you can do to really maximize the energy of the month.

Anything that lights you up and inspires you to take action is a good thing!

One big problem of this is adhering rigidly to what the cards say.

Doing a spread like this is like watching a river flow.

You can predict what the course of the river will be, but you can also choose to take a new turn through the forest.

Nothing is set in stone.

This spread is to help you make the most of the energy that is available and use it to your advantage.

Sometimes the card can provide a warning and you’re able to alter the course of the month.

That’s great! That’s exactly what tarot is supposed to empower you to do.

The benefits of this spread are too numerous to count.

It helps to define your quarter ahead and helps you to set goals that you can easily embody.

Let me know how your spread goes and what’s in store for your next quarter!

I love to see the theme cards especially and why you chose what you did.

When we share our interpretations, our intuition grows stronger and our powers of community grow with it!

Share away!