Hidden stories spread

Recently I wrote a short article called Using Tarot to Unlock the Power of Stories, (you may have even come to this from there), and it inspired this Hidden Stories Spread.

Uses

Everything we do, think and feel revolves around a story, yet sometimes we are not aware of what those stories are. This spread can be used to help you uncover, explore and understand those stories.

I would use this spread across many areas but the underlying intention remains the same — What am I not seeing?

Below are some possible applications.

• Why do I keep finding myself in the same situations/with the same type of partners/in the same argument etc?
• What is stopping me from ………………………………………………?
• Why do I struggle with ………………………………………………….?
• What am I not seeing about …………………….?

Considerations

Firstly I would suggest that you have a point of focus when asking your question as it will make it easier to recognise and then explore the underlying story. For example, rather than asking “Why do I keep finding myself in the same situations?” narrow it down to the issue at hand, “Why do I keep finding myself in the same situation at work?”

Secondly, I have laid out the spread in a straight line however you may wish to change the layout to incorporate diagonals or pairs. Since the Hidden Stories Spread refers to stories, below I have laid the cards out in a triangle with position 3 at the top to form a visual story arc. Another shape I am curious to try is to place positions 1 and 2 at the top, 3 on its own in the middle, and 4 and 5 at the bottom. Just like our stories, spreads don’t have to remain static.

Finally, if you can’t connect with a particular card, you can use the spread itself to explore what you might not be seeing. I did this and I found it really effective.

Sample Spread

Question:

Why do I struggle with self confidence?

What you can’t see: Ace of Cups

Three things came straight to mind here. This card suggests you are struggling with self love and therefore you haven’t made peace with aspects of yourself.

The second thing is that you dismiss the love/praise/attention people do show you. Rather than grounding and internalising this information it floats above your consciousness. Yet it is likely that negative experiences and comments are allowed to take hold since after all, something is filling the space.

Finally, maybe you’re not acknowledging what it is you love therefore you are trying to convince yourself to do something that isn’t meant for you.

Why you haven’t seen it: Two of Pentacles

This card suggests you haven’t recognised this because you keep busy to avoid looking at the things you need to address. You have equated busyness with value without questioning if this viewpoint is valid. Or rather than doing what you need to do, upgrading skills, practicing, doing the actual work, etc you’re constantly juggling other things to keep others happy. You resort to people pleasing to chase the love you need to find within. Everything becomes external which makes it hard to create a level of self-confidence.

The impact it’s having: Ace of Pentacles

You likely deny yourself opportunities because you don’t acknowledge or believe in your gifts. It’s hard to feel confident if you don’t accept the abilities that you have. You become trapped in a world of potentials with no action. There is no focus.

What you need to understand: 3 The Empress

It is noticeable that the action sections of this spread are both Major Arcana cards. You need to nurture your abilities and follow through on the opportunities that present themselves because that is how self-confidence grows. It is not a state of being. It is something you create for yourself. The hare really stands out to me. If you connect with the message and nurture yourself and your gifts then things will likely change quite quickly.

What you can do with the information: 20 Judgment

You can begin to focus on transforming into who you are being called to be. The hare is in the foreground on this card so you already know what that looks like. You just need to be willing to make the transformation

Note

On the spread image you likely noticed that I have included the Eight of Pentacles and the Knight of Swords. The Eight is from the top of the deck and the Knight from the bottom. For a while now I have been interpreting the top card as “what you’re focusing on” and the bottom card as “what you should be focusing on.” This has worked really well for me. Here I see it as the first reaction to this question might be to equate the lack of confidence to work when really it is more to do with a lack of confidence in speaking your truth.

Wrapping it all up

This is only a quick breakdown but it gives you an idea on how the cards can speak to each other to tell the story. I’d love to hear what you think of the spread either in the comments below or via email. Did you include or remove any positions? And, most importantly, did the spread help in some way?

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Featured deck

The Radiant Tarot created by Alexandra Eldridge and Tony Barnstone and published by Red Wheel/Weiser in 2021.