The Tirage Aux Croix Tarot Spread

The Tirage Aux Croix Tarot spread is a great Tarot spread when one needs
clarity over a choice or direction. It is best not to see the Tirage Aux Croix
making the decision for you but rather drawing from within you the
necessary insight to proceed with clarity.
There are different ways one can look at the Tarot cards positions within the
Tirage Aux Croix and with practice and experience you will discover how the
cards work with each other to produce a natural synthesis. For example,
some see the 1st card as positive and the 2nd negative. Some see the 1st
card as the querent and the 2nd card as the situation and so on. For me I
like the idea of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. This feels right and thus
produces a better reading. Like I say, the more you use this spread the more
you will discover the correlations in the positioning and the more intuitive it
will become.
Here is the layout with card order. For the Tirage Aux Croix I use the Trumps,
or major Arcana. Of course, you can use all the Tarot cards for this spread
but it becomes very powerful with just the Trumps as you are dealing with
profound archetypal images. When you layout the Tarot cards, leave the 5th
card, the quintessence, as that will be determined at the end.

Ok, the first Tarot card is the thesis. This is the card that sums up the
purpose and motivation for the reading. This is an important card for it will
also show where the querent is within themselves regarding the matter. It
may also reveal deeper concerns that lie below the surface of the question.
This can show a clearer desire, a more focused question and thus a more
accurate Tirage Aux Croix reading.
The second Tarot card is the antithesis. This is not necessarily negative;
this is simply an alternative to the question. It can be a block to a desire or
reasons why not to go ahead. Think of this card as a contrast to the first
card and an opposite perspective. For example, if the Tirage Aux Croix
reading is about a house move, cards 1 and 2 can be seen as a pros/cons list
rather than simply positive and negative.
The third Tarot card is the synthesis. This is something created from the
previous two Tarot cards. This is not just a third element but rather a
combination of both to produce a synthesised whole. This card will take all
the thesis elements and all the antithesis elements and from here, we can
see an overall balance. This card can be very useful for determining the
actual situation, which may not be exactly what the querent thought of at
the beginning. For example, the querent may come with ideas of financial
concerns but the synthesis may show that self-worth is the root of the
situation.
The fourth Tarot card is the outcome. This is the flow of events as they
are extending from the synthesis. This is possible outcomes based on
current or modified behaviour. This may link directly to the first card, e.g the
outcome of going ahead with the house move. Alternatively, it may extend
from the synthesis card. So in our money example, the outcome may relate
to the querents ideas of self-worth and how that can affect further results.
The fifth Tarot card is the quintessence. To get this card we add up all
the numbers of the trumps so far. We then see if this number is higher than
22. If it is then we reduce that number by adding the digits together. This
new number is then the Trump card which will be placed in the center. I use
The Fool card as 22. For example if you have drawn The Tower, Judgement,

The Lovers and Temperance we will have 16 + 20 + 6 + 14. Together this

gives us a total of 56. We then add 5 + 6 to get 11. Thus the quintessence
card is the 11th Trump which would be Strength. Obviously any number from
22 under will relate to a Trump with 22 being the Fool.
Now this quintessence card is the unifying force field if you like. It is both a
summation of the whole Tirage Aux Croix reading plus the 5th element,
something that transcends the whole to offer a harmonious perspective. It is
the energy that permeates the reading and the situation itself. If the
quintessence card, once calculated, is a card that is already on the table
then we have a clear indication of the dynamics of the situation. This can be
see as the quintessence manifesting in that particular area and thus should
be noted carefully.
The Tirage Aux Croix is a wonderfully fluid spread. I find it best not to be too
strict on the actual definitions of the positions. Use them as guiding lights
that meet together to produce and overall reading but if during the Tirage
Aux Croix reading it feels like a particular card or placement is calling to you
then go with that instinct.
Remember, these spreads are snapshots within time and space and in an
instant they are gone.