The 3 Card Tarot Spread and All You Need to Know About It

A 3 card tarot spread is when you draw three cards from a tarot deck and find out what each of them individually and all of them collectively means. It is a simple way to learn tarot card reading, especially if you’re a beginner. 

Spreading cards this way will allow you to do two things simultaneously. The first will be to practice your observation skills and know the meanings of these cards in a (relatively) quicker manner. The second will be to help you determine the relationships between the cards themselves, their numbers, symbols and other relevant patterns.

But while that might sound fun at first, a beginner will quickly realize that he/she doesn’t know any three card tarot spread at all. Don’t worry! This guide will serve as a handy tool for all newbies on this kind of tarot spreads and all that there is to know about them.

Why The 3 Card Tarot Spread?

Learning a three card tarot spread serves as a sturdy stepping stone for beginners in the world of tarot cards. Many beginners to tarot are curious about what lies in their future and, not having much guidance, go headlong into very complex spreads like the Celtic Cross (a ten card spread). 

As you might expect, learning something straight at its advanced level is way harder than learning it from the basics. That’s why we’ll be discussing only the three cards spread in this post. But this is not where this exploration ends.

We recommend you read more articles related to this fascinating topic to learn more about auras, their significance, and how they might influence our lives. Click on White Aura.

The Spreads

The simplest type of tarot spread is where you draw three cards from the deck randomly and arrange them from left to right (in the way that they’re read). 

Bear in mind that you have to arrange the cards in the order mentioned here. For example, in the “goals, obstacles and tools spread” the left card will show your goals, the middle one your obstacles and the right one will have the tools.

General 3 Card Tarot Spreads

These are the spreads to use when you’re not looking for anything specifically but still want to see what lies ahead. These spreads will remind you of something you’ve been searching for, but couldn’t get the answers to, or inspire you to introspect more into your life.

1. Past - Present - Future

This arrangement may be used when you just want to get an insight into what may happen in the future, how your past influenced it and what role your present will play in the grand scheme of things. For beginners, this is unquestionably the easiest 3 card tarot spread.

2. Opportunities - Challenges - Advice

This three card tarot spread will help you gain more than just surface-level knowledge into your life. What’s going in your favor? What’s working against you and how can you channel your energy to move forward in your journey?

3. Strengths - Weaknesses - Growth

People new to tarot reading will love this simplistic 3 card tarot spread. It’s excellent for self-reflection and can be used for daily readings.

There is room here to turn the third card here as your mantra for the day or week. Another thing to note here is that isolates your biggest weaknesses so you may focus on them in a concentrated manner.

Spreads for Relationships And Love

Do you have a person in mind whom you are either developing or have developed feelings for? Then why not use these card spreads? You can also use them if you want to find out the loyalties or motivations of friends and family whose role(s) in your life confuses you.

1. Love Interest #1 - Love Interest #2 - The Decision

If you’re a girl reading this, it’s highly likely that more than just one man is vying for your attention and affection right now. In this case, this 3 card tarot spread will let you know which guy to pursue.

2. The Uniting Factor - The Dividing Factor - The Focus

This spread can be used whether you’re searching for answers about a relationship or about a friend or family member. The first card will represent your common uniting factor, the second will tell you about the one thing that will divide you and your love interest the most and the last one will tell you about the one big thing to focus the most on.

3. What You Want - What He/She Wants - Your Future Together

This is essentially a variation of the three card tarot spread above, except that you’ll use it only in romantic relationships. It can make a big difference in telling you about the prospects of your relationship.

Will it blossom into a partnership spanning years or decades or will it be a short-lived affair full of unpleasant memories? 

3 Card Tarot Spread for the Future

Gather ‘round everyone looking to know about the future! These are the spreads you need to learn to get an insight into what lies ahead of you. 

1. Goals - Obstacles - Tools 

This three card tarot spread is great to find out some basic details about both long and short-term plans. What will your goals be? What hindrances will you face along your journey and what tools must you harness to make the most out of your goals?

2. What’s At Hand - What You Desire - How to Get There

Get more knowledge on certain factors in your life that you might be overlooking or be unaware of. Your current state and how can you change it through your desires and how to live your dreams.

3. What Will Help You - What Will Hinder - Your Potential 

This is another 3 card tarot spread to help you ponder about the possibilities that lie ahead. Isolate what helps you, that one challenge that’s stopping you the most and how you can overcome that challenge.

Spreads for Careers

While a lot of you reading this post will be searching for spreads related to love and relationships, I cannot forget those of you who are here to find out about your careers. Let’s get into my three favorite tarot spreads with a career focus.

1. Your Passion - Your Skills - The Career Possibility

If you have a bunch of career options in mind but have no idea which one to pursue, this card spread will help you immensely. It aids you in singling out first your passion and then your skills, so you may get a clear picture of which field you want as your career.

2. Goals - Tools - Course of Action

This 3 card tarot spread is to be used once you’ve decided on a career. Here you’ll have to segregate first your goals, then all the tools that you have to achieve those goals, and lastly, the path that you’ll follow to make your life considerably better.

3. The Roadblock - Your State - The Opportunity

This tarot spread can be used whether you’re looking for a job or have found one. It focuses on the biggest problem that you have at hand, your relationship with it and the opportunity to progress that you’ve overlooked.

3 Card Tarot Spread for Money

Let’s be real for a moment, we all like to control the money flowing into and out of our wallets. I’m certain that if you’re reading this, then you too want to know through some tarot spreads about how to not just make more cash, but how to save and invest it for tough times. And in that regard, I’ve got you covered!

1. Problem - Action - Assistance

This is the 3 card tarot spread you need when you’re going through a financial crunch, which can be anything from being short on cash, to having a strain on your budget, to going through an investment loss. This is the tarot spread you want to help you get through a rough patch and back on your feet.

2. Spending - Saving - Focus

A really simple three card tarot spread to be used for making personal budgets. Draw three cards and prioritize whether saving or spending would be the best course of action as you ease your monetary situation moving forward.

3. Opportunity - Downsides - Benefits 

Life can be very unpredictable and sometimes it will present you with a golden opportunity, but with some downsides attached to it. These downsides may be more energy and time being spent in this endeavor, changes to your lifestyle and anything in between.

This spread will help you recognize these opportunities with their benefits and downsides combined.

Spreads for Inner Guidance

There are times in our lives when everything seems to be going south and no matter how hard we try, we just can’t seem to regain control of our own lives. I know it because I’ve seen it and have some 3 card tarot spreads to guide you through both self-discovery and that low internal feeling within.

1. Body - Emotion - Spirit 

One of the simplest spreads out there to know what all of these three aspects are saying about you. Only by understanding yourself and your feelings will you learn how to take back charge of your life.

2. Ego - ID - Superego

All of these categories represent different aspects of your mind. This is a Freudian concept but the gist of it is as follows. The “ego” card will show what you care about or notice, the “ID” will reveal the motivations behind actions that you’re yet to take and the “superego” will reveal your potential and the self you’re making within your behavior and desires.

3. Calling - Doubts - Actions

This three card tarot spread will help you process your feelings that are related to a higher calling. The first card will focus on what’s your life’s mission, the second addresses the biggest doubts in your mind related to it and the third has the necessary actions required to get to your calling.

3 Card Tarot Spread for Creativity

If you’re anyone whose profession revolves significantly around creativity, these spreads are for you. Only you know what inspires you and gets you going again when your inner reserves of creativity have depleted. These spreads will then enter the equation to correct your course and get your head back in the game.

1. Source of Inspiration - Channeling it - Potential Outcome

Human creativity is truly limitless and it comes back to its optimal self when you have the right source of inspiration. Wanna get back in the game? Find that inspiration through this 3 card tarot spread and then channel it in a manner that will yield the potential outcome in the most favorable manner.

2. The Creativity-Blocker - Habit to Release - Habit to Cultivate

The age-old adage “old habits die hard” is very true to this day, but you can fairly quickly release a habit to cultivate a new one in order to get your creativity flowing again by arranging a three card tarot spread.

This spread will guide you about what’s been holding your creativity back, what habits you should let go and which ones to cultivate in order bring back your creativity.

3. Ambition - Creativity - Opportunity 

Another fairly simple spread that will assist you in restoring your creativity. Arrange the cards in this fashion and let every card guide you through. What’s your ambition, your drive? Is your community (everyone close to you) helping you in achieving your ambitions or detracting you from it?

Lastly, the opportunity to help you see who in your community will assist you in creating a sustainable career, fueled by your creativity!

Concluding the 3 Card Tarot Spread

It is much easier to learn how to use these spreads to not just get acquainted with the meanings of the cards, but also to get a detailed insight into your life. A 3 card tarot spread can work wonders in more aspects of our lives than we can imagine. 

From finances and careers, to inner guidance and creativity and from love and relationships to looking into the future and general questions about your life, a deck of simple-looking shiny and bright 78 cards with images is infinitely more valuable than what might be presumed about it at first glance.