Today I’ll talk about nine card tarot spreads – what they are, their meaning, and how to read them.
Tarot is a craft that takes time for you to learn. The best thing to do for beginners is to get to know the meanings of the cards, but not by memorizing what the booklets say about them. Instead, they must develop their intuitive meanings.
And once they are comfortable with the cards, they can begin to do tarot readings, and the best thing to do is to start small by doing three-card tarot spreads. But eventually, any beginner will expand their knowledge with the tarot by adding more cards to each spread. If you feel you are at the point of doing that, then good for you!
Have you tried five, six, seven, or eight card tarot spreads? Why challenge yourself by adding another card by reading nine-card tarot spreads?
How Nine Card Tarot Spreads Are Different From Spreads With Fewer Cards
You likely know that adding more cards to a spread will gain more insight and clarity. However, there is a different way of reading those nine-card spreads. You can use nine cards for any question: past, present, future, relationships, mind, body, spirit, or career. It does not matter what the matter is. It will give you profound insight and the necessary understanding of any issue.
This is the best way to go if you want an unmistakable message. If you want to learn a new nine-card past, present, and future spread, let’s go over that now.
Past, Present, And Future Nine Card Tarot Spread
This spread will work because you will have three sets of three cards placed horizontally, but you will read them vertically. That means Card one will be on the left, and card three will be on the right. Card four will be beneath card one, and card six will be beneath card three (and yes, card five will be beneath card two).
Then you will have the last set, whereas card seven will be beneath card four, card eight will be beneath card two, and card nine will be beneath card six. Let’s now go over what the past, present, and future nine-card tarot reading looks like.
Cards one, four, and seven represent the past, the events that shaped you. Cards two, five, and eight represent your current situation. Finally, cards three, six, and nine represent what will likely happen to you in the future. You can see how one card only represents something specific.
You have to form a picture by reading all the cards representing the past, and you form another picture forming the present and another one appearing as the future. I will do a sample nine-card tarot past, present, and future reading so you can see how it appears.
Now, let’s do a nine tarot card, mind, body, and spirit spread.
Mind, Body, And Spirit Nine-Card Tarot Spread
You will place the cards in the same position where cards one to three are horizontal, four to six are beneath them, and seven to nine are beneath cards four to six. However, this time, you will read the cards horizontally, giving you a picture of your mind, body, and spirit. Therefore, cards one to three will show what you need to know about your mind.
Then cards four to six will show you what you need to know about your body, and finally, cards seven to nine will show you what you need to know about your spirit.
You will have to read three cards that represent each one together. This is a good spread that will help you understand the state of your emotional, physical, and spiritual health. However, if you are concerned about your mental and physical health, please see a doctor.
Tarot is only meant to provide insight and guidance, not diagnose you. Before I give you the sample reading, let’s go over a nine-card relationship spread.
The Relationship Nine Card Tarot Spread
Here is a spread that will show you how you stand in your relationship and the likely outcome of your relationship. The cards will be placed in the same position, and you will read them horizontally. Cards one to three represent you, cards four to six represent your partner, and cards seven to nine represent the outcome of your relationship.
That is an excellent spread when facing a rough relationship patch, but it can be salvageable. You can gain the insight you need to work on areas of the relationship that need work. Now, let’s go over the sample past, present, and future nine-card reading.
Sample Past, Present, And Future Nine Card Tarot Reading
Here is a case when the querent is at a crossroads because they have been dealing with a controlling and narcissistic friend, and the querent wants to go no contact with them. Unfortunately, this is a common problem that many people are facing in this day and age.
Often, they face parents and spouses that are very toxic and need to separate from, and it becomes more of a problem when a boss or neighbor has those qualities.
That is because getting away from them involves risk and effort, such as looking for another job when the boss is toxic or moving if the neighbor is toxic.
However, in the querent’s case, they need to know if going no contact is the right thing to do with a toxic friend and what the future would look like if they ended the toxic and one-sided friendship. Here is the spread.
Card one: Lovers
Card two: Six of Cups
Card three: Eight of Pentacles
Card four: Five of Wands
Card five: King of Wands
Card six: Six of Cups
Card seven: King of Swords reversed
Card eight: Five of Cups
Card nine: Six of Swords
As you know, cards one, four, and seven indicate the past. Card one is the Lovers, card four is the Five of Wands, and card seven is the King of Swords reversed. The Lovers indicate that the querent felt they were committed to the friendship, which is why they continued with it. Therefore, cutting the toxic friend out was not in the question. However, as indicated by card four, Five of Wands, they got into heavy arguments that they could not resolve for a long time.
Card seven represents the King of Swords reversed, a card that means someone who abuses their power and is controlling, much like a dictator, and represents the querent’s toxic friend. Therefore, the past shows that the querent felt stuck in a friendship with someone controlling and abusive who picked fights with them all of the time. It appears this is a trauma bond. That is exhausting.
Let’s look at the querent’s present situation.
When you look at the querent’s present, cards two, five, and eight indicate what the querent is currently facing. This spread shows that card two is Six of Cups, card five is King of Wands, and card eight is Five of Cups. The Six of Cups is the nostalgic card; indeed, the querent remembers their good times with their friend. However, the King of Wands reminds the querent that they are the CEO of their life and are more powerful than they realize. The querent also recognizes this deep down, and they are the one who is the leader of their life.
That is a suggestion that going no contact may be the best thing for them because since that toxic friend was controlling, it is a reminder that no one has the right to control anyone. However, card eight is the Five of Cups, indicating that the querent is sad about cutting out the friend.
Grieving over a lost friendship, even if the ex-friend was toxic, is normal, and this suggests that the querent has made a subconscious decision to cut ties with this individual and is already grieving. The other interpretation of this card is that the querent is grieving that they never experienced a genuine friendship with this person. The querent could be experiencing both issues.
Now, let’s look into the future. Card three represents the Eight of Pentacles, card six represents the Eight of Cups, and card nine represents the Six of Swords. This future appears as if the querent is going to go no contact because this theme is about moving on and moving forward. The Eight of Pentacles is represented by card three, which means that the querent will need to work on themselves after breaking away from this friendship, and they will be a work in progress.
Card six represents the Eight of Cups, which means they will walk away from something that is no longer fulfilling. Finally, card nine shows that the querent will move forward and perhaps even move away even though they are grieving based on that it was represented by the Six of Swords.
The future appears that not only will the querent be going no contact with this toxic friend, but they will need plenty of therapy to work on themselves so they can start over and heal from the trauma they endured while being friends with that individual.
I like this nine-card tarot past, present, and future spread because it gives you a detailed picture of what your past looks like, what you are facing currently, and what you could be facing in the future if you decide to have the outcome you want.
As mentioned, any nine-card tarot spread will give you much more insight than other spreads with fewer cards, but you need to be well-versed in tarot before attempting to read from a nine-card tarot spread. Start by reading three-card spreads, and keep practicing; you can begin to read nine-card tarot spreads.
If you’re new to tarot, check out our beginner’s guide to tarot, or find out more about the fascinating history of tarot.