How To Do a Samhain Tarot Spread

If you're new to honoring the traditions of Celtic pagans and are looking for a ritual to help you connect with your spirit guides, then doing a tarot card reading on Halloween or All Saints Day may be for you.

Finding a tarot card deck of your liking is critical, and making sure you have spent time getting to know your deck will help you connect. If you're new to tarot, you may want to spend some time learning about the cards and various spreads. There are many interesting interpretations of cards, but most are very similar in context. You can also keep a book nearby to help you to refer to or even use an online guide to work with during your tarot reading.

Setting Up Your Sacred Space 

It is crucial to set up space for your tarot card readings. Make sure it is one exclusively for this use, and make sure to cleanse the energy before and after each reading, even if you're only ever doing it for yourself. This helps keep the energy clean and deepens your connection with your guides, and allows the Universe to provide you clarity with your answers in your tarot card reading.

If you like to use crystals, make sure to align them in a position nearby. You may even find it helpful to meditate with them before your reading and after to get further insights and clarity. Certain crystals can help you enhance your psychic abilities and bring in higher angelic beings to assist you. During a Samhain tarot card reading, we recommend that you use hematite and smokey quartz for grounding and protection.

Some people really love to set the mood and clear the air by burning sage or using an oil diffuser. You can burn alternatives to sage such as rosemary, wormwood, or lemon balm if sage is something you'd instead not use. You can also use common sage essential oils in your diffuser to help cleanse your environment. Using grounding essential oils applied to the skin with a carrier oil, especially pine or cedarwood, can be very helpful in maintaining your center during the tarot reading and keeping you protected from any wayward energies.

Using a crystal bowl or listening to healing music can also help clear your space and focus your intentions. Some people like to journal their thoughts and intentions prior to beginning laying out their tarot spreads, as it helps get them in tune with their answers before they receive them.

Types of Samhain Tarot Spreads 

There are many different Samhain tarot spreads that people use for their rituals on Halloween. Everyone has their own needs and desires for what they want to focus on for the holiday. Many people will use this time to do soul work and release. It is also seen as a time of renewal and gaining clarity on the year that has passed and what is ahead. Ask yourself what will work best for you, and feel free to modify any of the tarot spread suggestions we have for you.

  Samhain Three-Card Spread

A traditional three-card spread is always a good tarot spread to use. These spreads help give general insights into a situation, especially when you either need quick answers or want a general overview to do more work on it yourself. This is an excellent easy spread to use if you intend to do a lot of journaling before and after.

As you shuffle through your deck, keep in mind your intentions for this spread and how you want to shift energy moving forward. When you lay down the three cards, lay them side by side and complete your reading by revealing each card from left to right in response to each of these questions.

First card represents "What haunts me?"

The second card represents "What do I need to release?"

The third card represents "How do I move forward?"

Feel free to journal between each tarot card and use brief moments of meditation to gain further insights. You may receive more information if you concentrate and take a moment to receive the answers.

Close out your reading by giving thanks and a visualization of releasing any opposing thoughts or unwanted energy into the moonlight to be cleansed.

  Open-Ended Question Spread

With the open-ended questions spread, you are setting the pace and tone of your tarot card reading as you can decide how much work you want to complete and how many questions you wish to ask.

Write out 3-7 questions you need answers to and guidance. These should be specifically about soul work journey questions related to your spiritual growth and personal growth.

With each question, lay each card out next to each other until you have completed the tarot spread. There should be at least one tarot card for each question. If you feel called to draw on more than one, then listen to your intuition. You may want to contemplate in your mind or on paper about each question as you reveal each card. Because this may be an energetic, intense tarot reading, you may want to cleanse your energy with each tarot card.

After you have completed your tarot card reading, make sure to thank your cards and guides for the insights and guidance you have received.

  Over/Under Spread

The over/under spread allows you to connect with your guides and spiritual realms in a profound way. Make sure you are ready to receive information and guidance at this level. It is crucial to clear your energy before beginning your tarot card reading and be clear on your intentions and what you hope to achieve in it. However, being open is key to receiving what you need at the moment rather than what you want.

In this spread, you have a top layer and a bottom layer. The top will represent the physical realm, and the bottom will represent the spiritual realm. After shuffling and cutting your tarot deck several times, place 1-4 cards on the top and the same amount on the bottom. You will want to make sure your layers are even as the card above will be connected to the card below it.

There are no questions in this tarot spread as it is meant to guide you on what is needed in your present. It gives you insights into your current situation and lets you know where you stand physically and spiritually with what is happening around you. It may offer you guidance for moving forward, but its purpose is to help you gain clarity into the entirety of the situation and not just your perspective.

As with all tarot card spreads on Samhain, make sure to thank your cards and guides. Cleanse your energy, your space, and your tarot card deck. You may want to spend time journaling and make a point to revisit what you gained from the reading a month from now to see if there are any shifts in your perspective or changes in your life.

Conclusion

Although there is no one Samhain tarot card spread, we have supplied a few for you to consider. Do your research, find out what best works for you, and learn more about your tarot card deck before your spread and Samhain ritual. Be respectful and mindful of other cultures when coming up with your practices for Halloween and other pagan holidays. Participating in new ways can also help reanimate traditions as well.

Are you interested in having a tarot card reading done? Don't hesitate to get in touch with us so we may set you up with one of our best tarot card readers today.