The two-card cross: A super useful, super short tarot spread
These two cards can be read in so many different ways. By subtly altering the position names, you can produce very different readings. Try adapting your spread using any of the following:
Aim / 2. Blockage
Here, the first card represents the desired outcome, the thing you want to achieve. The second is the thing that is preventing this from happening.
Blockage / 2. Solution
The first card is the problem faced by the querent. The second represents a way forwards, an approach which can help to address the blockage or solve the problem.
Querent / 2. Adversary
Here, the first card represents the person asking the question, and the second is a person — or the actions of a person — who is holding them back.
Ideal / 2. Settling for
The first card is what you really want, whereas the second represents the situation as is, what you are ‘settling for.’ Why might this be?
Situation / 2. Extra info
The first card represents you or your situation, right now. The second card offers you a little extra info into what’s going on.
The two-card cross is really useful for practicing interpreting cards in pairs. Rather than simply laying the cards side-by-side, there is the added information provided by the fact that one card is crossing the other. This could mean all kinds of things!
It’s also a very handy starting point for building your own spreads. If you feel so inclined, pull a third card after you’ve read the two, asking a further question as you do.
And if you’re super into this spread, you’ll enjoy The Heart of the Tarot by Signe E. Echols, Robert Mueller and Sandra A. Thomson, a book entirely dedicated to this little spread and filled with ideas for interpreting cards in pairs.
