The Original Celtic Cross Tarot Spread Explained (A.E Waite’s Version)
Introduction
The Celtic Cross is a perennial classic in the world of tarot, recommended for its versatility and depth. However, the version many readers learn today is a modern simplification of the original, esoterically rich method published by Arthur Edward Waite in his 1911 book, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot.
Waite presented the spread as a long-standing private method of divination, and his instructions reveal a layout grounded in profound visual and spiritual symbolism. This article will restore and explain this original method, demonstrating how its positions and structure offer a far deeper divinatory tool than the psychologized variations that are now so common.
The Subject of the reading: Choosing The Significator
Before laying out the cards, Waite gives a crucial instruction that is often overlooked today: the selection and orientation of the Significator.
This card represents the core of the inquiry. Unlike modern interpretations where it is always the querent, Waite specifies it can be:
A person, typically represented by a court card.
A situation or matter, which could be represented by any card from the deck.
The Layout: A Step-by-Step Guide to the 10 Positions
Waite instructs the reader to turn over the cards one by one, declaring the meaning of the position as each card is revealed. The layout is composed of two main parts: the central cross (positions 1-6) and the vertical staff (positions 7-10).
Part 1: The Cross
What Covers It: This card is placed directly on top of the Significator. Waite describes it as representing "the atmosphere of it in which the other currents work." It shows the primary influence or environment surrounding the inquiry.
What Crosses It: This card is placed horizontally across the first. It represents "the nature of the obstacles in the matter." If the card is favourable, the obstacles may not be what they seem; if unfavourable, it highlights the core opposition.
What Crowns It: Placed above the central cross. This represents the querent's "aim or ideal" in the matter, or the best possible outcome that could be achieved. It is what the querent is consciously reaching for.
What is Beneath It: Placed below the central cross. This is "the foundation or basis of the matter," representing what has already been actualised and is a solid, underlying influence.
What is Behind It: Placed to the side that the Significator is facing away from. This represents a past or passing influence that is moving away.
What is Before It: Placed to the side that the Significator is facing towards. This is the influence that is "coming into action" and will operate in the near future.
Part 2: The Staff
The Significator: This position represents the querent or the subject of the inquiry itself—their attitude and position in the matter.
Their House: This refers to the querent's environment and the external influences from their life, family, or immediate friends that have a bearing on the situation.
Hopes and Fears: This card reveals the querent's inner hopes or fears concerning the outcome. Waite notes that this card can sometimes be a surprise to the querent themselves.
What Will Come (The Culmination): This is the final outcome, representing the culmination of all the preceding influences.
The Original vs. The Modern: A Comparison in Depth
To fully appreciate the profundity of Waite's layout, it's instructive to compare some of its key positions with their common, modern psychological interpretations. This comparison reveals a clear pattern: a shift away from dynamic, external divination towards static, internal reflection.
Position 3: The Crown
Waite's Original: “What crowns it”. This represents the querent's aim, their ideal, or the best possible outcome that could be achieved. It is an aspirational, potential future.
Common Modern: “The conscious mind”. This is said to represent what the querent is thinking or aware of. It is a descriptive, current mental state.
The Difference: Waite's position is divinatory; it looks outward and upward towards a potential goal. The modern version simply reflects the querent's current thoughts back at them, offering little new insight.
Position 4: The Foundation
Waite's Original: “What is beneath it”. This represents the foundation or basis of the matter, a solid, already actualised influence that the situation is built upon. It is a concrete, established reality.
Common Modern: “The unconscious mind”. This is said to represent hidden motivations, subconscious beliefs, or what is unknown to the querent. It is a nebulous, internal concept.
The Difference: Waite's position provides a solid grounding for the reading in what is. The modern version turns this foundation into a psychological mystery, stripping the reading of its anchor in objective reality.
Positions 5 & 6: The Timeline
Waite's Original: “What is behind and before the querent”. These represent dynamic forces moving away from or towards the querent in time and space, their placement determined by the direction the Significator is facing.
Common Modern: “The Recent Past and Near Future”. A simple, one-dimensional timeline that is the same in every reading.
The Difference: Waite's version creates a dynamic, three-dimensional space where influences are relational to the querent's orientation. The modern version flattens this into a generic and far less symbolic timeline.
As this comparison shows, the modern interpretations consistently trade a map of external, spiritual, and material forces for an internal map of the querent's psyche. This reduces a powerful divinatory tool designed to provide insight into the world into a narcissistic mess of self-reflection.
The Deeper Symbolism: Reading the Visual Metaphor
The true divinatory usefulness of Waite's original layout lies in its powerful visual symbolism. The layout forms a Celtic Cross (the first six cards) next to a Staff or pillar (the final four). The Celtic Cross symbol itself—a cross within a circle—represents the intersection of spirit (the circle of eternity) and matter (the cross of the physical world).
Waite's positional names reinforce this. The cards are not about internal states like "conscious" or "unconscious," but about tangible, external forces in relation to the Significator: what is physically above, below, behind, and before it. This creates a rich, dynamic map of the forces at play in the querent's life, rather than the navel-gazing reflection of their own psyche that I pointed out earlier.
A.E. Waite's Notes on Interpretation
Waite provides several key pieces of advice for interpreting the reading, with a special focus on the final card.
Concentrate on the Culmination: "It is on this card that the Diviner should especially concentrate his intuitive faculties," Waite wrote. He stressed that its meaning must be synthesized with all the previous cards. A Major Arcana card here indicates forces of particular weight and importance.
Clarifying an Unclear Outcome: If the 10th card is unclear, Waite suggests performing a second Celtic Cross reading, using that final card as the new Significator to gain deeper insight into its meaning.
When a Court Card is the Outcome: If the final card is a court card, Waite states that the person represented by that card holds the ultimate sway over the outcome of the matter.
Conclusion: Restoring a Classic
Since Waite introduced it to the public, the Celtic Cross spread has become a cornerstone of tarot practice. Its versatility, adaptability, and deep esoteric symbolism make it an invaluable divinatory tool.
However, serious students of tarot would do well to look past the modern, psychologized versions and study A.E. Waite's original instructions. Understanding the spread as he intended it; as a profound visual metaphor for the forces shaping our lives, restores its divinatory power and thus offers a much deeper well of occult insight. For the beginner, it’s use can make an excellent 3-6 month goal; for the professional, it is a litmus test of legitimacy.
