Love tarot spread
A love tarot spread looks at two people and what is between them. This one uses five cards: you, them, the connection, what is in the way and what helps. It works for a long relationship, for a new one and for someone you haven't spoken to in a while.
What each card means in this spread
- You. How you are showing up in this right now, including the parts you may not have said.
- Them. How they seem to be showing up: read as what they bring, not as a window into their head.
- Between you. What the connection itself is like, apart from what either of you wants from it.
- In the way. What keeps getting between you: a habit, a fear or a question nobody is asking.
- What helps. The step that is yours to take, whichever way this goes.
When to use it
Use it when you want to understand a relationship, not just to find out whether it will last. It works well if you are single and asking about someone you have just met: read "them" as your first impression and "between you" as what you would like it to be.
It isn't the right spread for yes or no. If that is all you want to know, use a single card and let this one wait for a day when you want the longer answer.
Questions that suit this spread
- What is going on between me and him?
- What should I understand about this new relationship?
- What keeps coming between us?
A worked example
This is a draw made the way the form makes one, for the question: "What keeps coming between us?"
- You: Death. In love, it can mark the end of an old pattern, or a relationship entering a new form.
- Them: Ten of Swords. In love, the definite end of a pattern or a situation.
- Between you: The Star. In love, it brings openness, kindness and a hopeful new phase.
- In the way: Five of Swords. The Five of Swords gathers blades while others walk away defeated. It is the card of conflict where winning costs more than it gains. It asks whether being right matters more than the relationship.
- What helps: Ace of Wands. Act on the idea while it still excites you.
How to read it
Read the You and Them cards next to each other first. Two cards of the same suit tend to mean you want the same kind of thing, and very different suits tend to mean you are speaking different languages, which is often the whole problem.
Then read In the way and What helps together. The second is usually the most useful card in the spread, because it is the only one about something you can do. A hard card in the Them place tells you about the situation, and not whether they are a bad person.
The cards are read in the same words as our card pages, from the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition. Each draw comes from a hash of the day and your question, so asking the same thing on the same day gives the same cards.