Tarot Tip #25 – Using the Astrological Layout to Find Pets and More

In my last few tarot tips, I’ve been talking about how to find and talk about your client’s pet in their reading.  Now I’m going to tell you about a very special layout that will allow you to find just about anything in your client’s life just by its position in the layout.

This card layout is called The Astrological Layout.  It’s one of the most versatile and commonly used card layouts in the world of tarot.

The Astrological Layout uses 12 cards and they are usually laid out in a circle, though I’ve seen some readers who prefer to lay them out in a straight line, left to right.  Personally, I prefer the circle as not only does it mirror the traditional astrology chart format, but the circle is a very symbolic geometrical symbol in the tarot, having no beginning and no end.

When laying out the cards in a circle, your first card is placed on the ‘horizon’ on the left side. That would be 9 o’clock on the clock. The second card is placed slightly to the right, and below the first card, in the 8 o’clock position, moving counter clockwise and following the natural curve of the circle. This ‘clock’ is moving backwards – counter clockwise. Repeat that with each card until all 12 cards are placed in a circle. In this way, the cards positions mirror a traditional astrology chart, so if you also decide to study astrology you can read these positions as astrological houses and reap a great deal more information from them.

You will find information about your client’s pet(s) in the 5^th and 6^th positions, or ‘houses’ as they are called in astrology.  That would be at the 5 o’clock and 4 o’clock positions, respectively, using a clock face to reference the positions.

If your client’s pet is like their child, it will show up in the 5^th card position, that’s at the 5 o’clock reference point using a clock face.  If they treat their pet as a traditional kind of pet, it will show up in the 6^th card position (4 o’clock on the clock face), or in both places. I suggest taking a moment to lay your cards out in the 12-card circular pattern described here to eliminate any confusion.

It really is simple.

When using this tarot spread, you are locating things, people, and in this case, pets, based upon the meaning of a cards position, or ‘house’ as it’s called in astrology.

Here’s an example:

You are reading a woman who is concerned about her dog.  You’ve already laid out the cards when she asks about the dog, so all you have to do is look at the 5^th and 6^th card positions.  First, you’ll look at the 6^th position, or house, to get an overall feel for what’s going on with the pet.  In this case, you see an upright 5 of Wands in the 6^th position. Wands tells you that the dog has something physical going on, that could involve either it’s health or behavior, and the #5 on the card tells you it’s a time of upheaval and change for the pet.  You tell your client this and she says that indeed the dog has some health issues, and she is very concerned as this is her baby.  You tell that the 5 of Wands being upright is positive and indicates the dog has the strength to overcome this problem.  But then you look to the 5^th card position for more information about her dog that she relates to like it’s her baby.  In that position you see the 9 of Cups, inverted. The Cups tells you there’s a lot of love between this woman and her canine friend.  The inversion tells you something is wrong. Using one of the traditional meanings for this card also tells you the dog is overdoing something, perhaps over eating or eating something that is not good for it, and you suggest she take it to her vet, and monitor the food better or maybe change it for something else.

Simple?  Yes.  Using this spread can make identifying the pet and understanding what’s going on with it very easy and forthright.