The Motherpeace spread

Often the first really big tarot spread that people learn is the Celtic Cross. It’s an impressive looking spread and it covers a lot of information. When I first was learning tarot it was intimidating to me and I didn't feel a strong pull to learn it. It seemed like a lot to memorize and get right and that just wasn't what I was feeling up for. I liked the idea of eventually learning a big comprehensive spread, but the Celtic Cross wasn't it.

One of my favorite ways to soak up information is to listen to podcasts. This was especially true back when I was first learning tarot because we had moved somewhere where I had a 30 min commute to work and podcasts meant I could learn something and not need to fiddle with the radio during the drive. One of my go to podcasts had mentioned that the first deck they connected with was the Motherpeace Tarot deck. I’m pretty sure they also mentioned that there was a spread specific to the deck that they liked to use.

After listening to the podcast I went to the internet and searched for the Motherpeace spread and found one blog post about it. I read through the description and then walked through it with my deck and it just made so much sense to me. It's the spread I've been using for my longer form readings ever since.

What I enjoy the most about the spread is that it's circular in the way it gets laid out. There is an inner ring and an outer ring, and it forms a bit of a spiral as you lay out the cards. The card placements are easily connected to the intention of that card. And there's a final outcome card to wrap it all up. It feels beautiful and intuitive and I love it dearly.

So if you’ve been looking for a more comprehensive tarot spread to use, I highly suggest trying out this one. I’ve incuded a graphic below of the spread and the basic meaning for each placement, but am also going to walk through the spread below if you want a feel for the flow. Let me know if you use this spread, I’d love to hear how it works out for you. :-)

The Motherpeace Spread Walk Through

Inner Circle - Querent, Focus, Energy

The first three cards are centering cards. They let you check in with the querent, the main focus, and the energy around that focus. When I do a month ahead reading for my self or a client, this focus would be what does the month ahead have in store for them. If I’m using the spread for a question, let’s say guidance on what the next best step for a business, I’d approach the first card as how does the querent feel right now about their business, card two is what do they need to do for their business, and card 3 is the energy around this business move.

First Ring - Root, Leaving, Coming In, Moving Towards

Then we move into the spiral around the main three. We look at the root of the situation, what lesson has been learned that we’re moving away from, what energy is coming in to support, and what lesson we’re moving towards. This is pretty straight forward for the month ahead reading, but when it comes to business moves I’d consider the root as what hasn’t been working, so why they want to make the new move. Lesson learned is what they can learn from the situation, energy in is what steps they need to take to start making the move, and moving towards is what will happen when they take the suggested step from energy in.

Second Ring - Fears, Dreams, Observers, Outcome

The second time around the ring we have fears, then hopes/dreams, then what people observing see, and finally the outcome. For the outcome spot, you’re looking for it to be a major arcana card. You can pull up to 4 cards to see if a major arcana card comes up. If not, then there isn’t a true outcome, but move of a work in progress kind of vibe to it. Looking at this as a month ahead, the fears are what fears will come up for the month, hopes are what you’d really like to happen. The outside opinion card is an interesting one, because while we shouldn’t let others opinions sway us from doing things that are right for us, it does give us an opportunity to see the situation from an outsiders perspective and then decide how that tracks for ourselves. Sometimes this card will confirm what I’m already feeling, sometimes it gives me a chance to say “can’t wait to prove you wrong” and other times it has just been a “Huh, interesting, I could see that”. The final card needing to be a major arcana is because major arcana are the major life events whereas the minor arcana are more aligned with day to day events. If it’s still a work in progress, that isn’t bad, it’s just that the actions you take will move the needle but you might need to come back and reassess before everything works itself out.

When using this for a month ahead the hopes, dreams, and outsider opinions are all things to be aware of for that particular month, and the outcome being set I would assume there’s some sort of lesson that gets worked through vs a not set outcome would be more of a this is a month where things happen but it may not be a showstopper of a month. When it comes to using this for a business the hopes and fears and outside opinions would all be surrounding the action around the next move: What do you fear will happen if you do it, what do you dream happens if you do, and what might that move look like to outsiders. And again, if it’s a major in the outcome then you know what you might expect to come from the action. If it’s not set then you’ll possibly need to make the move a few times before you see what you’re hoping to happen.

Megan GosalComment