Tarot Spreads: How to Read Them, Create Them, and Revise Them, by Meg Jones Wall
Weiser Books, 1578638550, 240 pages, July 2025
What’s your reading style? Are you a spread person or more of an unstructured reader, asking questions and pulling cards as you go along? I’m definitely more of the second type, as the typical past-present-future spread has always felt too vague and the Celtic Cross feels like too much to do for most readings, unless I’m really digging into something. If I do use a spread, it’s most likely one I’ve found online, usually for a specific zodiac season or related to the Wheel of the Year.
To be honest? I hadn’t really considered the spread as a vital part of a reading, focusing on the cards themselves, until reading Tarot Spreads: How to Read Them, Create Them, and Revise Them by Meg Jones Wall, which has given me so much more agency and empowerment in structuring my layouts and reignited my excitement for tarot readings! Within this book, Jones Walls does a deep-dive into an often under-appreciated aspect of tarot reading: the spread. From discussing the way spreads work to how to read them effectively, readers get the opportunity to learn how to read them effectively, create their own, or adapt/revise spreads to best get at the heart of the question at hand.
Jones Wall frames the spread as something that can be a personalized structure, capable of being customized and amended, rather than a rigid formula. With Jones Wall’s advice, readers can move beyond copying other people’s layouts and begin designing spreads that truly serve their unique questions and reading needs.
“What I’m saying is that a well-crafted tarot spread, regardless of its length of specificity, can deliver a very accurate, powerful, and useful reading, no matter the complexity of the situation or question. It’s all about learning how to work with the structure that the spread provides, and understanding the relationship between the cards, the positions, and the overall flow of the reading.”1
Divided into five parts, Jones Wall chronologically leads through the book, beginning with a heartfelt introduction in which she shares her journey to creating custom tarot spreads. Her empathy for others and insight to some of the struggles readers face at times is evident, making her a compassionate guide on this reading journey. Throughout the book, Jones Wall does a wonderful job of assuaging concerns, acknowledging the potential for disappointment readers face, and boosting the confidence of the reader by letting them know it’s okay to experiment, make mistakes, and do what feels right, regardless of what this book or any other has to say.
Plus, much of the content is written in an answer and response style, which adds to the feeling of being in dialogue with Jones Wall. I really like her style, as it makes for an engaging read. She has an uncanny knack for knowing just what the reader might ask next, keeping the flow of the book moving swiftly and intuitively. Truly, any question that popped in my head while reading was immediately answered within a few pages!
“Part One: Before We Begin” is an overview of tarot, which answers questions like what tarot is and how it works, along with providing a short description of the Major Arcana, numerology of the tarot, suits, and more. “Part Two: Reading Spreads” covers tips for reading cards, such as what to do if you don’t understand your reading and how to read reversals. While much of these two parts is tarot basics, I still appreciated Jones Wall’s unique perspective on the topic; every reader has their own little nuggets of wisdom, and I always enjoy hearing what insights they’ve picked up through their tarot journey.
In “Part Three: Writing Spreads”, Jones Wall teaches the art of creating your own spreads. She covers topics like why and when we might choose to create a spread ourselves, what to include in a well-written spread, and provides three different methods for crafting spreads, aptly named The Way of the Magician, The Way of the Hierophant, and The Way of the Priestess. She even offers advice for writing spreads in collaboration with others.
As much as I enjoy writing, the editor in me was thrilled to see a whole next dedicated to editing your spread. In “Part Four: Revising Spreads” Jones Wall offers insight on when to revise and when not to revise, as well as sharing where editing might be needed: adding a position, removing a position, switching the wording of a position for more clarity, etc. Along the way, in both “Part Three” and “Part Four”, Jones Wall includes examples and exercises for readers to see what she’s talking about in action as well as practice it for themselves.
Finally, “Part Five: Spreads for Every Occasion” provides tons of spread ideas that readers can use for inspiration to edit, tweak, or revise on their own. Jones Wall includes one-card spreads, three-card spreads, Celtic cross, zodiac spreads, Wheel of the Year spreads, and a bunch for different themes (love, creativity, self-reflection). For those who are a bit nervous about starting from scratch in creating a spread, the spreads in chapter are perfect as a starting point!
Tarot Spreads has really gotten me back into my tarot practice, which was feeling a bit stale; the content was exactly what I needed to feel confident in my connection with the cards again. The idea of a spread as a static, unchanging, and something that must be followed precisely for the “right results” is something I never questioned before, assuming that I couldn’t deviate from the layout formation of the cards. Yet Jones Wall made me see that making your own spreads is an opportunity to use my creativity, hone my intentions for the reading, and commune with the cards more fluently. And this has me excited about tarot again after a year-long hiatus!
It might sound silly, but I honestly needed to hear that you don’t have to use the spreads “as is”. And I like that Jones Walls teaches too how to tweak layouts, adjust prompts, and make spreads your own while also emphasizing that it doesn’t need to be overly complex. It’s okay to create a layout you enjoy and then shift it as-needed depending on the circumstances. The whole process of creatively engaging with the spread through creating, revision, and focusing on what’s most important to know for the reading helps me slow down and be more intentional in my readings. This process of making the spread myself seems to have boosted my intuitive development as well as my overall reading skills.
Overall, if your tarot work has felt stuck in limited popular spreads often promoted in guidebooks or you’re tired of screenshotting card layouts content creators are putting up, Tarot Spreads offers a fresh and much-needed pivot. Jones Wall provides readers with the language, structure, and confidence to ask: “What does this reading need right now?” and “What layout will serve that question best?” For those seeking to move beyond standard spreads, stepping into more creative and personal layout designs to deepen the link between intention and card placement, this book is a must-read.
While it’s absolutely suited for beginners, even intermediate or expert readers would gain something from this book because it’s a topic that most tarot books don’t spend much time delving into. The use (or not) of a spread is something readers don’t often consciously focus on, opting for their usual spread of choice or a premade one for reference. Tarot Spreads is a gateway to discovering how to make your readings more personalized, clarifying the intentions and focus for the reading, and speaking with the cards in a way that feels resonant. There’s so much possibility that’s unleashed when you embrace creative control of the spread!
Alanna Kali is an astrologer, numerologist, and pioneer spirit that loves to explore life through the lens of depth psychology. She has a passion for studying the humanities and social trends. Her academic work is centered upon reuniting body, mind, and spirit through eco-psychology. She loves reading, spending time in nature, and travel.