What is the tirage en croix? It is a five-card cross spread, known in French as the tirage en croix: one card in the centre for the situation, one to the left, one to the right, one above and one below. It is a simple layout because it fits a single question on one page of a notebook. If you are learning tarot in French, it is a good one to know.
The five positions
Do not confuse it with the ten-card Celtic Cross. Searches for "tirage en croix" in French often return both, but the five-card cross is simpler and ideal for beginners. Ask an open question, shuffle, cut, then place five cards:
- Centre: the situation as it is today.
- Left: what is moving away, meaning the recent past and your habits.
- Right: what is approaching, meaning the tendency if nothing changes.
- Top: what you can see, your conscious view or aim.
- Bottom: what works underneath, meaning foundations and unspoken feelings.
There is no single official cross. Authors name the positions slightly differently, so pick one layout and keep it for a few weeks. The axis reading below is the approach we use, one among several.
How to read the five cards together
Start with the whole picture: how many major arcana, which suit dominates. Wands point to action, Cups to feelings and relationships, Swords to thoughts and decisions, Pentacles to work and money. Then read the centre alone, the horizontal axis (left to right is movement through time), and the vertical axis (bottom to top is hidden to visible). Finish with one sentence of synthesis and one small action. Where cards contradict each other, that tension is often the message. Our guide to reversed cards helps once you are ready to add them.
A worked example
Question: "How should I approach my wish to change jobs?" Centre, Eight of Cups: someone walks away from neatly stacked cups, because what is here no longer feeds you. Left, Four of Pentacles: a long period of holding on to security. Right, Ace of Wands: a new spark. Top, Strength: courage with gentleness instead of brute willpower. Bottom, Four of Swords: a need for rest before deciding. The synthesis: the wish to change is real, but rest first so you do not leave out of exhaustion. The cross does not decide for you; it organises your thinking.
Variants
- Decision: centre is the decision, left and right are options A and B, top is what you truly want, bottom is what you overlook. See our decision spread.
- Relationship: centre is the relationship, left is you, right is the other person, top is what brings you closer, bottom is what is unsaid.
- Weekly review: centre is the theme of the week, left what ends, right what begins, top what to cultivate, bottom what needs care.
Learning with the meaning on the card
With five cards on the table, a beginner can spend more time in the guidebook than looking at the pictures. Our French-language learning deck uses the 1909 illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith and prints a one-sentence meaning, keywords and a question on every card, so you can read each position and its meaning in one glance. A complete course in French comes with the deck. Any deck will teach you, including a classic Marseille deck, whose minor arcana have no scenes.
French-language learning tarot deck, 1909 art
Meanings printed on every card in French, a French guidebook in the box and the full course in French after purchase. Ships to the EU, UK, Switzerland and Iceland.
See the French deckPractise for seven days: one cross a day on a modest question, one sentence per position, one sentence of synthesis. Continue with the full 78-card meanings guide and the three-card spread, or follow the 30-day plan to learn tarot on your own.
Frequently asked questions
How do you interpret a five-card cross?
Read the whole first, then the centre, then left to right, then bottom to top. Finish with a one-sentence synthesis and one action.
What is the difference between the cross and the Celtic Cross?
The cross has five cards for a simple question; the Celtic Cross has ten and adds context, influences and outlook. Learn the five-card version first.
Do I need reversed cards?
No. It is common to read every card upright for the first weeks and add reversals later. When you add them, their reading depends on context: depending on the approach, a reversal nuances a card or flips it.
In regalo il corso completo di tarocchi in italiano
In regalo il corso completo di tarocchi in italiano
