The ‘When Will I…?’ Tarot Spread – Your Guide to Answering Tarot Timing Questions With Style

As a Tarot reader, how many times have you been asked “When will I…?”

When will I sell my house?

When will I meet my future husband?

When will I find a career that I love?

When will I finally have enough money?

More than a few times, I bet!

So many people want to know WHEN.

And I totally get it.

When you want something so bad, part of that desire is knowing exactly when it's going to happen. (And skip the IF it's going to happen – you just want to know WHEN!)

But as Tarot readers, we also know that timing can be challenging.

You see, the future is not set in stone – and that includes timing of events.

For one, we each have free will and can make choices that will ultimately impact the timing of an event. Sure, we might predict that an event will happen, but it is our action (or lack thereof) that will decide the timing.

Here's an example.

Let's say a Tarot reader told you that your house would sell by November.

“Great!” you think. “I can just sit back and relax now because I know that no matter what I do, the house will sell!”

Uh-uh.

Surprise, surprise, the house did not sell all by itself.

Second, we often need to pass through a series of important lessons before something is manifested. So again, while we may be aware that an event will happen, we know that it can only happen when a series of events have occurred and lessons have been learned. The timing is up in the air until the path has been travelled.

Back to our house example…

So after your Tarot reading, you sit on your hands and do nothing until November comes and goes. No house sale. “What?!” you think, “I paid money for that useless Tarot reader?!”

Desperate to sell the house now, and annoyed the prediction didn't come true, you rush around, find an agent and voila, the house is sold within 2 months.

So what happened? Well, perhaps you needed to experience inactivity and passivity first in order to finally get a move on and sell the house quickly when you did take action.

Now wouldn't it have been more helpful to know that than to know a date that may or may not be accurate, depending on what action you took (or didn't take)?

How to Read Timing Questions With Style

Whenever I'm asked a “When?” question in Tarot, I very rarely give a date-based prediction. (The exception is if I feel a very strong intuitive hit that a particular date may be relevant for the client.)

Instead, I like to help my clients understand what needs to happen first before the desired event will come to fruition, and how to recognise where they are in that journey. I also like to empower my clients to take the most effective and efficient actions in order to manifest their goals in a shorter period of time (why take the long path of ‘trial and error' when you can take the shortcut?!).

So here's my favourite “When will I?” Tarot spread to help you do the same in your Tarot readings.

The “When Will I…?” Tarot Spread

Use this Tarot spread for your next time-based Tarot question…

1. What is the current energy surrounding [the desired outcome]?
2. What might you experience when you [achieve the desired outcome]?
3. What needs to happen before you [achieve the desired outcome]?
4. What ‘green lights' will you see when you are about to [achieve the desired outcome]?
5. What ‘red flags' will you see when it's not the right time to [achieve the desired outcome]?
6. What do you need to know about the general timing of [the desired outcome]?
7. What might you experience in the next 1/3/6/9/12 months?

NOTE: Customise this spread according to the desired outcome. For example, for the question, “When will I find love?”, the desired outcome is to ‘find love'.

Let's break it down…

In general, look for reversed Tarot cards which may indicate delays or energy blocks that need to be cleared before the desired outcome can be manifested.

Look for Aces or Pages, which signify the early stages of manifestation. Or the Tens and Kings which signify the maturation or realisation of the desired outcome.

For Card 1, you are assessing what's happening right now – are there blockages or is the energy flowing freely? Are there challenges that needs to be addressed first? Is the client in a good place and ready to manifest the desired outcome?

For Card 2, the question here is, is this desired outcome what you truly want? The client might think they want to get married ASAP, but what if marriage take away their freedom which they deeply cherish? Understand if this is truly the right outcome – and if it's not, delve deeper into what the alternative outcome might be.

For Card 3, you are now discovering the life lessons (Major Arcana cards), events (Minor Arcana cards) or aspects of oneself (Court Cards) that the client needs to pass through in order to manifest the desired outcome. You might like to draw 2-3 cards here to create the ‘map' for the client.

For Card 4, you're providing a signal to the client as to when the desired outcome is just about to occur.

And for Card 5, you're showing when it might not be the best time to manifest the outcome. For example, if you were looking for love and the Devil came up here, then it's a sign that a co-dependent relationship is not the right one for you.

Card 6 will give you an indication of how quickly or slowly things are moving. If you like working with traditional timing techniques in Tarot, then use them here with this card.

Finally, Card 7 will give you a timeline of what to expect and will show how the situation may evolve over the next few months. Draw up to 4 cards here to map out each month (or selected time period).

Again, if the desired outcome was to find love and the Ace of Cups appeared at Month 2, then that's a pretty good indication that the goal will be achieved during this month… so long as the client is open to the messages within the reading and takes action.

Remember, though, the future is not set in stone and time itself is a fluid concept. What's more interesting and helpful is to understand what needs to occur in order for the desired outcome to manifest, and how to go about taking those actions for a swift result.

Over to You…

Think of a “When will I?” question and use the timing Tarot spread. Share your Tarot reading below in the comments – I'd love to see how it has worked for you!

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