Tarot mediumship spread

At this day of the year, the veil between our world and the other world(s) is at its thinnest. We who occupy ourselves with talking to our passed loved ones, mark All Hallows Eve (Halloween) with more to it than candy (we love candy, too!).

There are contacts to be made during these dark nights of fall, there are messages to convey, there is - above all - love and understanding to be passed on. We who occupy ourselves with mediumship, we know that the neither the heart nor the soul dies, when a person or an animal passes on.

I have for some time explored the combination between tarot spreads and mediumship. Today, at the Hallowed Eve, I want to share with you a brilliant spread from Jenna Matlin, a tarot mediumship spread with activated cards from the Major Arcana. The spread gives spirit a chance to communicate, and in addition, it gives the sitter a possibility to reflect and get clarity in their own grieving process. This combination of care is so touching to me, so many thanks to Jenna Matlin for developing this mediumship spread.

I'll explain the spread below (my interpretation of the spread).

There are three activated cards to be laid out first. That is Death, Judgement and The World, all from the Major Arcana. The concept is that Death represents the process of the actual passing. Judgement represents the interim period, the transition period for the soul to transit from this life to the afterlife. The World represents the afterlife, the new world.

After laying those three cards out, the deck is shuffled and the other cards are dealt in the order shown in the table above.

It could be beneficial to start only with the first four cards, interpreting them before moving to the next four and so on.

Card 1 and 2 shows how the sitter experiences the death (illness leading to death, actual moment of death and the first hours/day after). Card 3 and 4 shows how the spirit experienced the actual death, also including coming to terms with dying or preparing for that (if applicable). In many cases the spirit shows less "sad" cards than expected. In many cases death is welcomed, especially if there was long-term illness involved or old age as in "it is my time to go now".

Card 5 and 6 shows how the transition period was for the sitter. The transition period often lasts for a week or so, sometimes often corresponding to the time between death and funeral. This is for many the most difficult time of the grieving process when losing someone dear to us. For others, this process contains so much practical tasks that the grieving process is put on hold (sadly). The shock might come after. The cards will reveal such situations. The spread can often be very clarifying for the griever. Card 7 and 8 shows the transition process for spirit. The cards might show issues they worked at during this process, regrets they had or cleansing they did as souls. You could open this cards for an extra message.

Card 9 and 10 shows how the sitter has been able to go forward, how they live with the situation integrating the loss - how their "world" looks like living with this new situation. Card 11 and 12 shows how the spirit sees their existence in afterlife, in their new world. These cards offer some answers to questions and worries many grievers have: "How is she now?" "Is he okay?" They show the new situation for the passed (at the moment when the spread is laid).

Below is a mediumship spread I did recently.

The cards around Death suggests that this was a generational loss (i.a. a parent), as the generational family constellation is shown (Ten of Pentacles). The Page of Cups suggests that the sitter is a child to the passed loved one and that the love was strong. The generational and family focus was important for the sitter at the time of passing, and was adding a lot to the grief.

The spirit shows that they tried to be strong and fight death (Page of Swords), but eventually had to lay down to rest and give in (Four of Swords).

The cards around Judgement suggests that the sitter had to reach out to other people for assistance and community (Three of Pentacles) as well as having to step up and be practical and "do the things" (Eight of Pentacles). It even suggests a feeling of new responsibility due to a new position in the family constellation (perhaps becoming the oldest). The cards focusing on practicalities, maybe suggestion that this was the sitters way to cope with the transition phase, or suggesting that there weren't much time to grief due to all the responsibility and practical things to take care of. There's also a lot of love in fixing the practical things for a person who passed. The cards for the spirit suggests that they were still present for the sitter in the transition period (Six of Cups), trying to take care and hold space also for the sitter, their child. Eight of Swords together with the Six of Cups suggests that they found it hard to leave, feeling not ready to go, that it was hard to leave someone behind. Lot of anguish and grief also from the spirit.

The cards around the World suggest that the sitter still struggles with the new situation, feeling that they have to fight for themselves more, the new situation is more of a struggle than what it was in the past, maybe a feeling of fighting alone, lacking an allied they used to have (Five of Wands). Queen of Wands suggest as the other cards have done, that this person has had to step up into the role of the eldest, the one who is in charge, however the queen suggests that the person has been growing into the role in a good way. The Three of Wands and the Fool together suggests that the sitter is ready to start a new journey, learning new things - either in the new world, in the afterlife or even being born again for a new Fool's Journey. The to last cards can be seen as a clear message from spirit that there is a new start, there is a new journey awaiting on the other side.

That was my explanation and an interpretation of Jenna Matlin's tarot mediumship spread. I'd love to know how you felt about it!

If you want to see more from Jenna, she is on Instagram @jennamatlin and YouTube @jennamatlin8188.