Stress-Be-Gone Anxiety Tarot Spread

This anxiety tarot spread focuses on the spiritual aspect of stress. 

In this spread, we aim to Identify the source of your apprehension, and ways compliment your stress-management strategies.

Including stress relief in your spiritual practice helps to calm the mind, sooth frazzled nerves and let go of tension.

Relax!  Remember: no one is really in control.  🙂

(By the way, the face-up cards pictured above are from the Joie De Vivre Tarot <——-affiliate link.  It’s one of my favorite decks in the world, and people always ask about it).

Begin by drawing five cards and laying them out in the formation of the above image.

The four cards on the outside normalize emotional instability.  The Number 4 in numerology represents cohesion, balance and strength.

The card in the middle is what’s throwing you into turmoil.

Let’s talk about how to interpret each card.

Center Card:  Stress Trigger

This position represents the trigger for your current stressed-out state.  Consider the following interpretations:

Court Card: Represents a person in your life, like your bossy roommate or overly competitive friend.

Major Arcana: Indicates you’re dealing with larger issues, like a past trauma.

Minor Arcana:  Look to the suit for clues.   A pentacle card indicates stress in your professional or material life.  Or, a card from the Suit of Cups implies stress in a personal relationship.

Top Left:  What’s Making it Worse

Whereas Position 1 represents what lead you your anxiety, Position 2 symbolizes the factors in your life that exacerbate it.

Anxiety tends to compound itself.  A little anxiety leads to more.

This cycle continues until interrupted consciously.

What unconscious things do you see in this card that fuel the fire of your stress?

Note that this exacerbating factor may, at times, actually be a stabilizing force in your life. 

For example, your mother may usually have a calming effect on you when you’re in distress.  But if she happens to be staying with you for a long weekend, her constant presence may have the opposite effect!

Top Right:  What’s Going to Make it Better

Look to this card for insight into how to make things better.

Got a Cups card?  This suit is ruled by the Element of Water.  Take the hint and try indulging in a stress-relieving ritual bath.

Drew from the Suit of Wands?  It’s dominated by the Element of Fire.  Maybe you need a weekend camping trip, or candlelit evening with friends.

Pentacles represents the Element of Earth.  Try sometime outdoors, and don’t be afraid to get dirty!

A Swords card, ruled by Air, implies the need for breath work, meditation or even air travel.

If you get a Major Arcana card, consider getting help in the form of your clergy or even a therapist.  Major Arcana cards usually indicate larger issues that aren’t likely to go away with simple techniques.

Bottom Left:  The Underlying Issue

You arrived at this crossroads somehow.  Why?

What past events lead you to your current struggle?

In this card, look for clues about how and why you got here.  Could you be reliving an old habit you’re not yet aware of?  Is there an unconscious element here?

Take a moment to think about whether the people in your life, your job and the way you spend your time still serve you, and whether you still serve them.  Is there anything or anyone you need to move on from?

Bottom Right:  Final Outcome Under Current Circumstances

This card symbolizes where your situation will lead if you continue to move in the current direction.

It’s not necessarily ominous.  

You may very well need this stress in your life in order to take action or break free from procrastination.

On the other hand, it may be self-destructive.  

Or something in between.

Take moment to ponder the images and meaning of this card and take to heart where you want all this to go.

Blessed be.