The Decision: two paths, side by side
Do I accept or stay put? Leave or wait? Speak up or keep quiet? The Decision was made for questions of choice. Seven cards in two columns, one for each path, show what each option offers, what it costs and where it leads — and, at the top, one card shows what is truly at stake in the choice.
When you choose this spread at the table, two fields open so you can name each path. That name goes into the reading, so the cards speak of your actual option and not of an abstract ‘first path’. The reading is written on the spot, free and with no sign-up.
How the cards are laid out
What each position means
What is at stake
What the choice really decides, beneath what is being asked. Very often the decision is not between two jobs or two houses, but between security and freedom, or between what you want and what you feel you ought to do.
First path: what it offers
What you gain by the first path: the advantages, the doors it opens.
First path: what it costs
The price of the first path: what it demands, what is lost, the effort it asks for.
First path: where it leads
Where the first path leads, if it is the one chosen.
Second path: what it offers
What you gain by the second path: the advantages, the doors it opens.
Second path: what it costs
The price of the second path: what it demands, what is lost, the effort it asks for.
Second path: where it leads
Where the second path leads, if it is the one chosen.
When to use The Decision
Whenever the question takes the form ‘this or that’. It works for big choices — moving abroad, ending a relationship, accepting an offer — and for middling ones, such as choosing between two job offers or two moments to act. If one of the options is simply ‘do nothing’, write it that way: that is a path too.
If the choice has more than two options, do the spread with the two strongest. If there are no clear options yet, The Pyramid helps to sort the matter out before deciding.
How to read The Decision
Read the columns from top to bottom and then side by side, level by level: what each path offers, what it costs, where it leads. Very often the path with the best ending also has the highest price, and it is that balance the spread brings to light.
The card at the top is the key. It shows what is at stake, and the best choice is usually the one that answers that card best — not the one with the prettiest cards.
Frequently asked questions
Can tarot make a decision for me?
No, nor should it. The spread shows the forces on each path clearly; the choice is still yours. That is what it is for: deciding with your eyes open.
Do I have to name the two paths?
Yes, and that is what makes the reading precise. When you choose The Decision, the table asks for the name of each option — for example ‘accept the offer’ and ‘stay where I am’ — and the reading refers to them by name.
What if the two columns look alike?
Then the two options are more evenly matched than they seem, and the choice can be made by what the top card says — what really matters — or by what your heart already knows.
See a sample report for this spread (PDF)
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