Marseille Cross: for, against and the advice
The Marseille Cross is the ‘tirage en croix’ of the French tradition, the spread once laid out with the old Marseille cards. Four cards on the arms of a cross show what plays in your favour, what plays against you, what the cards advise and where the scales come to rest; in the centre, a fifth card gathers the other four into a single image.
It is the right spread for questions with two sides. Write your question, shuffle and draw the five cards: the reading appears written out straight afterwards, arm by arm and then the centre. It is free and needs no sign-up.
How the cards are laid out
What each position means
In favour
What pushes in the direction of the question: the trump cards, the people and the circumstances on the querent’s side.
Against
What pulls the other way: resistance, risks, what one would rather not see. It is always read opposite the previous card.
The advice
What the cards recommend: the attitude to take, the step that helps tip the scales. It is the most practical card in the spread.
The conclusion
Where the scales come to rest, if the advice is followed. It is the answer to the question, as the forces shape it today.
The synthesis
The card that gathers the other four. It tells you the deeper meaning of the matter — what it is really about, beneath what was asked.
When to use the Marseille Cross
For weighing up a decision, assessing a risk or working out whether it is worth persisting. It sets the favourable and unfavourable elements side by side, and that helps you see more clearly what is often all jumbled up in your head.
It works very well with questions that begin ‘should I…?’ or ‘is it worth…?’. If the choice is between two well-defined paths, The Decision gives each one its own column.
How to read the Marseille Cross
First read the horizontal arm, for and against, and compare them: which of the two cards weighs more? Then the vertical arm, the advice and the conclusion, which tell you what to do with that balance and where it will end up. Only at the end read the centre, which gives meaning to it all.
In the Marseille tradition, the synthesis was worked out by adding up the numbers of the four cards; on Sol da Alma it is a fifth card drawn from the deck, which keeps the same spirit of a ‘summing-up’ without asking anyone to do sums.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called the Marseille Cross?
Because it comes from the French tradition of the Tarot de Marseille, where it was the most widely used spread. You can do it with any of the Sol da Alma tarot decks.
What is the difference between the Marseille Cross and The Cross?
Both have five cards, but they ask different things. The Cross speaks of the situation, the help, the obstacle, the root and the outcome. The Marseille Cross is made for weighing pros and cons and ends in advice and a synthesis.
Does the Marseille Cross give a yes or no answer?
Better than most: if the card in favour and the conclusion are strong, the scales tip towards yes. But the answer always comes with a piece of advice, which is what makes it useful.
See a sample report for this spread (PDF)
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