Sol da Alma: Tarot and Lenormand on the same table
This is our own spread, created by Solange Magda, and the only one done with both decks at once. Each house receives a Tarot card with a Lenormand card laid on top: the Tarot tells of the forces at play, the Lenormand tells of the events. The Sun sits in the centre and eight houses turn around it.
There are eighteen cards in all, which makes for a rich reading. Write your question, shuffle and draw: the reading appears written out on the spot, house by house, and ends with the Sun, which is the heart of the matter and the solution the Soul brings. It is free and needs no sign-up.
How the cards are laid out
What each position means
What to do?
The step worth taking now. It sits at the top of the wheel and is the first house to read after the centre.
Expectations
What you are hoping for — which may not be what comes. It shows the hope, and also the illusion.
Outcome
Where the matter ends up, if the path holds.
The past
What brought the matter to this point: the past that still explains it.
The future
What is on its way: the near future, what is already taking shape.
Blocks and fears
What holds the matter back, from within and from without: the fears, the resistance, the obstacles.
Hidden energy
The force working underneath that is not yet in sight. It is often the house that explains everything else.
What not to do?
The move to avoid: the mistake the cards advise against. It sits at the bottom of the wheel, opposite ‘What to do?’.
The Sun of the Soul
The Sun, in the centre: the heart of the matter and the solution the Soul brings, seen through both decks at once.
When to use the Sol da Alma spread
When the question is big and does not fit into a row of cards: a turning point in life, a year beginning, a decision that shakes everything up, a period you want to understand in full. Because it uses both decks, it gives the depth of the Tarot and the precision of the Lenormand at the same time.
There is a version for love, the Sol da Alma — Love spread, which uses the same principle to speak only of the other person.
How to read the wheel
The houses are read in pairs, facing each other: what to do opposite what not to do, the past opposite the future, expectations opposite the outcome, blocks opposite hidden energy. Each pair shows two faces of the same thing, and it is in that contrast that the reading deepens.
In each house, read the two cards together: the Tarot card gives the meaning, the Lenormand card gives the fact. The Star with the Rider, for example, is a hope that arrives in the form of news. The Sun is read last, as the answer to everything the wheel has shown.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the Sol da Alma spread use two decks?
Because each says different things. The Tarot speaks of inner forces and meaning; the Lenormand speaks of concrete events. Together they give an answer that is both deep and precise.
How many cards are there in the Sol da Alma spread?
Eighteen: nine houses — eight around the edge and the Sun in the centre — each with a Tarot card and a Lenormand card.
Who created the Sol da Alma spread?
It was created by Solange Magda, the Sol da Alma tarot reader, and it is our house spread. All the houses and their pairs are explained in The Sol da Alma Spreads Manual.
See a sample report for this spread (PDF)
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