Tree of Life: one card for each sephirah
The Tree of Life is the spread for deep questions. Ten cards occupy the ten spheres of the Kabbalistic tree, the sephiroth, and descend from the origin of the question, at the top, to the concrete form it takes in life, at the foot of the tree. Along the way they pass through impulse and form, through what gives and what cuts, and through the centre where everything finds its balance.
You do not need to know any Kabbalah to do it: the name of each place is written in everyday language, and the reading explains each one. Write your question, shuffle and draw the ten cards — the reading appears written out on the spot, free and with no sign-up.
How the cards are laid out
What each position means
The crown
The origin of the question, what moves it from above — the deepest intention, sometimes older than any conscious wish.
Wisdom
The impulse that opens the way, the spark that sets things in motion.
Understanding
The form the impulse takes, the understanding that gives it its outline.
Mercy
What gives, welcomes and expands — generosity, opportunities, growth.
Severity
What cuts, limits and corrects — the necessary boundaries, discipline, the ‘no’.
Beauty
The centre of the tree, where the forces balance. It is the card of the heart of the person and of the question.
Victory
What is desired and sustained with persistence — the will that endures.
Glory
What is thought and communicated — ideas, words, the way you explain to yourself what you are living through.
The foundation
Imagination, dreams, the nearby root from which whatever later becomes real is born.
The kingdom
Where all this settles in concrete life — the body, the home, work, the everyday.
When to use the Tree of Life
For the underlying questions: a direction in life, a vocation, a long crossing, the meaning of a phase. It is a slow, rich spread that looks at the whole person and not just at one event. It was not made for questions that need an immediate answer.
Many people do it once or twice a year — on a birthday, at the start of the year, at a major change — and keep the reading to read again later.
How to read the Tree of Life
It is read from top to bottom, from the crown to the kingdom, like a descent from spirit into matter. The cards stand in three pillars: on the right those that give and expand, on the left those that give form and set limits, in the centre those that balance. One pillar much stronger than the other shows where the person’s life is out of balance.
The central pillar — crown, beauty, foundation and kingdom — is the backbone of the reading: it tells where the question comes from, where its heart lies, what feeds it and where it shows itself. Read it first, then the two sides.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know Kabbalah to do the Tree of Life?
No. The places have names in everyday language — the crown, beauty, the kingdom — and the reading explains what each one means for your question.
How many cards are there in the Tree of Life spread?
Ten, one for each sephirah, laid out in three pillars.
What is the difference between the Tree of Life and the Celtic Cross?
Both have ten cards. The Celtic Cross examines a situation in time; the Tree of Life looks at the whole person, from meaning down to concrete life. One is better at answering ‘what is going on?’, the other ‘where am I going?’.
See a sample report for this spread (PDF)
No sign-up · Reading written on the spot · Free