Comic Strip Spread

Difficulty: Easy
Note: This spread works best with decks like the Diary of a Broken Soul or Surrealist Tarot because they display scenes rather than pips and do not use reversals.
The Comic Strip Spread is a simple nine-card chronological spread that looks like a page of a comic book. This method should be used to get a glimpse of the future as it would pan out naturally. It may be insightful to use this spread in coordination with biorhythms. The spread is easy to read as a storyboard, just like a comic strip.
The main subject is apparent in the first card, while the story plays out through the following tarot cards.
It is important to pay particular attention to the cards and the relationships with their neighbours. Notice which directions the cards are facing, and how they interact.
Your Comic Strip Reading
The Child![]() |
The Key![]() |
The Anchor![]() |
The Ways![]() |
The House![]() |
The Snake![]() |
The Death![]() |
The Woman![]() |
The Bear![]() |
Card 1: The Child
The Child indicates youth, inexperience, naiveness, playfulness, and small size. The appearance of the Child may suggest a child coming into your life.
Card 2: The Key
Understanding, truth, knowledge, advice, probabilities, and possibilities. The Key means that you have what it takes to move on to another level.
Card 3: The Anchor
Lifestyle, foundation, roots, gravity, and security in work or relationships. The Anchor indicates a firm base of success and profit from your endeavours. Now is a good time to aggressively work towards your goals.
Card 4: The Ways
A choice, probability, not knowing, doubts. The Crossroads indicate the need to make a choice. You can easily avoid your problems, but you may wish to address these issues before they grow so big that they will take far more energy to deal with.
Card 5: The House
It shows structure in a material form. A frame protecting its content. Blue and green are material colours. Yellow shows consciousness.
Stability, shelter, home life, family, and responsibility. The House also indicates success in creative projects.
Card 6: The Snake
Realm of Air
The snake has been searching and learning for a long time. Tried this, tried that, and so came nearer and nearer to the truth. It means the highest consciousness (yellow and white) following a long way of experiences.
Temptations, dark forces, cunning, deviousness, earthly intelligence, lower nature, and biological urges. The Serpent may represent someone trying to trick you. Be wary of people trying to take advantage of you, who may lead you down the wrong path. If the cards surrounding this card are favourable to you, this is a sign that you may be the one who is being devious.
Card 7: The Death
You see a wreath, as we use at a burial. In the area of air thinking comes to an end, and the Ring(25) is gonna be split of in the four elements again.
Transformation, adaptation, major changes, secrets uncovered, beginnings, and endings. The Death foretells that something will be coming to an end, which means you will need to adapt.
Card 8: The Woman
The Woman represents you if you are a woman. All cards in your spread are interpreted by their distance to this card.
If you are a man this card represents a strong woman with good intent who will have a positive influence on you: a friend, wife, significant other, girlfriend, love. Could also indicate intuition, passiveness, instinct, or patience.
Card 9: The Bear
Power, great strength, protection, spiritual energy, fame, a foundation of truth – but possibly jealousy, envy, and through these, tremendous wrath. The Bear is a very powerful sign, but be wary of the potential for excessive force.