The Love Triangle Spread
Difficulty: Complicated
Casually referred to as the Love Triangle, this spread can be used to determine the dynamics of the relationship between three people, regardless of whether romance is involved. This spread is arranged in the form of a hexagram, consisting of several large and small triangles. This tarot spread may seem somewhat complicated, but it is not entirely that difficult.
The first step is to interpret the card for each individual position in the spread. Generally, one might ask about a relationship they are involved in, but this does not have to be the case. Ordinarily, the reader's representative card is #1, their main person of interest is #2, and the other person would be #3.
The second step fills in the downward triangle and involves further examination of the individuals through their views of the other people. Each person has two more cards showing the way they see and relate to the other members of the triangle. For example, Card #6 indicates how Person #3 relates to Person #1, while Card #9 stands for Person #1's attitude toward Person #3.
The next step completes the upward triangle and the hexagram, focusing on cards #10–13. It also completes the many smaller triangles and hints at the potential for each relationship. The final card, #13 can be considered the significator of the reading, which suggests the overall potential for this three-way relationship.
Your Love Triangle Reading
| P#3 | 3to2 | 2+3 |
2to3 | P#2 | ||
 |
3to1 |  |
Overall |  |
2to1 |  |
| 1+3 |  |
1to3 |  |
1to2 |  |
1+2 |
 |
 |
P#1 |  |
 |
||
 |
1: Person #1
Mars in Pisces
The nine lower cups are filled with the shining light of Kether from above, just as in the blueprint contained within the Ace all along. Overwhelming emotions here risk crossing the boundaries of sanity.
Meaning:
Pleasure fulfilled yet incomplete.
When ill-dignified: waste, stagnation, debauchery.
2: Person #2
The Moon
The Priestess sits on her throne, queen of the heavens, the eternal virgin, and the counterpart of the Hierophant. She holds the keys to the feminine secrets of the universe.
Meaning:
Enthusiastic focus on the unconscious. A pure, exalted influence comes into play. The Priestess warns not to get too carried away.
3: Person #3
The Root of Water
The cup of Kether is the holy grail. Ten rays beam from the single source of light emanating from the cup. The cup is a vessel for the light. The beginning of a new way of feeling.
Meaning:
Joy, contentment, love, fruitfulness, beauty.
4: Person #1's view of #2
Jupiter in Leo
This card represents energy in its most balanced and powerful state. Six snake-rods are crossed with nine flames burning at the joints. This represents the male energy being reflected by the female in a state of perfect harmony and balance.
Meaning:
Triumph after strife. Success and gain, good news, expectations fulfilled.
When ill-dignified: excessive pride and insolence.
5: Person #2's view of #3
Libra
Justice. Balance is achieved through adaptation. You may need to take a look at the book.
Meaning:
Justice, balance, equilibrium. A pause in the action to achieve balance.
6: Person #3's view of #1
8:00 – 10:00 Male
Taurus
The Prince of Disks rides his chariot pulled by the bull. His disk is a sphere. The air of earth is represented by the vegetation he ploughs through. He is a worker at heart, grounded on the earth plane, and concerned with materialism above all else. He may resent the spirituality that eludes his grasp.
Meaning:
A young man with skill in practical matters, reliable, and perhaps dull.
7: Person #2's view of #1
Jupiter in Libra
Four swords come together in union. The square formed in the centre is a white flag. This card represents reconciliation. The Process.
Meaning:
Recovery from a period of trouble. An oasis. Authority in the realm of intellect. Establishment of dogma.
8: Person #3's view of #2
Venus
The Empress is queen of queens, the wife archetype. Radiating warmth, she gazes at the dove, symbolic of holy love. Two cherubs overlook her and two overlook the other half. The pelican feeding her young her own blood symbolises the self-sacrifice of motherhood.
Meaning:
Graciousness, elegance, love, gentleness, beauty.
When ill-dignified: wasting time, debauchery.
9: Person #1's view of #3
5:00 – 7:00 Female
Cancer
The Queen of Cups sits on a waterfall throne in front of a cave. In her right hand she holds a lotus and in her left she holds a silver cup. On her crown is a crab, a symbol of Cancer. In the background is a dark canyon and in the foreground her reflection is visible in the water. She represents the most passive and receptive type of person.
Meaning:
A dreamy, imaginative, tranquil, poetic, and extremely receptive woman. Generous, yet not overly hospitable. She is very dependent on the neighbour cards in determining dignification.
10: Overall relationship between persons #1 and #2
Sun in Gemini
Ten swords form the shape of the tree of life. The sixth and tenth swords are broken to pieces. In the centre of Tiphareth, the heart is broken. This is the worst omen of the deck. Rock bottom. But upon deeper inspection, something highly significant is achieved through the process.
Meaning:
Reason divorced from reality, the end of sanity, disaster, failure, desolation, dishonour. Spiritually may mean the end of delusion.
11: Overall relationship between persons #2 and #3
Saturn in Pisces
Eight cups stand on a bed of mud where the water receded. Dark clouds have rolled in to overcast the pale-yellow sky. Half of the cups have been spilled. This is the morning after.
Meaning:
Success abandoned, apathy, misery, transience, instability, a small victory. Sometimes means abandonment of materialistic pursuits in favour of the spiritual.
12: Overall relationship between persons #1 and #3
Pisces
The Knight of Cups rides a black horse, symbolising the dark unconscious force of water. In his left hand he holds a gold cup filled with gold. His horse leaps above a wave, symbolising the element of water at its most active state. Two dolphins leap along with the horse, representing Pisces.
Meaning:
A very sensitive, yet shallow man, who is quick to respond to attraction.
When ill-dignified: a sensual, idle man, a liar and a loser, prone to drug abuse.
13: Overall 3-way Relationship
Mercury in Virgo
Coins of gold, silver, and copper fall to earth. The ten coins in the foreground form the tree of life, each with a symbol matching its particular sephiroth. The coins in the background represent the different pathways. This card represents something valuable.
Meaning:
Material prosperity. Completion of material building. Good health.
When ill-dignified: sloth, heaviness, dullness.
