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 | ||
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3to1 | ![]() |
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2to1 | ![]() |
| 1+3 | ![]() |
1to3 | ![]() |
1to2 | ![]() |
1+2 |
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P#1 | ![]() |
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1: Person #1

Mars
Quarrel, combat, danger, ruin, destruction of plans, sudden death, escape from prison.
2: Person #2

Virgo
Illumination from within, secret impulse from within; practical plans derived accordingly. Retirement from participation in current events.
3: Person #3

Water
Enforced sacrifice, punishment, loss, fatal or voluntary, suffering, defeat, failure, death.
4: Person #1's view of #2

Earth
The matter of the question itself, synthesis, the end of the matter, may mean delay, opposition, obstinacy, inertia, patience, perseverance, persistent stubbornness in difficulty. The crystallisation of the whole matter involved.
5: Person #2's view of #3

Jupiter
Change of fortune. (This generally means good fortune because the fact of consultation implies anxiety or discontent.)
6: Person #3's view of #1

Sagittarius
Combination of forces, realisation, action based on accurate calculation; the way of escape, success after elaborate manoeuvres.
7: Person #2's view of #1

Leo
Courage, strength, energy and action, une grande passion; resort to magick, the use of magical power.
8: Person #3's view of #2

Taurus
Stubborn strength, toil, endurance, placidity, manifestation, explanation, teaching, goodness of heart, help from superiors, patience, organisation, peace.
9: Person #1's view of #3

Libra
Justice, or rather justesse, the act of adjustment, suspension of all action pending decision; in material matters, may refer to law suits or prosecutions. Socially, marriage or marriage agreements; politically, treaties.
10: Overall relationship between persons #1 and #2

Gemini
Openness to inspiration, intuition, intelligence, second sight, childishness, frivolity, thoughtfulness divorced from practical consideration, indecision, self-contradiction, union in a shallow degree with others, instability, contradiction, triviality, the 'high-brow'.
11: Overall relationship between persons #2 and #3

Capricorn
Blind impulse, irresistibly strong and unscrupulous, ambition, temptation, obsession, secret plan about to be executed; hard work, obstinacy, rigidity, aching discontent, endurance.
12: Overall relationship between persons #1 and #3

Pisces
Illusion, deception, bewilderment, hysteria, even madness, dreaminess, falsehood, error, crisis, 'the darkest hour before the dawn', the brink of important change.
13: Overall 3-way Relationship

Mercury
Skill, wisdom, adroitness, elasticity, craft, cunning, deceit, theft. Sometimes occult wisdom or power, sometimes a quick impulse, a brain-wave. It may imply messages, business transactions, the interference of learning or intelligence with the matter in hand.