Embrace or release tarot reading

How the embrace or release spread works

This is a two-card spread for times of change. You draw the first card for something to hold closer and the second for something you are ready to let go of. There is no verdict here. The two cards are read side by side, as two halves of one piece of advice.

A question is optional. You can bring something specific, or leave the box empty and the reading will speak to whatever matters most for you right now. Shuffle, choose two cards from the whole deck, then turn them over one at a time or both together.

Plenty of people come back to this spread around a new moon, when setting intentions feels natural, or at a full moon, a traditional time for letting go.

What each position means

The first card is the Embrace card, labeled "What to hold closer now". It points to something already within reach that deserves more of your time and trust. That might be a strength you undersell, a person who steadies you or an opening you have hesitated to take.

The second card is the Release card, labeled "What is ready to go". It names what is costing you more than it gives back. Often that is a fear, an old story about yourself or a commitment you have outgrown. Sometimes it is a perfectly good thing that simply belongs to an earlier chapter of your life.

Reversed cards add a twist. A reversed Embrace card suggests you already want this thing but keep yourself from reaching for it. A reversed Release card can mean the letting go is underway, or that part of you is still gripping tight.

Good questions to bring

Questions about change, habits and new chapters suit this spread best. Here are a few that work well.

• "What should I take with me into this move, and what can stay behind?"
• "What do I need more of in this relationship, and what do I need to stop carrying?"
• "I start a new job on Monday. What will help me there, and which old habit should I drop?"
• "What is ready to end before my birthday?"
• "What have I outgrown this year?"

Skip questions that only have a yes or no answer. When you need a straight answer, the Yes or No reading gives you one from a single card.

Reading the two cards together

Start by reading the pair as a story. The Release card often describes what stands in the way of the Embrace card. Say The Star comes up to embrace and the Five of Cups comes up to release. The message is to stop grieving what went wrong so you can let yourself feel hopeful again.

Look at the suits next. Wands belong to Fire and speak of drive. Cups belong to Water and speak of feeling. Swords belong to Air and speak of thought. Pentacles belong to Earth and speak of money, work and the body. Embracing a Pentacles card while releasing a Swords card, for example, can mean trusting what you build with your hands more than the worries running through your head.

A Major Arcana card in either position carries extra weight. It names the bigger theme of this season, and the other card shows how that theme plays out day to day. Two Major Arcana cards together point to a real turning point.

When the same suit shows up in both places, the change is happening inside one part of your life. Two Cups cards, say, point to a shift in how you love or what you need from the people close to you. You can read more about any card in the full list of tarot card meanings.

Common questions