Dream Tarot Spread Guide: 2 Spreads To Understand Your Dreams

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Lou specializes in Tarot, spirituality, wellness, and new-age content. Aside from her focused development in spirituality, Lou enjoys writing freelance articles and ebooks on meditation, wellness, and crystal healing. She loves working on projects that help spread positivity and is passionate about helping others find their own spiritual paths. She believes that starting your spiritual journey can significantly impact your overall health and lead to a more fulfilling life.

Dream Tarot Spread Upfront

I recommend practicing the three-card dream Tarot spread first before moving on to the five-card one. The three-card dream Tarot spread allows us to understand why we have a specific dream and how we can move forward. It is suitable for beginners and experts, but it might take a few readings to fully get to its grips!

When you feel ready, you can begin to use the five-card dream Tarot spread that helps you learn more about your dreams and the different messages they might have.

Why Use Tarot for Dream Interpretation?

When I was in college, I studied psychology and learned all about Freud and his dream interpretation theory. The idea that our dreams can help us understand ourselves more was fascinating to me, and I began to pay more and more attention to my dreams.

Of course, there are so many different theories of dreaming, and the truth is, we simply do not know why we dream. I liked the idea of Freud, of how dreams allow us to discover new things about ourselves. Yet, I have always been interested in the idea of dreams unlocking new realms of consciousness, allowing our souls to travel.

I have only recently combined my Tarot practice with dream interpretation. I find it bizarre that I didn’t do it sooner, as they are so obviously connected! We can understand the Tarot as reflecting our subconsciousness, highlighting desires and fears like dreams.

Our dreams use symbolism and imagery, and this means that we can sometimes find them hard to understand! So, we can turn to the Tarot cards in order to figure out what our dreams are telling us, and what the symbolism means.

Three-Card Dream Tarot Spread

Let’s begin with a simple three-card dream Tarot spread. A three-card spread is an excellent choice for beginners, as they are always pretty simple to follow and understand. Sometimes, when we wake up and remember our dream, we may not have enough time to perform an in-depth reading. So, this three-card dream interpretation Tarot spread can help you get some clarity on the reasons for your dream.

The three cards pulled in this spread refer to:

Card one: Reason for the dream
Card two: Hidden meanings
Card three: How to move forward

The first card pulled refers to the reason we have had this dream. It reflects the things in the waking world that have triggered the dream. It may reflect issues that we are unaware of, as the dream world is linked to our subconsciousness.

The second card pulled reflects the hidden meanings of our dreams. This usually represents things in our subconsciousness that we need to address.

The third card pulled is an advice card, providing you with help in order to overcome the reason for the dreams and how you can move forward.

Now, dream Tarot spreads are a little bit more complicated to understand than other Tarot spreads. This is because there are a few different things we need to keep in mind when reading the cards. Certain dream themes usually have a general meaning, for example, dreaming about teeth falling out typically represents insecurity. When reading the cards, I recommend you reflect on dream interpretation alongside Tarot interpretation.

Let’s go through an example dream and a three-card Tarot spread to help you understand how we can use the cards to understand our dreams.

So, I will often have this dream that I am back in school. I am the age I am now, but because of some mix-up when I did my exams at sixteen, they no longer count, and I have to go back and retake them! I have to go to my old school every day, wear the uniform, sit amongst teenagers, and study for an exam. I always feel pretty embarrassed in these dreams, mainly because I am a fully grown adult having to explain to teenagers why I am there!

I actually have recently found out that this is a pretty common dream, which is super interesting. I have done a bit of reading about this type of dream. It generally represents anxiety about our successes and work. So, I want to keep this in mind when I am reflecting on the cards I have pulled.

So, let’s pull some cards and see what this dream means for me!

So, the first card I pulled was the Ten of Wands. This card reflects burdens and strain, suggesting that I am overwhelmed right now by my responsibilities. It appears in the position of ‘reason for the dream’, and I think this is pretty self-explanatory! Putting it with what we understand about dreaming of being in back school, we can understand the dream to be linked to the strain and stress of work.

For the second card, which highlights any hidden meanings of my dream, I have received the Page of Wands. Let’s take a moment to remind ourselves of what we know about court cards. Court cards, such as Kings, Queens, Knights, and Pages, can be read differently. They can be understood as representing people with the specific qualities of the cards (either the querent or someone in their life).

Or, they can be understood as representing influence and action. So, let’s look at the Page of Wands, which is a card that reflects adventure, fresh ideas, and energy. Could it represent someone in my life who embodies these characteristics? Or, could the Tarot be telling me I need to implement these traits in my own life?

Let’s meditate on the card’s position. The hidden meaning of my dream. Subconscious beliefs, desires, and fears. Could perhaps the Tarot be telling me that my subconscious wishes me to be more bold and energetic in my career? Are the burdens I am under in the Ten of Wands stifling the adventure I am on? The Page of Wands is curious and excited about the world. They see things with fresh vision. Perhaps the Tarot is telling me that I am missing this aspect of myself that I had when I was back at school.

For the last card, which represents what I can do in order to move on from the situation that is causing the dream, I have received the Two of Pentacles. The Two of Pentacles reflects balance and resourcefulness, and I feel its message is pretty clear in my situation! Worrying about my career is causing me to feel burdened, creating these anxiety-filled dreams about being back in school.

My subconsciousness is craving a youthful and fresh outlook on life, asking me to manifest the qualities of the Page of Wands when it comes to work. Of course, this is easier said than done! So, the Tarot is reminding me of the importance of balance. I am an adult with bills to pay and mouths to feed (well, I have a cat), so I will worry about things.

However, I can still balance adulthood with the energetic and excited nature of the Page of Wands. I need to figure out how I can incorporate the energy of this card into my life.

Five-Card Dream Tarot Spread

Have you tried out the three-card dream Tarot spread? Is it helping you understand your dreams? If so, you may be ready to try out a five-card dream Tarot spread.

This five-card Tarot spread allows you to look at the different messages you may have in your dreams. It allows you to get a rounded understanding of its meaning.

The five cards pulled in this spread refer to:

Card one: Waking world
Card two: Subconsciousness
Card three: Connection
Card four: Spiritual message
Card five: Psychological message

The first card pulled in this spread reflects the cause of the dream in the waking world, with the second card representing your subconscious ideas or beliefs about the cause of the dream. The third card links the first and second cards together, highlighting your true feelings about the situation.

The fourth and fifth card represents spiritual and psychological messages for your dreams. They allow you to understand what you can do in order to enhance your life and deal with the cause of the dream.

Let’s break this down with an example. My friend had this pretty disturbing dream the other night where she was stuck in a spider’s web. She kept moving around, trying to get out, but her movement only trapped her more. A general interpretation of this dream is a feeling of being trapped and threatened. But, let’s pick some cards to understand what is causing this feeling, and what my friend can do to help herself.

She got the Four of Cups for the first card, which represents the waking world. This is an exciting card, all about boredom and a lack of motivation. So, how can we understand this as causing a dream of spider webs?! Well, I ask my friend if she feels dissatisfied with something in her life and if it makes her feel trapped?

She mentions how her relationship with her boyfriend feels as if it is coming to a bit of a halt. She tells me that she is unsure about how to move forward with him and that there are elements of dissatisfaction with it. Could this be causing the dream?

Let’s look at the second card, which represents her subconsciousness. For this card, she has received the Seven of Pentacles. This card refers to perseverance and long-term rewards. So, what does this tell us? Let’s link it back to my friend’s intuitions about the first card: her relationship with her boyfriend. She says she is feeling bored about it all. Still, there is something in her subconsciousness recognizing how a long-term relationship is hard work and cooperation. We aren’t living in a Disney movie!

Let’s take a look a the third card to gain more clarity. This card represents the link between the waking world and our subconsciousness, and my friend has received the Five of Wands. This card is all about conflict and tension, and, when considering the first two cards, we can see what is going on for my friend.

There is a conflict within her about her relationship: she knows she has put a lot of time and effort in, but she is feeling bored. This is causing her to have dreams about being trapped in a spider’s web. Perhaps her feeling of being trapped isn’t actually about the relationship, but rather, trapped in her internal conflict. Should she stay or should she go?

She is in a difficult position. Let’s see what advice the Tarot has for her. The fourth card pulled refers to spiritual messages of her dreams, and she has received the Tower. The Tower reflects awakening and change, and I believe it to be a very spiritual card. Our beliefs come into question, and we doubt everything that we know. It will often appear when someone is going through a spiritual awakening.

But, what does that tell her about her dream? She is feeling trapped, bored, and dissatisfied. In her discussion of the first three cards, we understood the dream to be all about her relationship. But, with the arrival of the Tower, this is thrown into doubt. Could more things be at play? Is she ignoring the spiritual awakening that the Tower card is predicting?

Is she focusing too much on her relationship, and forgetting other important things in her life? Perhaps her spider web dream is about much more than just her relationship. The Tower is telling her to embrace spirituality and the realizations that it invokes, allowing the destruction of old beliefs.

For the last card, which represents psychological action, she has received the Six of Swords. This card reflects a time of transition and change, although it feels much smoother and natural than the change that the Tower brings.

The Tarot spread reveals to us that her dreams of spider webs suggest that change is necessary for her right now, whatever that is. Perhaps it refers to her relationship and her feeling of dissatisfaction. Still, I believe that it is deeper than that, with elements of spiritual knowledge and growth involved. The cards ask her to embrace the change and look inward to understand what she needs to do to escape the spider web.

Dream Tarot Spreads FAQs

Question: Can you do Tarot Spread for Yourself?

Answer: Yes, it is really useful to do Tarot spreads for yourself.

What Does it Mean to see Tarot Cards in a Dream?

Answer: If you see Tarot cards in your dream, your subconscious is telling you that the card’s meaning is relevant to you right now.

Can Tarot Cards Help you Understand your Dreams?

Answer: Yes! Tarot and dreams are both linked to our spirituality and subconsciousness, so we can use Tarot cards to understand our dreams.

Understand Your Dreams with Tarot

As you can see, dream interpretation Tarot spreads can be pretty overwhelming! There are loads of things to consider, from general dream meanings to the different spiritual and subconscious levels that appear in the dream world. However, doing a dream Tarot spread is ultimately so essential to your spiritual and psychological wellbeing. You are able to get to grips with the messages from your subconsciousness and discover what you need to do to move forward.

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