Emotion / Emotion’s Source / Advice Tarot Spread
This three-card spread reveals your current emotion, the source of that feeling, and advice on how to handle it. It encourages emotional honesty and helps you explore where your feelings originate so you can process them thoughtfully and support yourself.
Why This Spread?
Use this spread when emotions feel overwhelming or confusing. It sheds light on the underlying cause of your feelings and offers guidance on how to honour and express them. By understanding what triggers your emotions, you can respond compassionately and prevent them from controlling you.
3 Card Tarot Card Spread
Emotion / Emotion’s Source / Advice Tarot Spread Breakdown:
Card 1: Emotion – Identify the emotion dominating your experience right now.
Card 2: Emotion’s Source – Uncover the source or trigger of this emotion for deeper understanding.
Card 3: Advice – Receive advice on how to process and express your feelings healthily.
When To Use Emotion Spread
Turn to this spread during emotional turmoil, conflict, creative blocks or when you feel numb. It’s useful for processing grief, anger, joy and everything in between. By revealing the source of your feelings, it helps you manage them and cultivate emotional intelligence.
Questions For Emotional Clarity
Affirmations For Emotional Clarity
Journaling Prompts For Emotional Awareness
Reflection Tips For Emotional Awareness
Why Card Emotional Insight Helps
Working with cards gives your emotions a tangible form, making them easier to understand. This spread uncovers the source of your feelings and provides guidance on processing them. It supports emotional intelligence and helps you communicate your needs and boundaries clearly.
Understanding Emotions And Their Source
This spread emphasises that every emotion has a cause. It encourages you to trace your feelings back to events, beliefs or memories and to respond with compassion. Knowing where your emotions come from allows you to release them and heal deeply.
Key Focus Areas For Emotion
The Emotion card shows the feeling dominating your experience. It asks you to name and acknowledge it honestly, whether it’s anger, joy, sadness or excitement. Accepting your emotion as valid is the first step toward understanding and working with it.
The Emotion’s Source card reveals what triggers your feelings, whether it’s a past event, unmet need or belief. Understanding this source helps you see why you feel how you do and allows you to address underlying causes rather than just surface symptoms.
The Advice card offers ways to process and express your emotions healthily. It may suggest self-care practices, communication or creative outlets. Acting on this guidance supports emotional release, fosters understanding, and helps you build stronger boundaries and relationships over time.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Emotion / Emotion’s Source / Advice Tarot Spread
What is the purpose of the Emotion / Emotion’s Source / Advice spread?
This spread helps you explore an emotion, its underlying cause and guidance on handling it. It encourages you to name your feelings, understand what triggers them and learn healthy ways to process them. Using it develops emotional intelligence and self-compassion.
When should I use this spread?
Use it during emotional confusion, conflict, celebration or healing. It’s helpful whenever you want to understand why you feel a certain way. By revealing the source of your emotion, the spread guides you to respond thoughtfully instead of reacting blindly or suppressing your feelings.
Do I need a particular emotion in mind?
It helps to focus on a feeling you want to explore, but the spread can also reveal emotions you weren’t aware of. Stay open while shuffling. The cards will show you what feeling is most prominent and what’s driving it, giving you guidance to process it.
How should I interpret the Emotion’s Source card?
Look at the card’s symbolism to identify what triggers your emotion. It may relate to childhood memories, current events or internal beliefs. Consider journaling about any associations. Understanding the source helps you address the root cause rather than just coping with the emotion itself.
What if the Advice card suggests unexpected action?
Sometimes the advice may surprise you, inviting you to step outside comfort zones. It could recommend expressing gratitude, confronting someone or trying a creative outlet. Trust your intuition as you interpret. Even if it feels uncomfortable, exploring new responses can bring healing and growth.
How does this spread differ from the Fear / Your Response / Better Response spread?
Emotion/Emotion’s Source/Advice focuses on identifying a present feeling and its cause, then offering guidance, whereas Fear/YourResponse/BetterResponse examines fear specifically and your reaction. Combining them can help you understand both the origin of your feelings and how to respond better to fear.
Can this spread help with positive emotions?
Yes, this spread isn’t just for heavy feelings. You can use it to explore joy, excitement or gratitude by examining where those feelings come from and how to sustain them. Understanding the source of positive emotions helps you cultivate them intentionally and integrate them into your life.
What if the Emotion card doesn’t match how I feel?
Sometimes the card reflects a deeper feeling that you’re not aware of yet. Rather than dismiss it, sit with the card and explore whether this emotion is beneath the surface. Journaling and meditation can reveal hidden layers. Over time, you may see its relevance.
How can I process emotions healthily after this reading?
Follow the guidance card and consider outlets like talking to a friend, exercising, creating art or practising mindfulness. Honour the source of your emotion by addressing its needs. Over time, using this spread can help you build a toolkit of responses that serve you.
How does this spread relate to the Physical / Emotional / Spiritual spread?
Both involve emotions, but Emotion/Emotion’s Source/Advice focuses on naming a specific feeling, its cause and advice, while Physical/Emotional/Spiritual looks at emotions in relation to body and spirit. Using both spreads together can deepen understanding of how your emotions interact with other aspects of you.
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3 Cards Emotion Insight Tarot Spread
This three-card spread reveals your current emotion, the source of that feeling, and advice on how to handle it. It encourages emotional honesty and helps you explore where your feelings originate so you can process them thoughtfully and support yourself.
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