Tarot Deck Interview Spreads: Questions for a New Deck

Quick answer

Lay out seven cards face down, then turn them one at a time while asking a fixed set of questions: who you are, what you teach, what you avoid, how you read, what you need, how we work together, and where we are heading. Ask the same seven questions every time you interview a deck so you can compare decks honestly instead of comparing moods.

Why a fixed spread beats a freeform chat

The point of a deck interview is not to test whether a deck is 'good.' It is to build a reference sheet you can return to in three months when a reading feels off. A fixed spread gives you that sheet. If you improvise a different layout each time, you have no baseline, and every deck starts to feel vaguely similar.

Keep the order the same as well as the questions. Position one always answers the same kind of question, so a deck that consistently puts a court card in position three tells you something real about how it handles difficult subjects.

• Write the seven questions on a card or in a notebook before you shuffle.
• Use the same seven positions for every deck you own.
• Record the date, deck name, and the cards drawn, not just your interpretation.

Set the table so the reading has a boundary

A deck interview works better when the physical setup signals 'this is separate from ordinary reading time.' That can be as simple as clearing a space, lighting nothing at all, and laying a cloth down. The cloth matters less for mysticism than for muscle memory: your hands learn that this surface means interview, not daily draw.

If you want a cloth that doubles as something you actually use, the Divine Feminine Tarot Scarf was designed as a mirror to the back of the Divine Feminine Tarot cards, so the reading surface and the card backs share a visual language. It is handcrafted in Greece and printed on soft cotton, and it can be folded and worn as a scarf, used as an altar cloth, or laid beneath your cards. That flexibility is practical if you read in different rooms.

How to phrase the questions so the answers are usable

Vague questions produce vague cards. 'Tell me about yourself' invites a card you can interpret fifteen ways. Instead, ask questions with a built-in contrast: not 'what are you like' but 'what do you teach me that other decks do not.' The contrast gives the card something to push against.

Avoid yes-or-no phrasing. A deck interview is a character sketch, not a verdict. If you catch yourself asking 'should I keep you,' rewrite it as 'what would make this deck worth keeping.'

• Ask about strengths, not worthiness.
• Ask what the deck needs from you, not only what it gives.
• Leave one position open for a warning or blind spot.

Read the interview in one sitting, then leave it alone

Turn all seven cards before you interpret any of them. If you stop to analyze card one for ten minutes, you will unconsciously bend the later cards to fit your first impression. Lay them out, look at the whole row, then work through the positions in order.

After you finish, close the deck and put it away for at least a day. The second reading you do with that deck will tell you more than the interview did, because you will notice whether the interview's claims hold up in actual use.

When the interview goes badly

A harsh interview does not mean a broken deck. It usually means one of three things: you asked a leading question, you were tired or distracted, or the deck genuinely reads bluntly. Only the third is about the deck, and blunt is not the same as bad.

Re-interview after a month of regular use. If the same positions keep producing the same difficult cards, that is consistent information, and you can decide whether you want a deck that talks that way. If the second interview contradicts the first, the first one was probably noise.

• Do not re-shuffle and re-draw on the same day hoping for a nicer answer.
• Do not buy a replacement deck before you have read with the current one at least ten times.
• Do not treat a difficult card as a rejection of you personally.

The seven-card deck interview, step by step

1. Step 1: Ask who the deck is: Shuffle, then draw one card for the deck's overall character. Read it as a personality, not a prediction. Checkpoint: if you find yourself describing what the card means for your future, you have drifted into a reading. Bring it back to character.
2. Step 2: Ask what it teaches you: Draw a second card for the lesson this deck is best equipped to deliver. Compare it to what other decks in your collection teach. Common mistake: naming a lesson you already wanted to learn. Let the card name it.
3. Step 3: Ask what it avoids or struggles with: Draw a third card for the deck's weak spot. This is the position people skip, and it is the most useful one. If the card is a major arcana, the avoidance is probably structural, not occasional.
4. Step 4: Ask how it prefers to be read: Draw a fourth card for reading style: short daily draws, large spreads, journaling, or spoken readings. Let the card suggest a format. Checkpoint: try that format once this week and note whether the reading felt easier or harder.
5. Step 5: Ask what it needs from you: Draw a fifth card for your side of the relationship: consistency, patience, a cleared table, or honest questions. Common mistake: treating this as a demand to buy something. It is usually about attention.
6. Step 6: Ask how you work together: Draw a sixth card for the dynamic between you. Read it as a description of the partnership, not a compliment or insult. If this card repeats in later readings, the dynamic is stable and worth planning around.
7. Step 7: Ask where the relationship is heading: Draw a seventh card for the direction of the next few months of use. Write it down with the date so you can check it later. Next step: put the deck away for a day, then do one ordinary reading and see whether the interview holds up.

Products that support a deck interview practice

• Divine Feminine Tarot Scarf: The Divine Feminine Tarot Scarf was designed as a mirror to the back of the Divine Feminine Tarot cards, handcrafted in Greece and printed on soft cotton, and can be folded and worn as a scarf, used as an altar cloth, or laid beneath your cards. A cloth that matches the deck backs keeps the interview surface visually quiet, and the scarf-to-altar-cloth flexibility means you are not storing a single-purpose item.
• Magic Love Knot Scarf: The Magic Love Knot Scarf is inspired by Victorian Valentine's cards and centers on the poem 'Two Red Roses Across the Moon' by William Morris, with sun and moon illustrations surrounding the verse. If you interview decks in a romantic or love-focused context, a cloth with explicit love symbolism sets a clearer tone than a neutral surface.
• Renais Tarot: The Illuminated Codex Hardcover Book: The Renais Tarot: The Illuminated Codex is the official companion guide to the Renais Tarot deck and the Renais Tarot Book Box Edition, rooted in early Italian tarot traditions and bridging historical philosophy with modern reflection. A companion guide lets you check whether a card's interview answer aligns with the deck's stated symbolism, which is useful when a position produces an ambiguous card.