About the Reconciliation spread
The Reconciliation spread is for a relationship that has broken down and might be mended. Two cards look at what came between you and what still connects you, two describe where each of you stands now, and the card at the centre shows what trying again could bring. It works for partners, exes, friends and family.
Use it when you are weighing whether to reach out, or when the other person has and you are unsure how to answer. It is good at holding the hurt and the bond in the same view, so the decision is not made from longing or anger alone, and at showing whether you are both ready at the same time.
The positions
- 1What Broke. What came between you?
- 2What Remains. What still holds you together?
- 3Trying Again. What happens if you try again?
- 4Your Side. Where are you now, honestly?
- 5Their Side. Where are they now?
How to lay it out with your own deck
- Shuffle while thinking about the relationship as a whole, including what went wrong.
- Lay two cards across the top: What Broke on the left and What Remains on the right, with a gap between them.
- Lay the third card in the centre, below that gap: Trying Again.
- Lay the last two cards across the bottom: Your Side on the left and Their Side on the right.
Drew the cards at home? Choose “Enter my own cards” above and get the written reading for the cards you drew.
How to read it
- Read the top pair against each other. If What Remains looks stronger than What Broke, there may be something real to build on; if not, the reading may be asking whether the bond is enough.
- The bottom pair shows whether you are both in a similar place. A big difference between Your Side and Their Side can mean the timing is wrong even if the feeling is there.
- Trying Again sits in the middle, touched by all four other cards. Read it last, in the light of what broke and where each of you stands.
- Their Side describes how they seem to be, not what they think. If it matters, the clearer answer is usually a conversation.
Questions
- Can tarot tell me if my ex will come back?
- It cannot decide another person's choices. It can show what came between you, what remains, and how ready each of you seems, which helps you judge whether reaching out makes sense and what to say if you do.
- What does a hard card in Trying Again mean?
- It may suggest that going back now would repeat the old problem, or that something needs to change first. Look at What Broke: if that issue has not shifted, the hard card is often pointing there.