Life Purpose Spread: Using the Major Arcana to Explore Personal Growth

The Life Purpose Spread is a powerful tarot layout designed to delve into your unique life path, strengths, challenges, and ultimate calling. By focusing on the Major Arcana, this spread reveals profound insights into your soul’s journey and the lessons you’re meant to learn in this lifetime. Each Major Arcana card represents a different stage or archetype in human experience, making them ideal for exploring deep questions about purpose and personal growth.

Purpose of the Life Purpose Spread

This spread is perfect for moments when you’re seeking clarity on your life direction, wondering about your spiritual mission, or exploring what legacy you want to leave behind. Unlike day-to-day readings, the Life Purpose Spread offers a big-picture perspective, encouraging you to reflect on your core values, passions, and the unique gifts you bring to the world.

Setting Up the Spread

This spread typically uses six or seven cards, with each position focusing on a key area of your life purpose. Here’s a suggested structure:

1. Core Purpose: Your soul’s main mission or life purpose.

2. Inner Strength: A natural gift or strength that supports you on your path.

3. Life Challenge: A recurring challenge or shadow aspect that you’re meant to learn from.

4. Calling or Passion: What you’re drawn to do or create in the world.

5. Current Stage: Where you are on your journey now and what it’s teaching you.

6. Next Step: The next step or action that will move you closer to your purpose.

7. Long-Term Outcome (Optional): The potential legacy or impact you’re destined to leave behind.

Each position is designed to help you reflect on different aspects of your purpose and growth. Here’s a breakdown of each position and what it can reveal.

Life Purpose Spread Card Positions and Interpretations

1. Core Purpose

   • This card represents the essence of your life mission or the unique contribution you’re meant to make. For example, drawing The Sun here suggests a purpose centered around spreading joy, positivity, or enlightenment. Meanwhile, The Hermit may indicate a calling to seek and share wisdom, guiding others on their journeys of self-discovery.

2. Inner Strength

   • This position shows a natural strength, skill, or quality that aids you in your purpose. For instance, The High Priestess as your strength indicates a strong intuition or spiritual insight, suggesting that your purpose may involve guiding others in spiritual or mystical practices.

   • Reflect on how this trait has already supported you and how you can continue to rely on it as you move forward.

3. Life Challenge

   • This card reveals a recurring obstacle or inner shadow that you’re called to overcome as part of your growth. If The Devil appears, it might suggest struggles with attachment, fear, or self-doubt that you need to work through. The Tower in this position could indicate that your growth often comes through upheaval or sudden changes.

   • Consider how facing this challenge has taught you resilience, wisdom, or humility, and how overcoming it aligns with your higher purpose.

4. Calling or Passion

   • This card represents the activities or fields that inspire you. It could point to a profession, passion, or area of interest that aligns with your purpose. For example, The Empress may suggest a love for nurturing others, creativity, or working in a field related to nature, beauty, or caretaking.

   • Think about how you can channel this passion into a fulfilling pursuit that resonates with your deeper purpose.

5. Current Stage

   • This card shows where you are on your path right now and the lessons you’re currently learning. For instance, The Hanged Man may indicate a period of waiting, surrender, or introspection. It suggests that you’re in a stage of reflection or gathering insight before moving forward.

   • Reflect on what this stage is teaching you and how it relates to the larger themes of your purpose.

6. Next Step

   • This card reveals a practical action or mindset shift that will help you progress toward your purpose. For example, The Magician suggests that you have the tools to start something new or bring an idea to life. The Fool encourages you to take a leap of faith, trust the process, and remain open to new experiences.

   • Consider how you can embody the qualities of this card in your daily life to align more fully with your path.

7. Long-Term Outcome (Optional)

   • This optional position provides a glimpse of the impact or legacy you might leave behind if you continue on your path. Drawing The World suggests that your purpose will lead to a sense of fulfillment and completion. Judgment may indicate a calling to inspire others, promote healing, or work toward a larger vision.

   • Reflect on how this outcome aligns with your values and aspirations, and how each stage of your journey contributes to this ultimate vision.

Example Reading: Interpreting a Life Purpose Spread

Suppose your Life Purpose Spread yields the following cards:

1. Core Purpose - The Star: Your life purpose is to inspire hope and uplift others. You’re meant to be a guiding light, offering positivity, healing, and reassurance to those who cross your path.

2. Inner Strength - The High Priestess: Your inner strength lies in your intuition and spiritual insight. You have a natural ability to tune into the unseen and sense things others might miss.

3. Life Challenge - The Moon: Your recurring challenge may involve facing hidden fears, illusions, or uncertainty. You’re learning to trust your intuition even when the path isn’t clear.

4. Calling or Passion - The Empress: You’re passionate about creating beauty, nurturing others, and connecting with nature. This could manifest in art, healing practices, or work involving the environment or community care.

5. Current Stage - The Hermit: You’re currently in a phase of introspection and personal growth. It’s a time for inner exploration, solitude, and gaining wisdom that will prepare you for the next stage.

6. Next Step - The Chariot: Your next step is to take focused action toward your goals. This card encourages you to be determined, take charge of your path, and confidently pursue what you feel called to do.

7. Long-Term Outcome - The World: The outcome suggests a sense of fulfillment and wholeness. By following your path, you’re likely to achieve a state of completion, experiencing satisfaction in knowing you’ve lived a purposeful life.

In this example, the spread reveals that your purpose centers around inspiration, hope, and healing (The Star), with intuitive gifts (The High Priestess) that allow you to connect deeply with others. However, a challenge arises with The Moon, as self-doubt or fear may sometimes cloud your path. Embracing your creative side (The Empress) and focusing on inner growth (The Hermit) will allow you to confidently move forward (The Chariot), ultimately leading to a fulfilling life outcome (The World).

Tips for Using the Life Purpose Spread

• Be Patient with the Process: Life purpose is often revealed gradually. Allow the insights to sink in, and revisit the reading as you continue to grow and evolve.

• Journal Your Reflections: Write down your thoughts on each card, how they relate to your current experiences, and any new insights you gain over time.

• Revisit as Needed: Life purpose is an ongoing journey. As you reach new stages, consider doing this spread again to see how your insights deepen and evolve.

• Connect the Themes: Look at how each card tells a story. The positions may reveal patterns, like repeated archetypes or energies, that help you better understand your unique path.

The Life Purpose Spread offers a roadmap for your spiritual and personal growth, guiding you toward fulfilling your potential and aligning with your highest calling. By exploring your strengths, challenges, and passions, you can engage more meaningfully with the experiences that shape your journey, ultimately leading to a life rich with purpose and significance.