When You Feel Stuck: A Five-Card Tarot Spread

Sometimes the desire for change is already there, but movement never seems to begin. You return to the same thought, consider your options, try to make a plan—and find yourself back where you started.

At times like these, it can help to divide one large question into several smaller ones. What is happening? What is getting in the way? What support is available? What could change? Where can you begin?

Our original “Next Step” spread uses five positions to explore a situation and identify an action you can realistically take.

Choose one situation

“Why does nothing work out for me?” is a broad question. It combines different circumstances, feelings, and expectations.

Try identifying a specific concern:

• I want to begin a creative project, but I keep postponing it.
• I am struggling to return to an activity after a long break.
• I do not know how to approach an important conversation.
• I have too many ideas and never choose one.

Frame your question like this:

“What would help me understand this situation and choose a manageable next step?”

Before drawing, write down two or three facts. For example: “The draft is finished. I have postponed sharing it three times. Nobody has given me feedback yet.” These facts will help you compare your interpretation with what is actually happening.

How to lay out the cards

Shuffle your deck and place five cards in a row, from left to right. Assign the positions before revealing the cards.

Use your own deck for this practice. This is a standalone layout; its positions may differ from those used in other five-card spreads.

1. My situation: what deserves attention?

The first card helps you describe what is happening. Look at the image: does it suggest movement or waiting? Solitude or cooperation? Focus or scattered attention?

Then relate your impression to your question.

Perhaps you describe the situation as stagnation when you are actually considering too many directions. Or you think you are doing nothing, although you spend considerable time preparing.

Try finishing this sentence:

“Right now, I notice that…”

Describe specific behaviour where possible. “I change my plan every evening” gives you more to work with than “I am an indecisive person.”

2. The obstacle: where does the difficulty arise?

The second card invites you to examine what makes movement difficult.

It might suggest fear of judgement, an unclear task, or waiting for the perfect moment. But an obstacle can also be external: limited time, missing information, or another person’s decision.

You do not need to explain every difficulty as a lack of willpower.

Ask:

“Which part can I influence, and which part requires different conditions or help?”

The card does not establish a hidden cause. It offers a possibility to compare with the facts you know.

3. Available support: what can I draw on?

When your attention stays on a problem, it is easy to overlook what still works.

The third card invites you to consider available resources: an existing skill, previous experience, someone you can ask a question, or a short period without interruptions.

Name the support precisely. Instead of “I need encouragement,” try “I can ask someone to read one page and tell me what is unclear.”

A useful question is:

“What do I already have that I am not making use of?”

4. Reconsideration: what could I approach differently?

This position explores an expectation, rule, or method worth examining.

Perhaps you expect a first attempt to feel finished. Believe you must do everything alone. Or keep following a plan that no longer fits your circumstances.

The adjustment can be small: reduce the scope of an initial version, change the order of tasks, or allow yourself to ask a question.

Complete this sentence:

“To try moving forward, I could stop requiring myself to…”

If that does not fit, ask instead: “Which condition of this task could I change?”

5. The next step: what will I do?

The final card turns reflection into action.

“Become more confident” is difficult to complete as a single task. “Send the draft to one person” is a concrete step.

Choose an action that:

• falls within your influence;
• fits your available time and energy;
• has a recognisable finishing point.

Sometimes the next step will be asking for help, clarifying information, or making time to rest before continuing.

Write:

“Within the next , I will to test or clarify ___.”

A worked example

Imagine asking: “How can I move towards sharing my first short story?”

For this learning example, suppose the following cards appear. The interpretations below illustrate one way to connect them with the question; they are not fixed meanings.

A practical conclusion might be:

“Tomorrow, I will send one finished story to a reader I know and ask two questions: where did your attention drift, and what was unclear?”

You do not need to settle your entire creative future. You need the next useful piece of information.

What if the cards seem contradictory?

First, revisit the positions. An obstacle and a source of support concern different aspects of a situation, so their themes may differ.

A need for rest can coexist with a desire to act. The question then becomes how much action is manageable and when to take it.

If the connection remains unclear, record that uncertainty. You do not have to force a convincing story or immediately draw more cards.

When to revisit the reading

Save your question, the cards, and your chosen step. Return to the entry after trying the action or receiving new information.

What helped? What did not hold up? Has the task itself changed?

This gives you a record of observations alongside your interpretations. The spread can help organise reflection, while your decisions remain yours and take real circumstances into account.

If you chose just one small step for this week, what would it be?