SWOT spread - four cards

[Nemia]

SWOT analysis is a well-known tool to analyse the performance of companies and teams. I encountered this four-step set of questions for the first time many years ago at a staff meeting. Immediately, my brain tarotised it! 

 

 

 

This is a very neat spread to get a good overview of your current situation and how it might develop. 

 

Two elements are internal factors: the strength and the weakness of your position. 

 

There are two external factors: the opportunities and the threats you have to deal with. 

 

The strengths and opportunities are factors in your favour, whereas the weaknesses and threats can work against you. 

 

All cards interact with each other. 

 

In my experience, this spread works best when you have a concrete question in mind. Either focus on a relationship, your professional situation, or any other problem you're struggling with. Of course, you can also use it to get a general overview of your situation in life. 

 

It's a quick and simple spread, and I use it regularly. 

 

 

You can give it a twist by using Mary K. Greer's permutation technique. In general, I never use clarification cards; instead, I use the cards on the table and move them around to get more insight. 

 

So, move the cards (I usually do it clockwise) to another position and interpret them again. This is also a good learning technique because you'll have to take into consideration all aspects of each card, positive and negative.

 

 

You can do that four times if you really want to squeeze the lemon. 

 

  

 

That means each card appears on each position. 

 

However, you don't have to do that. You will get a lot of insight from just reading the cards as they appear. 

 

ETA: The deck I used is the wonderful Tarot of the Abyss. 

 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2025 by Nemia

[thornapple]

This was a very nice spread to work with. If I recall correctly, I saw you post this spread on a different thread a while ago and I've tried it since. I haven't used the permutation technique, but I'm eager to try that in practice!

 

Recently today, I used it for a friend who asked me about what he should consider as he's moving to a different state. ("What do I need to know to navigate this new transition in my life successfully?")

 

[Morven]

I used to draw 2-3 cards in the morning to check my energies for the day, but this spread is way better, clarifies things, great idea for a daily/weekly journal, thank you!

[SteveArcana]

I love this! Coming out of industry, this makes me think of all the tools that can be "tarotized"!  I'm going to work this this on some of the more concrete questions and see how I do.  Thank you.

[Nemia]

Yes! Let's tarotise the world. Whenever I see a diagram, like Maslow's pyramid, a family tree or a workflow for librarians, it immediately turns into a tarot spread. 

 

I'm glad you found it useful, @Morven and @SteveArcana.