Tarot Spread: 9 grails
A spread for centering happiness with the 9 of Cups
Among many tarot readers, the 9 of Cups is considered the best card in the deck. It’s “the wish card,” and it suggests the fulfillment of dreams, which is fitting given that the card tied to Jupiter (the planet of big dumb luck) and Pisces (the dreamer) in the astrological correspondences of the minor arcana.
The fulfillment of wishes, especially the ones that maybe are a little embarrassing if we’re honest with ourselves, is part of why I named this spread as I did. The 8 of Cups is often seen as Dark Night of the Soul, and as one of the cards I associate with the Knight of Cups—the Knight on his Grail Quest—the 8 feels like that journey to find the grail. The 9 is once you’ve found the Grail that makes life feel eternal, even if it’s not literally forever.
But the 9 grails with a numeral and a lowercase g is also a reference to the song 7 rings by Ariana Grande. To be frank, it’s not my favorite of her songs, but I found myself singing “Happiness is the same price as nine goblets” to myself as I was making notes for the layout. (If you don’t know the original lyrics, don’t worry about it. It’s not important.) But since I’m offering a workshop on Intuitive Fun in a week or so as part of my Saturday Seminars, I thought I would let myself have a little fun with this spread.
But enough about inspiration, let’s talk about the 9 of Cups and this spread.
When thinking about the 9 of Cups, my focus is always the smug bastard sitting in front of those nine trophy-like cups in the Rider Tarot illustration by Pamela Colman Smith. So for this spread, I wanted to remove him, just as I removed him from the illustration in my own Life Line Tarot.
Instead, I thought I would focus on a nine-card square, one of my favorite spread patterns because of its versatility and depth. In a nine-card square, there are of course nine card positions, each of which can be interpreted individually. And then there are also three horizontal rows and three vertical columns for six more readings. Some readers will also use the two diagonals for another pair of three-card messages. And then there are two sets of four cards that might be interesting. And all of that is included in the square as a whole itself!
There are so many layers to a nine-card reading, which I’ll get to shortly, and you don’t have to give them all equal attention.
The same is true for the nine proverbial cups in this spread.
The nine card positions of this spread each touch upon a different aspect of happiness or what brings happiness. You can’t be focused on all nine simultaneously. You can have all of them, and that’s the dream, the wish that makes the 9 of Cups so famous. But you can’t hold onto all nine of them together, not if they’re full-sized at least.
Instead, they line the shelf of your life experience, like trophies in the Smith illustration. You can bask in them, and you can drink from the cups individually whenever you want. Knowing that they are there provides satisfaction in and of itself, but to drink from all of them at once would drown you.
A spread of nine card positions for the cultivation of general happiness could be based on any number of things, but I looked to patterns of 9s. And the biggest set of 9 in tarot is Pythagorean numerology. I won’t go further into that here since I sprinkle it throughout almost all my classes and I’ve written about it in some other blog posts, but know that I pulled numerology into the card positions (not expressly Pythagorean meanings) and organized them as a “magic square.”
Just as a last note before digging into the complexities of this spread, I wanted to say that while I was creating this spread, I remembered the 9 of Chalices in the Vitruvian edition of Benebell Wen’s Spirit Keeper’s Tarot. If you have that deck, you might choose to layer the astrological correspondences in the 3x3 symbolic square on that card on top of this spread. I have not referenced them or gone back to see how much they make sense—be forewarned, it could be a complete disaster if you try it—but I can’t wait to try it!
Unrelated but also fun, the 9 of Chalices in that deck is called the Wish Granted in the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot. But the image of the card depicts Mimir’s Well of all knowledge in Norse mythology (and the source of Odin’s magic), so it’s one of the cards I associate with ancestral work. That’s not relevant to this spread beyond the role of divination, but it may be an interesting in-road for those who want to use ancestral work to cultivate happiness.
Cards from the Stardust Wanderer Tarot by Jen Sankey in a nine-card spread
The spread
With nine cards, a reading of this spread can become complicated, so as mentioned above, don’t feel like you have to read the hell out of it. Look at the big picture of all nine cards. Start with the individual cards and then add in the rows and columns and diagonals, if needed, as needed, to better understand the big picture. You can also look at the four corners and the cards above and below, to the left and the right, as special four-card readings. At the end of it all, look at the big picture again with all of the nuance and wisdom you’ve divined and see what else you uncover. Or don’t. Honestly, you can do whatever you want.
If you aren’t sure what the big picture of a spread is or how to read spreads of large cards, order the recording of my Reading the Big Picture seminar.
After grounding and centering yourself, prepare to pull nine cards and place them in the order as shown in the layout, with each card answering a question (or addressing the general theme if you don’t like my questions) and together composing a broader sense of how to center happiness. But that’s just the start.
The ordering of this layout is based on magic squares where the sum of the three digits in any given column, row, or diagonal add up to 15.
Understanding oneself: What part of my identity, my roots, or my body is most vital right now?
Fair partnerships: How can I foster relationships that are fair and mutually supportive?
Creative expression: What fresh creation can I bring into the world to support my joy?
Peaceful stability: What material needs must be met before I let peace settle over me?
Transformation: How could an unexpected change reconnect me to the excitement of being alive?
Environmental harmony: What and who in my surroundings will support positive movement?
Proving oneself: What test would help me feel more confident and experienced?
Striving for more: How can temporary dissatisfactions or current ambitions help me affirm my values?
Finding purpose: What should I know about what I’m doing and why I’m here?
The layout shown above for our nine card positions is the one that Benebell Wen, in The Book of Maps, assigns to the Archangel of Water from Islamic-Arabic ceremonial magic since this is a Cups spread, but you can rearrange the cards to create other magic squares if you prefer. If you do, just keep Card 5 in the center—after all, change is often a great source of discomfort and a strong desire simultaneously, so it’s not a bad choice for the middle position if you have no preference. You can then rearrange the outside portions so that the sum of the cards positions (1–9) on either side of Card 5 equals 10. (That’s how you get 15 in every direction.) There may be other ways to get a magical square of 1–9, but I haven’t investigated it and probably won’t. So good luck!
Of course, you can center a card other than Card 5 if that’s not your focus. If you do that, just organize the rest of the positions as you see fit, whether you’re trying to create a magic square or not.
However you approach the changing nature of happiness, think of any reordering as part of creating your own happiness. Even if you aren’t reading rows and columns and diagonals, the placement of each card will affect how you view the square overall, so it’s worth playing with.
Beyond the 9 grails
When it feels right, consider the rows, columns, diagonals, and four-card readings, if needed and as needed, before coming back to the big picture.
If you’re using the default layout shown above, consider the following concepts to help you read the multi-card strings. Whether you read these sets of cards as sequences or clusters or causes is up to you. If you rearranged the layout, you may want to find your own common theme in each set of three (or four) cards, as I’ve done, to see how they can help you examine in greater depth.
Those of you who have received my year-ahead Portals of Being reading may recognize in these names a particular penchant for metaphors of fantastical geography. What can I say? I love flavor text. I’m earthy and spiritual and love both fantasy and self-awareness. Lean into who you are and what you love.
Rows
Top row (Cards 4, 9, and 2): The Weaver’s Web, how you serve the greater collective and how your thread helps compose the tapestry of humanity
Middle row (Cards 3, 5, and 7): The Stormy Plains, how you work through and harness chaos energy for surprising personal growth
Bottom row (Cards 8, 1, and 6): The Mirror Maze, how your perceived place in society affects your happiness
Columns
Left column (Cards 4, 3, and 8): The Sacred Grotto, what underlies both your needs and your wants and that, when met, allows you to find satisfaction
Central column (Cards 9, 5, and 1): The Winter Cave, the story of who you became and how, as seen with the wisdom of hindsight
Right column (Cards 2, 7, and 6): The Walled Garden, the people (or beings) who help you to overcome challenges
Diagonals
Descending left to right (Cards 4, 5, and 6): The Flooding River, how you can navigate disruption to find greater flow and ease
Ascending left to right (Cards 8, 5, and 2): The Golden Fields, how you can navigate disruption to uncover the version of yourself you want to share with others
Square and Diamond
Four corners (Cards 4, 2, 6, and 8): The Open Courtyard, where you can find healing and support in your journey of claiming your happiness
Central diamond (Cards 3, 9, 7, and 1): The Wild Woods, where you can find opportunities to challenge your potential in your journey of living in your happiness
Fun times, right?
Don’t forget to look back at the big picture with all of these extra details in mind once you’ve finished reading all the various parts.
Now while this spread is inspired by one of tarot’s minor arcana, you can use it as an oracle spread as easily as a tarot layout. It’s just a set of questions and card positions for divination and reflection, right? Use whatever tools you want, even just your own brain and a journal if you want.
Want help creating your own layouts?
You’ve got options! Join the semester of tarot and take advantage of office hours, where we can talk through your ideas and how best to ask the questions that matter most and create a custom signature layout for you.
Can’t wait for the next semester to start? Sign up for my intensive fundamentals course for new and experienced readers, Read Tarot like a Nerd, where we get into the heart of asking questions that matter, along with a dozen or two other valuable topics to take your tarot readings beyond the basics. Or check out my Saturday seminars, including past recordings of Reading the Big Picture and Getting Intentional, which will help you create your own spreads.
And if you’re curious about the astrology of tarot, I have a course for that!