365 Tarot Spreads: Revealing the Magic in Each Day - Sasha Graham 2014

Three Witches of Macbeth Spread

On This Day

Pamela Colman Smith painted sets at the Lyceum Theater, Lyceum actress Ellen Terry was the inspiration for the female on the Nine of Pentacles, and Bram Stoker was the Lyceum’s business manager.

This day in 1888 marks the first performance of Macbeth at London’s Lyceum Theater. Shakespeare may have written the witch characters to please King James, who harbored a fierce obsession with witches. The king instigated a mass witch hunt in Scotland and even wrote a book on the subject, Daemonologie.

Summation of Spread

The tarot court cards thrive inside us as personality traits and potentials. Macbeth desires literal kinghood and meets a bloody end in his attempt to grasp the crown. Kings of every suit represent acting with authority, certainty, and decisive action.

The witches’ prophecy sets Macbeth’s brutal plot in motion and inspires this spread’s questions. Each witch represents a portion of life (past, present, future); she will whisper a secret in your ear to quietly keep. Do with the secret what you wish.

Cast Your Cards

Shuffle while repeating the phrase, “Double, double, boil and bubble.” Cast your cards by the light of the moon, and pray you avoid the tragic fate of Macbeth:

Witch One

1. Your past.

2. Your challenge.

3. Your lesson.

4. Her secret to you.

Witch Two

5. Your present.

6. Your challenge.

7. Lesson learned.

8. Her secret to you.

Witch Three

9. Your Future.

10. Your challenge.

11. Your lesson learned.

12. Her secret to you.