Katina Cross Spread

What is the Katina Cross and when should you use it?

The Katina Cross is a ten-card spread for general situations, laid with the Katina deck. The core of the matter sits in the centre, with the energy coming from the past and the energy flowing forward on either side; above it are what is noticed and the spiritual direction, and below it what is repressed. A row of four cards beneath the cross shows your stance, the effect of your surroundings, your hope or fear, and the outcome.

It is useful when a matter is full of uncertainty and you want to see the whole picture: an ex who has come back, tension within a family, a period of life when you do not know which way things are going. Katina is a deck that speaks mostly about relationships, and the Katina Cross gives tangled bonds space for comparing past events, attitudes and unspoken subjects. For the emotional layers of a single relationship, Mirror of the Heart offers a more focused reading, and for a choice between three options, Three Paths.

What sets the Katina Cross apart is its vertical axis. Above the centre sits what you notice, below it what you push away, and at the very top the larger theme the matter belongs to. Use the two awareness positions to set what you have named beside a feeling or subject you find difficult to discuss. Relate both to a remembered conversation or event.

How to ask a question for the Katina Cross

Ten cards open a wide field, so the question should look at a matter as a whole.

• Ask about the matter in full. A question such as “My ex has come back into my life; what do I need to see here?” puts every position of the spread to work.
• Explore a difficult subject. Use Lower awareness / what is repressed to consider “Which feeling do I find hard to name here?” or “What have I left unsaid about this situation?”
• Ask about the dynamic. Name the exchanges, disagreements or recurring situations you want to examine. Keep your own feelings, the other person’s words and the questions you want to ask distinct.
• Pick one matter. Decide whether the main question concerns your ex or your family. Include the other subject only where it directly affects that question.

Example questions: “What lies at the core of the tension between me and my family?”, “What is this new chapter bringing me?”, “Why do I always feel in the background in this friendship?”

Shuffle with the question in mind and deal ten cards into the numbered layout below. Reveal Center of the matter first and use its theme to connect the other positions.

Katina Cross positions: the 10 cards explained

The first card goes in the centre, the second to its left and the third to its right. The fourth card sits above the centre, the fifth above the fourth, and the sixth below the centre. Beneath the cross, a row of cards 7, 8, 9 and 10 runs from left to right.

Order	Position	What it shows
1	Center of the matter	The core of the matter, the heart of the whole reading
2	Past effect	An influence that set up the present and is starting to recede
3	Energy flowing forward	Near-term themes to consider if the present conditions continue
4	Higher awareness / what is noticed	What you consciously see and can name
5	Spiritual direction / fate influence	The larger theme or lesson the matter belongs to
6	Lower awareness / what is repressed	A feeling or subject to examine through what you find hard to name
7	Your stance	Your own attitude to the matter
8	Environmental effect	The influence of the people and conditions around you
9	Hope or fear	What you hope for or fear; often both at once
10	Outcome	Where the matter arrives if the current course continues

The horizontal axis (2, 1, 3). This is the flow of time: an influence comes in from the left, knots in the centre and flows on to the right.

The vertical axis (5, 4, 1, 6). This is the axis of awareness and the subconscious. What is noticed sits above the centre and what is repressed below it, facing each other, and the spiritual direction looks down on both from the top.

The bottom row (7–10). A process that runs from your stance to your surroundings, from hope or fear to the outcome. The Outcome card is not a seal but the point reached if today’s energy and attitude carry on.

How to read the Katina Cross as a whole

Establish the centre card’s theme, then connect the time axis, awareness axis and bottom row to it. Compare how the cards address the same matter from different angles and which tensions remain unresolved.

1. Name the centre (1). Say what the matter is really about in one sentence. Every other card will be tied back to that sentence.
2. Follow time (2 → 3). Compare Past effect with Energy flowing forward. Relate shared themes to past experience and the present question. When the themes differ, name the events or choices you associate with that difference.
3. Compare the axis (4 and 6). Write your own words beside Higher awareness / what is noticed and Lower awareness / what is repressed. Relate the contrast to something you have acknowledged and a subject you have avoided. Use Spiritual direction / fate influence (5) to consider the values involved.
4. Read the bottom row like a story (7–10). What path do your stance, the effect of your surroundings and your hope or fear trace towards the outcome?
5. Watch for repeats. Several cards from the same group, such as horse cards or spirit cards, give the reading a shared theme. Examine how their individual meanings differ across the positions, then relate that emphasis to events you know.

Read a reversed card according to the situation: the same theme delayed, overdone or in shadow. Close with “The central theme is …; what I have noticed is …; the subject I need to examine is …; the direction I want to consider is …”.

Example reading: an ex who has come back

This example compares renewed contact with past experience, unspoken subjects and expectations through the Katina Cross’s ten positions.

Question: “My ex has come back into my life. What do I need to see here?”

Position	Card
1. Center of the matter	the Ebony Wheel
2. Past effect	Kalif
3. Energy flowing forward	Zara
4. Higher awareness / what is noticed	the Fox
5. Spiritual direction / fate influence	Attart
6. Lower awareness / what is repressed	Bedes
7. Your stance	Munzur
8. Environmental effect	Valide
9. Hope or fear	Ariman
10. Outcome	the Dervish

Centre: the Ebony Wheel. Repetition, waiting and the passage of time give the reading its central theme. Compare the circumstances of your ex’s renewed contact with the first breakup. Name which events or expectations have recurred and what is different now.

The time axis: Kalif and Zara. Kalif brings pride, self-respect and guarded honour into Past effect. Recall which words or actions in the breakup you connect with those themes. Zara introduces initiative and a first step in Energy flowing forward; compare that theme with the contact you have now and the conditions of meeting again.

The awareness axis: the Fox, Bedes and Attart. Compare the Fox’s contrast between words and actions with what you have observed. Bedes brings tenderness into the repressed position; name what you feel and what you have left unsaid. Read Attart through experience and learned patterns, separating remembered events from the values you want to protect now.

The bottom row: Munzur, Valide, Ariman and the Dervish. Munzur emphasises patience and a long road; Valide introduces family authority and roles. Compare Ariman’s passion, jealousy and tension with your own hopes and fears about meeting again. The Dervish in Outcome brings experience, reflection and an unhurried approach into the conditions you want to consider before the meeting.

Together. Repetition, guarded honour and a first step sit alongside reflection and unspoken subjects. Relate those themes to the breakup and the contact you have now. Before meeting, write three sentences about the events that led to the breakup and the changes you want to discuss.

You can open the Katina Cross in the Larisa app by choosing the Katina deck; the reader works through the centre, the flow of time and the axis of awareness and the subconscious, then builds a broad synthesis with the four cards of the bottom row.