16-Card 4x4 "Witch's Tableau" Layout

A general layout which can be used for predictions or to look more deeply into issues of your choosing

This time, we’re going to look at another larger tableau-style layout, the 16-Card or “Witch’s Tableau”. It’s NOT originally designed for the Vera Sibilla, but as a storytelling tableau which can also make use of playing cards, it does work particularly well with this deck.

Purpose Of This Layout

This one is a good general predictions tableau, but you can also focus it by asking it to go in depth about a particular situation or person. Like most tableaus, it will look at past and future influences, as well as conscious and unconscious ones. It tends to relate to fairly recent past and near future influences.

As you’ll see, it’s also more of a storytelling than a positional layout, although it does have some positional elements.

Here’s how it looks from the back when laid:

Suitable Decks

You can use ANY of the oracle decks for this; it’s originally a spread from playing card cartomancy, but it works well with them all. If you want to incorporate the playing card aspect, then you’ll have to use an oracle deck that incorporates those.

Significator/Central Cards

It doesn’t require that you use significator cards.

So let’s find out how to lay and read it!