The Near Future

What is coming next: close, and already on its way.

What this position asks

What is about to arrive?

This card goes to the right of the Present, completing the cross. Waite said "This is before him", and wrote that "It shews the influence that is coming into action and will operate in the near future."

Coming into action. The Near Future card is already moving. It is a parcel that has left the depot and is somewhere on the road toward you. You cannot stop it being sent, and you can still decide how you meet it when it gets there.

I read this position as close. The coming weeks, sometimes a few months. It is the next step, and the longer view belongs to card 10.

How cards behave here

A Major Arcana card in the Near Future says a significant turn is on its way. Something larger than the day to day is about to show up.

A Minor card says the next development is ordinary and useful to know about. Cups ahead of you mean a feeling or a relationship is about to move. Wands mean news, activity, a chance to act. Swords mean a conversation, a decision or some clarity is coming, and possibly a disagreement with it. Pentacles mean something practical: an offer, a payment, a change at work, attention needed on your health.

A court card in the Near Future is often a side of you about to be called on. It can also be someone about to step into the situation, or someone already there who is about to matter more.

A reversed card here is most often delayed. What the card describes is still coming, more slowly than you would like. It can also be blocked, the delivery that arrives and finds nobody ready to sign for it. Ask whether you are the one who is not ready.

Its partner: the Recent Past

Card 4 is what is leaving and card 6 is what is arriving, and together they make the level line of the cross. Read them as a pair and you see the direction of travel.

Suppose the Ten of Swords sits in the Recent Past, a figure lying face down with ten swords in the back. A painful ending has happened, and it could not have gone much lower. With Temperance in the Near Future, the angel pouring water between two cups, healing and balance come next. With the Page of Swords in the Near Future, you move into a watchful time, gathering information and keeping your guard up for a while.

A few examples

The Eight of Wands in the Near Future: eight staves flying through open air. Things are about to speed up. Messages, travel, movement, all at once.

The Wheel of Fortune in the Near Future: a turn of luck. Circumstances are about to change, and much of it is outside your control. Stay steady and watch where it lands.

The Queen of Cups in the Near Future: a time when your own intuition is the thing to trust, or a caring, intuitive person coming into the picture.

When this position speaks

Card 6 is the most practical card in the spread. It tells you what to get ready for.

What is already on the road toward you, and will you be ready to sign for it?

If you would like the Celtic Cross read against your own chart, my readings are here.