Tarot Tableau Revolution by Maria Alviz Hernando is a much-needed book for the tarot community, blending the open reading method of traditional cartomancy with the Rider-Waite-Smith deck.
Whereas most tarot spreads consist of card positions with “fixed meanings” (think Celtic Cross), the tableau is more dynamic, where cards are read in combinations, and the larger landscape of a question is explored.
Maria doesn’t shy away from old-school fortunetelling: the book focuses on answering everyday questions and the art of prediction. It’s a refreshing change from the psychological bent found in some tarot circles. She even dedicates the last five chapters to reading contextually on common questions about love, work, wealth, health, and spirituality.
The book is structured to provide a solid foundation, equipping readers with skills to tackle a tableau confidently. Maria demonstrates how to cultivate core meanings, discusses numerology, elemental associations, visual card reading, and narrative building.
The reader will find plenty of case studies and exercises that demonstrate the techniques in action. One of my favorite exercises is at the beginning. Maria provides a list of questions for the reader to answer using a single card. I tried the exercise with the Tower myself. Here’s how I fared with some of the questions:
Q: What behavior does this card support?
Tearing down the house.
Q: How does this card describe a working environment?
Chaotic, layoffs imminent, CEO on their way out.
Q: How does this card describe a health issue?
Migraines, erectile dysfunction, neck injury, broken bones.
Fun, right? It really stretches the mind.
Maria’s discourse on elemental and numerological correspondences mostly aligns with modern tarot systems, except for the elemental correspondences of Knights and Kings. I personally don’t think much of the elements as they pertain to suits, but I’ve enjoyed playing around and incorporating them in my readings.
The last three chapters of Part One cover techniques and concepts that are not as comprehensively covered: reading the cards visually, looking at what the card is doing vs. what it means, and reversals. Like Maria, I generally don’t bother with reversals, and her arguments for holding off on reversals are well thought out.
Tableau Runthrough
Part Two is when we get to play around with a tableau. I think a walkthrough of a tableau using Maria’s techniques would better convey the book’s methods.
The sitter asked, “What does Q1 of 2026 look like for my startup?”
For context, the startup is a joint venture.
Before even laying down the cards, Maria urges the reader to determine the tableau’s timeframe. Instead of using the columns to represent time (my preferred method), she reads the rows in temporal order from top to bottom. Depending on the question, the top row can represent the past or present, the central row the present or near future, and the third row the future.
Given the nature of the question, I used the first row to indicate January, the second to indicate February, and the third to indicate March.
Maria suggests placing the central card down first, so I followed suit. Here’s what I got:
Spine of the Reading
As a first step, I look at the nuance card (sets the tone for the reading), the core card (the heart of the reading), and the outcome card. The nuance card is the top-right corner card (XVIIII Sun), the core card is in the center (Ace of Wands), and the outcome is the card in the bottom-left corner (Ten of Cups).
The nuance card (Sun) indicates a sunny disposition on the new business venture (Ace of Wands/core card). With the Ten of Cups as the outcome, the skies remain clear. At a glance, the startup’s Q1 looks auspicious.
Elemental Disposition
Next, let’s review the elemental landscape:
Earth: 1 (QnPnt)
Air: 1 (6Sw)
Fire: 3 (Sun, AWd, 8Wd)
Water: 4 (Moon, 5Cp, 10Cp)
Most notably, there is a dominance of Fire and Water cards, which are naturally incompatible, reducing their effectiveness. Regarding the question, the balance and “canceling out” suggest stable growth. With one Earth card, wealth seems limited, and having a single Air card indicates this isn’t a period of innovation.
Numbers
Now, let’s examine trends with the numbers: we have three odd-numbered cards and five even-numbered ones. The only number that repeats is 8, which appears in the bottom row. According to the book, even numbers are more stable and steady than odd ones, and the number 8 suggests focus and endurance.
Hmm…noticing a trend? Again, Q1 is mostly smooth sailing, without challenging the status quo.
Row-by-Row
Time to read in trios. Let’s start with the top row, which describes January.
Sun, Moon, Queen of Pentacles. Fire, Water, Earth. Water puts out Fire (unfriendly), giving rise to Earth (friendly). Notice also how, in each card, there is a celestial representation: the sun, the moon, and a star in the Pentacle. Building a narrative and considering the overall nuance of the reading, I’d say:
The sun sets, the moon rises, and a star becomes visible. In other words, January is particularly typical, with no surprises, and concludes with a financial boon.
Alright, it’s looking good; let’s check out what February has in store in the second row.
Five of Cups, Ace of Wands, Six of Swords. We start with a bummer, go back to the drawing board, and end with moving forward, albeit with some rocky journey. Water, Fire, Air. The disruption caused by Fire creates steam, or Air. As Maria encourages in her book, pay attention to where the characters in the cards look. Notice also how the Five of Cups looks to the past, and the Six of Swords moves into the future. This suggests a disagreement between the two parties of the business: one may be looking back at past shortcomings, and the other is strategizing the path forward. Considering the nuance card and the outcome card, we can identify a resolution or compromise that drives the business forward.
In brief, February involves assessing the central strategy, with the two parties taking different directions. There is a path forward. As for finances, the sitter can expect no noteworthy return.
Drumroll…the end (of Q1) is near!
Eight of Cups, Eight of Wands, Ten of Cups. Using the same techniques, the Water cards cool the momentum of the Eight of Wands. Combined with the last card’s nature, the multiple eight cards, and the exclusively even numbers, the trio isn’t inauspicious.
Knighting
To better understand what the Eight of Cups is moving from or abandoning (if anything), we can use the knighting method, a technique found in the Lenormand. This involves connecting two cards by mimicking a chess knight piece. Maria writes,
“Because this technique connects two cards that are not physically close to each other in the reading, it reveals a connection that may be less obvious on the surface. It usually shows underlying motives. Knighting reveals hidden feelings, concerns, convictions, or values. For me, this technique has often held the key to truly understanding a reading, or to making sense of cards that initially left me puzzled. When you encounter a card in a reading that you don’t understand, the kind of card that doesn’t seem to “go” with the rest, or when you have cards that confuse you, knighting will shed a lot of light and provide you with valuable insight. It’s a technique that I use often and that I find reveals the most information.”
The Eight of Cups knights to the Six of Swords and the Moon. The Eight of Cups isn’t moving away from anything in particular; instead, the card is a temporal continuation of the Six of Swords’ journey and from the nighttime of the Moon.
How would I evaluate March and the quarter overall?
February’s travels carry over into March, and the resolution steadily comes to fruition. Overall, don’t expect a financial windfall! The quarter runs smoothly, though there are some disagreements over strategic initiatives. Nevertheless, the tension brings an auspicious conclusion to the quarter.
Other Methods & Closing Thoughts
That’s just a taster of the techniques Maria covers. If I so desired, I could have looked at the corners to determine influence, using significators (people or situations), bridge cards, and more…the possibilities are endless!
The book describes a tableau consisting of 25 cards. I was tempted to do a walkthrough, but I think reading the author’s own words on the method would be more effective.
I hesitate to assign proficiency levels to books (every work has something unique to offer). Still, if I were forced to, I’d say this is a good next step after cultivating a basic competency. That said, beginners: don’t be scared! This is a book I think you should read, in addition to any “beginner” books you have on your shelf.
I can be a stickler sometimes and get stuck in my ways, but books like Tarot Tableau Revolution push my boundaries and help me try new things.
Give it a read and purchase it from Red Wheel Weiser!
PS: If you like the deck I used, you can get it on Ethony’s website here.