How long does a reading take... usually?

Hello there everybody!
(I'm sorry if this has already been asked, I tried to search but couldn't find any such thread... )

This is a question, from a newbie, for you people who have more experience with doing readings (for yourselves or for others):
How much time do you usually spend on a reading? On average?

When I do a reading, I feel that the longer I look at the cards, the more I can find in them - but after a while all the information gets me a bit confused. How do you know when and where to stop? I don't want to keep going for too long, but I also don't want to just skim over the cards and miss out on some potentially interesting things.
I would be very interested in how long people usually find it useful to spend time with one reading. (And is it different if you are reading for yourself or for someone else?)
Maybe this is a stupid question, but it would really help me I think, if I knew how others like to do. Your experience is very welcome!

(So far I have tried the usual: one-card draws, two-card draws, three-card readings and the celtic cross.)

thanks!
/Oddity

about an hour I use 4 spreads and they are all pretty big ones

It depends on the spread...

A Celtic Cross or Body Spread will take me anywhere from 10-30 minutes.

I also read for myself quicker than I would read for someone else.

Oddity,

I'm going to answer the question you didn't ask instead of the one you did. Go with your first impression as to what the card means. The same card in the same position can mean two different things on different days.

While it IS a good exercise to find every little detail of a given card, as you've found when you try to do that in relation to a spread/reading, it can get rather confusing. While each card has a range of meanings (and that range could be different for different readers), the card isn't trying to give you the whole range of meanings at once. That's why I say go with your first impression.

Now to answer your question, it really depends on how many cards are in a given spread, how much time I have and whether or not I'm just doing a cursory reading or a more in depth reading that examines the relationships between the cards.

I did an 8 card reading this past weekend that took 2-2.5 hours because I looked at elemental dignities between the various triads, where the characters in the cards were looking, etc and I typed it all up in Excel.

HTH,
Rodney

Most readings I do are no more than, say, seven cards, and those biggies usually take me up to three hours to read, write out and type up for peeps. I'm a fairly fast writer and typist, so most of it is the reading part. More often, it's about 45 minutes to an hour.

\m/ Kat

If I am reading for someone face to face, I can do a 3 to 5 card reading in 15 to 20 minutes. It goes fast when you are explaining what the cards mean verbally, and then tying them together.

Some cards in a reading are more concise than others - so the time per card varies.


valeria

valeria said:

If I am reading for someone face to face, I can do a 3 to 5 card reading in 15 to 20 minutes. It goes fast when you are explaining what the cards mean verbally, and then tying them together.

Some cards in a reading are more concise than others - so the time per card varies.

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Same here
An email reading with 3 - 5 cards takes me 2 - 3 hours.
I like to scan the cards and then lay them out on the page in the shape of the spread so that the person I'm reading for can actually see what I'm talking about.

I much prefer face to face readings because with them you get instant feedback and responses from the querant (if you're luck) and the reading is much more of a two way thing, a conversation rather than speaking 'at' someone.

Thank you! You have been very helpful.

Vudu: Wow! You're quick! I'm impressed. Do you feel that the meaning of the cards in the spread just comes to you instantly? I have a friend who is like that, but I always have to sit back and think it over for a few minutes before they start to make any sense.

valeria: I don't read much with others present (but it would be nice to do that), but even when I'm reading alone I try to explain to myself, aloud, what I'm doing and what I'm seeing. It helps to make the reading clearer, and faster, I agree.

rwcarter: Thanks! Your advice makes sense, not to get stuck on every single detail but to trust the first impression. I guess I am looking for EVERYTHING (and thereby getting confused...) because I'm not yet feeling familiar with all the cards - some do feel easier than others, and those that don't... those cards I need to spend more time with, try to make them fit somehow

I also do the same thing as you, I look at connections between the cards, such as colours, numbers, where the characters are looking, and pretty much anything else that catches my eye. I like that, it's like a puzzle.

That depends on SO many things: the way you read, how long you feel comfortable taking, if you read for others in person or remotely or if you do not read for others at all.

Personally a readign for me takes from I guess 3 hours to a month. The longer readings that have like 20 cards in them, at least a month. But that means I work on them a few hours a day, most days.

I guess an average reading for me is about 4 hours to 5 hours long. Needless to say when I read for others the querent is not there in person, I e-mail them the answers.

Babs

SunChariot said:

I guess an average reading for me is about 4 hours to 5 hours long. Needless to say when I read for others the querent is not there in person, I e-mail them the answers.

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Same here. I'm terrible at instant readings, usually they just seem intellectual versus intuitive, and they feel too off-the-cuff or sound as if I'm reading from a book. I don't read in person for the same reason. My tension in the situation gets in the way. I like privacy, and the time to relax and be with the cards for a while. I'm much better writing out the interpretation than talking it out. (I'm just not a talker, I'm a writer, what can I say.) It's amazing sometimes, if I give myself plenty of time, what deeper insights I'll settle into.

Nevada