How to make a tarot reading session

[Frederik]

Hey everyone

I just have a question for you guys.
Im new to the tarot and Im not sure about how to make a tarot reading session.
I thought that I would make the celtic cross first without a specific question. Then make a year spread and tell something about the potentiel furture. But when I am done with the celtic cross spread, should I let the querent shuffle all the cards again? Or should I just ignore the cards from the celtic cross spread and not use them again for the year spread? I think the cards from the celtic cross spread might be important for the year spread aswell, because of the fact that they might be some of the most important cards to tell something about the querents life path. How do you guys do a tarot reading? And which spreads do you use?

 

[tealily]

Ermagerd

1) If you're a beginner? STEER CLEAR OF THE CELTIC CROSS. That's like trying to use algebra before you're learned to count to 20, haha. I'd suggest - and I should be clear that I'm not a tarot purist - you pick a simple 3-4 card spread instead. Even just pulling three cards alone (no spread) may be more clear that the Celtic Cross.

2) I typically use a three or four card spread - 'Situation - What you need to know - Advice', or 'Situation - Challenge - Advice - Likely Outcome'. It sounds simplistic but sometimes a complicated spread can give complicated answers... IMHO, keeping it simple and clear wherever possible is best

3) Practice practice practice. This is easier when you're in a study group of people with good study questions - eg calm people who can clarify accuracy in your reading immediately rather than stressy people asking for predictive reads (usually about relationships *cough Reading Exchange forum cough*). No-one's accuracy is going to be flash in the beginning, and it's a lot easier to strengthen your skills when you don't have people quibbling with you on what your cards might mean because they're *that* invested in a particular outcome :/ Or worse, critiquing your read based on what other people have said. Confidence-buster!

Lots of the practice questions I used to play with were things like "Tell me something about <insert username here>", "what kind of movies does ____ like", "what qualities does ____ value in their friends" etc. Some people might say that's mundane, but all that real-life present-day stuff is my jam, and you'll find your happy zone eventually too

Welcome to the world of Tarot!

 

[Le Fanu]

Ok, dashing out right now so no time to look for links. BUT...

What I do is if they have a specific and substantial question I would do a Celtic Cross, but what you need under your belt is a number of "non-specific" spreads (love these) - for those that don't have a specific issue in mind. There are some good ones here on AT but I'd need time to search. I know I have one in my notebook that Sulis posted and I call it my "Sulis Spread" and it is wonderfully general but can pick up specific things to focus in on;

I also have this 7-card one which I got from a local tarot reader I know;

card 1; How you are feeling. card 2; Immediate Future, card 3; What is hidden/comes from the past and is influencing things, card 4; What you hope or want, card 5; What you'll get! card 6, the Unexpected, card 7; Consequences / Conclusion

I like this one; it's my all purpose general one which works well.

What I have found is that a typical tarot reading can involve people getting into it after a first spread and they say "can I ask something else?" and we often do a sequence of maybe four or five three-card spreads. on different, smaller issue.

That's how mine tend to roll, but you'll find out what works best for you...

The Celtic Cross can be a bit stiff , cumbersome and overly formal for many situations - much as I like its thoroughness. You need a few 5-7 card general ones.

 

[Nemia]

I"d also recommend a simpler spread than the CC, it's not easy to interpret that if you're a beginner, and I always feel it's better to "squeeze" few cards to the last drop than adding more and more cards.

I often use what I call the Celtic Wheel - a simplified CC, laid out like the CC but with only one card in the middle (that's me and now), and four more cards: above, beneath, left and right for aims, roots, past and future.

That's a nice, handy spread that gives a lot of information.

I made some spread maps with my favorite 3- or 4-card spreads: blind spot spread, Desire spread, bridge spread, SWOT spread... they're all here on AT and they're all concise and useful.

If I do more than one spread (which I usually try to avoid), I take up all the cards again and let the client shuffle. Sometimes I use a different deck.

But usually I try to get the most out of the spread we chose. I feel it's better to wait a bit even for a reading on a different topic. But that's a personal choice.

 

[AnemoneRosie]

ANYTHING makes a Tarot session. Just me shuffling the cards for a while, drawing one, and thinking about it for a while is a Tarot session.

... all the way up to a full-on candles, incense, chalk drawings, and a 72-card spread. But that would take me all day and be so exhausting that I can't be bothered.

I tend to read 1-3 cards for a more daily basis, and then I'll sometimes read 5-7 if I need more clarity. If I'm really struggling then I might use the celtic cross but it gives so much information that sorting through it all to find the relevant bits is a task that I very rarely want to take on.

I do use horoscope spreads, too, but rather than do them for the year (I'm not one of those people who goes back to see what I predicted six months ago) I do them for the next couple of weeks to month or two months ahead. So many people try to make Tarot out as complicated and involved. There's no need for that. Reading it is very tiring on your intuition and if you exhaust yourself then you won't like it very much. You need to build your intuition first to have the stamina to be able to handle a ten-card (or twelve-card) spread.

 

[LindaMechele]

I agree with everyone else - three cards are enough for the majority of the readings. I do a simple "Past-Present-Future" or "Problem - DO This - DON'T Do This".

And I almost always pick up all the cards after each reading/layout. It's rare that I don't, and then it's only when it feels like I should leave them while I do another simple reading on one aspect of that reading, situation, or problem. If I were doing a Celtic Cross or other reading that uses so many cards, I think I'd always pick them up after that one and before the second.

 

[Barleywine]

I also have this 7-card one which I got from a local tarot reader I know;

card 1; How you are feeling. card 2; Immediate Future, card 3; What is hidden/comes from the past and is influencing things, card 4; What you hope or want, card 5; What you'll get! card 6, the Unexpected, card 7; Consequences / Conclusion

I like this one; it's my all purpose general one which works well.

This is a good one. Do you set it up in a line or in a more elaborate arrangement? It got my imagination fired up over how I might creatively rename some of these positions (without losing the original intent) to meet my own slightly quirky viewpoint. My first thought was: hmm, seven positions, seven traditional "planetary" energies, how can I use that?

1. You At Present (Moon as overall personality)
2. What's Just Ahead (Mercury as "messenger")
3. Past (Underlying or Hidden) Influences (Saturn)
4. What You Want (Best Outcome) (Jupiter as "Greater Benefic")
5. What You'll Get! (the exclamation point carries a world of meaning here; it made me think "Here I come, ready or not!") (Venus as "rewards/just desserts")
6. Unexpected Events or Situations (Mars as "upsets")
7, Consequences (Where You End Up) (Sun as revelation)

(Sorry, didn't mean to hijack this, it's just how my mind works.)

What I have found is that a typical tarot reading can involve people getting into it after a first spread and they say "can I ask something else?" and we often do a sequence of maybe four or five three-card spreads. on different, smaller issue.

One thing I've found with the CC is that it's a good "situational awareness" spread, which means it can address various aspects or angles of the original issue without drawing more cards, especially if the question wasn't "single-pointed." I did find it rigid when I first started using it, but it's opened up for me quite a bit over the years.

 

[yannie]

Ermagerd

1) If you're a beginner? STEER CLEAR OF THE CELTIC CROSS. That's like trying to use algebra before you're learned to count to 20, haha. I'd suggest - and I should be clear that I'm not a tarot purist - you pick a simple 3-4 card spread instead. Even just pulling three cards alone (no spread) may be more clear that the Celtic Cross.

2) I typically use a three or four card spread - 'Situation - What you need to know - Advice', or 'Situation - Challenge - Advice - Likely Outcome'. It sounds simplistic but sometimes a complicated spread can give complicated answers... IMHO, keeping it simple and clear wherever possible is best

IKR?!?! I simply don't buy into the hype of the CC. 1-3 carders are to the point, clear and concise. I do a 7 card spread as well - the "star of Solomon" that came with my Golden Botticelli, and that is way sufficient enough for large, general readings. Excellent for situational awareness too. & I just love the geometric layout of that, seeing how the cards interact with each other. The CC is, as others have said, too cumbersome, & too much unnecessary info that I have no patience for. Like, I know what I want, & I know my fears, so I don't need the CC to tell me that. & as for what covers & crosses, a 3-4 card spread with the last card as solution is more than sufficient.

</rant> about the CC, lol.

 

[Barleywine]

I do a 7 card spread as well - the "star of Solomon" that came with my Golden Botticelli, and that is way sufficient enough for large, general readings. Excellent for situational awareness too. & I just love the geometric layout of that, seeing how the cards interact with each other.

I created my own 6-card "star" spread in the form of a pentagram, with the outcome card in the center. I call it the "Pentagram of Revealing," and use planetary energies at the "points" to signify development from the purely personal to the more externally interactive. Also works well for situational awareness. Of course, very little beats the CC for in-depth analysis (unless it's the OOTK, the astrological spread or the Lenormand Grand Tableau). The main problem I have with 1-3 card readings is that too many gaps have to be filled in with intuitive guesswork. Five-card is starting to get there, especially when the center card is used as the "focus" and elemental dignities are applied.

 

[MandMaud]

I find that with fewer cards, each card gives more - with lots of cards, the interpretation of each gets "smaller", more simplistic. It depends which way suits you.

But I agree that the CC isn't great for a beginner. I do remember being so disappointed to hear that, when I was a beginner! At first I didn't understand how much can be got out of each card, how many layers and subtleties, how many aspects of life just one card can address... and then with a pair, it's more than twice as much, more like 2 square. and so on. However, at the very beginning, not every reader can get all that from each card and so using more cards does work. Plenty of us seem to progress from spreads with seven or more cards, to spreads with three. I'm most comfortable with only two, nowadays!

I created my own 6-card "star" spread in the form of a pentagram, with the outcome card in the center. I call it the "Pentagram of Revealing," and use planetary energies at the "points" to signify development from the purely personal to the more externally interactive. Also works well for situational awareness.

Have you shared that in the spreads forum?