Purpose of spreads

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 08 Aug 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Grizabella	08 Aug 2004
I'm not sure if I'm putting this in the right forum, and I'm not sure if it's been asked before because I couldn't seem to find it in a search. I'm sure someone surely must have asked, but I can't find it. Anyway, what's the significance of laying cards out in the particular patterns for spreads? If you know what the positions signify---------such as card 1 in the CC signifies the querent, card 2 signifies what's opposing the querent, etc. Why is it important to place the cards in the formation if you know what each signifies? Could you just lay out 10 cards in a row and still get the same reading for a CC spread as if you were to put them out in the CC formation we associate with it?

WolfSpirit	08 Aug 2004
The idea of a spread is to put those cards close together that influence each other most, I see it as a tool to help you see the connections between cards. I don't use the celtic cross myself much, but the cross...the cards in the middle are the "core" of the matter, the cards surrounding it all are influenced by the core. Some spreads are designed to make you see this clearer, and other spreads I think are just in a certain shape for the way it looks, no deeper meaning. I often do a 5-card spread and then I just put the cards in a row. I think a spread can help you see the connection between certain positions but is not necessary. You could just try both the traditional spread and the row and see if you would read them differently.

Imagemaker	08 Aug 2004
If you're doing it for a querent who doesn't know tarot, the positions can help them see what you're talking about--like having the past card to the left and the future card to the right gives them a visual assist. Would Hebrew readers prefer it the other way?

dadsnook2000	08 Aug 2004
Another aspect of a spread is to declare the INTENT of the reader. We have to first know or intend to use a particular deck, a particular spread, relating to a particular question beore we can do a reading. The spread provides a nice framework for what we intend to do. Intent, I feel, is part of what makes the magic of Tarot work. Dave.

Rusty Neon	08 Aug 2004
Quote: Originally posted by WolfSpirit I think a spread can help you see the connection between certain positions but is not necessary. You could just try both the traditional spread and the row and see if you would read them differently. Adding to what WolfSpirit is saying, there is a distinction between a spread and the shape of the spread. If you change the shape of the spread, i.e., a straight line instead of the traditional CC cross-like shape, it is still a spread and, in essence, still the CC spread. The essence of the CC spread is the position definitions (10 positions, in the case of the CC) for the cards. In contrast, a 10-card spreadless layout (i.e., no position definitions for the cards, with the cards read and linked intuitively) could also be laid out in a straight line like a straight-line CC spread layout, yet the interpretation of the two layouts would be different. Even a spreadless layout can be laid out not only in a straight line, but also in a circle, in a cross, or in another 'shape'. In a sense, a spreadless layout is - despite the undefined card positios - also a 'spread', as the cards are laid or 'spread' out.

tao51	08 Aug 2004
There are a variety of spreads. The reason is that someone found a better connection using a spread. I've seen spreads where there was supposedly in random order but still each card had a meaning in the place it fell. I do a few of my own spreads but they have a specific purpose. In order for the cards to have meaning they must have a position. Otherwise they are all talking but it is difficult to make sense. This sounds like a cocktail party. --Tao

miss_apples	08 Aug 2004
For me spreads help me to organize my thoughts. Spreads help me to understand the readings better by attatching meanings to each position...just like others have already said.

magpie9	09 Aug 2004
If the cards are the vocabulary, the spread is the grammar. Each position defines the card placed there, and defines the "part of speech" it is in that reading. Mick rocks the boat. the boat rocks Mick. Mick and the boat rock. Back in the stone age whe I was in high school, they would make us "diagram" sentences in English. It was very visual, showing how each word in a sentence affected, and was affected by, the others. It was done with diagrams. Kind of like tarot spreads.

The Purpose of spreads thread was originally posted on 08 Aug 2004 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.