Habitual Spreads

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 26 Nov 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Sushi	26 Nov 2004
Have you ever relied upon one spread for a variety of topics so much that you just habitually throw them out in that fashion even if you didn't mean to? I've done that with the celtic cross so much that even when I wanted to try out a new spread I automaticly started laying them out in the CC after shuffling. Oopsy.

damfino	26 Nov 2004
Not yet. I'm still starting :)

Paradox	26 Nov 2004
Well, I know that doing the same spread over and over again gets repetitively boring very quickly. I've tried to stop doing the same spread over and over again, but I swear, its like I'm addicted to the silly spread. :)

Flavio	26 Nov 2004
I like to invent spreads according to the situation and the question, this free style makes Tarot more enjoyable for me. Recently I offered some readings as a homework of my Tarot course, those readings were done following a "class format" felt restricted but made my very best to provide helpful readings.

gypsy	27 Nov 2004
i don't feel that one spread can answer every question. for me, the celtic cross *never* spoke to me. so i spent years and years looking for a good "all-pupose" spread, and in those travels i learned a bunch of different spreads that are more tailored to particular questions, and i think i'm better off! just as vitamin c won't cure every ailment, the celtic cross cannot answer every question. at least, not for me. ;)

smokey	27 Nov 2004
When I first taught myself how to read the cards, I tried to learn by the book before I learned how to go on intuition. Back then about all we had to pick and choose from was Eden Grey/Gray(I've seen this spelled both ways in my time) in regard to "modern day" Tarotists, so I cut my teeth (my baby teeth,that is!) on the Celtic Cross, and yes, without a doubt...I found I'd be doing that one spread over and over without rhyme or reason in regards to the situation. True...at that time; the only others I knew were the basic 3-card spread, the Zodiac, and maybe a couple more that memory fails to register now,but the point is...I lived and breathed the 'old faithful' just because it came up first in back of the book! Now,I pick what I feel pertains only to that situation at that time. (At the moment, and for the past couple of years now, I have stopped reading for all but one or two Very Best friends and myself, and am thinking of posting a thread for feedback re:why this is so...shrugs...just thinking...sorry!)

Umbrae	27 Nov 2004
3 & 5 card spreads...

shelikes2read	27 Nov 2004
Definitely the CC is my "old faithful" spread. It's the first one I learned and it's almost like a reflex to go back to it, if I'm not specifically experimenting with a new spread. My other standby is a 6-card spread where there are two cards each for past, present, and future. It's nice to have a spread or two like that, though -- where you can just focus on the question, because you're comfortable enough with the spread that you're not wracking your brain trying to figure it out AND answer the question at the same time. It's the counterpart to the discussion in another thread, about having a particular deck that's familiar and comfortable like a security blanket.

smokey	28 Nov 2004
[quote=shelikes2read]. My other standby is a 6-card spread where there are two cards each for past, present, and future. I really like this, Shelikes2read! Now I'm thinking a 9-er spread when reading for myself.

WolfSpirit	28 Nov 2004
The spread I use most is a 5-card spread with the positions: past present hidden factors advice outcome I use this spread when I want to do a general spread how things are going, and it is almost the only standard spread I use. When I have a particular question, I sit down with a note pad first and write down what it is I particularly want to know, why I want to ask the cards. And then I make up a spread for that.

Jeanette	28 Nov 2004
Yup, I also habitually lay out the CC! I've tried learning other spreads, and there are some great ones to pick from. But, the central "cover/cross" first two cards really have me hooked! So, sometimes I just use them (from a book called "The Heart of the Tarot" that renames the positions as "situation/challenge"). I might expand into the next four cards encircling the central ones, for a total of 6. Or I might lay out all 10. But, it's always the same basic CC, give or take a few cards! So, I guess I'm a little bit flexible. Plus the basic 3-card, which can be many things - past, present, future; mind, body, spirit; etc. But those are really my main two spreads, and any others I feel I would need to learn/study more before experimenting on "guinea pigs."

Umbrae	28 Nov 2004
Umbrae wrote: 3 & 5 card spreads... I really want to edit that...it's wrong. I do use 3 & 5 position spreads... I like to use two-cards for each position. so a three position spread is like a three card, except I use 6 (two are overlapped and read together).

Sulis	29 Nov 2004
I tend to make up a spread depending on the question - I usually use 3 or 5 card spread and sometimes like Umbrae I'll use 2 cards in each postition and read them together. A couple of 5 card general spreads that I use regularly are the one which WolfSpirit uses: 1. Past 2. Present 3. Hidden factor 4. Advice 5. Potential outcome and a pentegram spread .........1.......... ....4..........3.... .....2.......5..... 1. The situation / you 2. Your challenge / what's blocking you 3. Advice / what you need to move forward 4. Your strengths and resources 5. Potential outcome Love Sulis xx

contradiction	29 Nov 2004
seriously, i use the cc, a 7 card, a combintation of the two or even a 21 card spread. and on occasion when it feels right i will lay all 78 out, starting with a 3 rows of 7 (21), then adding another line on top of the first one's (21, then 42 then 63 etc) until either an answer or out of cards. but, to answer the question definately.

The Habitual Spreads thread was originally posted on 26 Nov 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.