Not the Full Deck.

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 May 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Elven	02 May 2005
Hi All, So image ... you've just done a huge card spread reading - 2 cards for each position - 9 positions, you write down all the meanings and take down as much detail as you can... Then you find two cards that weren't in the deck the whole time, they're sitting on the table staring at you. What do you do? Leave the reading as is or would you do another reading? What have you done when you haven't read with a full deck? (This may have something to do with the reader - meaning me too LOL!!!) Many Blessings Elven x

SoulFlower	02 May 2005
Maybe those two cards weren't meant to be in the spread to begin with. I would leave the reading as it is. Unless you feel it is wrong somehow.

Eco74	02 May 2005
There are "related cards" in all decks that mimick the meaning of other cards. Take, for instance, a large reading where the same message needs to come out in two or three different places.. What then? Should we lay out one card, write it down, reshuffle the entire deck, lay one card, write it down, reshuffle...? I really think that would take far too long for my taste and I prefer to trust the deck to show me cards with similar enough meanings to get the message across. If a special someone were to be indicated, the lovers, the two of cups and the six of cups could all be indicative of this. If a dangerous temptation might come up, the devil, the magician and the knight of wands might come out. I'd read the cards as they were.. :)

Greyling	02 May 2005
Or perhaps they were meant to be in the spread, or contemplated in light of the large spread you did. Cards often slip out of the deck for a reason, and I try and make a point to pay attention to those cards--many times they are cards that the querent or reader should pay special attention to, and wouldn't usually pay attention to if the cards didn't made their presence known in such a dramatic fashion. I would look at the cards in the context of the spread and see if anything comes to mind. It's not necessary to redo the spread, I don't think. Just look things over again.

Oriana	02 May 2005
Probably leave the Reading stand, unless it just didn't make any sense. Maybe shuffle the full deck again, and draw a card or two mini-spread to clarify, just asking something like, "Is there anything else I need to know?" - but only if you feel you need the clarification. (At any rate, that's what I would do. :))

Chronata	02 May 2005
This used to happen to me all the time, Especially when I store tarot in the original box... there's that annoying habit of discovering the extras after the reading! I figured it must mean something (I mean besides the fact that I am a bonehead! :) ) Nowadays, I read those leftover cards as a message... What it is that I have been forgetting...or need to remember. And I try to use more tarot bags! :D

full deck	02 May 2005
Keep it but make note of what was out and consider such as a commentary. Sometimes things happen.

Elven	02 May 2005
Thanks All:) I decided I'll leave the spread as is and sleep on it and draw an extra card in the morning, and add that to the reading as well. Then that will be it! There's a sense of feeling lazy about not doing another spread, but I'm over it, how it read is actually quite fine and fits the questions perfectly. Eco74 - You're right about the translation and the meanings. There are cards reflected in the spread which 'confirm' each other, so what you said was significant.:) Greyling - I love looking at the fallen cards they do hold meaning to the reading. They usually, I find, amplify the spread in some way, or they turn up in the spread.:) Oriana - I will draw another card in the morning - this is a good idea, and I'll add it to the reading. This time I'll make sure the deck is complete. :) Chronata - LOL!!! I've found stray cards in boxes too, and then I cant even remember how many readings I've done without them! This one was an important reading - aren't they all - and felt very 'different' when I realized those cards weren't in there!! Now I keep my cards in wooden boxes - big ones! :) fulldeck - Yes, I believe things do happen for a reason, and this time I must trust my instincts. It just feels 'yucky' in that moment of realization! OMG Im 2 cards short of a full deck!!!:) Thanks again everyone Many Blessings Elven x

The Not the Full Deck. thread was originally posted on 02 May 2005 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.