How to lay out and a few other questions..-des

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 May 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Desiree	11 May 2003
Hello I am new here.My name is desiree but I prefer to be called des..It will be a while before I can get a terrot deck.As I also jsut want to work with regular playing cards for a while.Which I feel conencted to this one certain deck.It has polar bears on it.And feel connected to it.So I will use that.Now I have found the meanings of which the numbers and suit represents and all..But I am confused on the lay out. Can I do a reading of myself with the deck. And does it matter which lay out I do and all?..And how do you do a layout fo the cards I am very confused about that.. Thnk you very much. -des

allibee	11 May 2003
Hi des, nice to meet you and welcome to Aeclectic. There is so much you will pick up here. To get a really good grounding in the first steps you should go and have a look at the learntarot.com website. Many of the people here learned a lot from there, so it may help you too. When you have picked up the ideas, there are some very good spreads/layouts here on the tarot spreads board. Everybody uses cards in different ways: some just for themselves, some for study and some for reading for other people. But the one thing you must learn, is that there is No Rules. Do what feels right for you, and HAVE FUN! Allison

gloria	11 May 2003
Hi Des and welcome. I have only been here for couple of months myself, but I tell you it's a fantastic site. There are so many different avenues to explore, I am still in the process of finding my way around. Here is another great site for you to try. Tarot-L. If you type it in at Google it will take you there It's a beginners course written by Shadow Wolf. Mary Greer mentions this site in her book Tarot Reversals. One of the lessons at the beginning is on buying a new deck. Look forward to seeing you on the forum, Gloria.

fairyhedgehog	11 May 2003
Hi Des and welcome to aeclectic :) How exciting to be just starting out in tarot. I would echo what allibee said about www.learntarot.com and there is also a "Freqently Asked Questions" section at aecletic too that you might find useful - if you look there is a button with FAQ at the top of each page. To answer your questions: yes, you can read for yourself. Some of us only read for ourselves, others find it doesn't work too well for them. So you could have a go and see how you get on :) How to lay out the cards? Most people suggest a simple three card spread to start with, eg "past, present, future" or "situation, obstacle, advice". As long as you decide before you start what you are going to do, you can spread the cards however you like. There is a whole section here on spreads when you get into that :) Once you've had a look at some of the suggestions, you might want to go to the divination forum here, as that is where all the non-tarot stuff happens. (I think playing cards count as non-tarot, but I could be wrong.) Anyway, pleased to see you here and hope you have fun :) :)

Desiree	11 May 2003
Thank you everyone for your help, it is much appreciated.I have abilities but I'm starting to find I just don't feel comfortable anymore using one of them.I am 13 years old.I am psychic, I do not give readings anymore as I do not feel comfortable or trust myself enough.I use to and was good but you need not just eveidence to trust yourself you need to have confidence and trust.A friend on a list, she was drawn to one of her cards, which mean't that I am healer.I can heal, but really havn't done much in that area.I hve other abilities as well, I talk to spirits and animals, I can know the past and future(which I don't do anymore) I can read minds but only when I'm really bored,I can feel objects without touching them, and I get visions..But I do not do visions anymore either.I'm exhausted alot and tired.So I just wanna rest up for a while.But tarots I want to work with.Sorry for blabbing on..lol.. Thank you All! -des

punkangelgcm437	11 May 2003
I'm new myself to aeclectic, only been here about a month. I also suggest going to Thirteen Basic's, learning the card meanings before getting cards could be useful. PLus its great reading! Thats amazing you have those gifts. But I also understand why you wouldnt wanna do it much anymore, I suppose if I was in your situation I'd do the same. Im a teen myself, Im only 15. I definitly recommend 3 card spreads in the very beginning. PPF & SOA are a couple of the many 3 card readings. One of my favorites is a 7 card reading Past-Present-Hopes&Fears-Unexpected-Gate/Lesson-Near Future-Far Future. I got it here, but I'm not sure who from. I'll have to dig up the post for you. ~much love~ ~punkangel~

The How to lay out and a few other questions..-des thread was originally posted on 11 May 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.